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Sentence Fragments: Skill in Context

There are two parts to this assignment:  identifying and correcting sentence fragments in some pretty messy drafts, and translating iChat and AIM (instant message) texts (which are typically full of fragments) into grammatically correct texts.

Part 1:

As preparation for the task of recognizing and repairing fragment problems in your essay drafts, we turn now to passages of student writing that are in need of repair work.  Revise each sentence in the text boxes below.  Note that some sentences will need substantial revising to make sense, then, see if your corrections are similar to ours.

Anxiously awaiting water cooler talk with someone, anyone, to mention the name of your gym so you can say, “I go to the same gym as you.”

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The downtown takes you back to the time when there was a single sweet shop, baker, and post office in every city. When people knew the shopkeeper by name. When you couldn’t walk down the street without meeting a friend. None of these experiences is common in modern day shopping.

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Franklin Park Preschool’s Mission is to provide an environment for discovery, joy and creativity. A place where children can learn about the world around them through social interaction and hands on learning.

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I, on the other hand, live in reality. A world where nothing is predictable, where people struggle and don't always survive to tell their story. And yet there exist tiny worlds inside this grand mayhem where unity, love and perfection prevail.

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All of the familiarity of the things that she loved and cared for were gone. Her sense of independence stripped away, robbed of living her life free without restrictions.

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Part 2:

More and more students are "texting" and "i-m'ing" (instant messaging) their friends to communicate quickly and efficiently.  However, the rules of grammar, spelling, and punctuation go out the window in these messages.  A whole new language has risen up for texting; one can even find online instant message dictionaries, and translator applications like transl8it.com. See if you can translate the text message below into grammatical English:

My smmr hols wr CWOT. B4, we used 2go2 NY 2C my bro, his GF & thr 3 :- kids FTF. ILNY, it's a gr8 plc."

click here to see the "English" version