6 Traits of Good Writing
Yes. There are more notes. But this is one
of the things that you asked me to teach
you in your “Dear Mrs. Renchen” letters.
“I need help with grammar,” you said.
Well, buckle up. Here it comes.
Grammar
#15
1: The zombie was awoken by the hunger gnawing its gut. The
hunger was driven by the only thought that was still possessed by
the zombie: BRAINS. Brains were eaten every day if the zombie
wished to keep walking—except that not much was wished for by
the zombie these days. So, more correctly, the zombie was kept
forever salivating over cerebellum by instinct. This morning, so
strong was the instinct that munching on its own brain was
considered by zombie the to quench the overwhelming hunger.
2: The hunger gnawing the zombie’s gut awoke it. BRAINS—the only
thought the zombie still possessed—drove the hunger. The zombie
had to eat brains every day if he wished to keep walking—except
that he didn’t wish for much these days. So, more correctly, instinct
kept the zombie forever salivating over cerebellum. This morning,
the instinct was so strong that the zombie considered munching on
its own brain to quench the overwhelming hunger.
When the subject does or “enacts” the
verb in the sentence, the sentence is in the
ACTIVE voice.
A writer can change the word order of
most active voice sentences so the subject
is no longer active, but passive (inactive).
These sentences are in the passive voice.
It is generally preferable to use the ACTIVE
voice. PASSIVE voice should be used for variety
and, even then, very purposefully.
Because passive voice sentences add words and
change the expected word order, they may make
the reader work harder to understand the intended
meaning.

Active voice flows more smoothly and is easier to
understand.

Passive voice is not ideal when being brief is
necessary.
Passive voice can be used to deemphasize the role of the
subject in the action.
EX: The lamp was broken this afternoon.
EX: The rules were developed by the principal.
In the first sentence, the lamp was broken, but we don’t
have to admit by whom. In the second sentence, it is
stated that the principal set the rules, but word order
emphasizes the RULES.
Passive voice can be useful when the subject is unknown or
unimportant.
EX: The ballots have been counted.
We do not care who counted the ballots, only that they’ve
been counted.
1. Move the subject to the end of the sentence. If there is a direct
object move it to the beginning.
Marilyn mailed the letter. 
SUBJECT
DIRECT OBJECT
The letter mailed Marilyn.
DIRECT OBJECT SUBJECT
2. The sentence now makes no sense. In order to bring sense to the
sentence, place a preposition in front of the subject.
The letter mailed Marilyn.  The letter mailed by Marilyn.
SUBJECT
PREPOSITION+ SUBJECT
3. Add a form of the helper/auxiliary verb be to the verb. (Change
the main verb's form if needed.)
The letter mailed by Marilyn.  The letter was mailed by Marilyn.
VERB
HELPER+VERB
Simply reverse previous steps.
1.
2.
3.
Switch the subject and direct object.
Remove the auxiliary verb and
preposition from the sentence.
Fix any verb tenses necessary.
Grammar
#7
A
sentence in which two complete
sentences are joined without the
appropriate punctuation or conjunction.
EX:
1. I am a woman I am a chef.
2. I am a woman, I am a chef.
“I am a woman I am a chef.” is like two very heavy pieces
of a bridge with no supports in the middle. Just like the
bridge, the sentence will just collapse.
“I am a woman, I am a chef.” adds a comma in the middle.
Commas, however, are not strong enough on their own to
support the weight of two full sentences.
OPTION 1: Add a period or semi colon
between the sentences.
I am a woman. I am a chef.
I am a woman; I am a chef.
I am a woman.
I am a chef.
.
I am a woman;
I am a chef.
;
OPTION TWO: Add a comma and a
conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so)
I am a woman, and I am a chef.
I am a woman, and I am a chef.
,
and
OPTION THREE: Reword the sentence to
avoid having two complete thoughts.
I am a woman and a chef.
I am a female chef.
Grammar
#6

A sentence fragment is a sentence that is
incomplete.
The sentence may be incomplete for any number
of reasons:
1.
A subject is missing
 Going to the mailbox.
 Dancing the night away.
2.
A verb is missing
 The homecoming dance next week.
 John, who lives at the store.
3.
Subject and verb are present, but a word is
present that makes the sentence incomplete
 Because the doctor was injured.
 Since school started.
Grammar
#19



Definition: Interrupters are side comments and
necessary information that interrupt normal
sentence structure. These are added to show
emotion, tone or emphasis.
When using an interrupter in the middle of the
sentence, it should be emphasized with commas
(dashes or parentheses work too). Without the
commas, the flow of the sentence may be
unclear/awkward for the reader.
Interrupters are easily identified by saying the
sentence out loud; you’ll naturally pause where
the commas should be.
 in
fact
 to say the least
 However
 generally speaking
 Sadly
 Happily
 Unfortunately
 indeed
EX: Queen Victoria was, as they say, a
formidable woman.
EX: Jeremy, my brother, is an idiot.
The interrupters as they say and my brother
need commas before and after them to
emphasize their separation from the rest of
the sentence.
FIND THE INTERRUPTER and ADD
COMMAS:
 John Steinbeck the author of several short
stories also wrote Of Mice and Men.
 Students
must in fact pass four years of
English to graduate.
I
Mrs. Renchen need coffee.
If you want to emphasize the break more strongly, use
dashes to separate the interrupter from the rest of the
sentence. The pattern looks like this:
EX: That chocolate-broccoli muffin—though a good
source of vitamin C—will upset Frank's stomach this
early in the morning.
EX: My brother's seven-foot python (aptly named
Squeeze) slithered out the open back door and
frightened Mrs. Russell, our next-door neighbor, nearly
to death.
EX: That nuclear orange jacket—believe me—fails to
complement your lime green pants.
Grammar
#20
 Essential
Modifiers—give information that is
fundamental to the grammar and content of
a sentence
• Are not set off using commas
• Often begin with “that”
 Nonessential
Modifiers—can be removed
from the sentence without hindering the
grammar or the specificity of the statement
• Are set off using commas
• Often being with “which”
ESSENTIAL
 The desk that the sleeping student occupied
was covered in drool.
 The man who sells shoes has soul.
 My aunt who crochets can really spin a yarn.
NONESSENTIAL
 The desk, which no one occupied, was broken.
 The man, who sells shoes on the side, is named
Tom.
 My aunt, who is older than I am, has a birthday
next week.
1.
The senior course that is most helpful is
CCC.
2.
The senior course, which is most helpful,
is CCC
1.
The Rock who used to wrestle has
expressive eyebrows.
2.
The Rock, who used to wrestle, has
expressive eyebrows.
1.
The squirrel, that gathers nuts, lives in a
tree.
2.
The squirrel that gathers nuts lives in a
tree.
3.
The squirrel, which gathers nuts, lives in a
tree.
1.
The squirrel which gathers nuts lives in a
tree.
1.
The man, who wears a tie, is in business.
2.
The man that wears a tie is in buiness.
Grammar
#21
 Modifiers
should go directly before or
after the words they modify.
A
dangling modifier is a modifier that has
no noun to modify.
 A misplaced modifier is a modifier that
has wandered away from its noun.
EX: Driving down the road, a deer darted
in front of my car.
This sentence is confusing. Obviously I
was driving, but since I am not mentioned,
it appears as though the deer was driving
(because it is the noun nearest to the
modifier).
FIXED: As I drove down the road, a deer
darted in front of my car.
EX: Exhausted, my mother cheerfully tried on
another dress while I slumped in a chair outside
the dressing room.
 This
sentence, as is, indicates my mother is
exhausted. Yet, I wanted to convey that I was
exhausted.
FIXED: My mother cheerfully tried on another
dress while I slumped, exhausted, in a chair
outside the dressing room.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Flying over the countryside, the cars and
houses looked like toys.
The messenger spoke to the receptionist
who delivered the package.
The golfer made a hole-in-one with the
green-and-white umbrella.
Without thinking what might be on the
menu, Hugh told his hostess that he hated
broccoli.
After studying hard, the test was a breeze.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
With my small allowance, the tickets were
too expensive.
The right belongs to every American to
vote in elections.
The house was rebuilt by the new owners
destroyed by the fire.
At camp, home seemed very far away.
After finishing the dishes, we were ready
to relax for the evening.
Grammar

If there are 3 or more items in a list, always
put a comma between each item and before
the word “AND.” You should follow the
same rule for a list of 3 or more items that
uses the word “OR.”
EX:
 Peter ate pizza, popcorn, and chips.
 Lois got a good night’s sleep, ate a healthy
breakfast, and arrived on time.
 Meg can listen to music, work on homework,
or ask questions during Study Hall.

If there are only two items in the list and
there is no “AND” in between, there is a
comma.
EX
 He likes new, interesting-sounding songs.
 Her long, brown hair was tied into a
braid.

If there are only two items in the list with
an “AND” in between, there is NO
COMMA.
Ex:
She listened to Lady Gaga and Radiohead.
I like swimming and running.
 For
 And
 Nor
 But
 Or
 Yet
 So
A comma by itself can’t connect two complete ideas.
INCORRECT USE: I went to the store, I bought shoes.
However, if you use a FANBOY (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so)
with a comma before it, you can separate two complete
thoughts.
CORRECT USE: I went to the store, and I bought shoes.
He smells like cologne, but the smell is better than B.O.
Do NOT use commas with the word “BECAUSE”
EX: I like puppies because they are cute.
Commas can link incomplete and
complete ideas, in either order.

Example:
 Before I called the repair company, I had
to find their number.
 The neighbor’s baby cried all night,
making me want to scream in frustration.
 Having finished the test, the student
checked all his answers.
DATE
 February 12th, 2011
 Monday, February 12th, 2011
STATE AND CITY
 Rantoul, IL
 Champaign-Urbana, IL
 New York City, New York
Example:
The rain, indeed, dampened my festive
mood. I did, however, have my yellow
umbrella.
 Especially
if/then statements, phrases that
tell the time/place, and modifiers
Examples:
 On Monday, Marshall ate three pizzas
 If it rains on Thursday, Ted’ll wear boots.
 In June, Lily’s students get to have fun!
 Walking quietly, Barney tried to sneak up on
Robin.
 At school, the mother sat in Econ 101.

Non-essential information is information
that can be removed from the sentence
without changing the meaning.
Example:
 Tuesday, which happens to be my birthday, is
the only day I can meet with you.
 The restaurant has an nice atmosphere. The
food, on the other hand, is rather bad.
 I usually like fruit. This apple, however,
tastes rotten to me.
 The man, who looked rather like my uncle,
got off the train at the next stop.
 Your
paper has numbers on it that
correspond to numbers on the Grammar
Card. Using the grammar card
explanations, this information, and your
essay, correct the errors.
 Please take this time to ask questions if
you do not understand why something
was marked or how to fix it.