Page 48 - ELA_CA_HighSchool_Sampler_Flipbook

ACTIVITY 1.4
continued
The beauty of recognizing types of phrases in writing rests in your ability to incorporate those syntactic structures in your own writing. Choose three of the previous sentences and use them as models to write original sentences using gerund, participle, and infinitive phrases.
1. I was able to write using infinitive phrases, able to manipulate syntax in my own writing . . .
2. Stunned by the blow, the boxer hit the mat, the hard floor, the unforgiving ground that slammed him like another fist.
3. My days were mostly spent swimming and biking.
Prepositional and Appositive Phrases
Phrases come in more shapes and sizes than gerunds, participles, and
infinitives. Prepositional phrases and appositives also add precision to writing; in fact, they provide critical information that helps us combine sentences rather than depend on multiple simple sentences.
Example: Sophomores take English. They study world cultures.
Revised with prepositional phrases: Sophomores study world cultures in English class.
Example: The study of grammar remains a critical skill. It is a lost art.
Revised with appositive phrase: The study of grammar, a lost art, remains a critical skill.
Find prepositional and appositive phrases in the following sentences, and then, using the mentor sentence as a model, practice writing sentences with those types of phrases.
1. “Sheseemedentrancedbythemusic,afrenziedlittlepianopiecewithamesmerizing quality, which alternated between quick, playful passages and teasing, lilting ones.” —Amy Tan, “Two Kinds”
Practice: I was confused by the story, a rambling narrative without a recognizable plotline, which my uncle told me at his daughter’s wedding.
2. “Ilookedbrieflyatthechildren’sdrawingspinnedtothewall,andthenconcentrated on a lizard clinging to the ledge of the high, barred window behind the teacher’s head.”—Santha Rau, “By Any Other Name”
Practice: I climbed slowly over the fence behind the schoolyard, and then looked over my shoulder at my friend running toward me through the field.
My Notes
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Unit 1 • Cultural Conversations 19
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ACTIVITY 1.4 continued
4 Help students expand their knowledge of different types of phrases with a discussion of the prepositional and appositive phrases. Both are types of phrases that students will encounter and use frequently in their writing.
5 Ask pairs of varying ability
levels to work together to label the appositive and prepositional phrases in the sample sentences. After students write original sentences following the model sentences, again have them share some well-written examples with the class.
Unit 1 • Cultural Conversations 19
© 2017 College Board. All rights reserved.
© 2017 College Board. All rights reserved.