English Composition

English Composition Study Guide

Sentence Structure Sentence combining: During the revision process, writers combine sentences to reduce wordiness. A writer will look at his first draft and observe that he has repeated ideas or used too many words to express a simple idea. Clauses can be revised to become phrases. In some cases, phrases can be expressed using a single word. Two simple sentences can be turned into one sentence by combining two independent clauses. Making these changes creates a clearer, more concise paragraph. Subordination: Correct subordination places the most important idea in the independent clause and a less important idea in the dependent clause. If the opposite is true, the sentence emphasizes the less important idea. • The NFL player, who decided to volunteer at a local high school for underprivileged kids, went to school in a rough neighborhood when he was a kid. There is nothing technically wrong with this sentence. However, if the sentence is reworded, the emphasis is changed. • The NFL player, who went to school in a rough neighborhood when he was a kid, decided to volunteer at a local high school for underprivileged kids. Coordination: When a writer strings several independent clauses together, the reader can’t tell which element the writer intended to emphasize. • The talk show guests were two politicians and each of themwere running for office in the next election. Both politicians discussed their plans to improve the economy. No idea is emphasized more than any other in these sentences. These two sentences can be combined into one sentence and the emphasis clarified. • The two politicians, who were both running for office, discussed their plans to improve the economy while guests on the talk show. This emphasizes the topic discussed over the other elements in the first sample. 1.3 Diction Word choice is the most basic decision a writer makes. Writing style dependent on word choice is known as diction . The three writing prompts on the exam require students to demonstrate a mastery of the principles of word choice. Non-standard diction: Standard diction is easily recognized and understood by readers. The following list includes types of words that are not commonly used because they do not share the characteristics of standard diction. • Colloquialisms: Colloquialisms are used in daily speech, but not in formal writing. Some words are used as a verbal shorthand, which makes conversation easy but might not be known to some readers. Saying kids instead of children is an example of this type of colloquialism. Some

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