Why I Don’t Have a Credit Card

1 There are three reasons I don’t have a credit card. 2The first reasons is that using a piece of plastic instead of cash

makes it too easy for me to buy things I can’t afford. 3For instance, last week I saw a $75.00 pair of pink sandals in

my favorite shoe store. 4Of course, I don’t need pink sandals, nor can I afford them. 5With a credit card , however, I

would now own those sandals and be worrying about how to pay for them. 6The second reason I don’t have a credit

card is that I would end up in debt like my friend Sara the Shopaholic. 7Sara got a credit card last year, and she

already owes $4,000. 8She buys things that she doesn’t really need, such as jewelry and designer sunglasses. 9Sara

makes only minimum payments each month. 10Her monthly interest charges are more than her payments, so her

balance never decreases. 11She will be in debt for years. 12The third reason I don’t have a credit card is the difficulty in

understanding the fine print in the credit card contract. 13If I don’t read the fine print, I can be surprised. 14For

example, some credit card companies will raise my interest rate if I make a payment even one day late. 15To sum up,

credit cards may be a convenience for some people, but for me, they are a plastic ticket to financial disaster.
1. How many reasons does the writer give for not having a credit
card ? Which sentence tells you the number ? There are three
reasons does the writer give for not having a credit card.

2. Circle the words and phrases that signal each new reason.

3. How does the writer support each reason ? The writer support each
reason by giving logical example.
Logical Division of Ideas
Logical division of ideas is a pattern of organization in which you
divide a topic into points and discuss each point separately. The model
paragraph uses this pattern. You can use logical division to organize
many kinds of topics, not just reasons.
Sample Topics
• reasons for owning an iPod/cell phone/PDA/small automobile, for exercising/not exercising, for learning
English, for IMing instead of making a phone call, for being a vegetarian …….

• kinds of teachers/shoppers/drivers/friends/students/teachers/bosses/foods….

• types of books/movies/music/TV programs I like/don’t like…..

• advantages of living in a small town/big city/college dormitory, of being an only/the youngest/the oldest
child/ a twin….

• disadvantages of living in a small town/big city/college dormitory, of being an only/the youngest/ the oldest
child/ a twin…..

• qualities of a good boss/good employee/good friend/teacher/parent/nurse/paramedic/salesperson….

Begin a logical division paragraph with a topic sentence similar to the
following.

• A good boss has three qualities.

• Living in a college dormitory has several advantages.

• There are four main styles of Chinese food.

In the supporting sentences , discuss each point one after the other. Introduce each
new point with a signal word or phrase such as The first reason….,The second
type….,The final advantage…..,In addition, Furthermore, Also, and Moreover.

• The first reason I am a vegetarian is that vegetarians are healthier than meat-
eaters.

• Another quality of a good boss is fairness.

• In addition, sharing clothing with a twin saves money.

Support each point with a convincing detail such as an example or a statistic (numbers-
cost , amounts , percentages, and so on).

• For example, they want to touch and feel fabrics and visualize themselves in clothes.

• She buys things that she doesn’t really need, such as jewelry and designer sunglasses.

• In 2005, there were thirteen major hurricanes in the North Atlantic.

• A Big Mac contains 560 calories and 30 grams of fat.

End a logical division paragraph with a concluding sentence similar to one
of these.

• For all these reasons, living at home is the best choice for me at this time
in my life.

• To sum up, a champion has to be motivated, disciplined, and talented.

• In brief, an effective ad grabs your attention and appeals to your emotions.

PRACTICE 1
Recognizing Logical Division
Look through the paragraphs that are used as examples and practices in this
chapter. Find at least three paragraphs that use logical division of ideas as a
pattern of organization. Hint : Look for signal words and phrases that show
divisions of a topic, such as The first ……, Another……,and In addition.

1. Why I Don’t Have a Credit Card

2. Men and Women Shoppers

3. Secrets of Good Ads

Coherence
• In addition to unity, which you learned about in Chapter 4, every good paragraph must
have coherence. A coherent paragraph flows smoothly from beginning to end. A reader can
follow your ideas easily because on sentence leads naturally to the next one; there are no
sudden jumps.

• There are there main ways to make your paragraph coherent:

1. Use nouns and pronouns consistently throughout a paragraph.

2. Use transition signals to show relationships among ideas.

3. Put your ideas into some kind of logical order, such as logical division of ideas.
Using Nouns and Pronouns Consistently
One way to achieve coherence is to use nouns and pronouns consistently throughout
a paragraph, that is, continue to use the same nouns and pronouns you start with. For
example, if you begin with plural noun such as students, don’t change to singular.
Also , don’t change pronouns; don’t switch from you to they or he for no reason. Be
consistent! If you use the pronoun you at the beginning of your paragraph, keep it
throughout.

Notice how nouns and pronouns in the following paragraph have been changed to
make them consistent.
 Word Roots
A student ( Students) who knows (know) a few Latin and Greek word roots has (have)
an advantage over a student ( students) who doesn’t (don’t) know them. They can often
guess the meaning of unfamiliar words. If , for example, you (they) know that the Latin
word root circum means “around,” you (they) can guess the meaning of words such as
circumference, circumvent, circumstance, and circumnavigate when you (they) read
them in a sentence. Similarly, the Greek word root mon- or mono- , which means “one ,
single , alone,” appears in dozens of English words. A student ( students) armed with this
knowledge can often discover the meanings of new words such as monocle, monarchy,
monotone, monologue, and monolingual without getting help from a dictionary. You
(they) also might be able to figure out that a monorail is a train that uses one rail.
Here’s a tip to help you use pronouns consistently.

• Uses a plural noun ( employees ) rather than a singular noun (an employee) when writing about a
group of people of both sexes. When you need to use pronouns, the plural pronouns they, them, ad
there are less awkward than the singular phrases he or she, him or her, and his or hers.

• Awkward

An employee must wear his or her ID badge at all times.

• Better

Employees must wear their ID badges at all times.

 A. Circle the noun that is the topic of the paragraph and all
pronouns that refer to it.
Some researchers believe that social animals such as dogs may have a sense of
morality. That is, dogs know right from wrong. For example, dogs follow certain
rules when they play together, and they exclude dogs that don’t follow the rules.
Dogs’ sense of right and wrong also includes knowing how to behave correctly
around humans. For example, they know who the pack leader ( that is, the boss) in
any family is. They also know that they are not allowed to eat the pack leader’s food.
If they steal a bite of food from Dad’s dinner plate, they slink around the kitchen
looking guilty because they know they have broken a rule. Other researchers say that
fear of punishment, not guilt, is the reason for dogs’ slinking behavior.
Paragraph 1

A marathon runner ( Marathon runners ) must be strong not only in body

but also in mind. She or he has ( They have )to train for years to achieve
the necessary endurance to compete in his or her ( their ) sport. This
requires great discipline and self-sacrifice. In addition, marathon runners
have to train their minds in order to endure the long hours of solitary
running. This, too, requires great discipline. In other words, you ( they )
must be in top condition, both mentally and physically, if you ( they )
want to run in marathons.
Paragraph 2

Physicists are scientists who study the basic laws of nature and apply
these laws to improve the world. They are concerned with scientific
wonders as large as the universe and as small as an electron. He or she is
( They are ) a problem solver ( solvers ) who is ( are ) curious about the
universe and who is (are) interested in what gives it order and meaning
Paragraph 2
Many students feel that learning to write well is a useless, time-
consuming task that has little to do with “real life”-that is, with their
future occupations. Although this may be true if he or she plans (they
plan) to become an auto mechanic or a waitress, it is certainly not true if
you (they) plan to have a white-collar job. No matter what profession
you (they) enter-business, engineering, government, education- you
(they) will have to write.
 Practice 4 Editing for Sentence Errors

1. Alicia and Marta are a lot alike, they both have dark hair and eyes.

Alicia and Marta a lot alike. They both have dark hair and eyes.

2. Both women are single, but Marta has a boyfriend.

3. Writing a paragraph is easy it takes practice.

Writing a paragraph is easy, but it takes practice.

4. First, you write a topic sentence, then you make an outline of the supporting sentences.

First, you write a topic sentence, and then you make an outline of the supporting sentences.

5. In high school, I never studied, but now I work hard.

 Practice 4 Editing for Sentence Errors
6. College is not like high school it is a lot harder.

College is not like high school. It is a lot harder.

7. I want to transfer to a four-year college, so I try to get good grades.

8. My parents did not finish high school, I was the first member of my family to graduate.

My parents did not finish high school. I was the first member of my family to graduate.

9. In the old days, people did not have the opportunity to attend school, they had to work to help support the family.

In the old days, people did not have the opportunity to attend school. They had to work to help support the family.

10. Now parents want a better future for their children , they encourage them to go to college and even help them achieve
that goal.

Now parents want a better future for their children , so they encourage them to go to college and even help them
achieve that goal.
 Ways of Cooking Rice
1 There are hundreds of different kinds of rice and hundreds of different ways to cook it. 2The
kind of rice eaten daily in most Asian countries is sticky rice. 3Asian sticky rice is (are) rinsed,
soaked, cooked, and then steamed, the lid remains on the cooking pot during the entire cooking
and steaming process. 4When the rice is ready to eat, the grains are soft and fluffy, and they
stick together. 5Asian cooks never stir rice while it is cooking. 6Italia cooks, on the other hand,
stir the pot constantly when they make risotto. 7Risotto has a creamy texture, the individual
grains have a chewy center. 8Persian rice is quite different it has a golden, and crunchy crust.
9 Thai people serve jasmine rice, and people in India enjoy basmati rice , both kinds have a
special perfume-like aroma. 10Indeed , rice is one of the most versatile foods in the world.
Review
These are the important points covered in this chapter:

1. Logical division of ideas is a pattern of organizing ideas in which you divide a topic into parts and discuss each
part separately.

2. A paragraph needs coherence. A coherent paragraph is easy to read because it flows smoothly from beginning
to end. Use these three techniques to achieve coherence.

• Use nouns and pronouns consistently.

• Use transition signals to show how one idea is related to the next.

• Put your ideas into some kind of logical order.

3. Run-ons and comma splices are sentence errors in which you join two sentences incorrectly.