writer_1

No unauthorized photocopying. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Explorer Publishing House, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate copyright clearance organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to Explorer Publication, at the address above. You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer. Any websites referred to in this publication are in the public domain and their addresses are provided by Explorer Publishing House for information only. Explorer Publishing House disclaims any responsibility for the content. Writer 1 ISBN: 978-605-7881-36-6 3rd Edition 2022 Author: Çiğdem Kayıhan Aslan Graphic Design: Merve Ceylan Publisher: Kaşif Uluslararası Yay. Dış Tic. Ltd. Şti. Certificate Number: 41694 Printing: Hermes Tanıtım Ofset Baskı Hizm. Ltd. Şti. Certificate Number: 47869 Photo Credits: All photos and images www.shutterstock.com

For my mother, Prof Dr. Hülya Kayıhan



ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I sincerely thank Ece Er and Dr. Navid M. Talaei who have not only encouraged me and supported me in every possible way, but have continuously provided feedback on this book. I would like to thank Ayşe Akın, Ayşen Şengel, Duygu Dinç Kurtul, Emek Özer, Dr. Hayriye Avara, Dr. Hümeyra Can, İlksen Büyükdurmuş Selçuk, Lütfiye Ekiz, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Öztürk, Sakine Sincer, Dr. Şenay Saraç, Yusuf Emre Özdemir for contributing to this book with their helpful comments and feedback. This book was completed thanks to their contributions. I would like to express my gratitude to Güzide Önder, Prof. Dr. Nalan Büyükkantarcıoğlu and Asts. Prof. Recep Özbay for their encouragement and support. With sincere gratitude, I would like to thank all the instructors at the Department of Basic English, School of Foreign Languages, Hacettepe University. They have always provided worthwhile advice and feedback and motivated me with their positive attitude and encouragement. Last but not least, I would like to thank my family and friends for always being there for me. It would not have been possible for me to write this book without their encouragement and support.

ABOUT THE SERIES Writer is a two-book series intended to guide English language learners into the world of academic writing. The major aim of this book is to help students improve their writing skill by producing written language. Unlike in receptive skills which require students to make meaning from language input which they are exposed to, in writing skill, students must actually create meaning and produce their own language. In this book, students learn to write by writing. This book mainly focuses on paragraph writing. The first two chapters of this book teach how to write correct sentences. There are chapters on the academic paragraph types: descriptive paragraph types, narrative paragraph, academic paragraph, opinion paragraph, cause or effect paragraph, advantage or disadvantage paragraph, compare or contrast paragraph. The last chapter of the book focuses on writing an academic essay. The sample texts and writing exercises in this book are on topics which are familiar to most people and ones which will spark interest of teenagers and young adults. The book includes texts about different countries and cultures, and supports UN Sustainable Development goals with texts that focus on preserving natural resources, gender equality and healthy lifestyle. An important necessity in writing is the text to be organized meaningfully. This book teaches organization of academic paragraph types and the academic essay in a systematic way. In each chapter, organization is taught step by step. In every chapter of this book, there are editing exercises that focus on organization. This book teaches stages of writing and has exercises on pre-writing and making outlines. With the help of these exercises, students will be able to learn how to organize their thoughts, write unified and coherent paragraphs and edit their work. In written language, mistakes in spelling, grammar and word choice can easily be spotted. Therefore, in writing, students are expected to write not only meaningful texts but also ones with correct grammar and vocabulary. This book aims to help students learn the correct grammatical and lexical structures that are needed in academic writing. In every chapter of this book, there are exercises on relevant structures and editing exercises that focus on grammatical and lexical structures. These exercises help students learn how to find and correct mistakes. This book also teaches other aspects of writing such as punctuation and use of linking words. In language teaching, creativity is vital as it increases motivation, improves self-esteem and makes it easier to learn. In this book, there are writing exercises which will improve students creativity by making them think and write on creative topics.

CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO WRITING 8 CHAPTER 2 EDITING YOUR WRITING 14 CHAPTER 3 DESCRIPTIVE PARAGRAPH: DESCRIBING A PERSON 19 CHAPTER 4 DESCRIPTIVE PARAGRAPH: DESCRIBING A PLACE 29 CHAPTER 5 NARRATIVE PARAGRAPH 38 CHAPTER 6 ACADEMIC PARAGRAPH 48 CHAPTER 7 OPINION PARAGRAPH 64 CHAPTER 8 CAUSE OR EFFECT PARAGRAPH 76 CHAPTER 9 ADVANTAGE OR DISADVANTAGE PARAGRAPH 89 CHAPTER 10 COMPARE OR CONTRAST PARAGRAPH 100 CHAPTER 11 ACADEMIC ESSAY 116

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO WRITING 8 A. PARTS OF A SENTENCE A sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete thought. A sentence should have a subject and a verb. Subject The subject of a sentence is the person or thing that does the action. e.g. - I am an astronaut. - Katie is on the Australian swimming team. - Most teenagers don’t do exercise before school. - My mobile phone records my pronunciation. Verb A verb is a word that expresses an action (walk, help, buy) or state of being (be, have, like). e.g. - After breakfast, we do exercise for an hour. - The sky is very blue and the light is pink. - A lot of people in the UK don’t go to boarding school. - I like learning languages because I want friends in other countries. The subject usually comes before the verb in a sentence. e.g. - We go to bed early. (Subject) (verb) - The writer likes Russian films. (Subject) (verb) In the ‘imperative’, the subject is ‘you’ but we do not say or write it. We use the verb without ‘to’. - Open your books. - Don’t use your dictionaries in the exam. EXERCISE 1. Read each group of words and decide which ones are complete sentences and which ones are not. Write yes next to the complete sentences and no next to non- sentences. Explain why the non-sentences are not sentences. e.g. - The man bought a new car. (yes) - Go out! (yes- the subject is ‘you’- ‘Imperative’) - Is very handsome. (no – there is no subject) - For example, Singapore, Hong Kong and Bangkok. (no – not a complete thought) - Every morning before breakfast. (no – there is no subject or verb) 1. Is very hot today. (....................................................................) 2. They don’t want. (....................................................................) 3. Because they are new students. (....................................................................) 4. He wants to start his own business. (....................................................................) 5. It is very cold today. (....................................................................) 6. Hurry! (....................................................................)

9 EXERCISE 2. Underline the subject/s and the verb/s and write ‘subject’ or ‘verb’ under the line in each sentence. First find the verb/s. Then to find the subject, ask the questions ‘who’ or ‘what’ to the action. Example: - Students and teachers eat lunch in the cafeteria and study in the library. (Subject) (verb) (verb) 1. During the first week of school, everyone works hard. 2. On the first day of school, students greet their friends and talk about their summer holiday. 3. Some children don’t go to school because their parents teach them at home. 4. In the evening, Simon watches TV and listens to music. EXERCISE 3. Write yes next to the complete sentences and no next to non-sentences. Explain why the non-sentences are not sentences. Then rewrite the non-sentences so that they are complete sentences. 1. Works out in the gym every day. (........................) ………………………………………………………………………………………………............................ 2. Every Sunday after lunch. (........................) ………………………………………………………………………………………………............................ 3. Because I don’t like rock music. (........................) ………………………………………………………………………………………………............................ 4. Speed kills. (........................) ………………………………………………………………………………………………............................ 5. Does your sister live with you? (........................) ………………………………………………………………………………………………............................ Complement You have learned that a complete sentence must have two parts, a subject and a verb. Most English sentences have three parts. We call the third part of the sentence the complement. The complement of a sentence completes the meaning of the subject and the verb. There are many different kinds of sentences in English, but most English sentences follow a basic word order: SUBJECT – VERB – COMPLEMENT. The teacher explains the learning points clearly. (Subject) (verb) (complement- rest of the sentence)

10 EXERCISE 4. The words below are not in the correct order to make a sentence. Put the words in order (S – V – C). 1. many services and benefits for students / my school / has .............................................................................................................................................................. 2. many interesting activities / student clubs on campus / plan .............................................................................................................................................................. 3. work / we / in small groups every day .............................................................................................................................................................. 4. everyone / to the teacher’s explanations / listens carefully .............................................................................................................................................................. B. TYPES OF SENTENCES Simple Sentences A simple sentence is a sentence that has one subject-verb combination. The subject in a simple sentence may be compound. e.g. My brother and I are completely different. The verb in a sentence may also be compound. e.g. They laugh and cry at the same time. These are simple sentences. Notice that no commas are used in them. 1. My older brother is a lawyer and has a good job. 2. My mother and father speak and write English well. Compound Sentences Compound Sentences are a combination of two or more simple sentences. They have two subject- verb combinations. Simple sentence: Sam and Liz are her cousins. (Subject) (verb) Compound sentence: Sam and Liz are her cousins, and Jonas and Mick are her friends. (Subject) (verb) (Subject) (verb) Simple sentence: He wants to get a job as a computer programmer. (Subject) (verb) Compound sentence: He wants to get a job as a programmer, but he still has several courses to take. (Subject) (verb) (Subject) (verb) Complex Sentences A complex sentence has one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. The clauses express related thoughts, but one clause acts as the foundation of the sentence. An independent clause can be a sentence on its own as it always makes a complete thought. However, a dependent clause cannot stand alone, even though it has a subject and a verb. The dependent clause includes a conjunction (because, when, after etc.)

11 Look at the examples: 1. I’m staying in because it’s raining. dependent clause (Not a complete thought on its own as it starts with ‘because’. It would be an independent clause if it did not have a conjunction.) 2. I watch TV until I sleep. dependent clause (Not a complete thought on its own as it starts with ‘until’. It would be an independent clause if it did not have a conjunction.) EXERCISE 5. Write a simple sentence, a compound sentence and a complex sentence. 1. .............................................................................................................................................................. 2. .............................................................................................................................................................. 3. .............................................................................................................................................................. C. CONNECTING SENTENCES • AND means in addition, it gives additional information. - School finishes, and I walk home with my friends (additional information). • BUT shows contrast, it gives contrasting or opposite information. The second idea is sometimes unexpected. - My sister never studies for her exams, but she always gets a good grade (contrasting information). • OR gives a choice. We use “or” when there are two possibilities to choose from. - My friends and I usually go to a party on Friday night, or we go to the cinema. one possibility another possibility • SO shows a result. - My sister studies very hard, so she always gets good grades. • BECAUSE shows the reason. - I do gymnastics because it gives me energy. » We usually put a comma before the connecting words, but we do not put a comma before ‘because’. EXERCISE 6. Use ‘and’ / ‘but’ to connect the simple sentences below. 1. My family and I go camping every summer. We usually have lots of fun. …........................................................................................................................................................... 2. She likes classical music. She doesn’t like rock music. .............................................................................................................................................................. 3. There are about one million words in English. Most people only use about ten thousand of them. .............................................................................................................................................................. 4. Russian is the third most spoken language in the world. Spanish is the fourth. ...............................................................................................................................................................

12 EXERCISE 7. Use ‘or’ and the information in parentheses to answer each question below. 1. What does Ali usually do on a Sunday afternoon? (surf on the net / play computer games) .................................................................................................................................................................. 2. What do you and your husband do to relax at the weekend? (watch TV / go on a picnic) .................................................................................................................................................................. 3. What do you do to keep physically fit? (run in the morning / stop at a health club on my way home) .................................................................................................................................................................. 4. What do you usually do on your birthday? (go out with friends / have a party at home) .................................................................................................................................................................. EXERCISE 8. Complete the following sentences. 1. They have lessons five days a week, so .............................................................................................................................................................. 2. Most students do homework in the evening because .............................................................................................................................................................. 3. Penny doesn’t go to bed late, so .............................................................................................................................................................. 4. I go to a bilingual school because .............................................................................................................................................................. EXERCISE 9. Complete the text below with ‘and’, ‘but’, ‘because’, ‘so’. My name’s Miyako Arakawa, _____________ (1) I am from Japan. I’m an environmental engineer. Environmental engineering is a good job _____________ (2) you can go to a lot of different places. I work in an office in the city most of the time, _____________ (3) I also work outside on industrial sites sometimes. I like working outside, _____________ (4) I am very happy with my job. My office is clean _____________ (5) quiet, _____________ (6) the industrial sites are dirty _____________ (7) noisy.

13 EXERCISE 10. Complete the text with the words ‘and’, ‘but’, ‘because’, ‘so’, ‘or’. Malaysia is in Southeast Asia, between Singapore, Thailand _____________ (1) Indonesia. It has coastlines on the South China Sea _____________ (2) the Strait of Malacca. There is a flat land around the coastline, _____________ (3) there are mountains in the centre of the country. There are many beautiful beaches in Malaysia. The country is very green and has very clean air _____________ (4) over half of the country has rainforests. Malaysia is a modern country. In many cities of the country, you can do many activities. For example, you can go to parks _____________ (5) do shopping at malls. EXERCISE 11. Write a text of at least 120 words about yourself answering the following questions. 1. Where are you from? 2. What do you do? 3. Which languages do you speak? 4. What are your hobbies? 5. What are your interests?

CHAPTER 2 EDITING YOUR WRITING 14 A. SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT Singular subjects need singular verbs; plural subjects need plural verbs. EXERCISE 1. Underline the ‘subject’s and circle the ‘verbs’ in the following text. Environmental engineers do important work. They find solutions to environmental problems. They think of ways to clean the water, air and soil. Some of the time they work in offices, but they also work outside in a lot of different places and with different groups of people. Environmental engineers usually work 40 hours a week, but they sometimes work more. EXERCISE 2. Correct the subject-verb agreement mistakes in the following sentences. 1. These people is always nice to me. ………………………………………………………………………………………………............................. 2. The list of items are on the desk. ………………………………………………………………………………………………............................. 3. Are there anything that tastes better than a hamburger and fries? ………………………………………………………………………………………………............................. 4. John and Sally is studying in the library. ………………………………………………………………………………………………............................. 5. A car and a bike is my favourite ways of transportation. ……………………………………………………………………………………………….............................

15 EXERCISE 3. Find and correct five errors in subject-verb agreement in the following paragraph. I am a mother of three kids. One of my kids are eight months old. The other two are twins and they are three years old. I doesn't have any free time these days because I take care of my kids all the time. I never gets much sleep anymore. I wake up several times during the night to feed the baby, so I am tired in the morning. I try to sleep in the day time, but it is not much possible because my other kids needs me throughout the day. I wash my kids’ clothes and blankets every morning. I also changes diapers all day long. All these are difficult, but when I see my kids sleep peacefully, I feel lucky to have three healthy kids. B. PUNCTUATION AND CAPITALIZATION Punctuation is used to create sense, clarity and stress in sentences. You use punctuation marks to structure and organise your writing. Period . Use a period at the end of a sentence (e.g. I usually study in the evenings.) Use a period with most abbreviations (e.g. i.e A.M.) Question Mark ? Use a question mark at the end of a question. (e.g. Who are you?) Comma , Use a comma to separate words or phrases in a series (e.g. I like ravioli, spaghetti and lasagne.) Use a comma to separate independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction. (e.g. – I like my school, but I don’t like exams. - I am tired, so I can’t go out.) Use a comma after many introductory phrases or dependent clauses. (e.g. Because I am sick, I sleep all the time.) Use a coma between the day of the month and the year. (e.g. November 15, 1986) Use a comma to separate cities from states or countries. (e.g. Tallahassee, Florida) Colon : Use a colon to introduce a series (e.g. The museum offers daily tours of the following collections: American, Asian, Classical and European.) Use a colon to introduce a quotation (e.g. Gandhi said: “Where there is love, there is life.” Use a colon to separate hours from minutes (e.g. 6:45)

16 Quotation Mark “” Use quotation marks to enclose a quotation (e.g. Picasso said: “Every child is an artist. The problem is staying an artist when you grow up.”) Use quotation marks to identify titles of songs, stories, poems, articles, essays and chapters from a book. (e.g. My favourite song is “Piece by Piece” by Katie Melua. ! Write the titles of books and works of art italic (e.g. Everybody likes the Mona Lisa.) Apostrophe ' Use to replace missing letters in contractions (e.g. I don’t like pizza.) Use with possessive S (e.g. This is Mary’s jacket.) Use with S to form the plural of numbers and letters (e.g. The ice skater received three 10’s and two 9.5’s for her performance.) The following rules summarize the main uses of capitalization: The first letter in a sentence The pronoun I Names or titles of people (e.g. John Quincy Adams, Dr. House) Names of racial and ethnic groups, religions, nationalities and languages (e.g. Asian, Hindu) Days of the week, months and holidays (e.g. Tuesday, September) Names of specific geographical locations including countries, states, cities, towns, cities, rivers, streets, mountains (e.g. Mt. Olympus, the Mississippi River) Names of buildings, monuments, bridges and tunnels, schools, colleges and universities (e.g. (the Eiffel Tower, Harvard University) Titles of books, movies, newspapers, articles and works of art (e.g. Titanic) EXERCISE 4. Punctuate the following sentences. 1. He was born in Poland on April 22 1981 2. How often do you read books 3. Most people like chocolate but I dont 4. I am sick so I dont go to school these days 5. I speak English French and German EXERCISE 5. Capitalize each of the following sentences correctly. 1. i meet my brother every tuesday and thursday morning. 2. my sister, ruth lives in athens. 3. do you like shakespeare’s romeo and juliet? 4. my russian teacher is very handsome. 5. shopping is one of the most popular activities of visitors to new york.

17 EXERCISE 6. Add the appropriate punctuation and capitalization to the sentences below. 1. in britain 65% of students dont like school uniforms 2. the himalayas are the worlds highest mountains 3. maria asked what time does the movie casablanca start 4. She goes to paris every july 5. professor dickens is sick so he isn’t at school today EXERCISE 7. Read the text below about Bill Gates’ daily routine and look at the use of the time-order signals. One of the richest men in the world, co-founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates has an ordinary life. Bill Gates wakes up at 7 a.m. First, he does some exercise by working out on the treadmill. Then he checks the newspaper headlines. Gates is a good reader, so he always goes to his library and reads books. He never stops learning. Throughout the day, Gates works. He finds new ideas and writes them down. He works until lunch. He usually has a sandwich or a burger for lunch. After lunch, he reads or works again. In the afternoon, he also spends time with his three kids. He goes out with his kids or plays games with them. Gates has dinner with his wife and kids. After dinner, he washes the dishes. He goes to bed before midnight to get seven hours of sleep. Time-Order Signals before + nouns and time adverbs after until e.g. She stays in bed until 9.30. time adverb After dinner, I go outside. noun A time clause can come before a main clause or follow a main clause. When a time clause precedes a main clause, a comma is used. When the time clause follows, no comma is used. e.g. After breakfast, I go to school. I go to school after breakfast.

sentence + First, + 18 Then subject and verb No comma is used after ‘then.’ e.g. I always get up early on week days. First, I wash my face. I have dinner. Then I wash the dishes. EXERCISE 8. Write a text of at least 120 words about your daily routine using the time- order signals (after, before, then … etc.) EXERCISE 9. Look at the text you wrote above and see if you have any subject-verb- agreement, punctuation and capitalization mistakes. Correct your mistakes.

19 DESCRIPTIVE PARAGRAPH CHAPTER 3 DESCRIBING A PERSON A descriptive paragraph describes a thing, a person or a place. In a descriptive paragraph, you should give as much detail as possible. When you describe a person, you can give general information about the person, write about physical characteristics, personality, this person’s hobbies and lifestyle. Here is a paragraph which describes a person: My friend Jane is an amazing person in many ways. First of all, she is very beautiful. She is tall and has an athletic body. Her eyes and hair are dark brown. She has long and shiny hair. She has a dark complexion. She takes care of herself very well, so she always looks good. Jane is also a very smart person. She always gets good grades in exams. She has an answer to every question. Sometimes I think that she knows everything in the world. She has many hobbies. She likes swimming and dancing. She often goes to dance clubs and parties. Finally, she has a very good heart. She always helps other people. I know that I can always call her when I am sad. She tells me jokes when I am sad and she brings me food when I am sick. Jane is an outstanding person. The Topic Sentence The topic sentence is usually the first sentence of the paragraph. It states the main idea and introduces the topic to the reader. It is a good idea to write a general quality of the person or a feeling you have about this person in the topic sentence. In the example paragraph, the writer introduces the topic as ‘my friend Jane’ and also introduces her general idea/feeling about her, that she is ‘an amazing person’: Here are other topic sentence examples: 1. Amanda is one of the most attractive people I know. 2. Brad Pitt is my favourite actor. 3. My grandmother is the best person in the world.

20 EXERCISE 1. Write a topic sentence for the paragraph below. . He is a handsome boy in his early twenties. All girls admire him. He is tall and thin. He has short, black hair. He has dark skin. He is always casually dressed, in jeans and a T-shirt. He is very social. He hardly ever stays at home. You can often see him at a shopping centre or the cinema with his friends. He is very athletic and he is good at sports. He goes to the gym three times a week. He plays tennis and he is on the basketball team of the school. John is also very popular on social media. He has hundreds of friends on Facebook and thousands of followers on Twitter. He usually posts his pictures taken at different places. I don’t know John in person, but I hope I can be friends with him one day. Supporting Sentences In supporting sentences, you can give some information about this person’s age, nationality and job. You can write about physical characteristics such as height, weight and eye / hair / skin colour and about the personality of the person. You can add more details by writing about this person’s clothes, hobbies and lifestyle. Your paragraph does not have to have all of this information. It is better to think of what you want to write about and then think of more details. Look at the underlined supporting sentences in the example below: My friend Jane is an amazing person in many ways. First of all, she is very beautiful. She is tall and has an athletic body. Her eyes and hair are dark brown. She has long and shiny hair. She has a dark complexion. She takes care of herself very well, so she always looks good. Jane is also a very smart person. She always gets good grades in exams. She has an answer to every question. Sometimes I think that she knows everything in the world. She has many hobbies. She likes swimming and dancing. She often goes to dance clubs and parties. Finally, she has a very good heart. She always helps other people. I know that I can always call her when I am sad. She tells me jokes when I am sad and she brings me food when I am sick. Jane is an outstanding person. You can list the characteristics of a person one by one, but don’t forget that they have to be organized in a meaningful way. The sentences about each feature (appearance / personality / hobbies / feelings etc.) must be grouped together.

21 EXERCISE 2. Look at the example paragraph and put the following in the order they are given in the paragraph. general information ☐ appearance ☐ personality ☐ hobbies ☐ My best friend is Samantha. She is twenty-two years old and has two sisters. She is from Britain. She is a student at University of London. She is studying Physics. She is short, but she has an athletic body. Her eyes are blue and her hair is red, wavy and long. She has a light skin colour. She takes care of herself very well, so she always looks good. She likes swimming and doing yoga. She likes pop music, but she doesn’t like rock music. She is a very kind person. She helps animals by giving them water and food. Also, she is a friendly person. I know that I can always call her when I want to talk. She is very generous. She wants to pay for every meal and buys gifts for her friends all the time. I love Samantha a lot! Words for Describing Physical Characteristics: Height Age (adj.) Body Type Hair Colour Hair Type Skin Colour Features (adj.) (adj.) (adj.) (adj.) (adj.) (nouns) Young Short Teenaged Skinny Blonde Curly Light Moustache Medium Middle-aged Athletic Light Wavy Dark Beard Tall Elderly Over-weight Brunette Straight Freckles Dark Long Glasses Red Short Wrinkles Opinion Adjectives for Describing a Person: Appearance Intelligence Personality Good-looking X Ugly Smart Kind X Rude Attractive Brilliant Polite X Impolite Beautiful (female) Clever Patient X Impatient Pretty (female) Honest X Dishonest Handsome (male) Friendly X Unfriendly Neat X Messy Quiet X Talkative Responsible X Irresponsible Generous X Stingy

22 Order of adjectives: Sometimes, we need to use more than one adjective to describe people. In this case, we should put the adjectives in a certain order. opinion + physical characteristics + color + nationality + NOUN e.g. Our teacher was a handsome, well-built, French man. He was a middle-aged, Mexican gentleman. If there is no other difference between the adjectives, we put the shorter one first. e.g. a tall, over-weight girl Language of Description: When you are describing someone, be careful about the meanings of ‘have’ and ‘be’: e.g. I am a young person, but I have wrinkles. Subject + be + adjective (-) (?) She isn’t smart. Is she smart? (+) They aren’t tall. Are they tall? She is smart. He isn’t handsome. Is he handsome? They are tall. He is handsome. Subject + have/has + (adjective) + noun (+) (-) (?) She has curly hair. We have glasses. She doesn’t have curly hair. Does she have curly hair? He has an athletic body. We don’t have glasses. Do they have glasses? He doesn’t have an athletic Does he have an athletic body? body. EXERCISE 3. Fill in the blanks using the correct form of ‘have’ or ‘be’ in the sentences below. 1. My grandfather ____________ a very interesting person. 2. John ____________ a different personality. 3. My friend Ken ____________ many hobbies. 4. She ____________ short and over-weight. 5. Sunny ____________ dark and wavy hair. 6. Sandy ____________ blonde and ____________ brown eyes. 7. They ____________ really honest. 8. I think he ____________ old because he ____________ wrinkles. 9. They ____________ freckles on their faces. 10. He ____________ forty years old and ____________ two children.

23 Joining Sentences When writing a description, sentences can be linked together in a variety of ways. The preposition ‘with’ is used with nouns to talk about features of people: She is a tall woman an athletic body. She has a round face with freckles. He is an old man a beard and a mustache. EXERCISE 4. In each group of sentences below, join the sentences given using and or with. 1. She is an attractive woman. She has a gorgeous smile. 2. He is an old man. He has a beard. 3. He is a young guy. He wears glasses . 4. She is a social girl. She has many friends. 5. He is a teenager. He has a sense of humour. EXERCISE 5. Look at the pictures of the people below. Write sentences about their appearance and your guess about their personality and hobbies. .

24 . EXERCISE 6. Fill in the blanks below by writing supporting sentences. My favourite person in the family is my uncle Matt. He is middle-aged and married. He is an English teacher at a primary school. He is tall and skinny. He has brown eyes and short, dark brown hair. He has some wrinkles on his face. He always wears fashionable clothes, so he looks young and trendy. . Finally, his hobbies are travelling and taking photographs. He goes out of the city at the weekends, and goes to different countries in the summer holidays. He takes photographs of the scenery and the historical sights. My uncle is an amazing person!

25 The Concluding Sentence The concluding sentence restates the topic sentence and summarizes the main idea of the paragraph. The concluding sentence cannot have a new idea. The best way to write a concluding sentence when describing a person is by writing about our general idea / opinion about the person. In a way, this sentence can summarize all the paragraph. Look at the examples below: 1. To conclude, Jane is an outstanding person. 2. I love Samantha a lot! 3. My uncle is the best person in the family! 4. I think my friend Jack has a very interesting appearance and personality. 5. My cousin is my favourite relative. EXERCISE 7. Write a concluding sentence for the paragraph below. Rei Ayanami is a fictional character from a Japanese anime* television series called Neon Genesis Evangelion. She is tall and thin. She has short, blue hair, pale skin and big red eyes. She has a small, pointed nose. She wears white clothes all the time. She mostly has bandages on different parts of her body because of injuries. She is one of the Japanese anime characters called “kuudere”. This type of character is cool and serious. Rei is always calm. She never panics and often speaks in a calm tone. She is never very happy, excited or angry. Rei doesn’t like school and she spends most of the day looking out of the window. She can read German and she reads books during lunch breaks at school. She doesn’t have many friends and isn’t a social person. . *anime a style of animation, originated in Japan, with colourful graphics and stories with a lot of action

26 EXERCISE 8. Look at the descriptive paragraph below and underline the mistakes by using the checklist given. I admire my grandmother for her strength and positive personality. She is 70 years old. She is tiny and thin. Her eyes are brown. She has short, white hair and she wears glasses. She wears a skirt and a shirt most of the time. She is a very strong woman. She live alone and she can do all the housework in her house. She cooks many tasty meals for my family and plants many colourful flowers in the garden. My grandmother has a very optimistic personality so she is mostly very happy and smiles all the time. I always laugh when I am with her. She is also very patient and she listens to all my problems. She gives me advice when I need it. I not afraid to tell her anything because she never gets angry at me. I also like spending time with her because she always tells me stories. I can’t imagine my life without her. CHECKLIST YES NO Are there any punctuation mistakes? Are there any capitalization mistakes? Are there any spelling mistakes? Are there any fragments / incomplete sentences? Are there any subject-verb agreement mistakes? EXERCISE 9. Look at the descriptive paragraph below and find the problem/s in its organization by using the checklist given. Amanda is one of my best friends. She is very beautiful and always attracts the attention of guys. Her appearance and clothes are very important for her. She wears fashionable clothes all the time. She never wears old clothes. Amanda is a very social person. She goes out almost every day. She wants to be a singer in the future and I think she can because she sings well. She is tall and has straight brown hair and green eyes. I admire Amanda mostly because of her personality. She is very kind and thoughtful. She looks after her little brother when her parents are away. She helps him with his homework. She always listens to me when I have a problem as well. She is also very generous. She gives gifts to her friends and family members. CHECKLIST YES NO Is there a suitable topic sentence? Are there enough details in the supporting sentences? Are the supporting sentences organized in a meaningful way? Is there a suitable concluding sentence?

27 EXERCISE 10. A. Design an anime character, decide about his / her name, appearance, personality and hobbies, and make notes about this character. Draw the characters’ picture in the table below. Name: Picture: General Information Appearance Personality Hobbies

28 B. Write a descriptive paragraph of at least 150 words about your anime character.

29 DESCRIPTIVE PARAGRAPH CHAPTER 4 DESCRIBING A PLACE In a descriptive paragraph, you should give as much detail as possible. When you describe a place, you can give general information about the place, what is in this place, activities that can be done there and your feelings about it. Here is a paragraph which describes a place: My favourite place for the summer is my aunt’s house. It is in a seaside town called Ayvalık, in the Aegean sea coast of Turkey. It is a big house with three floors by the beach. In the house, there is one bedroom, two guest rooms, a living room with the kitchen, a room in the attic, and a balcony. There is a garden around the house. There are flowers on the front side of the garden and a big green area covered with grass on the back side. The back side of the garden is my favourite place because I spend a lot of time sunbathing and relaxing over there. When you enter the house, you directly get in a big living room. There is a TV, sofas and a coffee table in the room. The kitchen is also in the living room. My aunt spends most of her time in the living room. She hosts her guests in the seating area and makes meals in the kitchen. I also spend a lot of time there, helping my aunt prepare meals. We have so much fun together in the kitchen. My aunt’s bedroom and the guest rooms are on the second floor. All these rooms have an amazing view of the sea. When I go there, I stay in one of the guest rooms. In the room, there is only a bed and a cupboard. I only sleep in this room. The bathroom is also on the second floor. On the third floor, there is just an empty room and a balcony. My aunt’s house is a perfect summer home with its garden, large living room, and sea view.

30 The Topic Sentence The topic sentence is a general sentence and it does not include detailed information. It introduces the topic to the reader. In the example paragraph below, the topic is ‘The Czech Republic’. Topic Sentence The Czech Republic is a small country in central Europe. It is bordered by Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Poland. The Czech Republic is a landlocked country without any connection to the oceans, and has a hilly landscape. The country mostly has a continental climate with warm summers and cold winters. The Czech Republic is an environmentally conscious country. It has four National Parks and twenty five Protected Landscape Areas. The capital city of the country is Prague. It is the political, cultural and economic centre of central Europe and the fifth most visited city in Europe. In the country, there are several spa towns such as Karlovy Vary, Marianske Lazne, Frantiskovy Lazne and Jachymov. Tourists go to these towns to have a relaxing holiday. Apart from these towns, there are many historical castles, cathedrals and churches to see. The country is also known for its festivals. There are a number of puppet festivals and beer festivals. With its landscape, relaxing spa towns, historical sites and festivals the Czech Republic is a country to visit. In the topic sentence, you can write a fact - real aspect of the place such as its physical quality (eg. big / small / tidy / messy etc.), geographical information (eg. in Asia / is a mountainous city etc.), demographical information (eg. crowded) or any other general information (eg. is a capital city). Unlike in other paragraph types, this does not mean that the whole paragraph is going to be about that one aspect.

31 Another way to write a topic sentence is by mentioning your opinion related to this place. Your opinion is what you think or feel about this place (eg. nice / ugly etc.) Here are some topic sentence examples: a) I can never forget my childhood home. opinion topic b) My favourite place in London is the Trafalgar Square. opinion topic c) My room is the smallest room in the apartment. topic fact EXERCISE 1. Underline the topic and the opinion / fact in the topic sentences below and write the kind of information (opinion / fact) below the sentences. 1. The campus of my university is very big. 2. The park near my house is the best place to be at the weekends. 3. Vatican is the smallest country in the world. 4. Paris is the capital city of France. 5. La Rambla is a lively neighbourhood in Barcelona. 6. Rikugien Garden is the most beautiful garden in Tokyo. Supporting Sentences In the supporting sentences, you can give general information about the place such as the location, function and history of this place. You can also write about what is in this place. For example, when you are writing about a city, you can write about the museums, the stadiums, the theatres, sports centres, universities, libraries etc. You can also write about the activities. For example, when you are writing a paragraph about your room, you can explain what you do there: reading a book, playing games, studying etc. You can also write about your feelings about this place. For example, you can write that you are happy / sad in this place or that you have a lot of fun etc. You can list the characteristics of the place one by one, but don’t forget that they have to be organized in a meaningful way. For example, you can start by explaining the history of the place, secondly write about what is in the place and finally mention your feelings about the place. Another good way to organize your ideas is by using spatial order. It means explaining the place from left to right or top to bottom. This method helps the reader visualize the place. This method is usually used when describing a room, a building, etc. It is not an effective method for describing a town, city or a country.

32 EXERCISE 2. Look at the example paragraph below and number the following in the order they are given in the paragraph. activities ☐ geographical information ☐ places of attraction ☐ Greece is a small country in the Balkan Peninsula. It is bordered by Macedonia, Bulgaria and Turkey. Greece has borders with the Aegean Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and the Ionian Sea. Greece has more than two thousand islands. There are mountains and many ancient volcanoes in the country. The capital city of Greece is Athens and it is located along the country’s southern coast. One-third of the Greek people live in or around the capital city. There are many universities and museums exhibiting works of Greek Mythology in the capital city. The country is also famous for its ancient history, so there are also many historical landmarks and monuments in the country. Greek islands are well-known party places. It is possible to see famous actors and actresses in these parties. Many tourists go to Greece every year to see the landscape, to learn about the history of ancient Greece or to have fun. EXERCISE 3. You can see some adjectives for describing a place in the tables below. Think of other adjectives and write them in the blanks: Adjectives for Describing a Place: Clean Dirty Cool Cold Warm Hot Huge Tiny Narrow Wide Old New Ancient Noisy Quiet Crowded Empty Colourful _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ Opinion Adjectives for Describing a Place: Beautiful Ugly Boring Exciting Charming Nice Famous _______ Well-known Fantastic Expensive Lively Peaceful _______ _______ _______ _______ _______

33 Below you can see prepositions you can use when describing the position of things in a room or locations of places in a town / city / country. Above Between Near Over Across Below Next to Under At In On At the end In front of On the left / right Behind In the centre / middle On top (of) Beside Inside Outside EXERCISE 4. Fill in the blanks using prepositions. My room is the smallest room in the apartment. In my room, the bed is on the left side of the room. _______________(1) the bed, there are two pillows and a blanket. I sleep and read books on the bed. _______________(2) the bed, there is a big painting. _______________(3) the bed, there is a small table. I can reach this table easily and put my books and my phone. On the other side of the room, there is a window with red curtains. _______________(4) the window, there is a desk and a chair. On the desk, there is a computer. I study for my lessons and play games on my computer. Right next to the desk, there is my cupboard. _______________(5) it, I have my clothes. In _______________(6) the room, there is a modern carpet. It is very soft, so I sometimes sit on it. Usually, there are many things on the carpet because I am not a tidy person. My room is small, but I still like it because I spend a lot of time there. EXERCISE 5. Write sentences (using ‘there is / there are’) about the position of things in the room you see below using the prepositions given above. 1. There is a 2. There are 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

34 The Concluding Sentence The best way to write a concluding sentence when describing a place is by writing about our general idea / opinion about the place. This sentence can also summarize the whole paragraph. Look at the examples below: 1. My aunt’s house is a perfect summer home with its garden, large living room, and sea view. 2. Many tourists go to Greece every year to see the landscape, to learn about the history of ancient Greece or to have fun. 3. With its landscape, relaxing spa towns, historical sites and festivals the Czech Republic is a country to visit. 4. I love my neighbourhood! 5. As a conclusion, Venice is a dream city. EXERCISE 6. Answer the following questions and write a concluding sentence for the paragraph below. 1. What is the paragraph about? Which sentence is the topic sentence? 2. Does the writer have positive or negative feelings about this place? Why? I booked a hotel over the internet in Paris and stayed there for two days. I chose the hotel because it had nice photographs on the website and it was at a good location right next to the Eiffel Tower. However, when I arrived at the hotel, I saw that the hotel was very different from the photographs. The room was really dirty. There were stains on the bed sheet and on the curtains. Also, the bathroom wasn’t clean and there was a bad smell. In the room, there was only a bed, a small coffee table with telephone on it and a window. When I looked out of the window, I did not see the Eiffel Tower or the park around it. Unfortunately, all I could see was a construction area. I could hear the noise coming from the construction area early in the morning. .

35 EXERCISE 7. Look at the descriptive paragraph below and underline the mistakes by using the checklist given. Puente Romano Marbella Resort is my favorite place to stay in Malaga, Spain. This luxury hotel is located by the beach between Marbella city and Puerto Banus Marina. The hotel has an amazing view of the sea and beautiful gardens. There are 219 large rooms and villas in the hotel. The rooms has large windows so a lot of bright sunlight comes in and the guests can see the sea or the gardens out of the windows. It is possible to see natural materials such as wood and stone everywhere in the hotel, and the bedding and curtains are in neutral colours. In the hotel, there are twelve restaurants. These restaurants serve spanish, italian, thai and japanese food. Other facilities of the hotel include a fitness centre, a swimming pool, a tennis club, a spa, a nightclub and there is the laundry and parking services available. With its fascinating scenery, spacious rooms and various activities, this hotel is an amazing place. CHECKLIST YES NO Are there any punctuation mistakes? Are there any capitalization mistakes? Are there any spelling mistakes? Are there any fragments / incomplete sentences? Are there any subject-verb agreement mistakes?

36 EXERCISE 8. Look at the descriptive paragraph below and find the problem/s in its organization by using the checklist given. Every year, I rent a small flat in Miami for a one-week holiday. Usually, I am happy with the flat, but this year I am very disappointed. This year my flat is a small, dark, old one. There is an old broken lamp on the table next to the bed. On the right side of the room, there is a small, dirty uncomfortable bed. The kitchen area on the far wall is tiny. In the kitchen, there is an oven which is covered with oil, an old white refrigerator and a very dirty sink with a broken faucet*. There are two dark cabinets on the wall over the sink. Finally, there are two dirty windows on the wall to the left, and the view is terrible. There is nothing else on this side of the room, but there is also a sofa next to the bed on the right side. This is the place where I am going to spend my summer holiday. I want to relax and have a good time, but at the moment, I am spending most of my time cleaning the flat. Unfortunately, I don’t think I am going to enjoy my holiday much this year, because I don’t feel happy in this dirty, uncomfortable flat. * broken faucet CHECKLIST YES NO Is there a suitable topic sentence? Are there enough details in the supporting sentences? Are the supporting sentences organized in a meaningful way? Is there a suitable concluding sentence?

37 EXERCISE 9. Write a descriptive paragraph of at least 150 words about one of the topics below. • Your room • A place you went on holiday • Your home / a family member’s home

CHAPTER 5 NARRATIVE PARAGRAPH 38 A text that tells a story is called a narrative. A narrative paragraph can be about a real or an imaginary event (fiction). In a narrative paragraph, the writer tells a story in the order events happened using the past tense and time-order signals. Here is a narrative paragraph: I can never forget the day I got lost in a forest with my sister when I was a child. My mother was a presenter at a conference in Michigan and she took my sister and me there with her. We were staying at a hotel near the Huron-Manistee National Forests. My mom was leaving every morning to attend the conference, and my sister and I had the whole day to ourselves. One day, while we were at the greenery around the hotel, my sister pointed at the forest nearby and said, “Let’s go on a safari.” For us, as kids, going into a forest was the same as going on a safari. I accepted my sister’s exciting offer, and we walked in the forest. After walking for a short while, we realized that we didn’t know where we were. We were lost! We continued walking. Soon, we reached a river. We thought that it was too late to turn back and try a different route, so we decided to pass the river. As we were swimming through the river, my sister began drifting away. I got very scared, so I spent all my energy to swim faster. I could finally catch her. We got out of the river and continued walking with wet clothes. It was getting dark, so we started to be scared. After a while, we saw a security guard. We ran towards him and told him we were lost. He took us back to our hotel. When we turned back, my mom was looking for us, and she was even more scared than us. It was one of the most terrifying days of our lives! The Topic Sentence The topic sentence is a general sentence and introduces the story to the reader. It does not include details about the story. The topic sentence can also tell when and where the story took place. In a narrative paragraph about a real event, the writer can say why s/he is writing about that personal experience (memorable, embarrassing, funny, frightening, etc.) in the topic sentence. In the example paragraph, when we read the topic sentence we can understand that the story is about an ‘unforgettable’ because the writer ‘got lost in the forest’.

39 Topic Sentence I can never forget the day I got lost in a forest with my sister when I was a child. My mother, my sister and I went to Michigan as my mother was a presenter at a conference and she took us with her. We were staying at a hotel near the Huron-Manistee National Forests. My mom was leaving every morning to attend the conference, and my sister and I had the whole day to ourselves. One day, while we were at the greenery around the hotel, my sister pointed at the forest nearby and said, “Let’s go on a safari.” For us, as kids, going into a forest was the same as going on a safari. I accepted my sister’s exciting offer, and we walked in the forest. After walking for a short while, we realized that we didn’t know where we were. We were lost! We continued walking. Soon, we reached a river. We thought that it was too late to turn back and try a different route, so we decided to pass the river. As we were swimming through the river, my sister began drifting away. I got very scared, so I spent all my energy to swim faster. I could finally catch her. We got out of the river and continued walking with wet clothes. It was getting dark, so we started to be scared. After a while, we saw a security guard. We ran towards him and told him we were lost. He took us back to our hotel. When we turned back, my mom was looking for us, and she was even more scared than us. It was one of the most terrifying days of our lives! Here are some topic sentence examples: 1. Once upon a time, an old couple lived in the countryside. 2. The happiest day of my life was the day I met my boyfriend. 3. When I was thirteen, I went to the best party of my life. 4. My sixteenth birthday was a very special day for me. 5. My last birthday was terrible because I had to stay at home. EXERCISE 1. Write a topic sentence using the information given below. You can also add a feeling (scary / embarrassing / happy… etc). 1. Event: traffic accident Details: three years ago, my dad was driving the car Topic Sentence: _________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________

40 2. Event: camping Details: last summer, with friends Topic Sentence: _________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Event: first day of university Details: I was late Topic Sentence: _________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. Event: bungee jumping Details: 233 meters, the Macau Tower, China Topic Sentence: _________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ Supporting Sentences In supporting sentences, the writer tells the story in chronological order by using time-order signals. The narrative paragraph has details about the story and about what happened in the end. All the supporting sentences have to be connected to the topic sentence. For example, if the topic sentence says that the story is about ‘ the saddest day’ of your life, you have to write details about this aspect of the story. Time-Order Signals before for clause + after + nouns and time adverbs during until e.g. She was at school until 3.30. time adverb I finished my homework after the party. noun

41 after before until clause + as soon as + subject and verb while when e.g. She was at school until the school bell rang. I finished my homework after I came back from the party. A time clause can come before a main clause or follow a main clause. When a time clause comes before a main clause, a comma is used. However, when the time clause follows, no comma is used. e.g. After I finished my homework, I went to bed. I went to bed after I finished my homework. First, + subject and verb Next, Then sentence + After that, Later, At last, Finally, e.g. I came back from the party. After that, I finished my homework. I did shopping at the shopping centre. Next, I went to a café. Be careful about the time order when you use after/before: ! I finished my homework after the party. 2nd event 1st event I finished my homework after I came back from the party. 2nd event 1st event After the party / I came back from the party, I finished my homework. 1st event 2nd event I came back from the party. After that, I finished my homework. 1st event 2nd event

42 EXERCISE 2. Fill in the blanks using time-order signals. I was very stressed when I took the university entrance exam two years ago. I could not sleep the night _____________ (1) the exam. In the morning, I woke up at 7 o’clock. I quickly got dressed and left home. I was feeling very nervous. My father came to the school with me. He wished me good luck. _____________ (2) I went inside and found my classroom. The teachers gave the exam papers to everyone. I could not answer any question for a while because I could not understand anything out of stress. _____________ (3) I was looking at the questions, one of the teachers came next to me and asked, “Is there a problem? Why aren’t you answering the questions?” I took a deep breath, and I started answering the questions one by one. I did not stop _____________ (4) I finished answering all the questions. _____________ (5) I finished answering the questions, I looked at the time and saw that there was still half an hour left, so I relaxed and started to go over the answers. I read the questions many times, and I stayed in the class until the last minute. When the time was up, I left the class and went near my father and told him: “It went great. I will succeed for sure.” I can definitely say that it was the most stressful day of my life. EXERCISE 3. Put the sentences of the story below in order. _____ a. First, I could not understand why they were shouting. _____ b. Luckily, I got on the ship before the shark could reach me. _____ c. I had a terrible experience on holiday last year. _____ d. I looked up at the ship and saw that my parents were shouting at me and, asking me to get out of the water. _____ e. However, one day, it became too hot and everyone got in the water. _____ f. I swam back to the ship quickly. _____ g. I was swimming with everyone and having fun when I heard a scream. _____ h. I thought that people were playing in the water, so I did not worry and put my head in the water. _____ i. I was traveling on a cruise ship with my family and spending most of my time on the deck because I did not know how to swim well. _____ j. When I took my head out of the water, I realized that I was the only one left in the water. _____ k. I wore a swim vest and got in the water to swim as well. _____ l. Then I looked behind me and saw that there was a shark near me.

43 EXERCISE 4. Write supporting sentences for the paragraph below. I met my boyfriend, the love of my life in summer, two years ago. I was on holiday with my parents at a sea side place. I was spending most of my days at the beach, reading books, listening to music or simply sunbathing. One of those days, while I was relaxing at the beach, a shadow passed in front of me, and I did not even pay attention. For me, it was just a stranger. However, after some time I realized that a person kept blocking the sun, so I looked to see who it was. It was a tall handsome guy wearing colorful swimming shorts. When I looked at his face, he said, ‘hi’ and that was our first interaction. . We are still together. Now, I am looking forward to going to a university in the same city as my boyfriend. The Concluding Sentence The best way to write a concluding sentence in a narrative paragraph is by writing something that you learned from the story, or what you thought or felt about the experience. Look at the examples below: 1. It was a very disappointing birthday. 2. I can definitely say that it was the most stressful day of my life. 3. It was the strangest night of my life!

44 EXERCISE 5. Answer the following questions and write a concluding sentence for the paragraph below. 1. What is the paragraph about? Which sentence is the topic sentence? 2. Does the writer have positive or negative feelings about this event? Why? The holiday I had in Chicago with my family was unforgettable. I went there for two weeks with my sister, mother and grandmother. We stayed in my grandmother’s cousin’s house. My mother and grandmother stayed in the guest room in the apartment, and my sister and I slept on an inflatable bed in the living room. Most of the time, my grandmother’s cousin, uncle Mustafa took us around the city by car. The holiday was especially a good opportunity for me to spend time with my grandmother. For the first time, we were not doing things just at home, but we were doing different activities together. I remember going to the Art Institute of Chicago, Lincoln Park Zoo and Museum of Science and Industry. Apart from seeing the attractions of the city, we went to many malls and did a lot of shopping. We went to many restaurants and tried different kinds of food. .

45 EXERCISE 6. Look at the narrative paragraph below and underline the mistakes by using the checklist given. My eighteenth birthday was a real disaster. I were looking forward to having a big birthday party, but everything went wrong. Everything started with a call I got from my best friend early in the morning. I woke up and picked up the call and imediately, I heard my friend shout out loud: Look outside. His voice sounded excited, so I thought that there was a birthday surprise for me outside. I looked out of the window and saw that I was right that there was a surprise, but unfortunately it was not a good one. There was a lot of snow outside, and it was still snowing a lot. Soon people started sending text messages and saying they could not come to the party because of the weather. After a couple of hours, I got a call from the party organizers. They were not coming to bring the decorations and the food. My guests, the decorations and the food were not coming, so I had to cancel the party. I spent my birthday alone eating left over food from the fridge. It was a very disappointing birthday. CHECKLIST YES NO Are there any punctuation mistakes? Are there any capitalization mistakes? Are there any spelling mistakes? Are there any fragments / incomplete sentences? Are there any subject-verb agreement mistakes?

46 EXERCISE 7. Look at the narrative paragraph below and find the problem/s in its organization by using the checklist given. I went on a trip with my sister before I started high school, and it was the worst trip of my life. It was the summer holiday and my parents wanted to send my sister and me abroad for a few weeks. They chose a three week long trip to London where we would attend an English course. We went there with a group of other teenagers and two teachers. The problems started from the beginning of the trip. When we arrived to the dormitory, they gave my sister and me rooms which were very far away from each other. We were away from our family for the first time, and staying in distant rooms made it worse. We felt like we were all alone in a different country. My sister and I were crying every day. We met different people at the classes and did a lot of sightseeing at our free times. However, we could not enjoy anything because of the way we were feeling. We felt better only when we talked to our parents on the phone. CHECKLIST YES NO Is there a suitable topic sentence? Are there enough details in the supporting sentences? Are the supporting sentences organized in a meaningful way? Is there a suitable concluding sentence?

47 EXERCISE 8. Write a narrative paragraph of at least 150 words about one of the topics below. • A memorable trip • A frightening experience • A birthday celebration

CHAPTER 6 ACADEMIC PARAGRAPH 48 An academic paragraph is a group of sentences which develop ideas about a certain subject logically. There are no breaks in a paragraph. A paragraph runs continuously from the first sentence to the last sentence. Here is an academic paragraph: Learning English is important for many different reasons. First of all, learning English can help you get a job. English is the language of science, computers, trade and tourism, so you can easily find a job when you know English well. You can work in a foreign company or abroad. Next, learning English can help you meet new people. You can communicate in English with people in many other countries because English is the most widely spoken language in the world. You can interact with people using social media by commenting on their posts and become friends. Finally, traveling is easier with a good knowledge of English. In most countries, signs, menus and maps are in English. You can easily ask for directions or prices of souvenirs, order food and chat to the locals. In conclusion, learning English helps you find a job, meet people and travel easily. This is NOT a correct paragraph form: Learning English is important for many different reasons. First of all, learning English can help you get a job. English is the language of science, computers, trade and tourism, so you can easily find a job when you know English well. Next, learning English can help you meet new people. You can communicate in English with people in many other countries because English is the most widely spoken language in the world. In conclusion, learning English helps you find a job, meet people and travel easily.

49 An academic paragraph has three basic parts. A good paragraph begins with a sentence that states the main idea of the whole paragraph. This sentence is called the topic sentence. The next group of sentences in the paragraph explains the main idea. They add details and support this idea. These sentences are called supporting sentences. The paragraph ends with a concluding sentence. This sentence restates the main idea, summarizes the major points and may make a final comment on the topic. An academic paragraph follows the following pattern: Topic Sentence Supporting Sentences Concluding Sentence Topic Sentence Learning English is important for many different reasons. First of all, learning English can help you get a job. English is the language of science, computers, trade and tourism, so you can easily find a job when you know English well. You can work in a foreign company or abroad. Next, learning English can help you meet new people. You can communicate in English with people in many other countries because English is the most widely spoken language in the world. You can interact with people using social media by commenting on their posts and become friends. Finally, traveling is easier with a good knowledge of English. In most countries, signs, menus and maps are in English. You can easily ask for directions or prices of souvenirs, order food and chat to the locals. In conclusion, learning English helps you find a job, meet people and travel easily. Concluding Sentence The Topic Sentence The topic sentence usually comes first in a paragraph and it is the most important sentence of a paragraph. It states the main idea and introduces the topic to the reader. The topic sentence is more general than the other sentences in the paragraph. A topic sentence should have two parts: the topic and the controlling idea. The topic states the subject of the paragraph. It is what the paragraph is about. The controlling idea limits your topic. It tells what you are going to say about the subject.

50 Read the following topic sentences. They have the same topic (mobile phones) but a different controlling idea. Even though their topics are the same, because they have different controlling ideas, the paragraphs with these topic sentences will be totally different: - There are many different types of mobile phones. - Mobile phones are harmful. - Mobile phones can do many things other than making calls. EXERCISE 1. Draw a circle around the topic and underline the controlling idea in each sentence. 1. Written exams are difficult. 2. Colours have different meanings around the world. 3. Miles Davis is my favourite jazz musician. 4. I want to live in a small town. 5. The computer is one of the best inventions of the twentieth century. 6. The Cannes Film Festival is my favourite festival. EXERCISE 2. Complete each topic sentence by adding a controlling idea. 1. Good drivers 2. Public transportation 3. Television 4. Fast food 5. My first day of school x ✓EXERCISE 3. Put a check ( ) next to the sentences which are topic sentences and a cross ( ) next to the sentences which cannot be topic sentences. _____ 1. Teachers have certain characteristics. _____ 2. My teacher’s name is Jack. _____ 3. Cooking is a difficult skill. _____ 4. I cut my finger yesterday. _____ 5. Hacettepe University is one of the best universities in my country. _____ 6. A university diploma is important for many different reasons. _____ 7. It is a good idea to keep pets. _____ 8. It is a good idea to keep animals at the zoos. _____ 9. My teacher said: “Work hard to pass the exam”. _____ 10. Teenagers can work and study at the same time.