Your Exam Schedule

SBHS Exam Schedule
Fall 2008 – 2009
Thursday, January 8 (A Day)
1st Block
8:00 – 10:00
VoCATS, OCS, Non-EOC Exams and Benchmarks
2nd Block and Lunch – Sections will be called to lunch. 10:05 – 12:05
10:05
500/600 Bldg.

10:35
300 Bldg.

11:05
JROTC/100 Bldg.

11:35
Gym/200/400 Bldg.
3rd Block
12:10 – 2:10
VoCATS, OCS, Non-EOC Exams and Benchmarks
4th Block
2:15 – 2:50


Friday, January 9 (B Day)
2nd Block
8:00 – 10:00
VoCATS, OCS, Non-EOC Exams and Benchmarks
3rd Block and Lunch - Sections will be called to lunch. 10:05 – 12:05
10:05
500/600 Bldg.

10:35
300 Bldg.

11:05
JROTC/100 Bldg.

11:35
Gym/200/400 Bldg.
4th Block
12:10 – 2:10
VoCATS, OCS, Non-EOC Exams and Benchmarks
1st Block
2:15 – 2:50


Tuesday, January 13 (B-Day)
1st Block
8:00 – 11:30
EOC, Non-EOC Exams and benchmarks
2nd Block and Lunch- Sections will be called to lunch. 11:35 – 1:15
11:35
500/600 Bldg– Pick up lunch and return to 2nd block.

12:10
JROTC, 100, 700 Bldg.

12:45
200, 300, 400 Bldg.
3rd Block
1:20 – 2:50


Wednesday, January 14 (A-Day)
2nd Block
8:00 – 11:30
EOC, Non-EOC Exams and benchmarks
3rd Block and Lunch- Sections will be called to lunch. 11:35 – 1:15
11:35
500/600 Bldg– Pick up lunch and return to 3rd block.

12:10
JROTC, 100, 700 Bldg.

12:45
200, 300, 400 Bldg.
4th Block
1:20 – 2:50


Thursday, January 15 (B-Day)
3rd Block
8:00 – 11:30
EOC, Non-EOC Exams and benchmarks
4th Block and Lunch- Sections will be called to lunch. 11:35 – 1:15
11:35
500/600 Bldg– Pick up lunch and return to 4th block.

12:10
JROTC, 100, 700 Bldg.

12:45
200, 300, 400 Bldg.

Friday, January 16 (A-Day)
4th Block
8:00 – 11:30
EOC, Non-EOC Exams and benchmarks
Lunch--- Sections will be called to lunch. 11:30-12:10
11:30
500/600 Bldg - Pick up lunch and return to 4th block

11:43
JROTC/100/700 Bldg.

11:56
200/300/ 400 Bldg.
January 15-16: Dismissal time may be flexible due to completion time of exams.

EOC Terms

EOC TERMS

Style is the particular way in which a writer uses language. Style reflects an author’s personality. Factors that contribute to an author’s style include level of formality, use of figurative language, diction or word choice, sentence patterns, and methods of organization.

Tone is the author’s attitude toward both the subject and readers or listeners. In conversations, you can hear a speaker’s tone in the way words and phrases are spoken. When reading, you can “hear” tone in an author’s choice of words and details. The tone of a literary work can often be described with a single word such as: pompous, playful, serious, personal, sarcastic, or friendly .

Perspective is the viewpoint or opinion an author expresses about the subject, either directly or indirectly. Bias occurs when a writer makes a one-sided presentation (for example, by ignoring relevant facts or by using emotional language that unfairly sways readers’ or listeners’ feelings).

Purpose is the author’s reason for writing. Common purposes are to inform, to persuade, to honor, to entertain, to explain, and to warn.

ricks for Passing the Editing and Composition section of the English I EOC

Introduction

The first section that you will encounter on the English I EOC is the editing and composition section. This part of the exam tests your reading and grammar skills. The problem with this section of the test is English teachers. English teachers are not the best test writers. In grammar and reading, there is often more than one right answer. Sometimes the answer choices given are very different from your own opinions. So even if you are great at grammar, this test can still be difficult. The good news is there are some short cuts you can use to outsmart the test makers and improve your score.

Hint One: Be Familiar with the Test

If you are familiar with the types of questions on the test, you won't waste time trying to figure out what the question is asking you to do. Instead you can go straight for the right answer. Try taking some practice tests before the real EOC. This way you can learn how the test is set-up. Over spring break take home one the EOC practice test books. You can get one from your English teacher. There is nothing worse than the feeling of looking at a test and having no idea what the test is asking of you. Don't be that person. Take some practice tests.

Hint Two: Avoiding Mass Confusion

The bozo test makers thought it would be a good idea to number all the sentences on the essays. This can cause big time confusion because it is easy to mix up the number of the sentence with the number of the question. Try highlighting the sentence that the question asks about. That way you won't waste time looking for the sentence over and over again. Remember you can mark all over the test booklet to help you find the answers.

Hint Three: An Essay You Don't Have to Read

Because this section is a grammar test and not a reading comprehension test, there is no reason to read the whole essay. You must simply read the sentences and paragraphs that the questions refer to. Some students, however, find it easier to read the whole essay first to scan for mistakes. If you like to read the essay before the questions, use a highlighter to mark any mistakes you find as you read. Try some practice tests to decide which style you like best.

Hint Four: Why Can't They Just Say What They Mean?

One of the problems students experience on the EOC is that they don't understand the question. Even great English students, sometimes have problems figuring out what a question means. Here are some key words that will help you figure out how to answer the questions correctly. Be sure to circle these words when you see them in a question. No matter what you are told, you can write on your test.

Key Words

• Fragment

Question: Which sentence is a fragment?

A fragment is an incomplete sentence. It is a missing a subject, verb, or complete thought. Often fragments start with words like when or if. The test wants you to find a incomplete sentence. All of the other answer choices will be complete sentences. You can spot the answer by crossing out all of the complete sentences first.

• Written Correctly

How could this sentence be written correctly?

This question wants you to find a complete sentence. All of the other choices will be sentence fragments. Simply eliminate all of the sentence fragments first, and you will be left with the correct answer. Sentence fragments and "written correctly' questions are usually right next to each other on the test and ask about the same sentences. Sometimes if you look closely the test will even give away an answer in the question.

• Run-on

Which sentence is a run-on?

This question wants you to find two sentences smashed together as one. Often a comma joins these sentences together. Remember a comma is not strong enough to join to complete sentences together. In this question all of the other answer choices will be complete sentences. To find the right answer look for a sentence that has two subjects and two verbs and is missing a coordinating conjunction.

• Combine

How could sentences one and two best be combined to enhance conciseness and variety?

These questions are hard. They want you to choose a compound sentence that does not change the meaning of the original sentences. Some of the answer choices will be run-on sentences or fragments and are easy to eliminate. Other answer choices will complete sentences, but they change the meaning of the sentences and must eliminate. You have to choose a correct sentence that keeps the meaning of the sentence the same. YUCK!

• Enhance and Conciseness

How could sentences one and two best be combined to enhance conciseness and variety?

Enhance is a fancy way of saying to make better. Conciseness means to make shorter and easier to read. You will see these to words in sentence combining questions.

• Sentence Varity

How could sentences one and two best be combined to enhance conciseness and variety?

Variety means to come up with different types of sentences. Often the correct answer might start with a subordinating conjunction (when, although, even though) or a prepositional phrase (to, at, during).

• Improve Organization

Which of the following improves the organization of the third paragraph?

In this question the test wants you to rearrange sentences so that the paragraph will be easier to read. Be sure to read the whole paragraph through a couple of times before you may your decision. You might also want to highlight the sentences that are possible answer choices. Often the right answer will include moving a sentence to the end of the paragraph because it sums up the main ideas in the paragraph and makes a good conclusion.

• Main idea

Which sentence best describes the main idea of this essay?

The main idea of a paragraph or chapter is what the whole selection is about. It is the most important idea in the paragraph, chapter, or essay. In this question you have to choose the sentence that describes the whole essay not just a part of it. The rest of the answer choices will be supporting details that only tell about part of the essay.

Using the right word click here to download notes for the grammar part of the test.

English I Week 19 EOC Review

Lesson Plans and assignments

We will use an EOC review guide to learn about the types of questions used on the EOC.

EOC Tutoring

The sessions will alternate between English I teachers depending on the lesson that day. In addition to helping to review to make a Level 3 or 4 on the English I EOC, I will offer an incentive for you. If you attend five out of the six sessions, you will be eligible for a 100% test grade to help your last 9 Weeks average. YOU MUST STAY FOR THE ENTIRE SESSION (until 4:15) TO GET CREDIT.

Teachers will give you a ticket upon exiting the tutoring schedule. DO NOT LOOSE THESE TICKETS! These will prove to your teacher that you attended!

If you need extra tutoring to prepare for the English I EOC, mark your calendar for Tuesdays and Thursdays leading up to final exams. Here is the schedule:

Tutoring Schedule

Thurs. 5/14
Harrington & Boyd-Davis
Reading Strategies (main idea, inferences, predictions, etc.)

Tues. 5/19
Pankey & Birdyshaw
Vocabulary Strategies (context clues, prefixes, suffixes, etc.)

Thurs. 5/21
Warren & Birdyshaw
Diverse Genres, Purpose, & Audience
Evaluating texts and & sources (viewpoint, persuasion, etc.)

Tues. 5/26
Warren & Harrington
Literary Devices (allusion, symbolism, theme, tone, etc.)

Thurs. 5/28
Warren & Pankey
Elements of Narrative (POV, coflict, character types, etc.)

Tues. 6/02
Harrington & Boyd-Davis
Grammar: subject/verb agreement, sentence combining, sentence structure, prounouns, etc.
Grammar: punctuation, capitalization, spelling, etc.

Download Final Exam Dates

EOC Study Guide

Please use this study guide to complete your 100 EOC flash cards.

EOC Study Guide Link

Final EOC Review

Your final EOC review is on Study Island. Go to www.studyisland.com to complete 100 questions for an extra credit test grade. This website is the best place to study for your EOC.

Mandatory EOC tutoring for all English I students

 

Tutoring will start the Tuesday we return from Christmas break.

 

 

If you attend 4 out of 6 of these sessions and stay the entire time, you will receive a 100 test grade in English I class. The sessions will meet in the multi-purpose room immediately after school (3:00). The two instructors for the session will then assess the group and most likely divide the group in half. You must sign in at the session to obtain credit.

 

The topics and dates for English I EOC tutoring are as follows:

 

Date	Topic Covered	Instructor
Tuesday, January 5	Reading Strategies (main idea, inferences, predictions, etc)
Wednesday, January 6	Vocabulary Strategies (context clues, prefixes, suffixes, etc.)	Warren
Thursday, January 7	Diverse Genres, Purpose, Audience Literary Devices (allusion, symbolism, theme, tone)	Warren
Tuesday, January 12	Element of Narrative (POV, conflict, character types)
Wednesday, January 13	Evaluating texts and sources (viewpoint, persuasion, etc)
Thursday, January 14	Grammar: S-V Agreement, sentences combining, sentences structure, pronouns, etc. Grammar: punctuation, capitalization, spelling, etc.	Boyd-Davis J

EOC Review May 18th through June 10th

EOC Review Plans

EOC Review

Week 18 Lessons
Homework
Create 111 flash cards for a test grade Due Jan. 9th
50 lit terms
50 grammar terms
Complete list of grammar rules covered on the EOC
and
11 test terms (see me for test terms handout)

or
Complete 100 questions on study island between Jan. 5th and 9th Due Jan. 9th

Be sure to come to the daily after school cram secessions for a 100 test grade if you attend 5 out of 6 secessions starting Jan. 5th

EOC Review Characterization

The 8 Methods Of Characterization Powerpoint

From: es99.trish.turner,
5 months ago

The 8 Methods Of Characterization Powerpoint

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: literature elements)

SlideShare Link

Point Of View In A Short Story Powerpoint

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: point of)

Act 4 Notes and other helpful infomation

Week 13 Lesson Plans

Notes on choosing the right word (EOC)

Act 4 Summary and Notes due Thursday
Group Project Due Friday
Romeo and Juliet Test Due Monday

Week 16 Lesson Plans

Here are your assignments for week 16

Homework
Land of the Dead pages 969-974 Due Tuesday
EOC Notes Due Thursday
Two Summarizes Due Friday

EOC Review Materials

· Subjects and Predicates
· Sentences
· Combining Sentences
· Subject/Verb Agreement
· Punctuation
· Semicolons and Colons
· Vocabulary Strategies
· Multiple Meaning Words
· Purpose and Audience
· Evaluating Text and Sources

First Period Rocks!!!

Every student in first period passed the EOC!!! Congratulations!

Study Island and Extra Credit

Your extra credit assignment is here. Go to Study Island and complete 100 questions with 85% or better. You must answer questions from each topic. Good luch assignment due March 23! This assignment will get you ready for the EOC. See me if you need help logging in.

Grammar Notes

Grammar Power Point Review

Action Verb-A verb is an action anything you can do is a verb.
Run, jump, play, read, think, wish, create, cry, panic, fart

Being Verb- a verb is a state of being. Being means the words: be, been, being, is, are, and was, were

Helping Verbs-Being verbs are called helping verbs when they are next to action verbs.
Be, been, being, is, are, was, and were
was being, should be, had been, might have been
do, does, did,
shall, should, will, would, can, could,
may, might, must

Helping verbs are next to action verbs. Helping verbs help complete the action.
Be, been, being, is, are, was, and were
was being, should be, had been, might have been
do, does, did,
shall, should, will, would, can, could,
may, might, must
Find the verbs in these sentences
I should have finished my homework.
I am running five miles tonight.
Michael will be talking to his mother tomorrow.


Noun is a person place thing or idea

Concrete noun is a person place or thing

Abstract noun is an idea

Pronoun takes the place of nouns that name a person or thing
I, me, she, her, he, him, we, you, they, it

Adjective describe a noun
young, pretty, sexy, red, tall, short, fat, gooey
Adverb describes a verb, adjective, or an adverb
very, often, slow, fast,

He skillfully creates superb dishes.
Nan played exceptionally well this spring.
We eagerly went to the beach.

Interjection a word that expresses emotion. It has no other relations to any other words in the sentence. oh, wow, yikes
Conjunction join words and sentences together
and, but, or, nor, so, yet
My sister and I went to school.
The dog died but not the cat.
We played and ate all day.
My mom is a nurse, and my dad is a doctor.

A Complete Sentence-has a noun, a verb, and a complete thought.

Sentences that can be used to correct run-on sentences

A run-on sentence is complete sentences smashed together as one. Here are three options for correcting a run-on.

Example run-on
Kelly came with us, Sue stayed home.

This sentence is wrong because a comma is not strong enough to hold to ideas together.

Option 1 A comma and a conjunction
Kelly came with us, but Sue stayed home.

Option 2 Semicolon
Kelly came with us; Sue stayed home.

Option 3 Complex Sentence
Although Kelly came with us, Sue stayed home.

Comma Notes
• Use a comma to separate the elements in a series (three or more things), including the last two. "He hit the ball, dropped the bat, and ran to first base."
• Use a comma + a little conjunction (and, but, for, nor, yet, or, so) to connect two independent clauses, as in "He hit the ball well, but he ran toward third base."
• Use a comma to set off introductory elements, as in "Running toward third base, he suddenly realized how stupid he looked."
• Use a comma to set off parenthetical elements, as in "The Founders Bridge, which spans the Connecticut River, is falling down." By "parenthetical element," we mean a part of a sentence that can be removed without changing the essential meaning of that sentence.
• Appositives are almost always treated as parenthetical elements.
• Calhoun's ambition, to become a goalie in professional soccer, is within his reach.
• Eleanor, his wife of thirty years, suddenly decided to open her own business.
• Use a comma to separate coordinate adjectives. You could think of this as "That tall, distinguished, good looking fellow" rule (as opposed to "the little old lady"). If you can put an and or a but between the adjectives, a comma will probably belong there. For instance, you could say, "He is a tall and distinguished fellow" or "I live in a very old and run-down house." So you would write, "He is a tall, distinguished man" and "I live in a very old, run-down house." But you would probably not say, "She is a little and old lady," or "I live in a little and purple house," so commas would not appear between little and old or between little and
• Use a comma to set off quoted elements. Summing up this argument, Peter Coveney writes, "The purpose and strength of the romantic image of the child had been above all to establish a relation between childhood and adult consciousness."
• "The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many things."
• "I should like to buy an egg, please," she said timidly. "How do you sell them?"
• Grammar English's Famous Rule of Punctuation: Never use only one comma between a subject and its verb.
Subject Verb Agreement Notes
• Basic Principle: Singular subjects need singular verbs; plural subjects need plural verbs. My brother is a nutritionist. My sisters are mathematicians.
• The indefinite pronouns anyone, everyone, someone, no one, nobody are always singular and, therefore, require singular verbs.
• Everyone has done his or her homework.
• Somebody has left her purse.
Some indefinite pronouns — such as all, some — are singular or plural depending on what they're referring to. (Is the thing referred to countable or not?) Be careful choosing a verb to accompany such pronouns.
• Some of the beads are missing.
• Some of the water is gone.
The conjunction or does not conjoin (as and does): when nor or or is used the subject closer to the verb determines the number of the verb. Whether the subject comes before or after the verb doesn't matter; the proximity determines the number.
• Either my father or my brothers are going to sell the house.
• Neither my brothers nor my father is going to sell the house.

Capitalization
The first word of every sentence.
The first-person singular pronoun, I.
The first, last, and important words in a title. (The concept "important words" usually does not include articles, short prepositions (which means you might want to capitalize "towards" or "between," say), the "to" of an infinitive, and coordinating conjunctions. This is not true in APA Reference lists (where we capitalize only the first word), nor is it necessarily true for titles in other languages. Also, on book jackets, aesthetic considerations will sometimes override the rules.)
Proper nouns
Specific persons and things: George W. Bush, the White House, General Motors Corporation.
Specific geographical locations: Hartford, Connecticut, Africa, Forest Park Zoo, Lake Erie, the Northeast, the Southend. However, we do not capitalize compass directions or locations that aren't being used as names: the north side of the city; we're leaving the Northwest and heading south this winter. When we combine proper nouns, we capitalize attributive words when they precede place-names, as in Lakes Erie and Ontario, but the opposite happens when the order is reversed: the Appalachian and Adirondack mountains. When a term is used descriptively, as opposed to being an actual part of a proper noun, do not capitalize it, as in "The California deserts do not get as hot as the Sahara Desert."
Names of celestial bodies: Mars, Saturn, the Milky Way. Do not, howver, capitalize earth, moon, sun, except when those names appear in a context in which other (capitalized) celestial bodies are mentioned. "I like it here on earth," but "It is further from Earth to Mars than it is from Mercury to the Sun.
Names of newspapers and journals. Do not, however, capitalize the word the, even when it is part of the newspaper's title: the Hartford Courant.
Days of the week, months, holidays. Do not, however, capitalize the names of seasons (spring, summer, fall, autumn, winter). "Next winter, we're traveling south; by spring, we'll be back up north."
Historical events: World War I, the Renaissance, the Crusades.
Races, nationalities, languages: Swedes, Swedish, African American, Jewish, French, Native American. (Most writers do not capitalize whites, blacks.)
Names of religions and religious terms: God, Christ, Allah, Buddha, Christianity, Christians, Judaism, Jews, Islam, Muslims.
Names of courses: Economics, Biology 101. (However, we would write: "I'm taking courses in biology and earth science this summer.")
Brand names: Tide, Maytag, Chevrolet.
Names of relationships only when they are a part of or a substitute for a person's name. (Often this means that when there is a modifier, such as a possessive pronoun, in front of such a word, we do not capitalize it.)
Let's go visit Grandmother today. Let's go visit my grandmother today.
I remember Uncle Arthur. I remember my Uncle Arthur. My uncle is unforgettable.
This also means that we don't normally capitalize the name of a "vocative" or term of endearment:
Can you get the paper for me, hon?
Drop the gun, sweetie. I didn't mean it.


Capitalizing People's Titles
and the Names of Political Entities
One of the most frequently asked questions about capitalization is whether or not to capitalize people's job titles or the names of political or quasi-political entities. Most writing manuals nowadays seem to align themselves with the tendency in journalistic circles: less is better. When a title appears as part of a person's name, usually before the name, it is capitalized: Professor Farbman (or Professor of Physics Herschel Farbman), Mayor Perez, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. On the other hand, when the title appears after the name, it is not capitalized: Herschel Farbman, professor of history; Eddie Perez, mayor of the city of Hartford; Juan Carlos, king of Spain. Although we don't capitalize "professor of history" after the individual's name, we would capitalize department and program names when they are used in full*: "He worked in the Department of Behavioral Sciences before he started to teach physics." (We do not capitalize majors or academic disciplines unless they refer to a language, ethnic group, or geographical entity: Roundbottom is an economics major, but he loves his courses in French and East European studies.)

1. FOUR WAYS TO COMBINE SENTENCES
   1. Use a period (S1. S2.)

Ø The girl liked the boy. The boy did not like the girl.

2. Use a semicolon (S1; s2.)

Ø The girl liked the boy; the boy did not like the girl.

3. Use a comma and a conjunction (S1, cc s2.)

Ø The girl liked the boy, but the boy did not like the girl.

4. Use a semicolon, a transition word, and a comma (S1; t, s2.)

Ø The girl liked the boy; however, the boy did not like the girl.

2. COMMA RULES
   1. Between two adjectives of equal rank

Ø The hot, sandy beach is beautiful.

2. Between three or more parallel items in a series

Ø I like hiking, running, and bowling.

Ø Jennifer ate cereal, grapefruit, and bacon.

Ø I went to the mall, played with my dog, and ran six miles.

3. After introductory phrases

Ø In the middle of the night, I got up to get some water.

Ø Under the large oak tree, we ate grapes and crackers.

Ø When I am late for school, my first period teacher gets angry.

Ø If you won’t leave me alone, I will go to the principal.

Ø As you can see, our football team is the best.

Ø Although I really like Italian food, Chinese is my favorite.

4. To introduce quotes or to end quotes and continue a thought

Ø John said, “Come here for a second.”

Ø “You are so funny,” Amy laughed.

5. To set off nouns of direct address (in other words, to set off names when someone is talking to someone else and using his or her name)

Ø Tim, could you come here?

Ø Just listen, Maggie, and you will understand what I am talking about.

Ø I really want you to come back home, Ted.

6. To set off nonessential information (extra information that is not needed to make the sentence a complete thought)

Ø The interstate, which was built in 1953, makes it easier to get to work.

Ø Morganton, located twenty miles from here, is overpopulated.

Ø The math teacher, I believe, is the best we have.

Ø This class, in my opinion, is very boring.

7. To set off appositives (when something is renamed)

Ø Kim, a girl in my class, yelled at the teacher.

Ø Mrs. Jones, my third grade teacher, was really nice.

8. Between two sentences joined with a conjunction (FANBOYS = for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so)

Ø I like to play basketball, and I like to play football.

Ø Jennifer runs track, but she doesn’t play volleyball.

Ø I can go with you, or I can stay at John’s house.

Ø I will study, for I want to go to college.

Ø She does not like carrots, so she picked them out of her salad.

9. Between a city and a state

Ø I live in Asheville, North Carolina.

Ø I work in Marion, North Carolina.

3. CAPITALIZATION
   1. Capitalize proper nouns
   2. Capitalize all languages, continents, countries, cities, and nationalities

Ø American, British, German, New York, Russian, South America, Marion, Georgia, Vietnamese, etc.

4. WATCH FOR SPELLING ERRORS

5. PARALLELISM
   1. The same grammatical forms/structures must be used to balance related ideas in a sentence

Ø I like to run, to play, and to sing.

Ø I enjoy going to the mountains, traveling to the beach, and flying to the Bahamas.

Ø My parents promised to buy me a video camera and to let me use it on a field trip.

6. REMEMBER THE CORRECT FORM OF PRONOUNS
   1. These are not words: Hisself, Theirself, Theirselves, Themselfs
   2. These are the correct words: Himself and Themselves

7. “Lets” is NOT a word (you must use an apostrophe before the s!)
   1. Let’s = let us

Ø Let’s go to the mall.

Ø Let’s eat at McDonald’s.

8. PUNCTUATING TITLES
   1. Underline anything that can stand alone

Ø Novels

Ø Plays

Ø Epics

Ø Movies

Ø CDs

2. Use quotations marks for anything that is shorter or is a part of something larger

Ø Short Stories

Ø Poems

Ø Songs

Ø Television Programs

3. Some of the selections we read in English I are To Kill a Mockingbird, “The Scarlet Ibis,” The Odyssey, “Casey at the Bat,” and Romeo and Juliet.
4. My favorite song is “Crash Into Me,” and my favorite album is Purple Rain.

9. VERB TENSE IN A PASSAGE
   1. Remember that most selections are written in present tense. If the verb in question is in past tense, quickly scan other verbs in the selection to see what tense they are in . . . Nine times out of ten, the passage will be written in present tense.

10. WRITE OUT NUMBERS
    1. Always write out numbers 1 – 10

Ø I have one cat and two dogs.

Ø My family owns three cars.

2. Write out numbers 10 – 99 if there is a choice
3. Always write out any number that begins a sentence (even if it is larger than 100)

Ø Four hundred men marched through Berlin.

Ø One million dollars is the prize money.

11. INTERRUPTING WORDS
    1. Some words can function as both transition words and interrupters

Ø These transition words come between two complete sentences. They are preceded by a semicolon and followed by a comma.

1. I like lasagna; however, spaghetti is my favorite food.

2. Jenna is pretty; moreover, she is homecoming queen.

3. I run cross country; furthermore, I run track.

Ø These interrupters simply interrupt the normal flow of the sentence and do not join two sentences. Commas surround them.

1. Sheila, however, is too loud.

2. I ran to the store, but John, however, walked.

3. However, the mall closes at nine.

12. DOUBLE NEGATIVES
    1. Do not use two negative words in one sentence

Ø Not, no, none, nothing, never, hardly, barely, scarcely

Ø couldn’t, shouldn’t, wouldn’t, won’t, can’t, couldn’t, don’t, doesn’t, wasn’t, isn’t, weren’t, aren’t

13. SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT
    1. Singular subjects require singular verbs (singular verbs end in “s”)

Ø Ms. Ward wants her students to do well on the EOC.

2. Plural subjects require plural verbs (plural verbs do not end in “s”)

Ø The students want to do well on the EOC.

3. Make sure you identify the true subject à your subject will not come after the preposition “of”

Ø One of the girls wants to go to the dance.

Ø Many of the students want to go to the dance.

14. ACTIVE VS. PASSIVE VOICE
    1. Use active voice in writing
    2. Active Voice = subject comes before the verb

Ø Ms. Ward teaches her students English.

3. Passive Voice = verb comes before the subject

Ø The students are taught English by Ms. Ward.

4. To find the subject, identify the verb and ask who or what is completing the action of the verb à make sure the sentence is active by determining if the subject appears before the verb in the sentence à if not, re-write the sentence by moving the subject in front of the verb and making the verb agree with the new subject

15. POSSESSIVE NOUNS
    1. Be sure apostrophes in possessive nouns are used correctly
    2. Rules for making nouns possessive

Ø Singular: add ‘s (cat’s tail)

Ø Plural that ends in “s”: add ‘ after the s (cats’ tails)

Ø Plural that doesn’t end in “s”: add ‘s (children’s books)

3. Remember not to put apostrophes in possessive pronouns

Ø His, hers, yours, ours, theirs, its

16. INCORRECT USAGE
    1. Would of, should of, could of à INCORRECT!

Ø Would have, should have, could have

17. FRAGMENTS
    1. Group of words that does not express a complete thought
    2. Make sure the sentence has a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought

18. RUN-ONS
    1. Two or more sentences joined incorrectly

Ø No punctuation or conjunctions

Ø No comma before coordinating conjunction

Ø Several sentences joined with conjunctions

Ø Two sentences joined with only a comma

19. COMMA SPLICE
    1. Incorrectly joining two sentences with only a comma
    2. Must put a conjunction after the comma

Ø I was sick on Monday, I stayed home from school. (comma splice)

Ø I was sick on Monday, so I stayed home from school. (correct)

20. Your = possessive pronoun (means belonging to you)

You’re = contraction of “you are”

1. Your mother wants you to call her.
2. You’re going to do well on this test, right?

21. Their = possessive pronoun (means belonging to them)

There = referring to a place or point

They’re = contraction of “they are”

a. Their mother wants them to come home.

b. The tree over there is the one we want to climb.

c. They’re coming to the movies with us tonight.

22. Its = possessive pronoun (means belonging to it)

It’s = contraction of “it is”

1. It’s a crying shame you failed that test.

b. I have a dog. Its mother was a boxer, and its father was a golden lab.