English 50 Professor Parks
English 50
Ms. Parks - Professor
spring 2011
Questionnaire
name ______days ______
1. What high school did you attend? When did you graduate?
2. What is your career goal?
3. What Academic Development classes (if any) have you taken? When did you take English 60? Have you taken English 50 before?
4. What classes are you taking now?
5. What is the hardest thing about writing?
6. What is the best or worst English class you’ve ever taken? Why?
(Answer in four to five sentences.)
Name ______Introduce yourself to your classmates and find people who
….weren’t born in Bakersfield. ..went somewhere over break.
1. 1.
2. 2.
3. 3.
…….have a career goal. …play an instrument.
1. 1.
2. 2.
3. 3.
….read a good book. ..have siblings or children.
1. 1.
2. 2.
3. 3.
What are your impressions of this class (include students, teacher, and subject matter)? What are your expectations?
Helpful information
Sentence types and how to punctuate them
Simple – one independent clause
Compound – two or more independent clauses
(examples)
I, cc i.
I; ca, i.
I; i.
Complex – one independent clause and one or more dependent (subordinate) clauses
(examples)
D, i.
I + d.
Compound complex – two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent (subordinate) clauses
(examples)
I, cc i + d. I; ca, i + d. I; i + d + d.
D, i; ca, i. D, i, cc i. D, i; i + d.
Coordinating Conjunctions (cc)
(FANBOYS)
for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
CA- conjunctive adverb
I – independent clause
D – dependent clause
SC- subordinating conjunction
Common subordinating conjunctions (SC)
Cause or effect Condition
as even if
because if
in order that if only
since provided
so that since
unless
Concession when
although whenever
as if whether
even if how
even though however
though
Comparison or contrast Purpose
as in order that
as if so that
as though that
rather than ______
than Relative connectors
whereas (pronouns, adj., adv.)
whether which
while that
whatever
Space or time whose
after since whichever
as long as whom
before when what
now that who
once where whomever
whenever whoever
wherever why
until while where
** Subordinating conjunctions and relative connectors start subordinate (dependent) clauses in complex sentences
Common conjunctive adverbs (CA) and transitional phrases
Addition Comparison or contrast
also however
besides in comparison
further in contrast
furthermore instead conversely
in addition likewise on the other hand
incidentally nevertheless
moreover otherwise
similarly
nonetheless
Emphasis
certainly
indeed Cause or effect
in fact accordingly
still as a result
undoubtedly consequently
specifically hence
therefore
Time thus
finally
meanwhile
next
now Misc.
then for example
thereafter for instance
subsequently after all
even so
anyway
incidentally
** Conjunctive adverbs connect equal clauses (in compound sentences).
Sentence types practice
Identify the sentence type (simple, compound, complex, compound-complex) of the following sentences.
1.Whenever I go shopping, I spend more money than I plan to spend.
2. Alexandra thinks that she is beautiful and perfect in every way possible; certainly, Nathan thinks that he is better than Alexandra.
3. Jesse is a bit sad, for he misses his friend.
4. After we drove to the mall, I realized that I had forgotten my coupons, so I turned around and went back home.
5. Before church, I washed the clothes, graded all my papers, and cooked dinner.
6. Mary has three children who play sports; obviously, she does a lot of laundry.
7. Write a compound sentence with a conjunctive adverb.
8. Write a complex sentence with the independent clause first.
9. Write a compound complex sentence.
Common prepositions
about into
above like
according near
according to of
across off
after on
against onto
along out
along with outside
among over
around past
as regarding
at round
because of since
before through
behind throughout
below to
beneath toward
beside under
between underneath
beyond unlike
by until
concerning up
despite upon
down up to
during till
except with
except for within
excepting without
for next to
from
in
in addition to
inside
in spite of
instead of *** start prep. phrases, which add details
Transition words
addition additionally, also, too, as well as, besides, equally important, furthermore, in addition, moreover
result or cause consequently, hence, therefore, so, thus, because, then, as a result, accordingly, as a consequence, for this reason
contrast or at the same time, but, despite this/that, instead,
opposing view however, on the contrary, in contrast, nevertheless, nonetheless, besides, otherwise
example for example, as a case in point, in particular, namely, specifically, generally
summary evidently, actually, overall, briefly, on the whole, in short
emphasize above all, certainly, especially, in fact, indeed,
an idea surely, most importantly, naturally, equally important
concede a granted, certainly, no doubt, although this may be
point true
qualify perhaps, probably, for the most part, in part,
a point apparently, seemingly
***use these to connect ideas within or between sentences.
Other punctuation rules
1. Use a comma after an introductory word, clause, or phrase.
Eg. Startled, John ran out of the room.
Excited about the game, Sallie was the first one dressed.
After I walk the dog, I’ll make dinner.
2. Use a comma between all items in a series.
Eg. I almost forgot to pack my toothbrush, camera, and sleeping bag.
3. Use a comma between coordinate adjectives. (adjectives can be scrambled or joined with “and”.)
Eg. I have a sweet, affectionate cat.
4. Use a comma to set off nonessential information.
Eg. Her vacation house, that is located in Pismo, has three bedrooms.
Maya Angelou’s first book, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, was a bestseller.
5. Use a colon after an independent clause to introduce a list, an appositive, or a quote.
Eg. My friend does three things before she gets up: prays, talks with her husband, and listens to music.
My son has one requirement for a career: a large salary.
I often recall my grandfather’s words: “Don’t give up.”
Misplaced modifiers, single word modifiers, and dangling modifiers
Correct the errors in the following sentences.
1.The man kept a close eye on the toddler sitting on a bench and smoking a cigar.
2.Snapping and growling, the letter carrier was afraid to approach the dog.
3. The student visited the office of the English professor who needed tutoring in grammar.
4.Although Benjamin was speeding, the police officer just let him off with a warning.
5. Sandra almost sent out resumes to twenty companies.
6. Marissa only said her math professor is grumpy on days that end in y.
7. Blinded by the setting sun, Janna’s car nearly ran off the road.
8. By spending hours in the library, careful research for a term paper can be done.
9. Whistling cheerfully, the luggage was loaded into Quincy’s trunk.
10. Unhappy with his current job, Malcolm’s resume was updated and employment ads scanned.
Decade-Old Three Strikes Law Still Striking Out
Commentary, By Vincent Schiraldi and Geri Silva, Posted: Mar 04, 2004
EDITOR’S NOTE: California’s “Three Strikes and You’re Out" law turns 10 years old on March 7. It’s time to repeal this costly, ineffective law with the catchy baseball name according to some experts studying its impact.
On November 18, 1995, Leandro Andrade shoplifted four videotapes worth $68.84 from a Kmart store in Montclair, California. Instead of the three years such petty thievery would have previously netted him, California’s newly enacted “Three Strikes” law, combined with Andrade’s prior record, sent him to prison for 25 years to life.
Three Strikes turns 10 years old on March 7. Passed in the emotional months following the tragic kidnapping and murder of 12-year-old Polly Klaas, the nation’s broadest and most punitive mandatory sentencing law has had an enormous impact on California’s prisons and its budget, while yielding a negligible impact on crime. Yet, while legislators in other states have recently abolished or amended their mandatory sentencing laws, California’s elected officials have been reluctant to tinker with the law with the catchy baseball name.
After the law’s first decade, one out of every four people in California’s $5.7-billion prison system is a three-striker. Those 42,000 prisoners are more than the entire prison populations of 42 states.
Like Andrade, 65 percent of those imprisoned under Three Strikes are nonviolent offenders. African Americans are imprisoned for life under Three Strikes at an astonishing 12 times the rate of whites. Those imprisoned under Three Strikes thus far will end up costing Californians an additional $8 billion by the time their sentences are finished. Each person sentenced to life under Three Strikes will cost the state a minimum of $600,000, if he stays healthy while in prison and is released at his absolute minimum eligibility.
Despite these enormous costs and negative consequences, there is scant evidence that Three Strikes is helping California curb crime. Of the state's 12 largest counties, the six counties that make greater use of Three Strikes imprison defendants under the law at twice the rate of the six lower-using counties. Yet, violent crime has decreased 23 percent more in the lower-using counties than in the higher-using ones since 1993. Los Angeles County “strikes out” defendants at nine times the rate of San Francisco County, yet San Francisco has had a decline in violent crime that is 24 percent greater than Los Angeles’ since 1993.
Similarly, states that did not enact Three Strikes experienced an 11-percent greater decline in violent crime than those that did. New York, a non-Three Strikes state whose prison population only increased by 315 persons since 1994, has had a 20-percent greater drop in violent crime than California, whose prison population has grown by 34,724 persons since then.
Disappointing results like these have led to steadily diminishing support for mandatory sentences in general. Backed by 55 percent of national poll respondents in 1995, mandatory sentences have declined in popularity, supported by only 38 percent by 2001. Michigan, Indiana, Connecticut, Mississippi, Louisiana, Maine, Delaware and New Mexico have all either repealed or amended mandatory sentences over the past three years.
Even Reagan-appointed Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, who voted to uphold Andrade’s sentencing and the Three Strikes law, has spoken out against mandatory sentences, noting, “Courts may conclude the legislature is permitted to choose long sentences, but that does not mean long sentences are wise or just.” Yet in 1998, when a bill passed the California legislature to merely study the impact of Three Strikes, then-Governor Pete Wilson vetoed it, stating, “There are many mysteries in life, the efficiency of ‘Three Strikes’, however, is not one of them.” No Three Strikes reforms have passed California’s legislature since then.
Three Strikes costs too much, does too little, and targets the wrong people. It should not only be repealed, it should also serve as an object lesson for other states about the dangers of thoughtlessly enacting mandatory sentencing laws during times of great emotion.
Vincent Schiraldi is Executive Director of the Justice Policy Institute and co-author of a recent analysis on the impact of Three Strikes, and Geri Silva, is Executive Director of Families to Amend California’s Three Strikes.
Introduction to an argumentative essay
· Must cite source – publication, date published, authors
· Must state author’s position
· Must include your position in your thesis statement.
· Should acknowledge that there is a difference of opinion
· May state importance of topic
· May use an anecdote (yours or one from the article)
Vincent Schiraldi and Geri Silva, who wrote “Decades-Old Three Strikes Law Still Striking Out,” which was published in the Pacific News Service on March 5, 2004, tell of Leandro Andrado who shoplifted four videotapes and was sent to prison for 25 years to life because of his prior record. They would have us feel sorry for him. They argue that Three Strikes should be repealed because such a sentence is too stiff, and the cost to taxpayers is too great. But people such as Andrado deserve stiff sentences because they didn’t learn from their prior arrests and imprisonments. No cost is too great to keep our streets safe. The Three Strikes law should not be repealed.
In an effort to reduce violent crime, the Three Strikes law was created 10 years ago. But according to authors Vincent Schiraldi and Geri Silva, who wrote “Decades-Old Three Strikes Law Still Striking Out,” which was published in the Pacific News Service on March 5, 2004, the disappointing results have come at a high price. This “mandatory sentencing law has had an enormous impact on California’s prisons and its budget, while yielding a negligible impact on crime,” write the authors. Critics may say that any repeat offender deserves a stiff sentence and that no cost is too great to keep our streets safe. But, the Three Strikes law needs to be repealed because someone who steals three times doesn’t deserve to spend 25 years to life in jail at a cost to taxpayers, according to the authors, of “a minimum of $ 600,000”.
methods of development that can be used to advance a thesis in a persuasive essay
Use the method or combination of methods that best suits your purpose. In your in class and out-of-class essays, your purpose will be to argue or convince.
Here is a brief description of each method; in class we will discuss how the assigned readings use and combine each technique as well as how you can do the same in your writing.
Narrative writing
Narratives are stories included in an essay to support a thesis. You will read a few essays in which the story dominates the essay. But, more often you will encounter narratives that are used as short personal examples; these are called anecdotes.
In this class, you can use anecdotes sparingly. Short narratives can be used to establish credibility with the audience as well as in introductions to hook the reader. Sometimes the anecdote, began in the introduction, is finished in the conclusion. They can also be used as examples to explain a point.