College Writing Fall Final Study Guide

Identifiers of a descriptive essay

• Vivid sensory details

• Figurative language (metaphors and similes)

• Focus on single subject

• Organized structure

Examples of descriptive essays

• “Once More to the Lake” by EB White

Identifiers of a narrative essay

• Clear story line with beginning, middle, and end

• Characters

• A setting

• A plot with a conflict and resolution

• First-person perspective

Examples of narrative essays

• “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara

• “Only Daughter” by Sandra Cisneros

• “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell

• “Once More to the Lake” by EB White

• “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid

Identifiers of an exemplification essay

• Specific examples to illustrate a point

• A clear and concise thesis statement

• Well-organized paragraphs that focus on a single example

• Logical transitions that connect to main argument

Examples of exemplification essay

• “English Is a Crazy Language” by Richard Lederer

Compound subject

• When a sentence has more than one subject connected to the verb

  • Time and gravity are two forces that are out of control

Predicate adjectives

• Adjectives that describe the subject of a sentence or clause using linking verbs to make the connection

  • Winter nights are often cold and dark, but a fireplace can warm any room

What are some linking verbs?

• Am, is, are, was were, be being, been

• Becomes, appears, seem, remain

Helping verbs

• Part of the complete verb

• Be, am, is, are was, were, been

• Have, has, had

• Do, does, did

• Shall, should

• Will, would

• May, might

• Can, could

• Must

• Ought

Adverbs

• Not part of the complete verb

• Barely, carefully, definitely, differently, extremely, frequently, generally, hardly, quickly, quite, never, no, not, really, terribly, visibly

Subordinate/dependent clause

• A clause that supports and/or specifies an independent clause typically connected by way of a conjunction

  • Students tend to complain about getting homework, which is really sad

Parallel syntax

• A sentence structure that repeats words or phrases across clauses or sentences

  • My cousin said she loves to be outside, she loves to read, and she loves to run

Inverted sentence structure

• When the natural order of a sentence is flipped, typically with a verb preceding the subject or a dependent clause preceding the dependent clause

  • Because I was bored, I decided to write a poem

Simple sentences

• Express complete, independent thoughts

  • Cats are fluffy

• Purpose: when you wish to express single thoughts; when you are trying to create emphasis; when you want to summarize a series of thoughts

Compound sentences

• Join two ideas to show that they share an equal relationship

  • Cats tend to shed their fur, so I need to have a lint roller on hand

• Purpose: when you are putting two thoughts together that share equal importance; when you are trying to create a comparison; when you want to create balance within sentences or in a series of sentences

Chronology markers

• First, second, next, then, before, after

  • I first finished my homework. Then I allowed myself time to watch Netflix

Addition markers

• In addition, further, furthermore, also, besides

  • Sally loves reading books on the weekends. Furthermore, she hopes more reading will be assigned in school

Contrast markers

• However, on the other hand, in contrast, yet

  • I like pineapple on pizza. However, I do not like pizza with anchovies

Result markers

• Therefore, consequently, as a result, accordingly, hence

  • Students tend to feel stressed with homework. Schools aim to create student stress. Hence, teachers assign more work to add to their suffering

Prepositions

• Aboard, about, above, across, against, along, around

• Amid, among, after, at, except, for, during, down

• Behind, below, beneath, beside, between, before, beyond

• By, in, from, off, on, over, of, until, unto, upon

• Under, underneath, since, up, like, near, past, throughout, through

• With, within, without, outside, toward, inside, into, to

Compound prepositions

• According to, across from, along with, aside from, because of, far from, in front of, in place of, in spite of, instead of, on account of, on top of

Proximity rule

• When a compound subject contains both a singular and a plural noun or pronoun joined by “either . . . or” or “neither . . . nor,” the verb should agree with the part of the subject that is closest to the verb

In the following sentence, identify the subject associated with the bolded verb. 

• My somewhat scary, overbearing, great-aunt Sally hates when we leave our coats on the floor. 

• Sally

In the following sentence, identify the subject associated with the bolded verb. 

• Some of the parents at the basketball game were yelling harshly at the refs. 

• Some

In the following sentence, identify the verb associated with the bolded noun.

• College students that live out of town tend to travel over the holidays to reunite with their families.

• Tend

In the following sentence, identify the complete verb phrase connected to the bolded word. 

• The assignment was originally not seen when it was put on Classroom. 

• Was seen

In the following sentence, which verb would best pair with the subject?

• Dubliners __________ a great collection of stories that outline the struggles of Irish people during the early 20th century. 

• Is

Insert the correct subject/verb combination into the following sentence.

• __________ of the girls on the team __________ upset after they lost the game in overtime. 

• Some/were

Insert the correct subject/verb combination into the following sentence.

Insert the correct subject/verb combination into the following sentence.

• __________ the coach nor the parents __________ happy with how the game was officiated. 

All of the following are prepositions EXCEPT for what?

• Above

• Who

• With

• Through

• Who

In the following sentence, which phrase is NOT a prepositional phrase?

• I went on a walk in the woods to see if I could find an acorn that had fallen from the tree. 

• “to see if I”

In the following sentence, how many total prepositional phrases are there?

• My uncle from Wisconsin, who rarely travels out of state, came to Minnesota for the weekend to fish at one of our favorite spots on the lake. 

• 7

• (from Wisconsin), (out of state), (to Minnesota), (for the weekend), (at one), (of our favorite spots), (on the lake)

In the following sentence, how many total prepositional phrases are there?

• Billy sat on a log that had fallen next to a tree with big branches just so he could watch the stars shoot across the sky. 

• 4

• (on a log), (next to a tree), (with big branches), (across the sky)

Identify the prepositions in the following sentence.

• People at the fair love to purchase items at stands with flashing lights because those types of stands normally have food on a stick.

• at (the fair)

• at (stands)

• with (flashing lights)

• of (stands)

• on (a stick)

Identify the prepositions in the following sentence. 

• Over the river and through the woods, grandmother lived happily until the big bad wolf came along off the beaten path to disrupt her slumber in bed. 

• over (the river)

• through (the woods)

• until (the big bad wolf)

• off (the beaten path)

• in (bed)