I. Which sentence is NOT correct? Explain your choice.
a. According to Jared Diamond, The environmental
problems of the United States are still modest compared with those of the rest
of the world.
b. The environmental problems,
according to Jared Diamond, of the United
States are still modest compared with those of the rest of the world.
c. The environmental problems of the United States, according
to Jared Diamond, are still modest
compared with those of the rest of the world.
d. The environmental problems of the United States are
still modest compared with those of the rest of the world, according
to Jared Diamond.
II. Choose the correctly written passage.
Identify flaws in the passages you did not choose.
a. The area where the Maya people live is
not heavily populated, according to Jared Diamond in The Last Americans. The Maya homeland poses serious environmental challenges to would-be
farmers, explains Jared.
b. The area where the Maya people live is
not heavily populated, according to Jared Diamond in The Last Americans. The Maya homeland poses serious environmental challenges to would-be
farmers, explains Diamond.
c. The area where the Maya people live is
not heavily populated, according to Jared Diamond in The Last Americans. The Maya homeland poses serious environmental challenges to would-be
farmers, explains the author.
d. The area where the Maya people live is
not heavily populated, according to Jared Diamond in The Last Americans. The Maya homeland poses serious environmental challenges to would-be
farmers, explains Professor Diamond.
III. Choose the best-written passage. Defend your choice.
a. The
idea that American society cannot suffer the same fate as the Maya and other
ancient societies, because Americans are superior, is so widespread, says
Diamond, that it has assumed the status of objective reality.
b. The
idea that American society cannot suffer the same fate as the Maya and other
ancient societies, because Americans are superior, is so widespread, says
Diamond, that It's an argument so ingrained both in our subconscious and in
public discourse that it has assumed the status of objective reality.
c. The idea that American society cannot suffer the same fate as the Maya and other ancient societies, because Americans are superior, is so widespread, says Diamond. It's an argument so ingrained both in our subconscious and in public discourse that it has assumed the status of objective reality.
IV. Rank-order these passages from most
effective to least effective. Explain
your choices.
a. The Mayan area most affected by the
Classic Collapse, as Diamond points out, was the area of densest population.
b. The Mayan area most affected by the
Classic Collapse, that Diamond points out, was the area of densest population.
c. As Diamond points out, the Mayan area
most affected by the Classic Collapse was the area of densest population.
d. In the passage, it points out that the
Mayan area most affected by the Classic Collapse was the area of densest
population.
(answers:
I, b; II, b; III, a; IV, a (most effective), c (effective), b (grammatically
incorrect), d (vague))