WEEK 3 -- Phrases

WEEK 3 – PHRASES

PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES

Prepositional Phrases:  These phrases are either adjectives or adverbs depending upon how they are used.  A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or pronoun.

            Examples:

· At the high school, Mr. Thompson taught history.  (adverbial modifying taught)

· The gym at the high school is sold out for the big game.  (adjectival modifying gym)

· In 1892, James Corbett became the heavy weight champion of boxing.  (first phrase is and adverb; second phrase is an adjective)

            Same phrase used two different ways:

· Ann found in her drink a fly.  (adverb phrase modifying found)

· The fly in her drink bothered Ann.  (adj. phrase modifying bee)

· From the shore, Randy caught fifteen catfish.  (adverb modifying caught)

· Greg visited his friend from the shore of Lake Superior.  (adj. modifying friend)

PARTICIPIAL PHRASES

Participial Phrases:  These phrases function as adjectives and contain a present or past participle.  Participles all tend to end in “’ing” (present participle), “-ed,” “-d,” “-en,” “-n,” or “-t” with a few exceptions like “swum” and “hung.”  Participial phrases are made up of a participle along with an object or modifier or both.  These adjective phrases are usually placed as near as possible to the words they modify.  Participles are the third and fourth principle parts of verbs.

            Examples:

· Fortified against an attack, Macbeth’s army almost deserted their leader.

· Singing “Aida” in the shower, Gary annoyed his roommates. 

· Marching in the parade, Patrick showed his Irish pride.

· Dedicated to the health of the poor, Mother Theresa helped others.

· Thrashing the shore with great force, the storm pounded the rocky coast of Maine.

GERUND PHRASES

Gerund Phrases:  Like any noun, a gerund phrase can function as a subject, direct object, indirecto object, object of the preposition, or predicate nominative.  The gerund phrase is made up of the present participle (“-ing”) and can contain an object and/or a modifier (and sometimes many modifiers).  The gerund is a verbal noun.

            Examples:

            Gerund phrase as a subject:

· Making the varsity team is a challenging endeavor.

· Selling boats demands product knowledge.

Gerund phrase as a direct object:

· My father once considered swimming the English Channel.

· The rookie catchers practiced protecting the plate.

Gerund phrase as an indirect object:

· If students give learning grammar a fair chance, their writing will improve.

· My brother once gave swinging a golf club his undivided attention.

Gerund phrase as an Object of the Preposition:

· Local authorities tried to control mosquitoes by spraying insecticide.

· Carrie got first prize by memorizing the most poetry.

Gerund phrase as a Predicate Nominative:

· Kathy’s hobby was collecting unusual bottles.

· Robyn’s greatest accomplishment is singing in the opera.

· Hank’s strength in hockey was slashing from the left.

APPOSITIVES AND APPOSITIVE PHRASES

Appositive:  An appositive is always a noun.  Usually it follows immediately after a noun, is sometimes set off by commas, and renames or emphasizes the noun it follows.  Appositives are the words or phrases that explain or add information to the noun it follows.  Appositives never contain verbs.

            Examples: 

· Barron’s, a publisher of books, boasts of the finest employees.

· The Northfield Historical Society, a local organization, gives tours at the museum.

One word “name” appositives usually do not need commas, but there is a caution here.  If there are more of the group, then no commas are needed.  In the example below, if there are more brothers or sisters, you would not use commas to set apart the appositive.  No commas means restrictive; restrictive means that if you take that element out of the sentence, the sentence changes its meaning.  The element is essential and therefore no commas.  Putting commas around an appositive tells the readers that this part of the sentence is not absolutely necessary or needed, but it does add to the information of the sentence.

Example:

· My brother Mark lives in France but works in Switzerland.

For the sake of variety, the appositive might appear before the noun.

            Examples:

· The owner of the gallery, Kevin Hanson, won a grant to fund a new art show.

· The most outstanding writing teacher, Mrs. Prichard, teaches three classes at CHAT.

RESTRICTIVE/ NONRESTRICTIVE

When you have nonrestrictive (nonessential) elements in a sentence, set them off with commas.  You must decide if the information is essential or not.  If the information is essential to the meaning of the sentence, you have a restrictive phrase or clause, and you do not use commas.

            Examples:

· The little boy who was wearing the blue sweater is lost. (this phrase contains important details)

· The little boy, who didn’t seem to like his lunch, is lost.  (this phrase doesn’t add essential information to the main idea of the sentence)

The use of “that” implies a restrictive (essential) phrase or clause, so no commas are needed.

            Examples:

· People who live near Gus are lucky because he shares from his garden. (restrictive, no commas)

· Cindy, who is my favorite cousin, is a good writer.  (nonrestrictive, use commas)

· Grandma, wearing her bonnet and Grandpa’s coveralls, should not spend too much time weeding the garden.  (nonrestrictive, use commas)

· People who like the beach are hard to find.  (restrictive, no commas)

· Restrooms that are dirty ought to be illegal.  (restrictive, no commas)

· The garden, which was beautiful, contained many varieties of tomatoes.  (nonrestrictive, use commas)

INFINITIVE PHRASES

Infinitive Phrases:  Infinitive phrases can be used as three parts of speech:  noun, adjective, or adverb.  An infinitive phrase will begin with an infinitive (to + simple for of the verb).  It may include direct objects and/or modifiers

            Examples:

· To finish her shift without spilling was Michelle’s only goal.  (functions as a noun)

· Connor hopes to win the approval of his coach by showing up early for practice. (functions as a noun)

· The best way to survive Mrs. Prichard’s class is counting backwards from 100 until class is over. (functions as an adjective)

· Calvin, an aspiring doctor, is taking British Literature to give himself a well-rounded education. (functions as an adverb – “why”)

When an infinitive phrase introduces a sentence and is followed by the main clause, separate the sections with a comma.

Writing 3 Class Notes -- September 12

Greetings!

We started our class today with a Western Quick Write.  Last week my town Northfield celebrated the Defeat of Jesse James, and I thought I would extend the theme to my class.  I did my best to put on a cowboy/western accent.  The students can be the judge regarding how well I did.  I must admit that my cheap, fake cowboy boots only made it about 10 minutes through the class.

I skipped the SAT/ACT practice question so that we could spend more time on some difficult points of grammar and the research paper.

We did some pretty hard thinking during our Grammar section as we discussed phrases:  prepositional, participial, gerund, appositive, infinitive, and restrictive.  I could tell when their eyes started glazing over that it was challenging.  However, they stuck to it, and I'm proud of their hard work. 

The students handed in their leading questions and research plan.  We discussed some basics about finding good sources.  Next week we'll discuss taking notes.

Assignments for next week:
-- Check out any of the video grammar lessons, if necessary.
-- Begin your research and taking notes.
-- Have an initial list of resources to be checked in class.

Have a great week!
Mrs. Prichard

Elephant Stew

Elephant Stew

     1 elephant (medium size)

     Salt and pepper

     Brown gravy

     2 rabbits

Cut the elephant into bite size pieces (this should take about 2 months).  Add the brown gravy and cook over kerosene fire about 4 weeks at 465 degrees.

             

This will serve 3800 people.  If more are expected, 2 rabbits may be added, but do this only if necessary, as most people do not like to find hare in their stew.

Writing 3 Class Notes -- September 5

Greetings!

We had another great week.  We started with a more light-hearted Quick Write.  The students were to come up with a recipe for "Elephant Stew."  Following this Quick Write, we brainstormed a response to an ACT writing prompt.  We will do this on a regular basis so that the students can think quickly on their feet.

During our Grammar discussion, I explained the four types of sentences:  simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex.  We discussed some examples and how to form sentences.  As young writers, they wrote simple sentences, but as more mature students they will write more complicated sentences.  It's important for them to know how to compose these.

In our 30 Steps, we're on steps 7 - 10.  For this week, they were to have chosen a topic and leading questions that will help them form a thesis.  This week we discussed formulating a thesis statement from specific topics.  We used the topics the students have chosen as examples.  These class discussions about each others papers are intended to help and give added perspective.  This is an engaging group of students and are doing well.

Assignments for Next Week:
-- Hand in your Topic and Leading Questions
-- Hand in your Research Plan which includes your thesis in a singe sentence, the areas of research related to your topic, and where you intend to find your information/ what resources you plan to use.

As always, feel free to e-mail of you have any questions.

Have a great week and enjoy the wonderful fall weather!
Mrs. Prichard

Writing 3 Class Notes -- August 29

 Greetings!

Those of you who have children who have taken classes from me may remember these weekly class notes on our work in class.  I try to send them out to parents and students as soon after the class as I can.  In the updates, I include our activities, points of discussion, and assignments.  Occasionally I will share links to websites that might be helpful or interesting to our study.

I begin each class with a Quick Write.  These short exercises intended to get the “writing juices” running.  In my Writing 1 and Writing 2 classes they are light-hearted short exercises.  For this class, however, we will usually be working on ACT and SAT writing prompts.  This week’s Quick Write was of the fun variety:  the students were to list adverbs to complete the following sentence:  Lucy ______ wrote her research paper.

I like a lot of discussion in my classes, but this week I did most of the talking.  I had a large packet of papers for the students, which I’m also attaching to this e-mail.  This packet included:

Syllabus Overview – 30 Steps to a Research Paper

Classroom Policies

Grammar Plan

Week 1 Grammar—The Sentence and 8 Parts of Speech

Weekly Notes and Steps

Please take some time to read through the Classroom Policies document.  This explains some of the components for the class; always feel free to contact me if you have questions.  As you see, I have a place at the top of the paper for your signature.  I found last year that requiring the students to get a signature caused them to be more aware themselves of the details, requirements, etc. of the class.

We discussed at length the first steps of the research paper which includes exploring and discovering the topic and developing a working thesis.  As I mentioned a number of times in class, this class “separates the kids from the adults.”  I have great faith in their ability to rise to the occasion and do well!

As you’ll notice in the Classroom Policies, I have 2 other online resources:  a blog (www.chatwriting.blogspot.com) and Dropbox (an online document storage site). For the most part, the blog contains the same information as the e-mails.  You will be receiving an invitation from Dropbox to join the folder connected to this class.  I will put copies of all the handouts on this site.

Assignments for Next Week (Sept. 5)

-- Classroom Policies:  read and get a parent’s signature

-- Narrow your interests into a General Topic and have a number of Leading Questions.

Have a great holiday weekend!

Mrs. Prichard

30 Steps to a Research Paper

30 Steps to a Research Paper

Initial Draft – Subject to change

Week	Step	Discussion Topic	Assignment due
Week 1		Understanding the thesis-driven paper
		Identify possible subjects
		Read general sources
		Narrow the subject
		Select your topic
		Form leading research questions
Week 2		Formulate working thesis	General Topic; Leading Questions
		Make research plan
		Write proposal
		Brainstorm/Cluster/Free-write
Week 3		Find sources (print & electronic)	Thesis Statement; Proposal & Research plan
		Evaluate sources
		Prepare working bibliography
Week 4		Research & take notes	Initial list of sources
		Paraphrase, summarize, quote sources
		Organize information
		Make a running/ informal outline
Week 5		Develop detailed outline	Note card check; Informal outline
		Write first draft #1
Week 6		Prepare works cited in MLA style	Note card check; Detailed outline
		First draft of presentation plan
Week 7		Peer edit	Rough Draft #1
Week 8		Revise rough draft #1	Works Cited draft #1; Peer Edit
Week 9		Finalize presentation plans	Initial Presentation plan
		Prepare visuals for presentation
Week 10		Rough Draft #2	Final presentation plan;
Week 11		Finalize works cited page	Rough Draft #2
Week 12 - 13		Proofread	Works cited draft #2 (Week 12)
Week 14 – 15		Presentation	Presentations, Final Draft
		Final Draft

New Syllabus for Fall, 2012

Writing 3 Syllabus

Semester 1

Tammy Prichard (tamprichard@gmail.com)

Class Blogsite:  www.chatwriting3.blogspot.com

Resources:

·        I will have available handbooks to loan to the students to use for this class.

·        Book Suggestions:

–         A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. (Kate L. Turabian)

–         MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. (Joseph Gibaldi)

–         Harbrace College Handbook. (John C. Hodges)

–         The Little, Brown Handbook. (H. Ramsey Fowler)

–         Writers Inc:  Write for College.  (Sebranek, Meyer, & Kemper)

·        various handouts and worksheets

Objectives:

            College-bound students benefit from writing at least one long research paper.  This class will guide students through the process of researching, drafting, revising and finalizing a 15 – 25 page paper.  (The length will be determined in collaboration with the students and parents and according to skill and experience.)  Along with a written paper, the student will prepare a presentation for the class.  This can include a PowerPoint presentation, a demonstration, or a speech.

            Also included in this class is a review of common problems in grammar, especially those difficult areas that often appear on college entrance exams.

Initial Draft – Subject to change

Week	Research Paper	SAT Grammar Review
1	Introduction	Sentence Fragments
2	General Topic; Leading Questions	Run-on Sentences
3	Thesis Statement; Proposal & Research plan	Subject-Verb Agreement
4	Initial list of sources	Pronoun-Verb Agreement Pronoun- Antecedent Agreement
5	Note card check; Informal outline	The Nominative Case
6	Note card check; Detailed outline	The Possessive Case The Objective Case
7	Rough Draft #1	Unclear Placement of Modifiers
8	Works Cited draft #1; Peer Edit	Dangling Modifiers
9	Initial Presentation plan	Words often Misused or Confused
10	Final presentation plan;	More Words Misused or Confused
11	Rough Draft #2	The Comma Errors
12		Common Prefixes
13	Works cited draft #2 (Week 12)	Common Suffixes
14	Presentations, Final Draft
15	Presentations, Final Draft