English 8 Quarter 4 – Module 1:

Using Appropriate Grammatical Signals or

Expressions to Each Pattern of Idea
Development
General to Particular and Claim and Counterclaim

What I know

Pre-assessment Activity Directions: From the pool of choices in the box, choose the appropriate
grammatical signal to use in each sentence. Write the correct answer on your activity notebook.

1. Car prices can vary a lot. ________________ in Belgium, the VW Golf costs $1000 less than in Britain.
2. It was recognized as the flu, ______________ records describe conditions which were highly likely to
have been polio.

3. _______________ these remarkable inland mountains, Formosa’s eastern shores show magnificent
cliff scenery, the bases of the hills on the seaside taking the form of almost perpendicular walls as high
as from 1500 to 2 500 ft.

4. They stay awake at night ____________ researchers work in the daytime.

5. Soon, however, the activity of the Schoffen became ___________ confined to the determination of
legal disputes, and in their place a new body (Collegium) of counsellors – Ratmannen – also fourteen in
number, was appointed for the general administration of local matters.

WHAT’S IN

Directions: Rewrite the following sentences by inserting the appropriate grammatical signal in each
sentence. Choose the correct answer from the choices in the parentheses. Do this on your activity
notebook.

1. General to particular: There are several steps to follow when baking a cake. Prepare all the necessary
ingredients and materials. (for example / first / moreover)

2. Claim: Virginia Woolf is a more effective writer than James Joyce. She does not rely on elaborate
language devices that ultimately confuse and alienate the reader. (because / on the other hand / lastly)

3. Counterclaim: Some argue that eating meat is ethical because it is natural for animals to kill and eat
one another. This argument presumes that all animals need meat to survive or rely exclusively on
hunting for food. (as a result / however / although)
 WHAT’S NEW
How do you develop an idea? What grammatical signals do you use to show how ideas
develop?
Read through to know what grammatical signals to use for general-tospecific pattern and to
indicate claim and counterclaim.

Pattern of idea development refers to the strategy a writer uses to show how an idea flows from
sentence to sentence, paragraph to paragraph. Coherence in writing is the term used to refer to ideas in
sentences and paragraphs that are connected and flow together smoothly. Coherence is important in idea
development because it inhibits the reader’s ability to understand the ideas and main points of a certain text.
To achieve this, appropriate grammatical signals are used to show relationship between ideas in sentences and
paragraphs.

What is It?
Grammatical signals are writing devices that serve to maintain text coherence. As mentioned earlier,
coherence allows a reader to understand a text more because the ideas flow together smoothly.

Look at the following sentences:

I love drinking coffee. It keeps me awake at night.

These sentences imply that the writer loves drinking coffee because it keeps her awake at night. To add
more specificity, the signal word “because” can be used. To change the relationship between the
sentences, other transition words can be used. Transitions (or signal words) are words and phrases that
show the connection between ideas. To show how transitions guide us, here are the same two ideas,
but this time with a transition word:

I love drinking coffee even though it keeps me awake at night.

Now the writer loves coffee in spite of it keeping her awake at night. The relationship between the
sentences’ ideas has changed. A transition has smoothed the way from one idea to the other. In Latin,
trans means “across,” so transitions live up to their name – they carry the reader “across” from one
thought to another.

General to Specific As the name suggests, this pattern is characterized by a movement in your thinking
from a generalization to specific details. Your opening paragraph would begin with a general statement

Example of a General-to-Specific Pattern

Writing is a complex socio-cognitive process involving the construction of recorded messages

 and then add details that explain it. The details may become increasingly more specific. The pattern
ends with a broad statement that summarizes your thinking that resulted from the details.

In this example, the first sentence presents the general statement about the writing process.
The succeeding statements consist of details and examples, introduced by the transitions first, second,
and third. Finally, the pattern ends with a broad or general statement that summarizes what the writer
wishes to conclude about the meaning of the details. Source:
https://www.umgc.edu/current-students/learning-resources/writing-center/online-guide-towriting/
tutorial/chapter3/ch3-10.htm

The following are more grammatical signals and expressions to indicate a general-to-specific
pattern:

• Addition words tell you that the writer’s thought is going to continue in the same direction. He is going
to add on more points or details of the same kind. Addition words are typically used to signal
enumeration. Look over some addition words.

also first furthermore likewise next

another first of all in addition moreover second
finally for one thing last of all next the third reason

• Illustration words tell you that an example or illustration will be given to make an idea clear. Such words
are typically used in textbooks that present a number of definitions and examples of those definitions.
Look over the following illustration words.

For example Specifically For instance

To illustrate once Such as
Source: https://www.cpp.edu/ramp/program-materials/recognizing-transitions.shtml

Claim and Counterclaim

A claim persuades, argues, convinces, proves, or provocatively suggests something to a reader
who may or may not initially agree with you. Consider these arguments/arguable claims:

1. Fudgee bar tastes better than other snack cakes because of their texture, their creamy filling,
and their golden appearance.
2. Dance music has become popular for reasons that have nothing to do with the quality of the
music; rather, the clear, fast beats respond to the need of people on amphetamines to move
and to move quickly.
3. The governor has continually done the community a disservice by mishandling money,
focusing on frivolous causes, and failing to listen to his constituents
 A claim can be substantiated with research, evidence, testimony, and academic
reasoning. It is something more than statement and support. An arguable claim also goes on to
address the “so what?” question, the implications, and why we should care in the first place.
Remember that not all claims are created equal, and though a claim may be arguable, the best
claims are focused, specific, complex, and relevant.
On the other hand, a counterclaim is the argument (or one of the arguments) opposing
your thesis statement. In your thesis paragraph, you make it clear to the reader exactly what
you plan on proving and how you plan to go about proving it. This paragraph is where you show
the reader that you have considered the opposing side’s viewpoint and find it to be weak or
invalid. A counterclaim and rebuttal paragraph, if done well, gives you a chance to respond to
the reader’s potential arguments before they are done reading.
When writing an argumentative essay, you need to acknowledge the valid points of the
other side of the argument (counterclaim). Otherwise, you will come off sounding narrow-
minded and thereby less effective. Rather than weakening your paper, a good counterclaim
paragraph will actually strengthen your essay by showing that you have thoughtfully considered
both sides of the issue before arriving at your own claim.

Look closely at this counterclaim paragraph:

On the other hand, some people say that rock music contains lyrics that are both
provocative and rebellious. This point of view makes sense because in the article it
states that “one form of rock music, punk rock, concentrates purely on antisocial
subjects as a basis for its songs.” However, rock music itself is not enough to make a
teenager rebel against society because the article also says that the average teenager
does not take it seriously and concentrates more on the musical value of the songs
rather than the inner meaning of the lyrics. Therefore, even though lyrics in rock and
roll music show hints of anarchy and social rebellion, it is not a threat to society.

a.
Phrases to introduce the counterclaim:
• On the other hand, some people say
• Admittedly, some people say
• Certainly, some people say
b. Phrases to address the original claim:
• However
• Nevertheless
• On the other hand
c. Phrases to conclude the paragraph:
• Thus
• Therefore
• As a result Source: https://kmslmc.weebly.com/counterclaim---argumentative-essay.html

Among the most valuable signals for you to know are emphasis words, through which the writer
tells you directly that a particular idea or detail is especially important. These words can be used to
indicate both claim and counterclaim. Think of such words as red flags that the author is using to make
sure you pay attention to an idea. Look over the following list, which contains some typical words
showing emphasis.

• important to note • most noteworthy a vital force

• most of all • remember that • above all
• a significant factor • a major event • a central issue
• a primary concern • the chief outcome • a distinctive quality
• a key feature • the principal item • especially relevant
• the main value • pay particular attention to • should be noted
• especially valuable • the chief factor • the most substantial issue

CLASS ACTIVITY
WHAT’S MORE
Directions: Read the selections that follow and identify the grammatical signals used. Note the
example. Write the correct answer on your activity notebook

Example:
Black English used to be considered simply poor English until linguists realized that the so-called
errors were actually consistent alternative grammatical forms, some of which originated in African
linguistic patterns. For example, the word “be” in standard English is primarily used as part of the
infinitive “to be.” But in Black English, “be” can also be used to indicate a repeated action or existential
state (Labov, 1972). To illustrate this, in Black English one can say “I am sick” or “I be sick.” The first
means “I am sick at this present moment.” The second includes the recent past as well as the present; to
express the second concept in standard English, one might say, “I have been sick for a while.”

1. One purpose for incorporating sexual themes or pictorial material in advertisements is to

attract consumers’ attention to the ad. However, evidence suggests that the use of such
material may not always have an easily predictable or desired effect. For example, one study
found nonsexual and sexual-romantic themes to have a greater influence on consumers’
attention than did nudity. (1 signal word)

2. 2. An interesting point about role playing is the way middle-years and adolescent youngsters
play the role of being their age. One eight-year-old boy, for instance, avidly collected
baseball cards and kept track of games and team standings in sports pages in accordance
with the mores of his neighborhood, even though he had never seen a baseball game or
expressed the slightest interest in attending one. (1 signal word)

WHAT I HAVE LEARNED

Directions: Review the lesson on Using Appropriate Grammatical Signals Suitable to Each Pattern of Idea
Development. Then write your reflection on your notebook by completing the statements below.

I have learned that ________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________
I have realized that _______________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
I will apply _______________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________