transition english unit 4

adjectives and adverbs

Adjectives and adverbs are an essential part of writing. They give details to your writing that cannot be accomplished with nouns and verbs alone. Filling your writing with descriptive adjectives and adverbs can help readers create a mental image of what you are trying to communicate. It also makes your writing more enjoyable to read. In this lesson, you will learn how to identify adjectives and adverbs in a reading as well as use them to create more detailed and interesting sentences. Adjectives Adjectives are words that modify and describe a noun, which is a person, place, or thing in a sentence. They almost always appear before the noun in a sentence. For example, in "the winding road," winding is the adjective describing the noun road. Here, you can see that the adjective provides a much better description, or image, of what the road looks like. Adverbs Adverbs are words that modify and describe a verb, an adjective, or another adverb in a sentence. They tell when, where, why, or in what condition something is happening or happened.

outlining a reading

An outline help a reader understand the topic of a reading by looking at the organization of the details in the passage. Readers can use two types of outlines when breaking down the information in a reading: formal outlines and informal outlines. Formal outlines are more traditional and structured. They follow a set pattern and use a combination of Roman numerals, letters, and numbers to show a hierarchy of information based on the major details and minor details or ideas.

using context clues

In this lesson, you will learn how to find the meaning of unknown words in a reading by using context clues. Context clues will expand your vocabulary by helping you guess the meaning of a word based on how it is used in a sentence or paragraph. This allows you to keep reading an article or essay without stopping to look words up in a dictionary, which saves you time while still allowing you to understand what you are reading. There are two advantages to using context clues to expand your vocabulary and improve your reading comprehension. First, if you skip over words you don't understand, the meaning of what you are reading becomes a little unclear. Depending on how many words you have to skip over or how important each word is in the passage, it can seem as if you have just looked at a bunch of words on the page and have no idea what they mean. Second, if you go to a dictionary every time you don't understand a word, it is not only frustrating to repeatedly interrupt the flow of reading, but the word might actually have many ways of being defined. This could leave you a little closer to understanding what the word means but no closer to understanding what the author is trying to say. Fortunately, there is a four-step process for using context clues to define unfamiliar words in a reading. Step 1: Look for examples of the unknown word in the sentence.Writers often provide examples of words as a way of making sure people understand exactly what they mean; this is the easiest way to use context clues. Example: People generally use coniferous trees, such as pine, fir, and blue spruce, as Christmas trees. You see here that "fir" and "blue spruce" are two examples of "coniferous trees." If you don't know anything about coniferous trees - which are trees that do not lose their color and leaves - you can safely assume that they share the same characteristics as pines, firs, and blue spruces. Step 2: If there are no examples of the word in the sentence, look for antonyms or synonyms of the word somewhere in the sentence.Synonyms are words that share a similar meaning. For example, in a sentence, you could use the words "decrease," "reduce," "cut," or "lessen" and still make the same point. Antonyms, on the other hand, are words that have opposite meanings. "Competent" and "inept" are examples of antonyms. Writers use both synonyms and antonyms in their writing, so if you find an unfamiliar word in the sentence, look for a synonym or antonym that you recognize, and allow it to lead you to the definition. Example: I was so infuriated by the pointless, ineffectual instruction manual that my typical good humor had escaped me all day long. Here, you see that the word "ineffectual" has the word "pointless" right before it and both are used to describe the instruction manual. It is safe to assume that "pointless" is a synonym for "ineffectual." You can also see that "infuriated" is presented as the opposite of "good humor," which tells that the two are antonyms. You may not know the exact meaning of "infuriated," but you know that a general definition would be "bad humor." Step 3: If the word has no examples and there are no antonyms or synonyms, try substituting a familiar word for the one you don't know.Example: Riding the roller coaster was exhilarating, and my heart raced like it did when I was kid. If you don't know what the word "exhilarating" is, take it out of the sentence - "Riding the roller coaster was __________ and my heart raced like it did when I was kid." - and then start substituting words until you find one that fits with everything else in the sentence. In this case, "fun" would work, but "thrilling" would work even better because it matches more closely with "my heart raced." Step 4: Rely on your own knowledge and experience.Your own knowledge and experience also provide clues that you can use to figure out the meaning of an unfamiliar word. Example: Johnny's mom commended him for cleaning up his room without being told. If you do not know what "commended" means, put yourself in Johnny's or his mom's shoes. If your son cleaned up his room without your asking, what would you do? You probably wouldn't complain or criticize; instead, you would praise and applaud him. You were able to determine the meaning of the word without any examples, synonyms, or antonyms. This step is more useful when you are reading about something that you know more about. You may find that it is not helpful when you first enter an anthropology, psychology, or sociology class and begin reading your text.

outlining an essay

Using an outline is helpful when you are reading a textbook or an essay or taking notes in class. It is also helpful when you are the writer. Outlining is an excellent tool for planning and organizing your content. Different types of writing styles can use various outlining formats, but all outlines contain the same basic elements: main idea, major supporting details, and minor supporting details. When writing an essay that uses examples from personal experience to support an opinion—sometimes called an exemplification essay—the outline should list the opinion (main idea), followed by the supporting details. Remember that if you are outlining a paragraph, the main idea is the topic sentence; whereas, in a longer passage the main idea is the thesis statement.

faulty parallel

Writers use parallel structure to balance items in their sentences. What does it mean to have "balance" in a sentence? Balance means that you use similar grammatical structures to describe similar ideas. Parallel structure is often best demonstrated with an example, because you can usually see or hear when something has good or faulty (no) parallel structure

commas with introductory phrases

A common technique that writers use to add detail to their writing is to begin some sentences with introductory phrases. An introductory phrase is any group of words that precedes the subject in a sentence. There are many types of introductory word groups and phrases, but the most common are prepositional phrasesand dependent clauses. Even though it is not critical to be able to identify each of these types of introductory word groups by name, it is crucial to know how to punctuate them. They are all punctuated in the same way, following two steps. First, identify the subject in the sentence. Remember that this is the "who" or "what" being talked about in the sentence. Don't be fooled by subject pretenders; not every noun or pronoun is the subject. Second, see if there are any phrases or clauses that come before the subject. If so, follow the phrase or clause with a comma. If there are two or more phrases and/or clauses before the subject, only put a comma after the last one.

commas with transitions

Good transitions help make any piece of writing easier to understand because they work to link one idea to the next. Using them effectively, though, requires proper punctuation, because transitional words and phrases are added information to any sentence. More often than not, transitional phrases appear at the beginning of the sentence and should be punctuated like all other introductory phrases. You can learn to punctuate transitions by following four steps. Step 1: Identify the subject. First, identify the subject in the sentence. Remember that this is the "who" or "what" that is being talked about in the sentence. Don't be fooled by subject pretenders; not every noun or pronoun is the subject. Step 2: Punctuate introductory phrases. Second, see if there are any phrases or clauses that come before the subject; these are introductory phrases. If so, follow the phrase or clause with a comma. If there are two or more phrases and/or clauses before the subject, only put a comma after the last one. Example: Incorrect: In the first place students who want to earn an "A" must never skip a class or miss an assignment. Correct: In the first place, students who want to earn an "A" must never skip a class or miss an assignment. The subject of the above sentence is students. It is preceded by the prepositional phrase, in the first place, so you must follow it with a comma. Step 3: Identify transition words. Next, identify the transition words that appear in the sentence. The most common transition words are called conjunctive adverbs, which are adverbs that join ideas together. The table below contains a list of conjunctive adverbs.

identifying word parts

In this lesson, you will learn to how to find the meaning of words you don't know in a reading by using word parts. When you come across an unfamiliar word in a passage, one of the ways to determine its meaning is to break the word down to smaller parts. These are known as word parts and there are three types: root words, prefixes, and suffixes. Just as context clues help you define a word by applying what you know about the key words around it, word parts help you define a word by applying what you know about the key parts of the word itself. Root words are basic words that cannot be reduced to a smaller word and have a meaning all on their own. They can often stand alone as independent words although there are some core roots that help form many of the words people use. A prefix is a word part that is attached to the beginning of a root word to enhance or change its meaning. It cannot stand on its own as an independent word. A suffix is a word part added to the end of a root word that can sometimes enhance or change its meaning, but mostly it can change a word's part of speech or changes a singular word into a plural one. Like a prefix, it cannot stand on its own as an independent word. For example, the word "bicycling" is made up of the root word "cycle," which means circle or wheel, the prefix "bi," meaning two, and the suffix "ing," which makes it a participle. There are two ways to approach word parts. First, you can memorize the word parts. Deciphering unknown words becomes easier with each word prefix, root, and suffix that you learn. The "Common Word Parts List" below does not list every possible word part, but it will give you a good place to start. Consider creating flash cards for each word part and have your friends and family quiz you. Another strategy to use to discover a word's meaning is to think of familiar words that have the same roots as the new word. Since English is a mixture of many Latin- and German-based languages, you can also think of foreign words. Then you can deduce what the new word means based on the familiar words that you know.

making inferences and drawing conclusions

Sometimes authors leave out information, which means the reader has to think to figure out what he or she is trying to say. This is known as the subtext of a reading. Writers may leave out information because they think the readers already know it, it may not seem important, or because they want the readers to find the meaning on their own. A reader who thinks about the subtext in a reading may make inferences about what is happening based on the facts and details provided and may then draw conclusions about what will happen as a result. When readers make inferences, they can often pull more information out from the story, making it more meaningful to them. You can try various strategies to make inferences and draw conclusions about what you read. Here are three: Observe the details provided by the author. Draw from your experiences and connect them to the reading. Ask yourself what may happen as a result of what is taking place in the reading. From there, you can use this formula to draw a conclusion:

using transitional words and phrases

Using an outline is helpful when you are reading a textbook or an essay or taking notes in class. It is also helpful when you are the writer. Outlining is an excellent tool for planning and organizing your content. Different types of writing styles can use various outlining formats, but all outlines contain the same basic elements: main idea, major supporting details, and minor supporting details. When writing an essay that uses examples from personal experience to support an opinion—sometimes called an exemplification essay—the outline should list the opinion (main idea), followed by the supporting details. Remember that if you are outlining a paragraph, the main idea is the topic sentence; whereas, in a longer passage the main idea is the thesis statement.

writing a multi paragraph essay

When writing a longer essay with three or more paragraphs, you should follow the writing process, which helps you choose a topic and organize your ideas. This process involves a series of steps from when you begin thinking about writing until you have proofread the final draft. Here are the steps to the writing process that help you prepare to begin writing. The Writing Process Step 1: Brainstorm ideas.First, begin by brainstorming ideas so you can identify a topic for your writing. To do this, you might make a list, draw a diagram, or spend some time freewriting about what is on your mind. Take time to research your topic, noting ideas and information that you think might work in your essay. Step 2: Develop a thesis.Next, once you have brainstormed ideas and identified a topic for your writing, develop a thesis, which is the controlling idea of your essay. Your thesis statement tells the reader what you are writing about and why it is important to your audience. It should also reflect your opinion or attitude toward the topic. Step 3: Create an outline.Third, outline your ideas for the essay. Creating an outline, even if it is rough and may change as you write, helps you determine if you have enough information to support your thesis and allows you to begin organizing that information in your essay. Step 4: Write a rough draft.Once you have worked through the preliminary parts of the writing process, you are ready to begin writing a rough draft of your essay. Be sure to keep the structure of an essay in mind as you write, making sure to include an introduction paragraph, body paragraphs, and a conclusion paragraph. The introduction paragraph brings the audience into the essay by getting them interested in the topic. It also includes the thesis statement. The body paragraphs provide the information to support the thesis. Finally, the conclusion mirrors the introduction by reminding readers of the thesis statement and helps finalize the essay by reinforcing the main points.