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Writing Assessment Videos 132 videos

TSI Writing: Revising a Letter by Adding Transitions
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Which is the best way to revise and combine sentences 1 and 2?

TSI Writing: Adding a New Sentence to Improve a Letter's Structure
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Where would the following sentence best be placed?

TSI Writing: Choosing the Best Introductory Transition
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Which of the following is best to insert at the beginning of sentence 8?

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ACT English 1.2 Organization 305 Views


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Description:

ACT English: Organization Drill 1, Problem 2. Picking the right transition word.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:04

Here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by the wheels on the bus. Like Congress, they

00:08

just go 'round and 'round.

00:10

What should replace the underlined portion below, if anything?

00:15

Despite being late, I had also forgotten my backpack in the bus.

00:24

"Being late" is not a great thing... and neither is forgetting a backpack; both kinda

00:27

exist in the same slacker world.

00:32

We have to keep this relationship in mind as we try to find the right transition word

00:36

or phrase to connect these ideas.

00:38

Choice (A) sets up the wrong relationship by using "despite." This word usually

00:43

sets up some kind of contrast. "My grandma is cool, despite all the camouflage she wears,"

00:49

would be an example.

00:50

We're not in the market for contrast in this sentence, however, so (A) is off the

00:54

table.

00:55

(B) is incorrect because this sentence stands alone, not as an example.

01:00

Something like this might have worked: "That kid was always slacking. For example, he was

01:05

continually late and always forgot his backpack."

01:08

We're trying to find the word or phrase that shows how these two things go together,

01:13

not how one is an example of the other.

01:19

Choice (C) is an incorrect usage of the transition "furthermore."

01:23

"Furthermore" is what's known as a conjunctive adverb, not a disease, and it's typically used to relate

01:29

two independent clauses to each other.

01:31

Something like, "I was late; furthermore, I had forgotten my backpack," would be on

01:36

the right track.

01:37

The trouble here is that "being late" is not an independent clause, meaning that's

01:42

it not a sentence that can stand on its own.

01:44

Also, "furthermore" comes before the two ideas we're trying to connect, rather than

01:48

in between them.

01:50

(D) wins the day by using the prepositional phrase "in addition to," which correctly

01:55

relates "being late" with the independent clause "I had also forgotten my backpack

02:01

in the bus."

02:02

Hey, at least there are worse times

02:23

to be late.

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