Sentences/Complete sentence/Independent Clauses (a complete sentence: subject, verb and complete thought)

1. Fixing Sentence Fragments
2. You may be missing a subject or missing a verb
3. A dependent clause is a fragment, cannot stand alone

Fragment Examples: “Although he wanted to go to the meeting.”, “Whoever goes to the meeting.”

• Complete Sentences: “Although he wanted to go to the meeting, the doctor advised him to stay home.”
  • My complete sentence example: “Since my mom enjoys playing basketball, we took her out to the park to play with her.”
• Run-Ons
• Fused sentence:
• Comma Splice: how to fix it: put a period after your sentence, put a semicolon, add a conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so)
• Capitalization Rules
  • Capitalize the first word
• The first and last word and important words in titles of literary or art works (books, songs, short stories, poems, articles, movie titles, magazines, paintings, sculptures, etc.). Conjunctions, articles, and prepositions with less than five letters are not capitalized unless they are first or last words.
  • Capitalize names, initials and titles of people
• Family names when used with or in place of the person’s name unless it is preceded by a possessive noun or pronoun. (Aunt Sarah, Mom, but not my mother, Sam’s aunt Sarah)
  • Capitalize names of times
    • Capitalize names of places
    • Capitalize names of pets, things, products, organizations, proper adjectives 
• Punctuation Rules
  • End Marks
    • Use a (.) for a declarative sentence
    • Use a (?) for an interrogative sentence
    • Use a (!) for an exclamatory sentence of interjections
    • User a (.) or (!) for imperative sentences
  • Commas to make sentences clear
    • Use commas to separate words or phrases in a series (“We bought soup, crackers, and tea”)
    • Use commas to separate nouns of direct address (the name of the person or group directly spoken to) from the rest of the sentence. (” Mom, do I have to clean my room?”)
    • Use a comma to set off two or more introductory prepositional phrases (“In the late fall of 1991, Mr. Jordan was elected mayor.”), (On Friday, Freddy, Frank, and Frodo went to the movies.”), (After her incredibly complicated and exhausting emotional day, the grieving woman cried herself to sleep”)
    • Use a comma when separating two or more adjectives before a noun that are not connected by a conjunction. (“We followed the steep, narrow road to their mountain.”)
    • Use a comma when writing a complex sentence in which the subordinate clause precedes the independent clause. Subordinate clauses will begin with subordinate conjunctions such as: after, although, as, as soon as, because, before, even though, except, if, since, so that, than, that, though, unless, when, where, while, or until.
  • Semicolons
    • Use semicolons to separate independent clauses that are brief and closely related.  This works best with cause and effect information.  (“Kristi’s skating routine is the best; she won six gold medals.” “It rained all day; our picnic was cancelled.”)
    • Use semicolons instead of commas between items in a series if the items themselves contain commas. (“Next week the President will visit Norfolk, Virginia; Cincinnati, Ohio, and San Antonio, Texas.”, “the green, blue, and tan boots; sweaters; and gloves.”)
  • Apostrophes
    • Form a contraction by using an apostrophe in place of a letter or letters that have been omitted.
    • Form the possessive of singular and plural nouns by using an apostrophe. (boy’s book, boys’ books, children’s toys)
  • THIS IS SENTENCE PRACTICES:
    • Too, Two, and To
      • I wanted to go to the mall with Michael, but he said he was busy.
      • He said he bought some clothes too.
      • “Yes, I’d like two tacos please.”
    • They’re, There, and Their
      • Amy just told me that they’re finally here!
      • Can you look over there for the ketchup?
      • I wanted their money, but I was too afraid to ask.
    • Supposed To, and Suppose
      • Dad just told me that you’re not supposed to touch that.
      • I suppose that I could give you another chance, but don’t make me regret it.  

“Skid row is — and long has been — a national disgrace, a grim reminder of man’s ability to turn his back on his fellow man. But these days it is only the ugly epicenter of a staggering homelessness problem that radiates outward for more than 100 miles throughout Los Angeles County and beyond. There are now more than 57,000 people who lack a “fixed, regular or adequate place to sleep” on any given night in the county, and fewer than 1 in 10 of them are in skid row.” (The Los Angeles Times). This is a very powerful quote. This piece impacted me heavily, for I have my own family experiences with homelessness so this inspired me to go out of my way to help the homeless get through being without a home….to be continued.

Janae Redmond

Janelle Spencer

Writing 101S

September 18^th, 2019

                                                            Homelessness Crisis

            The Los Angeles Times Editorial Board, who wrote the article, ‘Los Angeles’ homelessness crisis is a national disgrace” (February 25, 2018), argues that the severe homelessness issue is a pressing nightmare that has affected Los Angeles for years and since the citizens of Los Angeles have now been given the opportunity to take action on the situation, they need to take advantage of it. The author supports their claims by illustrating to the readers with images of the thousands of homeless individuals on skid row and providing us with solid political and non-political facts about how serious the situation using strong opinions about the subjects brought up. The author’s purpose is to persuade us that we have no option but to do everything we can in order to fix the failures of our degenerate city. The author writes in a frustrated, but passionate tone to appeal to the vast audience who also feels strongly about the topic, as well people who enjoy reading The Los Angeles Times.

            The L.A. Times author uses credible quotations, factual data and examples, which appeals to logos, to convince the audience to recognize the severity of the issue and take what they have to say seriously. The author starts off the article with a fact about the dangers homeless men and women face on a daily basis, “Criminals prey on them, drugs such as heroin and crystal meth are easily available, sexual assault and physical violence are common and infectious diseases like tuberculosis, hepatitis and AIDS are constant threats.” This was an excellent choice because this evoked a rational response from the readers for, they know that these are serious problems, as anyone would. They go on to say that there are currently over 57,000 people in the county that don’t have reliable place to sleep. Fewer than 1 in 10 of those people are in skid row, which is still quite a lot if you think about it numerically.

            The author uses pathos to compel the audience to feel empathy towards the homeless individuals on skid row and feel the need to do what they can to help make the situation better. The Times states their opinion of the matter, “Skid row – and long has been – a national disgrace, a grim reminder of man’s ability to turn his back on fellow man.”. They feel very strongly that our behavior as a society is shameful and nonchalantly stepping over curled up men and women in sleeping bags, should be frowned upon. They want others to feel the same way. The author claims that no matter where the people in Los Angeles are, whether it be a beach or a wealthy place like Beverly Hills, you cannot escape the cities of tents and camps full of the homeless and it’s a miserable sight to see. Stating this, makes the audience think about their surroundings and draws them into the subject that much more. This gives the author the opportunity to inform the audience of the new astounding actions that were made to better the situation. “To your credit, to all of our credit, the citizens of this city and this county voted in November 2016 and again in March 2017 to raise our own taxes to fund an enormous multibillion-dollar, 10-year program of housing and social services for the homeless.”, says The Times author. They write in a hopeful/happy tone ensure the audience that this is a great accomplishment that has happened and it’s an opportunity that just simply cannot be wasted. The author continues to start making jabs at and blaming politicians for the worsening of the issue, specifically Mayor Eric Garcetti, due to the yearly 49% increase of homelessness since 2013 (when Garcetti took office). They boldly claim that we need to start holding county officials accountable for their destructive actions.

Work Cited

The Times Editorial Board. “Los’ Angeles’ homelessness crisis is a national disgrace” Los Angeles Times, 2018. https://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-homeless-crisis-overview-20180225-htmlstory.html. Accessed September 27, 2019

1. Who is the intended audience? This editorial is aimed towards people of both sexes who live in Los Angeles, who are old enough to have a job and make good money (middle class &the wealthy), who have a education than high school, Caucasians and African Americans, who have good healthy along with kids and a home, veterans, people free from any criminal records, and people who are victims of abuse.
2. In Los Angeles, both males and females are affected by homeless and live on skid row. The writer states that homelessness is everywhere. Whether it be at a beach, subways, Beverly hills, you will see it. This suggests that the intended audience has those interests or lives that lifestyle. A lot of the article is frustration towards the government and their choice to not do anything about the problem as well. The writer states that the people who end up on skid row were once healthy and happy people like us, but either were subjected to any kind of abuse, had bad luck and made a lot of mistakes, or lost their jobs when the housing market was growing increasingly unforgiving. Along with that, the people on skid row are sisters, brothers, children, and friends. Aiming towards the people who have a families and friends.
3. How will the audience benefit from this topic? They audience will now be more aware of the issue and the homeless around them when they are going through everyday life. What can be done with the information provided? With the information provided, a change can be made about how we go about dealing with the homeless. Such as giving them food or water or money or just something, instead of shutting our windows in their faces. Why is it necessary to know this? It’s necessary because it could be you one day if you somehow get unlucky or make the wrong choice. Just because we have a house, good health and good money right now, doesn’t mean we’ll have it forever. What difference might it make? It might make people want to put some time into their day to help a homeless shelter thrive and/or be an advocate and supporter for the fight to put more homeless shelters up in L.A.
4. The readers of the article are for the most part aware of the issues because how could they not be. There are homeless people everywhere you look in Los Angeles. I don’t think anyone would be doubtful about the claims being made because a lot of them are backed with evidence, but whether the audience is against, supportive or neutral about the points being made is hard to pin point. There are so many people living in L.A. which means there are a lot of different opinions. Some people think that the homeless made their bed and now they have to lay it in. While others are sympathetic for them and know that may be be the case of some, but not for most. I know this because I’ve heard and spoke with people with a hostile view of this issue.
5. The readers may need more information on what they can do to help if they so wish, that doesn’t involve helping homeless shelters.
6. The audience is fully prepared to handle and understand this piece because a lot of people are aware of this issue and aware that their views and actions are not helping it. I am one of those people.

Janae Redmond

Janelle Levy

Writing 101S

September 18^th, 2019

                                     Strawberry Shortcake

           American singer/songwriter Melanie Martinez, who released her song “Strawberry Shortcake” (September 7^th, 2019), argues that society’s unrealistic body standards cause young women to feel insecure about their bodies which compels them to go to drastic measures to make themselves more appealing. In doing so, they attract men and then are blamed for when they become victims of sexual harassment. Martinez supports her claims by explaining her own experiences with body image and men’s beauty standards as a young woman herself. As well as taking examples from real life situations that happens daily to young girls.  The artist’s purpose is to persuade society to have man take responsibility for their actions instead of victim blaming. The artist writes in a passionate tone with some frustration in her voice to appeal to her fans as well as listeners around the world who enjoy songs with substance and strong opinions.

Melanie Martinez uses pathos to inform her listeners of how beauty standards has affected her personally. Not only emotionally, but physically as well. In the first line of the first verse, Martinez states that she is “feeling unsure of her naked body”, which shapes the purpose for the rest of the verse. She feels as if she needs to be barbie like, with a skinny/small waist, to be noticed and wanted by men. Desperate, she does what she can to physically fit the expectation. For the most part, women didn’t give the thought of what people think of them attention when they were little girls. Melanie voices through this verse that she didn’t care about these things before. Now Martinez feels forced to care about these things due to her being of an older age and these “perfectly shaped” bodies are what men expect of her. She argues that it’s not right to hold such a high standard with women because they are unobtainable for most and causes unneeded emotional strain.

Work Cited

Melanie Martinez. “Strawberry Shortcake” K-12, Atlantic Records, 2019. Spotify, https://open.spotify.com/artist/7scXGkdGpIC6NZXkQEzSlm

American singer/songwriter Melanie Martinez, who released her song “Strawberry Shortcake” (September 7th, 2019), argues that society’s unrealistic body standards cause young woman to feel insecure about their bodies which compels them go to drastic measures to make themselves more appealing. In doing so, they attract men and then are blamed for when they become victims of sexual harassment. Martinez supports her claims by explaining her own experiences with body image and men’s beauty standards as a young woman herself. The artist’s purpose is to persuade society to have men take responsibility for their actions instead of victim blaming. The artist writes in a respectful tone with a hint of frustration to appeal to her fans as well as listeners around the world who enjoy songs with substance and strong opinions.

Fox News: “Amazon Fires are not exactly burning “Earth’s lungs’, experts say.” https://www.foxnews.com/science/amazon-fires-are-not-burning-earths-lungs

1. Support for Claims: The claims in this news article are, for the most part, supported by claims instead of evidence.
2. Credible Evidence: I am not sure if the evidence used to support the claims are credible. The writer used an “Scientific American” Essay as a backup, but how can I tell if that articles information is credible. The “Scientific American” Essay is titled, “Destructive Amazon Fires Do Not Threaten Earth’s Oxygen, Expert Says”, which is clearly based on bias.
3. Emotions: This article does not try to persuade us with pathos. The writer tries to coerce the readers into agreeing with them by throwing opinions in our faces.
4. Word Choice: The writer isn’t using neutral language. For example, they say, “Although the fires pose a danger to the massively biodiverse area, some experts are now offering another view, saying they do not threaten the planet’s oxygen supply.” The word “Although” makes them sound like they are downplaying the issue to persuade us to have to same opinion as they do.

Huffington Post: “Brazils Amazon Fires Highlight the threat of Deregulation Amid Climate Change.”https://www.huffpost.com/entry/brazil-amazon-rainforest-fire-climate-change_n_5d5dc2b5e4b02cc97c87eb98

1. Support for claims: