1. Week 3 – Principles and Practice of Using Articles: A, An, The Dr. Erica Cirillo-McCarthy Assistant Director of Graduate and ADEP Writing

2.  Article Usage – definite and indefinite  Exceptions  Editing for Errors  But first – any questions on last week’s workshop – verb tenses and prepositions?

3.  Use it to signal to the reader that a noun is about to appear ◦ Ex. The student, the essay, an airplane, a hike  The noun may come right after the article or there may be modifiers (adjectives) between the article and the noun ◦ Ex. The exceptional student, the final essay, an older airplane, a long, winding hike

4.  Singular count nouns whose specific identity is NOT known to the reader (being mentioned for the first time or specific identity is unknown to both reader and writer)  Count nouns—persons, places, things that can be counted ◦ A car, ten cars, a house, five houses, a meal, three meals ◦ Ex. I want to go to a school that has diversity. ◦ Ex. The students wanted the experience of living in a big city.

5.  A is used before a consonant sound: a book, a car, a dissertation  An is used before a vowel sound: an exciting trip, an assignment, an occasion  Match the article to the following word, even if that word is the adjective and not the noun ◦ Ex. An exciting vacation ◦ Ex. A boring vacation ◦ Ex. A vacation

6.  Do not use A or An for noncount nouns that are without modifiers ◦ Examples of noncount nouns: sugar, sand, knowledge, ice cream, rice, love  But sometimes you can use A or An with a noncount noun IF you want to express a specific amount: A or An + unit + noncount noun ◦ Ex. A pound of sugar, a ton of sand, a little knowledge, a gallon of ice cream, a bag of rice, a lot of love

7.  The noun has been previously mentioned  A phrase or clause following the noun restricts its identity  A superlative such as best or most intelligent makes the noun’s identity specific  The noun describes a unique person, place, or thing  The context or situation makes the noun’s identity clear

8.  Previously mentioned nouns: ◦ A student asked her professor for writing feedback. The professor referred the student to the Writing Center.  Restrictive phrase or clause following the noun: ◦ My classmates warned me that the case study assignment from Org. Behavior class would be a challenge.  Superlative restriction: ◦ Southern California has some of the most beautiful sunsets in the US.

9.  Unique person, place, or thing: ◦ When heading to LA, I cannot avoid taking the 101.  Context or situation makes the noun’s identity clear: ◦ Make sure you register for the foundations course in your program.

10.  Do not use the with plural or noncount nouns meaning “all” or “in general” ◦ Students all over the world are finding college more expensive. (Not “the” students because the sentence refers to all students) ◦ Southern Californians seem nonchalant about an earthquake happening. (not “the” Southern Californians because the sentence refers to “all” Southern Californians)  Do not use the with most singular proper nouns ◦ I will head to Whole Foods after work to pick up dinner. (not “the” Whole Foods)

11.  Some plural proper nouns use “the”: ◦ The Philippines ◦ The United Nations ◦ The Congo ◦ The Pacific Ocean ◦ The Persian Gulf ◦ The Republic of China

13.  Thank you!  Questions/Discussions