Name______Date______
Writing Workshop
Exposition: Problem-and-Solution Essay
Prewriting: Narrowing Your Topic
To help you focus your essay on a specific aspect of the problem, answer the questions in the
following chart.
Question: / Your Answers:What is the problem?
Who is affected by the problem?
What causes the problem to occur?
What are some possible solutions to the problem?
Drafting: Outlining the Problem
Use the following sunburst organizer to list aspects of the central problem. At the end of each ray, explore a detail or an aspect of the problem:
Writing Workshop
Revising Faulty Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement:
Integrating Grammar Skills
Revising Faulty Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
A pronoun should agree with its antecedent in person, number, and gender. The antecedent is the word or words to which a pronoun refers. In the following example, the pronoun she and its antecedent, Laura, are both third-person, singular, and female.
Laura arrived late because she missed the first bus.
Use a plural pronoun to refer to a compound antecedent joined by and. Use a singular pronoun to refer to singular antecedents joined by or or nor.
Neither Laura nor Jack arrived on time because they missed the first bus.
Be careful with number when the antecedent is an indefinite pronoun. The indefinite pronouns each and one, as well as those ending in -body and -one, are always singular. The indefinite pronouns both, few, many, others, and several are always plural. The indefinite pronouns all, any, more, most, none, and some may be singular or plural, depending on the nouns to which they refer.
Most of the children arrived late because they missed the first bus.
Identifying Correct Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
A. DIRECTIONS: Circle the pronoun in parentheses that correctly completes each sentence.
Underline the antecedent with which the pronoun agrees.
1. Everyone needed (his or her, their) bus pass to get on the bus.
2. Many of the students brought (his or her, their) lunch with them.
3. A few of my friends bought (his or her, their) lunch in the school cafeteria.
4. Neither Liane nor Stacy could find (her, their) bus pass.
Fixing Errors in Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
B. DIRECTIONS: On the lines provided, rewrite the following sentences so that they use the
correct pronouns. If a sentence is correct as presented, write correct.
1. Most of the students liked his or her trip to the planetarium.
______
2. Everyone on the trip had their chance to interact with the exhibits.
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3. Either Juan or Nancy had their questions answered by museum guides.
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4. All of the guides offered their assistance to visitors.
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Unit 1 Vocabulary Workshop—1
Using a Dictionary
In a dictionary, in addition to finding the definition, pronunciation, and origin of a word, you
may also be able to discover the meaning of commonly used phrases and slang.
heartrending [härt´ ren´ ding] adj. causing much grief or mental anguishheartsick [härt´ sik´] adj. extremely unhappy
heartstrings [härt´ stringz´] pl. n. deepest feelings or affections
heartthrob [härt´ throb´] n. 1 the heartbeat 2 [slang] a. a tender emotion b. a sweetheart
heart-to-heart [härt´ t härt´] adj. intimate and candid; n. an intimate conversation
DIRECTIONS: Fill in each blank in the following letter with the correct “heart” word.
Name______Date______
Unit 1 Vocabulary Workshop—2
Using a Dictionary
Unit 1 Vocabulary Workshop—2
Using a Thesaurus
A thesaurus comes in handy to find new and interesting words to use in writing a speech.
Sometimes you will use a thesaurus in order to find the exact word that fits your intention.
Other times you will use it to vary your word choice.
Abbey laughed out loud when she got her father’s letter. He had used words containing “heart”
five times! She picked up a thesaurus and looked up all the “heart” words and phrases in the
letter. She found entries for three of the words:
DIRECTIONS: Select appropriate words from the thesaurus entries to rewrite the letter for
Abbey’s dad. For the words with no entries, look back at the dictionary definitions to help you
find new words for Abbey’s Dad’s “heart” words.
heartrending agonizing, distressing, excruciating, sad, tragic
heartsick depressed, disappointed, sad, unhappy
heartstrings
heartthrob
heart-to-heart conversation, rap session, talk
DIRECTIONS: Fill in each blank in the following letter with the correct “heart” word.
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Grade 9 Unit 1