Brush strokes in Writing: Painting with Absolutes How do I bring forth action in my writing with...
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Transcript of Brush strokes in Writing: Painting with Absolutes How do I bring forth action in my writing with...
Brush strokes in Writing: Painting with Absolutes
How do I bring forth action in my writing with absolutes?
Please grab a pink warm up and glue it ¼ of the way down
page 9 of your Composition Book.
(We will write above it). If the
model short answer went on to page 9, rename that page 8B and create a
new page 9!
Brush strokes in Writing: Painting with Absolutes
What Skills are we practicing?1. using a variety of correctly structured
sentences (e.g., compound, complex, compound-complex).
2. Use and understand complex grammatical structures in writing (an absolute phrase is a complex structure)
Painting with Absolutes
• What is an absolute phrase?
• An ABSOLUTE PHRASE is a NOUN combined with
an –ing Verb
• Imagine this sentence: The cat walked into the room.To add an absolute phrase, we need to focus in on a SPECIFIC PART of the cat.
• Imagine this sentence: The cat walked into the room.Now, for each part, write an associated action verb (Remember to put it into ING form)
• Imagine this sentence: The cat walked into the room.The combination of these nouns and ing-verbs (into absolute phrases), when added to the original sentence, creates more vivid imagry.
• Imagine this sentence: The cat walked into the room.
Painting with Absolutes
• Where do I see Absolutes in writing?
• Absolutes can be found at the beginning of a sentence (separated from the main sentence with a comma), in the middle of the sentence between two commas, or sometimes even at the end (again, separated from the main sentence with a comma).
Painting with Absolutes
• An Absolute Phrase is ALWAYS separated from the rest of the sentence with a Comma, or more than 1 COMMAS.
• For example, look at this sentence:
• The mountain climber edged along the cliff.
• The above sentence gives an idea of the scene, but lacks DESCRIPTION
• Now, watch the effect when we add an ABSOLUTE to the sentence:
• The mountain climber, hands shaking, edged along the cliff.
• Now we have a word picture that includes detailed description!
• We can choose where to place the absolute phrase. Here is the same sentence with the absolute moved to the beginning of the sentence
• Hands shaking, the mountain climber edged along the cliff.
• (Sometimes it also works to put the absolute at the end as well!)
Can I use more than one Absolute?• You can add more than one
absolute to a sentence:• Hands shaking and feet
trembling, the mountain climber edged along the cliff.
More Examples of Absolutes
• Mind racing with excitement, the diver peered once more at the specimen as he glanced upward and swam for the surface.
• I glanced at my clock, digits glowing florescent blue in the darkness of my room, then rolled over to return to my slumber.
• The kitten, jaws cracking, tongue curling, yawned tiredly as she awakened from her nap.
Your Turn
• Now that you know what ABSOLUTES are and how they are used correctly, it’s your turn to try adding them to your writing.
• Don’t forget to separate absolutes from the rest of the sentence by using commas
Copy this into your journal, adding an ABSOLUTE:1. The car sped through the
intersection.
2. The dog barked loudly.
3. The door opened.
6. The paperclip landed on the floor.
6. The girl entered the room.
Absolutes Review
• An ABSOLUTE is a NOUN combined with an –ing PARTICIPLE
• Formula: noun + participle = absolute• Examples:
– Mind racing with excitement, the diver, peered once more at the specimen as he glanced upward and swam for the surface.
– The kitten, jaws cracking, tongue curling, yawned tiredly as she awakened from her nap.