A
is a word group that contains a verb and its subject and that is used as a sentence or as part of a sentence.

An independent clause expresses a complete thought and can stand by itself as a sentence.
EXAMPLES
Mrs. Martin explained the binary number system.

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Use a comma to join two independent clauses with a conjunction .
Example:
In the binary system, each number is expressed in powers of two , and only the digits
0 and 1 are used.
NEVER USE ONLY A COMMA TO JOIN TWO
INDEPENDENT CLAUSES.

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Use a semicolon between two independent clauses when there is no conjunction.
EXAMPLE
The binary system is a number system ; it is not the only number system.
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Use a semicolon before a conjunctive adverb and a comma after it when they join two independent clauses.
EXAMPLE
The binary system is a number system ; however, it is not the only number system.

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Lichens are plants. That are composed of fungi and algae.
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Mr. Platero took the aluminum cans, we had collected them for a recycling project.
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Roberto proofread his essay he found several typographical errors.
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Hui Su named her pet beagle Spot however she named her lab Daisy.

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What is your idea of an ideal education?
Ideally, how would someone be educated? To
What extent do schools serve the goal of a true education?

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A subordinate clause contains a subject and a verb, but it cannot stand alone as a sentence.
It is also called a dependent clause.
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A word such as who
, that
, because
, if
, when
, although
, or since signals that the clause it introduces is subordinate.

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If the subordinate clause introduces the sentence, set it off with a comma. If it comes at the end, do NOT set it off with a comma.
Example:
Because I won the election , I am now the class president.
I am now the class president because I won the election.

Use editing and proofreading marks to correct the following sentences.
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The poem that I read aloud in class is by
Maya Angelou, she also wrote I Know Why the
Caged Bird Sings.
I dont know the student who borrowed me a pen but she shore is nice.
Since we are late for class we have to sign the tardy sheet.
We were late too class, because the welding bus got stuck in the mud.

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is a technical term for the order of words and the structure of grammatical elements in a sentence.
Syntax includes anaphora, asyndeton, and polysyndeton.
It also includes sentence types: declarative, imperative, interrogatory (rhetorical questions), exclamatory, rhetorical fragments, and inversion.
Sentence length is also important in syntax.

1.
2.
3.
4.
What is the anaphora in the excerpt, and what is its function?
The question at the end of the passage is a rhetorical question. What attitude toward the audience is expressed by the use of a rhetorical question?
Write a three-sentence paragraph modeled after Chief
Red Jacket’s passage. The first two sentences should contain repetition; the third should be a rhetorical question. Your topic is school uniforms.

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What is your idea of an ideal education?
Ideally, how would someone be educated? To
What extent do schools serve the goal of a true education?

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Use commas to separate two or more adjectives preceding a noun. ( and test)
Example:
Luke had a stimulating , eventful , tiring day with his tutor.
You Try:
Heidi is a steady experienced highly skilled golfer.

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I raked the leaves, and loaded them into the barrel.
On Tuesday Martin misplaced his books his wallet and his watch.
The store is only open Monday through
Friday, the owner will schedule private appointments for Saturday.
As I look back I can see that I made a few mistakes.

When I am too sad and too skinny to keep keeping, when I am a tiny thing against so many bricks, then it is I look at trees.
--Sandra Cisneros, The House on Mango Street
1. What kind of grammatical structure is repeated in this sentence? What is the effect of the repetition?
2. This is a periodic sentence, a sentence which delays the subject and verb to the end. What idea is emphasized by the end-focus of this sentence?
3. Write a periodic sentence about getting a bad grade on a test. Use Cisneros’s sentence as a model.

Commas with nonessential (or nonrestrictive) clauses and phrases
Use commas to set off nonessential subordinate clauses and nonessential participial phrases.
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Examples:
Marie Curie , who studied radioactivity, won the Nobel
Prize for chemistry in 1911.
Did the 1998 Senate hearings , which were televised, attract a large audience?
Willie Herenton , defeating the incumbent in 1991 , became the first African American mayor of Memphis.
The juniors who were selected for Boys State and Girls
State were named.

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Students, going on the trip tomorrow, will meet in the auditorium.
The White River Bridge which closed today for resurfacing will not be open for traffic until mid-
October.
Known as Stonehenge this great circle of stones is located in England, and remains one of the most mysterious structures of the ancient world.
My stepsister had been accepted at Howard
University however she decided to attend
Grambling State University instead.

In your packets:
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Do Exercise 1
Do 1-5 in exercise 2

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How does Emerson develop his idea?
What makes an ideal student?
“This is the perpetual romance of new life, the invasion of God into the old dead world, when he sends into quiet houses a young soul with a thought which is not met, looking for something which is not there, but which ought to be there: the thought is dim but it is sure, and he casts about restless for means and masters to verify it; he makes wild attempts to explain himself and invoke the aid and consent of the by-standers. Baffled for want of language and methods to convey his meaning, not yet clear to himself, he conceives that thought not in this house or town, yet in some other house or town is the wise master who can put him in possession of the rules and instruments to execute his will. Happy this child with a bias, with a thought which entrances him, leads him, now into deserts now into cities, the fool of an idea. Let him follow it in good and in evil report, in good or bad company; it will justify itself…” (103).

Juxtaposition : a literary technique in which two or more ideas are placed side by side for the purpose of emphasizing a contrast.

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Edit the following sentences for mistakes in comma usage.
Much of the riddle of Stonehenge concerns the transport of the awesome massive stones, that stand in the monument’s inner circle.
These rocks are indigenous to Wales and many people have asked, “How did these huge stones travel two hundred miles?”
Do you remember Merlin; from the stories of King
Arthur’s legendary court?
The teacher called on Maria, John began to answer.
A persistent boor John continually speaks out of turn in class.

Juxtaposition : a technique in which two or more ideas are placed side by side for the purpose of emphasizing a contrast.

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Exercise VI (English practice)
Finish Exercise 2
Do Exercise IV

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What is an allegory?
Predict what the title might mean.
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Allegory of the Cave
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Homework: Read “I Just Wanna Be Average” by
Mike Rose.

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What device is the repetition of conjunctions in a list?
What device is the absence of conjunctions in a list?
What device is the repetition of repeating structures at the beginnings of clauses?
What kind of grammatical structure has a subject and a verb?
What is the fancy term for sentence structure?
What is an object that stands for itself and represents something more abstract at the same time?

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What is the difference between the following two sentences?
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Una’s cousin, who wants to be an astronaut, attended a space camp in Huntsville,
Alabama, last summer.
Una’s cousin who wants to be an astronaut attended a space camp in Huntsville,
Alabama, last summer.

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Well you could have fooled me.
Una played the flute the violin the drums.
The hot sweaty tired children pulled dozens of weeds from the garden, however they received ice cream when they were finished.
She wondered if Stefan heard her; but he didn’t.
After our visit to Grandma’s farm the city’s smog seemed thicker.
The sweater, that I bought yesterday, is too large.
Exercise makes the heart and lungs more efficient and moreover it contributes to an overall sense of well-being.

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You may use your bell ringers and notes to help you on the test.
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When you finish, staple the bell ringers to your test, and turn them both in to the tub.
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Study your vocabulary until everyone finishes.

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Using the graphic organizer we completed in class, write a one-paragraph analysis of
Norman Rockwell’s “Bed of Procrustes.”
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Be sure to relate his purpose to a larger context, to a universal idea, to your own life.

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Using the graphic organizer we completed in class, write a one-paragraph analysis of Mike
Rose’s “I Just Wanna Be Average.”
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Be sure to relate his purpose to a larger context, to a universal idea, to your own life.

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What is an allegory?
Predict what the title might mean.
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Allegory of the Cave
What are they symbolic meanings of
◦ The cave
◦ The prisoners
◦ The shadows
◦ The light
◦ “outside”
◦ The actual forms/objects
How might the allegory relate to Rockwell’s letter? To Mike Rose’s essay?

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How close is Mike Rose’s essay to our own reality?
What do you think about the state of education now?
Is it, like Rockwell points out, like the Bed of
Procrustes?
Or is it like Plato’s cave?
What is wrong with education today? What is right with it?