Class Activities planned for TUE OCT 30
- Robust Subjects and Verbs
- Not Because
- Revisions—Mechanical
- Counterintuitive Predictions
- Advertising Failure
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Counterintuitive 
subjects and verbs
toxic elements
there is/there are/it is don’t use
all it does is say something exist. not needed say what exist
be careful starting sentences with by
don’t use not because statements bc they just confuse the reader
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OK
2/3
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Robust subjects and verbs
Weak verbs can destroy good prose.
“by” sentences are tricky, they must do two things.
get rid of the “because” not not because
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Sort of.
2/3
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– The subject of a sentence needs a subject. “Is” is a weak verb and starting sentences with “there is/there are” cannot keep a reader reading. The weakest sentence is one that establishes that something “is”.
– The strongest sentences have the most robust verb.
– Revise sentences to clearly identify the subject.
– Sentences using “not because” language needs to be revised. Using positive language instead of negative language is received better and are easier to understand.
– Verbs that are week can ruin a good proposal.
-Sentences that begin with “by” are hard to revise and must get rid of “because” and “not not because”.
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Nice Notes, but a couple things:
How many more times? The period and the comma go INSIDE the quotation marks.
Again the period.
Plus, what’s up the connecting “By” sentences to “not because”?
2/3
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-Reader will bail on the writing if not clear, not communicating your point across effectively and using fillers throughout the piece.
-Starting a sentence with a “by”, the subject has to discover some truth by analyzing and figuring something out.
-Avoid “due to” and replace it with because. It means caused by.
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Little messy, even for Notes.
If you want to know why I say so, just ask.
2/3
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Common phrases such as “THERE IS / THERE ARE / IT IS” ruin your sentence even if it is a good subject. They can also ruin your paragraph because these words are repeated so often it becomes boring. In class today we read a paragraph that had the boring phrases and tried to fix up the paragraph to make it sound better than it was before. Never use a negative verb before you use “because”, if you do it would cause to much confusion for the reader to understand.
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Here you have two independent clauses (effectively two sentences)
Followed by
—As you can see from the above, one method for punctuating these two clauses is to use a period at the end of each.
—Another way is to use a semicolon, the meaning of which is two-fold: the period half means the first sentence has ended, the comma half means “I’m proceeding anyway to add another closely-related sentence.” That one looks like THIS:
OK?
2/3
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Went over “trash words” and how they potentially ruin a good claim or piece of writing. I found this helpful as it has come to my attention numerous times that I may use these “fluff” words, as well as other types of writing to prevent my writing from being concise so I am glad we did this and learned more about the topic. Then overviewed the “not, because” article and how to make our arguments as clear as possible, with no confusion at all. Then did another revision exercise to make writing more concise.
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I’m impressed with your reaction, Sundial. It would have been easy to express irritation instead. And I love that you are starting to identify extraneous language as “trash words.”
4/3
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-name your articles and place them in quotation marks everytime
-Capitalize “I”
-in-text citations should be utilized instead of APA parenthetical method. This class is not completely casual but it’s not entirely formal either, so we can use our words to cite the text
-don’t use “due to” just say because
-don’t use “different” when talking about multiple kinds of something if we don’t know about the multiple kinds already
– “The softball game is cancelled because of the impending storms in the southern counties; however, clashes will be held.”
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classes*
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I’ll stick around to see the clashes.
3/3
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Minor grammar revisions needed in general. Eliminate unnecessary words, and language that get in the way of the message. This language can make the message unclear, confusing, and hard to follow. Fixing minor mistakes like; using “due to” less, proper punctuation for in text quotes, and using “different”, “however”, “used to” correctly can drastically improve writing.
“Common phrases can kill good prose.” To be is the weakest verb phrase, so using “there is”, “there are”, and “it is” are useless in writing. Replace these phrases with concise, strong verbiage.
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ONE MORE TIME:
PERIODS AND COMMAS GO INSIDE THE QUOTATION MARKS
Love you, Joker, but hey!
2/3
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Get rid of this is, it is they are, and so on. Is/Are is the weakest action verb. It will kill your essay. Also, we went over a pile of things involving writing mechanics.
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Is/Are are the weakest verbs mostly because they AREN’T action verbs. But I’m glad to know you plan to avoid them.
2/3
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• Common phrases such as THERE IS/THERE ARE/ IT IS: annoy our reader, are very weak and should not be used to begin a sentence.
• Weak verbs can destroy a sentence.
• Revise sentences in order to clearly identify the subject.
• STOP USING “due to” about 1 in every 20 students who use it actually use it the right way. Using because is better.
• When naming articles put them in quotation marks each time.
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Yep.
3/3
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-The strongest sentences have the most robust verb.
– you should revise sentences to clearly identify the subject.
-do not start a sentence with “by.”
-the word ‘only’ modifies the word or phrase just after it or follows it.
-Weak verbs can destroy a good sentence.
– we did an in-class activity to improve our writing and how to write concisely.
-we should not use “because” statements because, they just confuse the readers.
-the sentences starting with “there is/there are”; can confuse the reader and hence cannot keep a reader reading furthermore.
-Eliminate repetitious material such as: –
-Eliminate trash language:
-There is / There are / (etc.)
-It is / They are / (etc.)
-because of the fact that / due to the fact that
-The problem with this situation is.
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Not quite:
Nothing wrong with “because statements.” The sentences that confuse are the Not/Because sentences.
Nothing about “there is/there are” sentences confuse readers. The sentences are merely weak and wasteful.
2/3
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We should never use “due to” in writing because it mostly used incorrectly.
By A happening B does C.
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OK
2/3
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Subjects/Verbs
-“There are”, “There is”, “It is” not good sentence starters
-Can lose the readers interest
Not Because
-Can create confusion for the reader
Due to
-Don’t use “due to” just say because
In-Text Citation
-Use in-text instead of APA parenthetical method
-Make sure to use quotation marks for articles
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Odd that in a day of reflection on punctuation, you would get the punctuation wrong:
-“There are,” “There is,” and “It is,” are not good sentence starters.
-Can lose the reader’s interest.
2/3
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Mechanical revisions. Capital “I” and quotation marks for articles. In-Text Citation, not parenthetical APA. Miscellaneous grammar corrections. Do not use “Due to.” Stop talking about things that exist. The rest of the time was spent on in class exercises.
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3/3
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10/30/18
-Today, we did some revising on grammar, quotations, and in-text citation.
-Never use “due to” or any ther trash language such as; there is, there are, because of the fact that, it is, they are.
-Comma always comes before however
lots of revising!
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The point of Notes is not to recount what was done but what was learned. Yes, we did a lot of revising. Last time, we did a lot of talking. What revision lessons do you want to remember? What discussion points changed your opinion?
2/3
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Weak verbs ruin great prose.
Because or because of is the strongest word you can use in causal arguments.
Where “only” is placed changes the entire integrity of a sentence
In a sentence that has “before” and “used to,” “before” is unnecessary.
Using different as an adjective before a plural noun is unnecessary “different herbs”.
Too many sentences begin with “there is,” “there are,” and “it is.”
It is to be the case that taxes depress the economy. There is a lot of evidence to suggest that taxes depress the economy.
More than half of the first sentence and the entire second sentence can be removed. The point of this jumbled mess is just to say, “taxes depress the economy.”
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Nicely observed and Noted.
4/3
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Reader will stop reading if writing is not clear. Starting sentences with “There is/There are” cannot keep a reader reading. Verbs that are weak can ruin a good proposal. Positive language is received better and are easier to understand.
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3/3
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Name you article and put the article in quotes.
Capital/Question Marks.
In-Text Citation, not parenthetical APA.
Don’t use “due too”, substitute “because”.
Do in class exercises.
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Don’t use “due to”; substitute “because.”
Punctuation, WhosThatGuy.
2/3
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– The article title must be put into quotation marks.
– Rule: Don’t use “due to”- means caused by.
– Just say “because”, it is a powerful word.
– “Only” always modifies the word or phrase that follows it.
– Never put a comma before “because”.
– By A happening, B does C.
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Nice work, Money.
3/3
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-only only correlates with the word directly behind it. In this sentence, only correlates with correlates. Changing the position changes the meaning.
-using “different” unnecessarily is incorrect grammar and can dilute a well written essay.
-saying “a form of” is not necessary unless you plan on distinguishing between the different forms.
-possessive forms of words that end in s are spelled with “s’ ” and are pronounced the same as the word without the possessive form.
-pay better attention to instructions. Small details may be more important than originally thought.
-semicolons connect two clauses. A simple comma is not satisfactory to connect them.
-there is, there are, and it is are useless phrases. Passive voice is useless. Spend your time speaking assertively and clearly instead of beating around the bush uselessly. Be robust.
-use the strongest subject and most robust verb in sentences.
-using a lot of the verb “to be” will make your essay dry and uninteresting.
-be clear. Be controversial. Waiting an entire paragraph to give your opinion is wasting the time of the reader.
-using “by” in the beginning of a sentence implies two other subjects. For example, “By A happening, B does C.”
-be careful where you leave the negative “not” in a sentence. Changing its location can change the meaning of a sentence.
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Your exhaustive notes aren’t always crystal clear, but they certainly are impressively thorough.
4/3
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Reduce the amount of ‘there is,’ ‘there are’, and ‘it is’ an essay.
Never use due to, 1 and 20 people will use it correctly.
The strongest sentence will use a lot of robust verbs.
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Yep.
3/3
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10-30-18
Grammar Corrections
-Don’t use “due to”
-Keep in mind “only” modifies word/phrase following it
-Eliminate unnecessary language (“different herbs” can just be “herbs”, “form of middle-man” can just be “middle-man”)
-Avoid saying that something “is”, use robust verbs
-Try to say “do” “was” language versus “don’t” “didn’t” “wasn’t”
-Don’t use APA parenthesis for in-text citations
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Like you said.
3/3
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-toxic elements annoy the reader
-make sure every word counts
-don’t use “due to”. Use “because”
-eliminate the verb to be and replace it with something more robust
-keep sentences positive to make points more clear
-don’t use “there is” or “there are”
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God’s ears.
3/3
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10/30/18
Grammar:
Name the articles and place them in quotation marks. Capital I’s for first person singular, requires very little thought. Focus on in-text citations, not parenthetical APA.
Do not use due to! Due to means caused by. Due to has no value, use because instead.
Only, only modifies the word that comes right after it. “Money only has value because everyone wants it” is wrong. The right way is: “Money has value only because everyone wants it.”
All that is needed to be said is herbs not different herbs. Herbs is herbs and they are different because there is more than one of them.
When it interrupts a sentence, however is surrounded by commas. Money, however, is a middle man.
Beginning sentences with “There is” or “there are” or “it is” is too weak and pointless.
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Beautiful Notes, KB
3/3
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– If you, as a writer, have the opportunity to express your thesis directly and clear, then do it. Do not start mentioning the same idea over and over because you will not give any new information to the reader, which would end up in a waste of time for the audience.
– In your writing, be direct and concise. For example, try not to mention, “There are a lot of issues related to corruption,” it does not provide any valuable information to your audience. A better option is to actually mention the issues related to corruption.
– Use “because” instead of using “due to.”
– Avoid using “there is” or “there are” in your sentences.
– It is better to use positive language than negative language. Sometimes, negative language can be confusing for the audience. For example, it is better to say, “Sergio missed class today because he was sick,” rather than, “Sergio didn’t come to class not because he was lazy, but because he wasn’t feeling well.” Negative language can lead the audience to misinterpret the argument.
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I will tape this to my refrigerator. Nice list of writing advice, and I love your Sergio example. 🙂
4/3
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– Do not start a sentence with “There is” or “There are” or “it is”
– Try to not fill paragraphs with random phrases that have been discussed previously in an essay, no junk words to fill up paragraphs
– Use bold words In my sentences to make them stand out more, don’t use negative words such as isn’t or because since they are not specific enough
– Rebuttal argument due Oct 31 at 11:59 pm
(Sorry for late post, forgot to retype everything since Tuesday morning and I tried to remember what I wrote)
–
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No problem, Peter. Good to see your notes.
3/3
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