From C to A

Wring skills

General writing tips

Vary sentence beginnings

Vary sentence length

Word choice#1: choose the right word for your writing. If you are writing an academic paper for school, increase your sophistication or maturity with proper word choice. Do not over do it, though. You want to sound intelligent without sounding too erudite (overeducated or bookish) or over the top. For instance, the word selection is far more sophisticated than the word pick. Do you get the point?

Word choice #2:  choose a word that sounds better: poets tend to choose words that have pleasant sounds. The word ugly sounds less pleasing than the word unattractive. Stunning sounds better than pretty.

The writing process

Brainstorm- think about the topic. Jot down everything you know about the subject-everything. You may or may not use it all, but sometimes random ideas blossom into full-blown ideas or topics. If you are writing an essay, try to choose three main points or topics about the subject that will be the basis for your body paragraphs.

Introduction: one of the most important parts of the paper: this is the reader’s first impression of you. Make it a good one. The introduction contains the following components:

Hook: an attention-grabbing sentence. It could be a strong statement, a quote, a definition or an anecdote.

-Do not walk away from responsibility. Your help is needed now!

-There comes a time in everyone’s life when opportunity comes knocking up the door.

-I will never forget the time I walked into the lobby with my skirt tucked into my underwear. Was I embarrassed? What do you think?

Topic Sentences: Usually two to three of them. They explain or introduce the points you want to make about the topic. These sentences coincide with the body paragraphs that follow.

Thesis statement: The MOST important piece of information in your essay. This sentence tells the reader exactly where you are going in the essay. This is what you are doing to prove. Thesis statements are most often located at the bottom of the introductory paragraph.

Academic Writing

Vocabulary

Formal Letters

Business Letter Form

Journalistic Writing

Chapter 20 Idioms

Idioms are unique and strange little figures of speech that are found scattered throughout the English language. When you look at an idiom literally such as, it’s raining cats and dogs, the idiom doesn’t make much sense. We can visualize the literal meaning of the sky pouring cats and dogs., but that would be a mess. The figurative meaning behind the idiom is where we actually find the meaning. Even then the figurative, metaphorical, or non literal meaning is a stretch to understand. Idioms cause a great deal of confusion for those learning English because they are difficult to translate, if not impossible.

1.     Write the definition of the idiom on the line

2.     Matching the idiom to its definition by writing the letter of the corrct definition on the line to the left

3.     Underline the idioms used in the following sentences

4.     Select the correct definition

5.     To put the cart before the horse means

6.     A: Plan ahead

7.     B: to do things in the wrong order

8.     C: to make something out of nothing

9.     D: None of the above

10. You are going to be up a creek without a paddle if you don’t get your bills paid every month

11. Reading and listening: it’s going to be a more-challenging assignment. Because idioms are seldom used in formal language, you will need to pay attention to conversations and entertainment  television and radio broadcasts. Try your best to read/hear ten of them and write them on the lines below. If they are new to you. Look them up in a dictionary on online

Chapter 21 Allusions

Allusions are references to a variety of different things that readers will encounter almost every day. Like the idioms that we explored in the previous chapter, allusions are often unique to a language or culture. For example, in the English language, nursery rhymes or fairy tales are often referred to in a reading.  There are many different categories: literary, biblical, Latin, Greek, mythological, popular culture, and so on.

Aladdin’s lamp: refers to magic from a lamp in the Arabian Nights

Helen of Troy: the most beautiful woman in history for whom the entire Greek army sailed to get her back; her abduction was the cause of the Trojan War.

Babylon: a place of sin and corruption

1.     Identify the source of the following allusions. Write the name of the source or an explanation of the character on the line provided

Robin Hood:  A man and his band of merry men who steal from the rich and give to the poor

2.     Locate an article or a book f Aesop’s Fables. Skim through the book or article first, and then choose one or two of the fables to read. Write a summary about one of the two fables. What is the moral of the story? Is the story applicable to everyday life?

3.      Begin listening for allusions, and write them down when you hear them. If you are not certain of its history, research the background.

Chapter 22

Study skills, reading and writing improvement

Study Skills:

·      Find a quiet place to study with a desk, plenty of lights, and few distractions

·      Turn off the television, cell phones, and so on, and limit interruptions

·      Gather all of the materials that you need- papers, pens, dictionary, and so on.

·      Be positive

·       Set goals. What are you trying to accomplish?

·      Be flexible and realistic

·      Know your assignments” what are they and when are they due

·      DO not forget to schedule outside activities as well

·      Stick to the plan: do not procrastinate

·      Prioritize tasks: complete what is most important first

·      Break larger tasks into smaller pieces chunks, and complete each smaller piece before moving on to the next

·      Work on the most difficult or time-consuming tasks first (while you are fresh)

Listening and Taking notes in class

·      Be prepared with paper

·      Keep focused on the teacher and what he/she is saying- be attentive

·      Listen for cue words such as “ the most important point” or “remember”

·      Write down what is written on the board

·      Write a “?” next to any information that you need to clarify later

·      Review your notes and rewrite if necessary

Reading skills

·      Visualize as you read

·      Do not read words individually; consume them as groups.

·      Use visualization techniques to help comprehension: might use a brainstorming web; draw branches of the web with each new idea or subheading

Strategies for reading textbook or other nonfiction works

·      Get the big picture first. Skim the chapter, and look at titels, subheading, any words in boldface type, photographs and their captions, graphs, and any questions at the end of the chapter.

o   Read actively and quickly

o   Participate with the text

o   If it helps, read out loud

o   Read through the entire assignment

o   If you need to reread a confusing portion, go ahead

·      After reviewing of the big picture and reading fairly quickly, go back and re-review

o   Look at passages within the big picture- were is this information asking you

o   If you own the book, underline or highlight as you read

o   Mark the area that you might want to review later or need to remember

·      Go back a third time

o   Make a rough outline of the chapter using headings, subheadings, and boldface words for the outline

o   Draw pictures, make flashcards, whatever it is that helps you remember information, just do it. Become an active participant with your textbook

Strategies for reading Novels

·      A novel is more complex than a short story. In a novel, there is a better-developed plot and characters. It is intended to entertain, instruct, or amuse the reader

·      To understand novels, the reader must understand how they are written

·      Setting is the time and place of the story. Determine when and where the story takes place. It could take place in the future, past, or present. It could be set in the city, in the countryside.

·      Be aware of characters as they appear in the story. Keep mental note (or notes on paper) of each of them

o   Determine who is the protagonist (the main character) and the antagonist (someone who goes against the main character- it could be another person, an idea, or an emotion

o   If there are a number of characters, force yourself to keep the straight

o   Separate the main characters from the minor characters in your mind

·      Events or plot: keep track of the events in the story

·      How does the story evolve

·      Are there many stories interwoven into the plot or is the plot focused around the happenings of one character?

·      Identify the problem or conflict and the solution (denouement) at the end of the novel. What exactly is going on, and how is the situation resolved?

·      Sometimes it helps to investigate the background information of the author. When was the novel written? Was there something going on historically when the author wrote the book such as the French Revolution or industrialization?

·      Examine the author’s style of writing

·      Does the style of writing seem modern and succinct (to the point), or are the passgaes laden with deails?