Sentence Skills Part 6 Sentence Unity and Coherence

Sentence Unity Put related thoughts into a sentence Eliminate excessive detail Avoid mixed or awkward constructions

Eliminate excessive detail Being Omitted (unnecessary details) Being developed in separate sentences (important details)

1. Yesterday, Mr. Smith, an expert of American literature, gave us a lecture on American Civil War. 2. A new technique for eye surgery, which is supposed to correct nearsightedness, has been developed. Previously, nearsightedness could be corrected only by glasses. Because it can create unstable eyesight, many doctors do not approve of it, however.

Eliminate excessive detail 1. Yesterday, Mr. Smith, an expert of American literature, gave us a lecture on American Civil War, which happened in the year 1961 to 1965, when the blacks and the whites were unequal. 2. A new technique for eye surgery, which is supposed to correct nearsightedness, which previously could be corrected only by glasses, has been developed, although many doctors do not approve of it because it can create unstable eyesight.

Sentence Coherence The subject must be connected in meaning with its predicate All comparisons should be complete and logical All modifiers should be clearly modify the intended word (in proper positions) Dangling modifiers should be avoided

Dangling modifiers 1) At the age of six, his father took him to the Great Hall. 2) Looking from the top of the mountain, the city seems small. 3) Surrounded by beautiful flowers and tall trees, they found the house a wonderful place to spend the holiday. 4) To pass the exam, his mother made him work day and night. 5) After finishing the speech, the audience was invited to ask questions.

Reference for Exercise 3 (Page 71)

A professor’s mannerisms can either help or hinder communication in the classroom, and they can also show whether or not he is interested in the students or the subject. Consider the classroom behavior of Dr. Axe, my English 100 instructor. Unshaven, wearing a blue beach shirt, searsucker pants( 泡泡纱裤子 ), and a pair of sandals （便 鞋） with no socks, Dr. Axe would habitually trudge （蹒 跚地走） into the classroom late. After dragging himself to the center of the room and dropping his attache case on the desk, he would call the roll, never smiling, never saying good morning. He would collapse in his chair with a weary sigh and proceed to read an essay out loud to the class. Now and then, as if he were drifting off on a cloud to Venus, he would pause to gaze at the scuff-marked floor. Then he would continue reading, pausing every few minutes to entertain a reverie.