Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Writing - Common Misspellings

When writing, you want to focus on the ideas and how you're conveying them. But don't let your ideas get overshadowed by misspellings. To see a more complete list of the most common misspelled words, visit this link http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0781709.html.

I've picked a few words from that list. Now you get to practice using the word and spelling it correctly. Please select a word and use it in a sentence.

believe
changeable
definite
embarrass
government
grateful
guarantee
independent
knowledge
library

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Writing - What's Your Purpose?

When you write, you always need to have a clear purpose or reason in mind. Are you trying to be serious and convey facts? Do you want to be persuasive and try to get someone to change his or her opinion? Would you like to be funny and make the reader laugh? No matter what you're trying to do, you always need to know your purpose before you even put your pen (or pencil) to the paper!

In previous blog posts, I've asked you to tell me a story where I gave you some items that you had to include. The story could have been funny, romantic, informative, or even scary. This time, I will give you some items to use, but your goal is to make your writing funny or whimsical. Your events, situations, and characters can all be as outlandish, crazy, or odd as you'd like!

As you write your story, be sure to include the following elements: yellow school bus, three packets of artificial sweetener (such as Splenda or Sweet-n-Low), a lawn chair, and Sam's parakeet named Lucille Ball.

I can't wait to see what you come up with! You've got your purpose, you've got your items, and you're ready to get creative!

Monday, February 22, 2010

The Semicolon

Semicolons can be thought of as being very, very similar to periods. They should only be used when what falls on either side of it is a complete thought. Let's look at an example of this!

Today has the most beautiful weather; I spent the whole day outside.

Each part is a complete thought (with a subject and a verb). You could say "Today has the most beautiful weather." That is fine. Then, you could start a new sentence and say "I spent the whole day in the pool." That is also fine. Each of those could be sentences on their own. However, if you'd like to keep them "connected," you can use the semicolon (like you see above).

Now it's your turn. I'd like you to write 2 separate sentences. Then, write those same thoughts as one sentence where there is a semicolon as the punctuation between them.

I'll start!
Separate: My cat is so tired. He spent the whole day sleeping on the comfortable chair.

Combined
:
My cat is so tired; he spent the whole day sleeping on the comfortable chair.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

The Colon

The English language is interesting. There are countless ways to say the same statement. Many times, it just depends on your style of writing. Today, we're going to examine the colon, which is a type of punctuation. The colon looks like this : (two vertical dots). Generally, colons are used to show that a list will follow. Let's look at a two examples. You'll see that the same idea can be written with or without a colon. It just depends on the format you're most comfortable with!

Example 1.)
The guests brought many items: ice, soda, cookies, cake, and even napkins.
Or
The guests brought many items such as ice, soda, cookies, cake, and even napkins.
(Notice that the first sentence uses the colon to symbolize that the list of items will follow. The second sentence doesn't need a colon because it uses the phrase "such as." Both ways are correct.)

Example 2.)
Kevin had a lot to do tonight: study for his test, prepare lunch for his younger sister, and change the oil in his car.
Or
Kevin had a lot to do tonight. He was going to study for his test, prepare lunch for his younger sister, and change the oil in his car.
(Notice that the first sentence uses the colon to symbolize that the list of what Kevin has to do will follow. The second sentence doesn't need a colon because it has separated the thoughts into two complete sentences. Both ways are correct.)


Which way do you prefer? Take a moment and write a sentence that uses a colon. Then, write the same idea, but make your sentence (or sentences) so that no colon is needed.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Vocabulary - Use It Or Lose It (Part 4)

It's time to expand those minds & vocabularies. This next segment is the last section from part 1 of the Academic Word List. Please pick one word and post the definition. You may use an online dictionary (such as this one: http://www.merriam-webster.com.).

role

section

sector

significant

similar

source

specific

structure

theory

variables

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Vocabulary - Use It Or Lose It (Part 3)

It's another installment of the "Academic Word List" to help improve your vocabulary skills! Please pick one word, look it up in a dictionary, and then post the word & its meaning. Choose a word that has not been picked already by another blogger. (HINT: If you do not have a dictionary, you can use an online one! Try this: http://www.merriam-webster.com.)

Here are the next 10 words from that list.
occur
percent

period

policy

principle
procedure
process

required

research

response

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

You've got to love those adverbs!

Adverbs are words that help describe verbs. They tell how something was done. Like adjectives, adverbs help to paint a more exact picture in the reader's mind. Here are some examples of adverbs: quickly, quietly, gladly, angrily, sheepishly, slowly, and loudly.

Read this sentence and picture it.
Samuel ran down the track.

Have you pictured what that event looked like? Are you sure you were picturing it exactly as I had seen it? Well, without an adverb to describe Samuel's running, you can't be sure that your image is the same as what mine is. To make sure we're thinking of something similar, I'll use an adverb. Now read this sentence. When you're done, ask yourself if you have a better, more exact picture of the event and how it happened.
Samuel ran clumsily down the track.

With the inclusion of that one adverb, your vision of Samuel running is now better!

I want you to help me paint a better, more precise picture of some events. Take a look at the sentences below. In the blank, add an adverb that fits the situation. (It's helpful to remember that adverbs usually end in "-ly.") Pick any one sentence and fill in the missing adverb. It's possible that multiple adverbs could be used in one sentence, so don't feel as though there's only one right answer.

1.) Shenea _____ called her sister.
2.) The jack rabbit
_____ ate the carrot in the garden.
3.) Melissa
_____ cooked a Thanksgiving turkey.
4.) April's son
_____ ran into the office.
5.) Spanky the cat
_____ ate his food.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Vocabulary- Use It Or Lose It! (Part 2)

For the blog post on February 1, we were discussing the "Academic Word List" and the importance of vocabulary for good writing. Today's the second installment of vocabulary practice. Here's the next set of words from the list.

Please pick a word, look it up in a dictionary, and then post the word & its meaning. Choose a word that has not been picked already by another blogger. (HINT: If you do not have a dictionary, you can use an online one! Try this: http://www.merriam-webster.com.)

indicate
individual
interpretation
involved
issues
labor
legal
legislation
major
method

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Stop & check the signal words!

When driving, people use signals all of the time. You turn your blinker on to turn left. Your brake lights illuminate when you brake to slow down or stop. The traffic light tells you when to go and when to stop.

In writing, too, signals are important. The signals come in the form of "signal" or "transition" words and those help the reader to follow the order of things. Here are a few examples of some signal words that you probably already use in your writing: "first," "then," "second," "next," "after that," "third," and "lastly." (That's not a complete list of signal words, but to see more of them, visit this URL: http://www.somers.k12.ny.us/intranet/reading/signalwords.html .)

Below you see some signal words that help with chronological order. Please look over that list, pick one or two of the words, and write a sentence for each that demonstrates how it could be used to help improve your writing.

after

afterward


when




not long after

during

finally


first




following

then

initially


later




meanwhile

next

before


now




on (date)

preceding

second


soon




immediately

third

today


until




as soon as

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Vocabulary- Use It Or Lose It!

It's no surprise that vocabulary is a big part of writing. Without vocabulary skills, a person's writing will be average, at best. Of course, we all want writing that's better than average!

The "Academic Word List" is one of several vocabulary lists that does not connect directly with a single particular piece of literature. Instead, it includes ten units of sets of words most frequently found in school text books of all types. (If you're wondering where this word list came from, it was developed by Averil Coxhead, of Victoria University of Wellington, in New Zealand.)

I'm going to post half of the first set of the word list. I'd like you to look over that list, pick a word, look it up in a dictionary, and then post the word & its meaning. Please choose a word that has not been picked already by another blogger. (HINT: If you do not have a dictionary, you can use an online one! Try this: http://www.merriam-webster.com)

This way, we all get to increase our vocabulary skills by working together! Be sure to check this post often, as new words and definitions will be added by the bloggers.

-----

analysis

approach

area

assessment

assume

authority

available

benefit

concept

consistent

constitutional

context

contract

create

data

definition

derived

distribution

economic

environment

established

estimate

evidence

export

factors

financial

formula

function

identified

income

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Writing- Do you have a plan?

How many things in your life exist for which you have a plan? A few key examples come to mind, such as driving somewhere new, cooking a meal, and writing a good essay! Think about it this way: if you lived in Miami and had to drive all the way to Bunnell (FL), would you know all of the roads to take? If you've never been to Bunnell and you don't know where it is, you'd definitely need to have a plan in place before you hopped in your car and took off! Well, writing is no different!

Imagine that your goal is to write an essay about your most memorable trip. You can choose any type of planning, organizing, or pre-writing that you like. For this example, I'm going to stick to my favorite method: the outline! Look at what I have and ask yourself if you can see how my "plan" would then be turned into the essay. Then, show me your "plan" for your essay!

Topic: Memorable Trip (Utah)
Paragraph 1: Intro
Paragraph 2: First time out west
Paragraph 3: Amazing skiing
Paragraph 4: Unique landscape
Paragraph 5: Conclusion

What do you think? That wasn't too hard to do, was it?

Monday, February 1, 2010

The Dreaded Dangling Participle!

Have you ever heard of a dangling participle? It doesn't sound like a good thing, does it? Well, it certainly isn't something you want in your writing. Let's look at why that is the case.

First, we need to talk about what exactly a "participle" is. Every complete sentence will have a subject and a verb. Verbs can take many forms (past, present, or future, for example). A present participle verb is one that ends in "-ing." Some examples of present participle verbs are "running," "cooking," "sleeping," and "eating."

Here's a case of the dreaded dangling participle.
While sleeping, the alarm clock fell off of Tim's table.

Why is that not a correctly written sentence? Look at that phrase in the beginning of the sentence ("while sleeping"). Who or what is that phrase really meant to describe? It's meant to describe Tim. He's the one who was sleeping. However, here's where the problem occurs. Due to the way the sentence is written, it implies that it was the alarm clock that was sleeping! Isn't that silly?

To fix that dreaded dangling participle, you can reword your sentence. Here are a few examples of a correct way to express that statement.
1.) While Tim was sleeping, the alarm clock fell off of the table.
2.) The alarm clock fell off of the table while Tim was sleeping.
3.) While sleeping, Tim heard the alarm clock fall off of the table.


Now it's your turn! I'll give you 5 incorrect sentences, all with dreaded dangling participles. I'd like you to point out what the problem is and then rewrite the sentence to make it correct!
1.) When walking, the sidewalk tripped Lourdes.
2.) Shopping at the mall, multiple bags were held by Carol's husband.
3.) While driving to school, the cell phone rang for Ana.
4.) Installing a new sink, tools were dropped by the plumber.
5.) When thinking about the long holiday weekend, an idea occurred to Mrs. Raether.