City College - College English and College Composition
4 Verbs, Description, Narration, Comparison and Contrast

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1 Subject/Verb Word, Fragment........ | 2 Types of Sentences/Dependent clause vs. Independent clause | Process Writing | 3 Frag,Com.spl. Run-on. paragraph, details, connectives | 4 Verbs, Description, Narration, Comparison and Contrast | 5 S-V Agree,Using Examples,Process | 6 Consistency in Tense , paragraph - giving reasons, making an essay, research | 7 Research (outlining, notetaking) Pronoun,Adjectives, Adverbs p.425,433 | 8 Preposition.,Conjunction, Documetation | 9 Punctuation, capitalization, making the Bibliography | Example of a research paper | 10 Consistency in tense, noun pronoun agreement, review, research typing format | 11 Descriptive Composition | 12 Narrative Composition | 13 Composition using PROCESS | 14 Comparison and Contrast, Giving examples in composition | 15 Using classification and partition in composition | 16 Using Cause and Effect paragraphs, reasons in composition | Using metaphors in composition | Business letters, business reports | Apopka Football Teams | Colorado Experience | My Resume

Verbs are important because they convey the action of the sentence or what is happening in the sentence. There are the regular verbs and the irregular verbs. Tenses include the Simple Tenses (Past, Present, Future), the Perfect tenses (Past, Present, Future) and the Progressive tenses (Past, Present, Future). Explanations and examples are found on p. 398 of the book.

Exercise 1:
 
Choose the correct verb form for the following sentences.
 
1.  Ms Carlson (spoke, will speak) with Michael on Wednesday.
2.  That package (was shipped, will be shipped) by Air France last week.
3.  Every year, Ms. Soreto (sells, will sell) 50 computers.
4.  We (shall mail, mail, mailed) you a copy of the agreement last week.
5.  Your claim (will be referred, will refer, has referred) to Mr.Jones.
6.  Those flyers (will be mailed, were mailed) to you last year.
7.  The committee (voted, will vote, vote) on your case this coming October.
8.  The Clay Foundation (contributed, has contributed, will contribute) to our school last year.
9.  Gregory (suggested, had suggested, suggests) several names last week.
10. Mr. Conley (gave, will give, gives) the reward to us next month.
11. If necessary, Miss Hesley (delivered, will deliver, will have delivered) the speech in the coming assembly.
12. Ms. Wiseman (designs, designed, will design) buildings for our company.
13.   Mr. Einstein (oversee, oversees, oversaw) the construction of the buildings every year.
14.   The same software company (uses, is using, will use) our program at this moment.
15.  Mr. Albert (printed, prints, has printed) the design of the box.every year.
16.  The legal department (offered, offers, has offered) a seminar last week.
17.   Some people (has broke, have broken, had broken) their promises to us.
18.   I (shall fax, faxed, faxes) the address list to the manager next week.
19.   The decision (was made, is made, will be made) by the board every year.
20.   The manager (checks, checked, had checked) the products last week.

Types of Paragraphs
 
Description (details), Narration, Comparison and Contrast 

Description (Example)
 
Describe Your Favorite Room

The first thing we did as soon as we came to the U.S.A. about two years ago was to search for an apartment in order not to live with one of our relatives. After looking for one month to find a suitable apartment, I finally found the apartment where we have been living. It includes a living room three bedrooms, and a kitchen. Probably the living room is my favorite room of all because we often gather together there after we come home from work or school. It is a comfortable room for our family. Entering the living room from the front door, we can we a new piano in the corner, with a vase of colorful flowers on it. In the opposite corner stands a Sony television, which I bought for my children to watch cartoons and for us to see films and get the daily news. Besides, there is a sofa next to the piano, a loveseat beside the TV, and also a low table between them. This is a comfortable place to sit while we watch TV or talk. On one of the light blue walls is a tranquil picture of the sea. The floor is covered with a dark red carpet, which my children like to play on. They also like to sit on it when they watch TV. The large window is shaded by a light colored curtain, giving the room a soft, bright feeling. A ceiling fan with small lights is hanging from the ceiling, whenever the fan and lights are on, we can see dangling images, which are reflected from the furniture in the room. Generally, our living room is a place where we receive our guest, gather together to discuss any topic and enjoy our leisure time.

Bachvan Doan

Narration (Example)

(Describe a Stressful Time in Your Life)

Money causes teenagers to feel stress. It makes them feel bad about themselves and envy other people. My friend, for instance, lives with her family and has to share a room with her sister, who is very cute and intelligent. This girl wishes she could have her own room and have a lot of stuff, but she cant have these things because her family doesnt have much money. Her familys income is pretty low because her father is old and doesnt go to work. Her sister is the only one who works. Because her family cant buy her the things she wants, she feels a lot of stress and gets angry sometimes. Once, she wanted a beautiful dress to wear to a sweetheart dance. She asked her sister for some money to buy the dress. She was disappointed because her sister didnt have money to give her. She sat in silence for a little while and then started yelling out loud. She said her friends got anything they wanted but she didnt. Then she felt sorry for herself and asked why she was born into a poor family. Not having money has caused this girl to think negatively about herself and her family. It has caused a lot of stress in her life.

Ai Thianh Tran

Comparison Paragraphs Organized by Similar Points

Consider the following paragraph:

     My hometown and my college town have several things in common. First, both are small rural communities. For example, my hometown, Gridlock, has a population of only about 10,000 people. Similarly, my college town, Subnormal, consists of about 11,000 local residents. This population swells to 15,000 people when the college students are attending classes. A second way in which these two towns are similar is that they are both located in rural areas. Gridlock is surrounded by many acres of farmland which is devoted mainly to growing corn and soybeans. In the same way, Subnormal lies in the center of farmland which is used to raise hogs and cattle . . . .
 

 

topic sentence, description,comparison contrast,coherence and unity