Grade 6 - Perfection Learning

The Language of Power
Fragments
Power Rule: Use sentence fragments only the way professional writers
do after the sentence they refer to and usually to emphasize a point. Fix
all sentence fragments that occur before the sentence they refer to and
ones that occur in the middle of a sentence. (See pages 481-482.)
CHAPTER 10
See It in Action All sentences need a subject and a verb. If one or both of these
parts is missing, you will have a fragment instead of a sentence. The following
example illustrates how to correct fragments that occur before the sentences to
which they refer.
Fragment: Besides teaching science and other subjects. Television also
generates children’s desire to read more books. (The highlighted fragment
is an incomplete thought. It has neither an identifiable subject nor a verb.)
Sentence: Besides teaching science and other subjects, television also
generates children’s desire to read more books. (Now the subject of the
sentence is television, and the highlighted words modify the subject.)
Remember It Record this rule and examples in the Power Rule section of your
Personalized Editing Checklist.
Use It As you edit your work, read each sentence carefully to make sure you
have used complete sentences. If you find any fragments, correct them by
joining them to sentences using commas.
PROJECT PREP
Editing
Checking Conventions
1. Carefully edit your paper using your Personalized Editing
Checklist to be sure you are not repeating errors. Also ask a
classmate or family member to help you catch errors.
2. In your writing group, evaluate one another’s persuasive essay
using the rubric on the next page. Make any revisions that will
clarify meaning or enhance the style of your essay.
250
Writing to Persuade