KU 076Help Session #8

Let’s Take a Little Look into Grammar & Writing!

And the Agenda Is……….Throughout tonight’s

Help Session, we will be covering the following topics:

1) What grammar is 2) Types of nouns 3) Types of pronouns 4) Types of adjectives 5) Types of verbs 6) Contractions

Topics covered continued:

7) Homonyms/Homophones

8) Conjunctions 9) Common Types of Punctuation 10) Parts of a Paper 11) Writing Tips to Think About & Remember 12) Wrap-Up/Questions

What is Grammar???????

* According to Fowler and Aaron (2007), grammar is defined as “how. language works “ (p. 232).

* According to the American Heritage Dictionary Online, grammar is defined as: a. The study of how words and

their component parts combine to form sentences.

b. The study of structural relationships in language or in a language, sometimes including pronunciation, meaning, and linguistic history.

c. The system of inflections, syntax, and word formation of a language.

d. The system of rules implicit in a language, viewed as a mechanism for generating all sentences possible in that language.

e. A normative or prescriptive set of rules setting forth the current standard of usage for pedagogical or reference purposes.

(Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/grammar).

Let’s Review Nouns, Shall We? There are many different types of nouns.

Examples of these include: 1) Common Nouns – Regular nouns, non specific (ex. dog) 2) Proper Nouns – Specific Nouns (ex. Golden Retriever) 3) Collective Nouns – Nouns that group (or collective) related items or people together (ex. audience) 4) Concrete Nouns – Nouns that you can experience with your five senses.

Basic Rule to RememberA noun is anything that is a person, place, thing,

or idea.

What is a Pronoun? A pronoun is a word that can

replace a noun or another pronoun.

There are many different types of pronouns. Examples of these include:

1) Reflective Pronouns - The subject performs actions to or for itself; therefore, the action in the sentence passes back to the subject. Reflexive pronouns distinguish person and number. (ex. We tortured ourselves

with the thought of our upcoming final.)

2) Intensive Pronouns - Point one back to a noun or a pronoun (not necessarily the subject) to add emphasis to it; however, intensive pronouns do not indicate a passing back of action.

(ex. I prefer pizza myself.)

3) Reciprocal Pronouns - Express an interchangeable or mutual action or relationship. There are type types and each can have a possessive form.

(ex. Mark and Dave greeted

each other. Mark and Dave greeted one another.)

Time to Review Adjectives!! An adjective is any word that describes a noun. There are many different types of adjectives. Some examples would

include: 1) Proper Adjective - Adjectives derived from proper names are called proper adjectives. They are easily recognizable in that they are always capitalized. (ex. French bread, Italian food) 2) Possessive Adjective - Possessive adjectives my, your, his, her,

its, our, and their modify nouns by showing possession or

ownership.

Basically, they take ownership of the noun. (ex. my sweater, his shirt, their party)

Let’s take a quick look at the following website:http://www.ucalgary.ca/UofC/eduweb/grammar/course/speech/1_4a.htm

Verbs, Verbs, and More Verbs!!!

A verb is a word that shows an action. There are many different types of verbs. The three main types are: 1) Past Tense – A past tense verb means that the action has already happened in the past. To change a verb to the past tense, you add the following endings: “ed” (ex. Yesterday, we walked to the store.)

2) Present Tense – A present tense verb is an action that a person is currently doing. (ex. I am going run five miles.)

3) Future Tense – A future tense verb is an action that is going to take place in the future. (ex. Tomorrow, I will be running in a five mile race.)

Contractions

A contraction is a combination of a verb and another word such as not or will.

Some common examples include:~ can not = can’t~ should not = shouldn’t~ she will = she’ll~ they will = they’ll

??Question to Ponder??

Look at the examples, what punctuation

mark do you see that takes the place of the

missing letters?

Homonyms / Homophones

Homonyms are words that sound the same but are spelled differently and mean different.

Some common examples include: ~ ate / eight ~ see / sea ~ ad / add ~ air / heir ~ arc / ark ~ bare / bear

Can you think of any

other examples?

Conjunction, Junction….What’s Your Function????

Conjunctions are special words that connect groups of words, phrases, or ideas together.

Some examples include: and ( I like ice cream. I like cake. I like ice

cream and cake) but ( Barbara got an A in spelling. Sonja got

a B in spelling. Barbara got an A but Sonja got a B in spelling.)

or ( Juan could buy a Snickers bar. Juan could buy a Milky Way bar. Juan could buy a Snickers or a Milky Way bar.)

so (Isaac fell off his bike. He skinned his knee. Issac fell off his bike so he skinned his knee.)

Let’s Review Punctuation Shall We…..

Period – “.” (We went to the store.)

Question Mark – “?” (What did you buy?)

Exclamation Point – “!” (What a beautiful coat!)

Comma – “,” (He brought a baseball, basketball, and football to the picnic.)

Colon – “:” (Choose from the following list: )

Semi-Colon – “;” (The dinner was delicious; we enjoyed it.)

Let’s Take a Look at Some Helpful Writing Tips to

Remember!

Writing is a Process…Not a Product

~Writing is not a single-step process. All writing involves five basis

steps:~

1. Generating ideas2. Organizing ideas3. Drafting4. Revising5. Editing and proofing

Common Types of Prewriting Jot lists – Like a grocery list or word association, a jot list includes key

words that come to mind about your subject. At this point, don’t worry about spelling; just quickly write down as soon new thoughts enter your mind. You can even go back and expand on some ideas as you create the list.

Free-writing - Here you sit down either at a computer or with paper and pen and simply begins writing as quickly as possible without stopping. Don’t worry about sentences, spelling or anything grammatical at this point (we’ll get to those later). Right now, just keep the ideas running and capture as many of them as you can.

  Mapping – A visual tool that looks something like a spider web,

mapping allows you to make connections to ideas and to see how they relate to each other. If you like free-writing and find yourself making connections between ideas as you go, this is a good option.

  Tape recorders or voice to text software – This is an ideal tool if

you find that you think better out loud, expressing ideas verbally. Speak into a recorder then transcribe your ideas or use voice to text software. Imagine you’re exploring these ideas with your best friend and tell her everything you can think of.

Examples of Jot Listing & Mapping

In Writing, Organization is the Key!

Two common methods oforganizing ideas:

Outlining – A method of listing the main points you will cover and their subpoints (details) in the order in which you will present them.

Idea Mapping - A drawing that shows the content and organization of a piece of writing.

I.Types of Sports

II.Team

A. Baseball

B. Football

C. Basketball

III. Individual

A.Golf

B.Tennis

C.Swimming

The Elements Needed for a Quality Essay

When creating an essay, your paper needs to consist of the following elements:1) A Beginning, Middle, and End Paragraphs2) At LEAST 3 Paragraphs3) A Thesis Statement4) An Introduction, Body, and

Conclusion5) Outside References6) Correct Paper Formatting

Let’s Break These Elements Down Step by Step

Paragraphs1) Need to be at LEAST 3 sentences2) Sentence length in an essay should vary (i.e. a mixture of Simple and Complex

sentences)3) An essay should contain the following types of

paragraphs:A) Beginning – IntroductionB) Middle – BodyC) End - Conclusion

Without Further Ado, Let’s Review the Introduction!!

The Beginning, or Introduction, Paragraph1) Always states the main point of the

paper.2) Helps to set the tone, which is a

crucial element of style.3) Gives the reader an indication of

what the topic of the essay is and how the author intends to deal with the topic.

4) Should include a thesis statement, which is a statement that is the controlling idea of the essay.

Let’s Clarify What the Body of the Paper Needs, Shall We??

The Middle, or Body, Paragraphs1) Should support and relate to

the main topic of the essay.2) Should contain its own thesis statement.3) Should help to clarify the essay’s main points to the reader.

4) Should contain transition words/phrases to link new and previous thoughts together.

And Finally……The Conclusion Paragraph

The Ending, or Conclusion, Paragraph1) Should be a summary and reinforcement of the main

points of the essay.2) Is the very last paragraph

in your essay.3) Contains its own thesis

statement. 4) Should leave the reader with a lasting, memorable impression

of what the paper was about.

In Formal Writing, Always Remember…..

Avoid texting lingo (i.e. lol, omg, btw, da)

Avoid slang (i.e. contractions, abbreviations)

Avoid emoticons :-p Avoids the use of 1st person

(no I, me, my, we, you, our). USES GRAMMAR AND SPELL

CHECK IN MICROSOFT WORD!!!!

Some Important Points to Remember

When creating your essay, remember:1) The overall organization of your paper is referring

to how the paper is put together, which leads to the readers ability, or inability, to understand it.

2) Even if a paper has a beginning, middle, and end, it may still be unorganized.3) Errors in punctuation can ruin your entire essay.4) Proper formatting is a MUST in order to make

your paper look professional.5) When a paper has beginning, middle, and ending paragraphs, the FLOW of it is very important.

???Any Questions???

Thanks for coming everyone and I hope you learned a little bit about grammar, writing, and the writing process!