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UNIT 2
PRACTICE 3
Try your hand at some “easy writing,” just to develop some confidence in case you are anxious
about your writing ability. Write a refrigerator note on each of the following topics. Address it to
someone specific, your apartment-mate or someone in your family. Keep the message short and
to the point.
1. You‟re going to be late. Say why.
“I have band practice, so don’t expect me until 10:00 P.M.”
___________________________________________________________________________
2. A phone message you took for someone.
“Sue called to ask you if you could go to the movies Saturday night.” __________________
___________________________________________________________________________
3. Ask a roommate or family member to leave you money on the kitchen table.
“Mom, I need $26.00 for a lab book. Please leave a check on the kitchen table.” _________
___________________________________________________________________________
4. You‟re doing something with a friend and won‟t be home for dinner. Tell who and what.
“I promised Vartan I would study with him for tomorrow’s first economics test of the
semester. I probably won’t be home until 11:00 P.M. or so.” __________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
5. Apologize for something (for example, being a grouch this morning).
“Dear Carole: I’m sorry I got a spot on your favorite shorts. I promise to pay you for a new
pair.”
PRACTICE 4
Here is a chance to exercise your skill at being picky. Each of the sentences below contains an
error that our students have called “picky.” Find and correct the error. If you need help, ask your
teacher!
1. We‟re having pecan pie for desert.
(Dessert is misspelled.)________________________________________________________
2. Between you and I, the band was awful.
(Using wrong pronoun—“between you and me.”)__________________________________
3. She is the most hardest worker.
(Using a double superlative—She is the hardest worker.) ____________________________
4. For a man of his size; he is very quick.
(Incorrect use of semicolon—“For a man of his size, he is very quick.”)________________
5. I‟m majoring in biology, I want to be a veterinarian.
(Creating a comma splice—“I’m majoring in biology. I want to be a veterinarian.”) ______
6. She moved to Florida. Which really surprised me.
(Second construction is a fragment—“She moved to Florida, which really surprised me.”)
7. For a person to get ahead, you must work hard.
(Shift in point of view—“For a person to get ahead, he or she must work hard.”) ________
8. A doctor know best.
(Plural verb with singular subject—“A doctor knows best.”) _________________________
9. A lawyer should respect his client‟s confidentiality.
(Sexist—“Lawyers should respect their clients’ confidentiality.”) _____________________
10. That car is her‟s.
(No apostrophe needed—“That car is hers.”)
PRACTICE 5
Using your ear for the language, make a in the space beside any sentence you think is
incorrect. If you think the sentence is correct, leave the space blank.
1._____ I love to sailing.
2.____ Jamaica is a beautiful island.
3._____ My uncle never went Vietnam.
4.____ Between you and me, I‟m very tired.
5._____ He have a twitch because he is nervously.
6._____ She a good poem wrote.
7.____ What should we have for dinner?
8._____ I gived the man a dollar.
9.____ Stay sitted in your chair, please.
10.____ Jim is a faster talker than me is.
Here are the correct sentences:
1. I love sailing. Or I love to sail. (Omit the to or change sailing to to sail.)
2. Jamaica is a beautiful island. (Correct as written.)
3. My Uncle never went to Vietnam. (Should be went to, not went.)
4. Between you and me, I‟m very tired. (Correct as written.)
5. He has a twitch because he is nervous. (Should be has; no -ly needed after nervous.)
6. She wrote a good poem. (Original misplaced the verb wrote.)
7. What should we have for dinner? (Correct as written.)
8. I gave the man a dollar. (Gived is not a word.)
9. Stay seated in your chair, please. (Sitted is not a word.)
10. Jim is a faster talker than I am. (Not me is.)
PRACTICE 8
For each of the following pairs of sentences, check the one written in standard English.
1. ______ (a).It ain‟t necessarily so.
(b).It isn‟t necessarily so.
2. ______ (a).You can‟t hang that one on me.
(b).You can‟t blame that on me.
3. ______ (a).Stop hound-dogging me about money.
(b).Stop pestering me about money.
4. (a).He doesn‟t care about it.
______ (b).He don‟t give a rap about it.
5. ______ (a).I bought the coolest earrings.
(b).I bought some very pretty earrings.
6. (a).She‟s preparing to go to the beach.
______ (b).She‟s fixing to go to the beach.
7. ______ (a).There‟s too much chin music at those meetings.
(b).There‟s too much talking at those meetings.
8. _(a).They spared no expense for the party.
______ (b).They went whole hog for the party.
9. _(a).I went to the seashore to relax.
______ (b).I went to the seashore to chill out.
10. ______ (a).I was, like, feeling real mellow.
(b).I was feeling very calm.
PRACTICE 9
Below is an e-mail message written in everyday informal language by one student to another.
Underline the words or phrases that are informal or nonstandard English. Then rewrite the
paragraph in standard English.
Hey, Marcy What a blast to hear from you! I just been down here kicking around in the new
hood, chilling out every day, and having a ball. My Mom‟s been cool about everything. She
hasn‟t been on my back even once about school work. It just goes to show you that the old lady
is not as over the hill as I had thought. As for friends, so far I‟ve got zip, zero, zilch. My love life
is equally exciting. I met a couple dudes in the cafeteria, but, I mean, like, guys always think
they‟re so hot. It makes me want to puke. This one guy I met, like, every second word out of his
mouth was “I, I, I, I.” I felt like saying, “gimme a break, will ya?” Well, whatever. So what‟s
new by you?
Marcy, I was glad to hear from you. I have just been spending time in the new
neighborhood, relaxing and having a good time. My mother has been very nice. She has not
bothered me at all about school work. That shows she is not as old as I had thought.I have not
made any friends yet. I have not been dating anyone, either. I did meet a few fellows in the
cafeteria, but they were very self-centered. I was disgusted. One of them used “I” in every
sentence. I did not want to listen to that. How have you been doing?
PRACTICE 10
On a separate sheet of paper write two paragraphs on one of the topics that follow. In the first
paragraph, feel free to use nonstandard English. In the second use only standard English.
1. A personal desire
2. Portrait of someone I really admire
3. A time when I was lucky
4. One of the worst days in my life
5. Something that makes me laugh just thinking about it
Unit Test
In the blank provided, check the statement that most accurately represents the truth about
writing.
Example:______(a).If a myth leads you to think you can‟t write, you‟ll simply try harder.
(b).If a myth leads you to think you can‟t write, you‟ll avoid writing.
1. ______ (a).To think you are bad at writing helps you to write carefully.
(b).To think you are bad at writing is to feel constantly scolded when you
write.
2. (a).A myth is a belief that is popular but false.
______ (b).A myth is a religious truth.
3. (a).To be a good writer, you don‟t necessarily need to write about stuffy
topics.
______ (b).While in college, you must write only about intellectual ideas.
4. ______ (a).Writing with big words makes you sound intelligent.
(b). Good writers use accurate words, not big ones.
5. (a).Writing is difficult for almost everyone.
______ (b).A talented writer is one for whom writing is easy.
6. ______ (a).Writing a note to stick on the refrigerator requires complex thought.
(b).Good writing requires hard work.
7. ______ (a).If you write well, you will make no mistakes.
(b).Your ear for language can help you write.
8. (a).Standard English is English that is universally accepted by
authorities.
______ (b).Standard English is not acceptable to dictionaries.
9. ______ (a).The expression “between you and I” is standard English.
(b).The expression “between you and I” is not standard English.
10. ______ (a).Irregardless is a standard English word.
(b).Irregardless is not a standard English word.
Unit Talk-Write Assignment
In this Talk-Write exercise and others to follow, you are asked to convert a spoken paragraph
into a more structured written one. The exercise is designed to apply your speech skills to your
writing. To do the exercise, turn the spoken sentences into standard written English.
This particular assignment presents one student‟s comments during a class discussion about
personality. Here is what the student actually said in response to the question, “What is the most
interesting part of your personality?” Rewrite the casual spoken speech into standard English in
the lines provided.
Spoken Paragraph
Actually, I‟m sort of a funny guy, I guess. Mom always called me the family clown. Come to
think of it, kids way back in grade school used to look to me for smart-ass answers to questions
asked by teachers. Some times I‟d cross my eyes, bare my teeth, and stick out my tongue—just
to look freaky, you know. The kids always laughed. I mean, I still play that role. Trouble is, I
don‟t always feel like being funny. Some times I just want to tell everyone to bug off and leave
me alone, but when you‟ve gotten the reputation of sporting a goofy „tude, you kinda feel
obligated, you know. It‟s like, you know, they‟re expecting you to make ‟em laugh. Even you
dudes in this class put pressure on me, you know. The other day our psych teacher asked us to
define the word “pessimist.” She probably expected some hoity-toity answer from our textbook
assignment, but I couldn‟t resist being the class joker by waving my hand high above my head as
if I had the perfect answer. “Yes, Fred?” The teacher asked—and, of course, all heads jerked
around as if to say, “Go ahead, you‟re da bomb, so say something funny . . .” With triumph I
belted out my dad‟s saying, “A pessimist is a guy who looks both ways when crossing a one-way
street.” Naturally, the class cracked up, and some looked at the ceiling as if to say, “There goes
that nut case.” What can I tell you? I‟m a total joker.
Written Paragraph
I think I am a funny person. My mother always called me the family clown. I remember
when I was in grade school, the other children seemed to expect me to make jokes and give
comical answers to questions. Sometimes I would cross my eyes, bare my teeth, and stick out
my tongue just to look silly. The other children always laughed. I still play that role. The
problem is that I do not always feel like being funny. Sometimes I just want to tell everyone to
go away and leave me alone, but because I have acquired the reputation of being a comedian,
I feel obligated to act like one. That’s what people expect. Even you, the other students in this
class, pressure me to be comical. The other day our psychology teacher asked us to define the
word “pessimist.”. She probably expected some academic answer from our textbook
assignment, but I could not resist being the class clown by waving my hand high above my
head as if I had the perfect answer. “Yes, Fred?” the teacher asked—and, of course,
everyone’s head jerked around as if to say, “OK, goofball, say something funny . . .” With
triumph I repeated my father’s saying, “A pessimist is a guy who looks both ways when
crossing a one-way street.” Naturally, the class guffawed, and some students looked at the
ceiling as if to say, “There goes that nut case.” Clearly, I am a funny person.
