ROUGH GRAMMAR NOTES

REVIEW:

Noun A word that is a part of speech that names a person, place, thing, or idea. cat, love, freedom, Mike, parking lot				Verb A word that is a part of speech that expresses action or state of being.
Pronouns he, she, it, they		Proper Nouns Ebenezer Scrooge, President Obama		Action Verb kicks, runs	State of Being Verb am,  was		Linking Verb is walking
Subject The part of a sentence that tells who or what the sentence is about. It is either a noun or a pronoun. The fuzzy cat slept on the steps.				Predicate The part of a sentence that tells what the subject does or what happens to the subject. The fuzzy cat had slept on the steps.
Simple Subject The fuzzy cat	Complete Subject The fuzzy cat		Compound Subject The cat and the dog…	Simple Predicate H ad slept on the steps		Complete Predicate had slept on the steps		Compound Predicate …stretched and slept.
Sentence A group of words that express a complete thought, containing both a subject and a predicate.

NEW CONCEPTS

Clause A group of words that contains a subject and a predicate.

Independent (or Main) Clause A group of words with a subject and predicate that can stand alone as a sentence, expressing a complete thought. Liam drew a picture.

Dependent (or Subordinate) Clause A group of words that contains a subordinating conjunction, a subject, and a predicate, that cannot stand as sentence. Because Liam drew a picture Because Liam drew a picture, we actually got it finished. (needs a comma) We actually got it finished because Liam drew a picture. (no comma needed) The people that Liam knew from school got free passes to the rock concert. (not the best example, but you get the idea)

Sentence A group of words that express a complete thought, containing both a subject and a predicate.
Simple Sentence A sentence with one independent clause expressing a complete thought.	Compound Sentence A sentence that contains two or more independent clauses joined by a semicolon (;) or comma with a coordinating conjunction. FANBOYS For And Nor But Or Yet So	Complex Sentence A sentence that contains one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses. Uses subordinating conjunctions	Compound-Complex Sentence A sentence that is both compound (contains two or more independent clauses) and complex (contains one or more dependent clauses).
The dog scratched. The cat slept. The cat and the dog slept. The dog slept and scratched. The cat and the dog slept and scratched.	The dog scratched; the cat slept. The dog scratched, and the cat slept. F.A.N.B.O.Y.S.

Conjunction A word that is a part of speech that connects two or more words, sentences, phrases or clauses.
Coordinating Conjunction A conjunction that links independent clauses to form a compound sentence. F.A.N.B.O.Y.S. (For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So)	Subordinating Conjunction A conjunction used to introduces an dependent clause Because, Although, Since, Once, Until, Before, Unless,

Link to quizlet poetry terms:

http://quizlet.com/51558925/q1-poetry-figurative-language-terms-no-pictures-flash-cards/

Quiz is Monday 3/16

Helpful Grammar Links
for Common Grammatical Errors

Fixing Comma Splices:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGqGWMoRJC0

Fixing Run On Sentences:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rU3Gb2YOyZ4

Fixing Sentence Fragments:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYJg-Pet3Uk

NOTES ON SETTING UP YOUR QUOTE

LOCATION

The set up for your quotation will be inserted before the quote that you just wrote.  You are essentially working backwards or reverse engineering because the quote is the “punchline” to the set up.  You needed to write the quote first in order to establish up front what needs to be said about it to help the reader.  Despite writing it out of order, the order will be:  Set up for quote, and then the quote itself.

PURPOSE

Your goal is to give the reader of your essay background information about a scene that your quote takes place within. 

QUESTIONS

Ask yourself the following questions:

Q:  Am I describing the entire story (which is wrong), or just the scene itself (which is correct)?

Q:  Do I describe where and when the scene takes place?

Q:  Do I need to state what is physically happening in the scene, or what they are looking at?

Q:  Do I identify who is talking, or who is listening? 

Q:  How much information do I need to provide to the reader in order for the quote to make sense?  How much detail should I use?

Q:  Is there a reference to something happening in the scene that I need to set up in advance?  Or would it be better to use that as part of my Reasoning section?

Q:  Am I explaining what the scene means (wrong – that’s in Reasoning section).

PRESENT TENSE VERBS (MOSTLY)

When writing about a story for an English class, use present tense verbs only.  This gives the reader the sense that the story is unfolding in front of them live, as opposed to the past.  You may need to fudge some of the verbs to reflect past actions while still staying in present tense.  That’s okay.  But generally stay in present tense as if the story is happening in real time. 

-              WRONG WAY:  Scrooge spoke to Jacob Marley.  He was his partner who died five years ago.  Marley really scared Scrooge.  Scrooge trembled in fear.

-              CORRECT WAY:  Scrooge speaks to Jacob Marley.  He was his partner who died five years ago.  Marley really scares Scrooge.  Scrooge trembles in fear.

TRANSITIONING TO THE QUOTE

After describing the scene, you will need to identify if there is a speaker in your quote.  You can do this a couple of different ways as per these examples:

1)            USE A COMMA. 

The Second Spirit (The Ghost of Christmas Present) throws Scrooge’s own words back at him stating in Scrooge’s own voice, “If he had to die than let him do it and decrease the surplus population,” (272).

2)            USE A COLON. 

The Second Spirit (The Ghost of Christmas Present) throws Scrooge’s own words back at him stating in Scrooge’s own voice: “If he had to die than let him do it and decrease the surplus population,” (272).

3)            IMBED THE SPEAKER IN THE QUOTE.

The Second Spirit and Scrooge discuss the fate of Tiny Tim.  “Second Spirit (imitating Scrooge).  If he had to die than let him do it and decrease the surplus population,” (272).

Quizlet.com links:  updated!

Third quarter vocabulary words with pictures:

http://quizlet.com/19347141/q3-wordpower-unit-1-vocabulary-with-pictures-flash-cards/

Third quarter wocabulary words without pictures:

http://quizlet.com/69901804/q3-wordpower-unit-1-vocabulary-without-pictures-flash-cards/

Third Quarter Vocabulary Link:

http://quizlet.com/19347141/q3-wordpower-unit-1-vocabulary-with-pictures-flash-cards/

WRITING REASONING STRATEGIES TOOLBOX

Not all of these tools/strategies will apply to every quote or CERS.

Choose the strategies that make the most sense.  Also, obviously, they do not need to be in any set order. 

- IN YOUR OWN WORDS:  Describe in what the quote is saying in your plain language. “In other words…”

- DISMANTLE THE EVIDENCE:  Pick apart what the Evidence is doing.  Ask yourself, why did I choose this evidence in the first place?  And then tell why.

- DEFINE UNKNOWN TERMS:  Explain any terms in your quote that require any explanation. “What the author means by the word ________ is…”

- WHAT, WHY, HOW -- Remember, evidence is the “what” but the function of your reasoning is to tell why and how.  Explain it to death.  Point out every detail.  Own it.

- CONNECT THE DOTS:  You will probably need to tell how different ideas in the quote connect to other ideas in the rest of the story.  Show relationships between the ideas in order to make your point.

- EXAMINE A HYPOTHETICAL SITUATION:  You may want to explore a “what if…” scenarios based around your evidence in order to further demonstrate your point.  For example, “If she knew that Victor was lying, she either didn’t care or found a way to justify his lie to herself….”

- REVERSE ANTITHESIS ARGUMENT:  You may want to explore what would happen if your claim were not true when put against this particular evidence.  If the evidence is strong, the counter claim should seem obviously not true.

- USE LOGIC:  You can examine facts and how they connect in order to prove your point.  If A is true and B is not true, then C must be true also.  That sort of thinking goes a long way. 

- MAKE A METAPHORICAL CORRELATION:  You may want to find a parallel line of thinking in order to draw a sharp contrast to your position.  For example, “If one were to think of the planet earth as like an aquarium, and the increase in carbon dioxide gases as like bleach being poured into the fishes’ water…”

- ASK A RHETORICAL QUESTION:  Direct the line of thinking of the reader toward a direction that you want by asking the reader a rhetorical question.  Then answer the question as a means of controlling the logic and forcing the reader into a conclusion that agrees with your point.  For example:  “Does Scrooge want to be forgotten after he dies?  Of course he doesn’t.  Being forgotten after one passes on is almost as if you were never alive…”

FINALLY –

- ON THE LAST LINE CONNECT BACK TO YOUR CLAIM.  Restate your claim with different words and state “because” to summarize your overall reasoning.