• Unit 4: Reading to Write – Writing About the Past

    Unit 4 combines the lessons in units 1, 2, and 3. In this unit, you'll read about events in the past and see how timelines are used to write about events. Then you'll write about an event in your past and share it in the class discussion forum.

    Completing this unit should take you approximately 4 hours.


    • Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

      • distinguish elements in the basic structure of a paragraph; and
      • produce a topic sentence and related support to develop basic cohesive descriptions of past events.

    • 4.1: Paragraph Basics – Let's Study

      The materials below include information about writing basic paragraphs in Standard English. After you read the explanations and watch the videos to learn about narrative paragraphs, you will be able to test your understanding by completing practice activities.

      • Structure and Support Page
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        For college students, reading and writing are constant activities. We started this course by looking at basic tenses used to explain our thoughts in Standard English. When we choose present or past to write our sentences in English, we communicate a specific meaning. When writing paragraphs and essays, we carefully choose the tense to match the purpose and meaning of our writing.

      • Narratives Book
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        Now that we know more about paragraphs, let's take a closer look at a specific type of paragraph and how we can write one.

    • 4.2: Paragraph Basics – Let's Practice

      These activities allow you to find out how well you understand the basic parts of a paragraph. If you have a difficult time recognizing these elements, you may return to review the information in the Let's Study section and then try these practice activities again.

    • 4.3: Paragraph Basics – Let's Apply

      Now that you know about each element of a paragraph and narratives, let's see if we can use this knowledge to write a narrative paragraph.

      • Write About the Past Page
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        The story of Luna and Violeta that you read earlier uses past tense and phrases about time to tell the reader when things occur. It is clear to the reader from the story's beginning that it is not taking place today. You can use these same tools to write about your past. Read this presentation and complete the activity to write five sentences about what you did last week. Don't worry about errors yet. You'll review your sentences and make corrections later. Instead of using the provided box to write your sentences, make sure you have your sentences written or saved somewhere else so you can come back to them later.

      • Basic Writing and Proofreading Page
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        Any time you write something for school or work, you need to take time to check it for errors. Read this article on consistent verb tense and word forms. Proofreading can be hard, so many people find it helpful to use checklists and go one step at a time. You'll get some practice with this next.

      • Self-Assessment Checklist Page

        You wrote five sentences about things you did last week using the past tense skills from Unit 1, adjectives and adverbs from Unit 3, and timelines from earlier in Unit 4. Good work! The next step is to check your work and edit it if needed. Use the checklist below to review each sentence for errors. Correct any errors you find. The next step will be to share your work. Be sure to print or download the checklist to save it for future use.

      • Unit 4 Discussion: Review Your Writing Forum
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        Share your edited writing in the discussion forum and see what daily activities your classmates complete. Review and respond to one or two other students' posts as well.

    • Putting It All Together

      You have learned about some writing strategies that can help you communicate clearly when writing in English. This section will help you review what you have learned in Unit 4.

      • Let's Review Unit 4 Book
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        Watch these videos, which give a basic overview of the writing strategies you learned about in this unit.

    • Unit 4 Assessment

      • Unit 4 Assessment Quiz
        Receive a grade

        Take this assessment to see how well you understood this unit.

        • This assessment does not count towards your grade. It is just for practice!
        • You will see the correct answers when you submit your answers. Use this to help you study for the final exam!
        • You can take this assessment as many times as you want, whenever you want.