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Answer the Preview Questions, based on your experience. Then, read the process paragraph and answer the questions that
follow.
Preview Questions
1. Have you ever seen a mural? Where? What was the subject? 2. What are some characteristics of a mural?
Yes, at Amparo High School when I was junior high. The mural was all about nature.
Post-Reading
1. What is the writer’s purpose for writing this paragraph?
To inform its audience how painting a mural can be done.
2. Does the writer stay focused on one idea or topic? If not, explain where the writer gets off topic.
Yes, the writer focused on a one idea.
3. Do you think the writer achieved his or her goal for writing this paragraph? Explain.
Yes, the writer achieved his or her goal because he or she mainly focuses in a single topic and he or she uses
transitional devices makes the reader understand it well.
1. When a person goes shopping, you should always look for sales.
- When a person goes shopping, he or she should always look for sales.
3. Doctors warn people that you should “watch what you eat.”
- Doctors warn people that they should “watch what they eat.”
4. Jeff made minestrone soup for dinner. He told his mother that you should wait until it cooled down before eating it.
-Jeff made minestrone soup for dinner. He told his mother that she should wait until it cooled down before eating
it.
Post-Reading
1. Draw a box around the topic sentence. Circle the main subject and underline the controlling idea.
2. What is the main purpose of this paragraph? In other words, what does the writer want to achieve by writing this essay?
-the writer wants to explain that working in a restaurant kitchen is not an easy job.
a. crowded, popular____place
b. regular, steady_ ___pace
c. _miraculously whole, enamelled oval_plates
d. _overflowing, tiny____sinks
e. _rapid, constant, rythmical___flow
f. _uninterrupted, relentless, steady-going__juggling act
Activity 10 Editing for Clear Pronoun References
Read the following sentences. The number in parentheses is the number of pronouns in that group of sentences. Circle
every pronoun. If there is a reference, and if the reference is not clear, change the pronoun to make the meaning of the
sentence clear. The first one has been done for you.
1. My favorite snacks are blueberries and plain rice cakes. I like them because of the crunchy texture and of course the fact
that they are a low calorie, healthy snack. (2)
Change “them” to “rice cakes.”
2. Chili is a kind of thick soup made with ground meat. Some people prepare it with beans. They like the combination of
tastes. (2)
Pronouns: it & they
3. My uncle cooked chicken, corn, and potatoes for dinner. My cousin Frank liked them, but he did not like the corn. (2)
Pronouns: them & he
Change “them” to “chicken and potatoes”
4. One of the easiest dishes to prepare is hummus. Hummus is a very thick dip made from mashed garbanzo beans. They
are mixed with tahini paste. It tastes great. (2)
Pronouns: they & it
1. It -Miamians
2. its -his or her
3. it -Miami
4. they - I
5. them -Miamians
6. we- my cousin and I or both of us
1. sentence number five says “I loved this type of movie when I was a child” the childhood he or she is talking about
doesn’t have anything to do with the paragraph that talks about types of movies. It is not relevant and a good writer
stays in a single topic.
2.sentence ten says “The word hybrid is also used to describe a type of car.” Mentioning a car in a paragraph that
explains the types of movie is not related to the topic sentence and its controlling idea.
___2__a. He starts his day by putting on his black cape and tall black hat.
___4__b. When he arrives, he puts on a performance that includes jokes, card tricks, illusions, and magic tricks.
___5__c. When his performance ends and the audience is happy, Michael returns home, satisfied that he has done his job
as a magician well.
___1__d. Michael’s typical day at work is far from ordinary.
___3__e. He then grabs his magic wand and gets into his car and drives to a different location each day, usually a birthday
party or other special event.
Repetition of Key Words
Good writers know that certain key words need to be repeated in a paragraph to keep the reader focused on the topic.
Sometimes students worry that using the same word again and again can sound too repetitive. To avoid being repetitive,
you can also use pronouns to replace these key nouns. For example, look at the paragraph that you put in order in Activity
14 and answer the following questions:
2. What is the writer’s purpose? To explain how Michael do his job as a magician
3. What key words (nouns or pronouns) does the writer repeat to keep the reader focused on the topic? He, his
1. up to 50 48 or 49
2. mural on a wall
3. exceptional very good
4. the pace the speed
5. a blizzard winter
6. a genre a type
7. impact* effect
8. outstanding very good
9. mild not extreme
10. even parallel
11. the flow the movement
12. the source* the origin
13. to dust to clean
14. hectic very busy
15. unique* different
16. to hustle to move quickly
17. tremendous large,
18. to adapt to modify
19. a nightstand in a bedroom
20. guidelines*rules
Activity 16 Using Collocations
Fill in each blank with the word or phrase on the left that most naturally completes the phrase on the right. If necessary,
use a dictionary to check the meaning of words you do not know.
1. follow
2. catch
3. purpose
4. impact
5. of
6. traffic
7. in
8.books
9. lit
10. mashed
11. layer
12. of
13. Floor
14. of
15. plot