Work through the list without notes. If you cannot do a statement, follow its link, then come back. Guide = study guide; Practice = practice questions.
Understanding
- I can explain how modifiers qualify, clarify or specify information. (Guide: “What modifiers do”; Practice question 1)
- I can explain why a modifier should sit closest to what it modifies. (Guide: “Keep modifiers close to what they modify”; Practice question 2)
- I can explain what makes an element parenthetical and how commas, dashes and parentheses differ in effect. (Guide: “Parenthetical elements”; Practice question 3)
Skills
- I can repair misplaced, dangling and squinting modifiers. (Guide: Worked example 1; Practice questions 4 and 6)
- I can tell essential from non-essential modifiers and punctuate them correctly. (Guide: “Restrictive and non-restrictive modifiers”; Practice question 5)
- I can add a parenthetical element to a sentence to give background, a qualification or a personal voice. (Guide: “Why writers use parenthetical elements”; Practice question 7)
Reasoning
- I can explain what a parenthetical element adds and how it serves the audience’s needs or the writer’s purpose. (Guide: Worked example 2; Practice question 7)
- I can analyse how modifiers and asides shape tone and credibility in a passage. (Guide: Worked example 2; Practice question 8)
- I can analyse a short public-domain sentence, such as Lincoln’s on the brave men, for modifiers and parenthetical elements. (Guide: “A public-domain example”; Practice question 8)
All ticked? Take the Unit 8 diagnostic and the Unit 8 review, then move on to the Topic 9.1 study guide, Entering an Ongoing Conversation.