Defining appositive

The song “Fire It Up” was blasted out of amplifiers ten feet tall.

Once they’ve read song, readers still don’t know precisely which song the writer means. The appositive following song restricts its meaning.

Margaret Mead’s book Coming of Age in Samoa stirred up considerable controversy when it was published.

Since Mead wrote more than one book, the appositive contains information essential to the meaning of the sentence.

Exercise 3

Add or delete commas where necessary in the following sentences. If a sentence is correct, write “correct” after it.

· My youngest sister who plays left wing on the team now lives at The Sands a beach house near Los Angeles.

· Choreographer Alvin Ailey’s best-known work Revelations is more than just a crowd pleaser.

· Twyla Tharp’s contemporary ballet Push Comes to Shove was made famous by Russian dancer Baryshnikov. [Tharp has written more than one contemporary ballet.]

· The woman running for the council seat in the fifth district has a long history of community service.

· A member of an organization, that provides housing for AIDS patients, was also appointed to the commission.

· A 1911 fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company which killed 146 sweatshop workers led to reforms in working conditions.

· I had the pleasure of talking to a woman who had just returned from India where she had lived for ten years.

· Sally’s best friend Sid Phillips has been playing the guitar since the age of seven.

· The gentleman waiting for the prescription is Mr. Rhee.

· Where the Wild Things Are. The 1964 Caldecott Medal winner, is my nephew’s favourite book.

· The flame crawled up a few blades of grass to reach a low-hanging palmetto branch which quickly ignited.

· Use commas to set off transitional and parenthetical expressions, absolute phrases, and elements expressing contrast.

Transitional expressions

Transitional expressions serve as bridges between sentences or parts of sentences. They include conjunctive adverbs such as however, therefore, and moreover and transitional phrases such as for example, as a matter of fact, and in other words.

When a transitional expression appears between independent clauses in a compound sentence, it is preceded by a semicolon and is usually followed by a comma.

Minh did not understand our language; moreover, he was unfamiliar with our customs.

When a transitional expression appears at the beginning of a sentence or in the middle of an independent clause, it is usually set off with commas.

As a matter of fact, American football was established by fans who wanted to play a more organized game of rugby.

Natural foods are not always salt free; celery, for example, contains more sodium than most people would imagine.

Exception: If a transitional expression blends smoothly with the rest of the sentence, calling for little or no pause in reading, it does not need to be set off with a comma. Expressions such as also, at least, certainly, consequently, indeed, of course, moreover, no doubt, perhaps, then, and therefore do not always call for a pause.

Alice’s bicycle is broken; therefore you will need to borrow Sue’s.

Note: The conjunctive adverb however always calls for a pause, but it should not be confused with however meaning “no matter how,” which does not.

However hard Bill tried, he could not match his previous record.

Parenthetical expressions

Expressions that are distinctly parenthetical should be set off with commas. Providing supplemental information, they interrupt the flow of a sentence or appear at the end as afterthoughts.

Evolution, as far as we know, doesn’t work this way.

The bass weighed about twelve pounds, give or take a few ounces.

Caution: Do not use commas to set off elements that are only mildly parenthetical.

Charisse believes that the Internet is_essentially_a bastion of advertising.

Absolute phrases

An absolute phrase, which modifies the whole sentence, usually consists of a noun followed by a participle or participle phrase. Absolute phrases may appear at the beginning or at the end of a sentence. Wherever they appear, they should be set off with commas.

Our grant having been approved, we were at last able to begin the archaeological dig.

Elvis Presley made music industry history in the 1950s, his records having sold more than ten million copies.

Caution: Do not insert a comma between the noun and participle of an absolute construction

The next day being a school day, we turned down the invitation.

Contrasted elements

Sharp contrasts beginning with words such as not, never, and unlike are set off with commas.

The Epicurean philosophers sought mental, not bodily, pleasures.

Unlike Robert, Celia loved dance contests.

· Use commas to set off nouns of direct address, the words yes and no, interrogative tags, and mild interjections.

Forgive us, Dr. Spock, for reprimanding Jason.

Yes, the loan will probably be approved.

The film was faithful to the book, wasn’t it?

Well, cases like these are difficult to decide.

· Use commas with expressions such as he said to set off direct quotations.

Convictions are more dangerous foes of truth than lies,” wrote philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.

· Use commas with dates, addresses, titles, and numbers.

Dates

In dates, the year is set off from the rest of the sentence with a pair of commas.

On December 12,1890, orders were sent out for the arrest of Sitting Bull.

Exceptions: Commas are not needed if the date is inverted or if only the month and year are given.

The recycling plan went into effect on April 2001.

January 2001 was an extremely cold month.

Addresses

The elements of an address or place name are separated by commas. A zip code, however, is not preceded by a comma.

John Lennon was born in Liverpool, England, in 1940.

Please send the package to Greg Tarvin at 708 Spring Street, Washington, Illinois

61571.

Titles

If a title follows a name, separate it from the rest of the sentence with a pair of commas.

Sandra Belinsky, M.D., has been appointed to the board of trustees.

Numbers

In numbers more than four digits long, use commas to separate the numbers into groups of three, starting from the right. In numbers four digits long, comma is optional.

3,500 [or 3500] 100,000 5,000,000

Exceptions: Do not use commas in street numbers, zip codes, telephone numbers, or years.

· Use a comma to prevent confusion.

In certain contexts, a comma is necessary to prevent confusion. If the writer has omitted a word or phrase, for example, a comma may be needed to signal the omission.

To err is human; to forgive, divine.

If two words in a row echo each other, a comma may be needed for ease of reading.

All of the catastrophes that we had feared might happen, happened.

Sometimes a comma is needed to prevent readers from grouping words in ways that do not match the writer’s intention.

Patients who can, walk up and down the halls several times a day.

Exercise 4

Add or delete commas where necessary. If a sentence is correct, write “correct” after it.

· Although we invited him to the party Gerald decided to spend another late night in the computer room.

· Cricket, which originated in England is also popular in Australia, South Africa and India.

· At the sound of a starting pistol the horses surged forward toward the first obstacle, a sharp incline three feet high.

· After the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 the Ku Klux Klan went underground for a few years but the group’s racist views did not change.

· Jan’s costume was completed with bright red, snakeskin sandals.

· Computers must be manufactured in clean climate-controlled rooms.

· Research on Andean condors has shown that high levels of the chemical pesticide chlorinated hydrocarbon can cause the thinning of eggshells.

· Founded in 1868 Hampton University was one of the first colleges for African Americans.

· Aunt Emilia was an impossible demanding guest.

· The French Mirage, the fastest airplane in the Colombian air force, was an astonishing machine to fly.

· In the showroom sat a brand-new, red convertible Porsche, a car no driver can resist.

Exercise 5

Add or delete commas where necessary in the following sentences. If a sentence is correct, write “correct” after it.

- “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus,” wrote the editor.

- On January 15, 1996 our office moved to 29 Commonwealth Avenue, Mechanicsville Virginia 19607.

- The coach having bawled us out thoroughly, we left the locker room with his harsh words ringing in our ears.

- Ms. Carlson you are a valued customer whose satisfaction is very important to us.

- Mr. Mundy was born on July 22, 1939 in Arkansas, where his family had lived for four generations.

- Swords flashing, our heroes dashed into action.

- President Lincoln’s original intention was to save the Union, not to destroy slavery.

- For centuries people believed that Greek culture had developed in isolation from the world. Today however scholars are acknowledging the contributions made by Egypt and the Middle East.

- Eating raw limpets, I found out, is like trying to eat art gum erasers.

- Fortunately science is creating many alternatives to research performed on animals.

- While the machine was printing the oversized paper jammed.

Avoid common misuses of the comma.

· Do not use a comma to separate a verb from its subject or object.

A sentence should flow from subject to verb to object without unnecessary pauses. Commas may appear between these major sentence elements only when a specific rule calls for them.

Zoos large enough to give the animals freedom to roam_are becoming more popular.

Francesca explained to him_that she was busy and would see him later.

In the first sentence, the comma should not separate the subject, Zoos, from the verb, are becoming. In the second sentence, the comma should not separate the verb, explained, from its object, the subordinate clause that she was busy and would see him later.

· Do not use a comma after a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet).

Occasionally soap operas are performed live, but_more often they are taped.

· Do not use a comma after such as or like.

Many shade-loving plants, such as_begonias, impatiens, and coleus, can add colour to a shady garden.

· Do not use a comma before than

Touring Crete was more thrilling for us_than visiting the Greek islands frequented by rich Europeans.

· Do not use a comma after although

Although_the air was balmy, the water was too cold for swimming.

· Do not use a comma before a parenthesis

At MCI Sylvia began at the bottom_(with only three and a half walls and a swivel chair), but within five years she had been promoted to supervisor.

· Do not use a comma to set off an indirect (reported) quotation.

Samuel Goldwyn once said_that a verbal contract isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.

· Do not use a comma with a question mark or an exclamation mark.

“Why don’t you try it?_” she coaxed. “You can’t do any worse than the rest of us.”

Exercise 6

Delete commas where necessary in the following sentences. If a sentence is correct, write “correct” after it.

Loretta Lynn has paved the way for the artists such as, Reba McEntire and Wynonna Judd.

As a child growing up in Jamaica, I often daydreamed about life in the United States.

He wore a thick, black, wool coat over army fatigues.

Often public figures, (Michael Jackson is a good example) go to great lengths to guard their private lives.

She loved early spring flowers such as, crocuses, daffodils, forsythia, and irises.

On Pam’s wrist, was a tattoo of a dragon chasing a tiger.

Mesquite, the hardest of the softwoods, grows primarily in the Southwest.

Male supremacy was assumed by my father, and accepted by my mother.

The lieutenant reported to his captain, that all of his men were present and accounted for.

The streets that three hours later would be bumper to bumper with commuters, were quiet and empty except for a few prowling cats.

Most of the citizens in the United States, expect their elected officials to be truthful.

The semicolon

The semicolon is used to connect major sentence elements of equal grammatical rank.

Use a semi-colon between closely related independent clauses not joined with a coordinating conjunction.

When related independent clauses appear in one sentence, they are ordinarily linked with a comma and a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet). The coordinating conjunction signals the relation between the clauses. If the clauses are closely related and the relation is clear without a conjunction, they may be linked with a semicolon instead.

Injustice is relatively easy to bear; what stings is justice.

- H.L. Menken

When I was a boy, I was told that anybody could become president; I’m beginning

to believe it.

Clarence Darrow

A semicolon must be used whenever a coordinating conjunction has been omitted between independent clauses.

In 1800, a traveller needed six weeks to get from New York City to Chicago; in 1860, the trip by railroad took only two days.

Use a semi-colon between independent clauses linked with a transitional expression.

Transitional expressions include conjunctive adverbs and transitional phrases.

Conjunctive adverbs

accordingly	also	anyway	besides
certainly	consequently	conversely	finally
furthermore	hence	however	incidentally
indeed	instead	likewise	meanwhile
moreover	nevertheless	next	nonetheless
otherwise	similarly	specifically	still
subsequently	then	therefore	thus

Transitional phrases

after all	as a matter of fact	as a result
at any rate	at the same time	even so
for example	for instance	in addition
in conclusion	in fact	in other words
in the first place	on the contrary	on the other hand

When a transitional expression appears between independent clauses, it is preceded by a semicolon and usually followed by a comma.

Many corals grow very gradually; in fact, the creation of a coral reef can take centuries.

When a transitional expression appears in the middle or at the end of the second independent clause, the semi-colon goes between the clauses.

Most singers gain fame through hard work and dedication; Evita, however, found other means.

Transitional expressions should not be confused with coordinating conjunctions and, but, or, nor, for, so, and yet, which are preceded by a comma when they link independent clauses.

Use a semi-colon between items in a series containing internal punctuation.

Classic science fiction sagas are “Star Trek”, with Mr. Spock and his large pointed ears; “Battlestar Galactica”, with its Cylon Raiders; and “Star Wars”, with Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Darth Vader.

Without the semicolons, the reader would have to sort out the major groupings, distinguishing between important and less important pauses according to the logic of the sentence. By inserting semicolons at the major breaks, the writer does this work for the reader.

Avoid common misuses of the semicolon.

Do not use a semicolon in the following situations.

Between a subordinate clause and the rest of the sentence

Unless you brush your teeth within ten or fifteen minutes after eating, brushing does almost no good.

Between an appositive and the word it refers to

The scientists were fascinated by the species “Argyroneta aquatica”, a spider that lives under water.

To introduce a list

Some of my favourite film stars have home pages on the Web: John Travolta, Susan Sarandon, Brad Pitt, and Emma Thompson.

Between independent clauses joined by and, but, or, nor, for, so, or yet

Five of the applicants had worked with spreadsheets, but only one was familiar with database management.

Exception: If at least one of the independent clauses contains internal punctuation, you may use a semicolon even though the clauses are joined with a coordinating conjunction.

As a vehicle (the model T) was hard working, commonplace, and heroic; and it often seemed to transmit those qualities to the person who rode in it.

a) E. B. White

Although a comma would also be correct in this sentence, the semicolon is more effective, for it indicates the relative weights of the pauses.

Occasionally, a semicolon may be used to emphasize a sharp contrast or a firm distinction between clauses joined with a coordinating conjunction.

We hate some persons because we do not know them; and we will not know them because we hate them.

- Charles Caleb Colton

Exercise 1

Add commas or semicolons where needed in the following quotations. If a sentence is correct, write “correct” after it.

If an animal does something we call it instinct if we do the same thing we call it

intelligence.

b) Will Cuppy

2. Do not ask me to be kind just ask me to act as though I were.

c) Jules Renard

3. When men talk about defense they always claim to be protecting women and children

but they never ask the women and children what they think.

d) Pat Schroeder

4. When I get a little money I buy books if any is left I buy food and clothes.

e) Desiderius Erasmus

5. America is a country that doesn’t know where it is going but is determined to set a

speed record getting there.

f) Lawrence J. Peter

6. Wit has truth in it wisecracking is simply calisthenics with words.

g) Dorothy Parker

7. Everyone is a genius at least once a year a real genius has his [or her] original ideas

closer together.

h) G. C. Lichtenberg

8. When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I’ve never tried before.

i) Mae West

Once the children were in the house the air became more vivid and more heated every

object in the house grew more alive.

j) Mary Gordon

10. We don’t know what we want but we are ready to bite someone to get it.

k) Will Roger

11. I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor rich is better.

l) Sophie Tucker

Exercise 2

Edit the following sentences to correct errors in the use of the comma and the semicolon. If a sentence is correct, write “correct” after it.

Love is blind envy has its eyes wide open.

Strong black coffee will not sober you up, the truth is that time is the only way to get alcohol out of your system.

It is not surprising that our society is increasingly violent, after all, television desensitizes us to brutality at a very early age.

There is often a fine line between right and wrong; good and bad; truth and deception.

At Weight Watchers, we believe that being fat is not hereditary; it is a choice.

Severe, unremitting pain is a ravaging force; especially when the patient tries to hide it from others.

Another delicious dish is the chef’s special; a roasted duck rubbed with spices and stuffed with wild rice.

Martin Luther King Jr. Had not intended to be a preacher, initially, he had planned to become a lawyer.

We all assumed that the thief had been Jean’s boyfriend; even though we had seen him only from the back.

The Victorians avoided the subject of sex but were obsessed with death, our contemporaries are obsessed with sex but avoid thinking about death.

Some educators believe that African American history should be taught in separate courses, others prefer to see it integrated into survey courses.

The colon

The colon is used primarily to call attention to the words that follow it. In addition, the colon has some conventional uses.

Use a colon after an independent clause to direct attention to a list, an appositive, or a quotation.

A LIST

The daily routine should include at least the following: twenty knee bends, fifty sit ups, fifteen leg lifts, and five minutes of running in place.

AN APPOSITIVE

My roommate is guilty of two of the seven deadly sins: gluttony and sloth.

A QUOTATION

Consider the words of John F. Kennedy: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

Use a colon between independent clauses if the second summarizes or explains the first.

Faith is like love: It cannot be forced.

Note: When an independent clause follows a colon, it may begin with a small or a capital letter.

Use a colon to indicate hours and minutes, to show proportions, between a title and subtitle, and between city and publisher in bibliographic entries.

5:30 p.m.

The ratio of women to men was 2:1.

The Glory of Hera: Greek Mythology and the Greek Family

Boston: Bedford, 2001

Avoid common misuses of the colon.

A colon must be preceded by a full independent clause. Therefore, avoid using it in the following situations.

Between a verb and its object or complement

Some important vitamins found in vegetables are vitamin A, thiamine, niacin, and vitamin C.

Between a preposition and its object

The heart’s two pumps each consist of an upper chamber, or atrium, and a lower chamber, or ventricle.

After such as, including, or for example

The trees on the campus include many fine Japanese specimens such as black pines, ginkgos, and weeping cherries.

Exercise 1

Edit the following sentences to correct errors in the use of the comma, the semicolon, or the colon. If a sentence is correct, write “correct” after it.

Smiling confidently, the young man started his major goal in life; to be secretary of agriculture before he was thirty.

Minds are like parachutes: They function only when open.

If we have come to fight, we are far too few, if we have come to die, we are far too many.

The travel package includes: a round-trip ticket to Athens, a cruise through the Cyclades, and all hotel accommodations.

The media like to portray my generation as lazy; although polls show that we work as hard as the twentysomethings before us.

Fran Lebowitz has this advice for parents, “Never allow your child to call you by your first name. He hasn’t known you long enough.”

Kay survived for one reason, the medics got to her in time.

While travelling through France, Fiona visited: the Loire Valley, Chartres, the Louvre, and the McDonald’s stand at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.

There are three types of leave; annual leave, used for vacations, sick leave, used for medical appointments and illness, and personal leave, used for a variety of personal reasons.

Carl Sandburg once asked three important questions, “Who paid for my freedom? What was the price? And am I somehow beholden?”

Robin sorts the crabs into three groups: males, females, and crabs about to moult.

Other punctuation marks: the dash, brackets

THE DASH

Dashes are used for the following purposes.

To set off parenthetical material that deserves emphasis

Everything that went wrong—from the peeping Tom at her window last night to my head-on collision today—was blamed on our move.

To set off appositives that contain commas

Ordinarily most appositives are set off with commas, but when the appositive contains commas, a pair of dashes helps the readers see the relative importance of all the pauses.

In my hometown the basic needs of people—food, clothing, and shelter—are less

costly than in Los Angels.

To prepare for a list, a restatement, an amplification, or a dramatic shift in tone or thought

Along the wall are the bulk liquids—sesame seed oil, honey, sesame seed oil, and that half-liquid “peanuts only” peanut butter.

Consider the amount of sugar in the average person’s diet—104pouds per year, 90 percent more than that consumed by our ancestors.

Everywhere we looked there were little kids—a box of Cracker Jacks in one hand and mommy’s or daddy’s sleeve in the other.

Kiere took a few steps back, came running full speed, kicked a mighty kick—and missed the ball.

Caution: Unless there is a specific reason for using the dash, avoid it. Unnecessary dashes create a choppy effect.

BRACKETS

Use brackets for the following purposes.

To enclose supplemental material, minor digressions, and afterthoughts

After taking her temperature, pulse, and blood pressure (routine vital signs), the nurse made Becky as comfortable as possible.

The weights James was first able to move (not lift, mind you) were measured in ounces.

To enclose letters or numbers labeling items in a series

Regulations stipulated that only the following equipment could be used on the survival mission: (1) a knife, (2) thirty feet of parachute line, (3) a book of matches, (4) two ponchos, (5) an E tool, and (6) a signal flare.

Exercise 1

Edit the following sentences to correct errors in punctuation, focusing especially on appropriate use of the dash and brackets. If a sentence is correct write “correct” after it.

Social insects, bees, for example, are able to communicate quite complicated messages to one another.

The thousand dollars that we invested in the stock market—just ten years ago—has tripled in value.

Of the three basic schools of detective fiction, the tea-and-crumpet, the hard-boiled detective, and the police procedural, I find the quaint, civilized quality of the tea-and-crumpet school the most appealing.

In studies in which mothers gazed down at their infants in their cribs but remain facially unresponsive, for example, not smiling, laughing, or showing any change in expression, the infants responded with intense weariness and eventual withdrawal.

There are three points of etiquette in poker: 1. always allow someone to cut the cards, 2. don’t forget to ante up, and 3. never stack you chips.

In Lifeboat, Alfred Hitchcock appears (some say without his knowledge) in a newspaper advertisement for weight loss.

COMPOSITION TECHNIQUE

Types of Paragraphs

Description

A descriptive paragraph sketches a portrait of a person, place, or thing by using concrete and specific details that appeal to one or more of our senses – sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.

Describing a Place

If you are asked to describe a place, it is more interesting to write some information about how it reflects your interests rather than a list of contents.

Organize the description into paragraphs. Each paragraph should contain information about an aspect of the place and your relation to it.

Consider, for example, the following description of a room.

I am allowed to do what I like with my room. I don’t have a lot of space but it is my favourite place, so I spend a lot of time there. I used to play the piano; it’s still in my room, but I don’t play it quite so much any more. I listen to tapes and the radio instead.

My mother likes going round antique shops, and sometimes I go with her and spend my pocket money on ornaments and things, which I put in my room. I’ve got some china which I have collected. I am the youngest in the family and all these toys have been handed down – some of them are very old.

I get very bored with my room every now and again and change it round. I quite often move the bed and change the photographs on the wall. Boy George sent me a Christmas card which I have stuck up on the wall. I’ve got lots of autographs and I might put them on the wall. If I changed the room now, I would put up some Bananarama posters. When my friends come round, I usually take them straight up in my room and shut the door.

Exercise 1

Use the guidelines and the description given above and write a description of your room.

Exercise 2

Write a paragraph modelled on the discussed pattern. Here are some possible topics:

a favourite painting in an art gallery, a garden, a classic car, a hideous building or monument, a style of dress, a family heirloom (such as a crazy quilt or a collection of Christmas tree ornaments), a favourite park or retreat

Describing a Person

The way we describe a person depends on why we are describing her/him.

When we are producing a description for an official purpose, such as for a police report, we need to include a lot of factual information about the person such as her/his age, height, weight, etc. For example, here is an edition of a ‘missing pupils’ news bulletin.

Dean Palmer

The police are anxious to trace the whereabouts of a pupil who has been missing from Liverpool since 20^th June. The boy’s name is Dean Palmer, but he may also use the names Darren Page or Daryl Pointer. He is fourteen years old but looks much younger. He has short fair hair and is 1.50 m tall. He wears glasses, and has a missing finger missing from his left hand. He was last seen wearing jeans, a brown leather jacket and hi-top trainers.

Lisa Moran

Lisa Moran is fifteen years old now, but the only photo we have of her was taken when she was twelve. Her father is wanted for a criminal offence and she left the country with him two years ago. Police believe that she may have returned. She is of medium height and slim build. She is usually well dressed, appearing older than she really is. She used to have long wavy hair and green eyes. If she is at your school, or has ever been admitted into the school, please telephone the Liverpool police immediately.

Notice how the information in the news bulletin is structured. We move from general

information (age, height, build) to more specific information such as distinguishing physical characteristics, clothes, etc.

In a letter or essay we may want to include an impression of the person and what she/he is like. In addition to describing the person physically, we may show what they are like by:

using adjectives which describe a person’s personality, such as shy, nervous, talkative, friendly, etc.

giving an impression of how she/he behaved.

Example

He used to move constantly whenever he was sitting down.

adding adjectives like soft, loud, high-pitched, powerful, etc. to her/his physical description.

Example

He had a soft gentle voice which did not go with his powerful body.

Exercise 1

Read the description of Dean Palmer. It was written by his teacher.

Dean was always a very quiet boy. He always sat at the back of the class and rarely caused any trouble. I felt he was always somewhere else and he used to get aggressive when I asked him questions so I left him alone. Although he was fourteen, he looked much younger and I think that helped him appear more innocent than he was. I can’t remember much else except that he used to keep his hands in his pockets to hide his missing finger.

Write a description of Lisa by her best friend.

Exercise 2

Write to a pen-friend who wants to find out more about the people in our country. Choose a national stereotype of any age or background and describe her or him.

Narration

A paragraph of narration tells a story or part of a story. Narrative paragraphs are usually arranged in chronological order, but they may also contain flashbacks, interruptions that take the story back to an earlier time.

The following paragraph recounts one of the author’s experiences in a Scout camp.

When I was fifteen I went to a Scout camp. There were lots of great activities but there was one thing I was really scared about: climbing the wall, which is a kind of rock people use to learn how to climb. We were all supposed to climb the wall but I knew I couldn’t get to the top because I am afraid of heights. I was ashamed and didn’t want anyone to know I was scared. I thought they would all laugh at me. But they didn’t. I was surprised as everyone was sympathetic and understanding. I wasn’t hassled and nobody laughed. My inability was accepted. When the leader asked me if I wanted to try the wall on my own, without the others watching, I agreed. Although I was very nervous, I climbed slowly to the top with his help. I was still shaking when I came down but I was really happy and relieved too. For me, climbing the wall was a real achievement.

Exercise 1

Write a narrative paragraph about a competition or contest in which you or someone you know took part.

Exercise 2

Write a narrative paragraph. Choose one of the following topics: the active lifestyle of a grandparent, working in an emergency room, the benefits (or problems) of intercultural dating, growing up in a large family, an experience that taught you a lesson, a turning point in your life.

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