Thursday, May 13, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Today, you answered questions for the short story "Boys and Girls". These are due at the beginning of class tomorrow.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Today, we discussed commas a bit more. I then handed out the short story "Boys and Girls", by Alice Munro, which I then read out loud while students highlighted pertinent information (expository and shifts), and identified literary devices (allusion, personification, similes, and metaphors). Once we finished reading it, the students had to write up a summary. Questions for this will be assigned tomorrow. If you were not here today, come into class before lunch and get the reading out of your portfolio.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Today, we worked in pairs and looked at proper use of commas by examining sentences. This is an area that the class, as a whole, has some difficulty.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Today, we discussed the problems you had with your essay. Read teh information below for Monday if you weren't here.
Use Key words in the title, not the name of the “work”.
Do not double-double
Never underline on a typed paper
Small works need to be in quotation marks
Big works need to be in italics
Centre and bold your title but don’t make it a bigger font or
Underline
That and who
The people who…
The girl who…
Possessives
Read the following example:
“If we all keep every minority happy in our country or even the world authors would have nothing left of their work.”
The Comma
The comma is the most frequently used and the most frequently misused punctuation mark. The omission of a necessary comma can distort the meaning of a sentence. Unnecessary commas can distract the reader and give the sentence a jerky quality (“Think Stevie in Malcolm in the Middle”). Perhaps nothing is so sure a sign of a competent writer as the correct use of commas, so it is very important that you master them.
First off, what is a COMPLETE sentence?
A COMPLETE SENTENCE is one that contains an independent clause. If it has ONE INDEPENTENT CLAUSE, then it is a SIMPLE SENTENCE. If a group of words does not contain an independent clause, then it is a SENTENCE FRAGMENT (or a dependent clause).
A CLAUSE is a group of related words containing a SUBJECT and a VERB.
A clause can be usefully distinguished from a phrase, which is a group of related words that does not contain a subject-verb relationship, such as "at the school" or "when I arrived" or "knowing that I would pass if I tried". By themselves, these are all sentence fragments. If attached to a COMPLETE SENTENCE (Simple) they can create a richer, more COMPLEX sentence and make your writing much better.
I will now present four rules that will give you a good indication of when you should use a comma. If the sentence you are writing is not covered by one of the four rules remember this:
WHEN IN DOUBT, LEAVE THE COMMA OUT!
There are four comma rules
Rule #1 : Use commas to separate items in a series
of three or more.
e.g.,
Required subjects are math, English, bookkeeping, and business law.
Walk up the hill, turn left, go two blocks and you’ll be there.
The comma before the and at the end of the list is optional; use it or leave it out, but be consistent.
Rule #2 : Use comma(s) to separate from the rest of the sentence any word or expression that is not essential to the sentence’s meaning or that means the same as something else in the sentence.
e.g., Writing business letters isn’t difficult, if
you’re careful.
The phrase “if you’re careful” is not essential to the meaning of the sentence, so it’s separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma.
Stephen Leacock, one of the world’s great humorists, was a professor of economics at McGill.
The phrase “one of the world’s great humorists” means the same as “Stephen Leacock.” The two expressions refer to the same person, so the second is set off by commas. When a nonessential word or phrase occurs in the middle of a sentence, rather than at the beginning or the end, be sure to put commas both before and after it.
If it were up to me, Judy, I’d hire you right now.
The word “Judy,” the name of the person spoken to, is unnecessary to the meaning of the sentence, so it’s set off by commas.
Rule #3 : Place a comma between independent clauses when they are joined by these transition words.:
and nor for
or but yet
so
e.g.,
It was a good party, but last year’s was better.
I’m not speaking to her, so you’ll have to tell her.
I can’t make it to class, yet I feel I should go.
Ross is a good student, for he studies hard.
Be sure that the sentence contains two independent clauses rather than a single subject and a multiple verb.
Rule # 4 : Put a comma after any word or group of words that comes before an independent clause.
e.g.,
Charlie, you aren’t paying any attention. (The second rule applies here, too.)
Though tattered and torn, the book was worth a fortune.
Wherever you go, remember me.
If that’s all there is, we’d better buy more.
Until he got his promotion, he was quite
friendly.
Final note: Never place a single comma between a subject and its verb:
Use Key words in the title, not the name of the “work”.
Do not double-double
Never underline on a typed paper
Small works need to be in quotation marks
Big works need to be in italics
Centre and bold your title but don’t make it a bigger font or
Underline
That and who
The people who…
The girl who…
Possessives
Read the following example:
“If we all keep every minority happy in our country or even the world authors would have nothing left of their work.”
The Comma
The comma is the most frequently used and the most frequently misused punctuation mark. The omission of a necessary comma can distort the meaning of a sentence. Unnecessary commas can distract the reader and give the sentence a jerky quality (“Think Stevie in Malcolm in the Middle”). Perhaps nothing is so sure a sign of a competent writer as the correct use of commas, so it is very important that you master them.
First off, what is a COMPLETE sentence?
A COMPLETE SENTENCE is one that contains an independent clause. If it has ONE INDEPENTENT CLAUSE, then it is a SIMPLE SENTENCE. If a group of words does not contain an independent clause, then it is a SENTENCE FRAGMENT (or a dependent clause).
A CLAUSE is a group of related words containing a SUBJECT and a VERB.
A clause can be usefully distinguished from a phrase, which is a group of related words that does not contain a subject-verb relationship, such as "at the school" or "when I arrived" or "knowing that I would pass if I tried". By themselves, these are all sentence fragments. If attached to a COMPLETE SENTENCE (Simple) they can create a richer, more COMPLEX sentence and make your writing much better.
I will now present four rules that will give you a good indication of when you should use a comma. If the sentence you are writing is not covered by one of the four rules remember this:
WHEN IN DOUBT, LEAVE THE COMMA OUT!
There are four comma rules
Rule #1 : Use commas to separate items in a series
of three or more.
e.g.,
Required subjects are math, English, bookkeeping, and business law.
Walk up the hill, turn left, go two blocks and you’ll be there.
The comma before the and at the end of the list is optional; use it or leave it out, but be consistent.
Rule #2 : Use comma(s) to separate from the rest of the sentence any word or expression that is not essential to the sentence’s meaning or that means the same as something else in the sentence.
e.g., Writing business letters isn’t difficult, if
you’re careful.
The phrase “if you’re careful” is not essential to the meaning of the sentence, so it’s separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma.
Stephen Leacock, one of the world’s great humorists, was a professor of economics at McGill.
The phrase “one of the world’s great humorists” means the same as “Stephen Leacock.” The two expressions refer to the same person, so the second is set off by commas. When a nonessential word or phrase occurs in the middle of a sentence, rather than at the beginning or the end, be sure to put commas both before and after it.
If it were up to me, Judy, I’d hire you right now.
The word “Judy,” the name of the person spoken to, is unnecessary to the meaning of the sentence, so it’s set off by commas.
Rule #3 : Place a comma between independent clauses when they are joined by these transition words.:
and nor for
or but yet
so
e.g.,
It was a good party, but last year’s was better.
I’m not speaking to her, so you’ll have to tell her.
I can’t make it to class, yet I feel I should go.
Ross is a good student, for he studies hard.
Be sure that the sentence contains two independent clauses rather than a single subject and a multiple verb.
Rule # 4 : Put a comma after any word or group of words that comes before an independent clause.
e.g.,
Charlie, you aren’t paying any attention. (The second rule applies here, too.)
Though tattered and torn, the book was worth a fortune.
Wherever you go, remember me.
If that’s all there is, we’d better buy more.
Until he got his promotion, he was quite
friendly.
Final note: Never place a single comma between a subject and its verb:
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Today, you worked on your major assignment (see yesterday). This is due at the beginning of class tomorrow.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
Today, you were to hand in your short story summaries from Friday. I then handed out the following assignment which is due at the start of class on Wednesday.
“The Lamp at Noon” Questions
by Sinclair Ross
INSTRUCTIONS: Either by yourself or with a partner (one only) answer the following questions as requested and FULLY. I will be taking this in as a major assignment so I expect depth.
1. Describe the expository information for this story as it relates to
setting.
2. What point of view is being used to convey this story? How do you know this? Is this a good choice? Why or why not?
3. What is the main conflict of this story? Provide evidence to prove this (at least three pieces).
4. Give three examples of how the wind is personified. What is the effect of this on the mood of the story?
5. What is the wife so upset about? Why? Provide the context for this (history).
6. Why is the husband not giving in to her? Explain his reasons and provide the context (history).
7. What is the climax of this story? How do you know this is the climax? Explain.
8. Based on what you know, is the ending of this story realistic? Provide a real life analogy that shows the same desperation and show me the comparison.
9. What do you think happened to this couple after this? Write a sequel that addresses this.
“The Lamp at Noon” Questions
by Sinclair Ross
INSTRUCTIONS: Either by yourself or with a partner (one only) answer the following questions as requested and FULLY. I will be taking this in as a major assignment so I expect depth.
1. Describe the expository information for this story as it relates to
setting.
2. What point of view is being used to convey this story? How do you know this? Is this a good choice? Why or why not?
3. What is the main conflict of this story? Provide evidence to prove this (at least three pieces).
4. Give three examples of how the wind is personified. What is the effect of this on the mood of the story?
5. What is the wife so upset about? Why? Provide the context for this (history).
6. Why is the husband not giving in to her? Explain his reasons and provide the context (history).
7. What is the climax of this story? How do you know this is the climax? Explain.
8. Based on what you know, is the ending of this story realistic? Provide a real life analogy that shows the same desperation and show me the comparison.
9. What do you think happened to this couple after this? Write a sequel that addresses this.
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