Here's a refresher of what we have discussed in the first two weeks of class:
- The writing process (brainstorming, writing, editing)
- Methods of Brainstorming (list, cluster, free-write, outline)
- Topic Sentences
- Supporting Sentences
- Nouns, Pronouns, and Verbs
When will we practice conclusions? Gary A.
ReplyDeleteGood question! Very soon! :) The topic sentence and support are the most important elements, so we started with those. On Wednesday, you will get started on your first writing assignment. Once you are into it and working on it, we will discuss conclusions. :) Great question!
ReplyDelete-Kristin
i still need a little help with pronouns.
ReplyDeleteThis would be a great subject to come to the tutoring center in I-122 for! :) We'll be doing more in class as time goes on, but it's always beneficial to get help outside of class.
DeleteAs a brief reminder, a pronoun takes the place of a noun.
Kat went to the store.
I went to the store.
In the above example, we can use "I" instead of Kat. "I" replaces the noun "Kat."
i will defenetly stop by thank you so much.
DeleteSucaldito, H: As far as topic sentences go, I still need help recognizing and how to support a full on paragraph.
ReplyDeleteGreat question! You'll be writing many, many paragraphs during the course of the semester, so you'll get lots of practice with this. You can review hand-outs #5-7 for a little more guidance on structuring a solid topic sentence and use the outline method to create you create solid support for the body of your paragraph. It's good to be aware that this is giving you a little difficulty, but don't worry about it too much at this point. It will become second-nature by the end of the semester. :)
DeleteI can finally comment!
ReplyDeleteThat's great to hear! Now, you can go find a toic that is interesting to you on the blog and respond with a comment about the course material.
Delete*topic
DeleteI'm trying to comment.
ReplyDeleteChanel
You figured it out! Now, you can go find a toic that is interesting to you on the blog and respond with a comment about the course material.
DeleteThe brainstorm isn't easy on yourself. It is a good thing to have more than one person to help thinking and throw out some ideas on the table. It is interesting how everyone thinks and perspective differently... I do enjoy being in this class.
ReplyDeleteEB
Erica,
DeleteI think you mean that the brainstorming "isn't easy to do by yourself." You're right -- it's great to have other people to bounce ideas off of. Everyone's experience and perspective is a little different, and they are all equally valuable. It's a very valuable life skill to be able to see an argument from many sides. Once you can do that, you evaluate the evidence for yourself and come to an informed conclusion about what you believe. :)
wow, finally signed on better late than never riight? no questions about the 5 listed topics that we discussed but did we have any homework?
ReplyDeletePatrick,
DeleteThe homework was to work on your new voki assignment, due next Wednesday the 19th, and to keep posting on the blog!
Little know facts about famous people who couldn't spell, so don't feel bad!
ReplyDeleteAlfred Mosher Butts
Unfamiliar with this name? Well, you're probably familiar with what he created, though it might surprise you to learn that Butts was a bad speller. He created the iconic and still quite popular game Scrabble, which requires one to be adept at spelling. The inventor himself was admittedly not the best speller, often scoring only 300 points on average in a game of Scrabble.
One of my favorite books was written by .F. Scott Fitzgerald, “The Beautiful and Damned”, Few writers are so known for their bad spelling as Fitzgerald. How bad, you say? Fitzgerald wasn't even able to spell the name of one of his closest friends, Hemingway, often misaddressing him in correspondence and papers as "Earnest Hemminway." The editor of his collected letters called him a "lamentable speller" who struggled with words like "definite" and "criticism.
As you can see, even the most famous of people make mistakes, don’t put yourself down continue to practice your craft of English. April C.
Great point! In fact, it has been proven that spelling has nothing to do with intelligence. You can be very smart and still have trouble with spelling. Definitely don't discouraged if spelling is hard for you! But, that doesn't mean you should ignore it either. Use the tools that you have at your disposal to continue to improve. You can use spell check (use caution with this to make sure you fix the word correctly) or a dictionary to help you. Watching movies with subtitles and reading regularly will really help you improve. The more you see the word, the more likely you are to spell it correctly the next time you write it.
DeleteGreat comment, April! I love your contributions! They are so inspiring.
Love the idea of subtitles. When my husband, years ago was learning English, we turned the subtitles on. Five years later they are still on. It’s a great way to improve your large word vocabulary and spelling. Without the subtitles on, you might have missed the word, having them on; you can pick up the spelling and look-up the meaning. My husband and I have a word of the day game; you can say it’s a game of wits. We find a simply word and find all the other words you can use instead of it. For example: Bossy= Cheeky, Chatty Kathy= loquacious= talkative. This is all from turning on subtitles and how he learned English. If you like to play scrabble like we do in my family, this helps for points when you find odd words. It’s funny how technology can improve your life. April C.
DeleteI love those ideas! I regularly watch TV with the subtitles on as I work to improve my Spanish. Subtitles are fantastic. What is your husband's native language?
DeleteThe word of the day game sounds like fun! I love playing Scrabble, so I would really enjoy that. Another great comment!
That's awesome now I don't feel like an idiot because of my poor spelling.
DeleteI'm glad to hear that, Chase. Don't beat yourself up about it. Just choose a few new words each week and practice them until you've got them. In a few months, you'll have a great repository of useful words that you DO know how to spell correctly. :)
DeleteProfessor Kristin,
ReplyDeleteI am still having problem logging in Voki. the user and password isnt allowing me to get in. Why is this becoming a problem for me?
Erica
Hi Erica,
DeleteI'm not sure why this is still giving you trouble. Come see me in the lab in I-122, and I'll help you with this. Make sure that you have the correct username and password. It's the one that I gave you on the small slip of paper on the first day of class.
Since we worked on You, you're, their, there & they're today. Ugg; its like a Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers rhyme when you say them altogether togther. Talk about messing your head.
ReplyDeleteI would like to add effective,affective, who & whom into the mix. April C.
Great idea, April! I'll keep that in mind. If we don't have time to cover it in class, I will definitely direct you to some resources where you can work on it individually. :)
ReplyDeleteI always watch my movies with subtitles to understand them more and the different subjects.
ReplyDeleteKat
so do i
Deletei like the way you are teaching to write a paragraph. brainstorming before writting the actual paragraph as worked very well for me. but you did show us another way. with the why i live in new york. what do u think is better to use when writting a paragraph /essay?
ReplyDeleteHi Jessica,
DeleteA lot about writing has to do with personal style. I'm showing you a variety of ways so that you can make an informed decision about which brainstorming methods works the best for you. There is no better/worse...they are just different. I hope that helps!
i feel pretty confident in writing my paragraphs but i want some practice in writing conclusions. whe are we going to start learning about conclusion paragraphs ?
ReplyDeleteZully V
For right now, the conclusion is just one sentence to end your paragraph. When you begin writing essays, then you will have a longer conclusion. You will work on conclusion paragraphs more in English 49 especially.
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