Universidad Latina de Costa Rica Syntax and Written Communication I

Professor: Vladimir Ajon Jiron Assignment 20%

Students Name: ____________________________________. Score:_____________

Choose the best topic sentence for each of the paragraphs below
1.) ___________________________________________. Thousands of new people are born on our planet
every day. The number of inhabitants in the world has already reached over six billion. If the present growth
rate remains unchecked, the world may soon face wide-spread starvation, poverty, and serious health
problems.
a) As a result, it is foreseen that the world will face serious health problems in the near future.
b) The population is growing so fast that we must be aware it is the most important problem the world needs to
address to.
c) One of the burning issues is the population explosion in third world countries.
d) Many people think population growth is not a serious issue.

2.) ___________________________________________.When I was a kid, every Sunday, my whole family

went to my grandparents' house for dinner. They had four children, and all of them were married, so there were
often twenty or more people for dinner. The house was always filled with laughter. The young children sat at
the "kiddie table" in the kitchen. You had to be over thirteen to sit with the adults. But no matter where you sat,
the food was the same, and it was delicious. My grandparents were Italian, so we always had pasta. But the
pasta was just one part of the meal. The pasta course was usually followed by a plate of fish or beef and
vegetables. No one left the table hungry, that's for sure. After dinner, everyone gathered in the living room to
play games and visit. Around nine o'clock, everyone would finally start getting ready to go home, but no one
ever wanted to leave.
a) Italian family meals are huge.
b) As a child I used to have my best time on Sunday dinner at my grand parents
b) It can be difficult to have a large family.
c) One of my best childhood memories is my grandparents were Italian.

3.) ___________________________________________.This belief is especially common among weight

lifters who often consume large quantities of high protein foods and dietary supplements, thinking it will
improve their athletic performance. Like weightlifters, football players consume too much protein, expecting it
to produce additional muscle energy. Although it is true that muscles contain more protein than other tissues,
there is no evidence that a high protein diet actually constructs more muscle tissue than a normal diet.
Nutritionists point out that muscle cells grow not from excess protein but from exercise: when a muscle is used,
it pulls in protein for its consumption. This is how a muscle grows and strengthens. If athletes want to increase
their muscle mass, then they must exercise in addition to following a wellbalanced, normal diet.
a) Many athletes have false beliefs regarding to the consumption of protein for increasing athletic performance.
Universidad Latina de Costa Rica Syntax and Written Communication I
Professor: Vladimir Ajon Jiron Assignment 20%
b) My brother, a weightlifter, is an example of someone who consumes a lot of protein because he thinks it will
make him bulky.
c) Ideas regarding proper nutrition are out of date.
d) Many athletes falsely believe that protein improves muscles mass by increasing athletic performance.

4.) ___________________________________________.Lately parents and critics across the country have

been making a bigger fuss about the number and content of commercials aimed at children, and it seems as
though the media has become a scapegoat for adults who have set questionable health guidelines for their
children. It is both logical and factual to state that parents are the number one authority for most everything in
their childs life, which of course includes food choices. Recent studies from the Institute of Medicine found that
the easiest and most reliable measure of understanding a childs health and diet is to look at the health and
diet of the parents. It is very likely that a childs obesity did not come from the media, but from behaviors within
the family. Even if advertisements became restricted or more limited, if parents do not enforce healthy diets or
teach nutrition, the children will have learned nothing. Timothy J. Muris of The Wall Street Journal realizes that
without addressing the issues of parental control, the ban on child food advertisements are appealing on the
surface, but ultimately useless.
a) Food commercials are only for kids to eat more.
b) Regardless of increasing rates of childhood obesity, we should not ban junk food ads aimed at kids.
c) ) Lack of parental guidance is the real cause of obesity in children, not because of TV commercials
d) The staggering figures regarding childhood obesity alone are alarming enough to generate a stir.

5.) _______________________________________. When I was seventeen years old, I applied to be an

American Field Service exchange student. I was very proud and excited when I was chosen, but I never
realized how much that year would influence the rest of my life. From the moment I got off the plane in Rio de
Janeiro, I felt like a new person. At first I was nervous about speaking Portuguese, but the Brazilians soon
helped me to feel at ease. Before I left my home, I had been shy and quiet. In Brazil I became much more
confident and outgoing. Most importantly, I had thought I would become an engineer. In Brazil I learned to love
music and realized I wanted to become a professional musician.
a) Brazil is a great place to spend a year as an exchange student.
b) Spending a year as an exchange student changed my whole life.
c) Every student should visit another country.

6.) ____________________________ I have traveled to Mexico, England, Germany, and Japan. I must admit
that I am nervous all of the time while I am away. I cannot relax until the airplane lands in Chicago, where I live.
It's not that I don't like foreigners. I have several friends from other countries. And it's not that I hate foreign
food. My husband and I often eat out at ethnic restaurants at home. However, I just do not feel comfortable on
Universidad Latina de Costa Rica Syntax and Written Communication I
Professor: Vladimir Ajon Jiron Assignment 20%
foreign soil. I am always afraid of making mistakes and offending people. Even when I know the language, as I
did in England, I still get confused with the money, the transportation system, and all the different ways of doing
things. My husband is a great traveler. He loves every minute he spends out of the country, but I'm afraid from
now on he'll have to go alone.
a) Traveling abroad can be very stressful if you aren't used to it.
b) Many people enjoy foreign travel and go away every chance that they get.
c) Although many people find traveling to foreign countries exciting, people like me should never leave home.

7.) ___________________________________________. I saw around Velva a release from what was like
slavery to the tyrannical soil, release from the ignorance that darkens the soul and from the loneliness that
corrodes it. In this generation my Velva friends have rejoined the general American society that their pioneering
fathers left behind when they first made the barren trek in the days of the wheat rush. As I sit here in
Washington writing this, I can feel their nearness.
a) Family-sized farms are not productive.
b) I grew up on a family-sized farm, near a town called Velva.
c) Many politicians deplore the passing of the old family-sized farm, but I'm not so sure.
d) People moved away from the cities in the late nineteenth century, in search of fertile land for farming.

8.) ___________________________________________. Exercise is really good for ones physical and

mental health. It is proven that aerobic exercise is good for the heart, which is very important to overall health. .
Strength training is important for maintaining muscle mass and improving bone density. Both muscle mass and
bone density can decrease as we age, so improving them through strength training is important. My
grandmother broke a hip last year because her bones were so fragile. All kinds of exercise have been shown to
relieve depression, anxiety, and stress.
a) It is proven that aerobic exercise is good for the heart, which is very important to overall health.
b) Both muscle mass and bone density can decrease as we age, so improving them through strength training
is important
c) My grandmother broke a hip last year because her bones were so fragile.
d) All kinds of exercise have been shown to relieve depression, anxiety, and stress.
Universidad Latina de Costa Rica Syntax and Written Communication I
Professor: Vladimir Ajon Jiron Assignment 20%
Universidad Latina de Costa Rica Syntax and Written Communication I
Professor: Vladimir Ajon Jiron Assignment 20%

Paragraph# 1 Paragraph# 2

Topic Sentence: Topic Sentence:

Supporting detail# 1: Supporting detail# 1

Supporting detail# 2: Supporting detail# 2:

Supporting detail# 3: Supporting detail# 3:

Supporting detail# 4: Supporting detail# 4:

Supporting detail# 5: Supporting detail# 5:

Supporting detail# 6: Supporting detail# 6:

Conclusion: Conclusion:
Universidad Latina de Costa Rica Syntax and Written Communication I
Professor: Vladimir Ajon Jiron Assignment 20%