2. Look over the writing you've received feedback on: personal essay about a relationship, Kincaid and Baldwin rhetorical analysis comparison essay, "A Brief Study of the British" satire in-class essay, and Hamlet passage analysis essay. What sorts of writing, grammar, and usage issues do you notice in the essays? In the Google document reflect briefly (but specifically and substantially) on your writing, grammar, and usage skills and knowledge.
3. Practice SAT Writing questions (Improving Sentences, Identifying Sentence Errors, and Improving Paragraphs) on the College Board website. Paste evidence of your work into the Google document. Reflect on your performance on the SAT Writing questions. What does your performance suggest about your writing, grammar, and usage skills and knowledge?
4. Learn or reinforce three (3) writing, grammar, and/or usage concepts based on feedback on your prior writing in the class and your performance on the SAT Writing questions. Here's an index of writing, grammar, and usage concepts with links to information and tutorials:
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/index2.htm
5. Show that you've learned or reinforced the concepts by taking three (3) quizzes (and retaking them if necessary). Paste evidence of successful quizzes into your Google Doc. Due on or before January 20.
Quizzes can be found at the end of many lessons/tutorials. They can also be found here:
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quiz_list.htm
6. After taking each quiz briefly (but substantially) reflect what you learned or clarified by reading the tutorial and taking the quiz. Write this reflection in your "Writing, Grammar, and Usage" document.
Finish all steps by Tuesday, January 20.
[Note: What is grammar? What is usage? Here is a short, helpful essay on the subject. The essay also makes an argument.]
***
for the Midyear Exam and beyond
How We Use Language: Style and
Conventions (Semester One)
Homophones (and other frequently confused words) that you should be able to use
properly in all writing assignments.
accept/except, affect/effect,
allusion/illusion, coarse/course, complement/compliment, farther/further,
fewer/less, it’s/its, lay (the past tense of “lie,” meaning to recline) / lay
(present tense of the verb meaning “to place [something] down”), past/passed,
principal/principle, quote/quotation, scene/seen, seam/seem, sight/cite/site,
sole/soul, than/then, their/there/they’re, threw/through, to/too/two,
waist/waste, who’s/whose, your/you’re
Some places to put a comma:
(There are other comma
conventions, but these are some that you should be able to follow in all
writing assignments.)
between two independent
clauses (complete thoughts) that are joined by a coordinating conjunction, such
as but, or, nor, for, yet, and, so. Mr.
Cook wants to listen to the new Yo La Tengo album at home, but first he has to
stay at school to finish this handout.
Do not put a comma before a conjunction in situations like this. I am thinking about listening to Yo La
Tengo and taking out the compost. Lots you put commas before the and in sentences like this. Please
don’t.
between words (or phrases or
clauses) in a list. (Mr. Cook wants you
to know that you should put commas between words, phrases, and clauses.)
between adjectives that
equally modify the same noun. (The tired,
grumpy teacher types up a midyear exam review sheet.)
around explanatory words or
phrases, including appositives. (An appositive identifies or renames a
preceding noun or pronoun. Mr. Cook, your
AP English Language and Composition teacher, has a headache and wants to go
home.)
around nonrestrictive phrases
and clauses. (Nonrestrictive phrases and clauses do not change the basic
meaning of a sentence.) Mr. Cook, who is
beginning to have trouble coming up with sentences, will have to leave in a few
minutes.
Do not put commas around a restrictive phrase or clause. (A restrictive
phrase or clause changes the basic meaning of a sentence.) The teachers and students who stay afterschool often get to hear
announcements over the loudspeaker that are longer than the ones heard during
the school day. Notice that if you remove who stay afterschool the meaning of the sentences breaks down.
Some places to put a semicolon
(I invite you to ignore Kurt
Vonnegut’s advice on semicolons.)
between two independent
clauses (unless the clauses are joined by a coordinating conjunction: and, but, yet, etc. This is an independent clause; this is another independent clause.
between groups of words in a
list when the groups of words already contain commas. A strong expository essay contains a relevant, interesting opening; a
bold, insightful thesis; well-developed, well-supported body paragraphs; and a
convincing concluding paragraph.
Some places to put a colon
(There are other colon
conventions, but these are some that you should now know.)
after a complete thought when you want to introduce information, a
list, a question, or a quotation.
This sentence introduces a list: who, what, where,
when, why, and how.
This sentence introduces information: five minutes
left!
This sentence introduces a quotation: “Me fail
English? That’s unpossible.”
This sentence introduces a question: Why have I
written all of these examples?
Titles
Underline or italicize
the titles of long written and dramatic work: films, plays, novels, other
books, magazines, newspapers, etc. Hamlet,
Lord of the Flies, All Souls, Nickel and Dimed, Present Shock, The Devil’s
Dictionary
Use quotation marks around
titles of shorter works: poems, songs, short stories, essays, magazine article,
etc. “A Modest Proposal” and “On Seeing England for the First Time”
Quoting in expository writing
After a verb (like “says”)
that introduces a quotation use a comma. I
said, “I hope you already know how to punctuate quotations.” But at the end
of a complete though use a colon to introduce a quotation. I was typing along when suddenly I remembered what my father told me:
“This will follow you around for the rest of your life.”
Single quotation marks are
used to punctuate a quotation within a quotation. Simon attempts to illuminate the nature of the beast when he says, “‘What
I mean is…maybe it’s only us’” (89).
If a quotation ends a sentence the period
should be placed inside the quotation mark. If there is a parenthetical
citation then the period goes after the citation. Question marks and
explanation points are placed within quotation marks only if they belong to the
original source being quoted.
The comma goes inside the
quotation mark in sentences like this one: “Oh,
geez, I have to write another example sentence,” said Mr. Cook.
A quotation may have more
than one sentence within it. I have
become fond of making up quotations: “The pink fringe of morning creeps over
the horizon. Or, to put it another way, the sun is rising and will later blind
us with its brilliance.”
Quotations that are four
lines or longer should be block quoted. They are indented (which means no
quotation marks are necessary—unless you’re quoting dialogue), double-spaced,
and the citation comes after the final period.
Use an ellipsis (…) to
indicate removed material that does not change the meaning of the quotation.
Use brackets [ ] to indicate
added material that does not change the meaning of the quotation.
You should also be able to…
Recognize and revise comma
splice run-on sentences, sentence fragments, errors in subject-verb agreement,
errors with pronoun-antecedent agreement, and rambling or unclear sentences.
Common problems on the Writing SAT Identifying Errors section
1. Being consistent
|
Writing Problem
|
Sentence Illustrating the
Problem
|
Should be...
|
|
Sequence of tenses
|
After he broke his arm, he
is home for two weeks.
|
After he broke his arm, he
was home for two weeks.
|
|
Shift of pronoun
|
If one is tense, they
should try to relax.
|
If one is tense, one
should try to relax.
|
|
Parallelism
|
She skis, plays tennis,
and flying hang gliders.
|
She skis, plays tennis,
and flies hang gliders.
|
|
Noun agreement
|
Carmen and Sarah want to
be a pilot.
|
Carmen and Sarah want to
be pilots.
|
|
Pronoun reference
|
Several people wanted the
job, and he or she filled out the required applications.
|
Several people wanted the
job, and they filled out the required applications.
|
|
Subject-verb agreement
|
There is eight people on
the shore.
|
There are eight people on
the shore.
|
|
Writing Problem
|
Sentence Illustrating the
Problem
|
Should be...
|
|
Coordination and
subordination
|
Tawanda has a rash, and
she is probably allergic to something.
|
Tawanda has a rash; she is
probably allergic to something.
|
|
Logical comparison
|
Nathan grew more
vegetables than his neighbor's garden.
|
Nathan grew more
vegetables than his neighbor grew.
|
|
Modification and word
order
|
Barking loudly, the tree
had the dog's leash wrapped around it.
|
Barking loudly, the dog
wrapped its leash around the tree.
|
|
Writing Problem
|
Sentence Illustrating the
Problem
|
Should be...
|
|
Ambiguous and vague
pronouns
|
In the newspaper they say
that few people voted.
|
The newspaper reported
that few people voted.
|
|
Diction
|
He circumvented the globe
on his trip.
|
He circumnavigated the
globe on his trip.
|
|
Wordiness
|
There are many problems in
the contemporary world in which we live.
|
There are many problems in
the contemporary world.
|
|
Improper modification
|
If your car is parked here
while not eating in the restaurant, it will be towed away.
|
If you park here and do
not eat in the restaurant, your car will be towed away.
|
|
Writing Problem
|
Sentence Illustrating the
Problem
|
Should be...
|
|
Pronoun case
|
He sat between you and I
at the stadium.
|
He sat between you and me
at the stadium.
|
|
Idiom
|
Natalie had a different
opinion for her.
|
Natalie had a different
opinion of her.
|
|
Comparison of modifiers
|
Of the sixteen executives,
Naomi makes more money.
|
Of the sixteen executives,
Naomi makes the most money.
|
|
Sentence fragment
|
Fred having to go home
early.
|
Fred has to go home early.
|
|
Comma splice
|
Mary took time out of her
busy schedule to visit her aunt, John decided to continue working through the
summer.
|
Mary took time out of her
busy schedule to visit her aunt, but John decided to continue working through
the summer.
|
adapted from the College Board
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