Welcome Submit your passive voice practice sheets to

Welcome! � Submit your passive voice practice sheets to the basket on my desk. Please open your DOL documents and eliminate the “be” verbs from the following sentences: �I am sitting at the breakfast table, drinking tea. � In The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare is showing audiences that Jews are humans, too. � Obesity is a modern epidemic that is killing thousands of Americans each year.

Revised Future Work Essay � � Does everyone have a copy of the checklist/rubric? This is how I will grade you, so please use the checklist to review your work prior to turning it in. Do you have any questions or concerns? The revised essay is due Thursday at the beginning of class – paper copies only, please.

Agenda � Today we will: � Review passive and active voice � Reduce the amount of passive verbs from our essays to 3 “be” verbs per paragraph � Search for scholarships and colleges and begin our lists

Passive v. Active Voice � In the passive voice, the subject of the sentence is neither a do-er or a be-er, but is acted upon by some other agent or by something unnamed � Example: � In the active voice, the subject is the do-er or be-er. � The � � The ant was squashed by an ox. ox squashed the ant. In 30 Rock, Jack represents active voice while Kenneth embodies passive voice http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=q. SI 4 oxul. T 4 I

“Be” Verbs � � These include: be, is, am, are, was, were, been, being, and –ing (gerunds). Also avoid any of the contracted versions of these, such as I’m and we’re

Passive v. Active Voice Passive verbs, or "be" verbs, weaken our papers because they distract readers from the more important action verbs in our work. Example: "He is good at writing" contains a "be" verb, is. The presence of is, as well as the gerund (-ing) form of write, make this sentence weak. The sentence may be strengthened by eliminating is and writing: "He writes well. " Now the sentence focuses on writes which is an action verb.

Why Does This Matter, Anyway? RESUME DON’T � � � I was a teacher for 11 th and 12 th grade I was good at helping different types of students I was talented at assessing my students RESUME DO � � � Taught 11 th and 12 th grade language arts…. Differentiated instruction …. Assessed students using a range of techniques….

Why Does This Matter, Anyway? � Business leaders often use passive voice unethically, to protect their own interests (cover their butts): � The cigarette advertisements were designed to appeal to young children. � We designed the cigarette advertisements to appeal to young children.

Practice Makes Perfect � � � The new legislation was passed by the Senate. It was an A that Mary earned in math. Matilda is not good at running. It is I who ate the last of the ice cream. Naomi was advised by her parents not to talk to strangers.

Useful Website of the Day www. freerice. com � “For each answer you get right, we donate 10 grains of rice through the UN World Food Program to help end hunger. ” � Good for ACT/SAT prep � Not just for vocabulary anymore � Fun way to expand your lexicon

For Next Time � � � Bring a copy of your revised “future work” essay Remember to staple the rubric to the front of your essay Arrive ready to resume work on your recommendation request letter