AP English Language AMSCO Guided Notes
8.3: Using Modifiers Strategically
AP English Language Guided Notes
AMSCO 8.3 - Using Modifiers Strategically
Essential Questions
- How do writers create, combine, and place clauses to show relationships and clearly convey ideas and arguments?
I. Modifiers
1. What is a modifier and what are the three main purposes modifiers serve in writing?
2. How can modifiers improve writing precision, and what risk do writers face when overusing them?
A. Purposes of Modifiers
1. How do modifiers that clarify function to improve a reader's understanding of a writer's ideas?
2. What are the three main types of modifiers based on what they modify, and what grammatical forms can each type take?
3. What is the difference between modifiers that qualify and modifiers that specify, and what role does each play in precise writing?
II. Placement of Modifiers
1. Why is the placement of modifiers critical to effective writing, and how can placement change a sentence's meaning?
A. Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers
1. What is a misplaced modifier and how does it affect the clarity and meaning of a sentence?
2. What is a dangling modifier and why must a sentence contain a clear subject for the modifier to attach to?
B. Understanding What Different Phrases and Clauses Modify
1. What is a prepositional phrase and what two parts of speech can it modify in a sentence?
2. How should adjectival clauses and adverbial phrases be positioned in sentences to modify their intended words?
III. Parenthetical Elements
1. What are parenthetical elements and what role do they play in advancing a writer's purpose?
A. Sentence, Interrupted
1. How do parentheses, commas, and dashes differ in their rhetorical effect when used to set off parenthetical elements?
2. What does each punctuation choice—parentheses, commas, or dashes—communicate to readers about the importance of the parenthetical information?
3. How can a writer choose between parentheses, commas, and dashes based on the emphasis they want to give to additional information?
Key Terms
commas
dashes
modifiers
parentheses
parenthetical elements