English 8

QUARTER 3

LESSON 1

BIASES MADE BY THE AUTHOR

An important part of evaluating an author’s ethos is identifying that author’s

bias. Bias is any opinion that influences a person’s thoughts, feelings, or actions. A
person can be biased against something or have a bias for something. An author’s
bias is any opinion or prejudice that affects that author’s writing and prevents the
author from being completely neutral about the topic or issue about which s/he is
writing.

How are author's biases detected?

When writing, authors make claims based on their own judgments, which are
expressed in opinions that ultimately shape their discussion. However, when these
opinions seem to favor only one side of an idea, authors commit biases. As a wise
reader, you must be able to detect how biases may be examined in texts, whether
they are explicit or implied. Here are several ways to detect an author's bias in
writing.

1. The author uses words that are too sensational, dramatic, emotional, or strong.
2. The author presents evidences that seem to support only one side of an issue.
3. The author makes claims that magnify either the good or the bad side of a group
or idea, but not both.
4. The author fails to present any argument that may counter his/her claims.
5. The author fails to cite his sources, and thus bases his/her arguments solely on
his own opinions.

How to determine what an author’s bias is:

The author may state directly some of his/her biases by telling the reader
his/her opinions on certain topics or admitting that s/he has a conflict of interest or
preference. But when an author does not acknowledge his/her own bias, a skilled
reader can infer what an author’s bias may be by looking at the author’s diction and
use of evidence.

When looking at the author’s use of evidence, ask yourself:

 Does the author present more positive evidence for one side of an issue than
the other?
 Does the author present more negative evidence for one side of an issue than
the other?
These are both clues that the author may be biased for or against a particular side.

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When looking at the author’s diction, ask yourself:

 Does the author use words with more negative connotations when referring to
one side of an issue or particular people?
 Does the author use words with more positive connotations when referring to
one side of an issue or particular people?
These connotations are another clue to what or whom the author may be biased for
or against

EXERCISES

Activity 1: Answer the questions below.

I prefer the taste of Coca-Cola rather than Pepsi. I like Coca-Cola because it doesn’t
taste as sweet as Pepsi does. Pepsi tastes smoother while Coca-Cola is stronger
and has more bite to it.

Questions:
1. What is the author’s bias from the statement?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________.
2. How do you know the bias in the statement?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________.

Activity 2: Think about your biases regarding the following topics:

1. cats
__________________________________________________________

2. people who are poor

__________________________________________________________

3. other countries
__________________________________________________________

4. men
__________________________________________________________

5. other religions
__________________________________________________________

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Activity 3: Practice identifying authors’ biases by reading the excerpt

below. Determine what the author’s bias is by looking for patterns in that
author’s diction and use of evidence.

The following paragraphs are from an article by Amy Alkon that examines the
effects of beauty on people’s (particularly women’s) lives. As you read these
paragraphs, try to determine what Alkon’s biases are. How does she feel about
feminists? About people who try to improve their physical appearance?

Men's looks matter to heterosexual women only somewhat. Most women

prefer men who are taller than they are, with symmetrical features (a sign that a
potential partner is healthy and parasite-free). But, women across cultures are intent
on finding male partners with high status, power, and access to resources—which
means a really short guy can add maybe a foot to his height with a private jet. And,
just like women who aren't very attractive, men who make very little money or are
chronically out of work tend to have a really hard time finding partners. There is
some male grumbling about this. Yet, while feminist journalists deforest North
America publishing articles urging women to bow out of the beauty arms race and
"Learn to love that woman in the mirror!", nobody gets into the ridiculous position of
advising men to "Learn to love that unemployed guy sprawled on the couch!"

Now, before you brand me a traitor to my gender, let me say that I'm all for
women having the vote, and I think a woman with a mustache should make the
same money as a man with a mustache. But you don't help that woman by advising
her, "No need to wax that lip fringe or work off that beer belly!" (Because the road to
female empowerment is...looking just like a hairy old man?)

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LESSON 2

PROPAGANDA TECHNIQUES

A propaganda is a technique that appeals to the emotions of people in

for them to be influenced and convinced to do something or believe in
something.

SIX COMMON PROPAGANDA TECHNIQUES

1. Bandwagon
It is a technique used to sway people into thinking or acting in the same way
as the majority.

2. Snob Appeal
It is a technique that involves encouraging people to think or act in a certain
way because people with high income and great social status do it.

3. Vague, Undefined Terms

It is the use of vague words that do not provide definite and concrete
meanings and ideas. The audience is then forced to supply meaning to the
words.

4. Loaded Words
It is the use of words that create a strong emotional appeal to the audience,
thereby influencing their decision-making.

5. Transfer
It is a technique that uses comparisons and associations of ideas or
concepts to something that is perceived as positive or negative Because of
the comparison made, the second choice becomes better and more
acceptable.

6. Testimonial
It is the use of people's stories and opinions to strengthen the claims made
for a product or idea.

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EXERCISES

Activity 1: List down taglines, spiels, and information used in

advertisements. Classify them according to the six common propaganda
techniques. The first one is done for you.

1. Propaganda: Bandwagon
Trust the brand that more dentists and hygienist use.
Description: This advertisement uses the bandwagon propaganda technique
because it wants the people to trust the brand and to believe it is a good
product since more dentists and hygienists use it. It makes them want to buy
the product and join the fad.

2. Propaganda:
______________________________________________________________
Description:
_____________________________________________________________
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_____________________________________________________________
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3. Propaganda:
_____________________________________________________________
Description:
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4. Propaganda:
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Description:
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5. Propaganda:
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Description:
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Activity 2: Choose one propaganda technique and make your own tagline
with your own product. Make a slogan for it using a bond paper, marker,
pencil, coloring materials and other art materials available at home.

LESSON 3
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VARIOUS SOCIAL, MORAL, AND ECONOMIC ISSUES

A Country Boy Quits School
Lao Hsiang (Translated by Chi-Chen Wang)

A boy in the country gets to be at least half as useful as a grownup by the

time he is eight or nine years old. He can weed in the spring or ti7e up harvest
bundles in summer: he is able to pass bricks when a house is built or open and shut
the furrows to the irrigation ditches. This, being the case, who'd want to send him to
school? But an official proclamation had been issued in the city to the effect that
unless a boy over six years of age.
When they found the cause of her distress, Father said, "We'll have the boy
ask his teacher whose mama this really is. Maybe it is the teacher's mama."
The next morning before dawn, Mother woke up her son and made him go to
school and ask the teacher for a solution to the problem that had bothered her all
night. Arriving at school, the boy found that it was Sunday and that there would be
no school. Moreover, the teacher had drunk more wine than was good for him the
night before and was still sound asleep. The boy told Mother the circumstances,
which made her curse the institution of Sunday.
At general assembly on Monday, the teacher said gently to his charges, "One
who wants to learn must not be afraid to ask questions. Anyone who has any
question should raise it at once, to his teacher at school or to his parents at home."
Thereupon our hero stood up and asked, (the reader says) "This is Mama." Whose
is she, really?” The teacher answered even more gently than before. "It is the mama
of anyone who happens to read the book, do you understand now?"
"No," the boy said. This embarrassed the teacher a little but he said patiently,
"Why don't you understand?" "Baldy is also reading this, but his mama is not like
this lady," the boy said.
"Baldy's mother is lame in one arm and has only one eye," Hsiao Li said.
"And you have no mama at all. She died a long time ago," Baldy said in self-
defense.
"Don't talk among yourselves" the teacher said, knocking on the blackboard
with his ferule. "We are going to have the lesson plan today: This is Papa. Look,
everyone. This is Papa, the man with spectacles and patted hair."
After school, Mother was still warned about who the picture woman was, but
when she heard her son reiterating "this is Papa," she did not dare to pursue the
question, being afraid that her husband might want to know when she'd found a new
papa for their son. She was puzzled more than ever and wondered why the book
insisted on presenting people with papas and mamas when they had them already.
A few days later, the boy learned two new sentences: "The ox tends the fire;
the horse eats noodles." He read the text over thousands of times but he could not
get over the feeling that there was something queer about the assertions. They had
an ox and a horse and he had himself taken them out to tend the hills, but he had
never once seen a horse eat noodles and he was sure that their ox could not tend
the fire. But could the book be wrong? Since he could not answer these questions,

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he obeyed his teacher's injunction of the week before and asked his father about it.
Father said, "I once went to a foreign circus in the city and saw a horse that could
ring a bell and fire a gun. Perhaps the book is talking about such horses and oxen."
It in our circumstances. You' 11 be very ungrateful if you don't study hard and learn
something."
The boy took his father's instructions to heart and set out for school the next
day at dawn. When he got there, however, the porter said to him in a low voice,
"Classes don't start till nine. It's now only five thirty. You are too early. The teacher is
asleep and the classroom isn't unlocked. You had better go home now." The boy
looked around the yard and found that he was indeed the only student there; he
listened outside the teacher's window and heard him snoring; he walked around the
lecture room and found no open door. There was nothing for him to do but run back
home. Grandfather was sweeping the yard when he suddenly caught sight of the
boy. He threw down his broom and said. "What is the use of trying to make a
scholar of a boy whom Heaven and Earth intended for the hoe? Look at him. it's
only the second day and he is playing truant already!" The boy was just about to
explain when his mother gave him two resounding slaps and made him tend the fire
for breakfast. Needless to say, the price of the books that they had to buy had a
great deal to do with their temper.
When the boy went to school again after breakfast, the teacher was already
on the platform and was holding forth on the subject of being late to school. To
illustrate his point, he told a story about a little fairy that waited by the wayside with a
bag of gold to reward the earliest boy. Our boy was enchanted with the story and
the words "fairy" gold" but he could not figure out just what was meant by "earliest."
In the afternoon, our young hero came back from school at three thirty, just as his
father was going back to work after his midday nap. Luckily his father happened to
see the other boys also coming home from school and the teaching laking a stroll
with his “dog stick," and concluded that his son was not playing truant. He kept
wondering, however, about the strange ways of these foreign schools.
The first six days of school were taken up with the first lesson in the reader,
with the text. “This is mama." It couldn't be said that the boy was not diligent He
reviewed his lesson every day after school, reading over and over again "This is
Mama," until dusk. With his left hand holding the book open and his right following
the characters, he read on faithfully and conscientiously if afraid that the characters
would fly away if he did not fix his entire attention on them.
But every time he reads "This is Mama," his mother's heart would jump. On
the sixth day of 2 school she could stand it no longer. She snatched the book from
him and said, “Let me see who your mama is!" Thinking that his mother was really
eager to learn, the boy pointed to the accompanying picture and said, This is Mama-
the lady with leather shoes, bobbed hair, and long dress." One glance at the picture
and Mother burst out crying. Grandfather, Grandmother, and Father were
frightened, thinking that she might have become possessed by some evil spirits. At
first, she only cried and would not say anything when they asked her what the
matter was, but when they persisted, she said. “Where did the boy get that vampire-
like mama?"
Grandmother, however, did not agree with father's explanation. She said,
"The ox must be the Ox-Head Devil King and the horse must also be a demon. Don't
you see that all wear human clothing? They haven't changed their heads if human

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heads yet, but that alone will take to live hundred a years." The old lady then went
on to tell stories about demons that could command the wing and summon rain; the
result was that the boy dreamed that night of being seized by a winged-wolf demon
and woke up crying.
The following day, the boy asked his teacher "Is this ox that can tend the fire
a foreign ox ?"
The teacher laughed and said, "You are too literal! The book has only made
those things up. It is not true that oxen can really tend the fire or that horses really
eat noodles."
The explanation cleared up at one stroke many things in the book that had
puzzled the boy. He had read about such things as bread, milk, park, ball, and the
like, which he had never seen and which had made him wonder, it dawned upon
him that the book dealt only with make believe things.
One day, the boy and his schoolmates decided that they would play tea party
as they had read about it in their reading. They agreed that each would contribute
twenty cents so that they could send to the city for oranges, apples, chocolates, and
things. Our boy knew, of course, that he would be only inviting a beating to ask
money for buying sweetmeats. Grandmother always mumbled that school would
bankrupt them yet, whenever he had to buy a sheet of writing paper. But be could
not resist the glowing picture that his book gave of the tea party, and decided to help
himself to the money that his mother had just got from selling more of her jewels
and which she had set aside for buying cabbage seedlings.
Grandfather had been suffering for a long time from a chronic cough, and
someone had hold him that orange peels would give him relief. He kept on asking
what orange peels were like and where they could be gotten. Thinking that this was
a chance for him to ingratiate himself into his grandfather's favor, the boy said, "We
are getting some oranges?" Grandfather asked. "What are you getting oranges for?"
We want to hold a tea party," the boy said.
"What is a tea party?" "It means to get together and eat things and drink tea,"
the boy said. "It is in the book
"What kind of book is this that is either making animals talk or tea people to
eat and play? No wonder the boys have become lazy and choosy about their food
since they went to school" Grandmother said.
"And it is always about foreign food. There doesn't seem to be any corn stew
or bean curd with onions in it." Grandfather said.
"Remember, son, to bring back some orange peels for your grandfather's
cough," said Mother.
"Where did you get the money to buy oranges?" asked Father.
"The teacher - "but before the boy could finish making up his story, they heard
Badly, who live in the next dwelling to the east, suddenly begin to cry. Then they
heard his father shout, "We can't even afford salt, and yet you want to buy candy."
This was followed by the voice of Hsiao Lin's uncle, who live in the west. "I let
you buy books with my earned-money because it is for your good, but I haven't any
money for you to buy sweetmeats. You can ask whoever you want to hold tea
parties for it."
The truth came out. The boy's father aimed a kick at him, but fortunately the
table intervened. He only upset the table and broke a few rice bowls. Grandfather

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was of the opinion th at it might be better to take the boy out of school, but
Grandmother did not want her son to go to jail.
After long arguments, it was decided that they would let him try school for a
few more days. After this Humiliation, our young scholar vowed to study harder and
to recover his lost prestige in the family. Everyday after school, he read without
stopping until it was dark. He did not realize that the source of his troubles lay in the
textbook itself.
Grandmother had been feeling that her son was no longer as close to her as
before his marriage and that her position in the family had been gradually slipping.
Now as she listened to the boy reading aloud his latest lessons, she heard him say,
"In my family I have a papa, a mama, a brother, and a sister," but nothing about
Grandfather and Grandmother. She became very indignant and shouted. "So this
house is now all yours and I have no longer a share in it!" She was mad with fury.
She picked up a brick and broke their iron pot into pieces.
“Don't be angry any more!" the boy's father said. "We won't let him read this
kind of book any longer. I would rather go to jail."
And so the next day, Father discharged a day laborer and the teacher marked
the boy's absence in the record book at school. 3 "A Country Boy Quits School" by
Lao Hsiang is an endearing social satire. It is about a poor Chinese family which is
forced to send its boy to school following an official proclamation, ignoring which
would mean a jail term. How the English illustrations in books and the literal
translation lead to much confusion and misunderstandings in his household is at the
centre of the story. The boy is finally pulled out of the school.

EXERCISES

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ACTIVITY 1: Answer the following questions below. Write your answer on

the space provided.

1. Who are the characters in the story?

___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
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___________________________________________________________________.
2. What is the lesson from the story?
___________________________________________________________________
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3. What will you feel if your parents will not send you to school because of
poverty? Why?
___________________________________________________________________
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___________________________________________________________________.

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LESSON 4

ANALYZE LITERATURE AS A MIRROR TO A SHARED

HERITAGE OF PEOPLE WITH DIVERSE
BACKGROUNDS

THE OLD MAN, HIS SON, AND THEIR BIKE

M.Ibrahim (Singapore)

There was once a poor old Malay,

One you have never seen the like,
Who sadly told his son one day,
“Son, we have to sell our bike.”
So to the nearest town they went,
The old man on the bike astride;
His son, very soon feeling spent,
Walked slowly on his side.
They passed two men on their way,
Two old buddies having a talk,
One was heard to distinctly say,
“He makes the young fellow walk,”
On hearing this old man said,
“I think, my son, they do not like
To see me riding, I’m afraid,
You had better ride the bike.”
Two more men later they met,
They both seemed at the boy to gawk,
Said one, “See that strong, selfish lad,
He makes the old man walk”
The old man then said with a frown,
“Whatever we do, my son, seems wrong,
So let both of us walk to town;
We can push the bike along.”
Two more men then came into view,
One of them, as he stepped aside;
Said, “Look, how foolish are those two,
Walking, when they both could ride.”
The old man winced at what he heard,
And irritably said, “Indeed!”
His anger had now been stirred;
“Let’s both ride our iron steed.”
The rusty bike wasn’t really fit,
Fir it hadn’t been well kept of late;
The bike broke, the tires went flat;
They were both thrown to the ground!
Alas, alack, what noise was that?
They both heard a snapping sound,

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The bike broke, the tires went flat,

They were both thrown to the ground!
Now, folk, you all know the moral
Of this quite short and simple tale;
That if you try to please others,
To please yourself, you will fail!

EXERCISES
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ACTIVITY 1: Answer the following question below. Write your answer on

the space provided.

1. What is the story all about?

___________________________________________________________________
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___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________.
2. What is the moral of the tale?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________.

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ACTIVITY 2: Write a three-paragraph reflection paper with the famous quotation

“YOU CANNOT PLEASE EVERYBODY.”

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LESSON 5

COHESIVE DEVICES

Cohesive devices, sometimes called linking words, linkers, connectors,

discourse markers or transitional words.
Cohesive Devices are words or phrases that show the relationship between
paragraphs or sections of a text or speech.

Cohesive devices are words like ‘For example‘, ‘In conclusion‘, ‘however‘
and ‘moreover‘.

Let’s look at these two examples below:

1. Netflix has many movies and shows and it is only $9.
2. The Christmas tree is natural but it is expensive.

As we can see in the sentences above, and it is used to add something to the

previous statement,
In the second sentence, we can see how something positive and negative is said
about the christmas. We know that because the word but is used to contrast ideas.

What are some examples of Cohesive Devices?

Here is a list of words and phrases used as cohesive devices:

Addition
Prep.
Coordinator Paired Subordinating Transitions
Phrase

In addition
And Both...and --- In addition
to

Not
Further more As well as
only...but(also)

Neither...nor Besides* Besides*

What's more Apart from

Also Aside from

On top of that

Moreover

Indeed

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Examples:

Both/not only proteins and/but also vitamins are essential for small children.
The film was neither well made nor well-performed.
I can play the piano apart from the guitar.

Contrast
Coordinator Paired Subordinating Transitions Prep. Phrase

But --- Although, though However Despite

Yet Even though, much as Nonetheless In spite of

Notwithstanding Yet, even so For all

No matter + question word Nevertheless Regardless of

However + adj./adv. Still Notwithstanding

Adj./adv. + though/as Notwithstanding

Examples:

Although he's very smart, he cannot pass his English class.

No matter how smart you are, you shouldn't underestimate your opponents.
He's very smart, he doesn't respect his friends though.
Regardless of age, anybody can ride this ride.

Direct Contrast
Coordinator Paired Subordinating Transitions Prep. Phrase

But --- While On the contrary Unlike

Yet Whereas In contrast In contrast to

On the other hand Contrary to

Conversely As opposed to

Contrarily
While / whereas
Examples:

The winters are very wet here; whereas, the summers are very dry.
It was very hot yesterday, in contrast, it’s very cold today.
It's cold and windy today, on the other hand, it’s not raining.

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Result
Coordinato Subordi
Paired Transitions Prep. Phrase
r nating

So/such ...
--- --- Therefore As a result of
that

As a result of this As a consequence of

As a result

So, this, hence

Consequently

As a consequence of
this

Because of this

Accordingly

Cause and Effect

Cause Effect

Causes
leads to
Man's hunting whales in
results in the danger of their becoming extinct
large numbers
is the result for
is responsible for

Effect Cause

is the result of
is due to
Whales' facing extinction is a consequence man's hunting them in large numbers
of
result from
For Example:

As a consequence of rising population, people now have to cope with heavy traffic.
It was such a great movie that I watched it three times.
The basketball team's introducing a talented young player resulted in winning more
games.

Purpose
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Coordinator Paired Subordinating Transitions Prep. Phrase

--- --- So that --- In order to

In order that To

For the purpose that For the purpose of

For fear of

So as to
For Example:

I talked to the shy girl for the purpose that she wouldn’t feel isolated.
We all spoke in quiet voices for fear of waking the baby up.
She went to her husband’s office for the purpose of seeing him.

Comparison

similarly
equally
in the same way
compared with
like

I can speak Spanish; similarly, my brother can speak Spanish.

Listings

first(ly)
finally
in the first place
then
to conclude
to begin
next

I loved England a lot. First I loved its museums. Secondly, I loved its people. Finally I
loved its tourist attractions.

Giving Examples

for example
for instance
such as
as follows
namely

Example: I like small pets such as cats and birds.

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Generalizing

in general
generally
in most cases
most of the time
on the whole

Example: In general, people don't like getting up early.

EXERCISES
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ACTIVITY 1: Fill in the blanks choosing the linking words given below the
passage. Choose from the following cohesive devices: although, therefore,
moreover, but, and.

My friend is a singer. He is intelligent _______________hardworking.

___________ he is creative. ______________ he has never received any award in
India, ____________ he won a prize in a competition in America last year.
____________ he has decided to leave India and settle down in America.

ACTIVITY 2: Fill in the blanks using and, so, because, but or or.

1. I could not go out last night _________ I was too busy.

2. I could not go with my friend _________ he went without me.
3. My friend went to the cinema to see a film ________ the film wasn't very good.
4. The cinema was full of people ________ they were all smoking.
5. I like people _______ I don't like smoke.
6. Do you want an orange juice _______ a guava juice?
7. It was my birthday ________ he didn't send me a card.
8. I didn't write to him ________ he didn't write to me.
9. We couldn’t contact him ________ we didn’t have his number.
10. The new department store is now open ________ it is offering big discounts.

ACTIVITY 3: Combine the following pairs of sentences to be one sentence.

Use appropriate cohesive device(s).

For example:
The little boy walked to the store. His dog walked along with him.
--> When the little boy walked to the store, his dog walked along with him.

1. Bob is an only child. He is very independent.

__________________________________________________________________

2. You have to bring your examination card. You cannot join the exam without the
examination card.

__________________________________________________________________

3. She went to work. She didn’t want to go.

__________________________________________________________________

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4. My cat was hungry. It had not eaten since breakfast that day.

__________________________________________________________________

5. A book can be a lot of fun. A book can be boring.

_________________________________________________________________

LESSON 6
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Parallel Structures

Parallel structure means using the same pattern of words to show that
two or more ideas have the same level of importance. This can happen at the
word, phrase, or clause level. The usual way to join parallel structures is with
the use of coordinating conjunctions such as "and" or "or."

1. Words and Phrases

With the -ing form (gerund) of words:

Parallel: Mary likes hiking, swimming, and bicycling.

With infinitive phrases:

Parallel: Mary likes to hike, to swim, and to ride a bicycle.
OR
Mary likes to hike, swim, and ride a bicycle.
(Note: You can use "to" before all the verbs in a sentence or only before the first
one.)
Do not mix forms.

Examples:

Not Parallel: Mary likes hiking, swimming, and to ride a bicycle.

Parallel: Mary likes hiking, swimming, and riding a bicycle.

Not Parallel: The production manager was asked to write his report quickly,
accurately, and in a detailed manner.
Parallel: The production manager was asked to write his report quickly
accurately,
and thoroughly.

Not Parallel: The teacher said that he was a poor student because he waited
until the last minute to study for the exam, completed his lab problems in a
careless manner, and his motivation was low.
Parallel: The teacher said that he was a poor student because he waited until
the last minute to study for the exam, completed his lab problems in a
careless manner, and lacked motivation.

2. Clauses
A parallel structure that begins with clauses must keep on with clauses.
Changing to another pattern or changing the voice of the verb (from active to
passive or vice versa) will break the parallelism.

Examples

Not Parallel: The coach told the players that they should get a lot of sleep, that

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they should not eat too much, and to do some warm- up exercises before the
game.
Parallel: The coach told the players that they should get a lot of sleep, that they
should not eat too much, and that they should do some warm- up exercises
before
the game.
-- or --
Parallel: The coach told the players that they should get a lot of sleep, not eat
too much, and do some warm- up exercises before the game.

Not Parallel: The salesman expected that he would present his product at the
meeting, that there would be time for him to show his slide presentation, and that
questions would be asked by prospective buyers.
(passive)
Parallel: The salesman expected that he would present his product at the
meeting, that there would be time for him to show his slide presentation, and
that prospective buyers would ask him questions.

3. Lists after a colon

Be sure to keep all the elements in a list in the same form.

Examples

Not Parallel: The dictionary can be used for these purposes: to find word
meanings, pronunciations, correct spellings, and looking up irregular verbs.
Parallel: The dictionary can be used for these purposes: to find word meanings,
pronunciations, correct spellings, and irregular verbs.

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.
EXERCISES
SS
ACTIVITY 1: Underline the sentence that is parallel.

1. Tom has a beautiful wife, a big house and he has a lovely children.
Tom has a beautiful wife, a big house and lovely children.
2. I learned to be attentive to my teachers and to do my homework.
I learned to be attentive to my teachers and I do my homework.
3. I consider your behavior rude, irresponsible and I think it is offensive.
I consider your behavior rude, irresponsible and offensive.
4. I hate washing the linen by hand and to cook.
I hate washing the linen by hand and cooking.
5. She was known for her beauty and generous.
She was known for her beauty and generosity

ACTIVITY 2: Correct any errors in parallel structure in the following

sentences. Rewrite your answer on the space provided.

1. The plaintiff was wasting the court’s time and prejudiced my client.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________.
  
2. Derek Jeter is not only a great fielding shortstop and he is also a superb hitter.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________. 
 
3. The plaintiff’s attorneys were bombastic, uncivil, and lacked competence.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________.
 
4. My favorite activities are baseball, riding my bike, and playing piano.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________.
 
5. Her chores were to polish the furniture, sweep the floor, and to water the
garden.
___________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________.

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ACTIVITY 3: Correct the nonparallel elements in the following

sentences. Circle the letter of your choice.

1. She was healthy, wealthy, and a regular reader of my column.

a. She was a healthy young woman, a wealthy person, and a regular

reader of my column.

b. She was a healthy young woman, a wealthy person, and reads my

column.

2. He was handsome, brave, and the sort of person who would do

anything for you.

a. He was handsome, brave, and accommodating.

b. He was so handsome, so brave, and accommodating.

3. The Budget Information System is a query system, the database is

small, and we need to recognize the fact that the response time is
unacceptably long.

a. The Budget Information System is a query system, it has a small

database, and the response time is unacceptably long.
b. The Budget Information System is a query system, the database is
small, and the response time is unacceptably long.

4. Declining trees have a higher probability of branch failures and of dying

prematurely.

a. Declining trees have a higher probability of branch that fails and of

premature death.
b. Declining trees have a higher probability of branch failures and of
premature death.

5. In the facility construction stage, trees are often wounded by trenching,

blacktopping, changing the grade, and heavy machinery.

a. In the facility construction stage, trees are often wounded by trenching,

blacktopping, changing the grade, and bringing heavy machinery too
close.
b. In the facility construction stage, trees are often wounded by trenching,
blacktopping, changing the grade, and heavy machinery too close.

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