Grammar Tid-Bits Yay for being Smart! 

There, Their, and They’re There: Refers to a place or can begin a sentence while linking to a “to be” verb. The word HERE is hidden in the word There There are way too many people in this room Look over there for my keys; I think I lost them While you were messing around I went over there and worked on my project.

Their Their- Refers to the possession of an object or to a personal object. The word I is present in theIr- it has to have someone/thing that it belongs to. Their yard needs some work. While looking through their files I found their family secrets Looking at the expression on their faces I knew it was good news.

They’re They’re- is a contraction for “they are” Should not be used in standard writing. Why? I think that they’re moving to Springfield. They’re really worried about her health. “They’re not real! They can’t be” she exclaimed!

Comma Splice This kind of sentence error happens when a writer joins two complete sentences with a comma ONLY.   Example: Joey went to the grocery store, he needed to buy eggs for supper. Both ‘Joey went to the grocery store’ and ‘he needed to buy eggs for supper’ are complete sentences, but joining them with a comma creates an INCORRECTLY PUNCTUATED sentence.

How Do I Fix Them? 1. Separate the two sections into two sentences with a period/capital letter. Joey went to the grocery store. He needed to buy eggs for supper. 2. Replace the comma with a semi-colon. Joey went to the grocery store; he needed to buy eggs for supper. 3. Add to the comma a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, for, yet, nor, so). (Do not change the meaning of the sentence because of your conjunction.) Joey went to the grocery store, for he needed to buy eggs for supper.

Run Ons This kind of INCORRECT sentence structure happens when a writer connects two or more complete sentences with NO punctuation whatsoever. There are at least two subjects and/or two verbs and NO logical connection between the ideas.   Example: ‘Sydney is a talented artist she loves to draw horses.’ “Sydney is a talented artist” “she loves to draw horses” BOTH sections ARE complete sentences and can stand alone. They must be linked with some form of punctuation and/or other word or phrase.

How Do I Fix Them? There are SEVERAL ways to fix them: 1. Separate the two into two sentences using a period/capital letter.  Sydney is a talented artist. She loves to draw horses.  2. Put a semicolon between the sentences.  Sydney is a talented artist; she loves to draw horses. 3. Add a comma and a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, for, yet, nor, so). DO NOT ADD JUST A COMMA! THIS CREATES A COMMA SPLICE!!!   Sydney is a talented artist, and she loves to draw horses.

How Do I Fix- RO 4. Put a semicolon between the sentences, add a transitional word or phrase and a comma (Do not change the meaning of the sentence!). (trans. words: however, on the other hand, nevertheless, instead, also, therefore, consequently, otherwise, as a result) Sydney is a talented artist; consequently, she loves to draw horses.  

Fragments Fragments are groups of words that are NOT complete sentences. Usually, fragments are pieces of sentences that have become disconnected from the main clause. Some fragments can be quite long, so do not think that a long string of words is automatically a complete sentence. e.g. When, in 2000, my child Ian was born at the end of November during a particularly cold winter and I could no longer tolerate the idea of working at CAT, where I could get laid off at any moment of any day.

Different Kinds of Problems Missing a main verb: A story with deep thoughts and emotions. (There is no verb here – WHAT ABOUT the story?!?) 2. Missing a subject: Knows the professor. (There is no subject here – WHO knew the professor? We do not know!) 3. Missing a verb and a subject: The author of The Hobbit. (There is neither subject nor verb here – WHO WAS the author? I have no clue.)

More Problems Dependent clauses with no independent clause attached: While Billy and Sarah were waiting for the bus. (There is a beginning thought, but we never get to the point – what happened while they were waiting for the bus? This is an unfinished thought.)   5. Clauses beginning with introductory words (i.e. and, for, so, or, yet, nor) : So Liza left for her vacation. (With the addition of ‘so’, we have created a fragment out of a perfectly good sentence – WATCH OUT FOR THIS ONE)

How Do I Fix Them? One of the easiest ways to correct fragments is to remove the period between the fragment and the main clause. WRONG: Purdue offers many majors in engineering. Such as electrical, chemical, and industrial engineering. CORRECTED: Purdue offers many majors in engineering, such as electrical, chemical, and industrial engineering. Coach Dietz exemplified this behavior by walking off the field in the middle of a game. Leaving her team at a time when we needed her. Coach Dietz exemplified this behavior by walking off the field in the middle of a game, leaving her team at a time when we needed her.

Paraphrasing A restatement of an author’s idea. Usually a shorter piece of text -- sentence or two to a paragraph. Length of restatement can be as long as or longer than original. Attribution (citation) is required for every paraphrase. Paraphrasing is a fundamental part of writing a summary.

What’s the Point? all paraphrase work is based on . . . First understanding an idea then restating it.

How Do I Do This? Pre-read to get overall gist of article/section Read fast, multiple times Focus on content words (vs. function) Scan for main ideas in paragraphs and sentences Avoid getting side tracked on individual words

Paraphrase This  Citation: Burgenni, Patrick K. “Teaching Finance: Whose Responsibility Is It?” U.S. EducationNews & Policy 13 Feb. 2006: 29-33. Original Text: “Who should teach children about personal finances? Ideally, it would be the child’s parent or guardian. However, many adults do not have the knowledge necessary to teach such concepts. This is evident by the staggering amount of credit card debt in the United States and the astounding number of adults who claim they cannot balance their own checkbook. Many argue that schools must step in and teach personal finance. Adding this requirement to the compulsory curriculum would require that more teachers be hired, which many school districts cannot afford, and would increase the credit requirement for graduation.”

Begin to Paraphrase… What is the main idea? What are THREE content words that help us understand? Paraphrasing Example- The United States has an increasing problem with debt. Some believe that this individual debt is the result of many people not understanding how to responsibly take care of their finances. One way to fix this might be to have a required course in high school that teaches students responsible money management.

Hyphens Use a hyphen to join two or more words serving as a single adjective before a noun: a one-way street chocolate-covered peanuts well-known author However, when compound modifiers come after a noun, they are not hyphenated: The peanuts were chocolate covered. The author was well known. 2. Use a hyphen with compound numbers: forty-six sixty-three Our much-loved teacher was sixty-three years old.

More Hyphens  3. Use a hyphen to avoid confusion or an awkward combination of letters: re-sign a petition (vs. resign from a job) semi-independent shell-like 4. Use a hyphen with the prefixes ex- (meaning former), self-, all-; with the suffix -elect; between a prefix and a capitalized word; and with figures or letters: ex-husband self-assured mid-September all-inclusive mayor-elect anti-American T-shirt pre-Civil War mid-1980s 5. Use a hyphen to divide words at the end of a line if necessary, and make the break only between syllables: pref-er-ence sell-ing in-di-vid-u-al-ist

Word Choice As a growing writer in Senior English, I have challenged you to expand your writing by excluding what words from your academic writing pieces? I, my, me, mine You, your/s, you’re Thing (everything, nothing, something, etc) Stuff Contractions Why have I done that?

What Can we do to help us choose IMPACTFUL words?  if it doesn’t add to the clarity, emphasis, or meaning, then get rid it. Intensifiers very, pretty, really, so, kind of, and sort of Weak: This potato chip sort of looks like the President. Strong: This potato chip looks exactly like the President. Auxiliary Verbs or Helping Verb am, is, are, was, were, be, being, and been Weak: Grandma is out of town with her Bingo Club. Strong: Grandma travelled out of town with her Bingo Club. Existential Pronoun there Weak: There are numerous ways to improve your grammar. Strong: Linguists suggest numerous ways to improve your grammar.

More Ways Personal Pronoun he, she, him, her, it, I, you, they, we, me, us, and them Weak: She gave him her chocolate cupcake. Strong: Sarah gave Jeremy her chocolate cupcake. Demonstrative Pronouns this, that, these, and those Weak: These perform well on rugged terrain. Strong: Jeeps perform well on rugged terrain. Clichés fit as a fiddle, what goes around comes around, time is money, and more Weak: My new dog, Ruffles, cost an arm and a leg. Strong: My new dog, Ruffles, cost me my whole paycheck. Questions to Ask Yourself for Better Word Choices Does my word choice deter or confuse readers? Is my writing natural, and does it flow well? (I recommend reading aloud to catch any noticeable issues.) Can I choose a stronger word without sacrificing the coherence or flow of the passage?

Questions Questions to Ask Yourself for Better Word Choices Does my word choice deter or confuse readers? Is my writing natural, and does it flow well? (I recommend reading aloud to catch any noticeable issues.) Can I choose a stronger word without sacrificing the coherence or flow of the passage http://www.adviceinteractivegroup.com/tips-for-writing-seo-content/