March 4, 2014  Life Changing Moment NOTES  Revision ENGLISH 091

Formatting 1.Double-Spaced 2.12 pt. Font 3.Times New Roman 4.Name, Date, Title in upper right- hand corner

Commonly Confused Words ACCEPT-to receive ex: He accepts defeat well. EXCEPT-to take or leave out ex: Please take all the books off the shelf except for the red one.

Commonly Confused Words ALL READY-prepared ex: Dinner was all ready when the guests arrived. ALREADY-by this time ex: The turkey was already burned when the guests arrived.

Commonly Confused Words ITS-of or belonging to it ex: The baby will scream as soon as its mother walks out of the room. IT'S-contraction for it is ex: It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

Commonly Confused Words THAN-use with comparisons ex: I would rather go out to eat than eat at the dining hall. THEN-at that time, or next ex: I studied for my exam for seven hours, and then I went to bed.

Commonly Confused Words THEIR-possessive form of they ex: Their house is at the end of the block. THERE-indicates location (hint: think of "here and there") ex: There goes my chance of winning the lottery! THEY'RE-contraction for "they are" ex: They're in Europe for the summer--again!

Commonly Confused Words TO-toward ex: I went to the University of Richmond. TOO-also, or excessively ex: He drank too many screwdrivers and was unable to drive home. TWO-a number ex: Only two students did not turn in the assignment.

Commonly Confused Words WHO-pronoun, referring to a person or persons ex: Jane wondered how Jack, who is so smart, could be having difficulties in Calculus. WHICH-pronoun, replacing a singular or plural thing(s);not used to refer to persons ex: Which section of history did you get into? THAT-used to refer to things or a group or class of people ex: I lost the book that I bought last week.

Plural vs. Singular and Tense WE WERE NOT WE WAS I WAS (singular) *** We/I/he or she SAW (past) HAD seen (past perfect) The Past Perfect expresses the idea that something occurred before another action in the past. It can also show that something happened before a specific time in the past.

Parallelism NOT parallel: In spring, summer, or in winter. Parallel: In spring, summer, or winter. NOT parallel: It was both a long ceremony and very tedious. Parallel: The ceremony was both long and tedious.

Informal Speech Avoid clichés: Arm and a leg, cute as a button, raining cats and dogs, on the other hand, long story short Avoid stage directions: “This paper is going to... “ “I am going to... “ Avoid vague words: “a few,” “enough,” “most,” “

Informal Speech Avoid informal speech or colloquial words and expressions: Cute, yeah, cool, dude, you know, like, well, so Avoid or limit: Contractions, using first person “I” and second person “You,” starting with coordinating conjunction

Details Please  Life was hard—how so? What happened?  I learned to rely on myself—in what ways? Give an example.  She was an amazing person—tell us a story, an anecdote.  He was really cute—just how cute? Describe him/her.  It was hot—SHOW us, don’t just tell. “The early afternoon sun baked our skin... “

The Conclusion  Use the final paragraph to provide closure.  Tie to the introduction (thematic).  Make a bold statement.  Be creative.  Connect with your strength—make it matter to your reader.

Final Tips  First paragraph should end with your topic or thesis statement. What will your paper be about—should be clear without you having to specifically state it.  Read your writing out loud to yourself OR have someone else read it to you. LISTEN for clarity and flow.  Sentence variety.  Language should be VIBRANT! Strong verbs and descriptive nouns.

DRAFT 2: Most Challenging Moment/Event Bring a hard copy of your Descriptive essay (favorite place) to class. DUE: Thursday, March 6, 2014Assignment