Paragraphs%20for%20High%20School:%20A%20Sentence-Composing%20Approach

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Paragraphs for High SchoolA Sentence-Composing
Approach

• By Don and Jenny Killgallon
• Pages 4 - 8

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What are basic sentences?

• A basic sentence must have a subject and a
  predicate.

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The subject is the topic of the sentence.
The Subject
The rest of the sentence will be about the
subject.
The subject can be a single word or an entire
phrase.
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Examples of subjects

• Willa
• she
• they
• the young Italian
• the wheels of wagons
• the bare truth
• cadavers and dead rats and frogs
• Dad and some of his Air Force Buddies
• being a grandmother
• to write down your reaction to important words
  and sentences you have read, and the questions
  they have raised in your mind

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The Predicate

• The predicate is a comment about the subject.

The predicate might be a word or an entire phrase.
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Examples of subjects with predicates

• 1. Willa

sat by herself.
2. She
forced smiles and held her tongue.
3. They
came shuffling into the great concrete stadium.
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and more examples

• 4. The young Italian

came along the sidewalk and walked quickly away
into the darkness.
5. The wheels of wagons
screeched.
6. The bare truth
is you will only be an interesting artist the
rest of your life.
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and a few more!

• 7. Cadavers and dead rats and frogs

appeared.
8. Dad and some of his Air Force buddies
were on a cliff of the canyon.
9. Being a grandmother
transformed her mother.
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But how could this be a subject?!

• To write down your reaction to important words
  and sentences you have read, and the questions
  they have raised in your mind

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Like this!

• 10. To write down your reaction to important
  words and sentences you have read, and the
  questions they have raised in your mind

preserves those reactions and sharpens those
questions.
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• With just those basics the subject and the
  predicate you have the essentials of the basic
  sentence.
• However, there are other things you should have
  to make the sentence interesting and clear.
• You need tools to build a better sentence.

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See how adding tools makes these sentences come
alive

• 1. Willa sat by herself, her high-necked
  flower-print dress looking out of place among the
  Levis denim skirts, and pearl-button shirts.
• -- Stephen King, After Sunset

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• 2. On her monthly visits, dressed in stone
  marten furs, diamonds, and spike heels, which
  constantly caught between loose floorboards, she
  forced smiles and held her tongue.
• -- Maya Angelou, The Heart of a Woman

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• 3. Laughing and shoving restlessly, damp-palmed
  with excitement, they came shuffling into the
  great concrete stadium, some stopping to go to
  rest-rooms, some buying popcorn, some taking free
  pamphlets from the uniformed attendants.
• -- Steve Allen, The Public Hating

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• 4. The young Italian, who had called to her
  earlier in the evening and who was now apparently
  setting out on his own Sunday evenings
  adventures, came along the sidewalk and walked
  quickly away into the darkness.
• -- Sherwood Anderson, Unlighted Lamps

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• 5. The wheels of wagons, delivering feed or
  wood, screeched, as though they hurt.
• -- Toni Morrison, Beloved

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• 6. The bare truth is, if you do not learn a few
  more rudiments of the profession, you will only
  be an interesting artist the rest of your life,
  not a great one.
• -- J. D. Salinger, De Daumier-
• Smiths Blue Period

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• 7. Disgustingly, cadavers and dead rats and
  frogs appeared, hidden in his locker about three
  months earlier.
• -- Gary Paulsen, The Time Hackers

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• Dad and some of his Air Force buddies were on a
  cliff of the canyon, trying to work up the nerve
  to dive into the lake forty feet below, when Mom
  and a friend drove up.
• -- Jeanette Walls, The Glass Candle

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• Being a grandmother transformed her mother,
  bringing a happiness and an energy her daughter
  had never witnessed.
• -- Jhumpa Lahiri, Unaccutomed Earth

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And yes, even this one.

• Without a doubt, to write down your reaction to
  important words and sentences you have read, and
  the questions they have raised in your mind,
  preserves those reactions and sharpens those
  questions, making what you read indelibly
  impressed upon your mind.
• -- Mortimer Adler, How to Mark a Book

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In short

• To be correct, a sentence must have a subject and
  a predicate, but to be good, a sentence usually
  must also have tools.

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For Class

• review this slide show, and take notes (Cornell
  note format) on every page that has a in
  the upper right hand corner I will collect notes
• be prepared to work with a partner in class to
  identify the subjects, predicates, and tools of
  sentences, and to create new sentences by adding
  tools to existing subjects and predicates.