Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com Dana R Ferris Connect with the power of language Want to feel more confident about your own writing and become more aware of the many choices available to you? Language Power: Tutorials for Writers will help you figure out what you already know about grammar and writing and what you might want to learn more about Twenty-five tutorials cover topics such as analyzing unfamiliar vocabulary, using punctuation correctly and effectively, and varying sentence structures to achieve your purpose and reach your audience What you want Language Power to for you as a writer? Language Power Tutorials for Writers Language Power is available in a variety of e-book formats For details, visit bedfordstmartins.com/languagepower/formats www.Ebook777.com WHITE SPIRAL Gloss layflat mech_Ferris-LanguagePower-SE-121313 Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com Brief Contents Preface for Teachers iii Introduction for Students x Finding Out What You Already Know xiii Because free stuff is fun bedfordstmartins.com/rewriting Part 1: Mastering the Basics Tutorial 1: Parts of Speech Tutorial 2: Subjects and Verbs 23 Tutorial 3: Phrases, Clauses, and Sentence Types 41 Part 2: Developing Academic Language and Style 59 Tutorial 4: Vocabulary in Assigned Readings 61 Tutorial 5: Ideas that Stick Together: Cohesion and Coherence 73 Tutorial 6: Writing Style and Lexical Variety 89 Tutorial 7: Rhetorical Grammar: Effective Communication through Stylistic Choices 105 Tutorial 8: Punctuation Power: How Mechanical Choices Influence Writing Style 121 Part 3: Tackling Problem Areas 137 Tutorial 9: Strategies for Self-Editing 139 Tutorial 10: Wordy Sentences 151 Tutorial 11: Uses and Abuses of the Passive Voice 167 Tutorial 12: Inaccurate Word Choice 183 Tutorial 13: Informal Language 195 Tutorial 14: Word Forms 213 Tutorial 15: The Big Three Comma Rules 231 Tutorial 16: The Apostrophe 245 Tutorial 17: The Semicolon, the Colon, and Quotation Marks 259 Tutorial 18: Pronoun Reference and Shifts 277 Tutorial 19: Verb Tense Shifts and Contrasts 297 Tutorial 20: Subject-Verb Agreement 317 Tutorial 21: Sentence Boundaries: Avoiding Run-ons, Comma Splices, and Fragments 335 Tutorial 22: Noun Plurals 353 Tutorial 23: The Big Three Article Rules 369 Tutorial 24: Verb Phrases 385 Tutorial 25: Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases 405 To get the full value out of this book and this course, visit Re:Writing It’s completely free Why not use it? Watch videos of real writers Try a tutorial on avoiding plagiarism See sample documents in design Find help with citing sources Try exercises for grammar and writing Reflecting on What You’ve Learned 421 Index I-1 www.Ebook777.com mech_Ferris-LanguagePower-SE-121313 Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com LANGUAGE POWER Tutorials for Writers DANA R FERRIS University of California, Davis Bedford/St Martin’s Boston New York ◆ www.Ebook777.com Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com For Bedford/St Martin’s Publisher for Composition: Leasa Burton Senior Development Editor: Mara Weible Development Editors: Sophia Snyder, Alicia M Young Senior Production Editor: Anne Noonan Production Supervisor: Sam Jones Marketing Manager: Scott Berzon Editorial Assistant: Rachel Childs Copy Editor: Janet Renard Indexer: Leoni McVey Photo Researcher: Sheri Blaney Senior Art Director: Anna Palchik Cover Design: Marine Miller Composition: Westchester Publishing Ser vices Printing and Binding: RR Donnelley and Sons, Inc — Crawfordville President, Bedford/St Martin’s: Denise B Wydra Editorial Director, English and Music: Karen S Henry Director of Marketing: Karen R Soeltz Production Director: Susan W Brown Director of Rights and Permissions: Hilary Newman Copyright © 2014 by Bedford/St Martin’s All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except as may be expressly permitted by the applicable copyright statutes or in writing by the Publisher Manufactured in the United States of America f e d c b a For information, write: Bedford/St Martin’s, 75 Arlington Street, Boston, MA 02116 (617-399- 4000) ISBN 978- 0-312-57780-3 Acknowledg ments Acknowledgments and copyrights are at the back of the book on page 428, which constitutes an extension of the copyright page It is a violation of the law to reproduce these selections by any means whatsoever without the written permission of the copyright holder www.Ebook777.com Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com Preface for Teachers Most of us teach students from diverse backgrounds and with a range of language and literacy experiences Some students make errors in their writing because they are English learners still in the process of long-term language acquisition Others may not make many surface errors, but their word choice and style seem underdeveloped Many writers, regardless of their background, need to learn better strategies for self-editing, for analyzing unfamiliar vocabulary, and for varying the tone of their writing to match a particular audience and task In short, they need opportunities to focus on and develop the language of their texts As a writing teacher and teacher educator, I try to provide students with such opportunities At the same time, I not want my writing courses to become grammar classes or language laboratories My students and I need time to focus on rhetoric, content, argument, process, and audience as well Striking a balance between attention to discrete language points and higher- order concerns is challenging Further, decades of research demonstrate that decontextualized grammar and usage instruction usually does not work very well I’m sure you are familiar with this tension On the one hand, it seems negligent to ignore the needs for language input and feedback present in our students’ writing On the other, it is challenging to know how best to address these needs in ways that are both effective and integrated with other course goals So what are we to do? Language Power: Tutorials for Writers is an innovative and comprehensive approach to this persistent and ubiquitous problem More than grammar lessons, Language Power integrates strategy training, language development, and instruction on common writing errors It also goes beyond errors to address style, genre, and audience The book consists of twenty-five tutorials that teachers or tutors can use for classroom instruction or assign for individualized self-study For a writing course (or a course that includes writing development), the book could supplement a reader or rhetoric, or it could be used as a stand-alone text in a course focused on grammar and language for writers iii www.Ebook777.com Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com General principles behind the materials Preface for Teachers iv In creating these materials, I’ve been guided by the following insights from research and from experience • Teaching language development in a writing class is different from teaching traditional grammar in an English grammar class Instructors should focus distinctly and intentionally on the knowledge and issues that are important or problematic for student writers • Language instruction in a writing class should be brief, narrowly focused, and directly responsive to the needs of the students in that particular class For example, if most students are not overusing the passive voice or misusing semicolons, there is no need to spend class time discussing those issues • Grammar, language, and strategy instruction should be carefully integrated with other class activities Instruction should always be connected to students’ authentic writing tasks so that the applications are obvious and salient For instance, students could analyze and observe language use patterns in a text they have been reading and discussing • Strategy training — teaching students to be more effective self-editors — is a critical component for language development and error treatment We want to wean our students from depending on instructors so that they become monitors of their own work Strategy training has been demonstrated to be highly effective when implemented carefully and consistently • If language instruction in combination with strategy training is clear, brief, well focused, and applicable, students will enjoy and appreciate it Most students are aware of gaps in their knowledge, and they fi nd it empowering to gain control over problem areas in their writing While instructors may worry about boring or alienating students with the technicalities of language, many students in fact wish for more such instruction, especially with regard to how to apply it to their own writing The structure of Language Power Language Power is divided into five sections that help you gauge student needs; provide opportunities for study, practice, and reflection; and evaluate student progress • Finding Out What You Already Know: Diagnostic materials in this section help students (and their teachers or tutors) reflect on their prior knowledge and current needs for developing and improving language skills www.Ebook777.com Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com Tutorial structure The tutorials in Language Power follow a consistent structure that helps students uncover what they already know, practice new strategies, and understand how the knowledge and tools they’ve acquired are relevant for their own writing All of the twenty-five tutorials include the following components: • Ask yourself: This box at the beginning of each tutorial includes a series of questions students should consider as they work through the material Each question provides a cross-reference to targeted help within the tutorial • Discover: This activity helps students explore what they already know about the topic • Focus: This content connects the tutorial’s activities and includes descriptions and examples of key terms, definitions, concepts, and rules • Practice: These activities give students opportunities to check their understanding and practice strategies throughout the tutorial • Apply: These reflective activities direct students to evaluate their own writing in light of the information provided and strategies suggested in the tutorial • Wrap-up: These summary boxes present key points covered in the tutorial, so that students can check their understanding and revisit any points they might have missed www.Ebook777.com v Preface for Teachers • Part 1: Mastering the Basics: These first three tutorials cover parts of speech; subjects and verbs; and phrase, clause, and sentence types The content is typical for an introduction to English linguistics course or a traditional grammar course While not all students will need this review, most of the later tutorials are built on the terms and concepts in this section • Part 2: Developing Academic Language and Style: This section includes language topics of use to all writers: vocabulary development strategies; linguistic tools for cohesion and coherence; and three tutorials on developing appropriate style through word choice, sentence variation, and effective punctuation choices • Part 3: Tackling Problem Areas: With seventeen tutorials covering a range of grammar, vocabulary, and punctuation topics, this section allows teachers to assign topics to the whole class or to individual writers based on need • Reflecting on What You’ve Learned: This final review-and-reflection section provides activities to help teachers assess student progress and determine what further language goals still need to be pursued Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com Preface for Teachers vi • Next steps: Cross-references to other tutorials and relevant outside resources appear in these boxes at the end of each tutorial • Sidebar: To add some variety and interest, each tutorial also includes several text boxes with illustrations and brief discussions of how the material relates to real-world contexts Ways to use this book In writing this book, I anticipated that teachers and students might use it in a variety of ways It could be regularly used within a writing course, assigned or recommended for self-study, or used as the basis for discussion in one- onone writing conferences or small-group sessions The suggestions that follow assume the book’s use in a writing or English course that includes many other goals and activities in the syllabus and daily lesson plans You should, of course, adapt the suggestions to fit your own specific teaching situation Using the diagnostics to gauge student needs You may wish to have students complete the diagnostic activities in class or for homework near the beginning of the term According to your assessments of student writing and students’ evaluations of their own needs, based on the diagnostic questionnaire and error analysis, you can decide what to cover with the whole class and what to fit into study plans for individual students Using the tutorials to address student needs You will most likely find that Part 2, “Developing Academic Language and Style” (Tutorials 4– 8), will be relevant for most of your students, and you may want to include some or all of them in lesson plans In Part 3, “Tackling Problem Areas,” Tutorial 9, on self- editing strategies, might be useful early in the course, when students have written their first paper and are finalizing it for submission Other topics likely to be relevant for the whole class might include the tutorials on wordiness (Tutorial 10), on passive voice (Tutorial 11), and on word choices (Tutorials 12 and 13) Many students also struggle with rules for commas and apostrophes (Tutorials 15 and 16), so you may want to assign these broadly or draw from them for class lessons Other tutorials in Part and the tutorials in Part 1, “Mastering the Basics,” will provide good homework, extra credit, or self-study opportunities for individual students Diagnostic activities in “Finding Out What You Already www.Ebook777.com Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com Know” and feedback on student papers can help you determine which students will benefit most from which tutorials Addressing language analysis and development throughout the course When the class is discussing an assigned reading, to call attention to the language choices made by the author (in addition to discussing the ideas and organization within the text) When students are beginning a new writing assignment, to call attention to the types of language choices elicited by the task (for example, verb tenses within a narrative task) When students are polishing or finalizing a paper, to give them an opportunity to peer- and self-edit for problem areas in their writing When you have completed responding to a class set of papers and wish to follow up on language issues you noticed in the students’ texts You could integrate tutorials at one or more of those points in your syllabus For example, the tutorials on punctuation power (Tutorial 8) or informal language (Tutorial 13) might work well as follow-up to the discussion of a reading If your students have problems with wordiness or cohesion, Tutorials and 10 might be useful after you return a set of papers Another way to integrate language instruction into your course and syllabus is to devote time to it at regular intervals For example, you could build in a weekly “Language Focus” session and determine as the class goes along what subject will be most useful for students to cover Using the content in a lesson plan Though the tutorials are designed to be relatively short and narrowly focused, having students complete a tutorial, including all activities, could easily fill a class period You may want to assign parts of the tutorial as class preparation For example, students could complete the Discover activity and read the Focus sections before class During class, you could review the main points and have students complete the Practice and Apply activities together (and possibly assign some as follow-up homework) Most of the activities lend www.Ebook777.com Preface for Teachers Within a typical composition course syllabus, there are at least four distinct points at which language analysis or development activities may be especially appropriate: vii Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com themselves well to pair or small-group work, and students will benefit from sharing ideas with their peers Preface for Teachers viii Instructor’s Manual for Language Power Also important for language development is the feedback students receive on their writing Please see “Suggestions for Response to Language in Student Writing” in the Instructor’s Manual for Language Power: Tutorials for Writers for ideas about how to connect your feedback with more help in the tutorials The instructor’s manual also includes answers and tips for evaluating student responses to activities for all twenty-five tutorials Additional teaching considerations Many student writers have underdeveloped vocabulary, which in turn limits their precision and effective expression Several of the tutorials focus on vocabulary, and in Tutorials and 7, I suggest that students maintain a vocabulary learning journal or a writing style analysis journal Maintaining a journal could be a course requirement, an extra credit opportunity, or simply a suggestion for students who wish to work on vocabulary and style Please see “Suggestions for Keeping a Vocabulary and Style Journal” in this introductory section Acknowledgments I am grateful to the students and teachers who have worked with earlier versions of these materials in the classroom and have given me useful feedback I am especially grateful to the student writers who have granted permission for their work to be used in Language Power, and to the following instructors for sharing their insights and expertise as reviewers: Michelle Barbeau, Grossmont College and National University; Barclay Barrios, Florida Atlantic University; Joe Bartolotta, University of Minnesota; Nancy Bell, Washington State University; Linda S Bergmann, Purdue University; Lady Branham, University of Oklahoma; Ben S Bunting, Jr., Washington State University; Jennifer Ferguson, Cazenovia College; Sergio Figuerido, Clemson University; Erin Flewelling, San Diego State University; Christine Garbett, Bowling Green State University; Clint Gardner, Salt Lake Community College; Melissa Graham Meeks, Georgia Institute of Technology; Judy Holiday, Arizona State University; Krista Jackman, University of New Hampshire; Jay Jordan, University of Utah; Hee-Seung Kang, Case Western Reserve University; Sara McLaughlin, www.Ebook777.com