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English Writing UVic English
English Writing UVic English
English Writing UVic English
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But the actual process you will probably go through will be far more complicated, more like this:
The important thing is to keep the simple model in mind. As you become more proficient, you will become more confident in developing your own study practices and writing techniques.
parked illegally may be tagged and towed" or rock critics plugging Guns 'n Roses. Nits these may be, but the world is lousy with them. The problem with explaining apostrophes--apart from the fact that nobody takes them too seriously--is that they cannot be made systematic. We say Tom's and his the same way, and by that final s we mean the same thing, possession or belonging. But one carries an apostrophe and the other doesn't. The word his is the older form, and shows us the possessive as our ancestors used to deal with it. His is the genitive, or possessive, form of the pronoun he, and nouns in English that indicated this grammatical relationship took this form. The apostrophe was originally added to show that letter e had been left out of the genitive, but by the 18th century the apostrophe was being used in almost all possessives, even those without an e. That may sound reasonably systematic, but the system is once again collapsing. That wouldn't be a bad thing if we could collapse in unison, and get rid of the apostrophe altogether and write dont instead of don't. But instead all is flux and we seem to be at sixes and sevens (six's and seven's? 6's and 7's? 6s and 7s?). Look at how we deal with periods of time. At The Globe, the decade of rampant materialism and Gorbymania was called the 1980s, but at The New York Times they say the 1980's. Since there is nothing omitted here and no suggestion of possession, I can't see why The Times carries on in this way. The reasoning of The Times' word columnist, William Safire, is that the apostrophe is used to form the plurals of numbers and letters, and so there. Mr. Safire compares p's and q's, and the phrase dressed to the nine's, but to my mind the truth is not quite so self-evident. If one rule of writing is to keep punctuation to a minimum, then I think that 1980s, a natural looking plural, is much nicer than 1980's. Accept 1980's and you start referring to The Smith's or the delegation of MP's. But what about p's and q's? The reason we don't mind them at The Globe is that individual letters are easier to see as individual letters, uncluttered by a neighbouring s. And here's where we get unsystematic. Turn those letters into capitals and suddenly they're As and Bs and MPs and VIPs, comprehensible and a little more elegant without the apostrophe. This kind of plural is made easier when you have left out the periods between letters, as is more and more the case with modern style. But still there is confusion. For every St. Andrew's, there is a St. Andrews, where long use has banished the apostrophe and made the s part of the name. St. Catharines, St. Marys, St. Davids, Canada is full of slights to punctuation. The Canadian Teachers' Federation is doing its best to keep the apostrophe alive, but what can they do against the massed forces of the Canadian Swine Breeders Association and the Teamsters union? We are turning away from the apostrophe. ( The Globe and Mail, March 23, 1991. Reprinted by permission.)
given to explore. Because it is easy to become lost in a wilderness of outside material, you must take particular care to narrow your topic. The greatest danger inherent in the research essay is plagiarism. If your paper consists of a string of quotations or paraphrases with little input of your own, you are not synthesizing but copying, and you should expect a low grade. If any of the borrowings are unacknowledged, you are plagiarizing, and the penalties are severe. The pages on Quotations give information on how to use secondary sources properly, and the one on Works Cited and Bibliography has instructions for documenting your sources. A research paper should demonstrate what you have learned, but it should also show that you have a perspective of your own on the subject.
General subject: Media Narrowed topic: Commercials Specific topic: How commercials manipulate their audience General subject: Dragons Narrowed topic: Fire-breathing dragons Specific topic: Problems in fighting the medieval fire-breathing dragon.
1.3.2 Brainstorming
If you are having trouble developing a thesis, try brainstorming. You can brainstorm verbally with other people, or work alone, writing all your ideas on paper. The important thing about brainstorming is not to edit your thoughts. Write down everything which occurs to you about the topic, no matter how irrelevant or bizarre. The next stage is to make connections between your ideas, and to group them into sub-topics, expanding those that you can explore in more detail. Then see if you can put the groups into some kind of logical order, discarding those that do turn out to be irrelevant or bizarre. In most cases you will find that you have the beginning of an essay--something that implies a basic point of view you can explore further and refine into a fully developed argument. There are several good books on using the brainstorming process to generate ideas for writing, including Tony Buzan's Use Both Sides of Your Brain and Gabrielle Lusser Rico's Writing the Natural Way. If you are still unsure about the topic, you should consult your instructor after you have done some thinking about the topic on your own.
Too limited: "Molson Canadian commercials are offensive." Specific topic: Problems in fighting the medieval fire-breathing dragon. A thesis that is a truism: "Fighting fire-breathing dragons was hell." A thesis that is too broad: "The flames of passion in courtly love claimed more knights' lives than all the fire-breathing dragons in medieval Europe." (The topic is unwieldy because it involves two areas of research, courtly love and fire-breathing dragons.) A sharper thesis: "Fewer knights would have been broiled in their armour if the medieval world had known of fireextinguishers." Too limited: " 'Puff the Magic Dragon' is a sweet song."
1.3.5 When You Don't Know Enough About A Subject To Form A Thesis
It is possible, particularly when you are tackling an expository essay on a subject you know little about, that you will not be able to formulate a thesis, no matter how hard you storm your brains. In this case, the best strategy is to narrow the topic as best you can and to move straight to the process of writing an outline. Then you should begin your research and gather evidence As you learn more about the subject and begin to form clearer opinions, you can pause to restructure the outline, and then to draft a thesis.
1.4 Writing Your Essay: Organizing It 1.4.1 Methods Of Organizing Your Essay
Now that you have narrowed your topic and formulated a thesis, you know what you are going to write about; organizing your essay will help you determine how to write it. While a well-formulated, sharpened thesis will give your essay purpose and direction, careful structuring and organization will ensure that every part of your essay works to support and develop that thesis. Ideas as we first conceive them may tumble in an improvised dance, but an essay needs the formality of a beginning, a middle and an end. Organizing before you write gives your ideas a structure to cling to; it allows you to articulate, analyze, and clarify your thoughts. If you devise some structure for your essay before you begin to search for supporting evidence, you will be able to conduct a more effective and directed search. Organization (or reorganization) is a continuous processit goes on simultaneously with other activities, such as narrowing your topic, forming your thesis statement, and conducting your research. However, formal organization generally involves two components: determining a method of organization for the essay, and drawing up an outline which applies your ideas to that method. As you begin to plan your essay, give some thought to the methods you will use to organize the evidence that will support your thesis. You will want to choose methods which are most suitable to your subject and the type of essay you have been assigned. Here are some principles of organization: Chronological order: Paragraphs separate the process or series of events into major stages. ( See also chronology within paragraphs.) Classification: Paragraphs divide the material into major categories and distinguish between them. Increasing importance: Paragraphs are arranged so that the most important point comes last, thus building the essay's strength. Cause and effect
Indicates causal relationships between things and events. Be careful, however, not to mistake coincidence with causality, nor to disregard other possible causes. See the various pages that deal with logic. Comparison and contrast Involves lining up related ideas for a detailed account of similarities and differences. In this kind of essay it is important to decide whether you will be concentrating on similarities or differences. In general, the more similar things are, the more you concentrate on the differences, and vice versa. If you are comparing two works by the same author, or two love poems, for example, what will most interest you will be the differences between them; if you are comparing an Anglo-Saxon riddle with a science fiction novel the differences will be obvious enough that you will want to focus on the similarities. Although one pattern should serve as the overall organizing framework, your argument can benefit from a combination of these strategies. For example, while the paragraphs may be arranged in ascending order of importance, within the paragraphs it is likely that you will incorporate comparisons, causes, classification or chronology. These principles apply to both the greater structure of the essay and each individual idea.
Some essays read as if each point had been written on an index card, then the pile thrown down a flight of stairs to determine the order. Make clear why one point follows another: each point in your outline should connect with the next; each main category should be linked to your thesis; and each sub-category should be
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linked to the main category. Focus your outline by discarding anything not useful or pertinent to your thesis. One of the most helpful things about a full outline is that it will quickly make clear to you where the gaps lie. If you don't yet have enough support in one area, you will know that you have more reading or thinking to do. Remember that sometimes your reading will unearth new facts or idea--and you will modify your essay to reflect them.
1.5 Writing Your Essay: Getting It Down 1.5.1 Audience And Tone
Your research is complete; you have a thesis, a complete outline, a bibliography, and a pile of notes. All you have to do is to write the essay. And instead you call a friend or watch television. The trick is simply to get started. Choose a part of the essay towards the beginning of the outline where you know the material well, and write that paragraph. Then continue. You can backtrack later to fill in the gaps. There is one important part of the process of writing, however, that you must complete before you set the first word of your first draft on paper: you must decide what audience you are writing for. If you were writing an oral presentation, you would consider your audience and adjust your style accordingly. The same procedure applies to writing. Your audience will influence your choice of vocabulary, sentence structure, and even the kind of evidence you use to support your thesis. Writing a paper for a university professor obviously requires a greater level of stylistic polish than writing a letter to your six-year-old sister might. However, writing for one professor as opposed to another may require nearly as much variation in method. You would be well advised to keep in mind the preferences of the instructor, as well as the requirements of the essay. Even within the relatively narrow limits of the English essay, there are still a variety of approaches that may be taken and the appropriate path to follow depends to a great extent upon the person who gave the initial directions. The tone of your essay is dictated in part by the subject matter. If you are writing an article for The National Enquirer you will probably take a more casual approach than if you are contributing to Existentialist Quarterly. An essay need not always be grim and impersonalit may suit your thesis to be more subjective or ironic. However, while this approach may be appropriate to an essay on double entendre in Shakespeare, it may not serve you well in an essay on the nature of tragedy in King Lear. In a university environment, it is safe to assume that a certain seriousness of tone is necessary, but there are exceptions to every rule. Addressing students in this style manual, we feel freer to be moderately light-hearted than we might if we were speaking to a convention of Scandinavian drama scholars. What determines tone more than anything else is the kind of language you choose. An honours thesis is a highly formal work; therefore, one would not expect to find it strewn with slang and colloquialisms. The page of this guide which deals with usage explains the difference between formal, informal and popular language. Another consideration is the attitude you communicate as you express yourself. Be wary of being either too timid or too aggressive. A timid essay hedges on every point, incorporating words and phrases like probably, it seems that, to some extent and perhaps. These phrases have their place, but overusing them suggests that you are not confident in what you are saying. Conversely, an essay featuring numerous examples of obviously, definitely, of course and the like is being overly confident. Often students fill essays with superlatives and flamboyant emotional outbursts in an effort to please their professors, finishing papers with sentences like "His masterful use of puns proves that Joyce is unquestionably the greatest writer in the English language." Dramatic declarations are not welcome in serious critical essays; what is welcome is carefully considered and well-supported argument. Do not shout at the reader with overstated convictions or pretentious moralizing. While many essay topics encourage an objective and dispassionate discussion, there are other occasions when it is appropriate to be critical or adversarial toward your subject. Your instructor is unlikely to be satisfied with an essay which merely regurgitates class lectures, or timidly praises to avoid controversy. If you have an opinion, declare it. Students are often afraid to write anything negative, especially if the subject is Shakespeare or another such major figure. Be honest but methodical; support your opinions and never lose sight of the opposing viewpoint.
The first draft of your paper is the arena into which your ideas, observations, criticisms and hypotheses are thrown to battle one another and prove themselves. In other words, the first draft is the place where you can write anything and everything down and determine whether or not it works. Although you have prepared an outline of your basic points, it is likely that the process of composing an initial draft will alter your original plans somewhat. The composition of any essay is a journey through the tangled underbrush of your unformed ideas, and hacking from one end to the other will clear a path to a more definite perspective on your material, eliminating the weak points that you cannot prove and the flaws that undermine your argument. Your messy first draft will help you clarify the issues. As you begin the first draft, do not worry about crafting a captivating introduction. Many find writing the introduction the most challenging part of the essay process, and allow it to prevent them from starting. It is better to plunge directly into the body of your argument, with perhaps a two-sentence opening, simply summarizing your thesis. Once you know what you have said in the essay, it becomes easier to find an effective way of introducing it. It is important to realize that writing is a way of thinking. Do not feel that you have to have all of your thoughts fully organized in your head before putting fingers to keyboard. A written work is not an Athena and will not leap fully formed from your brain to the page. It is a carefully prepared and heavily revised simulation of rational thought that usually begins as a series of poorly expressed and disconnected ideas. Once you have done your research and planned your outline, the best way to think about your essay is to write it. Seeing your thoughts written down allows you to regard them critically and objectively, and putting one sentence down will inspire another one. There is no need to feel disappointed with a messy, even incoherent first draft. The purpose of the initial draft is to produce raw material, not to dazzle the critics with your finely-shaped prose. Having something on paper gives you something to work with.
1.5.3 Revising
According to the Roman writer Pliny, a bear's whelp was born a shapeless mass, and the mother had literally to lick it into shape. Now that you have a mass of print before you, your task is to lick it into something resembling an essay. Your principal concerns are these: clarity, coherence and unity. Clarity As you create sentences in your first draft, you will use the first grammatical constructions that come to mind. Once you are revising, it will become necessary to rewrite much of your original work for the sake of clarity. Essays tend to be written one painful sentence at a time, and it is easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. Repetitive or unwieldy sentences are irritating and distract the reader's attention from content. Make sure that you vary your sentence structure; for example, do not begin three sentences in a row with The. Trim redundant phrases (many of these, such as off of, are covered in the Dictionary of Usage (15K) ). Watch for passive sentences ("A decision was made by the Premier to resign") and, unless the passive voice is crucial, change them to active ones ("The Premier decided to resign"). Do not try to be wordy in the mistaken belief that it will make your essay sound more "serious." See the section on writing sentences, especially the discussion of wordiness and (again) the passive voice. Coherence. Students often have trouble putting a collection of perfectly good sentences into an order that makes sense. The page on organization talks about the logical processes used to structure an essay; apply the same guidelines to every sentence. Ask yourself why one thought follows another, or if it might be more effective somewhere else in the paragraph. Every sentence in your essay must follow from the previous one, and the paragraphs must work toward the goal of developing and exploring your thesis. Examine the material you have put together in your rough draft and experiment with different sequences (if you are working on a word processor this kind of experimentation will be much simpler). No matter how strong your ideas, if they are disconnected they will have no impact. You are trying to convince, and convincing requires logical, systematic presentation. There are more suggestions on the organization of ideas in the pages on paragraphs. Unity Check everything you have written to make sure that it contributes to the essay. The strength of your argument will be diluted by irrelevant digressions or redundancies. In the course of writing the first draft,
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you will probably compose a number of sentences whose only function is to help you think and lead you toward something else. Determine whether or not you need a given sentence to advance your argument. If you are only spinning your wheels, then that sentence must go. Everything in your essay must be there for a reason.
1.5.4 Introductions
It is often a wise decision to begin work on the introduction after you have completed a rough draft of the body of your paper. Many find the task of writing an introduction perplexing, wondering why they should write something once if they are planning to say it again in the next paragraph. After all, novels do not have ponderous opening paragraphs which explain what is going to happen in advance. But the introduction is not a disposable redundancy; it is a crucial component of the essay. An essay is an exploration of an idea which needs to be defined before it is developed. Because the material in an essay always relates to this central thesis, it is necessary for the writer to introduce that thesis and make the reader aware of its importance and relevance. The introduction is the place where the essay has to make a good impression, informing the reader what is to come and encouraging him or her to read further (but without rendering the succeeding paragraphs repetitious). If the introduction is tedious or fails to make the rest of the essay sound interesting, the reader will not wish to continue. Of course, when you are writing a class assignment, you can assume it will be read no matter how bad the introduction. But your introduction serves the same purpose as it would if the reader were coming to it voluntarily. You must give the impression that your essay is worth reading.
In this model, your introduction begins with the general and moves toward the specific, as the sides of the triangle narrow toward a point. Ask yourself how the specific question you are addressing in the essay relates to a greater issue or field. For example, if you are writing about how Waiting For Godot subverts traditional notions of plot, you might want to begin by explaining what a traditional notion of plot is, or by discussing the characteristics of Beckett's work in general. The question you take up in your essay does not exist in a vacuum; it arises out of a greater set of concerns. Your introduction can provide this background so that the reader is not coming to the discussion cold: ask yourself what your audience knows already, and what it needs to know in order to understand the context for your thesis. By the time you reach the end of your introductory paragraph, you should be ready to state the thesis of your essay. The introduction need not give away all your opinions and conclusions, but you should give your reader a clear idea of what you will be discussing. For an example of the inverted triangle structure, read a sample expository essay written by a UVic student.
background information, especially if the professor is already conversant with the material on which you are writing. For example, this introduction is clearly too long: In the play The Glass Menagerie,Tennessee Williams uses a number of realistic and non-realistic techniques. The characters and the language are predominantly realistic. The narrator, Tom, is excluded as a realistic character when narrating. The characters and their actions are unrealistic because they are seen through Tom's mind. Tom's memories of the events are revised and his acting in the play is formed around his guilt and his selective recollections. Various other unrealistic techniques include the music, lighting, and screen devices. Williams uses symbolism in this play. The places, characters, actions and objects centre around the idea that the Wingfield family is trapped in an unrealistic world and is unable to face reality. The use of the setting emphasizes the hopelessness of the Wingfields' lives. Amanda, the mother, holds on to the past, which is indicated by her clothes and her language. Tom, the son, desperately seeks to escape from home to follow his father's adventurous lifestyle. This is suggested by his continuous attendance to the movies. Laura, the daughter, lacks self-confidence due to a crippling illness, and thus feels she is unable to survive in the working world. Laura's glass collection symbolizes Laura herself. Lastly, Jim represents the only realistic character. The use of symbolism helps to describe the roles of the characters in the play. You may wish to spend some time analysing what is wrong with this introduction. Can you tell whether the essay is to be about realism realism or symbolism? The final sentence, which is presumably the thesis, makes a statement about symbolism, but the paragraph begins with a discussion of realism. Is there too much detail about the play for an introduction? Should some of the material be left for later paragraphs? Are there other problems of usage, repetition, truism and so on? This introduction, on the other hand, is inadequate because it is too brief: In Jane Eyre, the heroine comes into contact with two men who share some qualities but differ greatly. Mr. Rochester and St. John Rivers are emotionally and socially strong, which helps to mold Jane's character. The reader learns virtually nothing because the paragraph does not suggest how the argument will develop. Try not to be too self-referential in your introduction, or elsewhere for that matter. When you talk to someone you do not continually remind that person that you are having a conversation. Avoid sentences like "It is this problem that my essay will focus upon." Though you have been advised to begin with the general, do not start your essay with a bland statement like "Catch-22, written by Joseph Heller, is an extremely interesting novel." The first sentence is important; do not waste it on a meaningless generality.
The important thing at this stage is to ensure that you construct paragraphs that are unified --one topic per paragraph, each topic suitably and sufficiently supported. If your outline has been carefully thought out, the sequence of paragraphs will make logical sense.
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For more, the UVic Writer's Guide has a number of pages on the subject of writing paragraphs paragraphs that you should find helpful.
Reread the essay, out loud if possible, to make sure that it flows well and that it makes sense as a whole. Since you have worked on the essay one section at a time, you may have forgotten to connect those sections properly. Reading your essay aloud from beginning to end may make you realize that it is less coherent or not as thorough as you had thought, and you may even have to do some last minute research to bolster a weak point. Hearing a sentence may make its faults clearer than they appear on the page. You may discover that you have left a sentence incomplete, omitted a citation, or (if you are using a computer) forgotten to erase unwanted text. If you have typed your paper or used a word processor, you must beware of the illusion of perfection that the printed page presents. Your essay looks so official and sophisticated that mistakes seem inconceivable. However, they are probably there. A typo is no less an error than a spelling mistake. While the professor may know that the error comes from your fingers rather than your brain, the experience of reading your paper will still have been interrupted, and there will be an ugly gash of red ink on the page. One of the most efficient ways of picking up spelling errors (if you have the time) is to read your work backwards, word for word. That way you are looking at each individual word, not reading for the overall sense of the passage. Alternatively, get a friend to read your paper, or (best of all, both for spelling and for style) leave the paper for several days, then come back and read it carefully. The only problem with this last solution is that it is seldom practical in the real world of university assignments. The presentation of your essay is not a trivial matter; you wish to show the reader that you are thorough and organized. A series of typos suggests that you are careless, and does not reflect well upon your work. Check very carefully for errors in spelling, typing, and, especially in the Bibliography, punctuation. Many professors deduct marks for these mistakes.
1.7 Common Problems Writing Essays The most common problems that students encounter with essays are: Thesis Statement There is no thesis at all. The thesis is too general, or a truism. The thesis is too narrow. Organization There is no sense of direction, no reason why one paragraph follows another. There are few, or inadequate transitions. There are too many generalizations, and too little support for them. The introduction or conclusion is weak, or one simply repeats the other. Presentation The essay is poorly set out, with inadequate space for the instructor's comments. There are frequent typos or misspelled words.
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After the topic sentence, the rest of the paragraph supports the point you wish to make. Inexperienced writers often fail to construct effective paragraphs because they make an assertion without backing it up. The following paragraph provides a topic but no development: Jane is relieved to find that Mrs. Fairfax is in fact a nice lady, and that she does not own Fairfield. Perhaps she wants to live as an equal, or maybe she is tired of having authority figures looking over her, as they have done for her entire life. The writer does not develop the statement in the first sentence; rather the discussion fizzles out into speculation with no specific reference to the text. In an expository essay especially, you may be able to refer to objective support for your position; if you are writing a paper about birth control, you might find it useful to include statistical information to strengthen your argument. Never state without supporting evidence; aside from the problem of proof, you will end up with a short essay.
conceives diseases as due to certain forms of evil and attempts to control them by ceremonial and superstitious measures or to drive them away by wishful thinking. On the other hand, rational medicine is based on the conception that disease arises from natural causes; it associates sickness with ignorance. Civilized man tries to control the forces causing disease by material, not spiritualistic, means; he does not view disease as supernatural or the outcome of sin against moral laws, but rather as resulting from the violation of sanitary laws. He recognizes that knowledge is the sole means of preventing it. The measures he relies upon both to prevent and cure disease are those which have resulted from scientific investigation and which have been proved to be effective by experience.
variety of toxic gases, including carbon monoxide, cyanides, dioxins and furans. After the dust and soot settled out, the solar ultraviolet flux would be much larger than its present value. Immunity to disease would decline. Epidemics and pandemics would be rampant, especially after the billion or so unburied bodies began to thaw. Moreover, the combined influence of these severe and simultaneous stresses on life are likely to produce even more adverse consequences--biologists call them synergismsthat we are not yet wise enough to foresee.
The clarity of the moment of discovery, the beauty of what in that moment is seen to be true about the world, is the most fundamental attraction that draws scientists on.
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3.1.5 Parallelism
The ability to write a good parallel sentence is invaluable in essay work. Faulty parallelism, on the other hand, produces an effect in your reader similar to changing gears without using the clutch. A successful parallel sentence reads smoothly, while a faulty parallel sentence lurches awkwardly. The previous sentence is an example of good parallelism because it obeys the technique's central rule: The grammatical elements of parallel clauses must match. The following sentence is an example of poor parallelism because the verb form changes: This is a debate begun in Greece and which continues into modern times. Begun is a participial adjective while continues is an active verb. The sentence should read: This debate began in Greece and continues into modern times.
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The rule applies not only to verbs but also to nouns, adjectives, adverbs and other parts of speech. In the following sentence, for example, a noun has been mixed with a pair of verbal nouns (gerunds): I acquired my considerable fortune by investing carefully, hard work and marrying a rich woman. The sentence should read: I acquired my considerable fortune by investing carefully, working hard and marrying a rich woman. Watch for grammatical signposts that point to the need for careful parallel constructions. Linking words (such as and, or, yet and but) Often indicators of the need for parallel structure: "I lost my heart in San Francisco, but I left my shoes in Santa Fe." Parallel constructions also follow as is better to give than to appear cheap." Here, the to must be repeated to preserve the infinitive structure. Correlative conjunctions (pairs such as either . . . or and both . . . and) introduce clauses that must be parallel. The following sentence is incorrect because the verb forms are mixed: "We can either drive to the Grand Canyon or we're flying to Japan." The indecisive vacationer should say "We can either drive to the Grand Canyon or fly to Japan." Not only . . . but also can be tricky because of the placement of only and also, but the same rules apply; "He is not only the nicest person I have ever met, but also the most fragrant man I have ever sniffed." In a not... neither construction, the first negation can affect the meaning of the second. For example, if you write "Justin is not an ordinary person, and neither are his stories," you are implying that the stories are not ordinary people. A more accurate assessment of Justin would be, "Justin is not ordinary, and neither are his stories." Lists also need to be parallel: "I like a good lunch, singing and to read" should read "I like eating a good lunch, singing and reading." Parallelism is especially effective for thesis sentences, because you can incorporate all the sections of your argument in a unified manner: "Because they are dangerous for children, they stick to carpets, and they are expensive to produce, Slime Balls should be banned from toy stores." The parallel structure provides a clarity and balance which sharpens your thesis; in this instance the parallels also point the way to the three paragraphs you will be writing to support the thesis.
If the sentence deals with the family as individuals, then a plural form is used: The Griswold family are going to fight all the way through their vacation. Linking verbs in subjective completions agree with the subject, not the completion: My favourite thing to buy is compact discs. But compare: Compact discs are my favourite thing to buy.
After a colon, unless a quotation, title or other regularly capitalized word follows. A common noun that derives from a proper noun (china).
3.3 Using Hyphens 3.3.1 Hyphens For Splitting Words At The End Of A Line
In formal essays, it is usually best to avoid splitting words at the end of a line. If you must, be sure to put the hyphen after a complete syllable: splut-ter; sesqui-pedalian. Some word processors and desktop publishing programs (like the one that is used for this manual) include automatic hyphenation; if you use it, check where the words are split, since the program's "algorithm," however sophisticated, will not always put the hyphen where a human would. Also, do not hyphenate an already hyphenated word (e.g. anti-es-tablishment).
When discussing inanimate objects, it is best to use the "of" form for possessives rather than the apostrophe form; "the back of the house" sounds better than "the house's back," which gives the house human qualities.
3.5.2 Fragments
A sentence fragment is a piece of a sentence which has been punctuated as if it were a complete sentence. Usually it is a phrase or subordinate clause which has been improperly separated from a main clause: Matt has been improving at school. Since he stopped skipping class. It was the time of year when the neighbours would suddenly become uncharacteristically generous, pressing quantities of enormous zucchini on us. It being the most prolific of vegetables. The sentences must be reconnected: Matt has been improving at school since he stopped skipping class. It was the time of year when the neighbours would suddenly become uncharacteristically generous, pressing quantities of enormous zuccini on us, it being the most prolific of vegetables. Every sentence must have a main clause, and thus a complete verb. Particularly in works of fiction, a sentence fragment can be a rhetorically effective device, but in formal writing it is more likely to be simply inept. A tip: if you are unsure of the distinction between a complete verb and an incomplete one, or a main clause and a participle phrase, there is a simple test you can apply to find out if you have a sentence fragment, or a comma splice: Each complete sentence will make a complete statement, and each complete statement must be either true or false. Thus if you ask of the fragment above--"Since he stopped skipping class": true or false--there can be no answer (what happened since he stopped?), and thus it is not a complete sentence. Similarly, both parts of the comma splice can be tested ("They believed in Oedipus" and "He is their king"--both can be answered, in this case as "true"), so there are two complete statements.
3.5.4 Wordiness
As wordiness is the writer's bane, we have covered it from various angles throughout this manual. Always dump the excess baggage from your essay; it will fly higher as a result. Avoid overusing relative pronouns such as which and that. Often they can be eliminated. For example, "The dog that you found yesterday" can be shortened to "The dog you found yesterday." The link is obvious. Avoid overusing meaningless qualifiers such as quite, extremely and very. Words such as these have lost their potency through overuse, and have become filler. Use a stronger word instead (exhausted rather than very tired). Many of these qualifiers appear in the Usage dictionary. Also stay away from phrases like "A great many of . . ." and "A great deal of . . ." Avoid ponderous or vague constructions such as despite the fact that, due to the fact that, an aspect of, and the use of. Avoid excessively tentative language such as it seems that and appears to suggest. Not only is it wordy, it also makes your argument appear weak. Only use these constructions if there is genuine uncertainty. If you are at all confident, write as if you are. Avoid redundancies . Do not write that someone is naive and innocent or dull and boring. These words are virtual synonyms. You do not have to provide a list where a single word will do. Be aware of a word's implications; for example, if you tell the reader that a woman is wearing a hat, you do not need to add "on her head." The reader will assume the hat is on her head because it is the nature of hats to be found on heads (if she is wearing it elsewhere, then it is worth mentioning). Avoid the passive voice which is possibly the greatest cause of wordiness.
have varying attitudes to the use of the personal pronoun: you would be wise to check. However, the sparing use of "I" can be an alternative to unwieldy passives like some of those cited above: "I think . . ." is both more effective stylistically and more honest than "It is thought that . . ." The passive is often used to avoid responsibility: "The economy of this Province has been mismanaged" is less incriminating than "We have mismanaged the economy of this Province." Do not shift from active to passive in the same sentence: As I entered the mansion, footsteps could be heard from behind me. Both the verb and the subject have shifted. The sentence should read: As I entered the mansion, I heard footsteps behind me.
There are three ways to solve this problem: 1. 2. Use a period to separate the clauses into two sentences: They believe in Oedipus. He is their king. Join the clauses with a coordinating or subordinating conjunction, depending on their relation to one another: They believe in Oedipus, for he is their king. Join the clauses with a semicolon: They believe in Oedipus; he is their king.
3.
In this particular example, using the first option would result in sentences that are too short, too choppy. There is an obvious connection between the clauses which is best expressed through a conjunction; therefore, the second option is the best to use here. In the following example, however, the writer has used a comma where a semi-colon is appropriate: Sgnarelle is not the primary character, still he acts as a foil. The clauses could form separate sentences, but the use of "still" implies a stronger link which is best served by a semi-colon: Sgnarelle is not the primary character; still, he acts as a foil. In this example, the clauses being connected are too complex to be part of the same sentence: Lear was a majestic ruler when he was young, however, as he became older, his temptations clouded his thought. Lear was a majestic ruler when he was young. However, as he became older, his temptations clouded his thought. The writer could use a conjunction: Lear was a majestic ruler when he was young, but as he became older his temptations clouded his thought. A comma cannot, by itself, connect two main clauses; the clauses must either form separate sentences or be joined by a coordinating conjunction. For main clauses, see the Short Treatise on Grammar and the "tip" after "sentence fragments" in this section. Note that conjunctive adverbs have the logical effect of linking ideas, but do not link sentences grammatically. In the last example the word however is one of these. Others to watch for are therefore, thus, and this.
3.6.3 Fragments
A sentence fragment is a piece of a sentence which has been punctuated as if it were a complete sentence. Usually it is a phrase or subordinate clause which has been improperly separated from a main clause: Matt has been improving at school. Since he stopped skipping class. It was the time of year when the neighbours would suddenly become uncharacteristically generous, pressing quantities of enormous zucchini on us. It being the most prolific of vegetables. The sentences must be reconnected: Matt has been improving at school since he stopped skipping class. It was the time of year when the neighbours would suddenly become uncharacteristically generous, pressing quantities of enormous zuccini on us, it being the most prolific of vegetables. Every sentence must have a main clause, and thus a complete verb. Particularly in works of fiction, a sentence fragment can be a rhetorically effective device, but in formal writing it is more likely to be simply inept. A tip: if you are unsure of the distinction between a complete verb and an incomplete one, or a main clause and a participle phrase, there is a simple test you can apply to find out if you have a sentence fragment, or a comma splice:
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Each complete sentence will make a complete statement, and each complete statement must be either true or false. Thus if you ask of the fragment above--"Since he stopped skipping class": true or false--there can be no answer (what happened since he stopped?), and thus it is not a complete sentence. Similarly, both parts of the comma splice can be tested ("They believed in Oedipus" and "He is their king"--both can be answered, in this case as "true"), so there are two complete statements.
3.6.4 Wordiness
As wordiness is the writer's bane, we have covered it from various angles throughout this manual. Always dump the excess baggage from your essay; it will fly higher as a result. Avoid overusing relative pronouns such as which and that. Often they can be eliminated. For example, "The dog that you found yesterday" can be shortened to "The dog you found yesterday." The link is obvious. Avoid overusing meaningless qualifiers such as quite, extremely and very. Words such as these have lost their potency through overuse, and have become filler. Use a stronger word instead (exhausted rather than very tired). Many of these qualifiers appear in the Usage dictionary. Also stay away from phrases like "A great many of . . ." and "A great deal of . . ." Avoid ponderous or vague constructions such as despite the fact that, due to the fact that, an aspect of, and the use of. Avoid excessively tentative language such as it seems that and appears to suggest. Not only is it wordy, it also makes your argument appear weak. Only use these constructions if there is genuine uncertainty. If you are at all confident, write as if you are. Avoid redundancies . Do not write that someone is naive and innocent or dull and boring. These words are virtual synonyms. You do not have to provide a list where a single word will do. Be aware of a word's implications; for example, if you tell the reader that a woman is wearing a hat, you do not need to add "on her head." The reader will assume the hat is on her head because it is the nature of hats to be found on heads (if she is wearing it elsewhere, then it is worth mentioning). Avoid the passive voice which is possibly the greatest cause of wordiness.
avoid responsibility: "The economy of this Province has been mismanaged" is less incriminating than "We have mismanaged the economy of this Province." Do not shift from active to passive in the same sentence: As I entered the mansion, footsteps could be heard from behind me. Both the verb and the subject have shifted. The sentence should read: As I entered the mansion, I heard footsteps behind me.
3.6.6 Parallelism
The ability to write a good parallel sentence is invaluable in essay work. Faulty parallelism, on the other hand, produces an effect in your reader similar to changing gears without using the clutch. A successful parallel sentence reads smoothly, while a faulty parallel sentence lurches awkwardly. The previous sentence is an example of good parallelism because it obeys the technique's central rule: The grammatical elements of parallel clauses must match. The following sentence is an example of poor parallelism because the verb form changes: This is a debate begun in Greece and which continues into modern times. Begun is a participial adjective while continues is an active verb. The sentence should read: This debate began in Greece and continues into modern times. The rule applies not only to verbs but also to nouns, adjectives, adverbs and other parts of speech. In the following sentence, for example, a noun has been mixed with a pair of verbal nouns (gerunds): I acquired my considerable fortune by investing carefully, hard work and marrying a rich woman. The sentence should read: I acquired my considerable fortune by investing carefully, working hard and marrying a rich woman. Watch for grammatical signposts that point to the need for careful parallel constructions. Linking words (such as and, or, yet and but) Often indicators of the need for parallel structure: "I lost my heart in San Francisco, but I left my shoes in Santa Fe." Parallel constructions also follow as is better to give than to appear cheap." Here, the to must be repeated to preserve the infinitive structure. Correlative conjunctions (pairs such as either . . . or and both . . . and) introduce clauses that must be parallel. The following sentence is incorrect because the verb forms are mixed: "We can either drive to the Grand Canyon or we're flying to Japan." The indecisive vacationer should say "We can either drive to the Grand Canyon or fly to Japan." Not only . . . but also can be tricky because of the placement of only and also, but the same rules apply; "He is not only the nicest person I have ever met, but also the most fragrant man I have ever sniffed." In a not... neither construction, the first negation can affect the meaning of the second. For example, if you write "Justin is not an ordinary person, and neither are his stories," you are implying that the stories are not ordinary people. A more accurate assessment of Justin would be, "Justin is not ordinary, and neither are his stories." Lists also need to be parallel: "I like a good lunch, singing and to read" should read "I like eating a good lunch, singing and reading." Parallelism is especially effective for thesis sentences, because you can incorporate all the sections of your argument in a unified manner: "Because they are dangerous for children, they stick to carpets, and they are expensive to produce, Slime Balls should be banned from toy stores." The parallel structure provides a clarity and balance which sharpens your thesis; in this instance the parallels also point the way to the three paragraphs you will be writing to support the thesis.
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Simple sentences are the main stylistic feature of children's readers like Fun With Dick and Jane, so a paper full of them will sound as if it was written for youngsters. If your essay has any claim to sophistication whatsoever, it will feature sentences of varied length and complexity. If you find that your essay is composed of choppy little sentences, try to connect some of them into compound or complex sentences.
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comprehend understand get it intoxicated exhausted dejected drunk tired sad wasted bagged bummed
A major problem with popular English is that its vocabulary is either too limited or too specialised (not all professors are up to date with the latest slang, and the slang used by one group may be scorned by another). Slang also changes rapidly. The third column in this list will look rather dated in a few years (if it isn't already), while the words in the first two columns have been around since Shakespeare.
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The student must always be aware of what kind of work she or he is doing. The style must be appropriate to the subject, the situation and the intended audience. These issues are also important when you decide on your audience or when your professor lowers your grade for using colloquial language.
4.1.2 Clichs
All clichs were once pithy, clever sayings in which someone encapsulated an idea or feeling. Unfortunately, thousands of other people used and reused those sayings, until they became trite and tiresome. Because they are catchy and concise, clichs stick in the brain and immediately occur to the stymied writer. However, using a worn-out phrase is tantamount to admitting that you have not been able to think of anything more interesting to say. Don't be deceived into thinking that if you put quotation marks around a clich it suddely becomes respectable. On the contrary, you will simply ensure that your reader notices that you ran out of ideas. Some clichs to avoid like the plague: avoid like the plague better late than never bleeding like a stuck pig bright and early butterflies in my stomach cool as a cucumber death warmed over easier said than done few and far between green with envy hotter than hell in this day and age last but not least laughing like a hyena like water off a duck's back long-lost love at first sight proud as a peacock selling like hotcakes sleep like a log slowly but surely sweating like a pig white as a sheet/ghost work like a dog
4.1.3 Jargon
Jargon is unnecessarily technical language which provides polysyllabic replacements for perfectly adequate simple words. Organizations such as the military and the government are renowned for their ability to bury simple statements under a ton of verbiage. The process seems to arise from a fear that official proclamations do not sound official enough. Jargon is also used to make something unpalatable sound more acceptable. In the 1991 Gulf War, the phrase "collateral damage" was coined by the military to avoid having to admit that even the smartest bomb caused civilian damage; similarly, while the transformation of "garbageman" into "sanitation engineer" removes the sexist connotation of the original, it is also an attempt to cover up the verbal smell of garbage. In both these examples, the initial urge to create the jargon came from the desire to make something unpleasant seem acceptable; many euphemisms of this kind give an impression of insincerity at the same time as generating wordiness: "passed away" for "died," "comfort station" for "toilet," and so on. Increasing specialization in our society contributes to the spread of jargon, a substantial portion of which is derived from technical vocabulary. Many of these new words are necessary in their original contexts, but they have also begun to creep into areas where they are unappreciated. Computer terms such as "interface" and "output" can be confusing when applied to real life. Literary criticism is a rich source of jargon, and businesses are particularly guilty of creating terms that are meaningless in their generality (e.g. "functional management options"). The one grammatical characteristic of jargon that is readily identifiable is the suffix "-ize." Words such as "systematized" and "priorized" permeate official writing, resulting in the creation of such unnecessary synonyms as "finalize" (for "finish") and the popular "utilize," which appears to be trying to erase "use" from the face of the earth. Avoid the frequent use (not "utilization") of "ize" words; they are pretentious, and there are probably simpler words that accomplish the same task. Jargon is intended to impress, but it also seems intended to intimidate and confuse. It can also be unintentionally comic, if it is used in a context where it is clearly inappropriate. But just for fun, consider this wittyand quite deliberately"jargonizated" version of the Lord's Prayer that pokes fun at the"jargonscenti":
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Our father-figure who resides in the upper-echelon domain, May thy title always be structured to elicit a favourable response. Reward us today, bread-wise, And minimize our unfavourable self-concept, resulting from credit over-extension, As we will strive to practice reciprocal procedures. And channel us, not into temptation-inducing areas, But provide us with security from situations not conducive to moral enrichment. For thine is the position of maximum achievement in the power structure, Not to mention the prestige-attainment factor that never terminates. (Tom Dodge, "What If an Educator Had Written 'The Lord's Prayer'", English Journal, January 1971, p.101.) You might try your own pages of well-known passages. Here is another: Considering [the] degradation of the verb [in sociological English], I have wondered how one of Julius Caesar's boasts could be translated into Socspeak. What Caesar wrote was " Veni, vidi, vici" -- only three words, all of them verbs. The English translation is in six words: "I came, I saw, I conquered," and three of the words are first-personal pronouns, which the sociologist is taught to avoid. I suspect that he would have to write: "Upon the advent of the investigator, his hegemony became minimally coextensive with the areal unit rendered visible by his successive displacements in space." (Malcolm Cowley, "Sociological Habit Patterns In Linguistic Transmogrification," qtd. in Effective Writing 238) The effect of jargon, in its own terms, is to "depersonalize" and "desensitize" language. If you intend your writing to express human qualities and to evoke some kind of an emotional response, then you must not allow jargon to overwhelm the reader.
Accept / Except Adaptation / Adoption Affect / Effect Aggravate / Irritate All right / Alright Allusion / Illusion A lot / Alot / Allot All together / Altogether Among / Between Amoral / Immoral Amount / Number "And/or"
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Can't help but Censor / Censure Centre around Clearly Complement / Compliment Comprise / Compose / Include Concept Connotation / Denotation Contact Continual / Continuous Convince / Persuade Could of, would of, should of, etc. Council / Counsel Definitely Differ from / Differ with Different from / Different than Discreet / Discrete Disinterested / Uninterested (Dis)oriented / (Dis)orientated Due to Element Elicit / Illicit Eminent / Imminent / Immanent Enormity Ensure / Insure Enthused Envelop / Envelope Etc. Every one / Everyone Facet In fact The fact that Famous / Notable / Notorious Farther / Further Fewer / Less Good / Well Had of Hanged / Hung Historic / Historical Hopefully If / Whether Imply / Infer Individual Ingenious / Ingenuous In regards to Interesting Irregardless Is when / Is where Its /It's
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G H
J No Entries for "J" K Kind of, sort of L Lie / Lay Like / As Loan / Lend Loose / Lose Lots of M Maybe / May be Media/Medium Moral / Morale Myself N Nice No one O Obviously Of Only (As) opposed to Oral / Verbal P Passed / Past Perfect Plan on / Plan to Point in time Practical / Practicable Practice / Practise Precede / Proceed Precisely because. Presently Principal / Principle Prophecy / Prophesy Q Quite Quote / Quotation R Raise / Rise Reason is because Rebut / Refute Replace / Substitute Revolve / Rotate S Sensual / Sensuous Sight / site / cite So Some time / Sometime / Sometimes Stationary / Stationery T Than / Then Their / They're / There This
Till / Until Thing To / Two / Too Toward / Towards Try and Unique Usage / Use Very
Wait on / Wait for Way / Ways Who / Which / That Who's / Whose -Wise You're /Your
4.3 Gender Inclusive Language 4.3.1 The Generic Pronouns: He, His, And Him
Because English lacks a singular pronoun that signifies the non-specific "he or she," the tradition has been to use the masculine pronoun. The following guidelines show how to avoid this usage. Recast into the plural. If a writer wishes to avoid stating his opinion directly, often he will use the device of the persona. If writers wish to avoid stating their opinions directly, often they will use the device of the persona. In the case of indefinite pronouns (anybody, somebody, nobody, no one, etc) substitute her or his (her/his), he or she (he/she) for the masculine pronoun. Anyone who reads Ford Madox Ford's novel. . . must make up his or her mind. . . Alternatively, reword the sentence to avoid the problem altogether: Anyone who reads Ford Maddox Ford's novel. . . must decide whether. . . Although many people still find it objectionable, there is increasing evidence that the construction "Anyone. . . their" (as in "Anyone can have their cake and eat it too") is becoming acceptable. There is something to recommend this solution--it is simple and it does not create ambiguity--but those who use it should be aware that some readers will consider the sentence grammatically incorrect.
Chairman chair, chairperson, co-ordinator, moderator. (Don't use non-parallel terms such as chairman for men and chairperson for women.) Note that the policy of the University of Victoria is to use chair. Workman worker Businessman/woman business executive
4.3.4 Titles
The conventional titles for women--Miss and Mrs.--are linked solely to marital status. That is, women are identified in terms of their relationship to men. The title Ms. is the only one that is not linked to marital status. Ms. is recommended for all women when the parallel Mr. is applicable. In discussions of literary figures, it is best to omit the title altogether, even when you are dealing with contemporary authors. Example In this paper, I discuss the insights of Miss Atwood, regarding the effects of the Canadian landscape upon the psyche of the individual, and compare them to those of W.O. Mitchell. Alternative In this paper, I discuss the insights of Margaret Atwood [or use the person's last name, Atwood]. . . .
The only substantial attempt to reform English spelling was Noah Webster's; the result is, however, that American and English spelling differ.
4.4.5 Homonyms
One of the easiest spelling errors to make is confusing one word with another that sounds just like it. Be wary of such homonym groups as to/too/two, whose/who's, and their/they're/there. Be especially careful about its/it's. Though you have undoubtedly learned the difference between them in elementary school, it is easy absent-mindedly to write one instead of the other.
4.4.6 IE/EI
The most famous spelling rule, I before E except after C, is generally true but is more specific than is actually stated. The rule applies only if the letters produce the long "ee" sound, e.g.. piece and receive. Words such as eight and height therefore do not conform to the rule, and neither do words like science in which the "i" and "e" are part of different syllables. Naturally, there are exceptions to the rule as well, such as "ie" words financier, species, and friendly, and "ei" words neither, weird, protein, seize, and leisure.
4.4.7 Final E
When combining words with suffixes, drop the final "e" only if the suffix begins with a vowel, e.g.. bike/biking or fame/famous. If the suffix starts with a consonant the "e" remains, e.g.. love/loveless. The rule does not apply if the "e" is preceded by a "c" or a "g" (courage/courageous) or if the change will cause confusion (an "e" is needed to differentiate between singing and singeing).
4.4.8 Final Y
A final "y" becomes "i" before all suffixes except -ing. Happy becomes Happiness while cry becomes crying. If a vowel precedes the "y" (donkey) then the rule does not apply, and the plural will be donkeys. Exceptions include lay, pay, and say, which become laid, paid, and said.
If a single short vowel precedes the final consonant (pop/popping) If the syllable preceding the suffix is stressed (admit/admitted). Otherwise, the suffix is added without any change (edit/edited, benefit/benefited).
4.4.11 Plurals
Most plurals are formed simply by adding "s" to the root word (bat/bats). But there are innumerable alternatives and variations. Certain word endings such as "ch," "sh," "s," "z" and "x" require an "e" before the final "s" to facilitate pronunciation. If you hear this sound (as in lunches, bushes and boxes) use the "-es" ending. Words ending in "y" form their plurals with -ies if the letter before the "y" is a consonant (party/parties); if the penultimate letter is a vowel simply add an "s" (key/keys). An "f" usually becomes a "v" in the plural (calf/calves). However,certain variant forms change neither spelling nor sound (graph/graphs, giraffe/giraffes roof/roofs). Some words ending in "o" (tomato, potato) add an "e" in the plural (tomatoes), but this pattern is by no means consistent, especially with words, often in the context of music, that are derived from Italian (piano /pianos, trio/trios). Some Latinate words such as alumnus use Latin endings to form plurals (alumni) Note that media and phenomena are already plural; use the singular when appropriate: One phenomenon of the last half of the twentieth century was the dominance of television as a medium. Solid compound words add plural endings to the very end of the word (spoonfuls) while hyphenated compounds add them to the noun (mothers-in-law.) Many plurals are utterly unpredictable (child/children) and simply have to be memorized.
You will still have to proofread carefully: there are particular kinds of typos that spelling checkers will miss (the for then, for example); and they will not be able to pick up words correctly spelled but misused (there for their).
misspelled absence accidentally accommodate achievement acknowledge acquire adolescence aggressive amateur analysis analyze anxious apparent appearance approximately athlete attendant auxiliary believe benefited business caricature cemetery changeable character committee comparatively conceivable condemn conscience conscientious conscious consistent constant continuous counsellor (counselor) courteous criticism curiosity curriculum deceive definite desirable
laboratory lieutenant maneuver (manoeuvre) marriage meant medieval millionaire minuscule mischievous monastery mysticism necessary niece ninety ninth noticeable nucleus occasion(ally) occur occurred occurrence omission omitted opinion opportunity outrageous parallel perceive perform permanent permissible perseverance peruse pilgrimage playwright possession preceding prejudice prevalent primitive privilege proceed professor pronounce pronunciation
psychiatry psychology pursue queue questionnaire realize receive recommend referring relevant religious reminisce repetition resistance restaurant rhythm
ridiculous sacrilegious schedule schism secretary seize sensible separate sergeant shepherd shining siege similar souvenir strength success
supercede suppress synonym temperament thorough tragedy truly twelfth tyranny unnecessary vacuum vengeance villain weird writing
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6. Preparing Summaries
6.1 How Writing Summaries Can Help You
Practice in writing summaries will benefit you in important ways as a student and as a writer: It will give you practice in close, attentive reading, and train you to do justice to what you read (rather than reading into a work only what is familiar to you). It will strengthen your sense of structure in writing: how a writer organizes material, developshis or her points, and moves from one point to another. It will develop your sense of what is important in a written work, enabling you to distinguish between key points, the material backing them up, specific examples and illustrations, and mere asides.
Moreover, preserve the relative emphasis of the original, giving more prominence to a point treated at length than to one mentioned in passing.
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7.2 Generalization
The basis of virtually all logical errors is the assumption that "some" equals "all." Do not assume that because you hold an opinion, the same is true of the rest of the world. If you write, "Nobody thinks smoking is acceptable any more," you will undoubtedly be assaulted by a mob of irate tobacconists. You must be aware of the circumstance and be more precise: "Nobody in my class thinks smoking is acceptable." Politicians are especially adept at assuming that their position is that of the majority. If there is inconvenient evidence, in the form of election results or polls that contradict them, they may choose to invent a "silent majority" that actually supports them without ever saying so. Deductive reasoning is a way of thinking that draws inferences from general statements or uses generalizations to apply what is true in one instance to what is true in another related instance. You must be careful not to assume that what applies to one situation always applies to another. A hasty generalization will draw a conclusion from an insufficiently representative source; for example, a survey of an English class might produce the information that 90had read Beowulf. One could not assume, however, that ninety percent of all university students had read it. It was deductive reasoning that led to the ancient practice of letting blood as a "cure" for various diseases. If the patient is flushed, and her heart is beating fast, it can be deduced that she has too much blood in her body: pass the leech. If a generalization does not stand up to the question, "Can you prove it?" think twice about using it.
7.4 Abstractions
An abstraction is a word which stands for a quality found in a number of different contexts from which it has been taken away or abstracted. In conversations on "ethics" or "morality," the process of abstraction is often carried so far that we make the fundamental error of assuming these abstractions are tangible, definable objects. Such concepts as "nature," "beauty," or "truth" are not so much indefinable as receptive to an infinite number of definitions. Never assume that the reader's notions are the same as yours. A discussion of abstract ideals must maintain its connection to the topic at hand, and you must be especially careful to define the abstract terms you use.
7.5 Analogies
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While an analogy is a useful means of explanation, it does not constitute proof. Argument by analogy tends to evoke a predictable emotional response because it is usually based on accepted symbolism; for example, during the Gulf War Saddam Hussein was routinely compared to Hitler, as if doing so automatically provided a justification for war. Remember, what is true of one thing in one set of circumstances is not necessarily true of another thing in another set of circumstances. By drawing analogies, you are manipulating the reader into thinking about the comparison rather than the original subject. Use analogy to clarify or enhance your argument but do not deceive yourself into thinking that you are proving it. A false analogy makes an inadequate comparison: "Deciphering a poem is like doing a crossword puzzle." This analogy demeans the process of reading by comparing it to something mechanical; the comparison may be partially appropriate, but it does not suggest the complexity of the response one has to a poem.
7.6 Syllogisms
A syllogism is a means of breaking down an argument into three simple, related terms: 1. All UVic students receive grades; 2. I am a UVic student; therefore 3. I receive grades. There are three parts to a syllogistic argument. The major premise is the first, general statement: "All UVic students receive grades." The minor premise is the second, specific statement: "I am a UVic student." The conclusion is the logical resolution of the two premises: "I receive grades." To be an effective argument, both premises of the syllogism must be true, and they must also relate logically one to the other. Arguments of this kind tend to fail because the general premise is not valid: 1. All students like pizza. 2. Hassan is a student, therefore 3. Hassan likes pizza. The assumption that all students like pizza is invalid (if nearly true). Improperly used, the syllogism is a handy device for producing charmingly erroneous conclusions like this one: 1. Slugs crawl on the ground; 2. I can crawl on the ground; therefore 3. I am a slug. While this conclusion may be true in a metaphorical sense, it does not follow logically from the first two statements because the two premises are not logically connected.
" `Binsey Poplars' suffers from a surfeit of literary devices." The statement still expresses an opinion, but the more precise and objective language suggests a way in which the writer can support the claim.
A catchall explanation provides one answer to a question with a variety of possible answers and presents that answer as if it invalidates all the others: Some people think the dinosaurs died out because of a meteor striking the earth. Some people think they died out because of the coming of the Ice Age. And some people think they died out because evolving mammals competed more successfully for available resources. But new evidence proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the dinosaurs became extinct because aliens poisoned their water supply. The actual answer may be all, some, or none of the above. The writer should not assume that the new theory renders the others obsolete.
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You may, if you will pardon the paradox, know English grammar without knowing English grammar. You may be able to speak grammatically without being able to explain the rules by which you speak grammatically. This distinction is not the usual one between descriptive grammar , which tries to explain how grammar works, and prescriptive grammar which claims the right to tell you how you should speak. The newspapers are full of the opinions of people who think that English is in a state of decline from which only a good dose of prescriptive grammar can save it. Such people tell us that we misuse words like "hopefully" and that we shouldn't talk about "contacting" others or split infinitives: 1Hopefully I will be able to quickly contact the police is not a very elegant sentence, but most English speakers would consider it grammatically acceptable. The following example presents a different and more significant kind of problem: 2a If I could of, I would of. The statement recorded here is one that most of us will have uttered at one time or another. It is by no means ungrammatical, but its recording is, for it misinterprets the standard spoken abbreviation: 2b If I could've, I would've, which is short for 2c If I could have, I would have. Example 2a is a logical spelling of the sound of what we say, but it betrays a lack of awareness of the way in which English grammar works. And although it may be true that the ability to formulate a sentence orally is the really crucial ability, while being able to render it correctly in writing is only of secondary importance, in a culture that depends on writing this second kind of grammatical control is immensely valuable. Unless you understand how English sentences work your ability to write will be severely impaired. If you are lucky your message will get through, but at a considerable cost to your credibility.
Non-native speakers seldom completely master the complicated tense structures of English, but even for educated native speakers they can pose real difficulties. In this connection, consider the following clause in the Victoria Real Estate Board's standard contract form for house purchases: 4This house has been has not been insulated with urea formaldehyde foam insulation. If your home was but no longer is so insulated, how would you fill the boxes provided? "Has been" implies that the house still has its foam, while "has not been" may be thought to indicate that the house never had it. The alternatives, which intend to cover all possibilities, in fact quite fail to do so. But we are moving away from the simplicities of our base sentence. By putting together nouns and verbs, as well as adjectives and adverbs (not to mention the articles "the" and "a" or "an") we can assemble sentences of the complexity of example 3i: 3i Clever Mary used to study Latin nightly, didn't she? To build larger structures we will need to add three more parts of speech: prepositions (function words that introduce adjectival or adverbial phrases and conjunctions (a related class of function words that join words or groups of words including clauses together), and pronouns (which have many functions, among them the introduction of some kinds of clauses). The UVic Writer's Guide includes a section on writing clear sentences that you will find helpful.
8.3 Phrases
Phrases are unified groups of words which do not combine the actor and act that produce predication. Beyond this crucial feature the term phrase is difficult to define with much precision. In " Clever Mary used to study Latin nightly, didn't she?" "clever Mary" would be called a noun phrase and "used to study" could accurately be called a verb phrase. But "used to study Latin" and "used to study Latin nightly" may equally well be called verb phrases in that they comprise groups of words which belong together but which do not include both the actor and act of predication. Among the commonest of phrase types in English are prepositional phrases, groups of words introduced by one of a small handful of relational words like "in," "on," "behind," etc. which are known as prepositions because they are "pre-posed" or "placed before" the phrases they introduce. Prepositional phrases can function as adjectives or adverbs. Thus in 5a, "in your class" could be an adjectival phrase if it told us about Mary, but it could equally function adverbially: 5a The Mary in your class studies hard. 5b Mary studies hard in your class. In sentence 5a the phrase acts as an adjective, modifying the noun "Mary," whereas in sentence 5b it is an adverb modifies the verb "studies," telling us where the studying takes place.
8.4 Clauses
The next larger unit above the phrase is the clause. A clause by definition does involve predication --that is, it includes a subject and a predicate. There are two principal kinds of clauses: first, main clauses (also called co-ordinate clauses), which can form independent sentences, and second, subordinate or relative clauses, which are dependent upon the main clause of a sentence. "Mary studied" can stand alone as a complete sentence but it can also be treated as a main clause to which another clause could be added: either an additional main clause to produce a compound sentence such as 5c Mary studied, but George watched television. or one or more subordinate clauses, whose addition creates a complex sentence: 5d Mary, who wants to go to graduate school, studies whenever she has a moment. Note that subordinate clauses here function differently. "Who wants to go to Berkeley," because it tells us about Mary, is adjectival; "whenever she had a moment," because it tells us about when she studied, is adverbial. But subordinate clauses are not limited to functioning as adjectives or adverbs. They can also act as nouns. In the sentence 6Whoever wants to go to UVic should study hard; "whoever wants to go to UVic" is a subordinate clause but it is also the subject of the verb "should study." Subordinate clauses differ from coordinate clauses by virtue of the the way they are joined to the rest of the sentence. Main clause is added to main clause by a coordinating conjunction, like and or or or but, which are used to join elements of equal value. "Mary and George"; " ran and played." Subordinate clauses are
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introduced by subordinating conjunctions or relative pronouns. If and although are examples of subordinating conjunctions. So is whenever. Whoever and Who, on the other hand, are pronouns.
8.5 Pronouns
Pronouns, so called because they stand for nouns, are a small but inherently difficult class of words. They are difficult for a number of reasons, among the most important of which is their necessary failure to identify directly the thing or person to which they refer; their value and their weakness is that they offer instead a non-specific short form. In the following sentence, for example, there is no way of knowing whose hat is meant. 7a Tod gave Brent his hat. Another distinguishing feature of some pronouns, including his, is that they are gender specific. This feature could, under other circumstances, have made sentences similar to the one just cited perfectly clear. Thus: 7b Tod gave Tiffany her hat. 7c Tod gave Tiffany his hat. But often we do not want to be or cannot honestly be specific about the sex of the person referred to by the pronoun. 8a The child cut his finger. 8b The child cut her finger. 8c The child cut his or her finger. 8d The child cut their finger. His in the first example can no longer be defended as the all-purpose sexless pronoun that it never was. His or her will sometimes feel too cumbersome or self-conscious. Thus it seems rather likely that the last solution above is going to prevail as English continues to evolve, though for the moment many regard it as ungrammatical since their is a plural form and child is singular. Gender specificity is a pronoun problem. Avoiding inaccurate gender specificity has become one of the major challenges of good writing. Yet another unusual feature of the pronoun class is that it continues to mark case, which was a decisive grammatical feature of English before it evolved into the word-order language it is today. His, her, and their are all possessives; so are whose, its, and so on. Each of these pronouns has what might be called a subject case and an object case as well as this possessive case. Compare them with the nouns in the following table: case pronoun forms subject: he she possessive: his her(s) object: him her nouns they their(s) them
it its it
There are a good many pitfalls in the list above: using it's or who's for its and whose, writing they're or there when you mean their, and forgetting to distinguish between Marys and Mary's. None of these is an interesting mistake since all depend simply on the identity of pronunciation of these different forms. Much more interesting is the continuing capacity of English speakers to distinguish pronoun cases in some circumstances and their inability to do so in others. 9Who did you give the ball to? 10 Whom do men say that I am? Both of these sentences could be described as ungrammatical because they contain pronouns in the wrong case. The first is the equivalent of saying 11 I gave the ball to he, and the second to saying 12 Whom am I? Though no native speaker would produce these last two sentences, most of us regularly produce statements similar to the first two examples, even if we are being careful--in the case of "Whom do men say that I am,"
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especially if we are being careful. In this respect, then, there seems to be a real distinction between grammar--meaning 1 (what native speakers feel is right) and grammar--meaning 2 (the rules that can be extracted from our normal usage). The domain of the first kind of grammar is speech; writing and reading allow or require you to be more analytical in your language use. You have to get your words to agree with each other if you want your reader to agree with you.
8.6 Agreement
Apart from its strict word-order rules, English, like all languages, has rules about what words or forms of words can be fitted together to make up sentences. Often these agreements are very easy for native speakers. Consider the following sentence: 13a Brent studies hard before he goes to bed. He agrees with Brent to the extent that it is a masculine singular form. Its being in the subjective case is a kind of agreement with its function in the sentence. Similarly goes agrees with he just as studies agrees with Brent, for both have the "s" ending which occurs when the subject of a verb in the present tense is not I, you, we, they or their equivalents. Such agreements are second nature for a native speaker, who would never say 13b Brent study hard before him go to bed, which nevertheless is a lot easier to interpret than, for example, 13c Hard before Brent studies to bed goes he, where all the right agreements could be said to occur. The errors once again illustrate the importance of word order in English. Getting the agreements right ought, in theory, to be relatively easy for native speakers, since their instincts constitute grammar (meaning 1). Perhaps if those with a professional interest in correct grammar let things evolve naturally, we would have no difficulties in this respect. But our language instincts do produce some apparent anomalies. For example, all children, left to their own devices, will say 14a Me and Darby went to the store, though none but an infant or Tarzan would say 14b Me went to the store. So we are taught, from a tender age, that "me and Darby" is egocentric and ungrammatical. Unfortunately people who have been taught to say 14c 3 Darby and I went to the store are likely to say, when they grow up, 15a It occurred to Darby and I that going to the store was a poor idea, though they would never say 15b It occurred to I that going to the store was a poor idea. In short, agreement is a muddling sort of business however we go at it. The only way to get it right consistently is to learn how to analyse the structures of your speech, which is to say, how you put sentences together. See also the pages on the subjective case and the object case.
subject by providing new information about it. These subjective completions comprise predicate adjectives and predicate nouns as in the following examples. 17a Justin is studious 17b Justin looks studious 17c Justin is a student As long as we are not dealing with pronouns, such constructions are quite simple. The trouble with pronoun subjective completions is that, although we understand that they should logically be in the subject case, the instincts of word order incline us to prefer objective case forms, which is why you have to be taught not to write 18 7 It's me and why Christ's question in the King James translation cited above as sentence 10 is properly termed hyper-correct, that is, so correct that it's wrong. The translator has too successfully resisted the desire to say: 19 Who do men say that I am? where "who" is the subjective completion of "I am."
The UVic Writer's Guide's advice about writing clear sentences will also give you information about subject/verb agreement that you'll find helpful.
8.10 Punctuation
Getting your words to agree with one another is not a problem unique to written English, though the greater complexity of written English may increase the probability of disagreements arising, and readers are in a better to position to catch one out than listeners are. The considerable difficulties of punctuating properly are, however, entirely a feature of writing, for punctuation is an inadequate substitute for the pauses and intonations by which we signal the structures and rhetorical force of our sentences. Unfortunately we are poor witnesses to our own use of pauses and intonations. It is also true that the inventory of punctuation marks is much more limited than the devices we use to signal, say, the completeness or uncertainty of something we say, especially since, by convention, we punctuate only at the end of groups of words. Poets have a better time of it, since they are able to use lines and extra spaces as subtle aids to the emphasis of their sentences. But even poets have to know what rules they are breaking if they are to break them effectively: a knowledge of grammar does not make punctuating easy, but an ignorance of grammar makes it impossible. Proper punctuation is a matter of recognizing two things: When a punctuation mark is permitted or required. Which punctuation mark to use. Once you have decided to use punctuation, it will help if you make a distinction between the two main kinds of punctuation marks. Those which separate parts within a main clause: the comma, the dash, and the parenthesis. Those which separate different main clauses or sections of the sentence: the period, semi-colon, colon, question mark, and exclamation mark. Thus it is sentence structure that you must consider in taking these decisions. Periods and the like identify word groups that can stand alone, that is, sentences containing complete predications (or understood substitutes for complete predications). Commas and the like divide sentences into parts in order to facilitate reading. Too many periods produces sentence fragments: 24a While Michael went to the store. Heather studied. Too few periods will result in run-on sentences or comma splices, 24b Michael went to the store Heather studied. 24c Michael went to the store, Heather studied. Replace the period after "store" in 24a with a comma or insert a semi-colon in the same spot in 24b and 24c and you have perfectly acceptable punctuation, the first indicating the presence of an introductory (adverbial) subordinate clause, the second the existence of two coordinate clauses. To avoid this kind of punctuation problem, at least in such straightforward cases, you simply have to be able to recognize coordinate and subordinate clauses. You have to be able to recognize subjects and predicates to avoid the common error of wrongly separating these fundamental sentence parts. If you rely simply on your sense of the pauses of speech, you may be tempted to write 25 The time that I went to Disneyland, was a real high point in my childhood. The comma here suggests that the subject and predicate belong only loosely together, whereas they are the inseparable constituents of the the act of predication that forms a sentence. This is not to say that no comma can occur between a subject and a predicate, but such a comma must either be needed to set out a list or it must be part of a pair of commas setting off an insertion. Sentence 5d provides an example of this kind of construction: Olga, who wants to go to graduate school, studies whenever she has a moment. The commas around "who wants to go to graduate school" indicate that we are treating this clause as a kind of parenthetical comment, something interesting to know but not the distinguishing feature of our friend Olga. We call such a clause non-restrictive. If we knew two Olgas, of whom one wants to go to graduate school, the other to law school, we couldn't dispense with the clause identifying her aspirations, so we would remove the commas; the resulting sentence Olga who wants to go to graduate school studies whenever she has a moment. would indicate to the attentive reader that the clause was restrictive and important to know. But in neither case would we allow a single comma to intervene between subject and verb.
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8.12 Colons
The colon's function is introductory. The presence of a colon at the end of a sentence points forward to further information, often in the form of a list: 26 There are three ways to write: the right way, the wrong way, and my way. The colon can only be used if the statement preceding it is grammatically complete. If it is not (for example, if an object is needed for the verb ), then you should resist the temptation to add a colon: 27 I saw Brent, Darby, Noel and Lara today. In this case, the names can act as the object of "saw" without a colon. The colon is often preceded by "as follows" or "the following": 28 The runners will be starting as follows: Leonard, Charles, Jones, Nesmith and Nash. Examples and illustrative details appended to sentences are preceded by colons (note the use of colons to introduce all of our examples in this Guide): 29 There is only one solution left: we shall have to sell the yacht. 30 Ilsa's return to Casablanca could mean only one thing: trouble. A sentence after a colon may be capitalized if it seems to stand on its own as a statement, as when it is long or needs emphasis: 31 There was one thing, he said, which we must never forget: No one has a right to happiness that deprives someone else of deserved happiness. In literary and research essays, colons are used to introduce long quotations.
8.13 Semi-colons
The semi-colon is more complex than the colon; it is used to connect rather than to introduce. The semi-colon is a staple of formal writing because it allows the writer to join thoughts with more sophistication than can be achieved using only the period and the comma. It pulls together independent clauses like a comma, but it allows each to retain its individual strength, like a period. Essentially, the semicolon is a cross between the two symbols. Note that a semi-colon can only join independent clauses; it can only be used where a period could also be used. Its effect is to show when thoughts that are independent grammatically are dependent logically on one another. The semi-colon is most effective when it joins two independent clauses for contrast or balance: 32 I am not trying to deceive you; I am merely trying to educate you. The writer can present two ideas succinctly without having to use a coordinating conjunction such as and or but. The clauses are at once independent and connected. Often the first clause will be explained by the second: 33 That's odd; Jim never has a second cup of coffee at home. The independent clauses may also be joined by a conjunctive adverb (such as therefore, nevertheless, meanwhile, besides, however, otherwise or then). In this case, the semi-colon and the adverb work together to form a closer connection: 34 The classroom was full; however, I was able to watch from the doorway. On the other hand, one should not write: 35 The classroom was full; because the teacher was popular. "Because the teacher was popular" is a dependent clause and cannot be separated from the main clause by a semi-colon. Be aware of the difference between subordinating conjunctions like "because" and conjunctive adverbs like "however." If you use a comma to join clauses that are linked by a conjunctive adverb you will create a comma splice. In the above examples the semi-colon operates as a kind of linking period, but it has another use in which it could be described as a strong separating comma. Ordinarily, when you write a
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sentence with several clauses you use commas to separate them, but if the clauses contain commas themselves, the semi-colon can be used to distinguish between the clauses: 36 I went to Hawaii because I love the sand, the sun, and the surf; because my aunt, uncle, brother and sister live there; and because my favourite cities are Honolulu and Lahaina. In this sentence the semi-colon does not join main clauses but rather keeps the subordinate clauses clear.
8.14 Parentheses
Parentheses indicate an interruption in a sentence: an aside or a digression. Usually they enclose a piece of information that is not worthy of its own sentence or even its own clause, but which is worth tucking into another sentence. A more emphatic break in the sentence should be made with a dash (see below). Consider the different emphases in the following sentences: 37a Jane had to go to City Hall to pay her taxes before she could go to the beach. 37b Jane had to go to City Hall (to pay her taxes) before she could go to the beach. 37c Jane had to go to City Hall--to pay her taxes--before she could go to the beach. Too many parenthetical interruptions will disrupt the flow of your essay. If you find you have used parentheses too often, try to work the material into the main body of the sentence, or ask yourself whether the digressions are really necessary.
8.15 Dashes
The dash is used for interjections and asides. It indicates an abrupt break in thought, much like that signalled by parentheses, but with greater emphasis: 38a I was thinking about biology--though not especially hard--when suddenly I realized I had missed the test. Parentheses would have performed the same function, but they would have integrated the aside more subtly into the sentence. Dashes indicate an interruption while parentheses signal a digression. If you use dashes in this way, make sure that the sentence makes sense without them. The biology example above would be faulty if it read like this: 38b I was thinking about biology--realizing I had a test--and I had missed it. If the material between the dashes is removed, the sentence reads 38c I was thinking about biology and I had missed it. An important piece of information is now missing, and the sentence makes no sense. Therefore the sentence is incorrect even with the dashes restored. The dash has an ironic quality that is useful in informal writing. For example, in the following sentence, a colon could have been used in place of the dash, but the dash brings out the sarcasm: 39 We had a magnificent feast--Twinkies and Kool-Aid. This kind of usage should be confined to informal writing as it tends to be humorous or flippant: 40 That lecture was interesting--or at least it kept me awake.
comparative faster, more quickly superlative fastest, most quickly. Adverbial Functioning as an adverb. Phrases and clauses that modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs are adverbial. Article One of a set of three words: the, the definite article; aand an, the two forms of the indefinite article. Auxiliary A "helping verb" like "have" or "should" or "was." I should have been trying to please them, but I forgot. C Case The use of word form to indicate grammatical function. The form "I" identifies the pronoun as either a subject or a subject completion, "my" or "mine" indicates possession, while "me" is the equivalent object form. Noun endings only indicate whether or not the noun is a possessive: Lara, Lara's. Clause A group of words containing a complete predication. Clauses belong to two types: (1) subordinate, relative, or dependent clauses (italicised below) function only when conjoined to (2) a main, coordinate, or independent clause, which can--contrariwise--stand by itself. Before Tanya or I arrived, it had become late and cold, so we left. Completion A word or group of words that combine with a verb to complete the meaning of a predicate. Different verbs take different kinds of completions: objects, indirect objects, subject completions. Complex sentence A sentence made up of a main clause together with one or more subordinate or relative clauses. Barb ran down the street for help while Liz called the police. Compound Sentence A sentence made up of two or more independent or main clauses. Liz ran down the street for help and Barb called the police. Conjunction One of a small number of relational (function) words that join words or groups of words together. Conjunctions are of two kinds: some like "and," "or," "for," join words or phrases of equivalent grammatical weight. Before Tanya or I arrived, it had become late and was turning cold, so we left. Others, like "since," "when," and sometimes "for," connect subordinate clauses to the rest of the sentence. Before Tanya or I arrived, it had become late and cold, so we left. Conjunctive Adverb An adverb expressing a relationship between main clauses, which can be joined by a semi-colon. Unlike a conjunction, a conjunctive adverb need not come between the main clauses: I worked hard; nevertheless I did no better than before. I worked hard; I nevertheless did no better than before. There are entries for these letters: G Gender Specificity The restriction of noun or pronoun reference to male or female persons or animals. "He" and "chairman" exhibit gender specificity: the former is a very odd pronoun to use for a woman; the latter an incongruous noun when used for the same purpose. Gerund A verbal that functions as a noun (as distinct from a participle that functions as an adjective). In the following examples, "Running" is a gerund in the first, and a modifying participle in the second. Running in every race was Amanda's goal. Running in every race, Amanda was known to everyone. Grammar
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1. The rules by which native speakers generate acceptable sentences in a language. 2. the study or codification of such rules. H Hyper-correct Too correct; so correct as to be wrong. That's between Jay and I. I Infinitive The non-finite form of a verb, that is, the form of the verb which is not limited to time, place, or agent. A verbal capable of functioning as a noun, or a modifier, or combined with an auxiliary verb to construct a synthetic verb form. Infinitives can have subjects and completions. To offer help is better than to refuse it. Friends and neighbours stopped by to offer help after the fire. I was able to offer help because I was at hand. Inflectional System The pattern of endings indicating different cases or numbers in nouns and pronouns, as well as different tenses in verbs: Subject: he they who it Mary Possessive: his their(s) whose its Mary's Object: him them whom it Mary Tenses: give, gave, given tide, rode, ridden go, went, gone sit, sat, sat Interjection An exclamatory word intended to express strong feelings. Interrogation questioning M Modifier A word or group of words that adds to or refines the meaning of another word. Modifiers are either adjectives or adverbs. Mood the form of the verb by which it denotes a state (indicative), a command (imperative), a question (interrogative), or a hypothetical condition (subjunctive). There are entries for these letters: N Negation A denial; the opposite of affirmation Mark did not sell his store. Non-restrictive clause A clause that adds to our knowledge of whatever it is it modifies but without being crucial to its identification; the opposite of restrictive clause. The children, who loved ice cream, ran to the Dairy Queen. Noun The name of a person, place, or thing. A proper belongs to a particular individual; a common noun identifies a member of a group. Mark sold his store. O Object (direct) The person or thing affected by the action of the verb; a verb completion Noel hit the ball; it hit me. Noel hit me the ball. Object (indirect) The person or thing indirectly affected by the action of the verb; a verb completion. Noel hit me the ball. Object case
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The form that certain pronouns take when they are the object in a sentence. (The object case combines the Old English accusative and dative cases, corresponding roughly to the direct and indirect objects noted above.) P Participle One of two different kinds of verb-derived words which can function as nouns, modifiers, or parts of synthetic verbs. Present participles end with "-ing." Past participles of most verbs end with "ed" or "-en." I hate running when I feel tired. He was running scared. Parts of Speech The classes of words from which sentences are constructed: nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections etc. Phrase A unified group of words which does not include both parts of the actor-act combination that produces predication. The term is a general one, but includes the prepositional phrase as one of its most important classes. In the box which sat on the porch behind the house was an egg. Plural more than one; the opposite of singular. Possessive Case (traditionally called the genetive case) The form indicating "possession"; it includes but is not restricted to ownership. Predicate what is said about the subject. It comprises a verb, which may stand alone, or the entire verb phrase including complements. Children read. Friends and neighbours stopped by to offer help after the event. Grass is green. Predication The act of saying something about a subject. Preposition One of a small number of relational (function) words like "in," "on," "behind," etc. which are known as prepositions because they are "pre-posed" or "placed before" the phrases they introduce. In the box which sat on the porch behind the house was an egg. Pronoun A word standing for a noun. There are many different kinds of pronouns, including the following: indefinite pronouns ("some," "any"), demonstrative pronouns ("this," "those"), interrogative pronouns ("who," "which"), personal pronouns ("I," "you," "she"), There are entries for these letters: R Relative pronouns Which, that, whom> and so on. Restrictive clause A clause crucial to the identification of whatever it modifies; the opposite of a non-restrictive clause. The restrictive clause is not set off from the rest of the sentence by commas. Children who are allergic to milk should avoid ice cream. S Singular One; the opposite of plural. Subject The word or words in a sentence about which something is said. Children read. Friends and neighbours stopped by to offer help after the event. Subject Case Traditionally called nominative case) the form that certain pronouns take when they are the subject or subject completion of a sentence. Iam here. This is she.
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Subject Completion (also called a subjective completion) Either a noun or an adjective (a predicate nominative or a predicate adjective) that completes a copulative or linking verb by defining or describing its subject. The ball appeared round. Ms. Carswell is a lawyer. Synthetic verb form A multi-part verb form expressing one of a variety of possible degrees of pastness, futurity, completeness, habitualness, determination, uncertainty or the like. I should have been trying to please them, but I forgot. V Verb A word which specifies the action or condition in which the subject of a sentence participates. Predicates comprise a verb with whatever modifiers or complements accompany it. Friends and neighbours stopped by to offer help after the event. You seem unhappy. Verbs are capable of being inflected for tense (and number): stop (stops) stopped stopped bite (bites) bit bitten Verb Phrase The combination of a verb and an adverb whose combined meaning cannot be deduced from their individual meanings. Friends and neighbours stopped by to offer help after the event. Compare: He stopped by the side of the road. Verbal A form of a verb which either (1) does not function as a verb but as a noun or adjective or (2) combines with another verb to form a predicate. Infinitives and participles are verbals.
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