Vocabulary Practice 4/30

Vocabulary Practice:

Try to match the words with the definition. It is okay if you cannot get them right away, go back and look up the words that you do not know. Or deduct which ones they are after finding the rest of the answers.

1. Allegory              
2. Connotative
3. Dialogue
4. Drama
5. Explicit
6. Figurative
7. Flashback
8. Genre
9. Hero
10. Humor
11. Implicit
12. Irony
13. Literal
14. Perspective
15. Script
16. Setting
17. Theme
18. Monologue
19. Symbolism
20. Tone


a. The practice of investing things with symbolic meaning.
b. The overall meaning or implied meaning or an artwork, conversation, film, etc.
c. A way of thinking about situations or topics etc.
d. Limited to the exact or “real” meaning of a word or text.
e. Implied though not directly expressed.
f. Someone who fights for a cause. Someone who you enjoy reading about in a book, or watching in a movie.
g. A transition to an earlier event of scene that interrupts the normal plot of a story.
h. A kind of literary or artistic work.
i. Precisely or clearly expressed in a work.
j. Not to be taking literally (used of the meanings of words or text).
k. A dramatic work intended for performance by actors on a stage.
l. A conversation between two persons
m. Having the power of implying or suggesting something in addition to what something already means.
n. A short moral story (often with animal characters)
o. Confusion between what might be expected and what actually occurs.
p. The physical position of something.
q. (music) the distinctive property of a complex sound (a voice or noise or musical sound).
r. A (usually long) dramatic speech made by a single actor or character.
s. A message that has the power to evoke laughter.
t. Something written by hand (usually for films and television).

Working with Commas!

Working With Commas

4/30/14

Instructions: Go through this handout and circle any comma that you think is unnecessary. Leave the commas that you believe are correct as they are and do not circle, or put a line through them. Also add a comma to a sentence if needed.

1.)  To be successful nurses with M.S. degrees must continue to learn.

2.)  The new microwave disinfection system was delivered, but the installation will require an additional week.

3.)  The conditions at the test site in the Arctic, made accurate readings difficult.

4.)  The idea is good; however, our budget is not sufficient.

5.)  Joe, enclosed is the money for your baseball registration.

6.)  The director of the little league, and the supervisor of the parks and recreation were opposed to the new game schedules.

7.)  The chairperson formally ended the meeting, but, the members of the committee continued to argue.

8.)  I agree with you, yes.

9.)  Our new baseball team, which played together for the first time this year, walked out onto that championship field with our heads raised.

     10.) You will understand, Joe, that your grade is a reflection of the work you put into class.

Learning the C's

Clauses!

--> A Clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a predicate and that functions as a sentence or as part of a sentence. Every subject-predicate word group in a sentence is a clause, and every sentence must contain at least one independent clause; otherwise, it is a sentence fragment.

* A clause that could stand alone as a simple sentence is an INDEPENDENT CLAUSE.

ex. The scaffolding fell when the rope broke.

A clause that could not stand alone if the rest of the sentence were deleted is a dependent or (subordinate) clause.

Ex. I was at the St. Louis branch when the decision was made.

Dependent clasues are useful in making the relationship between thoughts clearer and more succinct than if the ideas were presented in a series of simple sentences.

Subordinate clauses are especially effective for expressing thoughts that describe or explain another statement. Too much subordination, however, can be confusing and produce wordiness.

A clause can be connected with the rest of its sentence by a coordinating conjunction, a subordinating conjunction, a relative pronoun, or a conjunctive adverb.

--> It was 500 miles to the facility, so we made arrangements to fly. (coordinating conjunction)

-->Mission control will have to be alert because at launch the space shuttle will contain a highly flammable fuel. (subordinating clause).

--> Robert M. Fano was the scientist who developed the earliest multiple-access computer system at MIT. (relative pronoun)

--> We arrived in the evening; nevertheless, we began the tour of the facility. (conjunctive adverb)

Commas:

Like all punctuation the comma (,) helps readers understand the writer's meaning and prevents ambiguity. Notice how the comma helps make the meaning clear in the second example.

Ambiguous- To be successfull nurses with M.S. degrees must continue to learn.

Clear: To be successful, nurses with M.S. degrees must continue to learn. (The comma makes clear where the main part of the sentence begins).

Do not follow the old rule that a comma should follow wherever there is a pause if you were speaking. Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, nor, and sometimes so, yet, and for) that links independent clauses.

--> The new microwave disinfection system was delivered, but the installation will require an additional week.

If two independent clauses are short and closely related-- and there is no danger of confusing the reader-- the comma may be taken out.

--> The cable snapped and the power failed.
--> The cable snapped, and the power failed.

* Commas are also used to enclose nonessential information in nonrestrictive clauses, phrases, and parenthetical elements.

*Our new factory, which began operations last month, should ask 25 percent to total output. (nonrestrictive clause)
* The technician, working quickly and efficiently, finished early. (nonrestrictive phrase)
*We can, of course, expect their lawyer to call us. (parenthetical element).

A direct address should be enclosed in commas:

--> You will not, Mark, that the surface of the brake shoe complies with the specification.

An appositive phrase (which re-identifies another expression in the sentence) is enclosed in commas.
--> Our company, Envirex Medical Systems, won several awards last year.

* Interruptin parenthetical and transitional words or phrases are usually set off with commas.

--> The report, therefore, needs to be revised.

Clauses and Phrases: Generally, place a comma after an introductory clause or phrase, especially if it is long, to identify where the introductory elemnt ends and the main part of the sentence begins.

--> Because we have not yet contained the new strain of influenza, we recommend vaccination for high-risk patients.

A long modifying phrase that precedes the main clause should always be followed by a comma.

--> During the first series of field-performance tests at our Colorado proving ground, the new engine failed to meet our expectations.


Words and Quotations: Certain types of introductory words are followed by comas. one example is a transitional word or phrase (however, in addition) that connects the preceding clause or sentence with the thought that follows.

--> Furthermore, steel can withstand a humidity of 99 percent, provided that there is no chloride or sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere.
--> For example, this change will make us more competitive in the global marketplace.

Works Cited:

Alred, Gerald J., Charles T. Brusaw, and Walter E. Oliu. Handbook of Technical Writing. New York: St. Martin's, 2006. 8. Print.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3h42RWnCB0

 

Understanding the A's!!!

"Handbook of Technical Writing" Understanding The A's!

For this blog, I will be using the "Handbook of Technical Writing" by Gerald J. Alred et al., to facilitate tutoring sessions in writing organization and fluency. I believe that it is important to utilize any technology that can be beneficial for progressive learning and experience in a nation that is beginning to submerge itself online. Referencing the eight edition of this text, I will proceed chapter-by-chapter, pulling out what I believe is most beneficial to learn about the writing process. This will also be a unique learning experience for me, an individual who aspires to become a teacher. Use this slowly and develop one step at a time, your understanding of each concept!

The first chapter deals with grammatical and organizational skills in writing, regarding terms that begin with the letter a.

Section I:

A/An: "A and an are indefinite articles because the noun designated by the article is not a specific person, place, or thing but is one of a group.

Example: She installed a program. (Not a specific program but an unnamed program).

* Use "a" before words or abbreviations beginning with a consonant or consonant sounds, including y or w.

Examples:
--> A manual has been written on that subject.
--> It was a historic event for the laboratory.
--> The year's activities are summarized in a one-page report. (One begins with the consonant sound "wuh").

Use "an" before words or abbreviations beginning with a vowel or a consonant with a vowel sound.

Examples:
--> The report is an overview of the year's activities.
--> He bought an SLR digital camera. (SLR begins with a vowel sound "es").

A lot is often used incorrectly as one word (alot). The phrase a lot is informal and normally should not be used in technical writing. Use many or numerous for estimates or give a specific number or amount.

Abstract Words refer to general ideas, qualities, conditions, acts, or relationships-- intangible things that cannot be detected by the five senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell) such as learning, leadership, and technology. Concrete words identify things that can be perceived by the five senses, such as diploma, manager, and keyboard.

Accept Versus Except:

Accept is a verb meaning "consent to," "agree to take," "or admit willingly." (I accept the responsibility.)
Except is normally used as a preposition meaning "other than" or "excluding." (We agreed on everything except the schedule).

Adjectives:
An adjective is any word that modifies a noun or pronoun. DESCRIPTIVE adjectives identify a quality of a noun or pronoun. LIMITING adjectives impose boundaries on the noun or pronoun.

Ex:
--> Hot surface (descriptive)
--> three phone lines (limiting)

LIMITING ADJECTIVES include these categories:

--> Articles (a, an, the)
--> Demonstrative adjectives (this, that, these, those)
--> Possessive adjectives (my, your, his, her, its, our, their)
--> Numeral Adjectives (two, first)
--> Indefinite adjectives (all, none, some, any)

ARTICLES: Articles (a, an, the) are traditionally classified as adjectives because they modify nouns by either limiting them or making them more specific.

DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVES.

A demonstrative adjective points to the thing it modifies, specifying the object's position in space or time. This and these specify a closer position; that and those specify a more remote position.

Ex: This report is more current than that report, which Human Resources distributed last month.
These brownies are more fresh than those that my mother made last weekend.

POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES.

Because possessive adjectives (my, your, his, her, its, our, their) directly modify nouns, they function as adjectives, even though they are pronoun forms (my idea, her plans, their projects).

NUMERAL ADJECTIVES.

 Numeral adjectives identify quantity, degree, or place in a sequence. They always modify count nouns. Numeral adjectives are divided into two sub-groups. Cardinal and Ordinal. 

     a. A Cardinal adjective expresses an exact quantity (one pencil, two computers);
     b. An Ordinal adjective expresses a degree or sequence (first quarter, second edition).

--> In most writing an ordinal adjective should be spelled out if it is a single word (tenth) and written in figures if it is more than one word (312th).

INDEFINITE ADJECTIVES.

 Indefinite adjectives do not designate anything specific about the nouns they modify (some Cd-Roms, all designers). The articles a and an are included among the indefinite adjectives (a chair, an application).

PLACEMENT OF ADJECTIVES. 

When limiting and descriptive adjectives appear together, the limiting adjectives come before the descriptive adjectives, with the articles usually in the first position.

Ex:

--> The ten red cars were parked in a row. (article (THE), limiting adjective (ten), descriptive adjective (red).

Within a sentence, adjectives may appear before the nouns they modify (the attributive position) or after the nouns they modify. (The predicative position).

• The small jobs are given priority. (attributive position)
• The exposure is brief (predicative position)

USE OF ADJECTIVES:

Nouns often function as adjectives to make other nouns more precise.

• The accident report prompted a product redesign.

When adjectives modifying the same noun can be reversed and still make sense or when they can be separated by and or or, they should be separated by commas.

• The company seeks a bright, energetic, creative management team. (There is no comma after creative because you should never use a comma between a final adjective and the noun it modifies. When an adjective modifies a phrase, no comma is necessary. 

Works Cited:

Alred, Gerald J., Charles T. Brusaw, and Walter E. Oliu. Handbook of Technical Writing. New York: St. Martin's, 2006. 8. Print.

Schoolhouse Rock "Adjectives"