UPM-CALC/BBI2421~GENERAL WRITING SKILLS/SEM2/2017_18/SCL/WORKSHEET 1

SCL WORKSHEET 1 (WEEK 2-3)

Due Date: 16 March 2018

Name: ______________________________

Matric no.: ___________________________

TOPIC: Sentence Structure

ITEM 1: Recognising Sentence Types

Identify the sentence number listed below as either Simple, Compound or Complex
sentence.

1One of the most important attributes of soy milk is its ability to improve blood
lipid profile. 2Unlike dairy milk, which is high in saturated fat and cholesterol, soy milk
fat is mostly unsaturated with zero cholesterol. 3The monounsaturated and
polyunsaturated fatty acids in soy can inhibit the transport of cholesterol into the
blood stream. 4Studies have shown that regular intake of soy can significantly lower
blood concentrations of triglyceride and raise the level of high density lipoproteins
(Bernstein et. al., 2011). 5This combined effect makes soy milk an ideal drink for
those who have high cholesterol or a family history of coronary heart diseases.
6Besides, the omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids as well as the powerful phyto-
antioxidants in soy can effectively protect the blood vessels from lesions. 7Dinkleberg
(2010) explains that these compounds bind to the blood vessel lining, and they
defend our lining cells from free radical attacks and cholesterol deposits. 8The
binding of these nutrients also improves the fluidity and flexibility of the blood
vessels, so they are much more resilient to blood pressure changes (Dinkleberg,
2010). 9In addition, drinking soy milk also gives an extra dose of fibre and keeps the
feeling of being full longer. 10Because soy is naturally high in essential fatty acids,
proteins, fibre, vitamins and minerals, these nutrients definitely provide energy and
keep the body functioning at its optimum level. 11Therefore, there can be no doubt
that soy milk offers many benefits to keep the body healthy.

Adapted from Turner, T. & Carter, E. (2012). Health benefits of soy milk. Journal of Food Health,
37(1), 321-335. Retrieved from http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/abe_eng_pubs/277/

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Sentence No. Sentence Type

No.
1 2
2 3
3 7
4 9
5 10

ITEM 2: Combining Sentences in Different Ways

Read the paragraph below. Then, read the instructions that follow and combine the
given sentences into either simple, compound or complex sentences.

1For many working adults, online education has greatly enhanced the opportunity to
take classes. 2Online education has also allowed many working adults to complete
their studies. 3Research indicates that although most online students successfully
complete their degree program, about forty percent of them fail in their studies
(Bates, 2010). 4These days most working adults pursue their studies online. 5It can
be a major issue if students do not put in sufficient effort and time in completing their
studies. 6In most cases, students can access their course at anytime from anywhere.
7This means that parents, working students and professionals on the move have the

option of attending classes no matter how hectic their work schedule is. 8Students
only need a computer and Internet access to take online classes. 9On the other
hand, there can also be drawbacks for students pursuing online education.
10Students may not be able to experience a conducive learning environment. 11They

have limited opportunities to learn from the experiences and backgrounds of peers in
class. 12In normal classrooms, students can share ideas and listen to peers. 13They
can also collaborate face-to-face on projects and assignments. 14Normal classrooms
encourage peer participation. 15Online classrooms have virtual discussion forums
with no face-to-face interaction. 16New ways of thinking and broader cultural diversity
awareness is difficult to achieve. 17This is caused by the lack of students deeply
engaging in conversations with other students.

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1. Combine sentence 1 and sentence 2 to form a simple sentence with one subject
and two verbs.

Sentence 1: For many working adults, online education has greatly enhanced the
opportunity to take classes.
Sentence 2: Online education has also allowed many working adults to complete
their studies.

___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

2. Combine sentence 4 and sentence 5 to form a compound sentence with an

appropriate coordinator.

Sentence 4: These days most working adults pursue their studies online.
Sentence 5: It can be a major issue if students do not put in sufficient effort and
time in completing their studies.

___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

3. Combine sentence 10 and sentence 11 to form a compound sentence with an

appropriate coordinator.

Sentence 10: Students may not be able to experience a conducive learning

environment.
Sentence 11: They have limited opportunities to learn from the experiences and
backgrounds of peers in class.

___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

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4. Combine sentence 12 and sentence 13 to form a simple sentence with one

subject and three verbs.

Sentence 12: In normal classrooms, students can share ideas and listen to peers.
Sentence 13: They can also collaborate face-to-face on projects and assignments.

___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

5. Combine sentence 14 and sentence 15 to form a complex sentence with an

appropriate subordinator.

Sentence 14: Normal classrooms encourage peer participation.

Sentence 15: Online classrooms have virtual discussion forums with no face-to-
face interaction.

___________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

6. Combine sentence 16 and sentence 17 to form a complex sentence with an

appropriate subordinator.

Sentence 16: New ways of thinking and broader cultural diversity awareness is
difficult to achieve.
Sentence 17: This is caused by the lack of students deeply engaging in
conversations with other students.

___________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

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TOPIC: Sentence Errors

ITEM 1
Identify five errors on subject-verb agreement in the following paragraphs. Write the
sentence number which contains the error. Correct the sentences in the space
provided.

Disability in Sports Media

1According to Auslander and Gold (1999), the media is the key reason for
the negative images and ideas with regard to people with disabilities. 2Disability have
not been an area that the media has felt obligated to cover because media
representatives and their audience often do not know that disability sports exists or
even consider it authentic. 3In fact, some people seem to think that disability sports
are not legitimate sports. 4DePauw (1997) claims that people with disabilities
continues to be excluded from sports because they fail to meet the societal norm of
physicality. 5Athletes with disabilities feel the only time they are mentioned in the
mainstream media is when the media wants to perceive them in a stereotypical way.

6Hardin and Hardin (2004) conducted several studies using male wheelchair
basketball players. 7In these studies, the researchers concluded that the majority of
the athletes are desensitized to the way that the media ignores athletes with
disabilities. 8According to these studies, all the athletes enjoys mainstream media as
well as disability media. 9They use the mainstream media to gain socialisation with
others, learn more about able-bodied sports and find able-bodied sports role models
(Hardin & Hardin, 2003; Hardin & Hardin, 2004). 10They also like the disability media
such as Sports n' Spokes because it allow them to see other athletes with disabilities
participating in a wide variety of sports. 11Many athletes with disabilities would like to
see media coverage focus on the influential elements of their sport, but they does
not blame this entirely on the media. 12They just hope one day their athletic
accomplishments will be accepted as legitimate by the wider culture.

1. Sentence no: _____

Write the correct sentence.

_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

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2. Sentence no: _____

Write the correct sentence.

_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

3. Sentence no: _____

Write the correct sentence.

_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

4. Sentence no: _____

Write the correct sentence.

_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

5. Sentence no: _____

Write the correct sentence.

_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

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ITEM 2
Identify the following sentence errors in the text below:

i. run-on
ii. fragment
iii. comma splice
iv. non-parallel structure

Write the sentence numbers which contain the stated errors. Correct the sentences
in the space provided.

1“I am feeling depressed today” is a phrase that is uttered by countless people

each day. 2These individuals tend to misuse the term ‘depression’ to refer to the
normal ups and downs of daily life. 3In reality, depression is a serious illness. 4It has
caused 11 million individuals to spend $44 billion on the treatment of depression
each year (Greenberg, Stiglin, Finkelstein & Berndt, 1993). 5A clinically depressed
person in a constant state of sadness because of three main factors which are
genetics, substance abuse and social environment.

6Firstly, the most common cause of depression is genetics. 7People who are
born with low levels of serotonin and dopamine in their brains cannot experience
pleasure in the same way that people with both balanced chemicals can, these
people do not experience happiness from normal happy events. 8For example, a
clinically depressed student with chemical imbalances in the brain might derive less
satisfaction from earning an A for a subject than a student with balanced chemicals.
9Therefore, people with low levels of serotonin and dopamine require extreme
circumstances to experience the same level of happiness that people with balanced
chemicals would experience from a lesser event.

10A second cause of depression is substance abuse. 11Substance abuse is

the use of drugs, alcohol and tobacco in amounts which are harmful. 12Excessive

amounts of these substances in the bloodstream can alter the brain’s normal
chemical balance. 13People who use these chemical substances may experience
short-term or long term depression due to the chemical changes in their brains for
example, alcoholics can develop depression because of the constant altering of the
levels of dopamine in their brain. 14Hence, the more alcohol a person consumes, the
risk of getting depression is likely to increase (Joseph & David, 2011).

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15Lastly, social environmental factors can trigger clinical depression. 16Failed

relationships and traumatic events are two common stimuli in depression (Mathews,
Ridgeway & Williamson, 1996). 17Failed relationships such as a divorce or a falling
out between family members can leave a person in a state of depression. 18In

addition, traumatic events such as the death of a family member or to witness a

murder are also social environmental factors that can send a person into depression.

1. Sentence error : Fragment

Sentence number: ______________
Write the correct sentence.
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

2. Sentence error : Comma splice

Sentence number: ______________
Write the correct sentence.
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

3. Sentence error : Run-on

Sentence number: ______________
Write the correct sentence.
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

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4. Sentence error : Non-parallel structure

Sentence number: ______________
Write the correct sentence.
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

ITEM 3
Identify the following sentence errors in the text below:

i. run-on
ii. fragment
iii. comma splice
iv. non-parallel structure

Write the sentence numbers which contain the stated errors. Correct the sentences
in the space provided.

1Bilingualism refers to the ability to use two languages in everyday life.

2Bilingualism is common and on the rise in many parts of the world, with perhaps
one in three people being bilingual or multilingual (Wei, 2000). 3In California, for
example, by 2035, it is expected that over 50% of children enrolled in kindergarten
will have grown up understanding and able to speak a language other than English
(McLaughlin, Spodek & Saracho, 1995). 4Despite the common occurrence of
bilingualism, very little research has been conducted on the topic, particularly on the
foundations of bilingual language learning in infants and toddlers. 5The science of
bilingualism is still a new field, some issues on bilingualism are impossible to
address due to vast differences across families, communities and cultures.
6Therefore, there have been many concerns over this issue such as whether mixing
of languages can cause confusion in children and hamper their language
development.

7One of the biggest concerns that parents have about raising children in a
bilingual household is that learning two or more languages at the same time will
cause confusion. 8One misunderstood behaviour, which is often taken as evidence
for confusion, is when bilingual children mix words from two languages in the same

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sentence. 9This is known as code mixing. 10In fact, is a normal part of bilingual
development, and bilingual children actually have good reasons to code mix
(Pearson, 2008). 11The reason some children code mix is that they are just repeating
what they hear adults around them say (Comeau, Genesee & Lapaquette, 2003).

12Another reason for code mixing among bilingual children is due to their
limited vocabulary in both languages. 13Similar to how a monolingual 1-year-old
might initially use the word “dog” to refer to any four-legged creature, bilingual
children also use their limited vocabularies to substitute a word from one language
with a word from another language. 14A bilingual child might not know or cannot
quickly retrieve the appropriate word in one language he or she might borrow the
word from the other language (Lanza, 2004). 15Thus, rather than being a sign of
confusion, code mixing can be seen as a progress in their language development
and a sign of bilingual children’s ingenuity.

1. Sentence error : Non-parallel structure

Sentence number: ______________
Write the correct sentence.
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

2. Sentence error : Comma splice

Sentence number: ______________
Write the correct sentence.
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

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3. Sentence error : Fragment

Sentence number: ______________
Write the correct sentence.
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

4. Sentence error : Run-on

Sentence number: ______________
Write the correct sentence.
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

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TOPIC: Tenses
Fill in the blanks with suitable verbs.

The Negative Impact of the Advertising Media

Advertising has a strong impact on human’s senses especially the sense of
visual perception. This is because their eyes are the windows to the world around
them. What they see greatly (1)_________ (influence) the way they perceive their
surroundings. Having fully grasped this perspective, the mass media and advertising
industry manage to mould the society into the norms that they (2)________(create)
through advertisements. Their influence can be seen in their everyday life through
habits and routines. Hence, it is undeniable that the advertising media to a great
extent has influenced people’s perception of gender role and behaviour as well as
social values.

Firstly, advertising media has an impact on the way society (3)________

(perceive) gender role and behaviour. It brings about gender stereotyping on how
men and women are depicted. Men are portrayed to be stronger and aggressive,
while women are perceived as the weaker half of society and are expected to be
gentle. Courtis and Lockeretz (1971) indicated that over the years, women had been
portrayed as domestic providers who did not make significant decisions as they
(4) __________ (be) dependant on men. For example, car manufacturers use
women in skimpy clothing in their advertisements to advertise their cars instead of
focusing on the features of those cars. These are some of the roles that media has
given to women.

Another area that the advertising media influences society is in its value. The
ability of the mass media to influence social ethics remains one of the most worrying
influences as some of the values are decadent (Warhol, 1990). The lifestyles that the
media (5) __________ (portray) are glamorised and beyond the reach of ordinary
people. This has become a cause for concern when normal individuals in society try
to adopt these values and imitate the lifestyles of the rich. Thus, careful
consideration should be given before something is advertised in the media as
millions of individuals would be influenced by it.

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