ACADEMIC WRITING I May 24 th 2012. Today Capital letters Parallel structure Fixing common sentence problems (pt. 1) Peer-editing.

ACADEMIC WRITING IMay 24th 2012

Today• Capital letters

• Parallel structure

• Fixing common sentence problems (pt. 1)

• Peer-editing

Capital Letters

Capital letters are used in English in the following ways:

The first word of a sentence.

Whenever he tells a joke, Jack’s face turns red.

Capital Letters

Capital letters are used in English in the following ways:

The pronoun “I”.

The last time I visited Seoul was several years ago..

Capital LettersCapital letters are used in English in the following ways:

Proper nouns (names of specific people, places, organizations, and sometimes things).

Eric

Worrill Fabrication Company

Golden Gate Bridge

Supreme Court

Los Angeles, California

Atlantic Ocean

Mothers Against Drunk Driving

Capital Letters

Capital letters are used in English in the following ways:

Family relationships (when used as proper nouns).

I sent a thank-you note to Aunt Mary, but not to my other aunts.

Here is a present I bought for Uncle Ron.

Did you buy a present for your uncle?

Capital Letters

Capital letters are used in English in the following ways:

Titles written BEFORE names, but not after.

She worked as assistant to President Obama.

I was able to interview Barack Obama, president of the U.S.A.

Capital LettersCapital letters are used in English in the following ways:

Days of the week, months of the year, and holidays (but not seasons).

Halloween

October

Friday

spring

fall

Capital Letters

Capital letters are used in English in the following ways:

Seasons are capitalized ONLY when used as a title.

The Spring 2012 semester was difficult.

He played well in the Winter 1998 season.

Capital LettersCapital letters are used in English in the following ways:

Names of continents, countries, cities, nationalities, and specific languages.

Asia

South Korea

Daegu

Korean

Spanish

Korean

Capital Letters

Capital letters are used in English in the following ways:

The major words of books, articles, movies, and songs (but not short prepositions or articles). - unless it is the first word

One of Jerry’s favorite books is The Catcher and the Rye.

“Dust in the Wind” is still a popular song.

Capital Letters

Capital letters are used in English in the following ways:

Periods and events (but not century numbers)

the Joseon Dynasty

Victorian Era

Great Depression

sixteenth century

Parallel Structure

Parallel Structure• Parallel structure means that each item in a list or

comparison follows the same grammatical pattern.

• i.e., Mary likes hiking, swimming, and to jog.

Vs.

Mary likes hiking, swimming, and jogging.OR (Mary likes to hike, to swim, and to job.)

Parallel structure is an important element of English writing.

Parallel Structure• Parallel structure can be used at:

• - the word level

i.e., I love ice cream, steak, and cake.

• - the phrase level

i.e., Mary likes to hike, to swim, and to jog.

• - the clause level

i.e., The coach told his players that they should get a lot of sleep, that they should not eat much, and that they should do some warm-up exercises before the game.

Examples

Not parallel:

Miss Hood was skipping, laughing and picked flowers on the way to her grandmother.

Parallel:

Miss Hood was skipping, laughing and picking flowers on the way to her grandmother.

Examples

Not parallel:

She was on the way to see her grandmother who liked to drink wine, to eat chocolates and smelling the flowers her granddaughter brought her.

Parallel:

She was on the way to see her grandmother who liked to drink wine, to eat chocolates and to smell the flowers her granddaughter brought her.

Examples

Not parallel:

The wolf had swallowed the grandmother easily, quickly,  and without pain.

Parallel:

The wolf had swallowed the grandmother easily, quickly and painlessly.

ExamplesNot parallel:

After the ranger saved Miss Hood and her grandmother, he told them that they should never let a wolf into their house, that they should check visitors or pretend grandmothers for hairy paws and shaggy fur, and call 000 on their mobile phones in case of an emergency.

Parallel:

After the ranger saved Miss Hood and her grandmother, he told them that they should never let a wolf into their house, that they should check visitors or pretend grandmothers for hairy paws and shaggy fur, and that they should call 000 on their mobile phones in case of an emergency.

Not Parallel Parallel

My English class is made up of Chinese, Spaniards, and some are from Sweden.

My English class is made up of Chinese, Spaniards, and Swedes. (all items are nouns)

The students who do well attend class, they do their homework, and practice speaking in English.

The students who do well attend class, do their homework, and practice speaking in English. (all items are verbs + compliments)

The teacher wanted to know which country we came from and our future goals.

The teacher wanted to know which country we came from and what our future goals were. (both items are noun clauses)

The languages skills of the students in the evening classes are the same as the day classes.

The language skills of the students in the evening classes are the same as the language skills of the students in the day classes. (both items are noun phrases)

Parallel Structure with coordinators: and, or, but

• Words, phrases, and clauses that are joined by and, or, and but are written in parallel form.

The Air Pollution Control Team regulates automobile pollution and the Aviation Control Team makes similar regulations for aircraft.

The states regulate the noise created by motor vehicles but not by aircraft.

Chemicals cannot be sold if they have a harmful effect on humans, on animal life, or on the environment.

Parallel Structure with Paired Conjunctions

• Use parallel forms with paired conjunctions like:

both…and, either… or, neither… nor, not only… but also

Getting good grades provides the reasons for both studying hard and reviewing all material.

Getting good grades comes either from being very intelligent or from studying hard.

The coach instructed the players not only to get a lot of sleep but also to do some warm-up exercises before the game.

• 1. Credit cards are accepted by department stores, and some gas stations.

• 2. You do not need to risk carrying cash or to risk missing a sale.

• 3.bal bal bal : to find word meanings, pronunciations, correct spellings, and irregular verbs.

• 4. thoroughly

Reminders• Journal: Don’t forget to write the outline you did from last

class in your journal (process essay).

• Paper 5: Due date = next Thursday (May 31st ) - by 6 p.m.

For paper 5: Include:

- outline

- 2nd draft

- self-editing sheet (available on website).

Sentence problems

Sentence fragments• These are incomplete sentences or parts of sentences.

Remember: a complete sentence must contains at least one independent clause (a complete thought).

Sentence fragmentsProblem:

Because some students work part-time while taking a full load of classes.

= dependent clause (begins with a subordinator, because. There is no independent clause.

Correct: 1. Add an independent clause

Because some students work part-time while taking a full load of classes, they have very little free time.

OR 2. Delete the subordinator

Some students work part-time while taking a full load of classes.

Sentence fragments

Problem:

Teachers who give too much homework.

= This is an independent clause that never got finished.

Correct: Finish the independent clause

Teachers who give too much homework are unpopular.