LESSON 29: UNDERSTAND SENTENCE CONSTRUCTION AND USAGE Writing Conventions : Understand sentence construction (e.g., parallel structure, subordination, proper placement of modifiers) and standard English usage (e.g., consistency of verb tenses).

Lesson 29 Vocabulary Please take out your Reader’s/Writer’s Journal and open to a new page with the above title. You are going to take down the following notes to help you with the WRITING CONVENTIONS portion of the CaHSEE. When you construct sentences, keep these points in mind  Parallelism: Use the same grammatical form to express equal (or parallel) ideas  NOT: They spent the day hiking, swimming and they had a picnic.  BUT: They spent the day hiking, swimming and picnicking.

Lesson 29 Vocabulary WRITING CONVENTI ONS continued – Next….  Subordination: Place less important ideas in the subordinate clause (see page 200 if unclear on term).  NOT: He was exhausted and famished. He would not give up.  BUT: Although he was exhausted and famished, he would not give up.

Lesson 29 Vocabulary WRITING CONVENTI ONS continued – Next….  Placement of Modifiers: Place a modifier as close as possible to the word it modifies.  NOT: I read a collection of letters that James Thurber wrote during my summer vacation.  BUT: During my summer vacation, I read a collection of letters that James Thurber wrote.

Lesson 29 Vocabulary WRITING CONVENTI ONS continued – Next….  Consistency of Tenses: Keep the verbs in your sentence in the same tense UNLESS you are dealing with events that happen at different times.  NOT: George Eliot is the pseudonym of Mary Anne Evans, who writes about life in nineteenth-century England.  BUT: George Eliot is the pseudonym of Mary Anne Evans, who wrote about life in nineteenth-century England.

Read the Selection entitled “Camping Right” on page 205. Answer the guided questions. Don’t forget to write your answers in complete sentences. For example: The writer made the change in order to ______________________. “Camping Right” Guided Questions

Edit the first draft of the essay (handout). Look for problems in parallel structure, subordinate ideas, placement of modifiers and consistency of tenses. Correct ANY and all errors. “Camping Right” Error Correction

Lesson 29: Understand Sentence Construction Assessment Practice