Concepts I said to pay
extra attention to:
(“short answer” and other questions may come from these
concepts)
First Exam
p 2. What are four ways
that we show emphasis in English writing? (1) bold type (2) italics (3)
underlining (4) ALL CAPS
p 3. What are two common
features used in paragraphs that explain or describe something? (1)
repetition (2) simple present tense verbs
p 8 (and quote from Yale).
What common English words are not normally found in academic writing?
I/me/my/our/we/us
p 9. What are the four
features of a paragraph? (1) a topic sentence (2) all sentences are about
one topic (3) the first line is indented (4) the last sentence brings the
paragraph to a logical conclusion
p 9. What does a topic
sentence do? It states the main idea
p 9 and 47. What do we
mean by “the controlling ideas” of a paragraph? These are the words or
phrases found in a topic sentence, which we can find details about in the
paragraph’s body. The “controlling ideas” guide the flow of ideas in the
paragraph.
p 10. What does “indented”
mean? It means that the first sentence of a paragraph has been moved to
the right about half an inch (one tab stop); the space is called an
“indentation.”
p 10 and my handout. If
both the TS and Con mention the topic and the controlling ideas, how are
they different? A paragraph’s TS has a general preview of the support,
but the conclusion actually mentions the support ideas. You should also
choose similar words, not the same words, to express main
ideas in the TS and Con. The best conclusions also have an implication.
p 10 and my handout. What
is an implication? a suggestion, an opinion, or a prediction,
related to the topic; this answers the reader’s question: “So what? So
what? What does this have to do with me?”
p 23 and 56. When we talk
about English grammar, what is a “fragment”? a sentence without a verb or
subject; an incomplete sentence
p 32. What is the first
step in writing a good paragraph? thinking (not writing)
p 37. What common mistake
do English-learners make, related to subject-verb agreement? They make the
verb agree with the “nearest noun” (e.g., a noun in a prepositional
phrase) instead of agreeing with that verb’s “grammatical subject.”
p 47. What are the five
features of a good topic sentence? (1) it controls or guides the whole
paragraph (2) it is not a general fact that everyone accepts as true (3)
it is specific (4) it is not too specific (leaving the writer nothing else
to say) (5) it has controlling ideas
p 57. What is a comma
splice? two or more independent clauses connected with a comma.
p 57. What are some ways
to fix a comma splice? (1) make two separate sentences (2) add a
connecting word [FANBOYS] (3) rewrite, combining the most important words
into one sentence
p 228-234. You should
understand basic capitalization rules and “end punctuation.” (I won’t ask
you to list them, but you will have to use them)
p 232. What does FANBOYS
mean? It reminds us of the list of combining words (coordinating
conjunctions): for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.
p 218ff. What are the
seven steps of the writing process? (you should be able to list these from
memory, with “Title case” capitalization as shown below—see page 228 #5)
1. Thoughtfully
Choose a Topic
2. Brainstorm
3. Outline
4. Write the First Draft
5. Get Feedback from a
Peer
6. Revise the First Draft
7. Proofread the Final
Draft
Be sure you understand the
Word Association exercises on p 26, 40 and 60.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Second
Exam
Day
29 lecture: People in different cultures “support” ideas in different
ways. In Asia, you start talking about an idea in general terms, and “circle
around” to make your point. In the Middle East, classic literature
uses "mirror-like repetition" to build support. The same idea is
said in two different ways, and then you take the writer to another point.
In the west, in academic literature writers "say it three times"
like this: (Topic Sentence--TS) Tell readers what you are going to say.
(Body) Support it with facts. (Conclusion) Then remind them what you said.
Important Review: p 47. A paragraph’s TS tells the reader what to expect,
is not a general fact, IS specific but not too specific, and has
controlling ideas.
--To make it easy for you (as beginning writers), choose support
that is closely related. See your handout from 2/16/11, which said:
a. You should choose related support points
(let every idea share something: more… or healthy… or
positive…).
b. A paragraph’s TS has a general
preview of the support (e.g., “four benefits” or “several
healthy ways”). However, the conclusion actually mentions the
support ideas (e.g., “Exercise makes your life more healthy and
happy, and less tired and stressful.”).
--The easiest way to write a
good TS is to use a number plus a shared adjective (e.g.,
four positive features, three healthy benefits, four important
differences, two effective ways.).
--To get ideas for “good support”, create a brainstorm chart, group
ideas together, and then develop the idea you can write the most about (in
English). Ask yourself the “W” questions (who, what, when…).
p
67. Six kinds of supporting sentences (you should be able to list these
from memory, with “Title case” capitalization as shown below—see page 228
#5; also, if I give you a topic, you should be able to write several types
of “support sentences.” Possible topics would be anything you’ve had to
write about in your journal.
1. Explain
2. Describe
3. Give Reasons
4. Give Facts
5. Give Examples
6. Define
p
69, Activity 5. Here are some sample answers, but you can have MANY
different answers.
2.
Math is a part of almost everyone’s life in three important ways.
How is math in everyone’s life? What do we all calculate? (calculate
money, calculate time, calculate cooking measurements)
3.
A best friend has three essential qualities. What are the essential
qualities of a friend? How are friends consistently/always helpful?
[always honest (even when it hurts), always faithful (in
good and bad times), always available [never says “I’m too busy to
talk”])
4.
When you are traveling, you can find the best restaurants by
looking for three things. How do you find the best restaurant? How do we
know it is popular? [popular with reviewers in the
newspaper, popular with local people (as seen by the number of cars
in the parking lot), popular with the local police officers (look
for a squad car)]
5.
Ping Pong is a popular sport in China for two reasons. Make makes
Ping Pong popular? What is easy about it? [easy to find a
partner (lots of people can do it), easy to play (no great training
needed, not much special equipment)]
Day
34 lecture:
--Be careful when using pronouns. Don’t make your reader guess what you
mean! A good writer will express or rephrase ideas so that the referents
are clear.
--Prepositions
and prepositional phrases tell us extra information. Common English
prepositions include
in,
from, on, at, for, over, under, beside, of, with,
and
to (but not if “to” is part of a verb). As you can see, many of
these words refer to a direction or relationship.
--Helpful
rule: In general, we do things in a place or a month,
on a date (or on an “area” like a campus or
football field), and during a period of time. Therefore,
this is wrong: “I studied in my summer vacation.” Better: I studied
during my summer vacation. Other good examples: I slept during
lunchtime. I worked in July. My friend lives in Stow. My
hometown is North Canton, in Ohio. I graduated on May 25. Do
you live on campus or in an apartment?
Day
35 & 36 lectures:
Our
textbook presents four kinds of concluding sentences (see page 76).
Almost all conclusions should repeat (or “to say again”) the main idea and
summarize the main support in your paragraph. This is called “restatement.”
In addition, good conclusions have an implication; that is, they
offer a suggestion (advice), an opinion (my view or
belief), or a prediction (guess about the future) related to the
topic.
The best way to create a good conclusion is to first
outline the paragraph (so you can see the support points clearly),
find any relationships between the support points (such as shared
words or ideas:
more… or healthy… or positive…), and then write your
conclusion.
The
second exam should be like the first exam, but will be only 4 pages. You
may also have to do an exercise like those in Unit 4, and/or you may have
to create a topic sentence and conclusion (based on an outline I give
you). WATCH YOUR TIME, skip things that are hard for you, and come back
later (e.g., don’t leave a 25-point “vocabulary” page blank because you
spent too much time writing a 5-point conclusion). I’ll say more on
Monday, after I create the test. As I told you in class, review all
vocabulary from the start of this class to the end of “week 8” (i.e., up
to and including Chapter 11 in the purple book). There is no “spelling”
section on the exam, but you will have to “match” or “use” the terms. You
will not have “short answer” questions about the main concepts you studied
before the first exam (unless I’ve told you otherwise).
You
may see items from the Word Association and Using Collocations exercises
on or near pages 26, 40, 60, & 80.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Third/Final
Exam
Important note: During
this course, I normally used capital letters for important things like
Topic Sentence, Thesis Statement and Conclusion
(to emphasize that they are important, and so that I could abbreviate
“Topic Sentence” as “TS”). However, these are not really formal nouns, and
you will not see them capitalized in most books. --M Krigline
Mar 29 handout: Three
questions will help you to know which article to use, if any: (1) What
kind of noun is it: proper or regular? (2) Does the noun refer to
something specific or general? (3) Is the noun countable (singular or
plural) or uncountable?
p 94. (This could be
True/False or “multiple choice”; you don’t have to know the other rules on
page 94.) Some of the basic rules of “article use” are: (1) use an article
with singular count nouns, (2) in general, do not use the with
noncount nouns, (3) use the when you refer to a word a second or
subsequent time, (4) use the when you refer to something specific.
p 198 Review:
a. What are the four
features of a paragraph? (1) a topic sentence (2) all sentences are about
one topic (3) the first line is indented (4) the last sentence brings the
paragraph to a logical conclusion
b. What does a topic
sentence do? It states the main idea
Page 199 told us the
FOUR STEPS in the process of writing a draft: (You should be able to list
these from memory. Notice that they are not capitalized. You don’t have to
remember the words in parentheses.)
A. developing ideas
(brainstorming)
B. creating the topic
sentence (narrowing the topic)
C. writing supporting
sentences (developing the ideas)
D. writing concluding
sentences (ending the paragraph)
p 199. What is an
essay? a collection of paragraphs that presents facts, opinions, and ideas
on a topic.
p 200. How are essays
similar to paragraphs? They both discuss one topic. Both use similar
organizational elements (to help the reader understand the information).
Both have supporting and concluding elements. Both have an introduction, a
body, and a conclusion.
p 200. What are the
two main differences between an essay and a paragraph? the length, and
scope of information (scope means the number of details)
p 204. The Thesis
Statement of an essay is (1) similar to the Topic Sentence of a paragraph,
(2) tells the reader what the essay is about, (3) shows how the essay will
be organized, (4) is usually the last sentence in the introduction
paragraph.
April 4 handout--An
essay’s first sentence is a “hook,” not a Topic Sentence. This hook
gets the reader interested and builds up to the Thesis Statement of the
essay. The hook is often a story or fact (related to the topic!).
p 205 (and lectures)--Writing
body paragraphs. Your essay needs two or three big support ideas; each
will be a separate “body paragraph.” Each “body paragraph” has a Topic
Sentence, which states the topic and previews the support. Each “body
paragraph” will have two or three “support points” (such as an example or
detail related to the idea). On the ASSET, you want to write three to five
sentences for each body paragraph.
April 4 handout--Writing
conclusions. Your “conclusion paragraph” restates your Thesis, often
in the second or last sentence. In this “Restated Thesis” you need to
refer to the main idea of each support-paragraph TS (Topic Sentence). The
essay then ends with an implication. Be sure the “Restated Thesis” and the
last sentence restates the topic (i.e., don’t just use a pronoun).
p 114. FANBOYS stands
for the six connecting words for, and, nor, but, or, yet and so.
Paragraph Types (p 99)
You should know the
vocabulary in the purple book, chapters 1 to 18. In the green book, you
may see items from the Using Collocations exercises on or near pages 119,
133, 160 and 214.
In class vocabulary:
variety: [NCN-non-count
noun] the differences that make a paragraph (or anything) interesting;
things that are similar but not the same (p 204)
synonyms:
[c-countable] two words with nearly the same meaning (p 204)
avoid: keep away from
(ch 9 in Vocabulary Basics)
to define: to state
the meaning of a word or to describe the basic qualities of something (p
99)
chronological:
arranged by time (p 121)
sensory: related to
the five senses--hearing, taste, touch, sight and smell (p 135)
plagiarism: using
someone else’s words as if they were your own words; stealing another
person’s words (p 107)
to cite: to show in a
formal way; to tell the source of information (p 107)
standardized test:
something that measures ability or knowledge the same way for a large
number of people (such as the SAT, ACT, TOEFL or ASSET) (p 124)
neutral: not positive
or negative; not good or bad
symbol: a
representation; something that reminds us of a great or famous thing/place
(p 156)
connotation: the
emotional meaning of a word; the meaning beyond the definition (p 147)
writing prompt: the question you answer when you write an essay on a test
General notes about
writing an essay on a standardized test:
(4/22/11 lecture)
Remember, you are not
trying to “fool” the graders into thinking that you have a high English
level. You are trying to give graders a true idea of your real English
level, so they can put you in a class at your level. If you are not ready
for “advanced level” or “university level” then you will find classes in
those levels very, very difficult (this often leads students to quit; but
classes at the right level would have helped them improve).
However, there are
some simple things you can do to give the best impression possible:
1. Content is
more important than “English skills.” Graders know that English-learners
will make spelling and grammar mistakes on timed tests. So don’t get too
upset when you know you’ve spelled something wrong, or are not sure about
the grammar in a sentence. As one “grader sheet” put it: “What’s important
is that [the students] have a clear, main idea that gets expressed and
supported well.” This does not mean that spelling and grammar are
unimportant (these affect the grade too). But organization and support
will get you a better grade than “perfect English” that does not really
answer the question.
2. Write
clearly. Graders are not supposed to pay attention to your hand-writing,
but it does influence them. If they can’t read what you wrote, or if it
looks messy, you may get a lower grade.
3. Leave space
for your corrections. First, graders like to see some corrections because
“editing” is an important, high-level skill. Second, the page will look
neater if you have a margin (white space) of about one inch on all sides.
If the paper has lines to write on, you can write single-spaced or
double-spaced (double-spaced will give you plenty of room to correct or
add something to your essay, but be sure you don’t run out of room at the
end; on the ASSET you have four lined pages to write on).
4. When the
writing prompt asks for your opinion, give an opinion! Some students say,
“I don’t really care about this topic, so I just wrote about both sides.”
This hurts your grade. Instead, pretend that you care, choose a side, and
support it. It is OK to write a paragraph about each side of the issue,
but be sure you keep your strongest arguments for the paragraph that tells
your opinion.
5. Don’t be
afraid to use “I.” Some writing teachers (including me) don’t want
students to include “I” in their essays. But if the writing prompt asks
for your opinion, or presents “two sides” for you to choose from, then it
is OK to write about yourself and your opinion. In fact, on the TOEFL and
ASSET, this is what the graders expect! Just remember that “writing for a
test” and “writing in the real world” are sometimes very different skills!
Why do
some teachers tell you to leave “I” out? In most college courses, you
write about facts, not personal opinions or experiences. Here is a quote
that supports this idea: “Ask your professor about using the first person
before you submit the essay. Some professors allow you to say things like
“I am going to prove…,” but others hold to the idea that the subjective
I should never appear in academic writing.”) p 178, Yale Daily News
Guide to Writing College Papers,” by Marti Page and Justin M. Cohen, publ:
Simon & Schuster 2000)
6. Write about
the topic in the writing prompt. This sounds simple, but students often
stray into other topics, or forget to write about some part of the test
question. For example, pretend this is your writing prompt.
What
are the important qualities of a good son or daughter? Have these
qualities changed or remained the same over time in your culture? Use
specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
Some
students write about “the important qualities of a son or daughter” but
forget to answer the second part: “have these qualities changed…” If you
forget to answer part of the question, it will hurt your grade. If you are
not really sure what the writing prompt means, make a guess based on the
words that you do understand, and use those words in your answer.
7. “Better” is
better than “longer.” Most graders read your essay quickly, not
carefully. Remember, they are probably reading dozens, or even
hundreds, of essays like yours. Most graders will give you a better score
if your work shows organization and thought instead of just length. A long
essay does not impress anyone if it just says the same things over and
over.
8. Think
before you write. The most important thing you can do is spend three to
five minutes thinking before you start writing. Draw a
brainstorming map, and group ideas together so you can create two or three
support paragraphs, each of which has two or three supporting ideas. Good
support impresses graders more than long paragraphs.
9. Carefully
craft your thesis statement and each paragraph’s topic sentence. Graders
often read these parts (and the conclusion) first. If the grader is in a
hurry, or bored, or tired, then he/she may not even read the body of your
essay. I have heard that the average grader spend three to five minutes
with each essay. This is why a GOOD thesis statement, supported in the
body with two or three GOOD topic sentences, is SO IMPORTANT!
10. Your first
paragraph is the most important. Graders are most impressed if your
introduction carefully answers the writing prompt with three to five
relevant, clear, grammatically-correct sentences. Start with a “hook” (a
related story, example or fact) and end with a great thesis statement that
previews the ideas you will develop in the body. Of course, you need to
support those ideas with related topic sentences/body paragraphs, but do
not underestimate the power of the “first impression” you give to the
grader.
11. End well. I
heard a grader say, “You can tell when the student ran out of time.” Don’t
let this happen to you. Save time to write a good conclusion, summarizing
your main ideas. Remember, people are most affected by what they read
last, and thus your conclusion will have a big impact on your grader just
before he/she gives your essay a score.
12. Write 4 or
5 paragraphs. If you have about an hour for a timed writing test, graders
expect you to write about 4 or 5 paragraphs, using about 300 words. I have
seen many weak essays where the students write a long introduction, trying
to say as much as they can about the topic, and then a long body paragraph
giving quotes and facts, and then they run out of time and write a quick
conclusion. This tells me that they didn’t think before they
wrote. Instead, write a 3-5 sentence introduction (see above), write
three body paragraphs (giving three strong arguments to support your
thesis), and save time to carefully write your conclusion (even if you
have to “leave space” for your last body paragraph, and come back to it
later--although you MUST NOT start your conclusion on a new page, because
the grader might not see it!).
13. Do not make
up quotes. If you really memorized something, you can use it. But it is
better to write [I read in a magazine that thousands of people die every
month because of pollution.] than to make up a quote like this [According
to Time magazine: “Thousands of people die every month because of
pollution.”] or [Prof. George Kline said, “Thousands of people die every
month because of pollution.”]. Because English-learners will probably put
a small grammar mistake in these “quotes,” many American graders will give
you a lower score because they think you are “making up” the quote.
14. DO
paraphrase things your read. Instead of using direct quotes, just write [I
read in a magazine that pollution kills thousands of people every month.]
or [One of my teachers said that pollution kills thousands of people every
month.]. This shows that you know how to support your ideas with “outside”
facts, but lets you avoid the problem of “made up quotes.” Graders will
not lower your score if you make a grammar mistake when you paraphrase.
(By the way, you can learn more about how to paraphrase in my book,
Successful Writing for the Real World.)
15. You can use
or quote “general knowledge” if you really know how to say something in
English. (This means that you can quote Confucius if your grader will be
Chinese, quote from the Quran in the Middle East, quote from the Bible or
Shakespeare in America, etc.) But even with “general knowledge” it is
often better to use a paraphrase than to use a quote (unless you really
memorized a sentence in English).
16. Some
“little things” are more important than others. Remember that graders are
human, and therefore they have opinions about things too. Do not “insult”
those who have a different opinion than yours (maybe your grader holds the
other opinion!). Instead, support your idea clearly and with respect. Also
remember that many graders have strong opinions about sexism, religion,
politics, etc. You don’t want to offend them. I’ve even heard female
graders say they give “higher marks” to students who use “he/she” instead
of “he” to mean “any person”--they say it shows “higher skill” when maybe
it just shows an awareness of sexism (a hot topic for many people).
[If you
don’t know what I mean by “he/she,” here are some examples. When I was a
child, this sentence was fine: “A doctor when to the bank, but he couldn’t
get any money because he left his credit card at home.” But today, this
sentence is better: “A doctor went to the bank, but he/she couldn’t get
any money because he/she left his/her credit card at home.”]
17. Don’t
expect to have your phone handy. Some students think they can keep a phone
next to them “so they can tell the time.” But in most test rooms, phones
are not allowed (because people use them to cheat). So, wear a watch. If
you are allowed to use a dictionary (like you can on the ASSET), then it
has to be a dictionary, and NOT a phone. These are the rules; don’t let
them surprise you!
