Academic Skills Session 1

Overall Aims

What are academic skills?

Weekly Topics Week 1 (18/2) : Grammar and Syntax, Punctuation Week 2 (25/2): Reading for meaning, note taking Week 3 (4/3): Critical Analysis, Different types of writing Week 4 (11/3): Essay Planning (structure, how to plan, how to use a plan) Week 5 (18/3): Essay writing (word usage and vocabulary, proofreading, word counts) Week 6 (25/3): Writing in an exam/Exam Prep Weeks 7 – 10: Tutorial (weeks after Easter – April)

Grammar Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Prepositions Sentences: Simple, Compound, Complex Clauses: Subordinate, Main Clause

Sentences The dog ran to the store. The dog ran to the store and he found a biscuit. The dog ran to the store and then to the park.

Common Sentence Structure Errors Noun/verb agreement Use of incorrect tense of verb Incorrect words used (their/they’re/there) Sentences are far too long

Single vs. Plural Nouns -Use is determined by the NOUN used -Refer to handout

Some basic syntax rules 1. Subjects and verbs MUST agree in number. My son picks his nose when he is bored. My sons pick their noses when they are bored. 2. Words and phrases between the noun and verb do not change the tense. My son, who is playing a computer game, picks his nose when he is bored.

Some basic syntax rules 3. Prepositional phrases between the subject and verb do not affect agreement. The boy on the swings picks his nose when he is bored. 4. Any sentence that starts with ‘there’ or ‘here’, the subject will always be after the verb. There is a problem with Turnitin.

Some basic syntax rules 5. If two subjects are joined by and, they typically require a plural verb. The cow and the pig are jumping over the moon. 6. The verb is singular if the two subjects separated by and refer to the same thing. Red beans and rice is my mom’s favourite dish.

Some basic syntax rules 7. If the word each, every or no comes before the subject, or if either/or/neither/nor, the verb is singular. No smoking or drinking is allowed. Either Tom or Jerry is to blame for the mess. 8. Collective nouns use a singular noun. The House of Parliament votes today.

Some basic syntax rules 9.Titles of books, movies, novels. Are treated as singular. The Burbs is a movie starring Tom Hanks. And finally… remember: only the subject affects the verb.

Run-on sentences Sentences that go on and on and on and on…. Having prepared himself well for the realtor exams and having exhausted everyone in the family with his requests that someone help him with the true-and-false drills, Jeffrey, who had never been a particularly good student in high school, knew he was ready to take on the greatest challenge of his life.

Punctuation There are very specific rules for punctuation use Punctuation marks are include: -Full stop -Comma -Apostrophe -Inverted commas -Colons -Semi-Colons