12- Commas & Coherence

1. ESL 015: Composition for American Academic Communication IIInstructor: Jamie Kim, Tracy BeckettFeb 23, 2012 12- Commas & Coherence

2. Commas Items in a series A good baseball player must be able to hit, run, and field. To keep numbers clear 658,000 Dates and addresses 1401 Belt Drive, Columbus, OH 43208 June 12, 2003 Direct address The truth is, Maria, I simply cannot dance. Compound sentences I left the house to go to school, and my dog followed me outside.

3. Commas • To separate: • Introductory phrases and clauses After the practice was over, Kenton walked home. • Adjectives Healthy-looking, well-dressed people often look away from the homeless. • Nonrestrictive phrases and clauses Soccer, which has been a favorite sport in Europe and South America, is becoming popular in the United States.

4. Commas • To set off: • Dialogue Ms. Arbogast asked, “Do you know how proud you made me?” • Interruptions You may someday, as a matter of fact, own a wristwatch computer. • Interjections (Hey, oh my, wow, hello, okay) No kidding, are you saying we’ve practically won? • Titles or initials Marcus Welby, M.D. • Explanatory phrases Mr. Gibson, wanting to be fair, gave everyone a chance to view Jupiter through the telescope. • Appositive phrases My two least favorite subjects, history and math, are the first two classes of the day.

5. Semicolons To join two independent clauses I did not call myself a poet; I told people I wrote poems. To join two independent clauses with conjunctive adverbs Jorge finished his assignment; meanwhile, the eggs burned. To separate groups of words that contain commas Here’s a list of things we should be recycling: aluminum, tin, and other metals; cardboard, newspapers, and other paper products; glass bottles, jars, and other glass items.

6. Punctuation [ , ] or [ ; ] • He did not leave the park immediately instead he cleaned all the trash left by the crowd. • It was a cold windy morning. • He was a clever young man. • Students will be tested on speaking listening writing and reading. • After the test was over everyone let out a sigh of relief. He did not leave the park immediately; instead, he cleaned all the trash left by the crowd. It was a cold, windy morning. He was a clever young man. Students will be tested on speaking, listening, writing, and reading. After the test was over, everyone let out a sigh of relief.

7. Critique essay format Introduction A. Background information about the author and topic B. Thesis statement Summary of article/book A. Major points B. Supporting points Critique A. Analysis of the author’s argument B. Agreement or disagreement with the author’s argument Conclusion A. Summary of your essay B. Restatement of thesis

8. Academic Style/ Formal Writing Characteristics of academic/formal writing Word Choice: complex, polysyllabic words / single-word verbs e.g. demonstrate (- show) Third person pronouns :he, she, it, they (- I, we, you) Citation of sources and bibliography : (Firth & Wagner, 2010, p.199) Not academic : Contractions (e.g. can’t, doesn’t ) Idiomatic language (e.g. kind of )

9. Other Points to Keep in Mind: To write a cohesive paragraph… Unity (One paragraph should discuss one topic: all the sentences should be interconnected.) Coherence (Each sentence flows naturally, and sentences are logically organized.) Length (No longer than 200 words or no shorter than 50 words: If too long, divide it into two sections with its own topic sentence)

10. COHERENCE A coherent paragraph contains sentences that are logically arranged and that flow smoothly. Logical arrangement: the ideas and sentences are in an order that make sense to the reader. Logical arrangement can vary depending on your purposes. EX: 1. if you want to describe what happens in the movie; 2. If you want to describe the most exciting moments in the movie…

11. COHERENCE Smooth flow refers to: how well one idea or sentence leads into another. Smooth flow can be achieved through sentence combiningand through the use of certain expressions, called transitions, that provide the links between ideas.

12. COHERENCE • Coordinators connect two independent clauses to make one sentence. • And, but, or, nor, for ,so, yet • Transitional words (also called conjunctive adverbs) connect two independent clauses or two sentences. • Also, meanwhile, moreover, thus, therefore, however, instead • Subordinators connect a dependent clause and an independent clause to make one sentence. • After, although, as, as though, because, before, if, since, so, though, unless, until, when, whereas, while

13. COHERENCE • The term “soccer” is mainly used in North America and Australia. The term “football” is used in most other countries. • Different ways to connect these two: • The term “soccer” is mainly used in North America and Australia, while the term “football” is used in most other countries. • Whereas the term “soccer” is mainly used in North America and Australia, the term “football” is used in most other countries. • The term “soccer” is mainly used in North America and Australia. The term “football,” on the other hand, is used in most other countries.

14. Example of incoherent paragraph Source: http://eclassroom.110mb.com/1st%209%20weeks%20web/Writing_a_Smooth_Paper.pdf There are political events. In this paper I will discuss why people should be more aware of current events. A natural disaster, an earthquake, could happen any moment. This is not political, but it is still an event. Reading about a disaster in the newspaper is different from actually living it.

15. Possible revision Source: http://eclassroom.110mb.com/1st%209%20weeks%20web/Writing_a_Smooth_Paper.pdf Reading about a disaster in the newspaper is different from actually experiencing it firsthand. However, grand-scale incidents, whether natural or political, touch the lives of all individuals to a certain degree. Consequently, people need to cultivate an awareness of current events.

16. Practice Exercise: • With your group, arrange the paragraphs in a coherent order to make a whole essay. “Is College Worth the Money?” by Daniel S. Cheever, Jr. excerpted from The Blair Reader (p.102)

17. Homework • READ for Tuesday: Chapter 10 “The Balanced Synthesis” (Pages 131 - 143 in In Focus)