Cooperative Online Writing Lab Bluefield College COWL, 2005 ESL Issues in Writing Explaining Articles, Appositives, Capitalization, & Spelling Words that Sound Alike

Bluefield College COWL, 2005 Articles A, An,The A – comes before all words that begin with consonants. Examples: a book, a person, a car An – comes before all words that begin with vowels (A,E,I,O,U). Examples: an apple, an elephant, an ink pen The – comes before specific nouns. Examples: the red apple, the tall person, the history book

Bluefield College COWL, 2005 Appositives An appositive is a noun or pronoun that refers back to another noun or pronoun to explain or identify it. Examples: (The appositives are in red, and the nouns they are identifying are in blue.) Mrs. Smith, my teacher, is understanding. My dog Roxy is very obedient. America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, welcomes all people groups. Kevin is very attached to his car, a 1965 Shelby Mustang.

Bluefield College COWL, 2005 Capitalization Here are some general guidelines for capitalization: Capitalize the first word of a sentence. Capitalize the pronoun “I.” Capitalize Proper Nouns. (The names of specific people, places, and organizations) Examples: Bluefield College, Robert Jones, Pacific Ocean Capitalize the days of the week, the months of the year, and holidays. Capitalize the names of countries, nationalities, and specific languages.

Bluefield College COWL, 2005 Spelling Words that Sound Alike Accept – verb meaning to receive or to agree: She accepted the award. Except – meaning all but: All of the girls came except Molly. Advise – verb meaning to recommend: I advise you to use COWL. Advice– noun that is an opinion or recommendation: COWL gave me great advice. Its – possessive adjective : The dog chewed on its bone. It’s – contraction for it is or it has: It’s fun to use COWL. Than – used for a comparison: I like chocolate better than vanilla. Then – refers to time: I will eat and then study. Their – possessive noun: The students got their homework. There – a place: Put the book down over there. They’re - contraction for they are: They’re going to be late. To – preposition or the first part of a verb: She came to my house to work on the project Too – very or also: I was too excited to sleep. Jessie said she was excited too. Two – the number 2 – I have two nieces.

Bluefield College COWL, 2005 Practice - Articles Chose A or An __ baseball __ automobile __ opera __ camera __ letter __ idea __ fork __ egg __ rainbow __ cat __ igloo __ umbrella __ planet __ shirt A A A A A A A A An

Bluefield College COWL, 2005 Practice - Appositives What are the appositives in the following sentences? 1. My daughter, who is a teacher, will be visiting tomorrow. 2. The television show, Friends, is my favorite. 3. The young boy loves his babysitter, Mandy. The appositive is: who is a teacher The appositive is: Friends The appositive is: Mandy

Practice - Capitalization Bluefield College COWL, 2005 Underline ALL words that should be capitalized. 1. today is the best day in july. 2. when should i come over? 3. i live in the united states of america. 4. my friend jacqueline is from china. 5. timmy has to learn to speak spanish. _______ _____ _________ _ __ ____________________ ____________ ____ ________________ _________ _________ ____________

Practice – Spelling words that Sound Alike Bluefield College COWL, 2005 Choose the correct word. 1. Jane did not accept/except the job. 2. I asked my mom for advise/advice. 3. It’s/Its my birthday! 4. She went to the mall and then/than the movies. 5. We took there/their/they’re car on vacation. 6. I have to/too/two classes left today. The correct answer is: accept The correct answer is: advice The correct answer is: It’s The correct answer is: then The correct answer is: their The correct answer is: two

Need More Assistance? Stop by the Writing Center or Come back to COWL again and again! We Mooove fast to help you! Bluefield College COWL, 2005

Other Good Resources Bluefield College COWL, 2005 The Longman Handbook for Writers and Readers Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL)