Lab Activity 17: Providing Illustrations and Examples

Lab Activities
Lab Activity 17: Providing Illustrations and Examples

Objective To practice using illustrations and examples in essays.

Step 1: In the blanks below, give three specific examples for each of the thesis statement-support point pairs given.

Example:
Support point: We need to carefully regulate genetically modified foods.
Specific example 1: An accidentally harmful modified food could cause diseases in people.
Specific example 2: Only long-term studies can reveal the dangers of some things we eat.
Specific example 3: There are malicious people who may introduce harmful modified foods into our food supply.

1. Thesis statement: Raising the price of gasoline to $5 a gallon would encourage the production of efficient cars, cause drivers to conserve energy, and spur exploration of alternative fuels.
Support point: Automakers would manufacture fuel-efficient cars because people would demand them.
Specific example 1:
Specific example 2:
Specific example 3:

To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

2. Thesis statement: When money is tight, a number of strategies can help people save.
Support point: One strategy that helps people save money is buying items only when they're on sale.
Specific example 1:
Specific example 2:
Specific example 3:

To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

3. Thesis statement: Big-box stores give customers low prices and a wide selection of products in one store at the expense of driving out smaller competitors.
Support point: When a big-box store is built in a community, many smaller local stores go out of business.
Specific example 1:
Specific example 2:
Specific example 3:

To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

4. Thesis statement: School uniforms reduce violence in schools, create a sense of civility in students, and promote neatness in young people.
Support point: Wearing a school uniform makes a student feel like a representative of the school and, therefore, responsible for behaving properly.
Specific example 1:
Specific example 2:
Specific example 3:

To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

5. Thesis statement: Aggressive drivers should be monitored by the police, should be reported by other drivers, and should lose their licenses when convicted.
Support point: The police should take specific actions to watch for and catch aggressive drivers.
Specific example 1:
Specific example 2:
Specific example 3:

To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

Step 2: Answer the following questions.

1. Choose the support point that would be appropriate for this topic sentence:
In 1973, one of television's first reality shows, the PBS series An American Family, resembled current reality TV programs.

2. Choose the support point that would be appropriate for this topic sentence:
Filming the program required a great commitment by the camera crews and producers.

3. Choose the specific example that helps develop this support point:
In the course of the show, conflicts between the family's parents, Bill and Pat Loud, were covered.

4. Choose another specific example that helps develop this support point:
Additionally, personal conversations were recorded and aimed for all to see.

5. Choose the specific example that helps develop this support point:
The show was tremendously popular, even by today's standards.

Step 3: For each answer space, choose the appropriate transition from the list.

According to Liz Lodge preparing for the PBS "interactive history" television series Colonial House was a huge challenge for the seventeen participants. _______, participants had to physically prepare themselves at the site of the program. Learning skills such as how to rive (wrench or tear apart) and hew (shape as by heavy blows), contestants experienced the physical pain of sore muscles and burgeoning blisters. _______, the colonists had to prepare their living quarters. From building their own houses and making their own furniture to preparing their own food, the contestants performed extensive work not often required for daily life in the twenty-first century. _______ step came in the form of attire. Slowly, hose, period shoes, and even hats became part of the "colonists'" dress. _______, contestants had to learn enough about seventeenth-century life to feel as if they were living it. According to Lodge, issues such as child rearing, government, social hierarchy, and servitude became part of the participants' education. _______ of this preparation, contestants not only "played" colonist, they lived it, forming a community among themselves that stretched beyond the reaches of the series.

Using the pulldown boxes, match each item on the left to the corresponding item at right.

_______, participants had to physically prepare themselves at the site of the program. A. Another

_______, the colonists had to prepare their living quarters. B. Next

_______ step came in the form of attire. C. Finally

_______, contestants had to learn enough about seventeenth-century life to feel as if they were living it. D. First

_______ of this preparation, contestants not only "played" colonist, they lived it, forming a community among themselves that stretched beyond the reaches of the series. E. As a result

Answer choices in this exercise are randomized and will appear in a different order each time the page is loaded.

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