I.
Directions:
1. Place parentheses ( ) around each prepositional
phrase.
2. Underline verbs twice, their subjects once, and label complements
("PA," "PN," "IO," or "DO").
3. Draw an arrow from every adjective and adverb to the word it modifies.
It was very cold. The snow fell
and it was almost dark. It was the
last day of the year. A little match girl was running
in the street. Her
name was Gretchen. She had no hat on.
Her feet were bare. When she
left home, she had on some big
slippers of her mama's. But they were so large that she
lost them
when she ran across the street.
Gretchen had a lot of matches
in her old apron. She had a little bunch
in her hand. But she could not sell her matches. No one
would buy them.
II. Do a statistical analysis:
1. Count the total number of words in the selection (TW).
2. Count the total number of sentences in the selection (TS).
3. Count the total number of words that are in prepositional phrases
(TWPP).
4. Count the total number of words that you were Unable to
Explain
(UtE).
5. Divide the total number of words (TW) by the total number of sentences
(TS). This will give you the average number of words that you use in a
sentence. You can compare that number to the numbers in the statistical
exercises that you will do and/or to the average for your class. (Remember,
like Goldilocks, you do not want that number to be too hot (high) or too
cold (low). The best place to be in somewhere near the middle.)
6. Divide the total number of words that are in prepositional
phrases (TWPP) by the total number of words (TW). You can compare this
number to those in the samples and your class average. It will give you
an idea of how much you are using prepositional phrases (primarily to add
descriptive details of people, things, times and places).
7. Subtract the total number of words that you were Unable to
Explain
(UtE) from the total number of words in what you wrote (TW). This will
give you the approximate number of words (in your own writing) that you
can
already grammatically explain (NCE). Divide this number by the total number
of words (TW). (This shows approximately how much of
your own writing that you can already explain.)
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