Chap: 6

1. Chap: 6 Pages: 140-142

2. Unity, Support, Coherence & Sentence Skills

3. Unity • 3 In addition to fighting acne, I felt compelled to fight my family. As a teenager, I needed to be independent. At that time, the most important thing in life was to be close to my friends and to try out new, more adult experiences. Unfortunately, my family seemed to get in the way. My little brother, for instance, turned into my enemy. We are close now though. In fact, Eddie recently painted my new apartment for me. Eddie used to barge into my room, make calls on my cell phone, and read my e-mail. I would threaten to tie him up and leave him in a garbage dumpster. He would scream, my mother would yell, and all hell would break loose. My parents, too, were enemies. They wouldn't let me stay out late, wear the clothes I wanted to wear, or hang around with the friends I liked. So I tried to get revenge on them by being miserable, sulky, and sarcastic at home.

4. Unity • We are close now though. In fact, Eddie recently painted my new apartment for me.

5. Support • 1 Sulking is one way to deal with disappointment. This attitude—Why does everything always happen to me?—is common because it is easy to adopt, but it is not very productive. Everyone has had the experience of meeting people who specialize in feeling sorry for themselves. A sulky manner will often discourage others from wanting to lend support, and it prevents the sulker from making positive moves toward self-help. It becomes easier just to sit back and sulk. Unfortunately, feeling sorry for oneself does nothing to lessen the pain of disappointment. It may, in fact, increase the pain. It certainly does not make future disappointments easier to bear.

6. Support • 2 One negative reaction to disappointment is depression. For example, Helen, a woman trying to win a promotion, works hard for over a year in her department. Helen is so sure she will get the promotion, in fact, that she has already picked out the car she will buy when her salary increase comes through. However, the boss names one of Helen's coworkers to the spot. The fact that all the other department employees tell Helen that she is the one who really deserved the promotion doesn't help her deal with the crushing disappointment. Deeply depressed, Helen decides that all her goals are doomed to defeat. She loses her enthusiasm for her job and can barely force herself to show up every day. Helen tells herself that she is a failure and that doing a good job just isn't worth the work.

7. Support • Paragraph 2 makes its point more clearly and effectively because it has better support for its thesis.

8. Coherence • 1 Most important, television is educational. Preschoolers learn colors, numbers, and letters from public television programs, like Sesame Street that use animation and puppets to make learning fun. On the Discovery Channel, science shows for older children go on location to analyze everything from volcanoes to rocket launches. Adults, too, can get an education (college credits included) from courses given on television. Also, television widens our knowledge by covering important events and current news. Viewers can see and hear presidents’ speeches, state funerals, natural disasters, and election results as they are happening.

9. Coherence • 2Television discourages communication. Families watching television do very little talking except for brief exchanges during commercials. If Uncle Bernie or the next-door neighbors drop in for a visit, the most comfortable activity for everyone may be not conversation but watching ESPN. The family may not even be watching the same set; instead, in some households, all the family members head for their own rooms to watch their own sets. At dinner, plates are plopped on the coffee table in front of the set, and the meal is wolfed down during NBC Nightly News. During commercials, the only communication a family has all night may consist of questions like “Do we have any popcorn?” and “Where's TV Guide?”

10. Coherence • Paragraph 1 makes its point more clearly and effectively because it is more clearly organized. • The major transitions include Most important; In such an essay transitions First of all, In addition, are also usually used.

11. Sentence Skills • Following are the opening paragraphs from two essays. Both are unified, supported, and organized, but one version communicates more clearly and effectively. Which one, and why?

12. Sentence Skills • Essay 1, First Part Revenge is one of those things that everyone enjoy. People don't like to talk about it, though. Just the sime, there is nothing more tempting, more satisfying, or with the reward of a bit of revenge. The purpose is not to harm your victims. But to let them know that you are upset about something they are doing. Careful plotting can provide you with relief from bothersome coworkers, gossiping friends, or nagging family members. Coworkers who make commmentsabout the fact that you are always fifteen minutes late for work can be taken care of very simply. The first thing that you should do is to get up extra early one day. Before the sun comes up, drive to each coworker's house, reach under

13. Sentence Skills the hood of his car, and disconnected the center wire that leads to the distrib. cap. The car will be unharmed, but it will not start, and your friends at work will all be late for work on the same day. If your lucky, your boss might notice that you are the only one there and will give you a raise. Later if you feel guilty about your actions you can call each person anonymously and tell them how to get the car running. . . .

14. Sentence Skills • A Bit of Revenge • Essay 2, First Part Revenge is one of those things that everyone enjoys. People don't like to talk about it, though. Just the same, there is nothing more tempting, more satisfying, or more rewarding than a bit of revenge. The purpose is not to harm your victims but to let them know that you are upset about something they are doing to you. Careful plotting can provide you with relief from bothersome coworkers, gossiping friends, or nagging family members. Coworkers who make comments about the fact that you are always fifteen minutes late for work can be taken care of very simply.

15. Sentence Skills The first thing that you should do is to get up extra early one day. Before the sun comes up, drive to each coworker's house. Reach under the hood of your coworker's car and disconnect the center wire that leads to the distributor cap. The car will be unharmed, but it will not start, and your friends at work will all be late for work on the same day. If you're lucky, your boss might notice that you are the only one there and will give you a raise. Later, if you feel guilty about your actions, you can call your coworkers anonymously and tell them how to get their cars running again. . . .

16. Essay 2 makes its point more clearly and effectively becauseit is free of errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation. It shows good use of sentence skills.