Written Communication (writcommca): 2005

29.11.05

C19

Know your readers
KEYS FOR SUCCESS
Know your readers
Promote your cause-not quarrel
Be reasonable
Be reasonable
Non debatable
Select a topic
Non debatable
Debatable
Personal experiences
Personal ideas
CHAPTER 19 PERSUADING READERS TO ACT
KEYS FOR SUCCESS
Know your readers
Promote your cause-not quarrel
Be reasonable
TOPICS TO CONSIDER
Personal experiences
Personal ideas
Communit concerns
National or international affairs
"No comment" topics
PERSUADING READERS TO ACT
Select a topic
Non debatable
Debatable
Choose and analyze your readers
Narrow your focus and determine our purpose
Generate ideas and support
Organize your thinking
Write your first draft
Share our essay
Revise
Edit/proofread
Prepare and publish essay
National or international affairs
PERSUADING READERS TO ACT
Select a topic
Non debatable
Debatable
Choose and analyze your readers
Narrow your focus and determine our purpose
Generate ideas and support
Organize your thinking
Write your first draft
Share our essay
Revise
Edit/proofread
Prepare and publish essay
"No comment" topics
Write your first draft
Share our essay
Revise
Edit/proofread
Prepare and publish essay

Chapter 18 Outline

Explore all positions
KEYS FOR SUCESS
Explore all positions
Go beyond pure opinion
Take a measured stance
Take a measured stance
Select and narrow a topic
Take stock
Get inside the issue
Refine your position
Traditional pattern
Current affairs
Blatent confession
Burning issues
Organize our development and support
Traditional pattern
Blatent confession
Delayed gratification
CHanged mind
Winning over
CHAPTER 18 TAKING A POSITION
KEYS FOR SUCESS
Explore all positions
Go beyond pure opinion
Take a measured stance
TOPICS TO CONSIDER
Current affairs
Burning issues
Dividing lines
Fresh fare
GUIDELINES
Select and narrow a topic
Take stock
Get inside the issue
Refine your position
Organize our development and support
Traditional pattern
Blatent confession
Delayed gratification
CHanged mind
Winning over
Write your first draft
Opening
Development
Closing
Title
SHare our position
Revise
Edit and proofread
Prepare and publish essay
Dividing lines
CHanged mind
Fresh fare
GUIDELINES
Select and narrow a topic
Take stock
Get inside the issue
Refine your position
Organize our development and support
Traditional pattern
Blatent confession
Delayed gratification
CHanged mind
Winning over
Write your first draft
Opening
Development
Closing
Title
SHare our position
Revise
Edit and proofread
Prepare and publish essay
Opening
Development
Write your first draft
Opening
Development
Closing
Title
Closing
Title
SHare our position
Revise
Edit and proofread
Prepare and publish essay

17.11.05

10.11.05

Quotations References -- Explore for Starters

The Quotations Page - Your Source for Famous Quotes

Your source for quotations from famous people and literature. Search or browse over 22000 quotations from thousands of authors. Includes the popular Quotes ...
www.quotationspage.com/ - 11k - Nov 8, 2005 - Cached - Similar pages
Famous Quotes by Subject - Random
Quotes of the Day - Famous Quotes by Author
More results from www.quotationspage.com »

quoteland.com - Quotations on every topic, by every author, and in ...

Literary Quotations Beautiful quotations from works of literary art. Quotations by Author The master list of all authors quoted on this site. ...
www.quoteland.com/ - 19k - Cached - Similar pages

Bartlett, John, comp. 1919. Familiar Quotations, 10th edition

Including over 11000 quotations, the first new edition of John Bartlett's corpus to be published after his death in 1905 keeps most of his original work ...
www.bartleby.com/100/ - 20k - Cached - Similar pages

Bartlett's Familiar Quotations
Searchable quotations site, provided in electronic format by Project Bartleby at Columbia University.
www.bartleby.com/ - 38k - Nov 8, 2005 - Cached - Similar pages
[ More results from www.bartleby.com ]

Quotations for Creative Thinking

Quotations for Creative Thinking (Creative Quotations) lets you search 50,0000 famous quotations and provides biographical information (and quotes) for 3000 ...
www.creativequotations.com/ - 20k - Cached - Similar pages

The Quotations Archive

A database of quotations. Contains a special section on love and marriage, useful for wedding toasts.
www.aphids.com/quotes/index.shtml - 4k - Nov 8, 2005 - Cached - Similar pages

Mathematical Quotation Server

A collection of mathematical quotations culled from many sources. You may conduct a keyword search through the quotation database.
math.furman.edu/~mwoodard/mquot.html - 6k - Nov 8, 2005 - Cached - Similar pages

Quotations in the Yahoo! Directory

Search sites featuring famous quotes, sayings, quips, phrases, and proverbs. Find quotes by a particular person, for a special occasion, or on themes such ...
dir.yahoo.com/Reference/Quotations/ - 17k - Nov 8, 2005 - Cached - Similar pages

The Quotations Home Page

Quotations Home Page, containing approximately 25000 quotes in 30ish indexed collections.
www.theotherpages.org/quote.html - 8k - Cached - Similar pages

Famous Quotations Network - Quotations, Quotes, Proverbs

A vast collection of searchable famous quotations and proverbs, sorted by categories and subjects, including authors biographies, and quotes citings, ...
www.famous-quotations.com/ - 27k - Cached - Similar pages

2.11.05

General Form for Electronic References from apastyle.org

General Form for Electronic References

From the 5th Edition of the Publication Manual (© 2001)
Note: Some elements of the 5th edition's style guidelines for electronic resources differ from previously published guidelines.

Electronic sources include aggregated databases, online journals, Web sites or Web pages, newsgroups, Web- or e-mail-based discussion groups, and Web- or e-mail-based newsletters.

Online periodical:

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (2000).
Title of article. Title of Periodical, xx, xxxxxx.
Retrieved month day, year, from source.

Online document:

Author, A. A. (2000). Title of work.
Retrieved month day, year, from source.

Detecting Tutor's Hand in Applicant's Essay-- from NY Times

Detecting Tutor's Hand in Applicant's Essay -- from New York Times

By KATE STONE LOMBARDI

Published: November 2, 2005

It is the bane of college admissions officers: the highly polished, professionally edited personal essay that barely reflects the thinking or writing, let alone the personality, of a 17-year-old high school student.

"If it sounds like it was written by a 42-year-old attorney, chances are it was written by a 42-year-old attorney," said Lee Stetson, dean of admissions at the University of Pennsylvania.

Now colleges have a new tool to help them discern how much help students are getting on their applications: the SAT.

Since March, the SAT has included a 25-minute essay section. When reviewing an application, colleges can easily download the test essay from the College Board, obtaining a sample of the student's unedited writing. Many colleges say they plan to do so, at least in cases where there are questions about a student's writing aptitude.

In a survey of 374 top colleges and universities conducted by Kaplan, the test preparation company, 58 percent said they would use the SAT essay to evaluate whether students had received outside help on their application essays in cases where there appeared to be discrepancies in the applicants' writing levels. Thirteen percent said they would compare the essays for all applicants.

"What that is saying is, 'We know there are a lot of cooks in the soup on these application essays, and we want to make sure that the writing that you are able to produce on your own can keep up with that polished writing,' " said Jennifer Caran, national director for SAT and ACT programs for Kaplan.

Dan Saracino, the assistant provost at the University of Notre Dame, said that when the first batch of the March SAT's became available, he went online to look at the writing samples.

"I did compare the online written essay and the personal essay, and you can see the connection, and you can see when it's a forced style that's been taught by a tutor," Mr. Saracino said.

At Notre Dame, not every applicant's SAT essay will be reviewed, but the test may well be downloaded when there are questions about writing ability, Mr. Saracino said.

Given the volume of college applications, the two writing samples will not be routinely compared at most schools. But in an increasingly competitive market, the essays of borderline students are more likely to be reviewed.

"We will use them on an individual basis as we need to use them," said Marlyn McGrath Lewis, director of admissions at Harvard College. "If we wanted to get a better sense of how somebody actually expressed something in his or her own words, we certainly know where we could go to extend our understanding."

Harvard is aware that some applicants get much more help than others on their applications, Ms. McGrath Lewis said.

"At Harvard, we try very hard not to over-reward extra preparation," she said. "We try not to base the admissions decision on someone being the perfectly buffed-up applicant."

Margit A. Dahl, the director of undergraduate admissions at Yale, said the university had no intention of reviewing 20,000 SAT essays. But in instances where there is a question about writing - for example, if a personal essay is well written, but the writing score on the SAT is low - admissions officers may download the SAT essay.

"You can certainly tell if there are serious grammatical glitches in the essay that was written in 25 minutes, and that means that without help, this student has some real trouble with writing," Ms. Dahl said.

Some argue that comparing the two essays is unfair. A student has far more time to polish an application essay than to burnish a 25-minute response. But educators make the case that basic writing and organizational skills should be consistent between the two samples.

"Schools recognize that this is a first draft and not polished work," said Ms. Caran of Kaplan, a former English teacher. "They want to get a sense of the students' innate writing abilities, to understand the students' thought processes and ability to express themselves, and whether that expression of thought is compatible with what they are saying in the application."

Complex sentence structure, the proper use of advanced vocabulary and clear expression should all be consistent between the two samples, she said.

But even a student's work on an SAT essay can be coached, as Ms. Caran points out. Students can be taught how to write a persuasive essay under time pressure, using organizational tips and practice, she said.

But admissions officers say they can see through that, too.

"You can see the canned responses," said Mr. Saracino, of Notre Dame. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to identify that this is a pat response that is a result of Kaplan."

20.10.05

Writing a Process Essay-- Literary Education Online (LEO)

LEO: Literacy Education Online

Writing a Process Essay

What to consider when writing a process essay

A process paper either tells the reader how to do something or describes how something is done. As you write your process essay, consider the following:

What process are you trying to explain? Why is it important?
Who or what does the process affect?
Are there different ways of doing the process? If so, what are they?
Who are the readers? What knowledge do they need to understand this process?
What skills/equipment are needed for this?
How long does the process take? Is the outcome always the same?
How many steps are there in the process?
Why is each step important?
What difficulties are involved in each step? How can they be overcome?
Do any cautions need to be given?
Does the process have definitions that need to be clarified?
Are there other processes that are similar and could help illustrate the process that you are writing about?
If needed, tell what should not be done or why something should be done.
Process papers are often written in the second person (you), but some teacher prefer that you avoid this. Check with your teacher.

Your responses to these questions and statements should enable you to write an effective process essay.

A Sample Process Essay

Kool-Aid, Oh yeah!

It has been said that Kool-Aid makes the world go 'round. Let it be advised, however, that without the proper tools and directions, the great American beverage is nothing more than an envelope of unsweetened powder. There are five simple steps to create this candy-tasting concoction.

Picking the proper packet of flavoring is the first step in making Kool-Aid. Check the grocer's shelf for a wide variety, ranging from Mountain Berry Punch to Tropical Blue Hawaiian. If it is a difficult decision for you, knock yourself out and buy two. The packets usually run under 65 cents.

After choosing the flavor that best suits your taste buds, the second step is making sure that your kitchen houses some necessary equipment for making the Kool-Aid. Find a two-quart pitcher. Plastic is nice, but glass pitchers allow the liquid to shine through and add festive coloration to any refrigerator shelf. Next, find a long-handled wooden spoon, a one-cup measuring cup, a water faucet that spouts drinkable water, usable white sugar, and an ice cube tray full of ice. Then, you are ready to mix.

Third, grab the left edge of the Kool-Aid packet between your thumb and index finger. With your other hand, begin peeling the upper-left corner until the entire top of the envelope is removed. Next, dump the contents of the envelope into the pitcher. Notice how the powder floats before settling on the bottom of the pitcher. Then, take the measuring cup and scoop two cups of sugar into the pitcher as well. At this point, adding the water is a crucial step. Place the pitcher under the water faucet and slowly turn on the cold water. If the water is turned on too quickly, powder will fly all over when the initial gusts of water hit. After the pitcher is filled within two inches of the top, turn the water off and get prepared to stir. With the wooden spoon submersed three-quarters of the way in the liquid, vigorously stir in a clockwise motion until all of the powder is dissolved. Taste it. If the Kool-Aid is not sweet enough, feel free to add more sugar.

Fourth, when you are finished seasoning the Kool-Aid to your liking, rinse off the spoon and the measuring cup. Take a glass from the cupboard. An eight-ounce glass is usually sufficient. But stronger thirsts might prefer a 32-ounce mug. Add ice and then fill the glass with Kool-Aid. Find a comfortable chair, put your feet up, and drink away. After all, Kool-Aid makes the world go 'round.

Return to the Write Place Catalogue

For questions and suggestions, please e-mail us at leolink@stcloudstate.edu.

This handout was written by Heidi Everett and revised for LEO by Judith Kilborn, the Write Place, St. Cloud State University. It may be copied for educational purposes only. If you copy this document, please include our copyright notice and the name of the writers; if you revise it, please add your name to the list of writers.

Last update: 28 September 1997

URL: http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/acadwrite/process.html

17.10.05

Revised Assignment Schedule

Week		Topic	Assignments due	Rhetoric	Reader	Handbook
Week		Topic	Assignments due	Rhetoric	Reader	Handbook
1		Introduction		1, Critical Thinking and Reading	9, Personal Narrative	35, Marking Punctuation
		Unit I Assignment:
	9/1/2005	Narrative and Descriptive Writing
2	9/6/2005	Reading and Thinking		2, Getting Started	10, Personal Reflection	36, Checking Mechanics
3	9/13/2005	Writing Process	Unit I Paper	3, Planning	11, Personal Description	Multilingual and ESL Guidelines
4	9/20/2005	Writing and Rewriting	Unit I Paper	4, Drafting
5		Narrative and Descriptive Writing		5, Revising	6, Editing and Proofreading	Parts of Speech
5	9/27/2005	Narrative and Descriptive Writing		5, Revising	6, Editing and Proofreading	Parts of Speech
6		Analytical Writing	Unit II Paper	7, Submitting	12, Cause and Effect	Parts of Speech


	10/4/2005
7		Comparison and contrast		8, One Writer’s Process.	13, Comparison and Contrast	Sentence Basics
7	10/11/2005	Comparison and contrast		8, One Writer’s Process.	13, Comparison and Contrast	Sentence Basics
8	10/18/2005	Classification			14, Classification	Sentence Problems
9	10/25/2005	Process	Portofolio I Due		15, Process Writing
10		Definition			16, Definition	Numbers, Word Parts, and Idioms
10	11/1/2005	Vocabulary and writing			16, Definition	Using the Right Word
11		Persuasive Writing	Unit III Paper Due		17, Strategies for Arggumentation and Persuasion	Understanding Grammar
		Rhetoric of Persuasion
	11/8/2005
12	11/15/2005	Defining a point of view			19, Persuading Readers to Act	39, Constructing sentences
13	11/22/2005	Responding to an argument			20, Arguing Against a Claim	40, Avoiding Sentence Eerrors
14	11/29/2005	Problem-solution format	Portfolio II		21, Proposing a Solution
15	12/6/2005	Review
16	12/13/2005	Final Exam Week

Links to Student Work

Here is the E82 link for viewing student work including maps and summaries:

E82

10.10.05

Writing Skills Links-- From McGraw-Hill

Fundamentals

Links to websites to help one with the fundamentals of adaptation, construction of clear sentences and paragraphs, and effect are limited. Included below are links to both print and electronic reference works as well as links to sites with software and instructions for creating documents.

A selected bibliography http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/course/mflatley/BBC10/writing_sources.htm	A selected bibliography of good sources for basic writing skills in print form.
A.Word.A.Day http://www.wordsmith.org/awad/index.html	A.Word.A.Day is a site that not only presents a word of the day along with its meaning and pronunciation, but it will also send you the word a day if you register for the free service. It's a nice way to build a vocabulary while getting each day off to a good start.
Compound Words http://www.m-w.com/help/faq/compound.htm	This article helps you know how to present compound words.
Roget's Thesaurus http://humanities.uchicago.edu/orgs/ARTFL/forms_unrest/ROGET.html	Roget's Thesaurus is an interactive online program. One enters the word needing substitution and the site returns a suggestion with links to other words.
The Elements of Style http://www.bartleby.com/141/strunk101.html	*The Elements of Style* is a classic book written to help writers with language, composition, and form as well as a few other matters.
The real estate B.S. artist detection checklist http://www.johntreed.com/BSchecklist.html	This site interprets in plain English how some in real estate use words to manipulate and deceive readers.
The Wordsmyth Dictionary-Thesaurus http://www.wordsmyth.net/	The Wordsmyth Dictionary-Thesaurus is a site where you can look up words as well as enjoy a words of the week, word link contest, and other word fun.
Unmapped Exercise http://www.infomap.com/im_timetest/tmresult.htm	This interactive page lets users see and understand the value of mapped information.
2004 List of Banished Words http://www.lssu.edu/banished/archive/2004.php	Since 1976 Lake Superior State University Word Banishment selection committee has compiled its annual list of words banished for misuse, overuse and general uselessness.

4.10.05

Autobiography -- Dante

My Autobiography

I was born in Tbilisi, Georgia and moved to California when I was only six years old. Our first house was right off of Fulton street next to the Golden Gate Park. It was blocks away from Ocean Beach in San Francisco. Without knowing a single word of English, I was exposed to an unfamiliar world. My parents enrolled me at Lafayette Elementary school located between Anza and Balboa street. I was barely able to communicate with the other kids for the first year or two. Luckily, I stayed persistent and by the third grade, I was speaking English better then some of my other classmates. It was also in the third grade that I started playing the piano a couple days a week with my instructor Milla.

After working as a doctor in Tbilisi, my mother spent her days studying to retake the medical board exams in order to continue her work as a licensed doctor in the state of California. When I was in the sixth grade, she married my step dad whom she had met through a mutual acquaintance. Both my parents had the same vision and that was to move out of San Francisco and put me through a better school. We packed our bags that summer and drove across the Golden Gate Bridge into Marin County,where we moved into an apartment.

Once again I was exposed to a whole new world leaving behind my friends. I found myself starting over once again. Somehow, since I no longer had a language barrier, I was able to make some new friends. Before I knew it, I was in high school. Later did I come to find out that Robin Williams, an international super star mostly known for his humor graduated the same school. I studied at Redwood High School up until my senior year. It was then, that my father was offered a residency program at the SUNY Hospital in Syracuse, New York in the department of anesthesiology.

After rebuilding my life for the third time to the point where I then considered Marin County my true home, I was faced with yet, the biggest change of all. I had one year of high school left, and we were going to move to the other side of the country. I begged, I pleaded, I did whatever I could to convince my parents to reconsider, but unfortunately, nothing helped. I realize now, that it was more important for us to build a stable future as a family, than it was for me to graduate high school with my friends. After all, it wasn’t like I was never going to talk to them again.

We moved to Syracuse later that summer, where I eventually graduated from Fayetteville Manlius High School. I immediately moved to New York City to pursue my career in the jewelry business. I graduated from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), with a major in diamonds, November of 2004. The school was located on Madison Avenue, in the heart of downtown Manhattan. New York was unlike anywhere else I have ever been.

After working for Helzberg Diamonds for a couple of months, I decided to move back to California and begin my studies in business. Which brings me here writing this autobiography. Yes, as a child growing up, I did move around a lot. Yet, each time we moved I learned to adapt to new environments quickly and effectively.

I can honestly say that my past experiences, events, and memories make me who I am today. Every individual contains the story of life, their life. Life is an unexpected journey, in which the story is written not in a single day, or month, or even year. It is a story that evolves over decades. When life begins, it is almost as if an empty book is opened with the child’s name on the cover. As they grow, the blank pages inside begin to fill up with words, and the story evolves. Everything he/she does will become a memory, an experience, a story of the past. Until one day, the last sentence is written. The last words are spoken; and the book is closed, as their ashes flow with the wind. Life has a beginning but it also has an end. It is up to us use the time in between to write the greatest stories of all by turning our dreams into reality. One cannot predict what’s to come in the future yet one has the ability to create the future as he/she desires.

29.9.05

Link to English Page

Here is a good page to check for help with our current text assignments:
http://www.englishpage.com/

27.9.05

Narrative Assignment -- Dante's Valentine Narrative

Valentines Day!

Well, this topic brings back so many memories yet one seems to remain at the top of all the rest. I guess we can begin on the night before Valentines Day of 2002. As a junior at Redwood High School, I decided that I was going to do something special for the girl of my dreams. Others thought it was pure insanity but I didn’t care what anyone else thought or how much they doubted me.

The night before Valentines Day I went out to buy a dozen red roses, a balloon that read “be mine,” and a box of chocolates. The next morning, I showed up early to school and walk to her first period class from the parking lot. I could feel everyone I passed by looking at me with wondering eyes. My friends approached me with endless questions as I broke down [EL1] what I was about to do. Before I knew it, there was a crowd of people behind me. I walked in to her class to exchange a few words with the teacher. I asked him to invite Caitlin to do a math problem on the board exactly at ten minutes passed eight. The scene was set and it was only a matter of time until I had to execute my plan.

The bell rang at eight o’clock and I went to my first period class. I requested to leave for a few moments at 8:10 and was granted my request. I sat in my chair preparing myself both mentally and physically. The time had come. I excused myself from class and began my venture up the stairway with everything occupying both my hands. As I approached the class, I noticed a group of people standing beside the door. The rumor spread faster than I could ever imagine and now I new I couldn’t back down.

I reached out to open the door and stepped inside the classroom. Everything was exactly as I had planned. Caitlin was in the front of the class doing some sort of math problem on the board. I began to walk towards her, smiling. I could hear laughter in the background full of 26-30 students, they were whispering back and forth. I took one step after another until I was standing inches away from her.

I spoke for a few moments sharing with the class that I had long wished to tell her how I felt about her. “You know there is one big reason I am standing here today and that is to ask you one question, so here it goes.” These were the words that I spoke before I did the most surprising thing of all.

I got down on one knee and simply said “Caitlin, will you be my Valentine?”

As I stood there barely breathing, waiting for the answer that would make my day, yet at the same time prepared for the answer that would destroy my intentions. The next few minutes seemed like hours, as I glanced into her eyes and held her hand, the whole class went from laughter to disbelief, to absolute silence in a matter of milliseconds. I could hear my own heart beat, thump thump, thump, thump. I remember thinking to myself what am I doing? Am I nuts? A million thoughts went through my head as I observed her laugh off the shock and begin to speak. The time had come.

In a gentle voice she spoke these words…

“I would love to be your Valentine and thank you for this special gift, but…” She paused.

At first my eyes lit up brighter than any star in the sky in the darkest of nights, my smile so full of life I cannot describe in words how relieved I was, and then the word “but,” the word that scared me the most appeared out of thin air. I still held that smile, hoping for the best. “I have a boyfriend,” she said. My heart sank to the floor faster then I could remember as I caught someone in the front of the class room shed a tear in the corner of my eye.

I stood up still smiling, I knew that regardless of the result, I did what I came there to do. I received the most exhilarating hug from Caitlin and still keep in touch with her to this very day. I learned that life doesn’t always turn out as you planned and that you should always prepare for the worst yet hope for the best. Most importantly, if you really want something, and I mean really want something, you have to risk it all, and go out and get it, otherwise life will only be a series of unfulfilled dreams and wonders.

Yes, it was one of the most embarrassing moments of my life, but I can also say that I left that classroom with a story that I will continue to tell for the rest of my life.

25.9.05

Grammar Tips from ICTY

What is the best way to continue to learn grammar at an advanced level?

Five short answers:
1. Learn as much as you can from practice and experience rather than text books
2. Keep your own examples and observe patterns (and exceptions) in the language
3. Focus on particular areas which give you difficulty (eg. articles, relative clauses)
4. Learn as much as you can from any feedback you get on your written English
5. Remember that almost every grammatical 'rule' is likely to be breakable in some situations (so don't become slave to rules!)

As English becomes more of a diverse and international language it is less and less possible to point to an authority and say 'that is the correct way!' (or 'that is a mistake!').But there are of course general conventions for British and American English grammar which you need to know.

For reference, I would recommend Advanced Grammar in Use (Second edition 2005) by Martin Hewings (Cambridge University Press, http://cambridge.org/uk/, ISBN 0521532914 with answers). This book covers grammatical points in an imaginative way, giving examples and practice exercises on facing pages. Also has some useful summaries at the back. If you buy this book for self-study, make sure you get the one with the answer key!

For more practice exercises, try Advanced Language Practice (Second edition 2004) by Michael Vince(Macmillan Heinemann, http://www.macmillaneducation.com/ , ISBN 0435241249 with answers).

Online grammar resources can be very mixed in quality and scope. I would recommend the OWL (Online Writing Lab) at Purdue University for guidance on grammar and writing at http://owl.english.purdue.edu. Go to 'Handouts and Materials' for options.

For some useful quizzes on English grammar, donated by teachers, see http://a4esl.org/ (uses mostly Java and Flash).

I would also strongly recommend the pages on tenses at Englishpage.com. All the tenses are explained clearly and there are online practice exercises for each one. See http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbtenseintro.html.

For questions on usage you might try the vast Alt. English Usage at http://alt-usage-english.org/index.shtml. This is searchable and very good for settling disputes over usage, such as: ‘Do we say ‘different from, different to or different than?'

More grammar guides are at the US Webster University site http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/index.htm where there is also an online text book on writing called 'Sentence Sense' at http://webster.commnet.edu/sensen/index.html.

A teacher, David Tillyer, has produced a useful summary of a tricky area - gerunds and infinitives - at http://www.geocities.com/gwyni_99/gerinfless.html. He also offers a list of verbs and practice tests.

24.9.05

Fall 2005 Weekly CalendarTuesday and Thursday

Tuesday and Thursday Fall 2005 Weekly Calendar

1 9/1/2005

2 9/6/2005 Holiday 9/8/2005

3 9/13/2005 9/15/2005

4 9/20/2005 9/22/2005

5 9/27/2005 9/29/2005

6 10/4/2005 10/6/2005

7 10/11/2005 10/13/2005

8 10/18/2005 10/20/2005

9 10/25/2005 10/27/2005

10 11/1/2005 11/3/2005

11 11/8/2005 11/10/2005

12 11/15/2005 11/17/2005

13 11/22/2005 Holiday 11/24/2005

14 11/29/2005 12/1/2005

15 12/6/2005 12/8/2005

16 Finals Week

One time	Transition		Another time
	TIME
	After a few hours,	Immediately following,
	Afterwards,	Initially,
	At last	In the end,
	At the same time,	In the future,
	Before	In the meantime,
	Before this,	In the meanwhile,
	Currently,	Last, Last but not least, Lastly,
	During	Later,
	Eventually,	Meanwhile,
	Finally,	Next, Soon after,
	First, Second, Third, etc.	Previously,
	First of all,	Simultaneously,
	Formerly	Subsequently,
	Immediately before,	Then,

Written Communication (writcommca)