Thursday, October 29, 2015

*VOCABULARY*

Vocabulary building is important for both reading comprehension and writing. 

Use the following two words in one sentence (note the parts of speech).

despair (verb) and prognosis (noun).


To further improve your vocabulary, remember to check out the Word of the Day
The site also has word games and puzzles.

http://dictionary.reference.com/wordoftheday/


You can also test your skills while contributing to the World Food Programme here:
http://freerice.com/#/english-vocabulary/1498

SYNONYMS AND ANTONYMS

We can describe someone who is self-satisfied as being complacent.

Provide a synonym and an antonym for this word, using each in a sentence. Each participant should suggest a different word.

*ACTIVE vs. PASSIVE*

Write two sentences using the verb bring.

In the first sentence, use the word in the active voice; in the second sentence, use it in the passive voice.

*TIME CHANGE*

Change the time in the following sentences by using a different verb tense and replacing any necessary time clues. Each student should choose a different verb tense.

As a sports fan, this is one of my favourite times of the year: Major League Baseball is in the midst of another thrilling World Series, the NFL has just crossed the mid-point of an historic season in which several important records have been broken, and both hockey and basketball have started up again. 

*SENTENCE COMBINATION*

Learning to combine ideas into more complex sentences is an important writing skill. There are many ways to do this. Try to combine the following three sentences. Do not use a semi-colon.

Sentence 1: Trudeau won the election.
Sentence 2: The victory was expected.
Sentence 2: It gives the Liberals control of Parliament.
Sentence 3: They have not been in power for over a decade.


BUILD-A-SENTENCE

Write a sentence using the vocabulary and grammar indicated. Do not use a semi-colon.

There have been some talented participants in recent weeks, so I am putting up another challenging problem:

Write a sentence that includes an independent clause in the simple present and a dependent clause in the past perfect progressive tense and an independent clause in the present perfect.

Good luck!

Thursday, October 15, 2015

WELCOME!

Welcome to the Effective Writing Blog for ENGL 155, 177 and 189. These courses may be taken separately or as part of the English Language Proficiency Program. The goal is to increase the level of communication between students and instructors, and to provide students with an opportunity to communicate with each other and to practice the grammar and mechanics taught in these courses. If you post general questions about the assignments or the course, they will be addressed in the blog. If you have detailed questions you want answered, then e-mail your instructor.

Feel free to post comments and suggestions for how to improve this site. 

WELCOME NEW STUDENTS!

A hearty welcome to all the new students joining this course. We hope you enjoy your studies and have fun participating in this blog.

For information on how to participate, please contact the administrator.

IMPORTANT: This blog site is open to the public; do not post personal information that could identify you. Your first name and the initial of your last name are the only personal information you should post. Please watch this video from the Government of Canada about privacy and social networking issues.

Also, be sure to let your tutors know the nickname you have chosen for this blog; otherwise, they will not be able to give you the bonus marks that you have earned for your participation.

Next blog: Friday, October 30, 2015.

PREVIOUS GRAMMAR QUESTION

Its important that we are on time for todays meeting on affective marketing techniques so please be picking Bryan and I up prompt at 8 am avoiding the trouble with the boss.

1. Mood:

Noun clauses that express urgency or importance usually take the subjunctive mood, which uses the simple (base) form of the verb. In this case, use "be" instead of "are".

2. Apostrophe use:

In most cases, we add an apostrophe and an "s" to indicate the possessive. In this case, "todays" should be "today's".

3. Word confusion:

"Affective" and "effective" are often confused. In this sentence we need "effective", not "affective".

4. Punctuation:

As a rule, it is best to insert a comma before a coordinating conjunction (like "so") that introduces an independent clause.

5. Command (imperative):

When producing this form of sentence, the subject is omitted and the simple (base) form of the verb is used. In this case, use "pick" instead of "be picking".

6. Object pronoun:

Bryan and the speaker are both the object of the verb "pick up", so the pronoun must be in the objective case: "me" (rather than "I"). This is often confused because such phrases frequently form the subject of the verb ("Bryan and I picked up our friends at school"/"Our friends picked up Bryan and me and at school").

7. Word form:

“Prompt” is an adjective. But we need a word to modify the verb ("pick up"). That is, we need an  adverb: "promptly".

8. Infinitive:

In this sentence, "avoiding" indicates the purpose or intention of the action ("pick up"). In such cases, we use the infinitive ("to avoid") rather than the gerund ("avoiding").

9. Abbreviations:

Lower case abbreviations generally require a period after each letter ("a.m."). Upper case abbreviations do not require any periods ("AM"). Either form is acceptable.

10. Article:

Unless you are expecting some specific (i.e. "definite") type of trouble, omit the definite article ("the"). Use "trouble" rather than "the trouble".


Possible solution:

It’s important that we be on time for today’s meeting on effective marketing techniques, so please pick up Bryan and me promptly at 8 a.m. to avoid trouble with the boss.

*GRAMMAR QUESTION*

Correct the errors in the following sentence:

When the committee had met last week it is decided that they approved constructing of a new retiring centre for benefiting Seniors and there family’s which had been living in a surrounding area

The solution will be posted in the next edition of the blog.

PUZZLE

Solution to the previous puzzle:  

1. Humility 2. Proclaim 3. Terrible 4. Vexation 5. Overtake

New Puzzle:

New Puzzle: What phrase is represented by the following?

JG
UN
MI
PP
IM
NU
GJ
Good
New
New

*Note, the first person with the correct answer gets the bonus point.

IDIOMS

There are three idioms that use the word eye:

Watch this video, and then write a sentence that uses one (or more) of these three idioms.

Try not to use the same idiom as the other posters.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/theteacher/2009/03/090306_teacher_body_eye.shtml

*ALL CHANGE!*

Change the words in the sentence below as indicated.

Please change only the exact word in the sequence given. Each participant should build on the changes made by the previous participant.

For instance, if the original sentence is "Benson hurriedly told the bad news to his friends":


participant 1 could write "#1 Subject Noun: Michael hurriedly told the bad news to his friends";


participant 2 could then write "#2 Direct Object Noun: Michael hurriedly told the bad joke to his friends";


participant 3 could then write "#3 Indirect Object Noun: Michael hurriedly told the bad joke to his wife";

etc.


You are free to make as many changes as you wish. Just remember to number each change (and indicate the part of speech) so it is clear to everyone where we are on the list.


When all 7 changes have been made, return to the top of the list and continue.


Here is the sentence:


My new accountant kindly offered me some financial advice.

Changes:                                                                                                                          

1. subject noun

2. direct object noun          
3. indirect object noun                  
4. adjective(s)
5. adverb(s)    
6. verb name      
7. verb tense

AFFIXES

The word stem -chron- (meaning "time") occurs in many words. 

Add an affix to this stem to make another word. 


Each participant should add a different word to the list.

*COMPLETE THE SENTENCE*

Follow the instructions below to create three different sentences from the following clause:*

... Many people have set up Halloween displays in their yards ...

Sentence 1. Add a phrase      
Sentence 2. Add a dependent clause
Sentence 3. Add an independent clause


*Add your words to the beginning or end of the clause (but not both) and do not use a semi-colon to join your independent clause.

*NUMBER CHANGE*

If the sentence is singular, change it to the plural; if it is plural, change it to the singular.

The first participant to make the correct changes will receive the bonus mark.

Many young children will eagerly ring the doorbells in their neighbourhoods on Halloween while their parents stand on side walks shivering in the cold or sit in cars parked at strategic locations, watching the excited youngsters from a distance

*VOCABULARY*

Vocabulary building is important for both reading comprehension and writing. 

Use the following two words in one sentence (note the parts of speech).

manipulate (verb) and squeamish (adjective).

To further improve your vocabulary, remember to check out the Word of the Day
The site also has word games and puzzles.

SYNONYMS AND ANTONYMS

We can describe someone who is self-satisfied as being complacent.

Provide a synonym and an antonym for this word. Each participant should suggest a different word.

*ACTIVE vs. PASSIVE*

Write two sentences using the verb embarrass.

In the first sentence, use the word in the active voice; in the second sentence, use it in the passive voice.