Grammar and Composition Group at eNotes

1) Forgetting to do homework, the papers received 0s. 2) Tired after...

Wed, 27 May 2009 21:47:51 PST

1) Forgetting to do homework, the papers received 0s. 2) Tired after studying, the drink tasted refreshing.

The biggest, best, and baddest list of dangling and misplaced...

Wed, 27 May 2009 13:33:51 PST

The biggest, best, and baddest list of dangling and misplaced modifiers: http://www.educationoasis.com/curriculum/LP/LA/dangling_modifier.htm

If you know that the student understands the error and how to do it...

Sat, 14 Feb 2009 12:34:53 PST

If you know that the student understands the error and how to do it correctly, then I suggest making a check list for that student that they must check before completing each assignment. Also, I think it is important to give them short worksheet type assignments intended to give them repeated practice in doing it correctly. Yes, you can and should teach them to catch the error and fix it, but it's also important to give lots and lots of...

In reply to #1: Hi -- I actually found this book to be more helpful for...

Sat, 14 Feb 2009 10:27:13 PST

In reply to #1: Hi -- I actually found this book to be more helpful for me than for students (although I have recommended it to a few advanced students -- but definitely not for ESL students!). It's a worthwhile read, because it explains the reasons for many of the things that people fight over (such as the Oxford comma, an issue over which I have seen dignfied English teachers practically come to blows.) I think Lynne Truss does a good...

At the community college where I work we have writing tutors who work...

Sat, 14 Feb 2009 10:16:16 PST

At the community college where I work we have writing tutors who work one-on-one with students. While this is not possible everywhere, one of the tricks they use is this: make a sheet (handmade, or photocopied) called an Error Log. If you can edit a paper with a student at least one time (or with a tutor, or teacher's aide, or parent, or older student -- anyone who can help with writing) and write down the instances of an error and its...

In reply to #2:I love this post!! Can't you just see a bear tiptoeing...

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 06:18:25 PST

In reply to #2:I love this post!! Can't you just see a bear tiptoeing through the woods with its bow and arrow?! This is not a dangler, but I discovered one of my favorite troublesome modifiers on a clock shop sign: Used grandfathers for sale--cheap!

Hanging on the wall, my mom really liked the picture.Baking in the oven,...

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 17:14:35 PST

Hanging on the wall, my mom really liked the picture.Baking in the oven, John waited for the pizza.The woman walked the dog in purple suede cowboy boots.Covered in mustard and relish, I enjoyed the hot dog.

Dangling in the water, the fish watched our toes as if they were food.

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 10:46:52 PST

Dangling in the water, the fish watched our toes as if they were food.

In reply to #2: All good, but if this were a contest, I would have to...

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 22:31:42 PST

In reply to #2: All good, but if this were a contest, I would have to vote for #3! REALLY good!

Smashed beyond repair, Bert saw his watch lying on the court.The hunter...

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:20:28 PST

Smashed beyond repair, Bert saw his watch lying on the court.The hunter crouched behind a tree waiting for a bear to come along with a bow and arrow.We saved the scraps of meat for the dog that had been left on our plates.

Funny Misplaced or Dangling Modifiers

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:42:20 PST

Do you have any favorites? Here are two of mine. I love the mental images.

Flying over the African landscape, the elephant herd looked magnificent.

Covered with hot melted cheese, we ate the pizza.

This has probably already been said, but my biggest pet peeve is when...

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:12:02 PST

This has probably already been said, but my biggest pet peeve is when people hypercorrect...."Just between you and I..."I know it is snotty, but I really want to give an impromptu grammar lesson...."No, no, between is a preposition, making the pronouns after it objects of the preposition...so they must be in the objective case."I think these folks would walk - off mid rant, so I have never tried this.

Falling back on the ultimate resources of Strunk and White's Elements of...

Wed, 3 Dec 2008 12:27:48 PST

Falling back on the ultimate resources of Strunk and White's Elements of Style and the Associated Press stylebook, you would be well-advised to use semicolons to avoid confusion.Any time there is a sequence of comma-laden facts, like dates for instance, it is more aesthetically pleasing and easier to differentiate items using semicolons. To do this in a technically correct fashion, one must remember the function of a semicolon in the first...

Here's how I'd revise the sentence:Your scheduled car services are...

Wed, 3 Dec 2008 12:26:46 PST

Here's how I'd revise the sentence:Your scheduled car services are January 2, March 3, June 2, and September 10, 2009.All of the dates are in the same year, so you don't need to keep repeating it. Also, you don't really need the colon in this sentence. Colons are used to introduce lists when the introductory part is a complete sentence itself. For instance, if your sentence was Your car is scheduled for services in 2009: January 2, March...

Seperation between multiple dates. Whats the correct grammar for this?

Wed, 3 Dec 2008 12:22:49 PST

For multiple dates, does one separate them with a semicolon or a comma?

Example:

Your scheduled car services are: January 2nd, 2009; March 3rd, 2009; June 2nd, 2009 and September 10th, 2009.

Or is it:

Your scheduled car services are: January 2nd, 2009, March 3rd, 2009, June 2nd, 2009 and September 10th, 2009.

And if I'm wrong in both accounts, then I have no idea!

Thanks,

Daniel

I work with student to prepare personal essays for college applications....

Tue, 4 Nov 2008 12:25:14 PST

I work with student to prepare personal essays for college applications. I received a paper from a student, and the second paragraph began, "Taking speed when I was a Sophomore has prepared me for college." Of course I was concerned. When I asked the student about it, he said he had meant to say "Speech". He took 'speech' as a a Sophomore, not 'speed'.

Glad everyone could use this little snippet. One bad habit students have...

Wed, 8 Oct 2008 13:02:36 PST

Glad everyone could use this little snippet. One bad habit students have brought to class this year is the continued use of texting terms and abbreviations in their writing. BRB, LOL, and the host of other tech-savvy "letter messages" keep rearing their ugly heads in essays and journals alike. It's tough to break someone of a negative writing habit when they utilize it daily, and gain acceptance for doing so...

I have a pet peeve with students writing in the same slang that they...

Mon, 6 Oct 2008 14:12:08 PST

I have a pet peeve with students writing in the same slang that they speak in. I had a great opportunity while teaching "The Crucible" and how it was written. I explained to the students that it would be the same idea if they wrote a book today and their great great great great grandchildren read it and how confused they would be. I really like the idea of relating things to real life to my students.

In reply to #32: Agreed. I never said grammar was not important. I...

Mon, 1 Sep 2008 07:56:21 PST

In reply to #32: Agreed. I never said grammar was not important. I simply have seen far too many high school students give up trying to express their ideas in writing when grammatical mistakes are attacked, especially in early drafts. It is my belief that a teacher should respond to ideas first, then help the student to edit grammatical errors.

In reply to #31: While I agree that content is, of course, very...

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 12:07:03 PST

In reply to #31: While I agree that content is, of course, very important, if one has poor grammar, that clearly gets in the way of good content! If an instructor/teacher cannot get past the grammatical errors in one's essay because they are frequent, and in some cases, major errors, that clearly gets in the way of being able to understand the content because the instructor/teacher must re-read it several times. Also, I have a real...