ENGL000: Pre-College English

Read the topic sentence and its following pairs of text. Which of the two is more vivid and more specific and would be better support within a piece of writing?

Place an S next to the item that is specific and an X next to the item that is general.

1. My dog, Greta, is really smart.
   
   She knows her toys by name and always puts them away at the end of the day. She also learns    new things really quickly. With just a little practice, she understands a lot of different commands.  
   
   She learned to "sit" after only a week of practicing it with me. She also knows the names of her toys. If I ask her to bring me her "sloth," she can distinguish it from her other toys and brings me her squeaky sloth toy!
   
   
2. My landlord is a very understanding person.
   
   When I had to pay rent a week late due to a payroll problem at my job, he didn't even charge a late fee. In addition, even though his rules state no pets, when I took in a kitten I found by the side of the road and fell in love with it, he made an exception and let me keep it.
   
   He has always been ok with the occasional late payment. He's experienced difficulties in his life that make him compassionate about money problems. He also has been flexible about several of the rules he wrote for his tenants such as his rule about pets.
   
   
3. As a student, the internet has a number of uses that have been incredibly helpful to me.
   
   I can stay in touch with people by using social media and messaging features. I can talk to my professors outside of class by writing an email. I don't have to go out to drive to stores and can do a lot of shopping online saving me a lot of time. I can also use online databases to do research for my classes.
   
   It is much easier to stay in touch with my friends, see their pictures, and chat online using Facebook and Twitter. If I can't make it to my professors' office hours, I can contact them from home with email. I can also do my shopping online using sites like Amazon, so I don't have to deal with traffic going to stores. Lastly, I don't have to spend hours in the library and can do research from anywhere with online databases like Academic Search Complete or JSTORE.
   
   
4. My roommate really frustrates me.
   
   She has no respect for personal space and leaves her things all over the entire room. She is also a terrible slob and never picks up after herself. She acts like it is my job to clean up after her. She also does not seem to understand the concept of private property and helps herself to my stuff whenever she wants.
   
   When she gets back from class, she often just empties her backpack in the middle of the room resulting in books and papers everywhere. When she changes clothes to go out, she just tosses what she was wearing where ever it lands, even if it is on my side of the room. She also helps herself to my clothes. I wanted to wear my striped tank top yesterday and couldn't because she was wearing it!
   
   
5. Public speaking is a terrifying activity for many people.
   
   They become uncomfortable at even the thought of speaking in front of a group. They let their fears get the better of them and will take extreme measures to avoid having to give a speech. When they are forced to speak, the anxiety can be so intense that some people develop physical symptoms.
   
   Many people are so terrified that they will pretend to be ill to avoid speaking in front of a group. If they can't get out of it, the anxiety can cause stammering, blushing, and even nausea. I once even saw a young woman burst into tears and leave when she was supposed to give a speech in class.
   
   
6. The class was really out of control for the substitute teacher we had last week.
   
   Everyone in the class was acting crazy and no one would listen to her. She was just trying to follow our teacher's lesson plan, but it was impossible with the classroom behavior. Students were loud and bouncing off the walls. The lack of respect was really ridiculous.
   
   As soon as my classmates saw that we had a substitute, they moved their desks into groups with their friends to have conversations. Two of these little groups were even playing catch with a wad of paper! She tried to explain the assignment our teacher had planned for the day, but it was too loud in the room for anyone to hear her.
   
   
7. When I first moved out, I knew very little about how to cook for myself.
   
   To cook an egg, I put the whole egg in the microwave where it exploded. I even managed to screw up macaroni and cheese by letting the pasta cook too long resulting in something a lot more like cheesy pasta pudding. I lived on cold cereal and frozen microwavable dinners for two months while I learned the basics of cooking.
   
   I didn't really know how to make basic items and made a lot of mistakes, some which were hilarious and others which were tragic. As a result, while I was still learning, I had to live on whatever was in the freezer or came out of a can that could be easily microwaved. I am a slow learner, so it was a long period of time I spent eating out of packages.
   
   
8. The pricesin the amusement park were ridiculously high.
   
   In addition to the $50 per person entry fee, half the rides required between $2 and $5 worth of tokens which had to be purchased in twenty dollar increments once in the park. Then I had to pay $10 for a cheeseburger on a stale bun and another $5 for a watery Pepsi.
   
   Even though there is an expensive entry fee, once in the park, I had to buy tokens to enjoy half the rides. Also, what turned out to be low quality food and drinks cost twice as much as they would at a restaurant outside the park and probably four times as much as the same items would cost at a grocery store.
   
   
9. My brother and I found some really great items at the garage sale.
   
   There was a whole table of clothes that were all in my size and a ton of footwear in his size, some of which still had tags! In addition, I've been rebuilding my car engine and from the looks of some of the items for sale, the seller shares this interest. Lastly, my brother collects old records and the garage sale had a whole box of them that included rare albums that are hard to find.
   
   I found two really gorgeous cable knit sweaters in my size, one that is grey and another that is dark green and will go perfectly with my favorite skirt. My brother found a pair of winter boots in his size that still had the tags on, and he found the Michael Jackson Thriller album that his record collection was missing. Lastly, I found an unopened set of engine brushes that will be perfect for the engine rebuild I am working on.

Source: Erin Severs
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