Thursday, November 15th Agenda: Quick Write C-Notes Topic: Sentence Fluency Level: Identify & Apply Agenda: Quick Write C-Notes Dancing the Fluency Dance Assessments/Assignments: Quick Write Book Wars – White Handout Homework: TBD

Topic: Sentence Fluency EQ: What is sentence fluency? Sentence fluency gives a piece a sense of rhythm and grace. It is achieved through: Logic Creative phrasing Absence of redundancy A variety of sentence types and lengths Can you read the piece quickly and get the main idea?

Problem 1: Short, choppy, bite-sized sentences We went to the beach. We had fun. We saw seagulls. Vary beginning and combine sentences: Despite being overrun by pesky seagulls, we had fun at the beach.

Problem 2: All sentences begin the same way-boring! In your notes, re-write the following sentence in as many ways as you can in 3 minutes. Do not change the meaning of the sentence. “You have to be clever to survive school.” Sentence fluency AVOIDS repetition and stating of the obvious.

Cutting the Fat! The stadium has ample parking space for fans’ automobiles. The stadium has ample parking space.

Transitions A transition word directly tells the reader the logical relationship between one idea and another idea. Transition Idea Idea

Transitions Look at the two groups of sentences below. Which sentences read more smoothly? My friend, Marcos, loves to play sports and is very athletic. He has won a scholarship to play football at a university next year. My friend, Marcos, loves to play sports and is very athletic. In fact, he has won a scholarship to play football at a university next year.

What are transition words? Transitions What are transition words?

Transitions - one clause and another clause Transitions are words that help make your writing more coherent. They create connections between: - one clause and another clause - one sentence and another sentence - one group of sentences and the next group of sentences

Connecting Two Sentences You can use a transition and comma to tell the reader the logical relationship between two sentences. In fact, he plays three sports at school. Marcos is very athletic. Marcos is very athletic. In fact, he plays three sports at school.

Placement of Transition Rather than placing the transition at the beginning of the second sentence, you may place it in the middle of the second sentence after the subject with two commas. Marcos is very athletic. transition He, in fact, plays three sports at school. subject

Transitions in Longer Writing When writing a paragraph or a larger piece of writing, you can use a transition to show the reader the logical relationship between one group of sentences and another group of sentences. This is useful when you want to let the reader know that you are changing from one idea to another idea.

Example- Longer Piece of Writing Transition connects ideas in paragraph 2 to ideas in paragraph 1. Essay Introduction Body Paragraph 1 Transition connects ideas in paragraph 3 to ideas in paragraph 2. Body Paragraph 2: In addition, Body Paragraph 3: Furthermore, Conclusion:

Types of Transitions Relationship Transition ;moreover, ;furthermore, Addition Moreover Furthermore In addition besides Marcos loves to ski he likes to fish. ;moreover, ;furthermore, ;in addition, ;besides,

Marcos enjoys outdoor sports he likes hiking, skiing, and fishing. Types of Transitions Relationship Transition Exemplification For example For instance In particular Marcos enjoys outdoor sports ;for example, ;for instance, ;in particular, The second clause is more specific than the first. he likes hiking, skiing, and fishing.

Types of Transitions Relationship Transition ;thus, ;consequently, Result or Effect Consequently Accordingly Thus Hence Therefore As a result ;thus, ;consequently, ;therefore, ;hence, ;as a result, ;accordingly, Marcos broke his leg he can’t play basketball.

Marcos plays basketball he plays every Saturday. Types of Transitions Relationship Transition Reinforcement/Emphasis Indeed In fact Marcos plays basketball The transition and second clause reemphasize the first clause. ;in fact, ;indeed, he plays every Saturday.

One day there was a seven year old boy called Will. He loved to write One day there was a seven year old boy called Will. He loved to write. In his life he has made ten great books. They read them every day in school. But there was a kid who hated Will. He was called Eric. He decided to make bigger stories than Will, using 14 pages of his draft book. Now that for Will was a problem. So, to get things back to normal he used whole draft books. The war began. Will used 5 draft books. Eric used 10. Will used so many because he was behind that he used 100 draft books. Eric only used 20 draft books. Will patted Eric on the shoulder and said Eric I wish we were friends. The war stopped. They became friends. Re-write this story. Combine sentences Cut the fat Insert transitions Sentence Fluency rating of 2