Answer each of the following questions according to the instructions given. question 1 (a–b) is based on the following paragraph.

a trip to the ocean can be a relaxing escape from the everyday pressures of life. a sailboat glistening on the horizon provides a mental escape to faraway places. the rhythm of the ocean beating against the sand is sedating music to a troubled mind.
a slow, gentle breeze can relax your tensions. you should always be careful to avoid overexposure to the sun at the beach.

a. write the sentence that is the topic sentence of the paragraph.
b. write the sentence that is unrelated to the topic and can be eliminated.
list four things to look for when you’re proofreading.
complete the following two steps:
a. define the term cliché.
b. use a cliché in a sentence that you create.
name and explain two types of prewriting.
choose one of the prompts listed below. write a five-sentence paragraph using chronological order and including a topic sentence to explain the steps that you would take to complete one of the following tasks.
a. preparing for a test
b. preparing to host a party or an event
c. getting ready for work
d. cleaning your room or your home
e. building a snowman, sandcastle, or sculpture
f. creating a budget
choose one of the following topics. write an eight-sentence paragraph that fully develops the topic.
a. following instructions is very important.
b. job training programs (such as job corps) are valuable to both employers and potential employees.
c. advances in technology are making people less social.
d. a high school diploma is important to my future.
e. college is not for everyone.
f. drunk driving can be stopped.

1.       a) A topic sentence is a sentence that conveys the meaning and main message of a paragraph. Here is a topic sentence for this paragraph: An ocean beach is a great place for relaxing and enjoying nature. b) But the dog was still growling, afraid of the strange noise.

2.       There are many things to look for when proofreading, but these four would be the most important: spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure. Spelling mistakes are common not only because people often don’t know how to properly write a word (for example, writing “they’re” instead of “there”), but because it is so easy to make a lapse when writing fast. Grammar errors include verb tense errors, subject-verb agreement errors, etc. Punctuation rules prescribe where to write a comma, dot, colon, semicolon, or any other punctuation mark. Finally, sentence structure is often a problem, even for the advanced speakers of a language.

3.       a) Cliché can be a word or a phrase, or even a whole sentence that has been used so frequently, by so many people, that it is devoid of meaning. It usually happens with expressions that have recently become widely accepted and popular. b) It’s such a pity you couldn’t see him on the battlefield. He was brave as a lion.

4.       Brainstorming is a prewriting practice that we use when we want to come up with as many ideas as possible. We jot down, in short phrases or bulleted points, everything that comes to our mind. The point is that every idea is worth having – so we don’t cast away either of them. Eventually, we will review those ideas, and pick those that seem to be the best. Another practice would be freewriting. We do it when we want to find an inspiration. It is different from brainstorming in that we don’t jot down ideas, but our stream of thoughts – however irrelevant or incongruent they might seem. It is a technique used by great writers such as James Joyce, or Virginia Woolf.

5.       d) When cleaning up a cluttered room, one has to do one thing at a time. First, I have to think hard and realize that I don’t really need half of those things that are scattered everywhere. Then, I try to collect all the garbage and put it in disposal bags. After that, it’s time to get rid of all the dust and cobweb. In comes the vacuum cleaner, and that is usually the end of it.

6.       e) Humanity is a few millennia old. But never did it change more quickly than in the past few decades, with the advancement of technology. It has brought an unprecedented revolution in communication. Things that had been unimaginable, such as talking to a friend at the other side of the globe, are now a normal, everyday thing. This privilege is cheap and affordable to the great majority of the people. However, technology has created a very paradoxical situation. By making the communication swifter, easier, and more efficient than ever, it has downgraded its quality and profundity. It has become utterly normal to see silent and isolated family members at a dinner table, who don’t talk to each other, but stare at their cell phones, talking to their virtual friends and sending them photos of the meals.

technical documents should be clear and precise. basically, clarity is the key element in a successful technical document.