Exercise 1 – Review Punctuation Rules
Directions: For steps 1-4 below, write sentences that quote from the paragraphs from the short story "The Treasure of Lemon Brown,” which you read in Week 5. The chart above should help you.
Greg sat in the small, pale green kitchen listening, knowing the lecture would end with his father saying he couldn’t play ball with the Scorpions. He had asked his father the week before, and his father had said it depended on his next report card. It wasn’t often the Scorpions took on new players, especially fourteen-year-olds, and this was a chance of a lifetime for Greg. He hadn’t been allowed to play high school ball, which he had really wanted to do, but playing for the Community Center team was the next best thing. Report cards were due in a week, and Greg had been hoping for the best. But the principal had ended the suspense early when she sent the letter saying Greg would probably fail math if he didn’t spend more time studying.
“And you want to play basketball?” His father’s brows knitted over deep brown eyes. “That must be some kind of a joke. Now you just get into your room and hit those books.”
Steps:
1. Quote a phrase from the paragraph above in your own sentence.
2. In the next sentence, chose a long quote from the same paragraph. Shorten the quotation. Use ellipsis (three dots).
3. Quote from the paragraph again but change a pointer in the quotation. Use square brackets [ ] next to it.
4. Quote the first sentence of the second paragraph.
Exercise 2 – Correct the Mistakes
Directions: The following sentences refer to the paragraphs from “The Treasure of Lemon Brown” in Exercise 1. The sentences have some mistakes with the in-text citations. Pay attention to the hint below each sentence. The rules are in Canvas, 6.1 In-Text Citations & Works Cited.
Sentence 1: Myers states that he hadn’t been allowed to play high school ball, which he had really wanted to do, but playing for the Community Center team was the next best thing. Plagiarism + unclear pointer: “he hadn’t been allowed”
Sentence 2: Greg was not sorry for his bad grades and he “sat in the small, pale green kitchen listening, knowing the lecture would end with his father saying he couldn’t play ball with the Scorpions. (Myers)
Punctuation at the end
Sentence 3: According to Myers, the dialogue shows that Greg’s father is very upset at Greg’s bad grade in math.
Mistake at the beginning of the sentence
Sentence 4: At the beginning of the story, Greg seems more upset about not being allowed to play basketball than about his poor school performance: “. . . playing for the Community Center team was the next best thing” to playing with the high school team. As Myers argues, “Report cards were due in a week, and Greg had been hoping for the best.”
Incorrect punctuation + incorrect reporting verb
Exercise 3 – Paraphrase
Directions: Re-read the paragraphs from “The Treasure of Lemon Brown” in Exercise 1. Then read the following sets of sentences that paraphrase parts of the paragraphs. The sentences may also include the student’s opinion about the paraphrases, which is fine.
For each example, answer these questions:
1. Is the paraphrase well-written or does it need to be revised? Why?
2. If the example includes the student’s opinion about the paraphrase, highlight or underline it.
Example 1
Greg asks to play for the Community Center team, but his father tells him that playing basketball is contingent on his grades. It wasn’t often the Scorpions took on new players, especially fourteen-year-olds. Greg’s reaction helps us understand how immature he is at this point in the story.
Example 2
We can easily infer that Greg has not changed his bad study habits, so it is surprising that he is hopeful about his report card. Of course, the grades are bad, and the school principal informs Greg’s dad in a letter that Greg is failing math. This causes his father to deny Greg permission to play ball.
Example 3
Greg’s father is very upset after reading the principal’s letter informing him that Greg will probably fail his math class. He yells at Greg that you want to play basketball? That must be some kind of joke.
Example 4
Because Greg’s grades have not improved, his father gets angry and tells him that he cannot play basketball but needs to spend time studying instead. Greg had missed out on playing with the high school team for this reason, and now he is denied the opportunity to play with the Scorpions. He is upset at his father, but he should really be upset at himself.
Example 5
Greg asked his father the week before, and his father said he wanted to wait for the next report card. It was unusual for the Scorpions to allow younger players on the team, and this was a chance of a lifetime for Greg. Not getting on the team would be a great disappointment for Greg.