Rules for Writers Chapter 32/33 Punctuation (commas)
I have trouble with punctuation so that is why I picked these two chapters. Commas are a pet peeve of mine.
Comas were invented to help readers. They are used to prevent confusion. Commas should be used before a coordinating conjunction joining independent causes, after an introductory clause or phrase and between all items in a series. Grammar checkers do not always flag missing or misused commas so knowing where they belong is important.
A comma is used between coordinate adjectives not joined with and. You do not need a comma between cumulative adjectives. Commas are used to set off non restrictive elements, transitional and parenthetical expressions, absolute phrases and elements expressing contrast. Commas are used with dates, addresses, titles and numbers. They are also used to set off direct quotations.
Often writers use unnecessary commas, because they don’t know the grammar rules. Commas are not needed before the first or after the last item in a series; they are not needed between cumulative adjectives, between an adjective and a noun, or between an adverb and an adjective. Commas are not used to set off restrictive elements or separate a verb verb form its subject or object. Other places where commas are not used are after a coordinating conjunction, after such as like, before than, after although, before a parenthesis, to set off an indirect quotation or with a question mark or exclamation point.
There are many rules involved with the use or non use of commas, for me they are confusing so this text will be a valuable tool with my writing.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
"Happy Endings", "Obituary" and "Oompah Loompah"
“Happy Endings”
Lovey is a little girl who wants to be just like Shirley Temple with blond curls, pink cheeks, pouting lips, bright eyes, just perfect in Lovey’s eyes. She could not be so different than Shirley in her own mind. Lovey feels Shirley is the perfect, most acceptable little girl, she has ever seen. In “Happy Endings” Lovey is a little girl who likes happy endings. She has a very active imagination. Lovey and Jerry are friends who imagine things together, things that involve the TV shows they watch. On the “The Checkers and Pogo Show” Lovey really likes the “Merry Unbirthday” celebration where the child picked got to keep handfuls of pennies. Even though the children knew that that wasn’t a lot of money they thought to be picked would be exciting. Jerry and Lovey liked to pretend they were part of the show, Lovey really wanted to go to the show for real and be the unbirthday child. Jerry and Lovey believed in happy endings to the stories they played.
Shirley Temple movies were on TV during this time period and Love enjoyed watching them. She liked the way Shirley Temple “sob-talked”. Lovey felt that to have real happy endings to your stories you needed someone to watch you cry over them. Lovey thought Shirley was the best crier ever.
Lovey is a little girl who wants to be just like Shirley Temple with blond curls, pink cheeks, pouting lips, bright eyes, just perfect in Lovey’s eyes. She could not be so different than Shirley in her own mind. Lovey feels Shirley is the perfect, most acceptable little girl, she has ever seen. In “Happy Endings” Lovey is a little girl who likes happy endings. She has a very active imagination. Lovey and Jerry are friends who imagine things together, things that involve the TV shows they watch. On the “The Checkers and Pogo Show” Lovey really likes the “Merry Unbirthday” celebration where the child picked got to keep handfuls of pennies. Even though the children knew that that wasn’t a lot of money they thought to be picked would be exciting. Jerry and Lovey liked to pretend they were part of the show, Lovey really wanted to go to the show for real and be the unbirthday child. Jerry and Lovey believed in happy endings to the stories they played.
Shirley Temple movies were on TV during this time period and Love enjoyed watching them. She liked the way Shirley Temple “sob-talked”. Lovey felt that to have real happy endings to your stories you needed someone to watch you cry over them. Lovey thought Shirley was the best crier ever.
Writing Topic: Rules for Writers Chapter 48
Chapter # 48
Evaluating Arguments Summary
To start evaluating arguments you need to distinguish between true and false tactics. These include fallacies, generalizations and stereotyping. Using inductive reasoning ask yourself is the evidence sufficient, is it representative and is it relevant? After considering these things you should be able to reach a probable truth. For the writer inductive reasoning includes drawing analogies, tracing cause and effect, weighing options and sometimes making assumptions.
Deductive reasoning can also be structured into an argument. This involves three steps the major premise, the minor premise and the conclusion. When making an argument the writer must make decisions between making a legitimate appeal or an unfair emotional appeal.
The way the writer deals with opposing views lets the readers in on who they are as a writer. Describing the views of others can weaken them or strengthen them; a good writer can just state the view given factually. Quoting opposing views must be kept to the facts, to keep some level of fairness and accuracy. When quoting a writer you should not paraphrase.
I had not realized that you should state the opposing views when writing a paper. The information about trying to answer questions your opposing audience may bring up is also helpful.
Evaluating Arguments Summary
To start evaluating arguments you need to distinguish between true and false tactics. These include fallacies, generalizations and stereotyping. Using inductive reasoning ask yourself is the evidence sufficient, is it representative and is it relevant? After considering these things you should be able to reach a probable truth. For the writer inductive reasoning includes drawing analogies, tracing cause and effect, weighing options and sometimes making assumptions.
Deductive reasoning can also be structured into an argument. This involves three steps the major premise, the minor premise and the conclusion. When making an argument the writer must make decisions between making a legitimate appeal or an unfair emotional appeal.
The way the writer deals with opposing views lets the readers in on who they are as a writer. Describing the views of others can weaken them or strengthen them; a good writer can just state the view given factually. Quoting opposing views must be kept to the facts, to keep some level of fairness and accuracy. When quoting a writer you should not paraphrase.
I had not realized that you should state the opposing views when writing a paper. The information about trying to answer questions your opposing audience may bring up is also helpful.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Rules for Writers Chapter 47
Chapter 47 Rules for Writers
Constructing Reasonable Arguments
Writing an argument means taking a stand on a debatable issue. The goal is to explain and support your point of view, not to win or have the last word. Your readers will examine your point of view, look at your support and decide if you are right or wrong. Sometimes your readers may share your interest, sometimes not. You will need to use you introduction to establish your credibility, state your position and if possible build common ground with your audience. Building common ground by sharing your audience’s concerns help them to acknowledge your arguments point.
Your next step is to support your view with specific evidence; you can use facts and statistics, examples and illustrations and site expert opinions. Do not expect your audience to agree with you. You need to anticipate objections and be able to explain them accurately and fairly.
When evaluating arguments you need to be logical and fair. Some pitfalls to be aware of include generalizations, false analogies and stereotyping.
I have not written to many papers which are arguments. I find it hard to hold my ground in a conversation, this is a big task for me so writing an argument paper may be challenging. However, with a firm point of view and proper support I think I can learn to write this type of paper. I felt the section about seeing both sides and addressing objections helpful.
Constructing Reasonable Arguments
Writing an argument means taking a stand on a debatable issue. The goal is to explain and support your point of view, not to win or have the last word. Your readers will examine your point of view, look at your support and decide if you are right or wrong. Sometimes your readers may share your interest, sometimes not. You will need to use you introduction to establish your credibility, state your position and if possible build common ground with your audience. Building common ground by sharing your audience’s concerns help them to acknowledge your arguments point.
Your next step is to support your view with specific evidence; you can use facts and statistics, examples and illustrations and site expert opinions. Do not expect your audience to agree with you. You need to anticipate objections and be able to explain them accurately and fairly.
When evaluating arguments you need to be logical and fair. Some pitfalls to be aware of include generalizations, false analogies and stereotyping.
I have not written to many papers which are arguments. I find it hard to hold my ground in a conversation, this is a big task for me so writing an argument paper may be challenging. However, with a firm point of view and proper support I think I can learn to write this type of paper. I felt the section about seeing both sides and addressing objections helpful.
Writing about fiction
Writing about fiction:
When reading fiction you need to look for interwoven meaning and the complexity of the theme. Several methods can be used to track fiction these include highlighting, using the margin for notes, keeping a notebook about questions and main points and looking back over the reading. These techniques can help you when you start your summary.
When writing a summary you need to not just retell the story or over generalize it. To develop a thesis about fiction you need to read the information carefully. Choose an idea that can be supported by the material.
Drafting your essay is a process. When starting a draft the writer can use a number of helpful techniques these include free writing about the material, reviewing what you have read to identify important evidence, researching what others think about your topic and evaluating the materials you have gathered.
Quoting, to make a particular point and paraphrasing in your introduction and conclusion are additional techniques writers use.
I liked the points made about the complexities of fiction. The plots are often interwoven and it is important to makes notes about the different characters so that you can fully understand who they are and their relationship to the whole work.
When reading fiction you need to look for interwoven meaning and the complexity of the theme. Several methods can be used to track fiction these include highlighting, using the margin for notes, keeping a notebook about questions and main points and looking back over the reading. These techniques can help you when you start your summary.
When writing a summary you need to not just retell the story or over generalize it. To develop a thesis about fiction you need to read the information carefully. Choose an idea that can be supported by the material.
Drafting your essay is a process. When starting a draft the writer can use a number of helpful techniques these include free writing about the material, reviewing what you have read to identify important evidence, researching what others think about your topic and evaluating the materials you have gathered.
Quoting, to make a particular point and paraphrasing in your introduction and conclusion are additional techniques writers use.
I liked the points made about the complexities of fiction. The plots are often interwoven and it is important to makes notes about the different characters so that you can fully understand who they are and their relationship to the whole work.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Writing Topic Summary for Writing About Literature
Literature Summary
Writing a paper is usually about making an argument for or against something. Your thesis statement needs to be specific and debatable. The paper that follows has to give evidence that supports your thesis with examples that make your side of the argument. If you are using quotes it is important to explain the quote and show how it relates to your thesis.
Picking a topic is an important part of writing a paper, as is the research. When doing research the internet and the library are good resources. These are places to start but, your thoughts on the topic are the most important part of any paper you write. The other resources are gathered to support and back your thoughts up.
For research papers the MLA format is used. This is the universal citation method for the field of literary studies. I have used the MLA format but, always need to revisit the information pages provided before I start.
I think the points made in this article, about making an argument and the debatable thesis statement, will be helpful to me in my writing. Gathering sources for a paper can be hard, there is so much information out there. Finding specific material that supports your thesis is time consuming. I think I will be able to use some of the tips given.
Writing a paper is usually about making an argument for or against something. Your thesis statement needs to be specific and debatable. The paper that follows has to give evidence that supports your thesis with examples that make your side of the argument. If you are using quotes it is important to explain the quote and show how it relates to your thesis.
Picking a topic is an important part of writing a paper, as is the research. When doing research the internet and the library are good resources. These are places to start but, your thoughts on the topic are the most important part of any paper you write. The other resources are gathered to support and back your thoughts up.
For research papers the MLA format is used. This is the universal citation method for the field of literary studies. I have used the MLA format but, always need to revisit the information pages provided before I start.
I think the points made in this article, about making an argument and the debatable thesis statement, will be helpful to me in my writing. Gathering sources for a paper can be hard, there is so much information out there. Finding specific material that supports your thesis is time consuming. I think I will be able to use some of the tips given.
Essay 2 Rough Draft
Essay 2 rough draft
“Shooting Dad”
Family, how do you describe it? Family is sometimes defined as a social group in society typically consisting of one or two people and their children who share goals and values, have a long-term commitment to one another and dwell under the same roof. The definition of family changes from culture to culture and for each individual. I believe family either makes you or breaks you; it is the ultimate experience. In “Shooting Dad” Sarah is shaped by her family. Family shapes who we are as children and lets us decide who we want to be when we grow up. In the story “Shooting Dad” Sarah is influenced by where she grows up, the type of parenting her family used, family traits and her own individuality. I feel a kind of kinship with Sarah.
Living first in rural Oklahoma as a young child surrounded by woods, Sarah grew up in an area where the right to own firearms was valued. Her father was a gunsmith and a hunter. When at the age of 11 her family moved to Bozeman, Montana Sarah experienced living in a quiet residential area for the first time. However, guns were still a large part of her day to day life. I grew up in a home on a quiet residential street as did Sarah but, this is where the similarity ended. My sisters and I never saw a gun; my father was military but, never spoke to us about guns or war. For Sarah and her family the move to Bozeman was a time of transition. It took time for them to adjust, at first when Sarah’s father heard a noise in the yard he grabbed his gun and went to see what was there. Seeing crows old habits took over and he wanted to shoot them. When his wife reminded him where they lived he shared his confusion about the change, “Why shooting crows is a national past time, like baseball and apple pie.” For Sarah this was a turning point she was happy to see her father unable to shoot his gun off the front porch.
Sarah was brought up to express herself. Her parents had been raised in a strict structured environment and wanted their children to be able to make choices for themselves. Sarah’s father did not back down from his beliefs which lead to loud disagreements which strengthen Sarah’s beliefs and gave her the voice to express them. I was raised in the structured environment of a small town where girls had two options, go to college or get married. My sisters and I were expected to follow traditional roles for women, our mother taught us to cook, clean, sew and take care of children. Not fitting into the mold was an uphill battle, especially when I took a stand that it was wrong for the United States military to be at war in Viet Nam. I would have given anything to be raised more like Sarah, so that my differences did not seem like disappointments. The connection between father and daughter after listening to the audio version of the story seemed high spirited and filled with good natured differences. Able to express her own views Sarah felt free to take a different stand than her father. He supported the right to own and use guns, she did not. Her father supported one political party she chose another. Growing up Sarah felt that they were totally different but, the differences between father and daughter truly supported similarities in their natures.
Sarah’s father was extremely talented. His work room was filled with blueprints of his inventions, scrapes of metal and other materials related to his work and trophies from his hunting trips. Sarah’s music room was filled with instruments and paper for writing music topped off by a portrait of a French composer, she was developing her own talent. For each of them these were their spaces, their domains she stated, that they “were jealously guarded totalitarian states in which each of us declared ourselves dictator.” Sarah saw herself as different from her father, an opponent, not yet seeing the similarities that would connect them. My domain was my bedroom, an ordered space where I read books and tried to write, a place to be just me. For my father it was a space in the garage where he did leather work, his work space was very organized, everything had a place and was returned to that place after it was used. These were our domains where we spent time alone not understanding the importance of the creative work the other was doing.
As we, the children of the family, grow older we begin to see the value in our parents and their talents. For Sarah it was the fact that she wanted to form a better relationship with her father that lead her to look into his passion, guns. On her quest to become a better daughter she decided to, “Figure out the whole gun thing.” For myself it was trying to understand my fathers need to work quietly in an ordered room, a trait I find I have grown to value, that lead me to finding a way to encourage him to talk about the experiences he had during his military service. As Sarah, and I looked into our fathers interests we both began to see there value. Perhaps we were not so different than our fathers. As Sarah began to understand the reasons that led her father to build the cannon she found that although her father was obsessed with firearms he also valued “American history and family history, subjects he’s never bothered separating.” I found that my father valued the simplicity of leather working because; the end product was predictable and could be completed. Things that I came to understand were not always possible in the military. When Sarah realized that her father had spent 2 years working on the cannon, investing in the history of it, before it was ready to shoot she felt the importance of being with her father to record this big event in his life and found she liked being on his side. The shooting of the cannon showed Sarah how, although she still did not like guns, she was proud of her father and could allow herself the enjoyment of shooting it off with him.
We are shaped by our families, the environments we grow up in, the structure or lack of it the adults in our lives give us, the differences and similarities we share with those adults and who we each are. Family, for most of us, is as important as breathing. It is something we cherish more as we grow older and something we are willing to make allowances for. In “Shooting Dad” Sarah grew to accept that she shared many things with her father. When the reader hears the audio version of the story they feel the affection Sarah has for her father, it is clear. Her description of her home, her space upstairs and his downstairs, their different views and political parties, his involvement with guns and her lack of that involvement seem less a division and more a way of connecting. Sarah and her dad were artistic, eccentric, passionate, opinionated and strong. They each thought loud noises were cool and had weird equipment that helped define who they were. Sarah will follow her father’s wishes, shooting his ashes out of his cannon on the opening day of hunting season, when the time comes. Although she still does not like guns. Over the years I have come to respect my father’s loyalty to the military. I too will follow his wishes and see that he get the military burial he has requested when the time comes, even though I am not sure I believe in “the military way of things” as he does.
“Shooting Dad”
Family, how do you describe it? Family is sometimes defined as a social group in society typically consisting of one or two people and their children who share goals and values, have a long-term commitment to one another and dwell under the same roof. The definition of family changes from culture to culture and for each individual. I believe family either makes you or breaks you; it is the ultimate experience. In “Shooting Dad” Sarah is shaped by her family. Family shapes who we are as children and lets us decide who we want to be when we grow up. In the story “Shooting Dad” Sarah is influenced by where she grows up, the type of parenting her family used, family traits and her own individuality. I feel a kind of kinship with Sarah.
Living first in rural Oklahoma as a young child surrounded by woods, Sarah grew up in an area where the right to own firearms was valued. Her father was a gunsmith and a hunter. When at the age of 11 her family moved to Bozeman, Montana Sarah experienced living in a quiet residential area for the first time. However, guns were still a large part of her day to day life. I grew up in a home on a quiet residential street as did Sarah but, this is where the similarity ended. My sisters and I never saw a gun; my father was military but, never spoke to us about guns or war. For Sarah and her family the move to Bozeman was a time of transition. It took time for them to adjust, at first when Sarah’s father heard a noise in the yard he grabbed his gun and went to see what was there. Seeing crows old habits took over and he wanted to shoot them. When his wife reminded him where they lived he shared his confusion about the change, “Why shooting crows is a national past time, like baseball and apple pie.” For Sarah this was a turning point she was happy to see her father unable to shoot his gun off the front porch.
Sarah was brought up to express herself. Her parents had been raised in a strict structured environment and wanted their children to be able to make choices for themselves. Sarah’s father did not back down from his beliefs which lead to loud disagreements which strengthen Sarah’s beliefs and gave her the voice to express them. I was raised in the structured environment of a small town where girls had two options, go to college or get married. My sisters and I were expected to follow traditional roles for women, our mother taught us to cook, clean, sew and take care of children. Not fitting into the mold was an uphill battle, especially when I took a stand that it was wrong for the United States military to be at war in Viet Nam. I would have given anything to be raised more like Sarah, so that my differences did not seem like disappointments. The connection between father and daughter after listening to the audio version of the story seemed high spirited and filled with good natured differences. Able to express her own views Sarah felt free to take a different stand than her father. He supported the right to own and use guns, she did not. Her father supported one political party she chose another. Growing up Sarah felt that they were totally different but, the differences between father and daughter truly supported similarities in their natures.
Sarah’s father was extremely talented. His work room was filled with blueprints of his inventions, scrapes of metal and other materials related to his work and trophies from his hunting trips. Sarah’s music room was filled with instruments and paper for writing music topped off by a portrait of a French composer, she was developing her own talent. For each of them these were their spaces, their domains she stated, that they “were jealously guarded totalitarian states in which each of us declared ourselves dictator.” Sarah saw herself as different from her father, an opponent, not yet seeing the similarities that would connect them. My domain was my bedroom, an ordered space where I read books and tried to write, a place to be just me. For my father it was a space in the garage where he did leather work, his work space was very organized, everything had a place and was returned to that place after it was used. These were our domains where we spent time alone not understanding the importance of the creative work the other was doing.
As we, the children of the family, grow older we begin to see the value in our parents and their talents. For Sarah it was the fact that she wanted to form a better relationship with her father that lead her to look into his passion, guns. On her quest to become a better daughter she decided to, “Figure out the whole gun thing.” For myself it was trying to understand my fathers need to work quietly in an ordered room, a trait I find I have grown to value, that lead me to finding a way to encourage him to talk about the experiences he had during his military service. As Sarah, and I looked into our fathers interests we both began to see there value. Perhaps we were not so different than our fathers. As Sarah began to understand the reasons that led her father to build the cannon she found that although her father was obsessed with firearms he also valued “American history and family history, subjects he’s never bothered separating.” I found that my father valued the simplicity of leather working because; the end product was predictable and could be completed. Things that I came to understand were not always possible in the military. When Sarah realized that her father had spent 2 years working on the cannon, investing in the history of it, before it was ready to shoot she felt the importance of being with her father to record this big event in his life and found she liked being on his side. The shooting of the cannon showed Sarah how, although she still did not like guns, she was proud of her father and could allow herself the enjoyment of shooting it off with him.
We are shaped by our families, the environments we grow up in, the structure or lack of it the adults in our lives give us, the differences and similarities we share with those adults and who we each are. Family, for most of us, is as important as breathing. It is something we cherish more as we grow older and something we are willing to make allowances for. In “Shooting Dad” Sarah grew to accept that she shared many things with her father. When the reader hears the audio version of the story they feel the affection Sarah has for her father, it is clear. Her description of her home, her space upstairs and his downstairs, their different views and political parties, his involvement with guns and her lack of that involvement seem less a division and more a way of connecting. Sarah and her dad were artistic, eccentric, passionate, opinionated and strong. They each thought loud noises were cool and had weird equipment that helped define who they were. Sarah will follow her father’s wishes, shooting his ashes out of his cannon on the opening day of hunting season, when the time comes. Although she still does not like guns. Over the years I have come to respect my father’s loyalty to the military. I too will follow his wishes and see that he get the military burial he has requested when the time comes, even though I am not sure I believe in “the military way of things” as he does.
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