The following assignment involves working with two passages taken from the same essay. Ive changed the passages by splitting and combining sentences inappropriately to produce errors. Please do as follows:
A) Correct all fragments and run-ons in both passages and
B) Explain your correction in each case using the same format as the example Model for Assignment #4 under Content for Week 4.
In your corrections, do not add or subtract words or change the wording in any way. All corrections must be made by changing the punctuation alone, exactly as in the example: getting rid of the periods that cause fragments (and replacing them with commas where necessary) and changing the comma splices to periods. Keep in mind as well that attempted corrections increasing the number of errors in the passage will result in marks deducted and that explanations of corrections made must indicate a knowledge of the appropriate principles of grammar as covered in the course content.
1. There were a number of factors that caused my car accident on Deerfoot Trail last week, first, the weather was horrible that night. It was dark, and the rain made it even harder to see where I was going. The rain also made the roads very slippery. Which meant that controlling my car was more difficult than usual. There was another factor that made the car difficult to control that night, I was returning home with a very heavy concrete birdbath for our backyard. When I slammed on my brakes and turned the steering wheel to avoid getting hit, the weight in my trunk shifted. And caused the back end of my car to swing around. Perhaps the most important factor was negligence, the driver of a black sports car was speeding and driving erratically. Rather than slow down when I changed into his lane ahead of him, he sped up, swerved and cut directly in front of me. I had to slam on my brakes. And turn my steering wheel sharply to avoid hitting him. As a result, my car spun around in a complete circle in the middle of the highway. I wound up in a ditch on the side of the road. A little shaken but realizing things could have ended much worse.
2. Both the East Coast and the big city where I live leave distinct impressions, but its the East Coast to which I am undeniably partial. When I was riding a bus between Louisbourg and Sydney, Nova Scotia, an old man waved the bus down, boarded, and handed the driver a large fish to pay for his fare. In the city, exact change is the rule on the bus. And that only in coin of the realm. In St. Johns, Newfoundland, I found that some nightclubs and bars remained open until the last customer had left. And that the best time was had when patrons brought their own musical instruments and set up some Down East foot-stompin music. Back home, you sit, behave yourself, and drink your beer, or out you go
. Do I sound biased toward the East? If youre not from the East, take your next vacation there, youll see what I mean.