Vocabulary - Use It Or Lose It (Part 18)

Check out these vocabulary words. Which one or ones do you know? Which one or ones don't you know? Please post 1-2 words (with the meanings) that you know and 1-2 words (with the meanings) that you didn't know (prior to this blog entry).

A	B
berate	"to criticize or scold harshly."
estrange	"to drive away or alienate."
euphoric	"very happy, overjoyed."
impetuous	"impulsive, done in a hurry."
infallible	"perfect,unable to make a mistake."
maudlin	"overly emotional,tearfully sentimental."
regress	"to go backward,to return to a worse condition."
relinquish	"to yield or surrender."
ubiquitous	"found or existing everywhere"
zenith	"the highest point, the peak."

(Words from http://www.quia.com/jg/527603list.html.)

Tell me a story - March's edition

Before March is over, let's have some fun with writing! The Monday (March 23rd) blog topic dealt with brainstorming some terms that you think of when you hear "spring." (To participate in that topic, click here.)

Use those brainstorming terms & develop a short (3-6 sentence) story. Please share your brainstorming terms before you write your story. (If already participated in the brainstorming, but can't recall what you used, click here.)

I'll start!

My terms were warmer weather, greener grass, rain storms, flowers.

The warmer weather had arrived to Tracy's neighborhood. There was greener grass all over and kids were outside playing every day. Only when rain storms arrived did the children go inside to play. Every yard had colorful pink, yellow, and purple flowers outside. What a beautiful site it was!

Now you go!

Vocabulary - Technology Terms (Part 3)

Here's the third and final part of vocabulary terms from http://www.tekmom.com/buzzwords/. Check out this list. Find one word that you're very familiar with and check to make sure that the meaning of the word shown on the site is the same as the meaning you think it has. Then, find the word that you're most unfamiliar with, click on it to view the meaning, and post that word with the meaning on the blog. Want an extra challenge? See if you can correctly use that word in a sentence!

monitor
network
peripheral
pixel
processor (micro-)
RAM
RAM vs. Hard Disk
record
scanner
software
spreadsheet
URL
USB
virus
World Wide Web (or Web)

Vocabulary - Technology Terms (Part 2)

Here's the next set of technology terms (from http://www.tekmom.com/buzzwords/) to review. Just like before, please look for 2 or 3 words that you aren't familiar with, click on each word, and look at the definition. Then come back & post what you learned!

download
e-mail
field
floppy disk (diskette)
gigabyte (GB)
hard disk/hard drive
hardware
HTML
icon
initialize
Internet
kilobyte (K)
megabyte (MB)
memory
modem

Vocabulary - Technology Terms (Part 1)

There's a great website that I found (http://www.tekmom.com/buzzwords/) that has important technology words that everyone should know. This blog post & the next two will focus on these words.

Take a look at the first set (shown below). Which 2 or 3 words don't you know (or don't you know that well)? Click on each of those words to see a definition. Then, come back to this blog and report the words you looked up and each one's definition.

backup
binary
bit
browser
byte
cable
CD-ROM
cell
chat
chip (integr. circuit)
computer
CPU
cursor
database
disk drive

Writing - Turning Your Brainstorming Into More!

The last blog post asked you to do some brainstorming on things that came to mind when you thought of the season of "spring." I'd like you to make sure that you participated on that topic and then, once you've done that, think about one of your brainstorming ideas. Turn that into a sentence or two where you're giving more detail about that item.

I'll start!

Brainstorming: warmer weather

Sentences: The spring brings warmer weather. Instead of having cold fronts that bring chilly air, you can count on spring having comfortable temperatures that range from 75 to 80 degrees. What a nice time of year it is to be outside!

Now you try!

Writing - Brainstorming

Any good writing has some planning, pre-writing, and/or brainstorming that happens before the actual writing starts. Did you know that this part of the writing process only needs a few minutes and can be as short as just some words & phrases?

Let's practice this now! Brainstorm some words or phrases that come to mind when you think of the season of spring. (Note: there's no right or wrong answers when doing brainstorming!)

Here are a few things that come to mind for me. Your list may be similar or different!

warmer weather
greener grass
rain storms
flowers

Now let's see your brainstorming list for some spring terms.

Writing - Proper Nouns

I'm sure you remember learning that nouns could be a person, place, or a thing. Nouns can also be singular or plural. But, in general, nouns don't get capitalized unless they are the first word of a sentence. Why do other nouns, like "Bank of America," get capitalized no matter where they are in the sentence? That's because it's a proper noun is the specific name of a person, place, or a thing. Let's look a few examples.

Noun: country
Proper noun: Canada

Noun: city
Proper noun: Hollywood

Noun: teacher
Proper noun: Mrs. Jones

Noun: police officer
Proper noun: Captain Harold Cornwall

Noun: soda
Proper noun: Pepsi

Noun: company
Proper noun: Sony

Now it's your turn. Please write two sentences. One sentence should use a regular (general) noun; the next sentence should use a proper noun representing that same thing. An example is below.

I bought the newspaper at the store. The Sun-Sentinel is my favorite publication.
(My regular noun was "newspaper" and my proper noun was "Sun-Sentinel," which is the name of a specific newspaper.)

Business Vocabulary (Part 3)

With any discussion of business, it's important to include mention of money. Our next set of business vocabulary terms will relate to money! (Who doesn't love that?!)

Visit this link (http://www.englishclub.com/business-english/vocabulary_money.htm). Find 1-2 terms that you don't know (or don't know well) and post the words with their definitions. Can you then write one sentence that incorporates both of those words used correctly? Give it a try!

Business Vocabulary (Part 2)

Next, let's explore some business vocabulary related to meetings. (At some point it seems like we're all in a meeting or hearing about a meeting that happened!)

Visit this link (http://www.englishclub.com/business-english/vocabulary_meetings.htm). Pick 2 or 3 terms that you're not familiar with and post them to this blog. Be sure to review what others have posted too!

Business Vocabulary (Part 1)

With so much emphasis today on the economy and the job market, let's spend some time looking over some important business vocabulary terms that relate to employment.

Visit this link (http://www.englishclub.com/business-english/vocabulary_employment.htm). Find 2-3 terms that you're not totally familiar with and come back to this blog so you can post the words & definitions of each. Then try to use one of those words correctly in a sentence.

Business Writing - Know Your Audience (Part 2)

Did the last blog topic get you thinking about what might need to be done differently if your audience is not a North American company or business person? Let's take a look at what protocols should be followed if you have a Chinese business audience. (Did you know that China is one of the fastest growing business markets in the world?)

This website link (for Perdue's OWL site) will focus on two areas:

• Letters and Memos
• Style considerations

Take a look at the site shown below.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/676/01/

Review the various topics covered. Then come back here & write a few sentences about what you found to be the most different from what you're used to seeing or doing with North American business writing.

Business Writing - Know Your Audience (Part 1)

The Online Writing Lab (sometimes referred to as "OWL") at Perdue University has some excellent writing resources, including the next few sites that this blog will use.

In any type of writing, it's important to know who your audience is and what they are looking for in your writing. Let's take a look at some tips when doing business writing for a North American audience. (Recall that North America comprises Canada, the U.S., and Mexico.)

The topics covered will include:

• Getting to the point
• Keeping it simple
• Using passive and active voice
• Using nondiscriminatory language
• Over-generalizing verbs

Which one, to you, is most important? Please post that topic & the tips/suggestions shared in that section. Be sure to share with us why you thought that particular part was important.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/651/01/

Writing - Business Expressions (Part 2)

The previous blog post let you check out 20 common business idioms. How about a look at another set of 20 to see which ones you know & which ones you don't know?

Check out this site: http://www.teacherjoe.us/BusinessExpressions02.html.

Please review that list, post the 2 idioms that you're least familiar with, and include the meaning of each.

Writing - Business Expressions (Part 1)

There are some common business expressions that you may hear (or read or write). Do you know what they mean? Like some other idioms that we've explored, they mean something different than if you tried to literally interpret them.

http://www.teacherjoe.us/BusinessExpressions01.html

Check out the 20 business expressions. Pick the 2 that you were least familiar with, come back here, and post the expression with its meaning.

Writing - 100 Essential Business Verbs

With yesterday's topic being business nouns, it only makes sense that today we'd focus on business verbs! Take a look at this list of 100 essential business verbs by clicking here: http://www.speakspeak.com/html/d2d_english_top_100_verbs_library.htm.

Review the list, pick out two or more verbs that you're not familiar with, and look them up using an online dictionary (such as Dictionary.com or Merriam-Webster.com). Then return to the blog and post the words with definitions. Be sure to check this topic often, as other people will be added words and we can all learn by reading what's been added!

Being familiar with common business nouns and verbs will not only help you increase your vocabulary, but will also help you understand business related discussions & writings. Aren't those good things?

Writing - 100 Essential Business Nouns

Let's continue our exploration of business writing.

Today, we'll look at 100 essential business nouns. Visit this site (http://www.speakspeak.com/html/d2e_resources_top_100_nouns_library.htm) and review the list.

Pick out the first 2 or 3 words that you're not familiar with and go look up those terms in an online dictionary, such as Dictionary.com or Merriam-Webster.com. Then, once you've gotten the definitions, please come back here, post each word & its definition.

Be sure to return to this blog topic to see what other students have added after your response. It's a quick way to learn more words and to help others learn new terms too!

Writing - Business Letters (Part 2)

Yesterday's blog topic dealt with business letters and various parts that you may see. Hopefully you reviewed those terms & definitions. (If not, visit this link to look over everything before continuing on here with today's topic.)

Test your skills of components of business letters by trying this Quia matching game. Then come back here & write a sentence or two telling us how you did!

Writing - Business Letters

When you write, you've got to know what your purpose is. If you're writing a business letter, there are some components that you're probably going to include. It's just like if you were writing an essay; there are components that must be included with that.

Let's take a look at some common elements on business letters.

A	B
Dateline	Displays the date the letter was keyed and mailed.
Inside Address	Consists of the receiver's name and title, street address or post office box number, and the city/state/zip code.
Salutation	A formal greeting consisting of the receiver's title and last name.
Body	The paragraphs of the letter.
Complimentary Closing	A formal "goodbye" after the body of the paragraph.
Author	The person who wrote the letter.
Author's title	The official title of the author.
Reference initials	The two or three-letter acronym of the name of the one who typed the letter.
Enclosure notation	A note specifying that additional items have been included with the mailing of the letter.
Copy notation	A note signifying that another person will receive a copy of the letter.
Block style	All items of the business letter begin at the left margin.
Modified block style	All items of the business letter begin at the left margin except the date, complimentary closing, and author's name and title, which are keyed begnning at the center point.
Open punctuation	Omit the punctuation following the salutation and complimentary closing.
Mixed punctuation	Use punctuation after the salutation and complimentary closing.

(Chart found by clicking here.)

Which item were you most familiar with? Which item, if any, was new to you? Please share those items with us and be sure to include the definition of each one!

Writing - Antonyms (Part 2)

An antonym is the opposite of a word. If I asked you what the antonym was for "cat," I bet you'd say "dog." What's the antonym of "dry?" Most people would say "wet," but of course other words could be acceptable too (such as "moist," and "saturated").

Try this short Quia antonym activity & see how you do.

http://www.quia.com/cm/233263.html

Once you're done, come back here & post your favorite word & antonym set from the activity.

Writing - Commonly Confused Words

Past blog topics have focused on some commonly confused words, in particular, homonyms. Here's a great site that gives a list of these words.

http://www2.actden.com/writ_Den/tips/sentence/confused.htm

Visit that site and look through the list. Then pick the set (or two) that you tend to get most confused. Come back to this blog and tell us those words, as well as the meanings for each. Challenge yourself to correctly use each of those words in a sentence!