/23
Controlled Composition
Be sure number the exercises, write it out by hand, put a title to each exercise,
double space and underline all changes you make in your composition.
26 Steps: Old Bones
1
Recently a crew of diggers uncovered some old bones. 2They gave them to
Michael Brinks, a teacher in the elementary school in that town. 3Brinks was
curious about the age of the bones. 4He decided to send them to the University of
Oregon for examination.
5
Before he mailed the bones, he took them to school and showed them to his
class of fifth graders. 6He asked them how old they thought the bones were. 7The
children thought the bones came from an Ice Age horse. 8Their teacher disagreed.
9
He didn’t believe they were that old.
10
Several weeks later, Brinks received a package that looked very official
from the University of Oregon. 11He opened it immediately. 12He found the bones
and a letter inside. 13The letter said, “The bones in this package come from an
ancient horse species which probably lived during the Ice Age.”
6.
(
/19) Pretend you are a fortune teller telling this story. Rewrite the
entire passage except the quotation in sentence 13 in the future tense using
will at least once in every sentence. Your first sentence will begin as follows:
Next month a crew of diggers will uncover some old bones.
Next month a crew of diggers will uncover some old bones. They will give
them to Michael Brinks, a teacher in the elementary school in that town.
Brinks will be curious about the age of the bones. He will decide to send them
to the University of Oregon for examination.
Before he mails the bones, he will take them to school and show them to
his class of fifth graders. He will ask them how old they think the bones are.
The children will think the bones come from an Ice Age horse. Their teacher
will disagree. He will not believe they are that old.
Several weeks later, Brinks will receive a package that will look very
official from the University of Oregon. He will open it immediately. He will
find the bones and a letter inside. The letter will say, “The bones in this
package come from an ancient horse species which probably lived during the
Ice Age.”
20. (
/4) Rewrite the entire passage changing the underlined phrases and
clauses to one or two words or to hyphenated words. Then place the new
word(s) in front of the noun that the phrase or clause originally followed: of
diggers (sentence 1), in the elementary school (sentence 2), of fifth graders
(sentence 5), that looked very official (sentence 10), and in this package
(sentence 13).
Recently a digging crew uncovered some old bones. They gave them to
Michael Brinks, an elementary school teacher in that town. Brinks was
curious about the age of the bones. He decided to send them to the University
of Oregon for examination.
Before he mailed the bones, he took them to school and showed them to
his fifth grade class. He asked them how old they thought the bones were. The
children thought the bones came from an Ice Age horse. Their teacher
disagreed. He didn’t believe they were that old.
Several weeks later, Brinks received a very official looking package from
the University of Oregon. He opened it immediately. He found the bones and
a letter inside. The letter said, “This packaged bones come from an ancient
horse species which probably lived during the Ice Age.”
Kunz, L.A. (1996). 26 steps. New York: Prentice Hall Regents.