Five Basic Concepts

We will begin by considering the following concepts:

1. The Sentence
2. The Paragraph
3. Standard Essay Form
4. Written Voice or Persona
5. The Writing Process

Concept One: The Sentence

There are five things to keep in mind when writing sentences:

1. Subject.
2. Predicate, or verb statement.
3. Complete thought.
4. Active Voice (subject then predicate).
5. Relative Pronouns. Be careful with relative pronouns like it, that, these, those, this, they...

1. In order to be complete, a sentence must have a subject. The subject of the sentence is what the sentence is about. 

Identify the subject in the following sentence:

The boy ate a hot dog.

The sentence is about the boy. He is the subject of the sentence. Also, note that he is the “doer” of the action (he ate hotdog.)

2. In order to be complete, a sentence must have a predicate (verb statement).

Identify the predicate in the following sentence:

The boy ate a hot dog.

The predicate is “ate a hotdog.”  Note that the object of the sentence is the hotdog.

3. In order to be complete, a sentence must contain a complete thought.  Consider the following sentence:

The boy ate a hot dog.

This sentence is complete because it presents us with a complete thought:  something doing something. This sentence says something logical about something in the real world.

It might be a good idea to pause here and reflect that the subject/predicate formulation is the basis of how we view the world in our civilization. The way we organize knowledge and understanding of the world is built right into our grammar: subject/predicate: something doing something.  We organize knowledge like this at all levels or scales.

As the five basic concepts are described, we will return to the following table to explore this idea.

Level or Scale	Something	Doing Something
Sentence	Subject	Predicate
Paragraph
Essay
Book

Look around at the things in the room. We describe these things as “something doing something.” For example:

The door is closed.

The lights are on.

That chair is orange.

The tables are brown.

The floor tiles are beautiful

Tom loves this class.

The clock says 10:35.

The professor is a genius.

The students want to learn more.

OK, let’s move on in our exploration of the sentence:

4. Sentences should be written in the active voice (something doing something). In some circumstances the passive voice has some applications, but in this class we will almost always write in the active voice.

Again consider our sentence:

The boy ate a hot dog.

It is written in the active voice because it follows our subject/predicate pattern in which the subject is the doer of the action.

Now let’s write the same sentence in the passive voice:

A hotdog was eaten by the boy.

The subject of the sentence is now the hotdog, but notice that the hotdog is not the doer of the action.

Let’s compare the two sentences:

The boy ate a hot dog.    active voice

A hotdog was eaten by the boy.  passive voice

First, notice the sentence that is written in the passive voice has more words than the sentence written in the active voice. The sentence in the active voice has fewer words and is more direct. It takes more time to read the passive voice sentence than the active voice sentence. Even if it is only a microsecond, we want to save our reader that time because it will make our writing clearer!

Second, notice that in the sentence written in the passive voice, “hotdog” is the subject. This is OK grammatically, but the boy is actually the doer of the action.  Because he is the doer of the action, we want to have the boy near the beginning of the sentence so it fits our “something-doing-something” pattern. As we can see, the sentence in the active voice is more direct. It more directly matches the way we look at the world (“something doing something”).

It is easier for your reader to read the sentence in the active voice than the passive voice.  The active voice sentence is smarter and clearer, and we ALWAYS want to write as CLEARLY as possible.  Good writing is economical, direct, and CLEAR.

The boy ate a hot dog.    active voice

A hotdog was eaten by the boy.  passive voice

We will always write in the active voice!

5. Be careful with relative pronouns like it, that, these, those, this, they... It may be clear to you what you mean when you use a relative pronoun, but that doesn’t mean it is clear to your reader. You have to use your imagination and put your feet into your readers’ shoes.

For an example, let’s look at our sentence again. Let’s add another sentence:

The boy ate a hot dog. It was good.

Instructor: What is the relative pronoun in the second sentence?

Class: It.

Instructor: Good. Now what does “It” refer to?

Class: The hotdog. It tasted good.

Instructor:  Are you sure?

Class: Yes. Um. Maybe-baby. Yes and no.  Well...

Instructor: Of course it is reasonable to assume that “It” does refer to the hotdog and the fact that it tasted good. But there are other possibilities. Let’s change the context by adding some more sentences:

The boy had been very difficult all morning. He was very hungry and his tummy hurt. He started moaning, and then he began crying. His fussing was driving his mother crazy. She decided to get him something to eat. The boy ate a hot dog. It was good. Now his mother could get some peace and quiet.

Instructor: Now what does “It” refer to?

Class: The fact that the boy ate the hotdog.  It was good because the boy quieted down and his mother could relax.

Instructor: The point is this: As the writer, you know what you mean when you use a relative pronoun. However, your reader doesn’t always know what you mean.  You have to make sure your reader knows what you mean when you use a relative pronoun. You have to use your imagination and put your feet into your readers’ shoes and make sure they know what you mean when you use a  relative pronoun.

Concept Two: The Paragraph

The paragraph is the basic unit of composition.

Paragraphs should be properly developed with the following:

1. Topic sentence—general statement
2. Supporting sentences—specific statements.
3. Fully developed with discussion, illustrations, and examples.
4.  One topic per paragraph.

The topic sentence is a general statement that sets forth the topic of the paragraph.  The topic of the paragraph is fully developed by the supporting sentences which are specific statements which develop the paragraph by providing information and discussion about the topic of the paragraph. Generally speaking, in this class we will always set things up so that the first sentence in each paragraph is the topic sentence. Sometimes the idea contained in the topic sentence needs to be expressed in two sentences, but the point is the topic sentence (or sentences) will almost always come at the beginning of the paragraph.

Consider the following paragraph, which is broken down sentence-by-sentence:

Topic sentence:          

            This is a wonderful classroom.

Supporting sentences:

1. The lighting in this classroom is very good for reading and writing.
2. The chairs in this classroom are very expensive, and it is a real pleasure to sit on such elegant furniture.
3. The floor tiles are also very elegant.
4. Many people don’t realize that they are actually Italian marble.
5. This classroom is equipped with all the modern instructional technologies, including an overhead projector, a screen, a pencil sharpener, and an emergency telephone.
6. There are six-hundred-forty parking spaces in the college parking lot.

Uh-oh! Clearly, that last sentence doesn’t belong in this paragraph. It belongs under a different topic heading, and it needs to be in a separate paragraph, Remember, one topic per paragraph!

Let’s return to our “something-doing-something” table. Like the sentence, the paragraph follows our basic subject/predicate pattern:

Level or Scale	Something	Doing Something
Sentence	Subject	Predicate
Paragraph	Topic Topic Sentence	Points about the topic Supporting Sentences