Grammar for the WIN
"When I opened my present I shouted in surprise it was a brand new apple watch just for me I have never had a watch before in my life especially not an apple watch I messed around with all the cool functions all night"
This is a RUN-ON, and a very long one too! Run-on sentences are a grouping of independent clauses (full sentences) that are not connected correctly. You need *punctuation* to make this right.
A correct group of sentences might read:
"When I opened my present, I shouted in surprise! It was a brand new apple watch just for me. I have never had a watch before in my life, especially not an apple watch. I messed around with all the cool functions all night."
This character is over-confident, rich, and ultimately a coward. He does not understand the gravity of his actions or take directions seriously, and claims it was "just a little butterfly" when he completely changes time... for the worse.
This is Eckels!
"Eckels arrives at the Time Travel agency in 2050. He is a rich man who is a big game hunter."
Is this event:
Exposition
Rising Action
Climax
Falling Action
Denouement (Resolution)–
This is exposition. Exposition is another way to say "background info, or information in a story that we need to know to understand the events that follow".
Is this a good thesis?
"No, this story was terrible and I'll tell you why. None of these people are nice and I'd never wish their fates on my worst enemy".
Nope, though it is funny. A thesis statement SHOULD NOT HAVE:
“I think” or “I feel” or “In my opinion” statements
Nonspecific explanations (“These two characters are similar and different in many ways.”)
TRUE or FALSE:
The definition of Mood in literature is giving an inanimate object or animal person-like qualities ("The sun smiled on us.")
False. That definition is Personification!
Mood = the mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere and the range of feelings the work evokes in the reader.) of these poems.
What is wrong with this sentence?
"to pick flowers in the park"
This is a fragment! A fragment is just a dependent clause with no buddy to make it a complete sentence! Fragments are missing either a VERB or a NOUN.
A correct sentence might read:
"Ms. Moest was never asked to pick flowers in the park"
:(
This character is fighting two selves inside of him, which is also the conflict in the story: Should he rely on himself, or should he continue to rely on humans? One life would mean he needed to be obedient, gentle, and "owned", and the other would mean he could be wild, vicious, and free.
This is Buck!
Buck leaves the world of Man after the tragic events of John Thornton's death and fully transitions into a wolf pack.
Is this event:
Exposition
Rising Action
Climax
Falling Action
Denouement (Resolution)
This is a denouement! The denouement is tying up all the loose ends before the conclusion of the story. The conflict has been solved and we are closing the events of this particular story.
Is this a good thesis for an essay asking:
"Compare the characterization of Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck."
"Minnie and Daisy are both Disney characters with boyfriends, and like, they both were created by Walt Disney. Walt Disney really loved trains, by the way."
Not quite! You should always ask yourself:
Does your thesis statement clearly and directly prepare your reader for the essay ahead?
If we are meant to talk about the character traits of Minnie and Daisy, our thesis should talk about them, too. It might sound like this:
"Although Minnie and Daisy are both kindhearted and funny, Daisy is often portrayed as a bad girlfriend because of her very justified temper towards Donald".
Is this a metaphor?
"It was a very long trip to Florida. I slept a lot".
Nope. There is no comparison of two unlike things mentioned in this!
What is wrong with this sentence?
"I have beans greens potatoes tomatoes lamb rams hogs and dogs"
This is a sentence missing COMMAS. If you are listing 3 or more things, you should have commas to separate the items:
A correct sentence would read:
"I have beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes, lamb, rams, hogs, and dogs"
(You name it)
This character is a lonely and downtrodden individual to whom we can all relate. He invents an internet persona and keeps up with his lies by filling binders and binders full of his falsities. He finally finds a way to truly be everything he wants and escapes this life into a computer program with a mysterious and perhaps nefarious virtual magician.
This is Jeremy!
Eckels sees the T-Rex, which is described as a stinking, bloody, and horrifying creature. Eckels panics, jumps off the hovering path to splash through the mud, and hides behind a tree.
Is this event:
Exposition
Rising Action
Climax
Falling Action
Denouement (Resolution)
This is the Climax!
This is the craziest and highest point of the story, the top of the mountain in the plot diagram. The emotional level is an 11/10 here. The climax in a story is the moment when the main character is confronted by the conflict, whether it is an internal (inner) conflict, or an external (outside force) one.
Is this a good thesis?
"Although bees are thought to be the best pollinators on earth, they actually aren't. Bees are important but they are becoming endangered though, so that is bad. It's actually bats who have the biggest job and are the best at pollinating. The two of them are both really necessary for flowers and trees. Sometimes moths are too."
Close, but we need to squish it down some!
This is the "More is More" tactic– The thesis is not a quick and clear "statement" but is instead several sentences or a statement that is NOT brief and winding.
There is a thesis in all here! You just have to weed out the noise. It might sound like this:
"Despite the everyday understanding that bees are our only pollinators, it is species of bats who do the majority of pollinating trees and flowers. Although both species are not pollinating at the same time of day, both species play an integral part in our ecosystem.
TRUE or FALSE:
A synonym for alleviate is: make better
True!
Alleviate: v, to make (suffering, deficiency, or a problem) less severe.
Is this a Simple, Compound, and Complex Sentence?
Even though I tried my best, my cake came out dry and disgusting.
This is a COMPLEX sentence!
Complex sentence ingredients are:
1. You should have a dependant clause (a part of a sentence that cannot be a complete sentence on its own) "Even though I tried my best"
2. You should have an independent clause (a sentence that can live on its own) "My cake came out dry and disgusting
3. A comma separating the two!
This character is a way for the author to really tell us the theme of the story in a crazy violent way, which is that only the strong survive. This character is kind and gentle until she is tragically ravaged by a pack of huskies, leading her to contract rabies and needing to be put down.
This is Dolly :(
Travis shoots the dinosaur in the midst of the chaos. He tells Eckels that he can't come back into the time machine until he takes the bullets out of the dinosaur and sticks his hand in the monster's mouth.
Is this event:
Exposition
Rising Action
Climax
Falling Action
Denouement (Resolution)
This is part of the Falling Action, the moment right after the highest point, the climax. These events are usually to bring the intensity of the story back down to a lower level so that things can begin to be wrapped up and resolved.
Is this a good thesis?
"Although the setting and characterization are alike in that there are gorgeous, vivid, and unforgettable backdrops of scenery, they differ in that the characters of "The Lion King" are more fleshed out, while the "Wizard of Oz" offers stock characters that are one dimensional."
YES. Pretty ok.
A good thesis statement needs:
The Titles (in quotation marks) and the authors’ names.
Specific explanations!
A Careful Edit: Does your thesis statement clearly and directly prepare your reader for the essay ahead?
Less is More–A brief and short set of 1-2 sentences MAXIMUM! Remember, it’s a statement, not an entire introduction paragraph.
Is this an appropriate use of the word?
To escalate is to get a general idea of something.
"I escalated the situation was dire".
Nope. That definition is for the word GIST.
Gist: n, the substance or essence of a speech or text.
Escalate: v, to increase rapidly.
What is wrong with this sentence?
The two old brown cows were constantly fighting over who was the loudest mooer.
Nothing :)
Colors and numbers do not need to be separated by a comma.
This character is a serious and severe man who is a guy that's all about rules. He takes his job seriously and wants to impress upon others the seriousness of a person's actions. He is incredibly unimpressed by his most recent client, who he has to ferry to the Jurassic World to kill a dinosaur for fun.
This is Travis!
Jeremy returns home to his computer after being wildly unsuccessful at soccer and beaten up by his bullies. He logs on to chat with his internet friends, where we learn that he is lying about his character and identity to these individuals.
Is this event:
Exposition
Rising Action
Climax
Falling Action
Denouement (Resolution)
This is the Rising Action. This is a moment in the story where we are introduced to the catalyst, the spark, the jumping-off point, and the conflict of the story. This is where the "action" kicks off, and the problem that may or may not be solved shows its face.
Is this a good thesis?
"In Disney's 'Inside Out' we are catapulted into the world of a baby being born. The premise of the movie is revealed to us in a mere 'aha' moment: the little girl's Emotions (who are sentient creatures) must all come together to support her as she grows and changes into a preteen with some genuine misfortune in her life."
Nope. This is a summary, as flowery and "correct" as the language is. A thesis should not have just a summary or plot description, it should have an argument that can be debated!
HYPERBOLE is an exaggeration made to make something more emotional or add intensity.
Example: "The Statue of Liberty can touch the clouds"
Yep! Hyperbole is used in literature when someone is trying to be larger than life and extreme, or to be funny!