Unit 14, Composition 319Copyright © by Glencoe/McGraw-Hill
Composition
Lesson 108
14.107 Writing Effective Sentences I....................31714.108 Writing Effective Sentences II ..................
- Lead with an interesting topic sentence. Word the sentence so that it “hooks”
your readers and makes them want to read on. - Use active verbs primarily. In a sentence with an active verb, the subject
performs the action (e.g., He speaks). In a passive-verb sentence, the subject is
acted upon (e.g., He is spoken to). Active verbs generally make a stronger
impression than passive verbs. Use a passive verb when the “doer” of an
action is unknown or unimportant.
Exercise 1 Underline the topic sentence that best hooks the reader.
Toonia, my new pen pal, lives with her grandmother in Bangkok, Thailand.
Having a pen pal is one way to learn about another country.
I know more about Thailand than I used to know.
Amid the bright colors and noisy streets of Bangkok lives my new pen pal, Toonia.
1.That stubborn girl who prefers MegaMedia over the new MultiMedia is none other than
my sister!
My sister and I never agree on anything.
My sister and I like two different, but similar, stores that sell books and tapes.
I like the new store MultiMedia, but my sister prefers MegaMedia.
2.Twelve inches of snow fell yesterday, but it all melted today.
Not the usual one or two inches of snow fell yesterday.
How could we have ever guessed that twelve whole inches of snow would disappear
almost overnight?
Due to temperatures rising to 60°, all the snow that fell yesterday melted today.
3.Here is what I think about smoking: Kids shouldn’t smoke because smoking is bad for
their health and it becomes a habit that is nearly impossible to break.
Kids shouldn’t smoke because it is bad for their health and it is a hard habit to break.
Coughing every few minutes and pausing foran extra gasp of air, the speaker warned
students about the dangers of smoking.
Unit 14, Composition 319