N arrative Paragraphs

Organization

Time Order

Time Order Signals

Sentence Structure
Compound Sentences with and, but,

so, and or

Punctuation

Three Comma R ules

The Writing Process

Freewriting

Review

Writing Assignment

23
24 Part 1 I The Paragraph

Organization

Narration is story writing. When you write a narrative paragraph, you write about
events in the order that they happen. In other words, you use time order to organize
your sentences .
A s you read the model paragraph, look for words and phrases that tell when
something happened.

MODEL Earthquake!
Narrat;ve
1An unforgettable experience in my life was a magnitude 6.9 earthquake.
Paragraph
21 was at home with my older sister and younger brother. 3Suddenly, our
apartment started shaking. 4At first, none of us realized what was happening.
5Then my sister yelled, "Earthquake! Get under something!" 61 half rolled and
half crawled across the room to get under the dining table. 7My sister also yelled
at my little brother to get under his desk. 8 Meanwhile, my sister was on the
kitchen floor holding her arms over her head to protect it from falling dishes.
9The earthquake lasted less than a minute, but it seemed like a year to us.
10At last, the shaking stopped. 1 1 For a minute or two, we were too scared to
move. 12Then we tried to call our parents at work, but even our cell phone
didn't work. 13Next, we checked the apartment for damage. 14We felt very lucky,
for nothing was broken except a few dishes. 15However, our first earthquake
was an experience that none of us will ever forget.

Questions on the Model

1 . In which four sentences does the word earthquake appear?
2. What words and phrases show when different actions took place? Circle them.

Time Order In the model narrative paragraph, the writer used time order to tell what happened
first, what happened next, what happened after that, and so on.
Notice the Jcjnds of words and phrases used to show time order. These are called
time order signals becau�e they signal the order in which events happen.
 Chapter 2 I Narrative Paragraphs 25

Time Order Signals

Words Phrases

Finally, At last,

First (second, third, etc.), At 1 2 :00,

Later, After a while,

Meanwhile, After that,

Next, Before beginning the lesson,

Now In the morning,

Soon The next day,

Put a comma after a time order signal that comes before the subject at the beginning of
a sentence. (Exception: Then , soon, and now are usually not followed by a comma.)
At first, none of us realized what was happening.

For a minute or two, we were too scared to move.

Then we tried to call our parents at work.

PRt\CTtCE t A . Look again at the model on page 24. Add any time order signal words or
phrases that you circled to the Time Order Signals chart above.
Time Order

B . Complete the paragraphs with time order signals from the l ists provided, and
capitalize and punctuate them correctly. Use each word or phrase once. There
i s more than one possible word or phrase to fill in some of the blanks.
1 . Use these words and phrases:
first after dinner
on the night before Thanksgiving in the morning
about 3:00 in the afternoon soon
then before taking the first bite
after that finally

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving in the United States is a day for families to be together and

enjoy a traditional meal. (a) On the night before Thanksgiving. our mother
bakes a pumpkin pie, the traditional Thanksgiving dessert. (b) _______

---�---- she gets up early to prepare the other traditional dishes.

(continued on next page)
26 Part 1 I The Paragraph

(c) ______ she makes dressing.1 (d) _____

_______ she stuffs2 the turkey with the dressing and puts the
turkey into the oven to roast. (e) _______ she
prepares the rest of the meal. She cooks all day long. (f) _________

______ the family sits down at the table. (g) __________

_____ everyone around the table says one thing that they are thankful
for. (h) ______ we can begin to eat. We
stuff ourselves just as full as Mother stuffed the turkey earlier in the day!
(i) _______ we are all groaning3 because we
have eaten too much. (j) we collapse
on the living room sofa and watch football games on lV. No one moves for
at least two hours.

2 . Use these words and phrases:

on the day of the party first next
during the party after that finally
before the pa1ty then (use twice) later
at the beginning of the party

Fifteen Years

A girl's fifteenth birthday is a very special occasion

in many Latin American countries and requires a lot of
planning. (a) ______________

the parents make many preparations. (b) _____

______ they buy a special dress

and order a bouquet of flowers for their daughter.
They also plan a large meal for the guests and hire an
orchestra. (c) ______________
_

they decorate a big room where the party will be held.

(d) ______ there are
many special traditions. (e) __________

_____ the father and daughter enter the big salon accompanied by
special music. (f) the father makes

1dressing: mixture of bread cubes, onion, celery, buller, chicken broth, and herbs that is cooked inside a
turkey. After it is cooked, it is removed from the turkey and eaten as a side dish. It is also called swffing.
2stuff: put inside; fill until completely full
3groaning: making a long deep sound because you are in pain
 Chapter 2 I N arrative Paragraphs 27

a speech, and the daughter gets some presents. (g) _________

______ everyone drinks champagne. (h) __________

____ _ the father and daughter dance a waltz, and the daughter and
every boy dance one dance together. (i) _______________

all of the guests make a line to congratulate her. (j) ___________

____ all of the boys stand in a group because she will throw the bouquet,
and the boy who catches it dances with her. (k) __________

_____ everyone dances to different kinds of music until six o'clock in the
morning.

C. The following sets of sentences are not in correct time order. Number the
sentences in the correct order.

1. __ She put the clean dishes away.

_2
_ She removed the dirty dishes from the table.
__ She turned on the dishwasher.
__ She put them in the dishwasher.
She piled them in the sink and rinsed them.
1 It was Sarah's turn to wash the dishes last night.
__ Finally, the dishes were clean.

2. H e filled i t out and left.

__ He went to the bookshelf, but the book wasn't there.
__ Tom . went to the library to get a book.
__ He, went to the computer catalog.
The librarian told him to fill out a form.
He told the librarian he wanted to reserve that book.
He wrote down the title and call number4 of the book.
(continued on next page)

4call number: number written on the outside of a book; the book's "address" on the library shelves
28 Part 1 I The Paragraph

3. He gave us a room with an ocean view.

___ The airline had oversold' economy class seats, so we got to sit
in first class.
__ Our good fortune continued at the hotel.
___ We can't wait to visit Florida again.
___ The hotel manager also gave us coupons for lots of free things.
___ The hotel manager apologized for not having our room ready when
we arrived.
___ Our vacation in Florida last month was almost perfect.
___ The weather was warm and sunny, so we went to the beach
every day.
___ Our good fortune began at the airport.

'f'nl lt Out! Write the sentences from the preceding exercise as paragraphs. Try to make your
paragraphs flow smoothly by using these two techniques: ( 1 ) Add time order signals
at the beginning of some of the sentences. (2) Combine some of the sentences to
form simple sentences with one subject and two verbs.

Example

It was Sarah's turn to wash the dishes last night. First. she removed the dirty

dishes from the table. Next. she piled them in the sink. and rinsed them. After that.

she put them in the dishwasher and turned it on. Finally. the dishes were clean.

'.oversold: sold more seats than were available

 Chapter 2 I Narrative Paragraphs 29

Sentence Structure

The model for this section is a folktale. A folktale is a trad itional story that has been
passed down orally from one generation to the next until someone finally writes it
down. Every culture is rich in folktales. This one is from Japan.

MODEL Omusubi Kororin (The Tumbling Rice Balls)

Compound A Folktale from Japan
Sentences
10nce upon a time, an old couple lived in the countryside. 2"fhey were
happy, but they were poor. 3Qne day, the old man went to work in the forest
and took his usual lunch of three rice balls. 4During lunch, he dropped a rice
ball, and it rolled into a hole in the
ground. 5He heard happy singing
coming from the hole, so he dropped
the other two rice balls into it. 6lnside
the hole, some mice were having a
party. 7They thanked him for the rice
balls and invited him to join them.
8After a while, the mice told him to
choose a box as a reward for his
\ generosity.2 9He could choose a big box, or he could choose a small one.
10H e thought about taking a big box, but h e finally chose a small one. 118ack
at home, he and his wife discovered that the box was full of gold coins.
12A greedy3 neighbor heard about their good fortune and quickly made plans

to visit the same hole. 13At the hole, he pushed several rice balls into it, and
sure enough,4 the mice invited him in. 14The greedy man wanted all of the
mice's gold, so he pretended to be a cat. 15He started meowing loudly, and the
frightened mice ran away. 1 &-fhe gold disappeared with the mice, so the greedy
man got nothing, not even a rice ball.

Questions on the Model

1 . What kind of order does this folktale use?
2 . Circle the time order signals and add any new ones to the Time Order
Signals chart on page 25.

2generosity:willingness to give money, time, help, and so on

3greedy :always wanting more money, possessions, power, and so on
4sure enough: informal expression that means something happens just as expected
30 Part 1 I The Paragraph

Compound In Chapter I , you learned about simple sentences. A simple sentence has one subject­
Sentences verb combination. Another kind of sentence is a compound sentence. A compound
with and, but, sentence has two or more subject-verb combinations.
so, and or
A compound sentence is composed of at least two simple sentences joined by
a comma and a coordinating conjunction. A compound sentence has this
"formula":
COORD.
,-s ----, ,--v ----, CONJ. �-- s r v -,
The gold disappeared with the mice, so the greedy man got nothing.

There are seven coordinating conjunctions in English: and, but, so, or,Jor, nor,
and yet. In this chapter, you will study the first four. 1

Coordinating Conjunctions

Coordinating Conjunction Example

And joins sentences that are alike. He dropped a rice ball, and it rolled into a hole in the
ground.

But joins sentences that are opposite or show They were happy, but they were poor.
contrast.

So joins sentences when the second The greedy man wanted all of the mice's gold, so he
sentence expresses the result of something pretended to be a cat.
described in the first sentence.

Or joins sentences that give choices or alternatives. He could choose a big box, or he could choose
a small one.

Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction in compound sentences only.

Do not use a comma to join two words or two phrases in a simple sentence.
C OMPOUND SENTENCES Yesterday we went shopping, but we didn't buy anything.
(COMMA)
The stores were crowded, and they were noisy.
We ate lunch, and then we went home.
SI M PLE SENTENCES Yesterday we went shopping but didn't buy anything.
(NO COMMA)
The stores were crowded and noisy.
We ate lunch and then went home.

PRA.CTlCE 2 A . Draw a box around each coordinating conjunction in the story "Omusubi Kororin"
on page 29. Explain why some of them have commas, but others don't.
Compound
Sentences
with and, but, B. Decide which of the following sentences are compound sentences and which
so, and or are simple sentences. Write CS or SS on the line at the left. Then add commas
to the compound sentences.

1 Coordinating conj unctions are sometimes called fan boys because their first letters spell those words: for,
and, nor, but, or, yet, and so.
 Chapter 2 I Narrative Paragraphs 31

Monsieur Seguin's Goat

A Folktale from France

55 1. A long time ago, high in the Alps, an old man lived with his goat,
B lanchette.
2. She wa� a wonderful white goat and was very kind to her master,
Monsieur Seguin.
3. They had lived together for many years.
4. Blanchette was always fastened to a tree.
5 . She was often �ad and sometimes she didn't eat her food .
6. Every day, she looked at the big mountains and dreamed of being
free to explore them.
7. One day, she asked her master for more freedom.
8. "You can tie me with a longer rope or you can build a special
enclosure for me," said Blanchette.
9. At first, he tied her with a longer rope. but Blanchette was still sad.
1 0 . A few days later, he built a special enclosure.
l l . For a while, Blanchette was very happy about this decision but soon
the enclosure seemed very small in front of the b.ig mountains.
1 2 . One summer morning, B lanchette decided to leave for the
mountains so she jumped out of the enclosure and ran away.
1 3 . "I am free," she said.
1 4. She ate many varieties of plants and enjoyed meeting new friends.
1 5 . All day, she ran in the Alps.
1 6 . Finally, the sun set behind the hills.

C. For each set of sentences, make a compound sentence or a simple sentence

with two verbs. Use the coordinating conjunction and, but, or, or so to join the
sentences. Punctuate carefully. There may be more than one way .to combine
some of the sentences.

1. It became very dark. B lanchette was suddenly afraid.

It became very dark.. and Blanchette was suddenly afraid.

2 . She heard a noise. She decided to go back to her enclosure.

3. She walked for a long time. She couldn't find the road.

(continued 011 next page)

,
32 Part 1 I The Paragraph

4 . Finally, she became very tired. She tried to rest. Her fear prevented her
from sleeping. (Combine all three sentences.)

5 . Suddenly, a wolf appeared. The wolf looked at her hungrily.

6. She shouted for help. No one heard her.

7 . The wolf ate B lanchette. The poor old man never saw his little goat again .

8 . Blanchette wanted to be free . Freedom can be dangerous when we disobey.

D . On a separate piece of paper, write compound sentences using the coordinating

conjunctions you have learned. Follow the directions given.
1 . Write a sentence that tells one thing you like to do and one thing you don't
ljke to do. (Use but.)
Example: I lil<e to swim in the ocean. but I don't lil<e to swim in swimmingpools.

2 . Write a sentence that tells two thjngs you do every morning after you
get up. (Use and.)

3 . Write a sentence that tells two things you might do during your next
vacation. (Use or.)

4. Write a sentence that tells the results of each phrase. Begin each sentence
with I am/was . . . . (Use so in all three sentences.)
a. being born in (your country)
Example: I was born in Russia. so I speal< Russian.

b . being the oldest/youngest/middle/only child in your fam ily

c. being a lazy/hard-working student

5 . Write a sentence that tells two different careers y ou might have in the
future. (Use or.)

Try 1t Out! Choose one of the following and write a paragraph. In your paragraph, focus on
writing compound sentences. Try to use the coordinating conjunctions and, but, so,
and or at least one time each.
• Retell a short folktale from your culture.
• Retell a children's story that you know.
• Retell the plot of a movie that you have seen recently.
 Chapter 2 I Narrative Paragraphs 33

Punctuation

Three Comma Let's review two comma rules that you have learned and learn one new one.
Rules

Rule Example

1. Put a comma after a time order signal that comes Yesterday, I did homework for three hours.
before the subject at the beginning of a sentence. Finally, I was too tired to think.
Then, soon , and now are usually not followed At 8:00, I fell asleep on the sofa.
by a comma.
BUT Soon I started snoring.

2. Put a comma after the first sentence in a compound I was too tired to think, so I decided to take a break
sentence. Put the comma before the coordinating and watch TV for a while.
conjunction. (Don't use a comma between two parts
BUT I woke up and finished my homework.
of a simple sentence.)

3. Put a comma between the items i n a series of three I got up, took a shower, drank a cup of coffee,
or more items. The items may be words, phrases , grabbed my books, and ran out the door.
or clauses. (Don't use a comma between only Red, white;fth d blue are the colors of the U.S. flag.
\�.
two items.)
BUT Red and gold are the school colors.

PRA.CTtCE 3 A. In the following sentences, add commas wherever they are necessary.
Commas
1 . Daisy Tomiko Keiko and Nina live near the college that they all attend .
2 . Tomiko and Keiko are from Japan and Nina and Daisy are from Mexico.
3. Nina and Keiko have the same birthday. Both girls were born on June 3
on different continents.
4. Last week the girls decided to have a joint birthday party so they invited
several friends for dinner.
5. Nina wanted to cook Mexican food but Keiko wanted to have Japanese
food.
6. Finally they agreed on the menu.
7 . They served Japanese tempura Mexican arroz con pollo Chinese stir-fried
vegetables and American ice cream.
8 . First Nina made the rice.
9. Then Keiko cooked the tempura.
1 0 . After that Tomiko prepared the vegetables.
1 1 . After dinner Daisy served the dessert.
1 2 . The guests could choose chocolate ice cream or vanilla ice cream with
chocolate sauce.
34 Part 1 I The Paragraph

B. Answer each question with a complete sentence .

1 . When and where were you born? (Begin your answer with I was born
on . . . .)

2. Where do you live now?

3 . Name three of your favorite foods.

4. What do you usually do on weekends? (Name at least four activities.)

5. Name one thing that you always do and one thing that you never do on
weekends.

6. What are two or three goals in your life? (Begin your answer with I would
Like to . . )
. .

7. What do you do in the evening? (Begin your answer with In the evening . . . .)

The Writing Process

Freewriting You remember that prewriting is the step in the writing process in which you get
ideas. In Chapter 1 , you learned about the prewriting technique calJed Listing. Another
prewriting technique is freewriting. When you freewrite, you write "freely"­
without stopping-on a topic for a specific amount of time. You just write down
sentences as you think of them without worrying about whether your sentences are
correct or not. You also don't have to punctuate sentences or capitalize words. You
can even write incomplete sentences or phrases. The main goal in freewriting is to
keep your pencil moving across the paper.
Look at this example of freewriting on the topic "A Memorable Event in My Life."

MODEL A Memorable Event in My Life

Freewriting
rm supposed to freewrite for ten minutes about a memorable event in my

life. I don't Know what to write about. Maybe about my brother's boat accident.

We were so scared. We thought he was going to drown. He was trapped under

an overturned boat and didn't have any air to breathe. But it ended all right.
 Chapter 2 I Narrative Paragraphs 35

He was rescued and had only a broken arm. What else can I write about? Oh!

I know. A day I will always remember was the day I left my country to come to

the United States. That was a sad/happy day. I felt sad and happy at the same

time. Maybe I should write about something happy. Our family vacation last

summer was fun. We drove to the coast and camped for a week on the beach.

Then there was the day the earthquake happened. Now that was definitely

a memorable event. I will never forget it. I was at home with my older sister

and little brother. . . .

This writer freewrote until she found a good topic: the earthquake. If she had
wanted to, she could have done further freewriting about her earthquake experience
to develop this topic.

Tr!,l lt Out! Freewrite about a memorable event or experience in your life. It might be a happy
day, a sad event, an embarrassing moment, an interesting trip, or a frightening
experience. Write for about ten minutes without stopping. If you find a topic during
your freewriting, continue freewriting on that topic. If you already have a topic in
mind before you start, freewrite on that topic for ten minutes to develop your ideas
about it.

Review

These are the important points covered in this chapter:

I. Narration is the kind of writing that you do when you tell a story.

2 . Use time order words and phrases to show when each part of the story
happens.

3 . A compound sentence is composed of two simple sentences joined by

a comma and a coordinating conjunction.

4. Four coordinating conjunctions are and, but, so, and or.

5. Commas are used

• after most time order signals at the beginning of a sentence.
• in compound sentences.
• between items in a series.
• in dates written in the order month-day-year.
• in place names.
6. Freewriting is a prewriting technique in which you write without stopping
for a specific amount of time.
36 Part 1 I The Paragraph

Writing Assignment

Write a paragraph about a memorable event or a memorable experience in your life.

Let's review the steps in the writing process .
Step 1 Prewrite t o get ideas. Use the freewriting that you completed i n the
·

Try It Out! exercise.

Step 2 Organize the ideas. Put the events into time order: Make a list of the
events or number them on your freewriting paper. Use your list to
guide you as you write.

Step 3 Write the rough draft. Write ROUGH DRAFT at the top of your paper.
• Begin your paragraph with a sentence that tells what event or
experience you are going to write about.
I'll never forget the day I met my future husband.

The most memorable vacation I ever took was a bicycle trip

across Canada.

• Use time order to organize your paragraph. Use time order signals,
and punctuate them correctly.
• Pay attention to your sentence structure. Write both simple and
compound sentences, and punctuate them con·ectly.

Step 4 Polish the rough draft.

• Exchange papers with a classmate and ask him or her to check your
rough draft using Peer-Editing Worksheet 2 on page 200. Then
discuss the completed worksheet and decide what changes you
should make. Write a second draft.
• Use Self-Editing Worksheet 2 on page 20 1 to check your second
draft for grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure.

Step 5 Write a final copy. Hand in your rough draft, your second draft, your
final copy, and the page containing the two editing worksheets. Your
teacher may also ask you to hand in your prewriting paper.

t\tternative Write a paragraph in which you explain how you celebrate a special day or special
Writing occasion in your culture. For example, a person living in the United States might
1\ssignment write about Halloween, Thanksgiving Day, or St. Patrick's Day. Follow the writing
process steps.