1. © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Sentence Skills: A Workbook for Writers, Form A John Langan Practice in Effective Writing

2. © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Sentence Skills Form A, 7E Practice The Keys to Effective Writing The following are skills you should master in order to strengthen your abilities as a writer at the college level.

3. © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Sentence Skills Form A, 7E Practice Understanding General Versus Specific Ideas A paragraph is made up of a main idea, which is general, and the specific ideas that support it. So to write well, you must understand the differences between general and specific ideas. A paragraph is made up of a main idea, which is general, and the specific ideas that support it. So to write well, you must understand the differences between general and specific ideas.

4. © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Sentence Skills Form A, 7E Practice Understanding the Paragraph A paragraph is made up of a main idea and a group of related sentences that develop the main idea. A paragraph is made up of a main idea and a group of related sentences that develop the main idea.

5. © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Sentence Skills Form A, 7E Practice Understanding the Topic Sentence Most paragraphs center on a main idea, which is often expressed in a topic sentence. Most paragraphs center on a main idea, which is often expressed in a topic sentence.

6. © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Sentence Skills Form A, 7E Practice Identifying Topics, Topic Sentences, and Support A paragraph is made up of a main idea, which is general, and the specific ideas that support it. So to write well, you must understand the differences between general and specific ideas. A paragraph is made up of a main idea, which is general, and the specific ideas that support it. So to write well, you must understand the differences between general and specific ideas.

7. © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Sentence Skills Form A, 7E Practice Recognizing Specific Details Specific Details are examples, reasons, particulars and facts. Such details are needed to effectively support and explain a topic sentence. Specific Details are examples, reasons, particulars and facts. Such details are needed to effectively support and explain a topic sentence.

8. © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Sentence Skills Form A, 7E Practice Selecting Details That Fit The details in your paper must all clearly relate to and support your main point. Omit unrelated ideas and details! The details in your paper must all clearly relate to and support your main point. Omit unrelated ideas and details!

9. © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Sentence Skills Form A, 7E Practice Using Transitions Transitions are signal words that help readers follow the direction of a writer’s thought. Transitions are signal words that help readers follow the direction of a writer’s thought.

10. © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Sentence Skills Form A, 7E Practice Organizing Details in a Paragraph The supporting details in a paragraph must be organized in a meaningful way. The two most common methods of organizing details are listing order and time order.

11. © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Sentence Skills Form A, 7E Practice Introductory and Concluding Paragraphs Every essay needs a strong opening paragraph that draws the reader in, and a strong ending paragraph that ties up the author’s argument. Every essay needs a strong opening paragraph that draws the reader in, and a strong ending paragraph that ties up the author’s argument.

12. © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Sentence Skills Form A, 7E PracticePrewriting Freewriting, questioning, clustering, and listing are strategies you can use to generate ideas and details for your paper.

13. © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Sentence Skills Form A, 7E Practice Outlining, Drafting, and Revising After you’ve finished prewriting, the next steps in writing are: writing an outline; writing a first draft; and then revising that draft for content, clarity, and grammatical and spelling errors. After you’ve finished prewriting, the next steps in writing are: writing an outline; writing a first draft; and then revising that draft for content, clarity, and grammatical and spelling errors.