Saturday, August 29, 2015

Writing 3 Class Notes -- Week 1 (August 27)

Greetings!

We had a great first class for our 2015 school year!  This is a great group of students, and I'm looking forward to this year.

This first week of classes is about taking care of the business regarding how the class is run.  I handed out a lot of papers, which you will find attached to this e-mail, inserted into the blog and on Dropbox.  As I told the students, they have multiple ways to find assignments and handouts should they be missing any.

We began the class with a Quick Write; today's Quick Write was to write about what they did NOT do over summer vacation.  For most of the semester, the beginning-of-class writing activity will be practice with ACT and SAT writing prompts or reflections on their progress and their work as students.


After these beginning exercises, we got down to business with all of the handouts.  We went over, at length, my Classroom Policies for this class that included conduct, communication, and grading.  I especially talked about electronics and cell phone use in class.  More and more students have smart phones, and some find it difficult to keep them stowed away during class.  This year, if I suspect a student is using his/her phone, I will ask and then confiscate the phone if needed.  Parents will get an e-mail if this happens.  The students were in agreement with me, and I don't anticipate this being a problem with this class.
I have 3 goals for this class:
1)  to learn research writing skills
2)  to write a lengthy, well-researched paper
3)  to learn about themselves as writers, researchers, and students
In addition to laying a foundation  for the semester's class, we talked for a while about choosing topics for their papers.  Another topic of discussion was the significance of coming up with a strong thesis statement.  We didn't get to grammar this week.  No worries; we'll do double next week.
In addition to the Classroom Policies, students received the Writing 3 Syllabus, 30 Steps to a Research Paper, the Research Paper Rubric, and Week 1 Grammar.
Links for this Week:
Class Notes
Writing 3 Syllabus
30 Steps to a Research Paper
Research Paper Rubric
Week 1 Grammar

Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Prichard

Grammar: Week 1 -- The Sentence



WEEK 1

THE SENTENCE
A sentence is
a unit of words
simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex
made of a subject and a verb, and a complete thought
Subject
The simple subject is the singular noun or plural nouns that do the action of the verb.
The complete subject is the simple subject with any modifiers.
Verb
The simple verb may consist of one word or a group of words.  These are the action words of the sentence.
The complete subject is also called the predicate.  It contains modifiers, direct objects, and indirect objects.
Fragment
A fragment often looks like a sentence with a capital letter and an end punctuation.  However, it is missing a subject, a verb, or a complete thought.
The Run-on
A Run-on sentence is two or more sentences improperly joined by wrong puncutaion, no punctuation, or a conjunction that needs help from some kind of punctuation. 
Correcting a Run-on sentence
1.        Make two sentences.
2.        Join the two clauses by using a comma and a coordinating conjunction.
3.        Join the two clauses with a semicolon.
4.        Join the two clauses with a semicolon and a connector with a comma (but not a coordinating conjunction.
5.        Subordinate one of the clauses.






8 PARTS OF SPEECH
Verb
Verbs are commonly action words.  Verbs are in the following categories:
                Action, State of being, Linking, Groups of words
Verbs have voice
                Active:  the action of the verb is performed by the subject of the sentence.
                Passive:  the action of the verb is performed upon the subject of the sentence.
Agreement in number
                Singular subjects and singular verbs; plural subjects and plural verbs
All sentences have verbs
                Imperative sentences may appear to be missing the subject, but it is an understood “you.”
All verbs have four principal parts:
                1) present stem – e.g. look
                2) past tense – e.g. looked
                3) past participle – e.g. looked
                4) present participle – e.g. looking
Noun
Nouns are words, phrases or clauses that name a person, place, thing, idea, or quality.
Categories for nouns:  common, proper, compound, collective, as adverbs, concrete, abstract, countable, non-countable, verbal nouns (gerunds),
A noun can be used in a sentence as a: subject, direct object, indirect object, object of a preposition, predicate noun

Pronoun
A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun.  An antecedent is a word or group of words to which a pronoun refers.  If the antecedent is singular, the pronoun must be singular.  If the antecedent is plural, then the pronoun must be plural.
The various types of pronouns:  Personal (Subjective case, Objective case, Possessive case), Reflexive or intensive, Demonstrative, Relative, Interrogative, Extended, Indefinite

Adjective
An adjective is a word, phrase, or clause that modifies (changes, limits, describes, transforms, qualifies) a noun or pronoun.
Adjectives anwer the following questions:  Which one? What kind of? and How many?
Adjectives may be placed before the noun, after the noun, or after a state of being or linking verb.

Adverb
An adverb is a word, phrase, or clause that modifies (changes, limits, describes, transforms, qualifies) a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.
Adverbs answer the following questions:  How? When? Where? To what extent? How much? How often?


Preposition
A preposition is a word that links a noun or pronoun with some other word (usually a noun or a verb).
A preposition always comes before the noun (object of the preposition)
Prepositional phrases can be adjectival or adverbial.


Conjunction
A conjunction is a word or words used to join other words, phrases, or clauses.
Coordinating conjunctions:  for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so (“FANBOYS”)
Correlative conjunctions:  either … or; neither … nor; not only … but also; both … and; etc.
Adverbial conjunctions:  although, if, because, since (these join subordinate clauses)


Interjection
An interjection is a word or group of words expressing emotion or feeling.

Research Paper Rubric


Criterion
Points
Insufficient
Limited
Adequate
Proficient
Exceptional
Format
25
Many elements missing; incorrect margins, font, spacing, citations
(0 – 4 pt)
Some elements missing; flaws that detract from flow of paper
(5 – 9  pt)
All elements present with occasional mistakes
(10 – 14  pt)
All elements well-presented and flows smoothly
(15 – 19 pt)
All elements thoroughly presented, extremely well-organized, no flaws
(20 – 25 pt)
Student Scores






Focus:  Thesis, Introduction, Conclusion
25
No thesis statement and specific topic unclear; lacks a clear introduction; no conclusion
(0 – 4 pt)
Specific topic is clear, but thesis statement with opinion/stand is missing; weak introduction that states topic, but missing clear thesis; no direction for paper.  Conclusion does not summarize the main points nor restates the thesis statement.
 (5 – 9 pt)
Thesis and topic clearly stated.  Introduction states the topic and specific thesis, but does not give focus or direction to the paper.  Conclusion restates the thesis, but does not satisfactory sum up the main points of the paper. 
(10 – 14 pt)
Relevant and accurate thesis statement that suits the topic.  Introduction states topic and thesis and gives clear direction to the paper.  Conclusion reiterates main points and restates the thesis statement.
(15 – 19 pt)
Thoughtful and compelling thesis statement that shows original ideas related to the subject.  Strong introduction that grabs attention and directs the course of the paper.  Strong conclusion that summarizes the main points and restates the thesis statement.
 (20 – 25 pt)
Student Scores






Organization
50
Elements missing; minimal organization and lack of flow; understanding seriously impaired
(0 – 9 pt)
Some major points covered; regular breaks in organization impede flow and meaning
(10 – 19 pt)

Certain major points covered; occasional disorganization within paragraphs, but paragraph organization appropriate
(20 – 29  pt)
Most major points covered; well organized and flows smoothly; no distractions in organization
(30 – 39 pt)
All sentences and paragraphs flow well; smooth and logical flow; crisp and clear
(40 – 50 pt)
Student Scores






Content
50
Little to no understanding of topic, examination of data, evaluation of material, or presentation of relevant information; insufficient research
(0 – 9 pt)
Some understanding of relevant information, examination of data, and evaluation of material; minimal research
(10 – 19 pt)
Satisfactory understanding and examination of data; relevant material incorporated; moderate research
(20 – 29  pt)
Capable examination shows strong degree of evaluation; strong understanding of various points of argument; skillful research
(30 – 39 pt)
Demonstrates thorough examination of data; shows ability to evaluate; reveals mature insight; superb research
(40 – 50 pt)
Student Scores






Mechanics
50
Frequent errors, seriously impairs flow & meaning of paper 
(0 – 9 pt)
Regular errors; flow/meaning of paper breaks down 
(10 – 19 pt)

Errors noticeable, and occasionally detract from flow or meaning of paper
(20 – 29  pt)
Some errors, which are minor in nature and don’t detract from overall meaning of paper
(30 – 39 pt)
Essentially faultless; errors may result from risk-taking and do not detract from meaning of paper
(40 – 50 pt)
Student Scores






Presentation
25
Unprepared; unorganized; no eye contact; too casual
(0 – 4 pt)
Shared minimal information; occasional eye contact
(5 – 9  pt)
Good organization; shared relevant and interested information
(10 – 14 pt)
Well-organized; material interests and engages audience; very good eye contact.  (15 – 19 pt)
Flawless presentation; covers key information; confident, engaging
(20 – 25 pt)
Student Scores








Total Score – 225 possible points

Total Score: