Exploring Writing 2nd Edition by John Langan

Exercise 46

The three paragraphs that follow lack sufficient supporting details. In each paragraph, identify the spot or spots where more specific details are needed.
1.
Chicken: Our Best Friend
1 Chicken is the best-selling meat today for a number of good reasons. 2 First of all, its reasonable cost puts it within everyone's reach. 3 Chicken is popular, too, because it can be prepared in so many different ways. 4 It can, for example, be cooked by itself, in spaghetti sauce, or with noodles and gravy. 5 It can be baked, boiled, broiled, or fried. 6 Chicken is also convenient. 7 Last and most important, chicken has a high nutritional value. 8 Four ounces of chicken contain twenty-eight grams of protein, which is almost half the recommended daily dietary allowance.
Fill in the blanks: The first spot where supporting details are needed occurs after sentence number _______. The second spot occurs after sentence number _______.
2.
Stresses of Being a Celebrity
1 Celebrities don't have the privacy ordinary people have. 2 The most personal details of their lives are splashed all over the front pages of People and US Weekly. 3 Headlines read, "Posh and Becks Hit the Big Apple" and "Beyoncé and Jay-Z Tie the Knot." 4 Even a celebrity's family is hauled into the spotlight. 5 When Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt spend an afternoon at a private beach in France, millions of people watch-via the Web-sons Maddox and Pax play on the sand. 6 When celebrities try to do the things that regular people do, they run the risk of being photographed by paparazzi or mobbed by fans. 7 Clearly, celebrities pay a high price for fame.
Fill in the blank: The point where details are needed occurs after sentence number ________.
3.
Being on TV
1 People act a little strangely when a television camera comes their way. 2 Some people behave as if a crazy puppeteer were pulling their strings. 3 Their arms jerk wildly about, and they begin jumping up and down for no apparent reason. 4 Often they accompany their body movements with loud screams, squeals, and yelps. 5 Another group of people engage in an activity known as the cover-up. 6 They will be calmly watching a sports game or other televised event when they realize the camera is focused on them. 7 The camera operator can't resist zooming in for a close-up of these people. 8 Then there are those who practice their funny faces on the unsuspecting public. 9 They take advantage of the television time to show off their talents, hoping to get that big break that will carry them to stardom. 10 Finally, there are those who pretend they are above reacting for the camera. 11 They wipe an expression from their faces and appear to be interested in something else. 12 Yet if the camera stays on them long enough, they will slyly check to see if they are still being watched. 13 Everybody's behavior seems to be slightly strange in front of a TV camera.
Fill in the blanks: The first spot where supporting details are needed occurs after sentence number _____. The second spot occurs after sentence number ______.