Tutor and Freelance Writer. Science Teacher and Lover of Essays. Article last reviewed: 2020 | St. Rosemary Institution © 2010-2022 | Creative Commons 4.0

Ancient Roman Theater: Comedy, Tragedy, Atellan farce, Pantomime

Roman regarded theatre almost as equal as chariot-racing and gladiatorial contests The two most popular variations were: Comedy & Tragedy Set the foundation for European culture & drama over other forms of ancient entertainment Romans were the only people of classical antiquity to adapt Greek literature into their own language Originally plays were written in…

Biofuels Effects: Social, Economic, Political & Environmental

Political Subsidies and mandatory blending have created an artificially rapid growth in biofuel production, worsening some negative impacts. Existing policies have had a limited effect in achieving energy security and climate change mitigation and therefore need to be reviewed. Government incentives and support for biofuels have been largely guided by national or regional interests rather than a more global perspective. There is…

Erasmus Exercise: Explained

In 1512, the Dutch humanist Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536) published De Copia (meaning “on command of language” or “richness of expression”).  Erasmus’s book was one of the most influential rhetoric texts of the European Renaissance. One exercise in De Copia directs students to compose several hundred variations of one sentence.  This exercise has three purposes: (1)   …

Sentence Components: Parallelism & Sentence Layering

Parallelism is the repetition of a grammatical structure to emphasize a relationship between ideas. Parallelism gives balance, focus, and clarity to a sentence. Parallelism establishes a pattern of repetition that writers can manipulate to create a vast array of rhetorical effects. Examples: Writers can reinforce and emphasize their use of parallelism by repeating one or…

Sentence Components: Periodic & Cumulative Sentence, Absolute Phrase

USE A PERIODIC SENTENCE In a periodic sentence, descriptive elements (or details) introduce the sentence, pushing the complete thought to the end of the sentence. This pattern proves quite effective for emphasis or suspense because the most emphatic point of a sentence is the end.  Periodic sentences are usually long, complex sentences, the independent clause…

Essential (Restictive) Adjective vs. Non-Essential (Non-Restrictive) Adjective Clause

USE AN ESSENTIAL (RESTRICTIVE) ADJECTIVE A subordinate clause = a group of words with a subject and predicate, but dependent on the rest of the sentence to make sense. Essential (restrictive) = necessary or essential to meaning. An adjective = a word that modifies a noun or pronoun. An essential (restrictive) adjective clause = a…

Sentence Components: Adjective, Adjective Phrase, Verb

OPEN WITH AN ADJECTIVE An adjective describes or points out a noun or pronoun. It tells what kind, what color, what number, which one, whose. Adjectives allow distinguishing and specification. They add descriptive details. They also limit or make more definite the meaning of a keyword. Typically, adjectives immediately precede the words they modify; however,…