2. Module 2 Outline Review of previous modules Course Updates Sentence Structure Part 1 Types of Sentence Structures & Transition Signals Writing: Organization & Coherence Characteristics of Good Writing Creating outlines Writing Assignments Mini-Case Study Timed Writing: Economic Concepts and Analysis
3. Review At the bottom of this page, look for a link to upload your feedback document after you have addressed the comments. I hope that you found the comments helpful. Please do not hesitate to contact me with questions. Remember, the learning process is about making mistakes and learning how to fix them.
4. Course Updates After learning more about your backgrounds, I understand that you are all in a slightly different place regarding your writing experience and expectations for this course. As a result, you will notice that you will have some options regarding the timed writing assignment at the end of the module. Your options will be… a. to complete the assignment with a 25 minute time limit which is similar to the time constraints you will have on the CPA exam. b. to complete the assignment with a 45 minute time limit. c. to complete the assignment without a time limit.
5. Course Updates Since you are also interested in general business writing, I have added an additional opportunity for you to practice your business writing. This other writing assignment will focus on a general business communication task and is not directly related to CPA exam. Please consider your personal goals for the course when completing these assignments.
8. Types of Sentences There are three types of basic sentence structures. Simple Sentences Compound Sentences Complex Sentences When writing for a business purpose or for the CPA or TOEFL exam, it is best to use mostly compound and complex sentence types. Although simple sentences are not grammatically wrong, they can be, as the name suggests, simple. Let’s talk about the differences between these three sentence types.
9. Simple Sentences A simple sentence has one subject-verb pair, but can have more than one subject or verb. Subject + Verb (SV) Example - I went to the movies. Subject + Subject + Verb (SVV) Example - My friends and Iwent to the movies. Subject + Verb + Verb (SVV) Example - I went to the movies and watched the latest Jessica Alba movie. Subject + Subject + Verb + Verb (SSVV) Example - My friends and Iwent to the movies and watched the latest Jessica Alba movie Although these sentences contain the coordinating conjunction “and,” they are all simple sentences
10. Compound Sentences A compound sentence is composed of at least two simple sentences joined by a comma and a coordinating conjunction. Simple sentence, + Coordinating Conjunction + Simple Sentence Example 1 – I went to the mall, BUT my friendswent to the movies. Example 2 – My sister and Iwent to the mall, BUT my friendswent to the movies and played at the arcade. There are 7 coordinating conjunctions: for, and, not, but, or, yet, so (FANBOYS is an easy acronym to remember them.)
12. What is a clause? A clause is a group of words that have a subject and a verb. Clause: Ienjoy reading. Clause: Since Ienjoy reading All sentences are clauses, but NOT all clauses are sentences. An independent clause can stand on its own and is called a sentence. A dependent clause is fragment. It must be connected to an independent clause to be a sentence. Fragment: Since I enjoy reading. Sentence: I often go to the library. Sentence: Since I enjoy reading, I often go to the library.
13. Complex Sentences A complex sentence is a combination of one independent clause and one (or more) dependent clauses(s). Independent clause + Dependent Clause = SV + (subordinator + SV) Iwent to the mall becauseIneeded a new dress. Dependent clause + , + Independent Clause = (subordinator + SV) + , + SV BecauseI needed a new dress, Iwent to the mall Notice that a comma is only needed when the dependent clause comes first.
14. Coordinating vs. Subordinating In order to be able to easily identify sentence fragments and properly write compound and complex sentences, it is important to be able to identify coordinating conjunctions and common subordinating conjunctions or subordinators. First download the the Master Chart of Transition Signals for a list of coordinating and subordinating conjunctions. Then click on the link to practice identifying the different sentence types.
