Fix-it Writing: Using Conjunctions 2

Using conjunctions

SESSION 02: TO SUIT PURPOSE

By the end of this session you should be much better at:

using conjunctions to link information usefully in different ways.

​Objectives

Different conjunctions do different things: they have different purposes. For example:

Fatima ate her sandwiches because she was hungry.

Because is a conjunction, and its purpose is to give a reason. In this sentence because introduces the reason why Fatima ate her sandwiches.

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​What are conjunctions for?

Some more conjunctions

Although rainforests are important places, they are being cut down all the time.  Many more animals and plants will die out if the rainforests go on being cut down. Wherever the trees are felled, the animals living there have to look for new places to live. As the forests shrink, there are fewer places for the animals to flee to. Most rainforest has already been cut down so that humans can have wood for furniture and land for grazing cattle. Rainforests are also threatened by climate change.

The increasing heat dries out the leaf litter until it catches fire.  Whenever fires start, they spread quickly. While temperatures continue to rise, more and more forest will be destroyed by fire.

Using conjunctions to show how information is joined

​Below is a student’s report on their trip to the zoo. They were asked to write about their day out and what they learned.

We went to the zoo. We were doing a study for science. We set out very early. We got there late. The traffic was bad. We finally arrived. We split up into small groups. We weren’t allowed to go round on our own. We always had to wait for our teacher. We couldn’t just go to the toilet. We had to have permission. We had to take notes and pictures. That was going to help us to remember what we saw. I ran out of money quickly. I kept buying sweets and drinks. I’ll take more money next time.

This writing:

·      is not very well organised

·      doesn’t use conjunctions to show how things link up

·      doesn’t explain very clearly.

Rewrite the student’s zoo visit text so that it is clearer and better organised. Use conjunctions to link information together. Choose from these conjunctions:

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Open Ended

Write your better version below. An opening has been suggested as an example:

Because we were doing a study for science, we went to the zoo

You are going to write about a day out you have had. You could write about a school trip or a day out with your family or friends. For example, your trip might have been to a castle, a town in your home country, an amusement park, or somewhere else.

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Writing about your own day out.

Writing about your own trip

​First, try to remember as much as you can about:

·      where you went

·      why you went there

·      who you were with

·      what it was like

·      what happened

·      what you learned or discovered.

Remember how you improved the 'Zoo visit', and

• organise your writing clearly

• use conjunctions to show how ideas and information link together

• sometimes try putting the conjunction at the start of the sentence (e.g. When I first saw the lion, I thought …).

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