Practice 3: Combining to Imitate

In the model, identify the opening adjectives. Next, combine the list of sentences to imitate the model. Finally, write your own imitation of the model and identify any opening adjectives.

Model: Dark, velvety, the beauty of his mustache was enhanced by his strong clean-shaven chin.
--Toni Morrison, Beloved

a. His cautionary steps were slow.

b. His cautionary steps were weary.

c. His cautionary were caused by something.

d. The cause was the surrounding overexcited horses.

Practice 4: Imitating

1. Identify the opening adjectives in the models and sample imitations. Then write an imitation of each model sentences, one sentence part at a time. Read one of your imitations to see if your classmates can guess which model you imitated.

Models:

1. Wordless, we split up.
--Annie Dillard, An American Childhood

Sample: Wet, the napkin fell apart

2. Cold, dark, and windowless, it stretched the length of the house.
--Jessamyn West, "The Child's Day"

Sample: Hot, humid, and muggy, the weather exhausted the stamina of the bikers.

3. Afraid that we might hunt for a cheaper apartment for the next two weeks and find nothing better than this one, we took it

Sample: Happy that we would escape to a lovely beach for the upcoming one month and have nothing but good time, we left home.

Practice 5: Expanding

The opening adjectives are omitted at the caret mark(^) in the following sentences. For each caret, add an opening adjective or adjective phrase, plending your content and style with the rest of the sentence.

1. ^, I begain climbing the ladder's rungs, slightly reassured by having Finny right behind me.
--John Knowles, A Seperate Peace

2. ^ and ^, he wandered about the many tents, only to find that one place as cold as another.
--Jack London, "To Build a Fire"

3. ^ and ^, my limited reading helped me to know something of a world beyond the four walls of my study.
Christy Brown, My Left Foot

Practice 1: Matching

Directions: Match opening adjectives with the sentences. Write out each sentence inserting the opening adjectives

Opening Adjectives

A. Alive

B. Hot and justy and over-wearied

C. Lonesome

D. Able to move now

E. Frantic, never turning my head-- because the water buffalo had started his charged

Sentences

1. ^, I wanted to run away and be gone from his strange place.
--Keith Donahue, The Stolen Child D

2. ^, I felt behind me, my hand pleading with the rifle
--Theodore Waldeck, "Certain, Sudden Death" E

3. ^, the elephant was worth at least a hundred pounds, but dead, we would only be worth the value of his tusks, five pounds, possibly A
--George Orwell "Shooting an Elephant:

4. ^, he rocked his own body back and forth, breath deeply to release the remembered pain.
--Lois Lowry, The Giver C

5. ^, he came to our door and eases his heavy pack and asked for refreshment, and Devola brought him a pail of water from our spring. B
--Bill and Vera Cleaver, Where the Lilies Bloom

Practice Two: Unscrambling to Imitate

Directions: In the model and the scrambled list, A. identify the opening adjective. B. Next, unscramble and write out the sentence part to imitate the model. C. Finally, write your own imitation of the model and identify the opening adjective.

Model: Speechless, Bryson scanned the small living room, frantically.
--Robert Ludium, The Prometheus Deception

Uncomfortably - opening adj

d. uncomfortable c. Kendra a. hopefully b. spotted the soft inviting sofa

Stubborn, the man ran toward the rising river, hoping for a swim.