COURSE: CRITICAL WRITING – INTERMEDIATE (WRITING 3)

LECTURER: Nguyen Thi Mai Huong

EMAIL: huongntm.2019@nttu.edu.vn
Date: Tuesday, November 16th, 2021
 WRITING SKILL

USING SENTENCE VARIETY

Using a variety of sentence types gives variation to the rhythm of your
writing and makes your writing more interesting to read.

SENTENCE TYPES
1. Simple sentence: one dependent clause
2. Compound sentence: two independent clauses joined by
coordinating conjunction
3. Complex sentence: an independent clause and a dependent clause
1. Simple sentence: one dependent clause
a. One subject, one verb
Jack likes fishing.
b. Two subjects, one verb
Jack and Jill like fishing.
c. One subject, two verbs
Jack likes fishing but hates hunting.
d. Two subjects, two verbs
Jack and Jill like fishing but hate hunting.
2. Compound sentence: two independent clauses joined by a coordinating
conjunction (but, or, yet, for, and, nor, so)

• I have a pet iguana, and his name is Fluffy.

• I am working now, but we will eat later. 
* Mary is happy, but Bill is sad, so their son is confused.
3. Complex sentence: an independent clause and a dependent clause joined by a
subordinating conjunction (although, while, because, so that, when ……)

• My Dad laughed when I told a joke.

• We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with
ourselves.

* A Compound-Complex Sentence.  A compound-complex sentence has at least

two independent clauses and at least one dependent clause.

• I stopped believing in Santa Claus when he asked for my autograph in a

department store, but I still want to believe in him.

EXERCISES ON SKILLFUL
Exercise II: Revising Choppy Paragraphs into Smooth Paragraphs
On a piece of paper, rewrite the following paragraph. Correct fragments, and smooth and vary
the sentence structures. You may need to do extra rearranging to eliminate wordy or redundant
phrases.

To make a grilled cheese sandwich. Gather the ingredients: bread, butter, and cheese
(Velveeta). Condiments like ketchup, mayonnaise, pickles, or hotdogs—those are optional.
Prepare a skillet and a silicone or wooden spatula. They won’t scratch it. Prepare a cheese
slicer and knife and plate. Set the skillet on the stove. Turn it to medium-hot. Lightly butter
one side of two bread slices. Put one in the skillet. Place it butter-side down. Slice enough
cheese. Cover the bread with cheese. Place the second slice un-buttered-side down. It goes on
top of the cheese. Wait a few minutes. Use the spatula to flip the sandwich. It should look
golden brown. It should not look black or butter-yellow. Wait a few minutes for the cheese to
melt and the second side to look done. Put it on your plate. Enjoy it plain. Or with a
condiment.

You have 15 minutes to revise the paragraph individually.

You can follow these steps to make a grilled cheese sandwich. First, you must
gather the ingredients: bread, butter, and a favorite cheese, such as Velveeta,
but condiments like ketchup, mayonnaise, pickles, or hotdogs are optional.
Simultaneously, you need to prepare a skillet, cheese slicer, knife, plate, and a
plastic or wooden spatula which won’t scratch the skillet. Second, you set the
skillet on the stove over medium-hot heat, and as you wait for it to warm,
lightly butter one side of two bread slices. Next, you set one slice in the skillet
butter-side down, slice enough cheese to cover the bread, and then add the
second slice of bread un-buttered-side down atop the cheese. After a few
minutes, you use the spatula to flip the sandwich. It should look golden brown
—not black or butter-yellow. Wait a few minutes for the cheese to melt and
the second side to look done. Finally, set it on your plate, and enjoy it plain or
with a condiment.

(Adapted from HutchCC Grammar and Writing Handout with Exercise)

 The passive with verbs of reporting

Active: They say that elephants have good memories.

Þ It is said that elephants have good memories. (passive)
Þ Elephants are said to have good memories. (passive)

They reported that the President had suffered a heart attack.

Þ It was believed that the President had suffered a heart attack.
Þ The President was believed to have suffered a heart attack.

EXERCISES ON SKILLFUL
 HOMEWORK
Rewrite the paragraph. Revise and reword the sentences to improve sentence
variety. You will not need to change every sentence.
Some people can easily find their way in an unfamiliar place. Other people
seem to get lost in their own towns. Recent studies have found genetic
connections to people’s ability to navigate. This may explain why some people
are skillful at navigating. Some people are easily disoriented. They get lost
easily. Studies show that good navigators use landmarks and streets. They orient
themselves. They use visual geometry. In their heads, they visualize their
location in relation to things they see around them. Researchers have found that
some people with a rare genetic disease can’t visually orient themselves. Experts
now believe that navigational skills are inherited. They believe that some people
lack certain navigation genes.

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 Break time!

Be back at 3.10 P.M. in order to do the MIDTERM TEST