English 100 BC

A dramatic ballad singer studied under a strict teacher

who insisted that he rehearse day after day, month
after month the same passage from the same song,
without being permitted to go any further. Finally,
overwhelmed by frustration and despair, the young
man ran off to find another profession. One night,
stopping at an inn, he stumbled upon a recitation
contest. Having nothing to lose, he entered the
competition and, of course, sang the one passage that
he knew so well. When he had finished, the sponsor of
the contest highly praised his performance. Despite
the student's embarrassed objections, the sponsor
refused to believe that he had just heard a beginner
perform. "Tell me," the sponsor said, "who is your
instructor? He must be a great master." The student
later became known as the great performer Koshiji.
If a child says he wants to be a professional
basketball player, what must the child do?

If a student wants to be a good writer, what
must the student do?
Noun
name of a person, place, thing, or concept
A Noun is a Person, Place, or Thing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0m89e9oZko
Pronoun
word used in place of a noun
Rufus Xaviar Sarsasparilla
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVSr4bsVIpM
Verb
usually expresses action or being
Verb: Thats Whats Happening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvBKnZ6u0jA
1. The mathematician John Allen Paulos claims
that too many Americans do not understand
basic mathematical ideas.
verb
2. Paulos calls this lack of understanding
innumeracy.
noun
3. Innumerates may not grasp the idea of
probability.
verb
4. Failing to understand the likelihood of an
event may cause poor judgment.
noun
5. Unreasonable fears for example, of being
killed in a terrorist attack may paralyze
citizens who dont appreciate how unlikely
such an event is.
Pronoun
6. A related misunderstanding is the failure to
realize how common coincidences are.
verb
7. For instance, the chance of two strangers on
an airplane having acquaintances in common
is surprisingly high.
noun
8. In addition, probability shows that in any
random group of twenty-three people, there
is a 50 percent chance that two of them share
a birthday.
pronoun
9. People unfamiliar with rules of probability
may be dangerously gullible.
verb
10. Educational reforms and a systematic
attempt to show the fun side of math could
help Americans overcome their number
resistance.
Noun
Whenever possible avoid the passive voice
and use the active voice
Makes writing crisper, more lively, more
concise
Avoid or replace be verbs
be, am, is, are, was, were, being, been

The fly ball was caught by Hernando.
Hernando caught the fly ball.

Use the active voice unless you have a good
reason for choosing the passive.
In active, the subject does the action
In passive, the subject receives the action
Mostly scientific writing

The settlers stripped the land of timber.
The land was stripped of timber by the
settlers.
Replace be verbs that result in dull or wordy
sentences
As a rule, choose a subject that names the
person or thing doing the action.
1. Big crowds are drawn to annual Fashion
Week events in American and European
cities.
Annual Fashion Week events in American
And European cities draw big crowds.
2. Shows by new and established designers
are attended by photographers, journalists,
models, and celebrities.
Photographers, journalists, models, and
celebrities attend shows by new and
established designers.
3. Many people in the audience have model-
thin bodies and photogenic faces.
Many people in the audience show off their
model-thin bodies and photogenic faces.
4. Often haute couture shows with their
expensive, trend-setting fashions are the
highlight of the event.
Often, haute couture shows with their
expensive, trend-setting fashions entice the
largest numbers of eager spectators.
5. Haute couture garments are not expected
to be worn by ordinary people.
Designers do not expect ordinary people to
wear haute couture garments.
6. Haute couture creations are frequently
more like works of art than mere outfits.
Designers frequently consider their haute
couture creations as works of art rather than
mere outfits.
7. Such clothing can be worn in public only by
runway models.
Only runway models can wear such clothing
in public.
8. Other people seem ridiculous in haute
couture clothes.
Other people attract ridicule in haute couture
clothes.
9. Clothes can be draped more easily on
models who have very thin bodies.
Dressers can drape clothes more easily on
models who have very thin bodies.
10. Some people are more impressed by the
spectacle than by the clothes.
The spectacle impresses some people more
than the clothes.
Adjective
modifies a noun or pronoun
usually answers questions such as
Which one? What kind? How many?
Articles a, an, and the also adjectives
Unpack Your Adjectives
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmRBRnyfjFw
Adverb
modifies a verb , an adjective, or an adverb
usually answers questions such as
When? Where? Why? How? Under what conditions?
To what degree?
Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, Get Your Adverbs Here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXwE1dVDHP0
1. How well do American students compare
with those in other industrialized nations?
adverb
2. A student who receives the best education
the United States offers is likely to be very
prepared.
adjective
3. However, many students, especially those in
poorer neighborhoods, get substandard
training.
adjective
4. Education professionals agree that the US
educational system has problems.
adjective
5. Unfortunately, they cannot agree on what to
do to solve this problem.
adverb
6. One proposed solution involves nationwide
standards.
adjective
7. With nationwide standards, students across
the country would be responsible for learning
the same curriculum as all other students in
the United States.
adjective
8. Students could prove they had met the
standards by performing satisfactorily on a
standardized test.
adverb
9. Supporters of this method claim that
standards would force students to master
knowledge before being promoted or
graduating.
adjective
10. Some opponents argue that students learn
more easily when teachers are able to use
their own judgment about the curriculum.
adverb
Preposition
indicates the relationship between the noun or
pronoun that follows it and another word in
the sentence
Busy Prepositions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bmz8mM
-nPtM
Conjunction
connects words or word groups
Conjunction Junction
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AyjKgz9t
Kg


1. For about the last twenty years, physicists
have been analyzing chaos.
preposition
2. In spite of common perceptions, chaos may
not be completely random.
preposition

3. The operations of some incompletely
understood biological systems brains, for
example may thrive in the gray area
between order and chaos.
preposition
4. Some physicists believe that apparently
chaotic behavior may actually act according to
patterns.
preposition

5. If chaos is somehow systematic, it is
nevertheless tremendously complex.
preposition
6. Finding the patterns of chaotic behavior is
sometimes possible, although identifying
them is difficult.
preposition

7. One difficulty lies in determining the type of
model appropriate for a given complex
system.
preposition
8. Understanding these complex systems not
only is interesting in theory, but also has
potential practical uses.
conjunction

9. One group of physicists has tried to
understand the abstractions of chaos theory
and make concrete gains from their
knowledge.
conjunction
10. As part of an attempt to predict its future
behavior, they are studying the complex and
chaotic system known as the stock market.
preposition

Can you end a sentence with a preposition?
Where are you at?
Where are you?
She displayed the good humor shes known
for.
She displayed the good humor for which she
is known.
I want to know where he came from.
I want to know from where he came.
She is a person I cannot cope with.
She is a person with whom I cannot
cope.
If the restructured sentence sounds contrived
and unnatural, simply rewrite the sentence:
It is behavior I will not put up with.
It is behavior up with which I will not
put.
It is behavior I will not tolerate.
The source uses a variety of
people to show what happiness
is.

This is how people are.

Never end in a be verb!
Sample essay
Read Preface pages 1 46 (How to Read an
Essay, How to Write an Essay, How to Revise
an Essay)
Read definitions of point of view (pg. 583),
agreement (pg. 577) and pronouns (pg. 583)
Sample essay
Read Preface pages 1 46 (How to Read an
Essay, How to Write an Essay, How to Revise
an Essay)
Sample essay
Read Preface pages 1 46 (How to Read an
Essay, How to Write an Essay, How to Revise
an Essay)