Writing Lab Hour Activity: Understanding Complete Sentences in Standard Written English (Professor Rodgers)

Posted on May 1, 2015 by johannah rodgers
Assignment/Activity Title
Understanding Complete Sentences in Standard Written English
Name
Johannah Rodgers
Brief Overview of Assignment/Activity Purpose:
To help students recognize complete and incomplete sentences in SWE and to understand sentence structure in SWE
Keywords
sentence, grammar, standard written english
Full Assignment/Activity Description
Although college students have been introduced to the parts of speech and the structure of sentences in Standard Written English from a very early age, many students remain somewhat confused about how to define and identify the eight major parts of speech (verb, adjective, noun, conjunction, pronoun, adverb, preposition, article (introducing the acronym VAN C PAPA as a way to remember these eight parts of speech may help students in recalling this information), as well as to how to define and identify complete sentences in Standard Written English. In this exercise, students are introduced to the idea that sentences are defined structurally and grammatically in SWE, not, as some students believe, primarily by the fact that they are “complete thoughts.” Students are also introduced to the sentence as a structure that is made up of two kinds of clauses, definite and indefinite, and the three major categories of sentences: simple, compound , and complex.
Suggested Materials
Professor Rodgers’ essay “Understanding Complete Sentences in SWE”
Student Writing
Chalk for Students
Instructions For Students
1. Read Professor Rodgers’ essay “Understanding Complete Sentences in SWE”
2. After reading the essay, write down three specific questions that you have about complete sentences in SWE.
3. Locate one complete sentence and one complete sentence in a piece of your own writing.
4. Write both the complete sentence and the incomplete sentence on the board.
5. Discuss as a class whether the sentences identified as complete are actually complete and the reasons why they are or not, as well as whether those identified as incomplete are really incomplete and the reasons why they are or not.
Learning Objectives
  • Develop Critical Thinking, Reading, Writing, and Research Skills
  • Develop Understanding of Academic Conventions
FYW Tags
  • Writing Strategies
  • Reading Strategies
  • Academic Conventions
FYW Keywords
  • Revision
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