Sentence-based Writing

Course Description

The course is designed to provide students with basic theory

and practice on Sentence-based Writing such as Sentences
Patterns, Independent and Dependent Clauses, Simple
Sentences, Compound Sentences, Complex Sentences,
Compound Complex Sentences, Parallelism, Sentence
Problems, Noun Clauses, Adverbial Clauses (Types of
Adverbial Clauses), Relative Clauses, and Participial Phrases
on contextualizing religious and tolerable values.
• Types of Clauses (Independent and Dependent Clauses)
• Simple Sentences
• Compound Sentences
• Complex Sentences
• Compound Complex Sentences
• Parallelism in Sentences
• Sentence Problems
• Noun Clauses
• Adverbial Clauses
• Relative Clauses
• Participial Phrases
Independent & Dependent Clauses

Clauses are the building block of sentences

a Clause is a group of words that contains (at

least) a subject and a verb
Independent & Dependent Clauses

Independent Clauses contains a subject and a verb and

expresses a complete thought. it can stand alone as a
sentence by itself. it is formed with a subject and a verb
and often a complement.

e.g the sun rose

water evaporates in warm climate
Independent & Dependent Clauses

A Dependent Clause begins with subordinator such as

when, while, if, that, or who. it doesn’t express a
complete thought, so it is not a sentence by itself. it is
also called a sentence fragment.

e.g ... when the sun rose

... because water evaporates in warm climate
... if the drought continues for another year ...
 Independent & Dependent Clauses
1. Globalization means more travel for businessmen and women
2. as business executives fly around the globe to sell their companies’
products and services.
3. Jet lag affects most long-distance travelers.
4. During long journeys through several time zones, the body’s inner
clock is disrupted
5. For some reason, travel from west to east causes greater jet lag than
travel from east to west.
6. Also, changes in work schedules can cause jet lag
7. when hospital nurses change from a day shift to anight shift, for
example
8. then the traveler should start to live in the new time zone immediately
 Simple Sentence
a group of words to communicate ideas. every sentence is formed
from one or more clauses and expresses a complete thought.

a simple sentence is one independent clause. it may have single or

compound subject or verb

e.g
Freshwater boils at 100 degrees Celcius at sea level
Freshwater boils at 100 degrees and freezes at 0 degrees Celcius
Freshwater and salt water do not boil do not freeze at the same temperatures
Simple sentence

• Simple sentence consists of one single statement,

command, wish, question, or exclamation
• Sentence fragments are group of words that do not
expresses a complete thought
• e.g
– into the woods - when they arrived
– and in a minute the children
Identify sentences
1. Run away
2. The students
3. In the study
4. Eat
5. Go to town
6. the candidate’s speech
7. the man, who stopped us
8. the homework assignment is
9. Let’s do it
10.Beyond the school, when we arrived
Choose word/ group of words to construct sentences

The snowfall went to the same school

Did are not too good
the food and drink houses 105 students
Our dormitory at college need sun and water
John and Carol are identical twins
I is a one-celled animal
Green plants was eight inches deep
Herb and Jack is a two-legged animal
An amoeba am a math major
Man you go to class today?
highlight all sentence fragments
Many people work by day and sleep by night. Studies
show night workers are not as efficient as day workers.
Night workers also have many more serious physical
illnesses than day workers. The research has been
done on workers with routine jobs. Research has not
been done on night workers with creative jobs.
highlight all sentence fragments
We entered the dark room very cautiously. suddenly a
ray of loght came into the room. almost blinding us. we
were terrified! There had been three murders in this
room. we didn’t intend to the next victims. even though
being stuck here now. we heard a loud pounding
noise. only our hearts. we couldn’t seem to move.
someone was definitely in the room with us.who was
there?
 Compound Sentence
Two or more independent clauses joined together.

to join clauses;
1. with a coordinator
salt water boils at a higher temperature than freshwater, therefore, so food
cooks faster in salt water
2. with a conjunctive adverb
Salt water boils at a higher temperature than freshwater; therefore, food
cooks faster in salt water.
3. with a semicolon
salt water boils at a higher temperature than freshwater; food cooks faster
in salt water
Coordinating Conjunctions
• but and yet have similar meanings: they both signal that an
opposite idea is coming. but is preferred when the two clauses
are direct opposites. when the second clause is an unexpected
or surprising continuation because of information given in the
first clause, yet is preferred.
• but is acceptable for both meanings; yet for only one meaning)
compare;
– I want to study art, but my parents want me to study engineering.
(direct opposite)
– I am very bad at math, yet my parents want me to study
engineering
practice 3: connect the two clauses
1. a. Too much sun damages the skin, ... many people still do not use
sunscreen.
b. too much sun damages the skin, ... too little sun also causes health
problems.
2. a. the company’s sales increased last year, ... its profts declined.
b. the company moved its marketing division to Phoenix, ... the
operations division stayed in Boston.
3. a. population growth has slowed in kost developing countries, ... it
has not slowed enough serious problems.
b. the fertility rate in India has decreased from 6 to 3 births per
female, ... India’s population in expanding at the rate of 18 million per
year.
 Compound Sentence with Conjunctive Adverbs

Independent Clause; + Conjunctive adverb, + Independent Clause

e.g Salt water boils at a higher temperature than freshwater; therefore,

food cooksfaster in salt water

put a semicolon before and a comma after the conjunctive adverb

Form compound sentences by adding independent clause to the following
clauses
1. according to the Big Bang Theory, the universe began
expanding about 13.7 billion years ago and ...
2. scientists predict that intelligent life exists somewhere in
the universe but ...
3. we may not be able to communicate with other life forms
for ...
4. instead of taking the psychology final exam, we can writ
a 10-page research paper or ...
5. I want to write a research paper yet ...
Form compound sentences by adding second independent clause
to the following clauses. circle the conjunctive adverb and add
punctuation
1. according to the Big Bang Theory, the universe began
expanding about 13.7 billion years ago moreover ...
2. Scientists predict that intelligent life exists somewhere in
the universe however ...
3. Students must pay their tuition and fees before they
register for classes otherwise ...
4. My roomate scored high on the English placement test
as a result ...
5. Tuition and fees increase every year for example ...
 Compound Sentence with Semicolons

Independent Clause; + Independent Clause

e.g Poland was the first Eastern European country to turn away from
communism; others soon followed.

condition:
• the two independent clauses are closely related in meaning
• if they are not closely related, they should be written as two simple
sentences, each ending with a period.
place a semicolon between the two independent clauses in the
following compound sentences

1. The practice of Yoga strengthens the body and promotes

flexibility it also strengthens the mind and refreshes the
soul.
2. Motherhood causes some women to quit their jobs
others continue working despite having young children to
care for.
3. three hundred guests attended his wedding two attended
his funeral.
 Complex Sentence
One independent clause and one (or more) dependent clause (s). the more important idea in the
independent clause and the less important idea in the dependent clause.

three kinds of dependent clauses;

1. Adverb clauses
begins with subordinator (when, while, because although, if, so, or that). e.g: that is, it tells where,
when, why, and how.
A citizen can vote in the US when he or she is 18 years old.
2. Adjective clauses
begins with relative pronoun (who, whom, which, whose, or that) or relative adverb (where & when).
Men who are not married are called bachelors
3. Noun clauses
begins with wh- question word, that, whether, and sometimes if. noun clause can be either subject or
an object of the independent clause
that there is a hole in the ozone layer of Earth’s atmosphere is well known.
scientists know what caused it
Practice: determine independent and dependent clause

1. When students from other countries come to the United States,

they often suffer from cultural shock.
2. Because financial aid is difficult to obtain, many students have
to work part-time.
3. while the contractor follows the blueprint, the engineer checks
the construction in progress.
4. the government says that inflation is holding steady
5. economists are concerned that the rate of inflation will double if
the government does not take immediate steps to control it.
 Compound - Complex Sentences

CCS has at least 3 clauses, two of which are at least independent.

punctuation used are semicolon/ comma before/ after coordinator
e.g
I wanted to travel after I graduated from college; however, I had to
go to work immediately.

After I graduated from college, I wanted to travel, but I had to go

to work immediately

I could not decide where I should work or what I should do, so at

first I did nothing
Review
1. Simple Sentence
English grammar is easy
2. Compound Sentence (Ind clauses join with coordinator, conj adv, and or semicolon)
Grammar is easy, so I learned it quickly
3. Complex Sentence
Because grammar is easy,I learned it quickly.
I learned grammar quickly because it is easy
4. Compound-Complex Sentence
Because grammar is easy, I learned it quickly, but it took
me several years to master writing
Practice A. At the left of each sentence, write a “C” if it is a
compound sentence and an “S” if it is a simple sentence.

1.__________ Plants and animals are living things.

2.__________ The phone rang, and at the same time the
door opened.
Practice B. At the left of each sentence, write an “S” if it is a
simple sentence, a “C” if it is a compound sentence, and
“X” if it is a complex sentence, and a “O” if it is not a sentence.

1.__________ The rain has stopped, and we are ready to go

now.

2.__________ I think that Joan should be commended because

he works so hard to support his family.

3.__________ They completed the work on time, but they did

not get any recognition for it.
Practice C. At the left of each sentence, write an “S” if it is a simple
sentence, a “C” if it is a compound sentence, and “X” if it is a
complex sentence, and a “CC” if it is a compound-complex
sentence.
1.__________ Whenever I feel sad, I choose a humorous book
to read, but it never cheers me up.

2.__________ Whenever I go shopping for clothes, I like to take

my brother with me because he knows so much about styles
and fabrics.