ICS

RNA A O OM M R OA UG M AM N PA GS RP NM A RN O GM AE AC RT UC TC
O M SNU N SIM ARC MG SEA M
T GG P GPO ICGR OR E C A
E S M G
O ICA RGM M
S I C SI T R M MG NH AIO SH ISOC
ESIT MAA ICUSS IAOR MMOM PE G ERA OESC GSIT CAOMSIETC ROAMM MITIOSRC MEEGCH ES CIOON AAMRMRAA IAC MNMUAAGNI
CM
GIO RG A N ECP O R GRM ITH RIO M M IHA MP MN OME RAN CCH M U MM RM SN S ECS
H P RA N E CG UE HO S AM I A AN PO A ONI AO R A U PCOH AM I C
O POS AE MME IC AA
ANO U ME G OE SC ASI IATM MMA ON
R N MU SITR NCS M S R S S A S AM
M SA C
R CAHR S RG
CS I S M S CHR MG AH NT I
ICIO O I C N I H
SAC CS IT MA ANA PRA GA M ARM UIC MSA IOM UCO TEI MAGI NI ARO PIO TGIOE A ANME C E
GO COI AG ICM OM E N SNC N
O
EC E M M RE S M S M GI OU R EH AGC RE UCH AM
A M EC SS AG N E S COHNECHE CS MM CSSI NG NIC ICCSH OM
AHNA GRP NPOU GRCOA ITIAR RCAS MSPA UMS E CANHIC EOGM MG SAANGEPO AUSAGNICR COMECPHAOTIO RA S CO ANIC
G N AMO SS A RM O M MC OGS AC S RA ECR GIC G NA SA PO NS N M M S
E ICIC MS ITA
G G M M N EC M O I
ITE GHEA AC M
N PO HAA ES RSAI IGCE COM S ICI U M P
O
O R SS C ARIT IOEN MPEOC USHA MA OGN R NI OI MMASI NM
H R I C M M R
CO MTI SG MM ITIO STI SA
P N O G A SI
A N P U A C S C T S M A O A OA N R TI
N A COOM IO GR S G R
O US M MPO N AM AR AITNI IECS OMS SAM CO SPO ION AR POS RN MM SR US U GR M N E
E

Sadlier School
IT U AR M A
M
SI AG M PSIT U MA M ICOS GCR O EICT GM M S
A
TI E A OIO S R M EC NCO AMM HIOA EA PO IT US EC ION SA M ECH GE SAGAMM
H M A I G E
A
M NN R SGIT IO A
C
AR O GR R SIN U AG
T P P I A E G
H U G E C AN
E
G M N U AMM MECIOSA E G CHNICS OS R O SUSA ME ROANMU N E G NIC A GR H ICS RA GR S
C IT S
I O
E EC S A H N G R
E G H A R A N A A O I T EG CHA MS U RA S C GE A AN CO M
SA MM O M M
G R AN G M IC E MM N M N U IO GR NIC AA
S G R G M G M IC
RA A
I E E C A I C P O S N A S G AR P R A S PO
IT MM M CS G C O RA R S S A M C E E M O A R S
P E
IO AR M CO RA HA M M M C ITI G US MAR OM GR GR E SIT MM MEC CO I
M M O ON E A M PO A AM CH IO A HA M
Grammar

PO N M AR MP M N OS MA CH
S U E O A I I A N
M U G G E S M M AN R N
NEW EDITION
M ITIO S C M SIT R CS TIO R M IC PO S RA E G C ITIO M AR N US M ICS
AR N AG HA ECH ION ME C N E S C SI AG M RA HA N AR M IC AG EC
G U E N AN U CH O U CH O T
I E M M N U M EC S E H
RA M S
E A G I IC S AN M SA A M O G AR M I SA E HA C G A
N MM CH G RAM CS S CO AG ICS PO GE NIC P N U RA M AR CS GE CHA NICS OM R
IC AR AN E M C M E CO S G S O S M EC ME C G N C P
RA S M IC G A O P G
S
for

IT R CO SI AG
R R M O R M I O M T M H CH O R ICS O O
A M M
Grade

M C E C
Writing
SA MA OM CH OM AM MEC PO SITI AM PO N AM POS IO E GR AR NIC ANIC PO AM COM P
G R P A PO M HA S ON M S US M ITIO N AM M S C S C S M PO
7

AN E ME O N S A N IT
C R I C I U A I T AG A N U MA EC OM O IT A SI
IC
S G H O
SI IC ITI
O M S O S
R IO E R U SA R M HA P M IO R TI
T S
 CONTENTS
Part I: Composition
CHAPTER 1 The Writing Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Lesson 1 .1 Prewriting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Lesson 1 .2 Drafting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Lesson 1 .3 Revising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Lesson 1 .4 Editing and Proofreading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Lesson 1 .5 Publishing and Presenting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Narrative
Writing Writer’s Workshop: Autobiographical Writing . . . . . . . . . . 22
Chapter Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

CHAPTER 2 Effective Sentences

and Word Choice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Lesson 2 .1 Correcting Sentence Fragments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Lesson 2 .2 Correcting Run-on Sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Lesson 2 .3 Adding Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Lesson 2 .4 Using Parallel Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Lesson 2 .5 Avoiding Wordiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Lesson 2 .6 Choosing the Right Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Lesson 2 .7 Using Formal and Informal English . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Persuasive
Writing Writing Application: Speech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Chapter Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

CHAPTER 3 Sentence Variety and Structure . . . . . . . . 60

Lesson 3 .1 Kinds of Sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Lesson 3 .2 Varying Sentence Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Lesson 3 .3 Varying Sentence Beginnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Lesson 3 .4 Independent and Subordinate Clauses . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Copyright © by William H. Sadlier, Inc. All rights reserved.

Lesson 3 .5 Varying Sentence Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Lesson 3 .6 Combining Sentences: Compound Parts . . . . . . . . . . 75
Lesson 3 .7 Combining Sentences: Key Words and Phrases . . . . . 77
Narrative
Writing Writer’s Workshop: Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Chapter Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

4 Grammar for Writing: Table of Contents

 CHAPTER 4 Effective Paragraphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Lesson 4 .1 Supporting the Main Idea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Lesson 4 .2 Paragraph Unity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Lesson 4 .3 Patterns of Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Lesson 4 .4 Transitional Words and Phrases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Lesson 4 .5 Types of Paragraphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Descriptive
Writing Writing Application: Descriptive Paragraph . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Chapter Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

CHAPTER 5 Writing an Essay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Lesson 5 .1 Parts of an Essay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Lesson 5 .2 Thesis Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Lesson 5 .3 Introductions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Lesson 5 .4 Body Paragraphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Lesson 5 .5 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Expository
Writing Writer’s Workshop: Compare-Contrast Essay . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Chapter Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Part II: Grammar, Usage,

and Mechanics
CHAPTER 6 Parts of a Sentence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Lesson 6 .1 Sentences and Sentence Fragments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Lesson 6 .2 Subjects and Predicates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Lesson 6 .3 Hard-to-Find Subjects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Lesson 6 .4 Compound Subjects and Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Lesson 6 .5 Direct Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Lesson 6 .6 Subject Complements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Expository
Writing Writing Application: Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Chapter Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Grammar for Writing: Table of Contents 5

 CHAPTER 7 Nouns and Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Lesson 7 .1 Nouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Lesson 7 .2 Plural and Possessive Nouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Lesson 7 .3 Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Lesson 7 .4 Subject and Object Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Lesson 7 .5 Pronoun Agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Lesson 7 .6 Clear Pronoun Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Persuasive
Writing Writer’s Workshop: Persuasive Essay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Chapter Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

CHAPTER 8 Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

Lesson 8 .1 Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Lesson 8 .2 Regular and Irregular Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Lesson 8 .3 More Irregular Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Lesson 8 .4 Verb Tense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Lesson 8 .5 Active and Passive Voice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Lesson 8 .6 Verbals and Verbal Phrases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Real-World
Writing Writing Application: Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Chapter Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

CHAPTER 9 Adjectives, Adverbs, and

Other Parts of Speech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Lesson 9 .1 Adjectives and Adverbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Lesson 9 .2 Comparing with Adjectives and Adverbs . . . . . . . . . 203
Lesson 9 .3 Adjective or Adverb? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Lesson 9 .4 Double Negatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Lesson 9 .5 Misplaced Modifiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

Copyright © by William H. Sadlier, Inc. All rights reserved.

Lesson 9 .6 Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Lesson 9 .7 Conjunctions and Interjections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Writing
About Writer’s Workshop: Book Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Literature
Chapter Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222

6 Grammar for Writing: Table of Contents

 CHAPTER 10 Subject-Verb Agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Lesson 10 .1 Agreement of Subject and Verb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Lesson 10 .2 Phrases Between Subject and Verb . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Lesson 10 .3 Compound Subjects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Lesson 10 .4 Inverted Sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Lesson 10 .5 Other Agreement Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Writing for
Assessment Writing Application: Writing Prompt Response . . . . . . . . 237
Chapter Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

CHAPTER 11 Punctuation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244

Lesson 11 .1 End Marks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Lesson 11 .2 Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Lesson 11 .3 Commas in Compound Sentences and Series . . . . 249
Lesson 11 .4 Other Comma Uses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Lesson 11 .5 Semicolons and Colons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Lesson 11 .6 Quotation Marks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Lesson 11 .7 Apostrophes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Lesson 11 .8 Other Marks of Punctuation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Research
Writing Writer’s Workshop: Research Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Chapter Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

CHAPTER 12 Capitalization and Spelling . . . . . . . . . . . 272

Lesson 12 .1 Proper Nouns and Proper Adjectives . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Lesson 12 .2 Quotations and Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Lesson 12 .3 Other Capitalization Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Lesson 12 .4 Spelling Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Lesson 12 .5 Plural Nouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Real-World
Writing Writing Application: Business Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Chapter Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

Frequently Misspelled Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

Commonly Confused Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

Grammar for Writing: Table of Contents 7

8
1
CHAPTER

The Writing Process

Copyright © by William H. Sadlier, Inc. All rights reserved.

 LESSON
Prewriting
Before you can begin writing, you need to plan. Prewriting,
1.4
1.1
the first stage of the writing process, involves the steps below.
● finding possible topics to write about
● choosing and narrowing your topic
Remember
● deciding on your purpose and audience
The writing
● collecting and organizing details process consists
of five stages.
Use one of the techniques below to generate a topic.
Prewriting
1. Freewrite Start with a word or broad topic, or look at a
photograph to generate ideas. For five minutes, write down Drafting
every thought you have about it. Be specific.
2. Brainstorm Use one or two words to come up with more Revising
specific ideas. Instead of writing full sentences, make a list
or jot down ideas in a Web.
Editing and
Proofreading
learning to
spend less time on the Internet Publishing and
Presenting
playing a
new sport Big
Challenge
standing up
to a bully
accepting my
best friend’s new friend
TOPIC
CHECKLIST
Next, review your ideas, and narrow the topic you like best. ✔ How strongly do
Make sure your topic matches the length of the assignment. I feel about this
topic?
too broad the Internet ✔ Is it narrow
[This is too much to cover in a short paper.] enough?
too narrow checking e-mail last night ✔ Can I gather
[This is not broad enough to write about in information
three pages.] about it?

good topic spending less time on the Internet

Chapter 1 • The Writing Process 9

The Writing Process

Choose your purpose for writing, and analyze

your audience.

Purpose Audience
● Is my purpose to entertain, ● Who will read my paper?
inform, persuade, or describe? ● How much does my audience
● What is the main thing I want already know?
my readers to learn? ● What are their interests? How
● Why do I want to share this can I help them connect to
topic with others? the topic?

Next, use a graphic organizer, such as the Sequence

Organizer below, to help you collect and organize details.

● on Internet ● parents ● followed ● learned I

every day and friends everyone’s had lots
ignored upset advice of other
Starter Words
●

chores and with me ● started interests

embarrassing friends other ● had fun
activities offline
family
favorite
funny moments
happiness
ExErcisE 1 Generating Topics
hobbies Use the brainstorming technique to come up with a topic
technology for a three-page paper. Pick a word or phrase from the list to
wish the left, or choose one of your own. Write the word in the
center of a Web. List related ideas.

ExErcisE 2 Choosing a Topic

Inverted PyramId Review your Web from Exercise 1. Indicate the two topics Copyright © by William H. Sadlier, Inc. All rights reserved.

hobbies you like best.

collecting
photos 1. Review those topics to see if you need to narrow them
making or expand on them. You can use the organizer shown to
scrapbooks the left to narrow broad topics. Write the topic at the top.
In the next line, write one smaller part of it. Keep making
each part smaller until you find a good writing topic.
2. Use the Topic Checklist on the previous page to help
you choose the best topic.

10 Chapter 1 • The Writing Process

 The Writing Process

ExErcisE 3 Choosing Your Purpose

Now, determine a purpose for the topic you chose. Write three
different purposes for your topic. Choose the topic and purpose
you know well and that you would most enjoy writing about.
Put a check mark next to it.

ENTERTAIN share the time I won a scrapbook contest

EXPLAIN explain how to make a scrapbook ✔
PERSUADE convince readers that scrapbooks are
fun to make

ExErcisE 4 Analyzing Your Audience

Next, decide who your readers are and what background
information they have. Make a chart like the one below.

My audience is teens who may have never made a scrapbook.

What They Know What They Need to Know

● what a scrapbook is ● where to find great
● some of the materials pictures
they’ll need ● all the steps involved
● what a scrapbook is for ● different types of scrapbooks

ExErcisE 5 Collecting Details

Finally, gather and organize details about your topic. For more on
organizing ideas,
1. Review the topic, purpose, and audience you chose in the see Lesson 4.3.
previous exercises.
2. Refresh your memory about your topic by doing research or
talking to a peer or adult who knows about it.
3. Jot down a list of details, or complete a Sequence Organizer,
such as the one shown on the previous page.
4. Include any specific details that you will want to add to
your paper.

Chapter 1 • The Writing Process 11

 LESSON

1.2 Drafting
During the drafting stage, you turn your prewriting plan into
complete sentences and paragraphs. Here are some guidelines
about the drafting stage.

Do Don’t
● Open up your mind, and let your ● Don’t stop to wonder about
ideas flow. whether you should include
● Cross out ideas you don’t like, an idea.
and add new ones. ● Don’t expect your draft to
● Even if you’re not sure how be perfect.
to spell some words, use ● Don’t write so messily that you
them anyway. can’t read your own writing.
● Jot notes in the margins about ● Don’t feel you must stick to
details you want to research every detail of your prewriting
more or things you want to plan. Once you begin drafting,
check later. your plan may develop
● Be open to making changes or change.
to the plan you created
during prewriting.
● Write legibly.

Organize your ideas into a strong introduction that grabs

readers’ attention, a body that supports the main point, and
For more about a conclusion that readers will remember.
writing the
introduction, body, During drafting, you may encounter writer’s block, or a
and conclusion of an mental block that keeps you from writing. Here are some
essay, see the lessons
in Chapter 5. tips for overcoming it.

1. Take a break. Let your mind rest and reenergize.

2. Discuss your paper with a teacher, parent, or friend. Copyright © by William H. Sadlier, Inc. All rights reserved.

Talk about your topic, and ask for suggestions

or ideas.
3. Refer to your prewriting notes.
4. Start freewriting. Write about anything related to
your topic.
Read part of one writer’s draft on the next page.

12 Chapter 1 • The Writing Process

 The Writing Process

Writing Model
Knock! Knock! Knock! “Alicia, this is the third
time Cindy has called you. Get off that computer!” Introduction
catches readers’
I could hear Dad’s shouting through my earphones. attention.

I swiftly clicked one button, and the computer was

off—well, not completely off. What if someone sent
me an e-mail? I always left my computer on, no Arrow shows that
a detail should be
matter what. What if the game I was downloading moved to clarify
the organization.
wasn’t finished yet? That’s why my parents are
upset. Don’t get me wrong. That was a while ago. Cross-outs show
ideas the writer no
It took me a while to see that I wasn’t doing my longer wants to
include.
work. My friends were getting tired of me ignoring
their invitations. They wanted to go out. All I
wanted was to be left alone on my computer.

ExErcisE 1 Planning a Draft

Review and add to any notes, organizers, or lists you made
during prewriting. Think more about your main points and how
to organize them. Be sure you have at least three key ideas and
two or more details that support each one.

ExErcisE 2 Writing a Draft

Now, on a separate sheet of paper, write a complete draft from
beginning to end. Make sure to build on your prewriting ideas
from the previous lesson and from Exercise 1.

Chapter 1 • The Writing Process 13

 LESSON

1.3 Revising
Now that you have a first draft, the next step is to improve it.
During the revising stage of the writing process, you evaluate
your draft and decide what works and what doesn’t.

Revising always entails looking at five of the six traits of

good writing. Use the checklist below as you revise.

REVISING CHECKLIST

Ideas and Content

Writing HINT ✔ How clearly did I express my ideas?
The sixth trait of ✔ Where should I add or delete details?
good writing is
conventions,
or correctness in
Organization
grammar, spelling, ✔ How clear is the order of details?
usage, punctuation, ✔ Where should I add transitions to improve the
and mechanics. connections between sentences and paragraphs?
You will look for
and correct these
kinds of errors in Sentence Fluency
the editing and ✔ How smooth does the writing sound when I
proofreading read it aloud?
stage of the writing ✔ Which sentences seem choppy?
process. See
✔ How well have I varied sentence structures,
Lesson 1.4.
sentence lengths, and sentence beginnings?

Word Choice
✔ Which nouns, adjectives, adverbs, or verbs should
be replaced with more precise words?
Copyright © by William H. Sadlier, Inc. All rights reserved.
✔ Which words have I used too often?

Voice
✔ How original and fresh is my writing?
✔ In which places does my writing sound forced
or unnatural?

14 Chapter 1 • The Writing Process

PA
GE
IN
TE
NT
IO
NA
LL
Y
LE
FT
BL
AN
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90
4
CHAPTER

Effective Paragraphs

Copyright © by William H. Sadlier, Inc. All rights reserved.

 LESSON
Supporting the Main Idea
In effective paragraphs, sentences work together to develop
4.1
a main idea, or point.

Some paragraphs (especially ones that inform or persuade)

state the main idea in a topic sentence. Topic sentences often
begin paragraphs, but they may appear in the middle or the end.

1
During the Middle Ages, both nobles and peasants The topic sentence
enjoyed a surprising variety of entertainment. 2In castles tells the main idea.

and nearby villages, traveling singers, acrobats, and

musicians performed at gatherings and special feasts.
Writing HINT
3
Jousting tournaments, held on the castle grounds,
Besides making your
included exciting mock battles, and crowds gathered to main idea clear, a
watch actors perform short plays. 4Evening life inside the good topic sentence
captures readers’
castle often included mimes, storytellers, and jesters. attention and makes
them want to read on.

You may want to imply, or suggest, your main idea rather

than announce it directly. In a paragraph with an implied main
idea, include details so that your overall point is clear.

1
Castle walls, often made of stone, were very thick
so they could withstand bombardment or battering. The implied main idea
is that castles were
2
Windows were narrow slits through which soldiers shot built to be strong and
safe during battle.
arrows, and gatehouses featured heavy iron grates and
massive doors that could be barred shut. 3Many castles
were built atop steep hills and surrounded by deep,
hard-to-cross ditches or water-filled moats. 4Drawbridges
could be pulled up quickly to keep enemy invaders out.

Chapter 4 • Effective Paragraphs 91

Effective Paragraphs

To build an effective paragraph, you need to include enough

supporting details to elaborate, or explain, the main idea
fully. Some details will come from your memory or experiences,
and others will come from research.

Kinds of Supporting Details

Facts statements that can be proved true
Examples specific cases or instances
Sensory Details details about how something looks, sounds,
smells, feels, or tastes
Anecdotes brief stories or incidents
Quotations spoken or written words from an expert

As you read the paragraph below, pay attention to how the main
idea is supported.

Literary Model

The topic is life inside a The Norman castle was built for security, not for
1

typical French castle in comfort. 2The lord and lady of the castle usually slept
the Middle Ages. behind a curtain in the main dining hall. 3Also sleeping in
the hall might be a small mob of knights, guests, servants,
and dogs. 4The floor was covered with herbs to keep down
the smell of bones and other refuse. 5On a winter morning,
inhabitants would wash by plunging their arms through
ice-crusted water in a bucket.
—Excerpt from Across the Centuries
Copyright © by William H. Sadlier, Inc. All rights reserved.

Reading as a Writer

1. What, in your own words, is the main idea of

this paragraph?
2. What kinds of supporting details are included?
How effective are they?
3. What other kinds of details might the author add
to elaborate the main idea? Think of one or two
specific suggestions.
92 Chapter 4 • Effective Paragraphs
 Effective Paragraphs

ExErcisE 1 Identifying Main Ideas

In each paragraph that follows, underline the topic sentence.
If there isn’t a topic sentence, write a one-sentence statement
of the main idea in your own words.

One of the largest plant-eating dinosaur skeletons

1

ever found is more than 120 feet long. 2Discovered in

Patagonia, the dinosaur is estimated to be 98 million
years old. 3Patagonia continues to be the site where
the largest plant-eating dinosaur skeletons have been
discovered. 4Two other skeletons discovered in Patagonia
measure between 115 and 131 feet long.

Archaeologists in Peru have discovered what might

1

be the oldest mural in the Americas. 2Carbon dating

shows the mural and the temple in which it was found are
about 4,000 years old. 3The mural and temple surprised
archaeologists. 4They had previously believed that such
complex art and architecture developed later in Peru.

ExErcisE 2 Supporting a Main Idea

Read each main idea below, and choose one.
● Styles of fashion and music often make a comeback.
● Text messaging is better than making a phone call.
● Exotic animals, such as reptiles or ferrets, make good pets.
1. For the main idea you chose, write a paragraph that elaborates
on it. Write your paragraph on a separate sheet of paper.
2. Include at least two different types of details in your
paragraph. Write at least six sentences.

Chapter 4 • Effective Paragraphs 93

 LESSON

4.2 Paragraph Unity

A paragraph has unity if all of its sentences stay on one
topic and work together to support the main idea. As you
read the model below, notice how each sentence relates
directly to the author’s point about railroad travel.

Literary Model

The paragraph explains

1
Perhaps there is nothing in the line of discovery
how railroad travel has and improvement that has shown more marked progress
progressed over in the last century than the railway. . . 2Now we have
a century.
everything that heart can wish. 3In fact, we live better on
the road than we do at home, with but thirty-six hours
between New York and Minneapolis, and a gorgeous parlor,
bedroom, and dining-room between Maine and Oregon,
with nothing missing that may go to make life a rich
blessing, we are compelled to express our wonder
and admiration.
—Excerpt from Bill Nye’s Cordwood by Bill Nye

Including a topic sentence that directly states your

main idea can help you stay focused. As you revise, delete
any details that do not relate to the topic sentence.

Topic sentence focuses 1

The cowboys, or “cowpunchers,” who worked
on one main idea.
on cattle drives in the Old West had to work under
hard and dangerous conditions. 2They had to endure Copyright © by William H. Sadlier, Inc. All rights reserved.

scorching heat, soaking rains, dust storms, and lack

of sleep for weeks at a time. 3Hunger, thirst, and
lack of medical supplies were constant problems.
Irrelevant information
4
Some cowboys were injured or killed in stampedes or
disrupts paragraph
unity. encounters with cattle thieves. 5Some cowboys today
enjoy participating in rodeos.

94 Chapter 4 • Effective Paragraphs

 Effective Paragraphs

ExErcisE 1 Identifying Unity Problems

Decide which paragraph has a problem with unity, and explain
why. Then revise it by deleting detail(s) that are unrelated.

Data from the U.S. Census Bureau reveal interesting

1

comparisons between men and women. 2For example, a

total of 167 million females live in the United States,
3 million more than males. 3Also, 36 percent of women
age 25 to 29 earned a bachelor’s degree or higher,
compared to 28 percent of men. 4However, men continue
to earn more money than women, with women earning
82 cents for every dollar a man earns.

The busy holiday shopping rush forces stores to hire

1

temporary workers. 2The U.S. Census Bureau notes that in

December 2021, retail sales totaled $53.7 billion. 3That
was a 10 percent increase from November. 4The only
people probably busier are postal carriers. 5To handle
the shopping rush, 15.6 million people were employed
by retail stores.

ExErcisE 2 Writing a Paragraph

Write a unified paragraph of at least four sentences based on
the graphic below. Begin with a clear topic sentence.

Favorite Sports of Students in Ms. Hirst’s Classes

Sports

Swimming Girls
Soccer Boys
Basketball
0 2 4 6 8 10
Number of Students

Chapter 4 • Effective Paragraphs 95

 LESSON

4.3 Patterns of Organization

A paragraph has coherence when all of the sentences fit
logically together.

Arranging details in an order that makes sense is one way

to make sure your paragraphs are clear and coherent. Your
organization of a paragraph depends on your topic and purpose.

Below are four common patterns of organization

for paragraphs.

1. Chronological Order When you organize ideas in

Writing HINT chronological (time) order, you present them in the order
Using transitions in which they occur. Use chronological order to tell a story,
(such as before, describe a historical event, or explain the steps in a process.
however, since, and
then) helps readers
understand how Writing Model
you have organized
your ideas. For more At first we couldn’t decide if the low rumbling we
1

about transitions, heard was from a train or thunder. 2But, within five
see Lesson 4.4.
minutes, the blackening sky gave us the answer. 3While I
grabbed the picnic basket, my dad yelled to everyone to
head to the cabin. 4Before we had gone twenty yards, we
were completely drenched.

2. Spatial Order Use spatial order to help your readers

visualize a person, place, or object. Describe details
according to their location, such as front to back, top to
bottom, left to right, near to far, or inside to outside.
Copyright © by William H. Sadlier, Inc. All rights reserved.
Writing Model
1
The sky to the left was a bright blue, with sunlight
streaming between an occasional fluffy white cloud.
2
Straight above us, the sky was almost gray, and the
clouds hung lower to the ground. 3However, to our right
was an even scarier scene. 4 Jagged bolts of lightning
were exploding in the air.

96 Chapter 4 • Effective Paragraphs

PA
GE
IN
TE
NT
IO
NA
LL
Y
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BL
AN
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112
5
CHAPTER

Writing an Essay

Copyright © by William H. Sadlier, Inc. All rights reserved.

 LESSON
Parts of an Essay
Knowing how to write a short essay is useful anytime you
5.1
want to express your thoughts. In fact, writing is an excellent
way to form your own opinion about an issue.

In addition, knowing how to write an effective essay is useful

because you will be assigned essays to write and you will take
essay tests throughout your school years.

You already know about paragraphs. The form of an essay

is similar to that of a paragraph.

Paragraph Function Essay Review

Lesson 4.1 for
Topic Sentence states main idea Introductory Paragraph more about main
ideas and topic
Supporting Sentences develop main idea Body Paragraphs sentences.
Concluding Sentence restates main idea Concluding Paragraph

Organization of an Essay
Introduction Body Conclusion Remember
The introduction of Body paragraphs The last paragraph The three parts of an
an essay includes a include facts, sums up the points essay mostly appear
clear statement of the details, examples, made in the essay. in expository and
main idea. Start with sensory details, and It restates the main persuasive essays.
an attention-getting quotations to support idea and draws the Many descriptive
sentence to keep your the main idea. essay to a close. and narrative essays
readers interested. do not have
these features.

The introduction and conclusion are usually only one

paragraph long, while the body of an essay includes three
or more paragraphs.

ExErcisE Identifying Parts of an Essay

The essay on the next page needs to be rewritten. Read it
once through.

1. Use the proofreading symbol ¶ to start a new paragraph

where you think each new one should begin.
2. Label the introductory paragraph and concluding paragraph,
and underline the main idea in each.
Chapter 5 • Writing an Essay 113
Writing an Essay

1
Today, women take their independence for granted.
2
Their grandmothers and great-grandmothers, however,
laid the groundwork. 3At the turn of the twentieth
century, women often had long hair and wore ankle-
length skirts. 4In the next decades, women began working
outside the home. 5They even did work that had been
considered “men’s work.” 6The women living from the
1920s through the 1970s made possible the independence
women know and expect today. 7In the 1920s, flappers
HINT insisted on freedom in their clothing and way of life.
Look for the three 8
They chose short skirts that allowed them to move freely,
topic sentences.
They will help you and they cut their hair in short, easy-to-care-for styles.
find the individual 9
They danced the Charleston in clubs and wore fringed
body paragraphs.
skirts. 10They even began driving cars! 11During World War
II, women were needed in factories because the men
were off fighting, and these “Rosie the Riveters,” as they
were called in the 1940s, went to work wearing pants.
12
Their attitude was, “If it needs to be done, I can do it.”
13
They were former housewives who went off to work and
raised families at the same time. 14By the 1960s, more
women were working outside the home than ever before.
15
The numbers grew through the decade. 16According to
the U.S. Department of Labor, 40.8 percent of women
were in the labor force in 1970. 17In the twenty-first Copyright © by William H. Sadlier, Inc. All rights reserved.

century, women can choose any career, can marry or

remain single, and can own their own homes. 18Rules of
correctness do not tell them how to dress, where to work,
or how to act. 19Today, women owe their current variety
of choices to women of the past, who fought for and won
the independence women cherish today.

114 Chapter 5 • Writing an Essay

 LESSON
Thesis Statements
A thesis statement is a sentence or two that states your main
5.2
idea about your subject. Sometimes it is also called a claim or
controlling idea. It can come anywhere in the introduction,
but it often is the last sentence in the first paragraph.

To write an effective thesis statement, start with your subject.

Collect your information, and look for connections to explore.
Then ask yourself, “What main point do I want to make about
this subject?”

Your thesis statement should be specific. If it is too general,

it won’t grab your readers’ interest. On the other hand, if it is
too specific or simply a fact, you won’t have enough material
to develop an essay. Suppose your topic is “paintings.”

Too Broad Paintings are beautiful.

Too Narrow Claude Monet painted Water Lilies in 1906.

Lacks a Main Idea Claude Monet was an impressionist painter.

Strong Thesis, Claude Monet was an important impressionist

or Claim painter.

It is a good idea to use your thesis statement, or claim,

to preview the essay’s organization. Mention your key ideas
in the order in which you will discuss them in your body
paragraphs. See Lesson 5.4 for more about thesis statements
that give clues about how an essay will be organized.

Claude Monet’s quick brushstrokes and use of bright colors

made him an important impressionist painter.

Writing a thesis statement before you begin will give your

essay a focus and keep you on track. You may want to
revise your thesis statement, or claim, during the process
of writing as you discover new information.

Claude Monet

Chapter 5 • Writing an Essay 115

Writing an Essay

ExErcisE 1 Identifying a Thesis

Test-Taking TIP Statement, or Claim
In essay tests, you Underline the thesis, or claim, in the introductory paragraph.
will often be asked
to write one or
more paragraphs
in response to a
statement or a
piece of literature.
1
Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir both
Including a thesis showed unusual artistic talent at a young age. 2Monet
statement will keep
you on track as you was first recognized for his ability when he was fifteen
write and probably years old. 3Renoir’s talent was recognized early, too.
result in a better
overall score.
4
His family had him work in a factory painting flowers
on plates when he was just thirteen.

ExErcisE 2 Writing a Thesis, or Claim

Below is a Venn diagram that compares OLED and LCD
televisions. Use the details in the graphic organizer to write
a strong thesis, or claim.

1. Assume your paper needs to be two or three pages long.

2. Remember to make a point about your subject. You may
choose to use some or all of the details to preview
your key points.

Copyright © by William H. Sadlier, Inc. All rights reserved.

OLED Both LCD
• have better • flat-screen • use less
viewing angles televisions power
• brighter picture • thin profiles • weigh less
• available in • in the largest
larger sizes sizes more
• possible ghostly costly
afterimage • last longer
after heavy use

116 Chapter 5 • Writing an Essay

 LESSON
Introductions
Consider the introduction of your essay an invitation.
5.3
It should catch your readers’ attention and invite them
to read more.

The first paragraph of many essays introduces the topic and

usually includes a thesis statement, or claim, which states your
main idea. One commonly used structure for an introductory
paragraph begins with a general sentence and ends with a
specific statement. This organization can help focus your essay. Writing HINT
Although readers
read the introduction
a sentence introducing the general topic first, you do not
have to write it first.
sentence(s) of explanation Try starting in the
middle of your paper.
thesis, or claim Then go back to the
introduction later.

Below are some effective ways to begin an essay.

● an amazing fact ● an example

● an unusual comparison ● an anecdote
● a question ● a quotation
● a contradiction ● brief mention of an
opposing view

The length of an introductory paragraph depends on the

topic of the essay. Your introduction should quickly introduce
the main idea that you will develop in the body of the essay.
Two to five sentences are usually ideal. Occasionally, your
introduction may be more than one paragraph.

Avoid starting with phrases such as, “This essay is about…”

or “I will write about…” Also try to avoid vague, general
statements. They often don’t add any content or spark interest
in your readers.

Chapter 5 • Writing an Essay 117

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