Grammar Unit 17 – Writing Clear Sentences Coordination Subordination Parallel Structure Sentence Fragments Run-ons

“The order of ideas in a sentence or paragraph should be such that the reader need not rearrange them in his mind.”

- Robert Graves, British poet and novelist

Why does writing need to be clear and organized?

Why does the order of ideas in writing matter?

Coordination Coordinate ideas: equally important ideas in a sentence. To show that the ideas are coordinate, you join them

together with: a coordinating conjunction (and, but, for, nor, or, so,

yet) or with another connective

Tells your reader how the ideas are related“And” links equal and similar ideas“But” links equal and contrasting ideas

Almost no rain fell last spring. All the corn is stunted. Almost no rain fell last spring, so all the corn is stunted.

Subordination To make the main ideas stand out in your writing, you

need to downplay, or subordinate, the less important ones. You can do this by putting the idea into a

subordinate clause Elaborates on the thought expressed in the

independent clause Subordinating conjunctions

Can use with an adverb clause, look at page 439 for examples

Can use with an adjective clause (who, whom, whose, which, that, or where)

Walter didn’t make the team this year. He still practices every day.

Although Walter didn’t make the team this year, he still practices every day.

Maria, who likes disaster movies, saw the movie Titanic three times.

Parallel Structure Makes your sentences smoother and clearer Use the same grammatical form to express equal,

or parallel, ideas Pair a noun with a noun, a phrase with a phrase,

a clause with a clause, and an infinitive with an infinitive.

Used to link coordinate ideas Mrs. Silva prefers exercising and to paint. Mrs. Silva prefers to exercise and to paint.

To outline a research paper is as crucial as writing the paper.

Outlining a research paper is as crucial as writing the paper.

Fragments A sentence should express a complete thought. The meaning of a fragment you have written may

seem clear to you because you know that information you have left out.

Sitting at the window and watching the storm. They sat at the window and watched the storm.

While Jerry and his family waited for the storm to pass.

While Jerry and his family waited for the storm to pass, they kept each other company in the kitchen.

Let’s see where we all stand with this Complete the Diagnostic Preview on page 434 I will use this to see what we need to focus on

for tomorrow Stop where you are, we are going to correct

these in class Circle the questions you got wrong and write

the numbers at the top of your paper Please turn it on on your way out of class

Homework: Revising Paragraphs for Clarity handout – both

sides Keep making entries in your journal and

making notecards (30 due on 2/28) Bring grammar book tomorrow