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14 Writing Basics: What Makes a Good Sentence?

Jenifer Kurtz

1.       Sentence writing

2.       Subject-verb agreement

3.       Verb tense

4.       Capitalization

5.       Pronouns

6.       Adjectives and adverbs

7.       Misplaced and dangling modifiers

1. Sentence writing

Imagine you are reading a book for school. You need to find important details that you can use for an assignment. However, when you begin to read, you notice that the book has very little punctuation. Sentences fail to form complete paragraphs and instead form one block of text without clear organization. Most likely, this book would frustrate and confuse you. Without clear and concise sentences, it is difficult to find the information you need.

For both students and professionals, clear communication is important. Whether you are typing an e-mail or writing a report, it is your responsibility to present your thoughts and ideas clearly and precisely. Writing in complete sentences is one way to ensure that you communicate well. This section covers how to recognize and write basic sentence structures and how to avoid some common writing errors.

Components of a Sentence

Clearly written, complete sentences require key information: a subject , a verb , and a complete idea. A sentence needs to make sense on its own. Sometimes, complete sentences are also called independent clauses . A clause is a group of words that may make up a sentence. An independent clause is a group of words that may stand alone as a complete, grammatically correct thought. The following sentences show independent clauses.

Figure 8.1 “Sentence Components”

All complete sentences have at least one independent clause. You can identify an independent clause by reading it on its own and looking for the subject and the verb.

When you read a sentence, you may first look for the subject, or what the sentence is about. The subject usually appears at the beginning of a sentence as a noun or a pronoun . A noun is a word that identifies a person, place, thing, or idea. A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun. Common pronouns are I , he , she , it , you , they , and we . In the following sentences, the subject is underlined once.

Malik is the project manager for this project. He will give us our assignments.

In these sentences, the subject is a person: Malik . The pronoun He replaces and refers back to Malik .

The computer lab is where we will work. It will be open twenty-four hours a day.

In the first sentence, the subject is a place: computer lab . In the second sentence, the pronoun It substitutes for computer lab as the subject.

The project will run for three weeks. It will have a quick turnaround.

In the first sentence, the subject is a thing: project . In the second sentence, the pronoun It stands in for the project .

In this chapter, please refer to the following grammar key:

Subjects are underlined once.

Verbs are italicized.

LV means linking verb, HV means helping verb, and V means action verb.

Compound Subjects

A sentence may have more than one person, place, or thing as the subject. These subjects are called compound subjects. Compound subjects are useful when you want to discuss several subjects at once.

Desmond and Maria have been working on that design for almost a year. Books, magazines , and online articles are all good resources.

Prepositional Phrases

You will often read a sentence that has more than one noun or pronoun in it. You may encounter a group of words that includes a preposition with a noun or a pronoun. Prepositions connect a noun, pronoun, or verb to another word that describes or modifies that noun, pronoun, or verb. Common prepositions include in , on , under , near , by , with , and about . A group of words that begin with a preposition is called a prepositional phrase . A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition and modifies or describes a word. It cannot act as the subject of a sentence. The following circled phrases are examples of prepositional phrases.

Figure 8.2 “Prepositional Phrases”

Read the following sentences. Underline the subjects, and circle the prepositional phrases.

1. The gym is open until nine o’clock tonight.

2. We went to the store to get some ice.

3. The student with the most extra credit will win a homework pass.

4. Maya and Tia found an abandoned cat by the side of the road.

5. The driver of that pickup truck skidded on the ice.

6. Anita won the race with time to spare.

7. The people who work for that company were surprised about the merger.

8. Working in haste means that you are more likely to make mistakes.

9. The soundtrack has over sixty songs in languages from around the world.

10. His latest invention does not work, but it has inspired the rest of us.

Once you locate the subject of a sentence, you can move on to the next part of a complete sentence: the verb. A verb is often an action word that shows what the subject is doing. A verb can also link the subject to a describing word. There are three types of verbs that you can use in a sentence: action verbs , linking verbs , or helping verbs .

Action Verbs

A verb that connects the subject to an action is called an action verb. An action verb answers the question what is the subject doing? In the following sentences, the action verbs are in italics.

The dog barked at the jogger.

He gave a short speech before we ate.

Linking Verbs

A verb can often connect the subject of the sentence to a describing word. This type of verb is called a linking verb because it links the subject to a describing word. In the following sentences, the linking verbs are in italics.

The coat was old and dirty.

The clock seemed broken.

If you have trouble telling the difference between action verbs and linking verbs, remember that an action verb shows that the subject is doing something, whereas a linking verb simply connects the subject to another word that describes or modifies the subject.

A few verbs can be used as either action verbs or linking verbs.

Action Verb : The boy looked for his glove.

Linking Verb : The boy looked tired.

Although both sentences use the same verb, the two sentences have completely different meanings. In the first sentence, the verb describes the boy’s action. In the second sentence, the verb describes the boy’s appearance.

Helping Verbs

A third type of verb you may use as you write is a helping verb. Helping verbs are verbs that are used with the main verb to describe a mood or tense. Helping verbs are usually a form of be , do , or have . The word can is also used as a helping verb.

The restaurant is known for its variety of dishes.

She does speak up when prompted in class.

We have seen that movie three times.

She can tell when someone walks on her lawn.

(is, does, have, and can are helping verbs and known, speak up, seen, and tell are verbs)

Whenever you write or edit sentences, keep the subject and verb in mind. As you write, ask yourself these questions to keep yourself on track:

Subject: Who or what is the sentence about?

Verb: Which word shows an action or links the subject to a description?

Copy each sentence onto your own sheet of paper and underline the verb(s) twice. Name the type of verb(s) used in the sentence in the space provided (LV, HV, or V).

1. The cat sounds ready to come back inside. ________

2. We have not eaten dinner yet. ________

3. It took four people to move the broken-down car. ________

4. The book was filled with notes from class. ________

5. We walked from room to room, inspecting for damages. ________

6. Harold was expecting a package in the mail. ________

7. The clothes still felt damp even though they had been through the dryer twice. ________

8. The teacher who runs the studio is often praised for his restoration work on old masterpieces. ________

Sentence Structure, Including Fragments and Run-ons

Now that you know what makes a complete sentence—a subject and a verb—you can use other parts of speech to build on this basic structure. Good writers use a variety of sentence structures to make their work more interesting. This section covers different sentence structures that you can use to make longer, more complex sentences.

Sentence Patterns

Six basic subject-verb patterns can enhance your writing. A sample sentence is provided for each pattern. As you read each sentence, take note of where each part of the sentence falls. Notice that some sentence patterns use action verbs and others use linking verbs.

Subject–Verb

Computers (subject) hum (verb)

Subject–Linking Verb–Noun

Computers (subject) are (linking verb) tool (noun)

Subject–Linking Verb–Adjective

Computers (subject) are (linking verb) expensive (adjective)

Subject–Verb–Adverb

Computers (subject) calculate (verb) quickly (adverb)

Subject–Verb–Direct Object

When you write a sentence with a direct object (DO), make sure that the DO receives the action of the verb.

Sally (subject) rides (verb) a motorcycle (direct object)

Subject–Verb–Indirect Object–Direct Object

In this sentence structure, an indirect object explains to whom or to what the action is being done. The indirect object is a noun or pronoun, and it comes before the direct object in a sentence.

My coworker (subject) gave (verb) me (indirect object) the reports (direct object)

Use what you have learned so far to bring variety in your writing. Use the following lines or your own sheet of paper to write six sentences that practice each basic sentence pattern. When you have finished, label each part of the sentence (S, V, LV, N, Adj, Adv, DO, IO).

1. ________________________________________________________________

2.________________________________________________________________

3.________________________________________________________________

4.________________________________________________________________

5.________________________________________________________________

6.________________________________________________________________

Collaboration

Find an article in a newspaper, a magazine, or online that interests you. Bring it to class or post it online. Then, looking at a classmate’s article, identify one example of each part of a sentence (S, V, LV, N, Adj, Adv, DO, IO). Please share or post your results.

The sentences you have encountered so far have been independent clauses. As you look more closely at your past writing assignments, you may notice that some of your sentences are not complete. A sentence that is missing a subject or a verb is called a fragment. A fragment may include a description or may express part of an idea, but it does not express a complete thought.

Fragment : Children helping in the kitchen.

Complete sentence : Children helping in the kitchen often make a mess .

You can easily fix a fragment by adding the missing subject or verb. In the example, the sentence was missing a verb. Adding often make a mess creates an S-V-N sentence structure.

Figure 8.3 “Editing Fragments That Are Missing a Subject or a Verb

See whether you can identify what is missing in the following fragments.

Fragment : Told her about the broken vase.

Complete sentence : I told her about the broken vase.

Fragmen t: The store down on Main Street.

Complete sentence : The store down on Main Street sells music .

Common Sentence Errors

Fragments often occur because of some common error, such as starting a sentence with a preposition, a dependent word, an infinitive, or a gerund. If you use the six basic sentence patterns when you write, you should be able to avoid these errors and thus avoid writing fragments.

When you see a preposition, check to see that it is part of a sentence containing a subject and a verb. If it is not connected to a complete sentence, it is a fragment, and you will need to fix this type of fragment by combining it with another sentence. You can add the prepositional phrase to the end of the sentence. If you add it to the beginning of the other sentence, insert a comma after the prepositional phrase.

Figure 8.4 “Editing Fragments That Begin with a Preposition”

Incorrect : After walking over two miles. John remembered his wallet.

Correct : After walking over two miles, John remembered his wallet.

Correct : John remembered his wallet after walking over two miles.

Incorrect : The dog growled at the vacuum cleaner. When it was switched on.

Correct : When the vacuum cleaner was switched on, the dog growled.

Correct : The dog growled at the vacuum cleaner when it was switched on.

Clauses that start with a dependent word—such as since , because , without , or unless —are similar to prepositional phrases. Like prepositional phrases, these clauses can be fragments if they are not connected to an independent clause containing a subject and a verb. To fix the problem, you can add such a fragment to the beginning or end of a sentence. If the fragment is added at the beginning of a sentence, add a comma.

Incorrect : Because we lost power. The entire family overslept.

Correct : Because we lost power, the entire family overslept.

Correct : The entire family overslept because we lost power.

Incorrect : He has been seeing a physical therapist. Since his accident.

Correct : Since his accident, he has been seeing a physical therapist.

Correct : He has been seeing a physical therapist since the accident.

When you encounter a word ending in – ing in a sentence, identify whether or not this word is used as a verb in the sentence. You may also look for a helping verb. If the word is not used as a verb or if no helping verb is used with the – ing verb form, the verb is being used as a noun. An – ing verb form used as a noun is called a gerund.

Verb : I was (helping verb) working (verb) on homework until midnight.

Noun : Working until midnight makes me tired the next morning.

Once you know whether the – ing word is acting as a noun or a verb, look at the rest of the sentence. Does the entire sentence make sense on its own? If not, what you are looking at is a fragment. You will need to either add the parts of speech that are missing or combine the fragment with a nearby sentence.

Figure 8.5 “Editing Fragments That Begin with a Gerund”

Incorrect : Taking deep breaths. Saul prepared for his presentation.

Correct : Taking deep breaths, Saul prepared for his presentation.

Correct : Saul prepared for his presentation. He was taking deep breaths.

Incorrect : Congratulating the entire team. Sarah raised her glass to toast their success.

Correct : She was congratulating the entire team. Sarah raised her glass to toast their success.

Correct : Congratulating the entire team, Sarah raised her glass to toast their success.

Another error in sentence construction is a fragment that begins with an infinitive. An infinitive is a verb paired with the word to ; for example, to run , to write , or to reach . Although infinitives are verbs, they can be used as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. You can correct a fragment that begins with an infinitive by either combining it with another sentence or adding the parts of speech that are missing.

Incorrect : We needed to make three hundred more paper cranes. To reach the one thousand mark.

Correct : We needed to make three hundred more paper cranes to reach the one thousand mark.

Correct : We needed to make three hundred more paper cranes. We wanted to reach the one thousand mark.

Copy the following sentences onto your own sheet of paper and circle the fragments. Then combine the fragment with the independent clause to create a complete sentence.

1. Working without taking a break. We try to get as much work done as we can in an hour.

2. I needed to bring work home. In order to meet the deadline.

3. Unless the ground thaws before spring break. We won’t be planting any tulips this year.

4. Turning the lights off after he was done in the kitchen. Robert tries to conserve energy whenever possible.

5. You’ll find what you need if you look. On the shelf next to the potted plant.

6. To find the perfect apartment. Deidre scoured the classifieds each day.

External Links:

For more information about fragments, follow this link (https://tinyurl.com/yaggttd2).

Run-on Sentences

Just as short, incomplete sentences can be problematic, lengthy sentences can be problematic too. Sentences with two or more independent clauses that have been incorrectly combined are known as run-on sentences. A run-on sentence may be either a fused sentence or a comma splice.

Fused sent ence: A family of foxes lived under our shed young foxes played all over the yard.

Comma splice : We looked outside, the kids were hopping on the trampoline.

When two complete sentences are combined into one without any punctuation, the result is a fused sentence. When two complete sentences are joined by a comma, the result is a comma splice. Both errors can easily be fixed.

Punctuation

One way to correct run-on sentences is to correct the punctuation. For example, adding a period will correct the run-on by creating two separate sentences.

Run-on : There were no seats left, we had to stand in the back.

Correct : There were no seats left. We had to stand in the back.

Using a semicolon between the two complete sentences will also correct the error. A semicolon allows you to keep the two closely related ideas together in one sentence. When you punctuate with a semicolon, make sure that both parts of the sentence are independent clauses.

For more information on semicolons, see   Capitalize Proper Nouns .

Run-on : The accident closed both lanes of traffic we waited an hour for the wreckage to be cleared.

Complete sentence : The accident closed both lanes of traffic; we waited an hour for the wreckage to be cleared.

When you use a semicolon to separate two independent clauses, you may wish to add a transition word to show the connection between the two thoughts. After the semicolon, add the transition word and follow it with a comma.

Run-on : The project was put on hold we didn’t have time to slow down, so we kept working.

Complete sentence : The project was put on hold; however, we didn’t have time to slow down, so we kept working.

Coordinating Conjunctions

You can also fix run-on sentences by adding a comma and a coordinating conjunction. A coordinating conjunction acts as a link between two independent clauses.

These are the seven coordinating conjunctions that you can use: for , and , nor , but , or , yet , and so . Use these words appropriately when you want to link the two independent clauses. The acronym FANBOYS will help you remember this group of coordinating conjunctions.

Run-on : The new printer was installed, no one knew how to use it.

Complete sentence : The new printer was installed, but no one knew how to use it.

Dependent Words

Adding dependent words is another way to link independent clauses. Like the coordinating conjunctions, dependent words show a relationship between two independent clauses.

Run-on : We took the elevator, the others still got there before us.

Complete sentence : Although we took the elevator, the others got there before us.

Run-on : Cobwebs covered the furniture, the room hadn’t been used in years.

Complete sentence : Cobwebs covered the furniture because the room hadn’t been used in years.

Writing at Work

Figure 8.6 “Sample e-mail”

Isabelle’s e-mail opens with two fragments and two run-on sentences containing comma splices. The e-mail ends with another fragment. What effect would this e-mail have on Mr. Blankenship or other readers? Mr. Blankenship or other readers may not think highly of Isaebelle’s communication skills or—worse—may not understand the message at all!

Communications written in precise, complete sentences are not only more professional but also easier to understand. Before you hit the “send” button, read your e-mail carefully to make sure that the sentences are complete, are not run together, and are correctly punctuated.

A reader can get lost or lose interest in material that is too dense and rambling. Use what you have learned about run-on sentences to correct the following passages:

1. The report is due on Wednesday but we’re flying back from Miami that morning. I told the project manager that we would be able to get the report to her later that day she suggested that we come back a day early to get the report done and I told her we had meetings until our flight took off. We e-mailed our contact who said that they would check with his boss, she said that the project could afford a delay as long as they wouldn’t have to make any edits or changes to the file our new deadline is next Friday.

2. Anna tried getting a reservation at the restaurant, but when she called they said that there was a waiting list so she put our names down on the list when the day of our reservation arrived we only had to wait thirty minutes because a table opened up unexpectedly which was good because we were able to catch a movie after dinner in the time we’d expected to wait to be seated.

3. Without a doubt, my favorite artist is Leonardo da Vinci, not because of his paintings but because of his fascinating designs, models, and sketches, including plans for scuba gear, a flying machine, and a life-size mechanical lion that actually walked and moved its head. His paintings are beautiful too, especially when you see the computer enhanced versions researchers use a variety of methods to discover and enhance the paintings’ original colors, the result of which are stunningly vibrant and yet delicate displays of the man’s genius.

Key Takeaways

• A sentence is complete when it contains both a subject and verb. A complete sentence makes sense on its own.
• Every sentence must have a subject, which usually appears at the beginning of the sentence. A subject may be a noun (a person, place, or thing) or a pronoun.
• A prepositional phrase describes, or modifies, another word in the sentence but cannot be the subject of a sentence.
• Variety in sentence structure and length improves writing by making it more interesting and more complex.
• Fragments and run-on sentences are two common errors in sentence construction.
• Fragments can be corrected by adding a missing subject or verb. Fragments that begin with a preposition or a dependent word can be corrected by combining the fragment with another sentence.
• Run-on sentences can be corrected by adding appropriate punctuation or adding a coordinating conjunction.

Writing Application

Using the six basic sentence structures, write one of the following:

• A work e-mail to a coworker about a presentation.
• A business letter to a potential employer.
• A status report about your current project.
• A job description for your résumé.

External Links :

Choose this link for more information on how to correct run-on sentences.

2. Subject-verb agreement

In the workplace, you want to present a professional image. Your outfit or suit says something about you when meeting face-to-face, and your writing represents you in your absence. Grammatical mistakes in your writing or even in speaking make a negative impression on coworkers, clients, and potential employers. Subject-verb agreement is one of the most common errors that people make. Having a solid understanding of this concept is critical when making a good impression, and it will help ensure that your ideas are communicated clearly.

Agreement in speech and in writing refers to the proper grammatical match between words and phrases. Parts of sentences must agree, or correspond with other parts, in number, person, case, and gender.

• Number . All parts must match in singular or plural forms.
• Person . All parts must match in first person ( I ), second person ( you ), or third person ( he, she, it, they ) forms.
• Case . All parts must match in subjective ( I, you, he, she, it, they, we ), objective ( me, her, him, them, us ), or possessive ( my, mine, your, yours, his, her, hers, their, theirs, our, ours ) forms. For more information on pronoun case agreement, see  Pronoun Agreement .
• Gende r. All parts must match in male or female forms.

Subject-verb agreement describes the proper match between subjects and verbs.

Because subjects and verbs are either singular or plural, the subject of a sentence and the verb of a sentence must agree with each other in number. That is, a singular subject belongs with a singular verb form, and a plural subject belongs with a plural verb form. For more information on subjects and verbs, see Sentence Writing .

Singular : The cat jumps over the fence.

Plural : The cats jump over the fence.

Regular Verbs

Regular verbs follow a predictable pattern. For example, in the third person singular, regular verbs always end in -s . Other forms of regular verbs do not end in -s. Study the following regular verb forms in the present tense.

Figure 8.7 “Regular Verb Forms in the Present Tense”

Add an – es to the third person singular form of regular verbs that end in – sh , -x , – ch , and -s. (I wish/He wishes, I fix/She fixes, I watch/It watches, I kiss/He kisses.)

Singular : I read every day.

Plural : We read every day.

In these sentences, the verb form stays the same for the first person singular and the first person plural.

Singular : You stretch before you go to bed.

Plural : You stretch before every game.

In these sentences, the verb form stays the same for the second person singular and the second person plural. In the singular form, the pronoun you refers to one person. In the plural form, the pronoun you refers to a group of people, such as a team.

Singular : My mother walks to work every morning.

In this sentence, the subject is mother . Because the sentence only refers to one mother, the subject is singular. The verb in this sentence must be in the third person singular form.

Plural : My friends like the same music as I do.

In this sentence, the subject is friends . Because this subject refers to more than one person, the subject is plural. The verb in this sentence must be in the third person plural form.

Many singular subjects can be made plural by adding an -s . Most regular verbs in the present tense end with an – s in the third person singular. This does not make the verbs plural.

Singular subject, singular verb : The cat races across the yard.

Plural subject, plural verb : The cats race across the yard.

On your own sheet of paper, write the correct verb form for each of the following sentences.

1. I (brush/brushes) my teeth twice a day.

2. You (wear/wears) the same shoes every time we go out.

3. He (kick/kicks) the soccer ball into the goal.

4. She (watch/watches) foreign films.

5. Catherine (hide/hides) behind the door.

6. We (want/wants) to have dinner with you.

7. You (work/works) together to finish the project.

8. They (need/needs) to score another point to win the game.

9. It (eat/eats) four times a day.

10. David (fix/fixes) his own motorcycle.

Irregular Verbs

Not all verbs follow a predictable pattern. These verbs are called irregular verbs. Some of the most common irregular verbs are be , have , and do . Learn the forms of these verbs in the present tense to avoid errors in subject-verb agreement.

Study the different forms of the verb to be in the present tense.

Figure 8.8 “Forms of To Be Present Tense”

Study the different forms of the verb to have in the present tense.

Figure 8.9 “Forms of To Have Present Tense”

Study the different forms of the verb to do in the present tense.

Figure 8.10 “Forms of To Do Present Tense”

Complete the following sentences by writing the correct present tense form of be , have , or do . Use your own sheet of paper to complete this exercise.

1. I ________ sure that you will succeed.

2. They ________ front-row tickets to the show.

3. He ________ a great Elvis impersonation.

4. We ________ so excited to meet you in person!

5. She ________ a fever and a sore throat.

6. You ________ not know what you are talking about.

7. You ________ all going to pass this class.

8. She ________ not going to like that.

9. It ________ appear to be the right size.

10. They ________ ready to take this job seriously.

Errors in Subject-Verb Agreement

Errors in subject-verb agreement may occur when

• a sentence contains a compound subject;
• the subject of the sentence is separate from the verb;
• the subject of the sentence is an indefinite pronoun, such as anyone or everyone ;
• the subject of the sentence is a collective noun, such as team or organization ;
• the subject appears after the verb.

Recognizing the sources of common errors in subject-verb agreement will help you avoid these errors in your writing. This section covers the subject-verb agreement errors in more detail.

A compound subject is formed by two or more nouns and the coordinating conjunctions and , or , or nor . A compound subject can be made of singular subjects, plural subjects, or a combination of singular and plural subjects.

Compound subjects combined with and take a plural verb form.

Two singular subjects : Alicia and Miguel ride their bikes to the beach.

Two plural subjects : The girls and the boys ride their bikes to the beach.

Singular and plural subjects : Alicia and the boys ride their bikes to the beach.

Compound subjects combined with or and nor are treated separately. The verb must agree with the subject that is nearest to the verb.

Two singular subjects : Neither Elizabeth nor Rianna wants to eat at that restaurant.

Two plural subjects : Neither the kids nor the adults want to eat at that restaurant.

Singular and plural subjects : Neither Elizabeth nor the kids want to eat at that restaurant.

Plural and singular subjects : Neither the kids nor Elizabeth wants to eat at that restaurant.

Two singular subjects : Either you or Jason takes the furniture out of the garage.

Two plural subjects : Either you or the twins take the furniture out of the garage.

Singular and plural subjects : Either Jason or the twins take the furniture out of the garage.

Plural and singular subjects : Either the twins or Jason takes the furniture out of the garage.

If you can substitute the word they for the compound subject, then the sentence takes the third person plural verb form.

Separation of Subjects and Verbs

As you read or write, you may come across a sentence that contains a phrase or clause that separates the subject from the verb. Often, prepositional phrases or dependent clauses add more information to the sentence and appear between the subject and the verb. However, the subject and the verb must still agree.

If you have trouble finding the subject and verb, cross out or ignore the phrases and clauses that begin with prepositions or dependent words. The subject of a sentence will never be in a prepositional phrase or dependent clause.

The following is an example of a subject and verb separated by a prepositional phrase:

The students with the best grades win the academic awards.

The puppy under the table is my favorite.

The following is an example of a subject and verb separated by a dependent clause:

The car that I bought has power steering and a sunroof.

The representatives who are courteous sell the most tickets.

Indefinite Pronouns

Indefinite pronouns refer to an unspecified person, thing, or number. When an indefinite pronoun serves as the subject of a sentence, you will often use a singular verb form.However, keep in mind that exceptions arise. Some indefinite pronouns may require a plural verb form. To determine whether to use a singular or plural verb with an indefinite pronoun, consider the noun that the pronoun would refer to. If the noun is plural, then use a plural verb with the indefinite pronoun. View the chart to see a list of common indefinite pronouns and the verb forms they agree with.

Figure 8.11 “Common Indefinite Pronouns”

Singular : Everybody in the kitchen sings along when that song comes on the radio.

The indefinite pronoun everybody takes a singular verb form because everybody refers to a group performing the same action as a single unit.

Plural : All the people in the kitchen sing along when that song comes on the radio.

The indefinite pronoun all takes a plural verb form because all refers to the plural noun people . Because people is plural, all is plural.

Singular : Al l the cake is on the floor.

In this sentence, the indefinite pronoun all takes a singular verb form because all refers to the singular noun cake . Because cake is singular, all is singular.

Collective Nouns

A collective noun is a noun that identifies more than one person, place, or thing and considers those people, places, or things one singular unit. Because collective nouns are counted as one, they are singular and require a singular verb. Some commonly used collective nouns are group , team , army , flock , family , and class .

Singular : The class is going on a field trip.

In this sentence, class is a collective noun. Although the class consists of many students, the class is treated as a singular unit and requires a singular verb form.

The Subject Follows the Verb

You may encounter sentences in which the subject comes after the verb instead of before the verb. In other words, the subject of the sentence may not appear where you expect it to appear. To ensure proper subject-verb agreement, you must correctly identify the subject and the verb.

Here or There

In sentences that begin with here or there , the subject follows the verb.

Here is my wallet !

There are thirty dolphins in the water.

If you have trouble identifying the subject and the verb in sentences that start with here or there ; it may help to reverse the order of the sentence so the subject comes first.

My wallet is here!

Thirty dolphins are in the water.

When you ask questions, a question word ( who , what , where , when , why , or how ) appears first. The verb and then the subject follow.

Who are the people you are related to?

When am I going to go to the grocery store?

If you have trouble finding the subject and the verb in questions, try answering the question being asked.

When am I going to the grocery store? I am going to the grocery store tonight!

Correct the errors in subject-verb agreement in the following sentences. If there are no errors in subject-verb agreement, write OK . Copy the corrected sentence or the word OK on your own sheet of notebook paper.

1. My dog and cats chases each other all the time.

2. The books that are in my library is the best I have ever read.

3. Everyone are going to the concert except me.

4. My family are moving to California.

5. Here is the lake I told you about.

6. There is the newspapers I was supposed to deliver.

7. Which room is bigger?

8. When are the movie going to start?

9. My sister and brother cleans up after themselves.

10. Some of the clothes is packed away in the attic.

Correct the errors in subject-verb agreement in the following paragraph. Copy the paragraph on a piece of notebook paper and make corrections.

Dear Hiring Manager,

I feels that I am the ideal candidate for the receptionist position at your company. I has three years of experience as a receptionist in a company that is similar to yours. My phone skills and written communication is excellent. These skills, and others that I have learned on the job, helps me understand that every person in a company helps make the business a success. At my current job, the team always say that I am very helpful. Everyone appreciate when I go the extra mile to get the job done right. My current employer and coworkers feels that I am an asset to the team. I is efficient and organized. Is there any other details about me that you would like to know? If so, please contact me. Here are my résumé. You can reach me by e-mail or phone. I looks forward to speaking with you in person.

Felicia Fellini

Figure 8.12 “Advertisement”

Imagine that you are a prospective client and that you saw this ad online. Would you call Terra Services to handle your next project? Probably not! Mistakes in subject-verb agreement can cost a company business. Paying careful attention to grammatical details ensures professionalism that clients will recognize and respect.

• Parts of sentences must agree in number, person, case, and gender.
• A verb must always agree with its subject in number. A singular subject requires a singular verb; a plural subject requires a plural verb.
• Irregular verbs do not follow a predictable pattern in their singular and plural forms. Common irregular verbs are be , have , and do .
• A compound subject is formed when two or more nouns are joined by the words and , or , or nor .
• In some sentences, the subject and verb may be separated by a phrase or clause, but the verb must still agree with the subject.
• Indefinite pronouns, such as anyone , each , everyone , many , no one , and something , refer to unspecified people or objects. Most indefinite pronouns are singular.
• A collective noun is a noun that identifies more than one person, place, or thing and treats those people, places, or things one singular unit. Collective nouns require singular verbs.
• In sentences that begin with here and there , the subject follows the verb.
• In questions, the subject follows the verb.

Use your knowledge of subject-verb agreement to write one of the following:

• An advertisement for a potential company
• A memo to all employees of a particular company
• A cover letter describing your qualifications to a potential employer
• Be sure to include at least the following:
• One collective noun
• One irregular verb
• One question

3. Verb tense

Suppose you must give an oral presentation about what you did last summer. How do you make it clear that you are talking about the past and not about the present or the future? Using the correct verb tense can help you do this.

It is important to use the proper verb tense. Otherwise, your listener might judge you harshly. Mistakes in tense often leave a listener or reader with a negative impression.

Verbs indicate actions or states of being in the past, present, or future using tenses. Regular verbs follow regular patterns when shifting from the present to past tense. For example, to form a past-tense or past-participle verb form, add – ed or -d to the end of a verb. You can avoid mistakes by understanding this basic pattern.

Verb tense identifies the time of action described in a sentence. Verbs take different forms to indicate different tenses. Verb tenses indicate

• an action or state of being in the present,
• an action or state of being in the past,
• an action or state of being in the future.

Helping verbs, such as be and have, also work to create verb tenses, such as the future tense.

Present Tense : Time walks to the store. (Singular subject)

Present Tense : Sue and Kimmy walk to the store. (Plural subject)

Past Tense : Yesterday, they walked to the store to buy some bread. (Singular subject)

Exercise 10

Complete the following sentences by selecting the correct form of the verb in simple present, simple past, or simple future tenses. Write the corrected sentence on your own sheet of paper.

1. The Dust Bowl (is, was, will be) a name given to a period of very destructive dust storms that occurred in the United States during the 1930s.

2. Historians today (consider, considered, will consider) The Dust Bowl to be one of the worst weather of events in American history.

3. The Dust Bowl mostly (affects, affected, will affect) the states of Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico.

4. Dust storms (continue, continued, will continue) to occur in these dry regions, but not to the devastating degree of the 1930s.

5. The dust storms during The Dust Bowl (cause, caused, will cause) irreparable damage to farms and the environment for a period of several years.

6. When early settlers (move, moved, will move) into this area, they (remove, removed, will remove) the natural prairie grasses in order to plant crops and graze their cattle.

7. They did not (realize, realized, will realize) that the grasses kept the soil in place.

8. There (is, was, will be) also a severe drought that (affects, affected, will affect) the region.

9. The worst dust storm (happens, happened, will happen) on April 14, 1935, a day called Black Sunday.

10. The Dust Bowl era finally came to end in 1939 when the rains (arrive, arrived, will arrive).

11. Dust storms (continue, continued, will continue) to affect the region, but hopefully they will not be as destructive as the storms of the 1930s.

The past tense of irregular verbs is not formed using the patterns that regular verbs follow.

Here we consider using irregular verbs.

Present Tense : Lauren keeps all her letters.

Past Tense : Lauren kept all her letters.

Future Tense : Lauren will keep all her letters.

Exercise 11

Complete the following sentences by selecting the correct form of the irregular verb in simple present, simple past, or simple future tense. Copy the corrected sentence onto your own sheet of paper.

1. Marina finally (forgived, forgave, will forgive) her sister for snooping around her room.

2. The house (shook, shaked, shakes) as the airplane rumbled overhead.

3. I (buyed, bought, buy) several items of clothing at the thrift store on Wednesday.

4. She (put, putted, puts) the lotion in her shopping basket and proceeded to the checkout

5. The prized goose (layed, laid, lay) several golden eggs last night.

6. Mr. Batista (teached, taught, taughted) the class how to use correct punctuation.

7. I (drink, drank, will drink) several glasses of sparkling cider instead of champagne on

New Year’s Eve next year.

8. Although Hector (growed, grew, grows) three inches in one year, we still called him “Little Hector.”

9. Yesterday our tour guide (lead, led, will lead) us through the maze of people in Times Square.

10. The rock band (burst, bursted, bursts) onto the music scene with its catchy songs.

Exercise 12

On your own sheet of paper, write a sentence using the correct form of the verb tense shown below.

1. Throw (past)

2. Paint (simple present)

3. Smile (future)

4. Tell (past)

5. Share (simple present)

Maintaining Consistent Verb Tense

Consistent verb tense means the same verb tense is used throughout a sentence or a paragraph. As you write and revise, it is important to use the same verb tense consistently and to avoid shifting from one tense to another unless there is a good reason for the tense shift. In the following box, see whether you notice the difference between a sentence with consistent tense and one with inconsistent tense.

Inconsistent tense :

The crowd starts cheering as Melina approached the finish line.

Consistent tense :

The crowd started cheering as Melina approached the finish line.

The crowd starts cheering as Melina approaches the finish line.

In some cases, clear communication will call for different tenses. Look at the following example:

When I was a teenager, I wanted to be a firefighter, but not I am studying computer science.

If the time frame for each action or state is different, a tense shift is appropriate.

Exercise 13

Edit the following paragraph by correcting the inconsistent verb tense. Copy the corrected paragraph onto your own sheet of paper.

In the Middle Ages, most people lived in villages and work as agricultural laborers, or peasants. Every village has a “lord,” and the peasants worked on his land. Much of what they produce go to the lord and his family. What little food was leftover goes to support the peasants’ families. In return for their labor, the lord offers them protection. A peasant’s day usually began before sunrise and involves long hours of backbreaking work, which includes plowing the land, planting seeds, and cutting crops for harvesting. The working life of a peasant in the Middle Ages is usually demanding and exhausting.

Read the following excerpt from a work e-mail:

Figure 8.12 “Work e-mail,”

The inconsistent tense in the e-mail will very likely distract the reader from its overall point. Most likely, your coworkers will not correct your verb tenses or call attention to grammatical errors, but it is important to keep in mind that errors such as these do have a subtle negative impact in the workplace.

Verb tense helps you express when an event takes place.

Regular verbs follow regular patterns when shifting from present to past tense.

Irregular verbs do not follow regular, predictable patterns when shifting from present to past tense.

Using consistent verb tense is a key element to effective writing.

Tell a family story. You likely have several family stories to choose from, but pick the one that you find most interesting to write about. Use as many details as you can in the telling. As you write and proofread, make sure your all your verbs are correct and the tenses are consistent.

Follow this link  (https://tinyurl.com/y7t629xu) for more information concerning verbs.

4. Capitalization

Text messages, casual e-mails, and instant messages often ignore the rules of capitalization. In fact, it can seem unnecessary to capitalize in these contexts. In other, more formal forms of communication, however, knowing the basic rules of capitalization and using capitalization correctly gives the reader the impression that you choose your words carefully and care about the ideas you are conveying.

Capitalize the First Word of a Sentence

Incorrect : the museum has a new butterfly exhibit.

Correct : The museum has a new butterfly exhibit.

Incorrect : cooking can be therapeutic.

Correct : Cooking can be therapeutic.

Capitalize Proper Nouns

Proper nouns—the names of specific people, places, objects, streets, buildings, events, or titles of individuals—are always capitalized.

Incorrect : He grew up in harlem, new york.

Correct : He grew up in Harlem, New York.

Incorrect : The sears tower in chicago has a new name.

Correct : The Sears Tower in Chicago has a new name.

Always capitalize nationalities, races, languages, and religions. For example, American, African American, Hispanic, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, and so on.

Do not capitalize nouns for people, places, things, streets, buildings, events, and titles when the noun is used in general or common way. See the following chart for the difference between proper nouns and common nouns.

Figure 8.13 “Common and Proper Nouns,”

Exercise 14

On your own sheet of paper, write five proper nouns for each common noun that is listed. The first one has been done for you.

Common noun: river

1. Nile River

Common noun: musician

Common noun: magazine

Please share with a classmate and compare your answers.

Capitalize Days of the Week, Months of the Year, and Holidays

Incorrect : On wednesday, I will be traveling to Austin for a music festival.

Correct : On Wednesday, I will be traveling to Austin for a music festival.

Incorrect : The fourth of july is my favorite holiday.

Correct : The Fourth of July is my favorite holiday.

Capitalize Titles

Incorrect : The play, f ences , by August Wilson is one of my favorites.

Correct : The play, F ences , by August Wilson is one of my favorites.

Incorrect : The president of the united states will be speaking at my university.

Correct : The President of the United States will be speaking at my university.

Computer-related words such as “Internet” and “World Wide Web” are usually capitalized; however, “e-mail” and “online” are never capitalized.

Exercise 15

Edit the following sentences by correcting the capitalization of the titles or names.

1. The prince of england enjoys playing polo.

2. “Ode to a nightingale” is a sad poem.

3. My sister loves to read magazines such as the new yorker.

4. The house on Mango street is an excellent novel written by Sandra Cisneros.

5. My physician, dr. alvarez, always makes me feel comfortable in her office.

Exercise 16

Edit the following paragraphs by correcting the capitalization.

david grann’s the lost City of Z mimics the snake-like winding of the amazon River. The three distinct Stories that are introduced are like twists in the River. First, the Author describes his own journey to the amazon in the present day, which is contrasted by an account of percy fawcett’s voyage in 1925 and a depiction of James Lynch’s expedition in 1996. Where does the river lead these explorers? the answer is one that both the Author and the reader are hungry to discover.

The first lines of the preface pull the reader in immediately because we know the author, david grann, is lost in the amazon. It is a compelling beginning not only because its thrilling but also because this is a true account of grann’s experience. grann has dropped the reader smack in the middle of his conflict by admitting the recklessness of his decision to come to this place. the suspense is further perpetuated by his unnerving observation that he always considered himself a Neutral Witness, never getting personally involved in his stories, a notion that is swiftly contradicted in the opening pages, as the reader can clearly perceive that he is in a dire predicament—and frighteningly involved.

Did you know that, if you use all capital letters to convey a message, the capital letters come across like shouting? In addition, all capital letters are actually more difficult to read and may annoy the reader. To avoid “shouting” at or annoying your reader, follow the rules of capitalization and find other ways to emphasize your point.

Learning and applying the basic rules of capitalization is a fundamental aspect of good writing.

Identifying and correcting errors in capitalization is an important writing skill.

Write a one-page biography. Make sure to identify people, places, and dates and use capitalization correctly.

Follow this link  (https://tinyurl.com/y8bnxecf) for more information regarding capitalization.

5. Pronouns

If there were no pronouns, all types of writing would be quite tedious to read. We would soon be frustrated by reading sentences like Bob said that Bob was tired or Christina told the class that Christina received an A. Pronouns help a writer avoid constant repetition. Knowing just how pronouns work is an important aspect of clear and concise writing.

Pronoun Agreement

A pronoun is a word that takes the place of (or refers back to) a noun or another pronoun. The word or words a pronoun refers to is called the antecedent of the pronoun.

1. Lani complained that she was exhausted.

She refers to Lani .

Lani is the antecedent of she .

2. Jeremy left the party early, so I did not see him until Monday at work.

Him refers to Jeremy.

Jeremy is the antecedent of him .

3. Crina and Rosalie have been best friends ever since they were freshman in high school.

They refers to Crina and Rosalie .

Crina and Rosalie is the antecedent of they .

Pronoun agreement errors occur when the pronoun and the antecedent do not match or agree with each other. There are several types of pronoun agreement.

Agreement in Number

If the pronoun takes the place of or refers to a singular noun, the pronoun must also be singular.

Incorrect : If a student (sing.) wants to return a book to the bookstore, they (plur.) must have a receipt.

Correct : If a student (sing.) wants to return a book to the bookstore, he or she (sing.) must have a receipt.

*If it seems too wordy to use he or she , change the antecedent to a plural noun.

Correct : If students (plur.) want to return a book to the bookstore, they (plur.) must have a receipt.

Agreement in Person

Figure 8.14 “Singular and Plural Pronouns”

If you use a consistent person, your reader is less likely to be confused.

Incorrect : When a person (3rd) goes to a restaurant, you (2nd) should leave a tip.

Correct : When a person (3rd) goes to a restaurant, he or she (3rd) should leave a tip.

Correct : When we (1st) go to a restaurant, I should (1st) should leave a tip.

Exercise 17

Edit the following paragraph by correcting pronoun agreement errors in number and person.

Over spring break I visited my older cousin, Diana, and they took me to a butterfly exhibit at a museum. Diana and I have been close ever since she was young. Our mothers are twin sisters, and she is inseparable! Diana knows how much I love butterflies, so it was their special present to me. I have a soft spot for caterpillars too. I love them because something about the way it transforms is so interesting to me. One summer my grandmother gave me a butterfly growing kit, and you got to see the entire life cycle of five Painted Lady butterflies. I even got to set it free. So when my cousin said they wanted to take me to the butterfly exhibit, I was really excited!

Indefinite Pronouns and Agreement

Indefinite pronouns do not refer to a specific person or thing and are usually singular. Note that a pronoun that refers to an indefinite singular pronoun should also be singular. The following are some common indefinite pronouns.

Figure 8.15 “Common Indefinite Pronouns”

Indefinite pronoun agreement

Incorrect : Everyone (sing.) should do what they (plur.) can to help.

Correct : Everyone (sing.) should do what he or she (sing.) can to help.

Incorrect : Someone (sing.) left their (plur.) backpack in the library.

Correct : Someone (sing.) left his or her (sing.) backpack in the library.

Collective nouns suggest more than one person but are usually considered singular. Look over the following examples of collective nouns.

Figure 8.16 “Common Collective Nouns”

Collective noun agreement

Incorrect : Lara’s company (sing.) will have their (plur.) annual picnic next week.

Correct : Lara’s company (sing.) will have its (sing.) annual picnic next week.

Exercise 18

Complete the following sentences by selecting the correct pronoun. Copy the completed sentence onto your own sheet of paper. Then circle the noun the pronoun replaces.

1. In the current economy, nobody wants to waste ________ money on frivolous things.

2. If anybody chooses to go to medical school, ________ must be prepared to work long hours.

3. The plumbing crew did ________ best to repair the broken pipes before the next ice storm.

4. If someone is rude to you, try giving ________ a smile in return.

5. My family has ________ faults, but I still love them no matter what.

6. The school of education plans to train ________ students to be literacy tutors.

7. The commencement speaker said that each student has a responsibility toward ________.

8. My mother’s singing group has ________ rehearsals on Thursday evenings.

9. No one should suffer ________ pains alone.

10. I thought the flock of birds lost ________ way in the storm.

Subject and Object Pronouns

Subject pronouns function as subjects in a sentence. Object pronouns function as the object of a verb or of a preposition.

Figure 8.17 “Singular and Plural Pronouns”

The following sentences show pronouns as subjects:

She loves the Blue Ridge Mountains in the fall.

Every summer, they picked up litter from national parks.

The following sentences show pronouns as objects:

Marie leaned over and kissed him .

Jane moved it to the corner.

Note that a pronoun can also be the object of a preposition.

Near them , the children played.

My mother stood between us .

The pronouns us and them are objects of the prepositions near and between . They answer the questions near whom? And between whom?

Compound subject pronouns are two or more pronouns joined by a conjunction or a preposition that function as the subject of the sentence.

The following sentences show pronouns with compound subjects:

Incorrect : Me and Harriet visited the Grand Canyon last summer.

Correct : Harriet and I visited the Grand Canyon last summer.

Correc t: Jenna accompanied Harriet and me on our trip.

Note that object pronouns are never used in the subject position. One way to remember this rule is to remove the other subject in a compound subject, leave only the pronoun, and see whether the sentence makes sense.

For example, Me visited the Grand Canyon last summer sounds immediately incorrect.

Compound object pronouns are two or more pronouns joined by a conjunction or a preposition that function as the object of the sentence.

Incorrect : I have a good feeling about Janice and I .

Correct : I have a good feeling about Janice and me .

It is correct to write Janice and me , as opposed to me and Janice . Just remember it is more polite to refer to yourself last.

In casual conversation, people sometimes mix up subject and object pronouns. For instance, you might say, “Me and Donnie went to a movie last night.” However, when you are writing or speaking at work or in any other formal situation, you need to remember the distinctions between subject and object pronouns and be able to correct yourself. These subtle grammar corrections will enhance your professional image and reputation.

Exercise 19

Revise the following sentences in which the subject and object pronouns are used incorrectly. Copy the revised sentence onto your own sheet of paper. Write a C for each sentence that is correct.

1. Meera and me enjoy doing yoga together on Sundays.

2. She and him have decided to sell their house.

3. Between you and I, I do not think Jeffrey will win the election.

4. Us and our friends have game night the first Thursday of every month.

5. They and I met while on vacation in Mexico.

6. Napping on the beach never gets boring for Alice and I.

7. New Year’s Eve is not a good time for she and I to have a serious talk.

8. You exercise much more often than me.

9. I am going to the comedy club with Yolanda and she.

10. The cooking instructor taught her and me a lot.

Who versus Whom

Who or whoever is always the subject of a verb. Use who or whoever when the pronoun performs the action indicated by the verb.

Who won the marathon last Tuesday?

I wonder who came up with that terrible idea!

On the other hand, whom and whomever serve as objects. They are used when the pronoun does not perform an action. Use whom or whomever when the pronoun is the direct object of a verb or the object of a preposition.

Whom did Frank marry the third time? (direct object of verb)

From whom did you buy that old record player? (object of preposition)

If you are having trouble deciding when to use who and whom , try this trick. Take the following sentence:

Who/Whom do I consider my best friend?

Reorder the sentence in your head, using either he or him in place of who or whom .

I consider him my best friend.

I consider he my best friend.

Which sentence sounds better? The first one, of course. So the trick is, if you can use him , you should use whom .

Exercise 20

Complete the following sentences by adding who or whom . Copy the completed sentence onto your own sheet of paper.

1. ________ hit the home run?

2. I remember ________ won the Academy Award for Best Actor last year.

3. To ________ is the letter addressed?

4. I have no idea ________ left the iron on, but I am going to find out.

5. ________ are you going to recommend for the internship?

6. With ________ are you going to Hawaii?

7. No one knew ________ the famous actor was.

8. ________ in the office knows how to fix the copy machine?

9. From ________ did you get the concert tickets?

10. No one knew_______ ate the cake mom was saving.

Pronouns and their antecedents need to agree in number and person.

Most indefinite pronouns are singular.

Collective nouns are usually singular.

Pronouns can function as subjects or objects.

Subject pronouns are never used as objects, and object pronouns are never used as subjects.

Who serves as a subject of a verb.

Whom serves as an object of a sentence or the object of a preposition.

Write about what makes an ideal marriage or long-term relationship. Provide specific details to back your assertions. After you have written a few paragraphs, go back and proofread your paper for correct pronoun usage.

 6. Adjectives and adverbs

Adjectives and adverbs are descriptive words that bring your writing to life.

Adjectives and Adverbs

An adjective is a word that describes a noun or a pronoun. It often answers questions such as which one , what kind , or how many?

1. The green sweater belongs to Iris.

2. She looks beautiful .

In sentence 1, the adjective green describes the noun sweater .

In sentence 2, the adjective beautiful describes the pronoun she .

An adverb is a word that describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Adverbs frequently end in – ly . They answer questions such as how , to what extent , why , when , and where .

3. Bertrand sings horribly .

4. My sociology instructor is extremely wise.

5. He threw the ball very accurately.

In sentence 3, horribly describes the verb sings . How does Bertrand sing? He sings horribly .

In sentence 4, extremely describes the adjective wise . How wise is the instructor? Extremely wise.

In sentence 5, very describes the adverb accurately . How accurately did he throw the ball? Very accurately.

Exercise 21

Complete the following sentences by adding the correct adjective or adverb from the list in the previous section. Identify the word as an adjective or an adverb (Adj, Adv).

1. Frederick ________ choked on the piece of chicken when he saw Margaret walk through the door.

2. His ________ eyes looked at everyone and everything as if they were specimens in a biology lab.

3. Despite her pessimistic views on life, Lauren believes that most people have ________ hearts.

4. Although Stefan took the criticism ________, he remained calm.

5. The child developed a ________ imagination because he read a lot of books.

6. Madeleine spoke ________ while she was visiting her grandmother in the hospital.

7. Hector’s most ________ possession was his father’s bass guitar from the 1970s.

8. My definition of a ________ afternoon is walking to the park on a beautiful day, spreading out my blanket, and losing myself in a good book.

9. She ________ eyed her new coworker and wondered if he was single.

10. At the party, Denise ________ devoured two pieces of pepperoni pizza and a several slices of ripe watermelon.

Comparative versus Superlative

Comparative adjectives and adverbs are used to compare two people or things.

1. Jorge is thin .

2. Steven is thinner than Jorge.

Sentence 1 describes Jorge with the adjective thin .

Sentence 2 compares Jorge to Steven, stating that Steven is thinner . So thinner is the comparative form of thin .

Form comparatives in one of the following two ways:

If the adjective or adverb is a one syllable word, add – er to it to form the comparative. For example, big , fast , and short would become bigger , faster , and shorter in the comparative form.

If the adjective or adverb is a word of two or more syllables, place the word more in front of it to form the comparative. For example, happily , comfortable , and jealous would become more happily , more comfortable , and more jealous in the comparative.

Superlative adjectives and adverbs are used to compare more than two people or two things.

1. Jackie is the loudest cheerleader on the squad.

2. Kenyatta was voted the most confident student by her graduating class.

Sentence 1 shows that Jackie is not just louder than one other person, but she is the loudest of all the cheerleaders on the squad.

Sentence 2 shows that Kenyatta was voted the most confident student of all the students in her class.

Form superlatives in one of the following two ways:

If the adjective or adverb is a one-syllable word, add – est to form the superlative. For example, big , fast , and short would become biggest , fastest , and shortest in the superlative form.

If the adjective or adverb is a word of two or more syllables, place the word most in front of it. For example, happily , comfortable , and jealous would become most happily , most comfortable , and most jealous in the superlative form.

Remember the following exception: If the word has two syllables and ends in -y , change the -y to an -i and add -est . For example, happy would change to happiest in the superlative form; healthy would change to healthiest .

Exercise 22

Edit the following paragraph by correcting the errors in comparative and superlative adjectives.

Our argument started on the most sunny afternoon that I have ever experienced. Max and I were sitting on my front stoop when I started it. I told him that my dog, Jacko, was more smart than his dog, Merlin. I could not help myself. Merlin never came when he was called, and he chased his tail and barked at rocks. I told Max that Merlin was the most dumbest dog on the block. I guess I was angrier about a bad grade that I received, so I decided to pick on poor little Merlin. Even though Max insulted Jacko too, I felt I had been more mean. The next day I apologized to Max and brought Merlin some of Jacko’s treats. When Merlin placed his paw on my knee and licked my hand, I was the most sorry person on the block.

Share and compare your answers with a classmate.

Irregular Words: Good , Well , Bad , and Badly

Good , well , bad , and badly are often used incorrectly. Study the following chart to learn the correct usage of these words and their comparative and superlative forms.

Figure 8.18 “Irregular Words”

Good versus Well

Good is always an adjective—that is, a word that describes a noun or a pronoun. The second sentence is correct because well is an adverb that tells how something is done.

Incorrect : Cecilia felt that she had never done so good on a test.

Correct : Cecilia felt that she had never done so well on a test.

Well is always an adverb that describes a verb, adverb, or adjective. The second sentence is correct because good is an adjective that describes the noun score .

Incorrect : Cecilia’s team received a well score.

Correct : Cecilia’s team received a good score.

Bad versus Badly

Bad is always an adjective. The second sentence is correct because badly is an adverb that tells how the speaker did on the test.

Incorrect : I did bad on my accounting test because I didn’t study.

Correct : I did badly on my accounting test because I didn’t study.

Badly is always an adverb. The second sentence is correct because bad is an adjective that describes the noun thunderstorm .

Incorrect : The coming thunderstorm looked badly .

Correct : The coming thunderstorm looked bad .

Better and Worse

The following are examples of the use of better and worse :

Tyra likes sprinting better than long distance running.

The traffic is worse in Chicago than in Atlanta.

Best and Worst

The following are examples of the use of best and worst :

Tyra sprints best of all the other competitors.

Peter finished worst of all the runners in the race.

Remember better and worse compare two persons or things. Best and worst compare three or more persons or things.

Exercise 23

Write good , well , bad , or badly to complete each sentence. Copy the completed sentence onto your own sheet of paper.

1. Donna always felt ________ if she did not see the sun in the morning.

2. The school board president gave a ________ speech for once.

3. Although my dog, Comet, is mischievous, he always behaves ________ at the dog park.

4. I thought my back injury was ________ at first, but it turned out to be minor.

5. Steve was shaking ________ from the extreme cold.

6. Apple crisp is a very ________ dessert that can be made using whole grains instead of white flour.

7. The meeting with my son’s math teacher went very ________.

8. Juan has a ________ appetite, especially when it comes to dessert.

9. Magritte thought the guests had a ________ time at the party because most people left early.

10. She ________ wanted to win the writing contest prize, which included a trip to New York.

Exercise 24

Write the correct comparative or superlative form of the word in parentheses. Copy the completed sentence onto your own sheet of paper.

1. This research paper is ________ (good) than my last one.

2. Tanaya likes country music ________ (well) of all.

3. My motorcycle rides ________ (bad) than it did last summer.

4. That is the ________ (bad) joke my father ever told.

5. The hockey team played ________ (badly) than it did last season.

6. Tracey plays guitar ________ (well) than she plays the piano.

7. It will go down as one of the ________ (bad) movies I have ever seen.

8. The deforestation in the Amazon is ________ (bad) than it was last year.

9. Movie ticket sales are ________ (good) this year than last.

10. My husband says mystery novels are the ________ (good) types of books.

The irregular words good , well , bad , and badly are often misused along with their comparative and superlative forms better , best , worse , and worst . You may not hear the difference between worse and worst , and therefore type it incorrectly. In a formal or business-like tone, use each of these words to write eight separate sentences. Assume these sentences will be seen and judged by your current or future employer.

Adjectives describe a noun or a pronoun.

Adverbs describe a verb, adjective, or another adverb.

Most adverbs are formed by adding – ly to an adjective.

Comparative adjectives and adverbs compare two persons or things.

Superlative adjectives or adverbs compare more than two persons or things.

The adjectives good and bad and the adverbs well and badly are unique in their comparative and superlative forms and require special attention.

Using the exercises as a guide, write your own ten-sentence quiz for your classmate(s) using the concepts covered in this section. Try to include two questions from each subsection in your quiz. Exchange papers and see whether you can get a perfect score.

7. Misplaced and dangling modifiers

A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that clarifies or describes another word, phrase, or clause. Sometimes writers use modifiers incorrectly, leading to strange and unintentionally humorous sentences. The two common types of modifier errors are called misplaced modifiers and dangling modifiers. If either of these errors occurs, readers can no longer read smoothly. Instead, they become stumped trying to figure out what the writer meant to say. A writer’s goal must always be to communicate clearly and to avoid distracting the reader with strange sentences or awkward sentence constructions. The good news is that these errors can be easily overcome.

Misplaced Modifiers

A misplaced modifier is a modifier that is placed too far from the word or words it modifies. Misplaced modifiers make the sentence awkward and sometimes unintentionally humorous.

Incorrect : She wore a bicycle helmet on her head that was too large .

Correct : She wore a bicycle helmet that was too large on her head.

Notice in the incorrect sentence it sounds as if her head were too large! Of course, the writer is referring to the helmet, not to the person’s head. The corrected version of the sentence clarifies the writer’s meaning.

Look at the following two examples:

Incorrect : They bought a kitten for my brother they call Shadow .

Correct : They bought a kitten they call Shadow for my brother.

In the incorrect sentence, it seems that the brother’s name is Shadow . That’s because the modifier is too far from the word it modifies, which is kitten .

Incorrect : The patient was referred to the physician with stomach pains .

Correct : The patient with stomach pains was referred to the physician.

The incorrect sentence reads as if it were the physician who has stomach pains! What the writer means is that the patient has stomach pains.

Simple modifiers like only , almost , just , nearly , and barely often get used incorrectly because writers often stick them in the wrong place.

Confusing : Tyler almost found fifty cents under the sofa cushions.

Revised : Tyler found almost fifty cents under the sofa cushions.

How do you almost find something? Either you find it or you do not. The revisedsentence is much clearer.

Exercise 25

On a separate sheet of paper, rewrite the following sentences to correct the misplaced modifiers.

1. The young lady was walking the dog on the telephone.

2. I heard that there was a robbery on the evening news.

3. Uncle Louie bought a running stroller for the baby that he called “Speed Racer.”

4. Rolling down the mountain, the explorer stopped the boulder with his powerful foot.

5. We are looking for a babysitter for our precious six-year-old who doesn’t drink or smoke and owns a car.

6. The teacher served cookies to the children wrapped in aluminum foil.

7. The mysterious woman walked toward the car holding an umbrella.

8. We returned the wine to the waiter that was sour.

9. Charlie spotted a stray puppy driving home from work.

10. I ate nothing but a cold bowl of noodles for dinner.

Dangling Modifiers

A dangling modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that describes something that has been left out of the sentence. When there is nothing that the word, phrase, or clause can modify, the modifier is said to dangle.

Incorrect : Riding in the sports car , the world whizzed by rapidly.

Correct : As Jane was riding in the sports car , the world whizzed by rapidly.

In the incorrect sentence, riding in the sports car is dangling. The reader is left wondering who is riding in the sports car. The writer must tell the reader!

Incorrect : Walking home at night , the trees looked like spooky aliens.

Correct : As Jonas was walking home at night , the trees looked like spooky aliens.

Correct : The trees looked like spooky aliens as Jonas was walking home at night .

In the incorrect sentence walking home at night is dangling. Who is walking home at night? Jonas. Note that there are two different ways the dangling modifier can be corrected.

Incorrect : To win the spelling bee, Luis and Gerard should join our team.

Correct : If we want to win the spelling bee this year, Luis and Gerard should join our team.

In the incorrect sentence, to win the spelling bee is dangling. Who wants to win the spelling bee? We do!

The following three steps will help you quickly spot a dangling modifier:

Look for an – ing modifier at the beginning of your sentence or another modifying phrase:

Painting for three hours at night, the kitchen was finally finished by Maggie. ( Painting is the – ing modifier.)

Underline the first noun that follows it:

Painting for three hours at night, the kitchen was finally finished by Maggie.

Make sure the modifier and noun go together logically. If they do not, it is very likely you have a dangling modifier.

After identifying the dangling modifier, rewrite the sentence.

Painting for three hours at night, Maggie finally finished the kitchen.

Exercise 26

Rewrite the following the sentences onto your own sheet of paper to correct the dangling modifiers.

1. Bent over backward, the posture was very challenging.

2. Making discoveries about new creatures, this is an interesting time to be a biologist.

3. Walking in the dark, the picture fell off the wall.

4. Playing a guitar in the bedroom, the cat was seen under the bed.

5. Packing for a trip, a cockroach scurried down the hallway.

6. While looking in the mirror, the towel swayed in the breeze.

7. While driving to the veterinarian’s office, the dog nervously whined.

8. The priceless painting drew large crowds when walking into the museum.

9. Piled up next to the bookshelf, I chose a romance novel.

10. Chewing furiously, the gum fell out of my mouth.

Exercise 27

Rewrite the following paragraph correcting all the misplaced and dangling modifiers.

I bought a fresh loaf of bread for my sandwich shopping in the grocery store. Wanting to make a delicious sandwich, the mayonnaise was thickly spread. Placing the cold cuts on the bread, the lettuce was placed on top. I cut the sandwich in half with a knife turning on the radio. Biting into the sandwich, my favorite song blared loudly in my ears. Humming and chewing, my sandwich went down smoothly. Smiling, my sandwich will be made again, but next time I will add cheese.

Misplaced and dangling modifiers make sentences difficult to understand.

Misplaced and dangling modifiers distract the reader.

There are several effective ways to identify and correct misplaced and dangling modifiers.

See how creative and humorous you can get by writing ten sentences with misplaced and dangling modifiers. This is a deceptively simple task, but rise to the challenge. Your writing will be stronger for it. Exchange papers with a classmate, and rewrite your classmate’s sentences to correct any misplaced modifiers.

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Chapter 2: Writing Basics: What Makes a Good Sentence?

2.1 Sentence Writing 2.2 Subject-Verb Agreement 2.3 Verb Tense 2.4 Capitalization 2.5 Pronouns 2.6 Adjectives and Adverbs 2.7 Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers 2.8 Writing Basics: End-of-Chapter Exercises

Writing for Success Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

• Conjunctions
• Prepositions

HOMEWORK in a Sentence Examples: 21 Ways to Use Homework

Have you ever found yourself struggling with completing your homework on time? Homework refers to academic tasks assigned to students by teachers to be completed outside of regular class time. It provides an opportunity for students to practice and apply what they have learned in class.

Completing homework assignments is essential for reinforcing concepts taught in class, as well as developing important skills such as time management and critical thinking. By working on homework independently, students can deepen their understanding of the material and improve their academic performance.

Table of Contents

7 Examples Of Homework Used In a Sentence For Kids

• Homework is important for learning.
• I do my homework every day after school.
• My teacher gives us homework to do.
• I need to finish my homework before dinner.
• Homework helps me practice what I learn in class.
• I ask my parents for help with my homework .
• It is fun to complete my homework on time.

14 Sentences with Homework Examples

• I have so much homework to finish before the deadline.
• Homework is piling up, and I don’t know where to start.
• I can’t go out tonight because I have too much homework to do.
• Let’s meet up at the library to work on our homework together.
• I wish I didn’t have to stay up late to complete my homework .
• It’s hard to concentrate on my homework with all the noise in the dorm room.
• I need to find a quiet place on campus to focus on my homework .
• Homework is always on my mind, even during breaks between classes.
• I never leave my room without my backpack full of homework assignments.
• My grades are suffering because I keep procrastinating on my homework .
• I have a group project due next week, and everyone needs to do their part of the homework .
• I find it challenging to balance extracurricular activities with all the homework I have.
• Submitting homework online has made it easier to turn in assignments on time.
• I have to set reminders on my phone to make sure I don’t forget about homework deadlines.

How To Use Homework in Sentences?

Homework is used to refer to assignments or tasks given to students by teachers to be completed outside of class. Homework is an important part of a student’s learning process, as it helps reinforce the concepts taught in class and allows students to practice applying their knowledge.

To use Homework in a sentence, you can say: – “I have a lot of homework to do tonight.” – “Make sure you complete your homework before tomorrow’s class.” – “She spends hours every night working on her homework assignments.”

In each of these sentences, Homework is used to describe the schoolwork that students are required to do outside of the classroom. It is important to remember that Homework is singular, so it is always followed by a singular verb.

When using Homework in a sentence, it is helpful to consider the context in which it is being used. Make sure to use the word appropriately in a sentence that makes sense and conveys the intended meaning. Practice using Homework in sentences to become more comfortable with its usage in everyday language.

In conclusion, homework plays a crucial role in reinforcing classroom learning and enhancing students’ understanding of concepts. As seen in various examples of sentences with homework, it serves as a tool for practice, revision, and application of knowledge. Additionally, completing homework tasks can help students develop time management skills, responsibility, and self-discipline.

While some may argue that homework can be overwhelming, with proper organization and prioritization, it can be a valuable learning tool. By carefully crafting sentences with homework, we can understand its importance in the educational process. Ultimately, homework should be seen as a beneficial exercise that complements classroom instruction and contributes to students’ academic growth and development.

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2: Writing Basics - What Makes a Good Sentence?

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• 2.1: Sentence Writing For both students and professionals, clear communication is important. Whether you are typing an e-mail or writing a report, it is your responsibility to present your thoughts and ideas clearly and precisely. Writing in complete sentences is one way to ensure that you communicate well. This section covers how to recognize and write basic sentence structures and how to avoid some common writing errors.
• 2.2: Subject-Verb Agreement Grammatical mistakes in your writing or even in speaking make a negative impression on coworkers, clients, and potential employers. Subject-verb agreement is one of the most common errors that people make. Having a solid understanding of this concept is critical when making a good impression, and it will help ensure that your ideas are communicated clearly.
• 2.3: Verb Tense Suppose you must give an oral presentation about what you did last summer. How do you make it clear that you are talking about the past and not about the present or the future? Using the correct verb tense can help you do this. It is important to use the proper verb tense. Otherwise, your listener might judge you harshly. Mistakes in tense often leave a listener or reader with a negative impression.
• 2.4: Capitalization Text messages, casual e-mails, and instant messages often ignore the rules of capitalization. In fact, it can seem unnecessary to capitalize in these contexts. In other, more formal forms of communication, however, knowing the basic rules of capitalization and using capitalization correctly gives the reader the impression that you choose your words carefully and care about the ideas you are conveying.
• 2.5: Pronouns If there were no pronouns, all types of writing would be quite tedious to read. We would soon be frustrated by reading sentences like Bob said that Bob was tired or Christina told the class that Christina received an A. Pronouns help a writer avoid constant repetition. Knowing just how pronouns work is an important aspect of clear and concise writing.
• 2.6: Adjectives and Adverbs
• 2.7: Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that clarifies or describes another word, phrase, or clause. Sometimes writers use modifiers incorrectly, leading to strange and unintentionally humorous sentences. The two common types of modifier errors are called misplaced modifiers and dangling modifiers. If either of these errors occurs, readers can no longer read smoothly. Instead, they become stumped trying to figure out what the writer meant to say.
• 2.E: Writing Basics - What Makes a Good Sentence? (Exercises)

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Does Homework Really Help Students Learn?

A conversation with a Wheelock researcher, a BU student, and a fourth-grade teacher

“Quality homework is engaging and relevant to kids’ lives,” says Wheelock’s Janine Bempechat. “It gives them autonomy and engages them in the community and with their families. In some subjects, like math, worksheets can be very helpful. It has to do with the value of practicing over and over.” Photo by iStock/Glenn Cook Photography

Do your homework.

If only it were that simple.

Educators have debated the merits of homework since the late 19th century. In recent years, amid concerns of some parents and teachers that children are being stressed out by too much homework, things have only gotten more fraught.

“Homework is complicated,” says developmental psychologist Janine Bempechat, a Wheelock College of Education & Human Development clinical professor. The author of the essay “ The Case for (Quality) Homework—Why It Improves Learning and How Parents Can Help ” in the winter 2019 issue of Education Next , Bempechat has studied how the debate about homework is influencing teacher preparation, parent and student beliefs about learning, and school policies.

She worries especially about socioeconomically disadvantaged students from low-performing schools who, according to research by Bempechat and others, get little or no homework.

BU Today  sat down with Bempechat and Erin Bruce (Wheelock’17,’18), a new fourth-grade teacher at a suburban Boston school, and future teacher freshman Emma Ardizzone (Wheelock) to talk about what quality homework looks like, how it can help children learn, and how schools can equip teachers to design it, evaluate it, and facilitate parents’ role in it.

BU Today: Parents and educators who are against homework in elementary school say there is no research definitively linking it to academic performance for kids in the early grades. You’ve said that they’re missing the point.

Bempechat : I think teachers assign homework in elementary school as a way to help kids develop skills they’ll need when they’re older—to begin to instill a sense of responsibility and to learn planning and organizational skills. That’s what I think is the greatest value of homework—in cultivating beliefs about learning and skills associated with academic success. If we greatly reduce or eliminate homework in elementary school, we deprive kids and parents of opportunities to instill these important learning habits and skills.

We do know that beginning in late middle school, and continuing through high school, there is a strong and positive correlation between homework completion and academic success.

That’s what I think is the greatest value of homework—in cultivating beliefs about learning and skills associated with academic success.

You talk about the importance of quality homework. What is that?

Quality homework is engaging and relevant to kids’ lives. It gives them autonomy and engages them in the community and with their families. In some subjects, like math, worksheets can be very helpful. It has to do with the value of practicing over and over.

What are your concerns about homework and low-income children?

The argument that some people make—that homework “punishes the poor” because lower-income parents may not be as well-equipped as affluent parents to help their children with homework—is very troubling to me. There are no parents who don’t care about their children’s learning. Parents don’t actually have to help with homework completion in order for kids to do well. They can help in other ways—by helping children organize a study space, providing snacks, being there as a support, helping children work in groups with siblings or friends.

Isn’t the discussion about getting rid of homework happening mostly in affluent communities?

Yes, and the stories we hear of kids being stressed out from too much homework—four or five hours of homework a night—are real. That’s problematic for physical and mental health and overall well-being. But the research shows that higher-income students get a lot more homework than lower-income kids.

Teachers may not have as high expectations for lower-income children. Schools should bear responsibility for providing supports for kids to be able to get their homework done—after-school clubs, community support, peer group support. It does kids a disservice when our expectations are lower for them.

The conversation around homework is to some extent a social class and social justice issue. If we eliminate homework for all children because affluent children have too much, we’re really doing a disservice to low-income children. They need the challenge, and every student can rise to the challenge with enough supports in place.

What did you learn by studying how education schools are preparing future teachers to handle homework?

My colleague, Margarita Jimenez-Silva, at the University of California, Davis, School of Education, and I interviewed faculty members at education schools, as well as supervising teachers, to find out how students are being prepared. And it seemed that they weren’t. There didn’t seem to be any readings on the research, or conversations on what high-quality homework is and how to design it.

Erin, what kind of training did you get in handling homework?

Bruce : I had phenomenal professors at Wheelock, but homework just didn’t come up. I did lots of student teaching. I’ve been in classrooms where the teachers didn’t assign any homework, and I’ve been in rooms where they assigned hours of homework a night. But I never even considered homework as something that was my decision. I just thought it was something I’d pull out of a book and it’d be done.

I started giving homework on the first night of school this year. My first assignment was to go home and draw a picture of the room where you do your homework. I want to know if it’s at a table and if there are chairs around it and if mom’s cooking dinner while you’re doing homework.

The second night I asked them to talk to a grown-up about how are you going to be able to get your homework done during the week. The kids really enjoyed it. There’s a running joke that I’m teaching life skills.

Friday nights, I read all my kids’ responses to me on their homework from the week and it’s wonderful. They pour their hearts out. It’s like we’re having a conversation on my couch Friday night.

It matters to know that the teacher cares about you and that what you think matters to the teacher. Homework is a vehicle to connect home and school…for parents to know teachers are welcoming to them and their families.

Bempechat : I can’t imagine that most new teachers would have the intuition Erin had in designing homework the way she did.

Ardizzone : Conversations with kids about homework, feeling you’re being listened to—that’s such a big part of wanting to do homework….I grew up in Westchester County. It was a pretty demanding school district. My junior year English teacher—I loved her—she would give us feedback, have meetings with all of us. She’d say, “If you have any questions, if you have anything you want to talk about, you can talk to me, here are my office hours.” It felt like she actually cared.

Bempechat : It matters to know that the teacher cares about you and that what you think matters to the teacher. Homework is a vehicle to connect home and school…for parents to know teachers are welcoming to them and their families.

Ardizzone : But can’t it lead to parents being overbearing and too involved in their children’s lives as students?

Bempechat : There’s good help and there’s bad help. The bad help is what you’re describing—when parents hover inappropriately, when they micromanage, when they see their children confused and struggling and tell them what to do.

Good help is when parents recognize there’s a struggle going on and instead ask informative questions: “Where do you think you went wrong?” They give hints, or pointers, rather than saying, “You missed this,” or “You didn’t read that.”

Bruce : I hope something comes of this. I hope BU or Wheelock can think of some way to make this a more pressing issue. As a first-year teacher, it was not something I even thought about on the first day of school—until a kid raised his hand and said, “Do we have homework?” It would have been wonderful if I’d had a plan from day one.

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Senior Contributing Editor

Sara Rimer A journalist for more than three decades, Sara Rimer worked at the Miami Herald , Washington Post and, for 26 years, the New York Times , where she was the New England bureau chief, and a national reporter covering education, aging, immigration, and other social justice issues. Her stories on the death penalty’s inequities were nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and cited in the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision outlawing the execution of people with intellectual disabilities. Her journalism honors include Columbia University’s Meyer Berger award for in-depth human interest reporting. She holds a BA degree in American Studies from the University of Michigan. Profile

She can be reached at [email protected] .

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Boston University moderates comments to facilitate an informed, substantive, civil conversation. Abusive, profane, self-promotional, misleading, incoherent or off-topic comments will be rejected. Moderators are staffed during regular business hours (EST) and can only accept comments written in English. Statistics or facts must include a citation or a link to the citation.

There are 81 comments on Does Homework Really Help Students Learn?

Insightful! The values about homework in elementary schools are well aligned with my intuition as a parent.

when i finish my work i do my homework and i sometimes forget what to do because i did not get enough sleep

same omg it does not help me it is stressful and if I have it in more than one class I hate it.

Same I think my parent wants to help me but, she doesn’t care if I get bad grades so I just try my best and my grades are great.

I think that last question about Good help from parents is not know to all parents, we do as our parents did or how we best think it can be done, so maybe coaching parents or giving them resources on how to help with homework would be very beneficial for the parent on how to help and for the teacher to have consistency and improve homework results, and of course for the child. I do see how homework helps reaffirm the knowledge obtained in the classroom, I also have the ability to see progress and it is a time I share with my kids

The answer to the headline question is a no-brainer – a more pressing problem is why there is a difference in how students from different cultures succeed. Perfect example is the student population at BU – why is there a majority population of Asian students and only about 3% black students at BU? In fact at some universities there are law suits by Asians to stop discrimination and quotas against admitting Asian students because the real truth is that as a group they are demonstrating better qualifications for admittance, while at the same time there are quotas and reduced requirements for black students to boost their portion of the student population because as a group they do more poorly in meeting admissions standards – and it is not about the Benjamins. The real problem is that in our PC society no one has the gazuntas to explore this issue as it may reveal that all people are not created equal after all. Or is it just environmental cultural differences??????

I get you have a concern about the issue but that is not even what the point of this article is about. If you have an issue please take this to the site we have and only post your opinion about the actual topic

This is not at all what the article is talking about.

This literally has nothing to do with the article brought up. You should really take your opinions somewhere else before you speak about something that doesn’t make sense.

we have the same name

so they have the same name what of it?

lol you tell her

totally agree

What does that have to do with homework, that is not what the article talks about AT ALL.

Yes, I think homework plays an important role in the development of student life. Through homework, students have to face challenges on a daily basis and they try to solve them quickly.I am an intense online tutor at 24x7homeworkhelp and I give homework to my students at that level in which they handle it easily.

More than two-thirds of students said they used alcohol and drugs, primarily marijuana, to cope with stress.

You know what’s funny? I got this assignment to write an argument for homework about homework and this article was really helpful and understandable, and I also agree with this article’s point of view.

I also got the same task as you! I was looking for some good resources and I found this! I really found this article useful and easy to understand, just like you! ^^

i think that homework is the best thing that a child can have on the school because it help them with their thinking and memory.

I am a child myself and i think homework is a terrific pass time because i can’t play video games during the week. It also helps me set goals.

Homework is not harmful ,but it will if there is too much

I feel like, from a minors point of view that we shouldn’t get homework. Not only is the homework stressful, but it takes us away from relaxing and being social. For example, me and my friends was supposed to hang at the mall last week but we had to postpone it since we all had some sort of work to do. Our minds shouldn’t be focused on finishing an assignment that in realty, doesn’t matter. I completely understand that we should have homework. I have to write a paper on the unimportance of homework so thanks.

homework isn’t that bad

Are you a student? if not then i don’t really think you know how much and how severe todays homework really is

i am a student and i do not enjoy homework because i practice my sport 4 out of the five days we have school for 4 hours and that’s not even counting the commute time or the fact i still have to shower and eat dinner when i get home. its draining!

i totally agree with you. these people are such boomers

why just why

they do make a really good point, i think that there should be a limit though. hours and hours of homework can be really stressful, and the extra work isn’t making a difference to our learning, but i do believe homework should be optional and extra credit. that would make it for students to not have the leaning stress of a assignment and if you have a low grade you you can catch up.

Studies show that homework improves student achievement in terms of improved grades, test results, and the likelihood to attend college. Research published in the High School Journal indicates that students who spent between 31 and 90 minutes each day on homework “scored about 40 points higher on the SAT-Mathematics subtest than their peers, who reported spending no time on homework each day, on average.” On both standardized tests and grades, students in classes that were assigned homework outperformed 69% of students who didn’t have homework. A majority of studies on homework’s impact – 64% in one meta-study and 72% in another – showed that take home assignments were effective at improving academic achievement. Research by the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) concluded that increased homework led to better GPAs and higher probability of college attendance for high school boys. In fact, boys who attended college did more than three hours of additional homework per week in high school.

So how are your measuring student achievement? That’s the real question. The argument that doing homework is simply a tool for teaching responsibility isn’t enough for me. We can teach responsibility in a number of ways. Also the poor argument that parents don’t need to help with homework, and that students can do it on their own, is wishful thinking at best. It completely ignores neurodiverse students. Students in poverty aren’t magically going to find a space to do homework, a friend’s or siblings to help them do it, and snacks to eat. I feel like the author of this piece has never set foot in a classroom of students.

THIS. This article is pathetic coming from a university. So intellectually dishonest, refusing to address the havoc of capitalism and poverty plays on academic success in life. How can they in one sentence use poor kids in an argument and never once address that poor children have access to damn near 0 of the resources affluent kids have? Draw me a picture and let’s talk about feelings lmao what a joke is that gonna put food in their belly so they can have the calories to burn in order to use their brain to study? What about quiet their 7 other siblings that they share a single bedroom with for hours? Is it gonna force the single mom to magically be at home and at work at the same time to cook food while you study and be there to throw an encouraging word?

Also the “parents don’t need to be a parent and be able to guide their kid at all academically they just need to exist in the next room” is wild. Its one thing if a parent straight up is not equipped but to say kids can just figured it out is…. wow coming from an educator What’s next the teacher doesn’t need to teach cause the kid can just follow the packet and figure it out?

Well then get a tutor right? Oh wait you are poor only affluent kids can afford a tutor for their hours of homework a day were they on average have none of the worries a poor child does. Does this address that poor children are more likely to also suffer abuse and mental illness? Like mentioned what about kids that can’t learn or comprehend the forced standardized way? Just let em fail? These children regularly are not in “special education”(some of those are a joke in their own and full of neglect and abuse) programs cause most aren’t even acknowledged as having disabilities or disorders.

But yes all and all those pesky poor kids just aren’t being worked hard enough lol pretty sure poor children’s existence just in childhood is more work, stress, and responsibility alone than an affluent child’s entire life cycle. Love they never once talked about the quality of education in the classroom being so bad between the poor and affluent it can qualify as segregation, just basically blamed poor people for being lazy, good job capitalism for failing us once again!

why the hell?

you should feel bad for saying this, this article can be helpful for people who has to write a essay about it

This is more of a political rant than it is about homework

I know a teacher who has told his students their homework is to find something they are interested in, pursue it and then come share what they learn. The student responses are quite compelling. One girl taught herself German so she could talk to her grandfather. One boy did a research project on Nelson Mandela because the teacher had mentioned him in class. Another boy, a both on the autism spectrum, fixed his family’s computer. The list goes on. This is fourth grade. I think students are highly motivated to learn, when we step aside and encourage them.

The whole point of homework is to give the students a chance to use the material that they have been presented with in class. If they never have the opportunity to use that information, and discover that it is actually useful, it will be in one ear and out the other. As a science teacher, it is critical that the students are challenged to use the material they have been presented with, which gives them the opportunity to actually think about it rather than regurgitate “facts”. Well designed homework forces the student to think conceptually, as opposed to regurgitation, which is never a pretty sight

Wonderful discussion. and yes, homework helps in learning and building skills in students.

not true it just causes kids to stress

Homework can be both beneficial and unuseful, if you will. There are students who are gifted in all subjects in school and ones with disabilities. Why should the students who are gifted get the lucky break, whereas the people who have disabilities suffer? The people who were born with this “gift” go through school with ease whereas people with disabilities struggle with the work given to them. I speak from experience because I am one of those students: the ones with disabilities. Homework doesn’t benefit “us”, it only tears us down and put us in an abyss of confusion and stress and hopelessness because we can’t learn as fast as others. Or we can’t handle the amount of work given whereas the gifted students go through it with ease. It just brings us down and makes us feel lost; because no mater what, it feels like we are destined to fail. It feels like we weren’t “cut out” for success.

homework does help

here is the thing though, if a child is shoved in the face with a whole ton of homework that isn’t really even considered homework it is assignments, it’s not helpful. the teacher should make homework more of a fun learning experience rather than something that is dreaded

This article was wonderful, I am going to ask my teachers about extra, or at all giving homework.

I agree. Especially when you have homework before an exam. Which is distasteful as you’ll need that time to study. It doesn’t make any sense, nor does us doing homework really matters as It’s just facts thrown at us.

Homework is too severe and is just too much for students, schools need to decrease the amount of homework. When teachers assign homework they forget that the students have other classes that give them the same amount of homework each day. Students need to work on social skills and life skills.

I disagree.

Beyond achievement, proponents of homework argue that it can have many other beneficial effects. They claim it can help students develop good study habits so they are ready to grow as their cognitive capacities mature. It can help students recognize that learning can occur at home as well as at school. Homework can foster independent learning and responsible character traits. And it can give parents an opportunity to see what’s going on at school and let them express positive attitudes toward achievement.

Homework is helpful because homework helps us by teaching us how to learn a specific topic.

As a student myself, I can say that I have almost never gotten the full 9 hours of recommended sleep time, because of homework. (Now I’m writing an essay on it in the middle of the night D=)

I am a 10 year old kid doing a report about “Is homework good or bad” for homework before i was going to do homework is bad but the sources from this site changed my mind!

Homeowkr is god for stusenrs

I agree with hunter because homework can be so stressful especially with this whole covid thing no one has time for homework and every one just wants to get back to there normal lives it is especially stressful when you go on a 2 week vaca 3 weeks into the new school year and and then less then a week after you come back from the vaca you are out for over a month because of covid and you have no way to get the assignment done and turned in

As great as homework is said to be in the is article, I feel like the viewpoint of the students was left out. Every where I go on the internet researching about this topic it almost always has interviews from teachers, professors, and the like. However isn’t that a little biased? Of course teachers are going to be for homework, they’re not the ones that have to stay up past midnight completing the homework from not just one class, but all of them. I just feel like this site is one-sided and you should include what the students of today think of spending four hours every night completing 6-8 classes worth of work.

Are we talking about homework or practice? Those are two very different things and can result in different outcomes.

Homework is a graded assignment. I do not know of research showing the benefits of graded assignments going home.

Practice; however, can be extremely beneficial, especially if there is some sort of feedback (not a grade but feedback). That feedback can come from the teacher, another student or even an automated grading program.

As a former band director, I assigned daily practice. I never once thought it would be appropriate for me to require the students to turn in a recording of their practice for me to grade. Instead, I had in-class assignments/assessments that were graded and directly related to the practice assigned.

I would really like to read articles on “homework” that truly distinguish between the two.

oof i feel bad good luck!

thank you guys for the artical because I have to finish an assingment. yes i did cite it but just thanks

thx for the article guys.

Homework is good

I think homework is helpful AND harmful. Sometimes u can’t get sleep bc of homework but it helps u practice for school too so idk.

I agree with this Article. And does anyone know when this was published. I would like to know.

It was published FEb 19, 2019.

Studies have shown that homework improved student achievement in terms of improved grades, test results, and the likelihood to attend college.

i think homework can help kids but at the same time not help kids

This article is so out of touch with majority of homes it would be laughable if it wasn’t so incredibly sad.

There is no value to homework all it does is add stress to already stressed homes. Parents or adults magically having the time or energy to shepherd kids through homework is dome sort of 1950’s fantasy.

What lala land do these teachers live in?

Homework gives noting to the kid

Homework is Bad

homework is bad.

why do kids even have homework?

Comments are closed.

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Definition of homework

Examples of homework in a sentence.

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'homework.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

1662, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Dictionary Entries Near homework

Cite this entry.

“Homework.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/homework. Accessed 28 Apr. 2024.

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What’s the point of homework?

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Homework hasn’t changed much in the past few decades. Most children are still sent home with about an hour’s worth of homework each day, mostly practising what they were taught in class.

If we look internationally, homework is assigned in every country that participated in the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2012.

Across the participating countries, 15-year-old students reported spending almost five hours per week doing homework in 2012. Australian students spent six hours per week on average on homework. Students in Singapore spent seven hours on homework, and in Shanghai, China they did homework for about 14 hours per week on average.

Read more: Aussie students are a year behind students 10 years ago in science, maths and reading

Shanghai and Singapore routinely score higher than Australia in the PISA maths, science and reading tests. But homework could just be one of the factors leading to higher results. In Finland, which also scores higher than Australia, students spent less than three hours on homework per week.

So, what’s the purpose of homework and what does the evidence say about whether it fulfils its purpose?

Why do teachers set homework?

Each school in Australia has its own homework policy developed in consultation with teachers and parents or caregivers, under the guiding principles of state or regional education departments.

For instance, according to the New South Wales homework policy “… tasks should be assigned by teachers with a specific, explicit learning purpose”.

Homework in NSW should also be “purposeful and designed to meet specific learning goals”, and “built on knowledge, skills and understanding developed in class”. But there is limited, if any, guidance on how often homework should be set.

Research based on teacher interviews shows they set homework for a range of reasons. These include to:

establish and improve communication between parents and children about learning

help children be more responsible, confident and disciplined

practise or review material from class

determine children’s understanding of the lesson and/or skills

introduce new material to be presented in class

provide students with opportunities to apply and integrate skills to new situations or interest areas

get students to use their own skills to create work.

So, does homework achieve what teachers intend it to?

Do we know if it ‘works’?

Studies on homework are frequently quite general, and don’t consider specific types of homework tasks. So it isn’t easy to measure how effective homework could be, or to compare studies.

But there are several things we can say.

First, it’s better if every student gets the kind of homework task that benefits them personally, such as one that helps them answer questions they had, or understand a problem they couldn’t quite grasp in class. This promotes students’ confidence and control of their own learning.

Read more: Learning from home is testing students' online search skills. Here are 3 ways to improve them

Giving students repetitive tasks may not have much value . For instance, calculating the answer to 120 similar algorithms, such as adding two different numbers 120 times may make the student think maths is irrelevant and boring. In this case, children are not being encouraged to find solutions but simply applying a formula they learnt in school.

In primary schools, homework that aims to improve children’s confidence and learning discipline can be beneficial. For example, children can be asked to practise giving a presentation on a topic of their interest. This could help build their competence in speaking in front of a class.

Homework can also highlight equity issues. It can be particularly burdensome for socioeconomically disadvantaged students who may not have a space, the resources or as much time due to family and work commitments. Their parents may also not feel capable of supporting them or have their own work commitments.

According to the PISA studies mentioned earlier, socioeconomically disadvantaged 15 year olds spend nearly three hours less on homework each week than their advantaged peers.

Read more: 'I was astonished at how quickly they made gains': online tutoring helps struggling students catch up

What kind of homework is best?

Homework can be engaging and contribute to learning if it is more than just a sheet of maths or list of spelling words not linked to class learning. From summarising various studies’ findings, “good” homework should be:

personalised to each child rather than the same for all students in the class. This is more likely to make a difference to a child’s learning and performance

achievable, so the child can complete it independently, building skills in managing their time and behaviour

aligned to the learning in the classroom.

If you aren’t happy with the homework your child is given then approach the school. If your child is having difficulty with doing the homework, the teacher needs to know. It shouldn’t be burdensome for you or your children.

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Does homework really work?

by: Leslie Crawford | Updated: December 12, 2023

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You know the drill. It’s 10:15 p.m., and the cardboard-and-toothpick Golden Gate Bridge is collapsing. The pages of polynomials have been abandoned. The paper on the Battle of Waterloo seems to have frozen in time with Napoleon lingering eternally over his breakfast at Le Caillou. Then come the tears and tantrums — while we parents wonder, Does the gain merit all this pain? Is this just too much homework?

However the drama unfolds night after night, year after year, most parents hold on to the hope that homework (after soccer games, dinner, flute practice, and, oh yes, that childhood pastime of yore known as playing) advances their children academically.

But what does homework really do for kids? Is the forest’s worth of book reports and math and spelling sheets the average American student completes in their 12 years of primary schooling making a difference? Or is it just busywork?

Homework haterz

Whether or not homework helps, or even hurts, depends on who you ask. If you ask my 12-year-old son, Sam, he’ll say, “Homework doesn’t help anything. It makes kids stressed-out and tired and makes them hate school more.”

Nothing more than common kid bellyaching?

Maybe, but in the fractious field of homework studies, it’s worth noting that Sam’s sentiments nicely synopsize one side of the ivory tower debate. Books like The End of Homework , The Homework Myth , and The Case Against Homework the film Race to Nowhere , and the anguished parent essay “ My Daughter’s Homework is Killing Me ” make the case that homework, by taking away precious family time and putting kids under unneeded pressure, is an ineffective way to help children become better learners and thinkers.

One Canadian couple took their homework apostasy all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. After arguing that there was no evidence that it improved academic performance, they won a ruling that exempted their two children from all homework.

So what’s the real relationship between homework and academic achievement?

How much is too much?

To answer this question, researchers have been doing their homework on homework, conducting and examining hundreds of studies. Chris Drew Ph.D., founder and editor at The Helpful Professor recently compiled multiple statistics revealing the folly of today’s after-school busy work. Does any of the data he listed below ring true for you?

• 45 percent of parents think homework is too easy for their child, primarily because it is geared to the lowest standard under the Common Core State Standards .

• 74 percent of students say homework is a source of stress , defined as headaches, exhaustion, sleep deprivation, weight loss, and stomach problems.

• Students in high-performing high schools spend an average of 3.1 hours a night on homework , even though 1 to 2 hours is the optimal duration, according to a peer-reviewed study .

Not included in the list above is the fact many kids have to abandon activities they love — like sports and clubs — because homework deprives them of the needed time to enjoy themselves with other pursuits.

Conversely, The Helpful Professor does list a few pros of homework, noting it teaches discipline and time management, and helps parents know what’s being taught in the class.

The oft-bandied rule on homework quantity — 10 minutes a night per grade (starting from between 10 to 20 minutes in first grade) — is listed on the National Education Association’s website and the National Parent Teacher Association’s website , but few schools follow this rule.

Do you think your child is doing excessive homework? Harris Cooper Ph.D., author of a meta-study on homework , recommends talking with the teacher. “Often there is a miscommunication about the goals of homework assignments,” he says. “What appears to be problematic for kids, why they are doing an assignment, can be cleared up with a conversation.” Also, Cooper suggests taking a careful look at how your child is doing the assignments. It may seem like they’re taking two hours, but maybe your child is wandering off frequently to get a snack or getting distracted.

Less is often more

If your child is dutifully doing their work but still burning the midnight oil, it’s worth intervening to make sure your child gets enough sleep. A 2012 study of 535 high school students found that proper sleep may be far more essential to brain and body development.

For elementary school-age children, Cooper’s research at Duke University shows there is no measurable academic advantage to homework. For middle-schoolers, Cooper found there is a direct correlation between homework and achievement if assignments last between one to two hours per night. After two hours, however, achievement doesn’t improve. For high schoolers, Cooper’s research suggests that two hours per night is optimal. If teens have more than two hours of homework a night, their academic success flatlines. But less is not better. The average high school student doing homework outperformed 69 percent of the students in a class with no homework.

Many schools are starting to act on this research. A Florida superintendent abolished homework in her 42,000 student district, replacing it with 20 minutes of nightly reading. She attributed her decision to “ solid research about what works best in improving academic achievement in students .”

More family time

A 2020 survey by Crayola Experience reports 82 percent of children complain they don’t have enough quality time with their parents. Homework deserves much of the blame. “Kids should have a chance to just be kids and do things they enjoy, particularly after spending six hours a day in school,” says Alfie Kohn, author of The Homework Myth . “It’s absurd to insist that children must be engaged in constructive activities right up until their heads hit the pillow.”

By far, the best replacement for homework — for both parents and children — is bonding, relaxing time together.

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What’s the Right Amount of Homework?

Decades of research show that homework has some benefits, especially for students in middle and high school—but there are risks to assigning too much.

Many teachers and parents believe that homework helps students build study skills and review concepts learned in class. Others see homework as disruptive and unnecessary, leading to burnout and turning kids off to school. Decades of research show that the issue is more nuanced and complex than most people think: Homework is beneficial, but only to a degree. Students in high school gain the most, while younger kids benefit much less.

The National PTA and the National Education Association support the “ 10-minute homework guideline ”—a nightly 10 minutes of homework per grade level. But many teachers and parents are quick to point out that what matters is the quality of the homework assigned and how well it meets students’ needs, not the amount of time spent on it.

The guideline doesn’t account for students who may need to spend more—or less—time on assignments. In class, teachers can make adjustments to support struggling students, but at home, an assignment that takes one student 30 minutes to complete may take another twice as much time—often for reasons beyond their control. And homework can widen the achievement gap, putting students from low-income households and students with learning disabilities at a disadvantage.

However, the 10-minute guideline is useful in setting a limit: When kids spend too much time on homework, there are real consequences to consider.

Small Benefits for Elementary Students

As young children begin school, the focus should be on cultivating a love of learning, and assigning too much homework can undermine that goal. And young students often don’t have the study skills to benefit fully from homework, so it may be a poor use of time (Cooper, 1989 ; Cooper et al., 2006 ; Marzano & Pickering, 2007 ). A more effective activity may be nightly reading, especially if parents are involved. The benefits of reading are clear: If students aren’t proficient readers by the end of third grade, they’re less likely to succeed academically and graduate from high school (Fiester, 2013 ).

For second-grade teacher Jacqueline Fiorentino, the minor benefits of homework did not outweigh the potential drawback of turning young children against school at an early age, so she experimented with dropping mandatory homework. “Something surprising happened: They started doing more work at home,” Fiorentino writes . “This inspiring group of 8-year-olds used their newfound free time to explore subjects and topics of interest to them.” She encouraged her students to read at home and offered optional homework to extend classroom lessons and help them review material.

Moderate Benefits for Middle School Students

As students mature and develop the study skills necessary to delve deeply into a topic—and to retain what they learn—they also benefit more from homework. Nightly assignments can help prepare them for scholarly work, and research shows that homework can have moderate benefits for middle school students (Cooper et al., 2006 ). Recent research also shows that online math homework, which can be designed to adapt to students’ levels of understanding, can significantly boost test scores (Roschelle et al., 2016 ).

There are risks to assigning too much, however: A 2015 study found that when middle school students were assigned more than 90 to 100 minutes of daily homework, their math and science test scores began to decline (Fernández-Alonso, Suárez-Álvarez, & Muñiz, 2015 ). Crossing that upper limit can drain student motivation and focus. The researchers recommend that “homework should present a certain level of challenge or difficulty, without being so challenging that it discourages effort.” Teachers should avoid low-effort, repetitive assignments, and assign homework “with the aim of instilling work habits and promoting autonomous, self-directed learning.”

In other words, it’s the quality of homework that matters, not the quantity. Brian Sztabnik, a veteran middle and high school English teacher, suggests that teachers take a step back and ask themselves these five questions :

• How long will it take to complete?
• Have all learners been considered?
• Will an assignment encourage future success?
• Will an assignment place material in a context the classroom cannot?
• Does an assignment offer support when a teacher is not there?

More Benefits for High School Students, but Risks as Well

By the time they reach high school, students should be well on their way to becoming independent learners, so homework does provide a boost to learning at this age, as long as it isn’t overwhelming (Cooper et al., 2006 ; Marzano & Pickering, 2007 ). When students spend too much time on homework—more than two hours each night—it takes up valuable time to rest and spend time with family and friends. A 2013 study found that high school students can experience serious mental and physical health problems, from higher stress levels to sleep deprivation, when assigned too much homework (Galloway, Conner, & Pope, 2013 ).

Homework in high school should always relate to the lesson and be doable without any assistance, and feedback should be clear and explicit.

Teachers should also keep in mind that not all students have equal opportunities to finish their homework at home, so incomplete homework may not be a true reflection of their learning—it may be more a result of issues they face outside of school. They may be hindered by issues such as lack of a quiet space at home, resources such as a computer or broadband connectivity, or parental support (OECD, 2014 ). In such cases, giving low homework scores may be unfair.

Since the quantities of time discussed here are totals, teachers in middle and high school should be aware of how much homework other teachers are assigning. It may seem reasonable to assign 30 minutes of daily homework, but across six subjects, that’s three hours—far above a reasonable amount even for a high school senior. Psychologist Maurice Elias sees this as a common mistake: Individual teachers create homework policies that in aggregate can overwhelm students. He suggests that teachers work together to develop a school-wide homework policy and make it a key topic of back-to-school night and the first parent-teacher conferences of the school year.

Parents Play a Key Role

Homework can be a powerful tool to help parents become more involved in their child’s learning (Walker et al., 2004 ). It can provide insights into a child’s strengths and interests, and can also encourage conversations about a child’s life at school. If a parent has positive attitudes toward homework, their children are more likely to share those same values, promoting academic success.

But it’s also possible for parents to be overbearing, putting too much emphasis on test scores or grades, which can be disruptive for children (Madjar, Shklar, & Moshe, 2015 ). Parents should avoid being overly intrusive or controlling—students report feeling less motivated to learn when they don’t have enough space and autonomy to do their homework (Orkin, May, & Wolf, 2017 ; Patall, Cooper, & Robinson, 2008 ; Silinskas & Kikas, 2017 ). So while homework can encourage parents to be more involved with their kids, it’s important to not make it a source of conflict.

25 Metaphors for Homework

Homework – a word that can evoke a wide range of emotions in students, from dread to determination. It’s a crucial aspect of education, a bridge between classroom learning and independent understanding.

However, sometimes it feels like a never-ending struggle. But what if we looked at homework differently? What if we used metaphors to describe it, making it seem less like a chore and more like an adventure?

In this article, we’ll explore various metaphors for homework, each shedding light on a unique aspect of this academic endeavor.

Metaphors for Homework

1. a set of instructions or steps.

Meaning: Homework can be likened to a set of instructions or steps, similar to following a recipe.

In a Sentence: Just as a chef follows a recipe to create a culinary masterpiece, students follow the instructions in their homework to master a subject.

2. A Road to Travel

Meaning: Homework can be seen as a journey or path towards learning and understanding, like traveling down a road.

In a Sentence: Each assignment is a mile marker on the road of education, guiding students on their quest for knowledge.

3. A Fish to Catch

Meaning: Homework can involve trying to “catch” new concepts or ideas, similar to how one might try to catch a fish.

In a Sentence: Students cast their mental nets into the vast sea of information, hoping to catch the elusive understanding hidden beneath the surface.

4. A Ship to Steer

Meaning: Homework can involve navigating your way through new material, similar to steering a ship.

In a Sentence: Just as a captain must navigate through treacherous waters, students steer their way through complex assignments, avoiding pitfalls along the way.

5. A Tool to Use

Meaning: Homework can be seen as a means to an end, like a tool that is used to accomplish a task.

In a Sentence: Homework serves as a versatile tool in the educational toolbox, helping students sharpen their cognitive skills.

6. A Canvas to Paint

Meaning: Homework can be seen as an opportunity to create and express yourself, similar to painting on a canvas.

In a Sentence: Each assignment is a blank canvas where students can brush strokes of their unique understanding, creating a masterpiece of comprehension.

7. A Battle to Fight

Meaning: Homework can sometimes feel like a struggle or a challenge that needs to be overcome, like a battle.

In a Sentence: Armed with knowledge as their sword and determination as their shield, students engage in the intellectual battles of homework.

8. A Journey to Embark On

Meaning: Homework can be seen as a journey of discovery and learning, like embarking on a new adventure.

In a Sentence: Every homework assignment is an exciting expedition into the uncharted territories of knowledge, full of surprises and revelations.

9. A Treasure to Hunt For

Meaning: Homework can involve searching for and uncovering new information or knowledge, similar to hunting for treasure.

In a Sentence: With each assignment, students become modern-day treasure hunters, sifting through information to find the golden nuggets of wisdom hidden within.

10. A Plant to Water

Meaning: Homework can involve nurturing and maintaining your understanding of a subject, similar to watering a plant to keep it healthy.

In a Sentence: Just as a gardener cares for their plants, students must regularly tend to their understanding by completing homework assignments to ensure it grows and flourishes.

11. A Puzzle to Solve

Meaning: Homework can be likened to a puzzle, where students must piece together information and concepts to form a complete picture.

In a Sentence: Each assignment is a puzzle waiting to be solved, with every answer contributing to the bigger picture of understanding.

12. A Marathon to Run

Meaning: Homework can be seen as a long-distance race, where consistency and pacing are key to reaching the finish line successfully.

In a Sentence: Education is not a sprint; it’s a marathon, and homework is a daily training session to build endurance and knowledge.

13. A Symphony to Compose

Meaning: Homework can be compared to composing a symphony, where different elements must harmonize to create a beautiful piece of work.

In a Sentence: Like a composer crafting a symphony, students craft their assignments, ensuring that each part contributes to the overall harmony.

14. A Code to Crack

Meaning: Homework can be like deciphering a complex code, where students work diligently to understand and solve the intricacies of a subject.

In a Sentence: Each assignment presents a code to be cracked, and with perseverance, students unveil the secrets hidden within.

15. A Garden to Cultivate

Meaning: Homework can be seen as a garden to cultivate, where students plant the seeds of knowledge and nurture their growth over time.

In a Sentence: Just as a gardener tends to their plants, students must care for their understanding, allowing it to bloom with each completed assignment.

16. A Map to Follow

Meaning: Homework can be likened to following a map, where each task guides students on a journey through the landscape of learning.

In a Sentence: Each homework assignment is a map, leading students through the terrain of knowledge, helping them explore and navigate.

17. A Story to Write

Meaning: Homework can be compared to writing a story, where students craft narratives of their own understanding and insights.

In a Sentence: With each assignment, students become storytellers, weaving together facts and ideas to create compelling narratives of learning.

18. A Recipe to Master

Meaning: Homework can be seen as a recipe to master, with each step representing a key ingredient in the dish of comprehension.

In a Sentence: Just as a chef perfects a recipe, students perfect their understanding by diligently following the steps of their assignments.

19. A Puzzle to Assemble

Meaning: Homework can be like assembling a jigsaw puzzle, where students fit together the pieces of knowledge to complete the big picture.

In a Sentence: Each homework task is a puzzle piece, and students become expert puzzle solvers, completing the grand educational image.

20. A Building to Construct

Meaning: Homework can be likened to constructing a building, where each assignment contributes to the foundation of knowledge.

In a Sentence: Education is a construction project, and students are the builders, laying each brick of understanding with their homework efforts.

21. A Sculpture to Shape

Meaning: Homework can be compared to sculpting a masterpiece, where students chisel away at their understanding to reveal the beauty of knowledge.

In a Sentence: Each assignment is a block of marble, and students are the sculptors, shaping their comprehension with each refined detail.

22. A Puzzle to Navigate

Meaning: Homework can be like navigating through a labyrinth, where students must find their way through complex concepts and ideas.

In a Sentence: Much like an intrepid explorer in a maze, students navigate the intricate paths of homework assignments, aiming to emerge victorious.

23. A Bridge to Cross

Meaning: Homework can be seen as a bridge connecting what students know to what they need to learn, helping them cross over to a deeper understanding.

In a Sentence: With each assignment, students build bridges of knowledge, enabling them to cross over into uncharted territories of learning.

24. A Puzzle to Piece Together

Meaning: Homework can be likened to piecing together a jigsaw puzzle, where each element represents a crucial part of the overall comprehension.

In a Sentence: Just as puzzle enthusiasts meticulously connect pieces to reveal a picture, students piece together concepts in their assignments to see the complete educational image.

25. A Song to Compose

Meaning: Homework can be compared to composing a musical masterpiece, where students harmonize the notes of knowledge to create beautiful compositions.

In a Sentence: Like composers crafting symphonies, students craft their assignments, ensuring that every element contributes to the melodious tune of understanding.

These metaphors for homework offer a rich tapestry of perspectives, each highlighting a distinct facet of the educational journey. By adopting these metaphors, students can shift their mindset from mere homework completion to engaging in exciting adventures, solving puzzles, composing symphonies, and nurturing gardens of knowledge. Homework becomes not just a task but a canvas for creativity and exploration.

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Is Homework Good or Bad for Students?

It's mostly good, especially for the sciences, but it also can be bad

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Homework isn't fun for students to do or for teachers to grade, so why do it? Here are some reasons why homework is good and why it's bad.

Why Homework Is Good

Here are 10 reasons why homework is good, especially for the sciences, such as chemistry:

• Doing homework teaches you how to learn on your own and work independently. You'll learn how to use resources such as texts, libraries, and the internet. No matter how well you thought you understood the material in class, there will be times when you'll get stuck doing homework. When you face the challenge, you learn how to get help, how to deal with frustration, and how to persevere.
• Homework helps you learn beyond the scope of the class. Example problems from teachers and textbooks show you how to do an assignment. The acid test is seeing whether you truly understand the material and can do the work on your own. In science classes, homework problems are critically important. You see concepts in a whole new light, so you'll know how equations work in general, not just how they work for a particular example. In chemistry, physics, and math, homework is truly important and not just busywork.
• It shows you what the teacher thinks is important to learn, so you'll have a better idea of what to expect on a quiz or test .
• It's often a significant part of your grade . If you don't do it, it could cost you , no matter how well you do on exams.
• Homework is a good opportunity to connect parents, classmates, and siblings with your education. The better your support network, the more likely you are to succeed in class.
• Homework, however tedious it might be, teaches responsibility and accountability. For some classes, homework is an essential part of learning the subject matter.
• Homework nips procrastination in the bud. One reason teachers give homework and attach a big part of your grade to it is to motivate you to keep up. If you fall behind, you could fail.
• How will you get all your work done before class? Homework teaches you time management and how to prioritize tasks.
• Homework reinforces the concepts taught in class. The more you work with them, the more likely you are to learn them. 
• Homework can help boost self-esteem . Or, if it's not going well, it helps you identify problems before they get out of control.

Sometimes Homework Is Bad

So, homework is good because it can boost your grades , help you learn the material, and prepare you for tests. It's not always beneficial, however. Sometimes homework hurts more than it helps. Here are five ways homework can be bad:

• You need a break from a subject so you don't burn out or lose interest. Taking a break helps you learn.
• Too much homework can lead to copying and cheating.
• Homework that is pointless busywork can lead to a negative impression of a subject (not to mention a teacher).
• It takes time away from families, friends, jobs, and other ways to spend your time.
• Homework can hurt your grades. It forces you to make time management decisions, sometimes putting you in a no-win situation. Do you take the time to do the homework or spend it studying concepts or doing work for another subject? If you don't have the time for the homework, you could hurt your grades even if you ace the tests and understand the subject.
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Student Opinion

Should We Get Rid of Homework?

Some educators are pushing to get rid of homework. Would that be a good thing?

By Jeremy Engle and Michael Gonchar

Do you like doing homework? Do you think it has benefited you educationally?

Has homework ever helped you practice a difficult skill — in math, for example — until you mastered it? Has it helped you learn new concepts in history or science? Has it helped to teach you life skills, such as independence and responsibility? Or, have you had a more negative experience with homework? Does it stress you out, numb your brain from busywork or actually make you fall behind in your classes?

Should we get rid of homework?

In “ The Movement to End Homework Is Wrong, ” published in July, the Times Opinion writer Jay Caspian Kang argues that homework may be imperfect, but it still serves an important purpose in school. The essay begins:

Do students really need to do their homework? As a parent and a former teacher, I have been pondering this question for quite a long time. The teacher side of me can acknowledge that there were assignments I gave out to my students that probably had little to no academic value. But I also imagine that some of my students never would have done their basic reading if they hadn’t been trained to complete expected assignments, which would have made the task of teaching an English class nearly impossible. As a parent, I would rather my daughter not get stuck doing the sort of pointless homework I would occasionally assign, but I also think there’s a lot of value in saying, “Hey, a lot of work you’re going to end up doing in your life is pointless, so why not just get used to it?” I certainly am not the only person wondering about the value of homework. Recently, the sociologist Jessica McCrory Calarco and the mathematics education scholars Ilana Horn and Grace Chen published a paper, “ You Need to Be More Responsible: The Myth of Meritocracy and Teachers’ Accounts of Homework Inequalities .” They argued that while there’s some evidence that homework might help students learn, it also exacerbates inequalities and reinforces what they call the “meritocratic” narrative that says kids who do well in school do so because of “individual competence, effort and responsibility.” The authors believe this meritocratic narrative is a myth and that homework — math homework in particular — further entrenches the myth in the minds of teachers and their students. Calarco, Horn and Chen write, “Research has highlighted inequalities in students’ homework production and linked those inequalities to differences in students’ home lives and in the support students’ families can provide.”

Mr. Kang argues:

But there’s a defense of homework that doesn’t really have much to do with class mobility, equality or any sense of reinforcing the notion of meritocracy. It’s one that became quite clear to me when I was a teacher: Kids need to learn how to practice things. Homework, in many cases, is the only ritualized thing they have to do every day. Even if we could perfectly equalize opportunity in school and empower all students not to be encumbered by the weight of their socioeconomic status or ethnicity, I’m not sure what good it would do if the kids didn’t know how to do something relentlessly, over and over again, until they perfected it. Most teachers know that type of progress is very difficult to achieve inside the classroom, regardless of a student’s background, which is why, I imagine, Calarco, Horn and Chen found that most teachers weren’t thinking in a structural inequalities frame. Holistic ideas of education, in which learning is emphasized and students can explore concepts and ideas, are largely for the types of kids who don’t need to worry about class mobility. A defense of rote practice through homework might seem revanchist at this moment, but if we truly believe that schools should teach children lessons that fall outside the meritocracy, I can’t think of one that matters more than the simple satisfaction of mastering something that you were once bad at. That takes homework and the acknowledgment that sometimes a student can get a question wrong and, with proper instruction, eventually get it right.

Students, read the entire article, then tell us:

Should we get rid of homework? Why, or why not?

Is homework an outdated, ineffective or counterproductive tool for learning? Do you agree with the authors of the paper that homework is harmful and worsens inequalities that exist between students’ home circumstances?

Or do you agree with Mr. Kang that homework still has real educational value?

When you get home after school, how much homework will you do? Do you think the amount is appropriate, too much or too little? Is homework, including the projects and writing assignments you do at home, an important part of your learning experience? Or, in your opinion, is it not a good use of time? Explain.

In these letters to the editor , one reader makes a distinction between elementary school and high school:

Homework’s value is unclear for younger students. But by high school and college, homework is absolutely essential for any student who wishes to excel. There simply isn’t time to digest Dostoyevsky if you only ever read him in class.

What do you think? How much does grade level matter when discussing the value of homework?

Is there a way to make homework more effective?

If you were a teacher, would you assign homework? What kind of assignments would you give and why?

Want more writing prompts? You can find all of our questions in our Student Opinion column . Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate them into your classroom.

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.

Jeremy Engle joined The Learning Network as a staff editor in 2018 after spending more than 20 years as a classroom humanities and documentary-making teacher, professional developer and curriculum designer working with students and teachers across the country. More about Jeremy Engle