Here is a 15 sentence essay answering the question "How did I spend spring vacation?" with the requested parts of speech underlined: I spent spring vacation relaxing at home after a long semester of schoolwork. On the first day of break, which was when I didn't have any responsibilities, I slept in until noon. After I woke up, I made myself breakfast, which I ate while watching funny videos online that always cheer me up. In the afternoon, I went to the park with my friend Samantha, whom I've known since elementary school, to play frisbee and enjoy the nice weather. That evening, my parents, who had the day off from work, cooked dinner for the family. The next few days,

1. What is the difference between these sentences?
1.
After we went to the beach, we had dinner out.
We had dinner out after we went to the beach.
After we had dinner out, we went to the beach.
We went to the beach after we had dinner out.
2.
Unless you come to class, it will be difficult to learn the material.
It will be difficult to learn the material unless you come to class.
3.
We staid at home so that we could study for the exam.
We studied for the exam so that we could stay home.

2. Identify whether these sentences are compound, complex or
compound-complex.
1. We always eat dessert after we eat dinner.
2. Even though we live in Morocco, we still listen to American
music and watch American television.
3. He is smart and funny, but he is not very patient.

3. The Day the Ground Fell Beneath My Feet
My most frightening experience was a big earthquake in Japan.
At that time, I was in the second grade. My friend and I were about
halfway home from school when the earthquake occurred. We were
walking through a rice field. My friend was whistling, and I was trying to
copy her tunes.
All of a sudden, the ground under my feet dropped about five
inches. At first, I was too surprised to be scared. As soon as I felt the
earth again, my feet were taken to the right and then jerked to the left. I
staggered. Something struck my knee hard, but I couldn’t feel any pain.
After I fell to the ground, the shaking stopped. I stood up as fast
as I could and hurried home. Along the way, I came across a crying
woman. Her knees were bleeding because she had fallen into a ditch.
When I looked up at the sky, I noticed a dark gray cloud floating heavily
above me. It gave me an uncanny feeling, and I almost began to cry.
In my city, many people got hurt. I can remember that bleeding
woman and that gray cloud clearly even now. It was a very frightening
experience, and I hope I never have to go through anything like it again.

4. Bedtime Dolls
There were no dolls because these were the war years and such luxuries were
non-existent. Even though my little brother and I had no dolls, our resourceful mother
gave us two little statues, one of Saint Theresa and the other of Baby Jesus. There was
no shortage of statues in Irish homes at that time, so every night we took our much-
loved statues to bed.
Once a week my mother went to visit my grandmother a few miles down the
road. If she was not home by our bedtime, my oldest suster Frances would put us to
bed. This happened one winter’s night, so Frances changed us into our night clothes
and led us upstairs to bed. Just as we were falling asleep, I realized that we had no
statues to keep us company. We knocked on the floor to call Frances, and when she
appeared, we explained about our statues. She went in search of them, and as soon as
she came back, she tucked the statues under the bedclothes beside us.
In the morning, instead of our two statues, we were cuddling two glass
bottles. Frances had not been able to find the statues and had given us the bottles so
that we would go to sleep.

5. Missing Subjects = Sentence Fragments!!
simple sentence
Charlie is taking four classes this semester. In addition, has a
job.
Sylvia loves to eat fresh fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately,
are extremely expensive in America.
adverbial clause
Because I’m shy, didn’t call her.
Life was very simple before had children.
adjective clause
I have good friends who listen to me.
She’s looking for a dog that will always obey me.

6. My First Day of College
My first day of classes at Miami Dade Community College was a disaster.
Everything was fine until I got to the campus. The parking lot on Twenty-
Seventh Avenue was full, so there was no place for me to park. Since I
wanted to be on time, I panicked and parked in a staff space near the
Administration Building. As I ran toward my English class, I looked back
and saw the campus police giving me a ticket. Next, I discovered that I
didn’t have my class schedule with me, and I didn’t remember the room
number. The schedule was in my car, and there were only a few seconds
before the class was supposed to start. In a greater panic, I ran back to
the car as fast as I could. When I reached into my pocket for my keys,
they were not there. They were in the car, which was locked! As a result,
I missed my first class. In the future, I plan to get to school with plenty of
time to spare.

7. Fighting Procrastination
One of the most common time management problems is procrastination.
Procrastination means doing something until the last minute, or until it is
actually too late. For example, a student may not begin writing a research
paper until the night before the assignment is due, when there is not enough
time to finish.
Getting started is the most difficult step for procrastinators. Let’s
suppose that you are procrastinating about doing a writing assignment. Break
the assignment down into parts or steps. This makes the task more
manageable. Even if you work on it only twenty minutes a day, you will make
some progress. Here are some tips for beating procrastination:
1. Start immediately, before you start thinking of reasons to delay. Once you
start, it is easier to keep going.
2. Don’t try to be perfect. You can always make revisions later if you need to. In
fact, all good writers revise their material.
3. Guard against temptations to escape. You aren’t really hungry and don’t
really need to make that phone call right now.
4. Work with another person. For example, if you’re brainstorming ideas, do it
with a classmate. This will help you keep working, and you may even get some
ideas that will improve your writing.

8. Homework
• Nitty Gritty Grammar P. 47-48
• Write at least 15 sentences answering the
question: How did you spend spring vacation?
Your essay must include at least:
-2 noun clauses -2 adjective clauses
-2 coordinators -2 subordinators
… and underline them in your essay!!