writing tips

Thinking of Ideas

    Brainstorming Clustering

Organizing your Ideas

    Selecting Outlining Introducing Contrasting Classifying Summarizing Transitions

Writing your Ideas

    Developing Supporting Including details Using examples Concluding

Revising your Writing

    Overall effect Peer review Proofreading Editing

Styles of Writing

    Creative writing Technical writing Business writing Reporting Research

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Essay Evaluation



Good points

    Development of ideas Paragraph structure Creativity

Things to watch for:

    Clarity Sentence Structure Parallelism Phrasing Repetition Vocabulary Variety and correct word choice

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Simple sentences

Conversation Practice

1. Practice telling your partner or classmates about your daily activities.

For example,

Every day I get up at _____o'clock.
Then, I eat my breakfast.
I go to work/class at _____ o'clock.
I usally finish work/class at _____o'clock.
In the evenings, I like to watch television.
I always go to bed at 10:30 p.m.
2. Ask your partner about his/her daily activities.

Example

Where do you work?
I work at Penny's.
When do you (usually) start work?
At 9:00 (a.m.)
I finish at 5:00 (p.m.)
What do you do after school?
I play soccer with my friends.
Or sometimes I go shopping with my mom.
3. Talk about someone else's daily activities.
Remember to use the -s form of the verb for third person (singular).

Example

Tyra usually gets up at 7:30.
Then she takes a shower and brushes her teeth. . .
Cory and Lori are twins.
They live in Omaha.
They ride the bus to school every day.

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giving and responding to information

Conversation Practice

With a partner, practice giving and responding to information.
1. When your partner tells you something about himself/herself, say "Really?" and ask a related question.

For example,

I'm from Nepal.
Really? Is this your first time here?
I live in Cincinnati.
Really? Is that near Cleveland?
I'm an engineer.
Oh really? Which train?
2. When your partner tells you something, say "Really?" then make a related statement.

For example,

I'm from Ireland.
Oh really? My grandfather is Irish.
I live in Tokyo.
Really? My sister lives in Osaka.
I'm a student at Forbes University.
Really? I study at Gates College.
3. Ask wh- questions to find out information about your partner. Then respond to the information.
For example,
Where do you work?
I work at May Bee's
Really? What do you do there?
I'm a sales clerk.

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READING


The most extraordinary dream I ever xx1xx was one in which I fancied that, as I was going into a theater, the cloak-room attendant stopped me in the lobby and insisted on my xx2xx my legs behind. I was not surprised; but I was considerably annoyed. I said I had never heard of such a rule at any respectable theater xx3xx, and that I considered it a most absurd regulation. The man replied that he was very xx4xx, but that those were his instructions. People complained that they could not get to and from their xx5xx comfortably, because other people's legs were always in the way; and it had, therefore, been decided that xx6xx should leave their legs outside. It seemed to me that the management, in making this order, had gone xx7xx their legal right; and, under ordinary circumstances, I should have disputed it. However, I didn't want to xx8xx a disturbance; and so I sat down and meekly prepared to comply with the demand. I had never before xx9xx that the human leg could be unscrewed. I had always thought it was more securely fixed. But the man showed me how to undo them, and I found that they came off quite easily. The discovery did not surprise xx10xx any more than the original request that I should take them off. Nothing does surprise one in a dream.

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