Grammar And Research Handbook

Grammar and Research Handbook

TABLE OF CONTENTS Part 1- Grammar ♦

Parts of Speech...........................................................3 o Nouns o Pronouns o Verbs o Adjectives o Adverbs o Conjunctions o Prepositions o Interjections

♦ Identifying the Subject and Verb of a ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Sentence............10 Clauses................................................................... ......10 Phrases................................................................... ......11 Sentence Types............................................................12 Fragments.............................................................. .......13 Run-on Sentences........................................................14 Commas................................................................. .......15 Active Voice vs. Passive Voice.....................................19 Pronoun Problems .......................................................21 Commonly Misused Words...........................................23 Capitalization......................................................... ........25 2

Part 2- Research ♦ The Research ♦

♦

Process..................................................27 Plagiarism and Citing Resources…………………… …..30 MLA Citation Style………………………………………... 33

Part 3- Writing and Editing ♦ Editing a Paper…………………………………………… 38

♦ 6 Traits Writing……………………………..………….…. 39

Adapted from the following resources: Ward, Jennifer. MLA Made Simple. 7 Sept. 2008. http://www.msward.org/handouts.html Ward, Jennifer. Ward’s Grammar Guide. 7 Sept. 2008. http://www.msward.org/handouts.html

PART 1- GRAMMAR PARTS OF SPEECH There are eight parts of speech: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, conjunctions, prepositions, and interjections.

1. A noun is a person, place, thing, feeling, or idea. • A proper noun is the name of a particular •

person (Mrs. Anderson), place (Missouri), or thing (Friday) and is always capitalized. A common noun is any noun that does not name a particular person, place, thing, or idea 3

and is not capitalized in English unless it is the first word of a sentence. Examples are child, country, rainbow, winter, happiness, etc. Hints for identifying nouns: • If you can make the word plural, it is a noun. o Ex. The word cat is a noun. You can have one cat (singular) or you have multiple cats (plural). • If you can make a word possessive, it is a noun. o Ex. The word cat is a noun. The cat’s (possessive) tail belongs to him. • When you are unsure what part of speech a word is, the letters at the end of the word can sometimes help you figure it out:

2. A pronoun takes the place of a noun. The noun which is replaced is known as the antecedent. The antecedent should be identified, either in the same sentence or in a previous sentence within the paragraph, before a pronoun is used.

There are five different types of pronouns: 1) Personal pronouns take the place of a noun. Example: Our coach made her point without raising her voice. Personal pronouns can be 1st person, 2nd person, or 3rd person. • 1st person pronouns refer to the speaker(s) or writer(s) • 2nd person pronouns refer to the person or people being spoken or written to • 3rd person pronouns refer to the person or people being spoken or written about 4

2) Relative pronouns relate an adjective clause to the noun or pronoun they modify. Example: Students who study regularly get better grades.

3) Interrogative pronouns ask a question. Example: Then, who are you? What do you want?

4) Demonstrative pronouns point out people, places,

or things without naming them. This and these refer to things that are nearby in space or in time, while that and those refer to things that are farther away in space or time. Example: This shouldn’t be too hard. That looks right.

5) Indefinite pronouns often refer to unnamed or unknown people or things. Example: I don’t know of anyone who can study grammar for two hours straight!

3. A verb is a word that shows action or expresses a state of being. There are three kinds of verbs: 5

1) Action verbs show the subject performing an

action, either physical or mental (run, jump, swim, eat, sleep, dancing, etc.)

2) Helping verbs, or Auxiliary Verbs, are used to form tenses. Helping verbs help a main verb. Example: Amanda had danced her heart out. -danced is the main verb (an action verb) which is helped by had.

3) Linking verbs connect the subject to a noun or an adjective in the predicate. Linking verbs are sometimes referred to as “to be” verbs because they describe a state of being rather than describe an action. Example: Amanda is a dancer. -is links the subject (Amanda) to the noun (dancer).

Hints for identifying verbs: • You can tell that a word is a verb if you can change the tense: I verbed yesterday. (past tense) I am verbing right now. (present tense) I will verb tomorrow. (future tense) Let’s use the action verb “play” as an example: I played yesterday. (past tense) I am playing right now. (present tense) I will play tomorrow. (future tense) •

When you are unsure what part of speech a word is, the letters at the end of the word can sometimes help you figure it out:

6

A verbal is a word that is derived from a verb, but acts as another part of speech. There are three types of verbals. 1) Gerunds are a verb form that ends in -ing and is used as a noun. Examples: o Swimming is my favorite pastime. (subject) o I began swimming at the age of six months. (direct object)

2) Infinitives are a verb form that is usually introduced by to, and is used as a noun, adjective, or adverb. Examples: o To swim the English Channel must be a thrill. (noun) o The urge to swim in tropical waters is more common. (adjective)

3) Participles are a verb form usually ending in -ing or -ed. A participle functions as an adjective. Examples: o The farmhands harvesting corn are tired and hungry. o The cribs full of harvested cobs are evidence of their hard work.

4. An adjective describes a noun or pronoun. Hints for identifying adjectives: • An adjective answers the question, “What kind of noun?” • If you can form superlatives of the word by adding the letters “er” or “est” to the end of the word, it is an adjective. • The articles a, an, and the are also considered adjectives as they modify nouns. • When you are unsure what part of speech a word is, the letters at the end of the word can sometimes 7

help you figure it out:

5. An adverb describes a verb, adjective, or adverb. Hints for identifying adverbs: • Most adverbs end in the letters “ly”.

6. A conjunction is a word that connects words, phrases, clauses, or sentences. There are three kinds of conjunctions. 1) A coordinating conjunction connects a word to a word, a phrase to a phrase, or a clause to a clause. The words, phrases, or clauses joined must be equal or of the same type. Look at the examples: o John and Mary went to the store. o Eddie is tall and handsome.

2) A subordinating conjunction is a word or group of words that connect two clauses which are NOT equally important. The subordinate conjunction begins the dependent clause and connects the dependant clause to an independent clause (an independent clause is a sentence). o The Bears will win if Smith pitches.

3) Correlative conjunctions are used in pairs. o Not only will John read the poem “Dawn in the Heart of Africa” about the Congo, but also he will read the myth of the hero Mwindo.

8

7. A preposition shows a relationship between a noun and another word in a sentence. •

By itself, a word like "in" or "after" is rather meaningless and hard to define. For instance, when you do try to define a preposition like "between," you inevitably have to use your hands to show how something is situated in relationship to something else. Example: The girls’ soccer team played on the new field.  On shows the relationship between the noun field and the verb played.

•

Every preposition has an object which can be a noun, a pronoun, or a phrase that is acting as a noun. The object of a preposition usually answers one of the following questions: What? Who? Where? Together, the preposition and its object form what is called a prepositional phrase. Example: I went [to the mall] [with my friends].  I went to where? Answer: the mall  I went with who? Answer: my friends

8. An interjection an exclamatory or parenthetical word, often appearing at the 9

beginning of a sentence and is included to communicate emotion or surprise. •

Interjections are often used to express surprise, excitement, or dismay (for example, the use of "oops!" and "ta da!"). Since an interjection has little or no grammatical connection with the rest of the sentence, punctuation is used to separate an interjection from the rest of the sentence.

Examples:

Well, it’s not very important. Now, let’s see what we can do. Oh, no! The boat’s leaking. Here, let me get that for you.

PARTS OF SPEECH REVIEW Directions: Below is a list of word endings. Using your knowledge of common endings, identify which part of speech a word that ends on those letters probably is.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

-ness ______________ -ate _______________ -ify ________________ -ment ______________ -ial ________________ -ful ________________ -tion _______________ -ence_______________

9. -ous _______________ 10. -ity _______________ 11. -ize _______________ 12. -able ______________ 13. -ism _______________ 14. -ance ______________ 15. -ly ________________ 16. -ist ________________

Directions: Answer each question below using your knowledge of the parts of speech. 10

Which part of speech… 1. connects words, phrases, clauses, or sentences? 2. can be made plural? 3. shows action or being? 4. describes a noun? 5. can be made possessive? 6. can you change the tense (past tense, present tense, future tense, etc.) of the word? 7. shows a relationship between a noun and another word in the sentence? 8. is inserted to show strong emotion? 9. takes the place of a noun? 10. can you form superlatives by adding the letters “er” and “est” to the end of a word?

LOCATING THE SUBJECT AND VERB In order for a sentence to be a complete sentence, it needs to have three things: 1. A verb/predicate 2. A noun/subject 3. A complete thought

1. The verb/predicate is the action of the sentence. 2. The noun/subject is the person, place, thing, or idea

3.

that is doing or being something. You can find the subject of a sentence if you can find the verb. Ask the question, "Who or what is doing the action?" and the answer to that question is the subject. In order for a sentence to have a complete thought, it needs to make sense without the help of the sentence before it or the sentence after it. 11

CLAUSES A clause is a group of related words that has both a subject and a predicate. There are two types of clauses: independent and dependent. INDEPENDENT CLAUSE is just another name for a sentence. DEPENDENT CLAUSES A dependent clause is a group of words that is not a complete sentence because it is not a complete though. It begins with a dependent word (see chart below for some examples). Example: Because there was a mosquito in the room. Corrected: Because there was a mosquito in the room, I could not fall asleep.

**Note: The subject and verb of a sentence will never be in a dependent clause.

PHRASES

A phrase is a group of related words that function as a single part of speech. Unlike a clause, a phrase lacks a subject, a verb, or both, so they cannot be sentences. There are five types of phrases: 1) Verb phrases consist of a main verb preceded by one or more helping verbs Example: The snow has been falling for three straight days. 12

2) Verbal phrases are based on one of the three types of verbals. • Gerund phrases begin with a gerund (a verb ending in -ing that acts like a noun) Example: Walking briskly is the best form of exercise and also the least expensive.

•

Infinitive phrases begin with to and are followed by a verb; however, infinitive phrases act as adjectives, adverbs, or nouns. Example: Her plan to subsidize child care won wide acceptance among urban politicians.

•

Participle phrases begin with a verb ending in ing or ed and act as adjectives. Example: Delores noticed her cousin walking along the shoreline.

3) Prepositional phrases are a group of words beginning with a preposition and ending with a noun or pronoun. Prepositional phrases are used as adjectives and adverbs. Example: Zack won the three legged race in record time.

4) Appositive phrases follow a noun or pronoun and rename it. An appositive adds new information about the noun or pronoun it follows. Example: Mrs. Jones, my neighbor, is a strange lady.

5) Absolute phrases consist of a noun and a verbal. Because it has a noun and a verbal, an absolute phrase resembles a clause; however, it is a phrase because the entire group of words acts as an adjective or adverb.

13

Example: Their reputation as winners secured by victory, the New York Liberty charged into the semifinals.

SENTENCE TYPES There are four different ways that a sentence can be put together. There are simple sentences, compound sentences, complex sentences, and compound-complex sentences. A simple sentence has the following structure: 1 independent clause Example: Mariana travels to Amsterdam every year in the summer time. •

A simple sentence is not necessarily simple because it is short or has a simple structure. Some sentences may have a long and confusing structure but can still be simple if they contain only one independent clause and NO dependent clauses. Example: Mariana and her friends Bob and Jen travel to Amsterdam every year in the summertime for six weeks to get away from the hustle and bustle of life in New York City. A compound sentence has the following structure: 2 independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction. • A compound sentence may even have a semi-colon (;), a colon (:) or a dash (--) instead of a coordinating conjunction. Example: Martin wanted to go fishing, but Alice wanted to go skiing. A complex sentence has the following structure: 1 independent clause and 1+ dependent clause(s) 14

•

If a dependent clause begins the sentence, there normally is a comma after it. If an independent clause begins a complex sentence, there should not be a comma after it. Example: Although she worked hard to gain recognition, Mary was often overlooked for promotions. A compound-complex sentence is a combination of the compound sentence and the complex sentence and has the following structure: 2+ independent clauses and a dependent clause. Example: Although she worked hard to gain recognition, Mary was often overlooked for promotions, and her friends did not even appreciate her work. Here, we added an extra clause to the complex sentence we used earlier- her friends did not even appreciate her work

FRAGMENTS As you know, in order for a sentence to be complete, it needs to have a subject, predicate, and a complete thought. Any group of words that is missing one or more of these three things (subject, predicate, and/or complete thought) is called a fragment. SEEING WHAT YOU KNOW Directions: Underline the statement in each item that you think is a fragment. Then, correct the fragment and make it a complete sentence with a subject, a verb, and a complete thought. There may be more than one correct way to fix a fragment. 1. After the shopping mall opened. Several local stores went out of business. 15

2. The nursing student poked my arm four times. Trying to take a blood sample. I was beginning to feel like a pin cushion. 3. Some young people are learning old-fashioned dances. Such as the waltz, polka, and lindy. UNDERSTANDING THE ANSWERS 1. After the shopping mall opened, several local stores went out of business. 2. The nursing student poked my arm four times while trying to take a blood sample. I was beginning to feel like a pin cushion. 3. Some young people are learning old-fashioned dances such as the waltz, polka, and lindy.

RUN-ON SENTENCES

A run-on sentence is two or more complete sentences joined together without the proper punctuation. To find a run-on, identify each complete sentence. (Read the sentence out loud to help you.) There are 4 acceptable ways to separate two complete sentences: 1. A period ( . ) 2. A semicolon ( ; ) 3. A comma ( , ) + a coordinating conjunction 4. A semicolon ( ; ) + a conjunctive adverb + a comma ( , ) way to

* NOTE: A comma by itself is NOT an acceptable separate two complete sentences. Two sentences incorrectly joined with a comma is known as a comma splice.

SEEING WHAT YOU KNOW 16

Directions: Read the following pairs of items and, for each pair, circle the letter that is punctuated correctly. 1. a. Our math professor has the flu, half the class is sick as well. b. Our math professor has the flu, and half the class is sick as well. 2. a. Sue seldom got to play in an actual game. She was tempted to quit the team. b. Sue seldom got to play in an actual game she was tempted to quit the team. 3. a. My father had no brothers or sisters and he never learned to share b. My father had no brothers or sisters; therefore, he never learned to share.

UNDERSTANDING THE ANSWERS 1. Letter b is punctuated correctly. Item a is made up of two complete sentences: (1) Our math professor has the flu. (2) Half the class is sick as well. These two complete sentences are incorrectly separated by only a comma. A comma plus a conjunction such as and is an acceptable way to separate these two complete sentences. 2. Letter a is punctuated correctly. Item b is made up of two complete sentences: (1) Sue seldom got to play in an actual game. (2) She was tempted to quit the team. These two complete sentences are fused together with no punctuation. A period is an acceptable way to separate these two complete sentences. 3. Letter b is punctuated correctly. Item a is made up of two complete sentences: (1) My father had no brothers or sisters (2) He never learned to 17

share. These two complete sentences are incorrectly separated by only a conjunction, and. A semicolon followed by a coordinating conjunction such as therefore followed by a comma is an acceptable way to separate these two complete sentences.

The Comma Rules Adapted from handout found on the Purdue University Online Writing Lab at http://owl.english.purdue.edu.

The comma is a valuable, useful punctuation device because it separates the structural elements of sentences into manageable segments. The rules provided here are those found in traditional handbooks; however, in certain rhetorical contexts and for specific purposes, these rules may be broken. Rule #1: Commas in Geography, Dates, Addresses, & Titles Explanation: Use commas to set off all geographical names, items in dates (except the month and day), addresses (except the street number and name), and titles in names. Examples: • Geography: Birmingham, Alabama gets its name from Birmingham, England. • Dates: July 22, 1959, was a momentous day in the life of Sir Nolan Shornwurst. *Note: When you use just the month and the year, no

comma is necessary after the year: "The average temperatures for July 1998 are the highest on record for that month."

•

Address: Who lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC? 18

•

Titles: Rachel B. Lake, MD, will be the principal speaker.

Rule #2: Commas after Introductory Expressions Explanation: Use commas after introductory clauses, phrases, or words that come before the main clause. 1) Introductory clauses often start with (but are not limited to) subordinating conjunctions such as after, although, as, because, if, since, when, and while. Example: While I was eating, the cat scratched at the door. NOTE: In contrast to this last point, DO NOT put a comma after the independent (main) clause when a dependent (subordinate) clause comes AFTER the independent clause, except in the case of extreme contrast. Example: She was late for class, because her alarm clock was broken. (INCORRECT)

2) Common introductory phrases that should be followed by a comma include participial and infinitive phrases, absolute phrases, nonessential appositive phrases, and long prepositional phrases (over three words). Example (of introductory phrases): Having finished the test, he left the room.

3) Common introductory words include interjections and transition words. Example: Well, perhaps he meant no harm.

19

Rule #3: Commas before Coordinating Conjunctions Explanation: Use commas to separate independent clauses when they are joined by any coordinating conjunctions. Examples: • The game was over, but the crowd refused to leave. • The student explained her question, yet the instructor still didn’t seem to understand. Rule #4: Commas Separate Three or More Items in a Series Explanation: Use commas to separate three or more words, phrases, or clauses written in a series. Examples: • Words: The Constitution establishes the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government. • Words: Uncle Sal brought wine, cheese, and a bag of potato chips. • Phrases: The candidate promised to lower taxes, protect the environment, reduce crime, and end unemployment. • Clauses: The prosecutor argued that the defendant, who was at the scene of the crime, who had a strong revenge motive, and who had access to the murder weapon, was guilty of homicide. Rule #5: Commas before and after Nonessential Information Explanation: Use a pair of commas in the middle of a sentence to set off clauses, phrases, and words that are not essential to the meaning of the sentence. How It Looks: Use one comma before to indicate the beginning 20

of the pause and one at the end to indicate the

end of the pause. Examples: • Clause: Next Tuesday, which happens to be my birthday, is the only day when I am available to meet. • Phrase: This restaurant has an exciting atmosphere. The food, on the other hand, is rather bland. • Word: I appreciate your hard work. In this case, however, you seem to have over-exerted yourself. Note: Do not use commas to set off essential elements of the sentence, especially beginning with that clauses (and other relative clauses). Examples: I gave to charity the sweater that I bought from Target. Joey thinks that his father is really a superhero. Rule #6: Commas before Quotations Explanation: Use a comma to shift between the main discourse and a quotation. Examples: • John said without emotion, "I’ll see you tomorrow." • "I was able," she answered, "to complete the assignment." IMPORTANT- Don’t Separate Things in Pairs Explanation: A. Don’t put a comma between the two verbs or verb phrases in a compound predicate. B. Don’t put a comma between the two nouns, noun phrases, or noun clauses in a compound subject or compound object.

21

C. Don’t put a comma between pairs of adjectives and adverbs that are connected by a conjunction (and, or, but). Examples: • Compound Predicate: We laid out our music and snacks, and began to study. (INCORRECT) • Compound Predicate: I turned the corner, and ran smack into a patrol car. (INCORRECT) • Compound Subject: The music teacher from your high school, and the football coach from mine are married. (INCORRECT) • Compound Object: Jeff told me that the job was still available, and that the manager wanted to interview me. (INCORRECT) SEEING WHAT YOU KNOW Directions: Insert a comma where needed in the following sentences. 1. The restaurant dessert tray featured carrot cake coconut cream pie and death by chocolate ice cream. 2. Because I was three credits short of the graduation requirements I had to take a course during the summer. 3. Students hurried to the campus store to buy their fall textbooks but several of the books were already out of stock. 4. My sister asked “Are you going to be on the phone much longer?”. UNDERSTANDING THE ANSWERS 1. The restaurant dessert tray featured carrot cake, coconut cream pie, and death by chocolate ice cream. There are three desserts on the tray; therefore, commas 22

are needed to separate these three items listed in a

series.

2. Because I was three credits short of the graduation requirements, I had to take a course during the summer. “Because I was three credits short of the graduation requirements,” is an introductory phrase that needs to be separated from the rest of the sentence with a comma. 3. Students hurried to the campus store to buy their fall textbooks, but several of the books were already out of stock. A conjunction such as but is not enough to separate two complete sentences. A comma plus a conjunction is an appropriate way to join the two complete sentences together. 4. My sister asked, .Are you going to be on the phone much longer?. A comma is needed to introduce a direct quotation.

ACTIVE VOICE VS. PASSIVE VOICE The relationship between the subject and the verb determines the voice of a sentence. There are two different ways a sentence can be written:

23

1. When a sentence is in active voice, the subject comes before the verb. In active voice, the subject does the action of the sentence. Example: Everyone at the party had fun. Example: Molly cashed her check at the bank.

2. When a sentence is in passive voice, the verb either comes before the subject or the subject is unnamed. In passive voice, the subject of the sentence is acted upon by some other agent. Passive voice often includes helping verbs. Example: Fun was had by everyone at the party. Example: The check was cashed by Molly. Rule: In academic writing, a writer should try to use active voice and avoid using passive voice. TRANSFORMING PASSIVE SENTENCES TO ACTIVE SENTENCES: Let’s use the following example sentence to illustrate the process of changing a passive sentence to an active one: The ice cream cones were eaten by the children. You’ll notice in the above sentence that the agent doing the action (the children) is not the subject of the sentence. Also, the sentence uses a helping verb (were). These two clues tell you that the sentence is written in passive voice. STEP 1: subject of by

Make the agent doing the action the the sentence. PASSIVE: The ice cream cones were eaten the children. ACTIVE: The children.

24

STEP 2: the the

Remove the helping verb (to be verb) from sentence. Change the past participle into

appropriate tense. PASSIVE: The ice cream cones were eaten by the children. ACTIVE: The children ate. STEP 3:

the

Make the subject of the passive sentence receiver of the action to complete the

change.

PASSIVE: The ice cream cones were eaten by the children. ACTIVE: The children ate the ice cream cones.

CAUTION: Avoid shifting from active to passive voice in the same sentence because it can cause awkwardness and confusion. Incorrect: The children ate ice cream, but it was bought by Peter. (voice shifts) Correct: The children ate ice cream, but Peter bought it. (voice consistent) SEEING WHAT YOU KNOW Directions: Label the subject and verb in each sentence. Then rewrite the sentence in active voice in the space provided. 1. The position of program analyst has already been filled by the personnel department. 2. An appointment with the dentist was originally made for Friday morning by my roommate.

25

3. The picket fence, which was repaired last week by Dad, was painted by Claire and Dave. 4. First prize was won by Harriet for her one-act play. UNDERSTANDING THE ANSWERS 1. The personnel department has already filled the position of program analyst. 2. My roommate originally made an appointment with the dentist for Friday morning. 3. Claire and Dave painted the picket fence, which Dad repaired last week. 4. Harriet won first prize for her one-act play.

PRONOUN PROBLEMS A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. The word that is being replaced by a pronoun is called the antecedent. PRONOUN RULES Rule 1: Make sure it is clear what noun the pronoun is replacing. Incorrect: Gloria told Renee that she had gotten an A on her paper. Who got the A-Gloria or Renee? The pronoun “she” could refer to either of the two girls, and it is not clear which noun “she” is replacing. Correct: Gloria told Renee that Renee had gotten an A on her paper. Rule 2: Do not switch from one point of view to another within the same sentence. For example, do not switch from 1st person to 2nd person. 26

Incorrect: What I like best about vacations is that you do not have to wake up early. Correct: What I like best about vacations is that I do not have to wake up early. Rule 3: A pronoun must agree in number with its antecedent. Either both the pronoun and its antecedent need to be singular, or both need to be plural. Incorrect: Each of the students remembered to bring their book to class. Correct: Each of the students remembered to bring his or her book to class. The following antecedents are ALWAYS SINGULAR:

S SEEING WHAT YOU KNOW Directions: Cross out the pronoun mistake in each of the following sentences. Then, write the correction above the mistake. 1. Each of my sons required two chances to pass their driver’s test. 2. If there are stains on any hotel towels, they should be removed immediately. 3. I do not shop at that supermarket because they are so slow at the checkout counters. 4. People go to the local diner because you can get low-priced meals there all day. UNDERSTANDING THE ANSWERS

1. Each of my sons required two chances to pass his driver.s test. 27

 Each is a singular antecedent; therefore, only a singular pronoun can take its place.

2. If there are stains on any hotel towels, the towels should be removed immediately.  It is unclear which noun is the antecedent-the stains or the towels? The pronoun “they” could refer to either one. Replacing “they” with “the towels” makes the meaning of the sentence clear. 3. I do not shop at that supermarket because the clerks are so slow at the checkout counters.  It is unclear who the pronoun “they” is referring to. The sentence should be clarified by replacing “they” with the antecedent it is meant to replace.

4. People go to the local diner because they can get low-priced meals there all day.  People requires a third person pronoun, “they.” Sentences that begin in the third person should not suddenly shift their point of view to a second person pronoun such as “you.”

Commonly Confused Words Uh oh! Which one is it? Its or it’s? Good or well? Lay, lie, or lying? Help! Can vs. May something,

Can refers to the ability to do while may asks for permission. Examples: You may begin this exercise whenever you can get around to it.

Chose vs. Choose Choose means select, while chose is the past tense of choose. Examples: I chose the red balloon. Now you choose a balloon of another color.

28

Effect Vs. Affect the

the

The verb affect means to influence; verb effect means to produce, accomplish, complete. Then there is the noun form of effect which means result.

you?

have a

Farther vs. Further distance;

Examples: What effect does this have on How does it affect you? Mark’s hard work effected an A on the test, which positively affected his semester grade. Good grades calming effect on parents.

Farther refers to a physical further refers to additional time,

quantity,

or degree. than

Examples: Alaska extends farther north

Iceland. Further information can be obtained in an atlas.

Good vs. Well the adverb

Good is an adjective. Well is form of good (with one exception -

when

well is use to describe a state of

health,

it is an adjective). When you are describing a noun or pronoun, use good.

If you are describing a verb, use

well. feeling strange team

Its vs. It’s

Examples: It is a good thing that you are well enough to come to school today. The flying machines worked well and made our look good.

Its shows possession - a thing owns 29

something else. It’s means it is or it has. last one!

Lay vs. Lie past

Examples: It’s been a long time since its maintenance check. It’s about time to get

Lay means to place. Lay is also the tense of lie. Lay requires an object.

You

always lay something down. Its principal parts are: present tense -lay, past tense -laid, past perfect - laid, and future tense -laying. If you’re in doubt about whether to use "lay" or "lie," try substituting a form of the verb "place." If it makes sense, use a form of lay. table.

Examples: Every day I lay the book on the

Yesterday I laid the book on the table. I have laid the book on the table many times. I am laying the book on the table right now.

Lie means to recline. Its principal

parts lay,

are: present tense -lie, past tense – past perfect -lain, and future tense-

lying. down one the lay times. I

Examples: In this heat, the children must lie for a nap. Yesterday they lay down without complaint. Sometimes, they have lain in hammocks to rest. Every night I lie down. I down last night. I have lain down many

30

am lying down right now.

Weather vs. Whether Weather is a noun meaning the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature, wind, humidity, etc. Whether is a conjunction that links alternatives. Tip: Whether involves alternatives. Which one to choose? Remember that whether and which both start with wh. Examples: I missed the weather report this morning. I don’t know whether the weather will be hot or cold.

Who, Which, That Who refers to people. Which refers to nonliving objects or to animals (which should never refer to people). That may refer to animals, people, or nonliving things. Who vs. Whom verb;

Who is used as the subject of a whom is used as the object of the preposition or as a direct object.

for

Examples: To whom do we owe our thanks these pizzas? And who ordered the one with anchovies?

Grammar Trap: Inside vs. Outside Quotation Marks Commas, periods, colons, and semicolons are simple. Put commas and periods inside the end quotation mark. Put colons and semicolons outside. Examples: "Paul," she said, "it’s over." She told him "It’s over"; then she threw him out.

31

It gets trickier with exclamation marks and question marks. If the exclamation or question mark applies only to the quoted matter, put it inside the end quotation mark. If it applies to the whole sentence, put it outside. Examples: When Paul asked her to take him back, she yelled "No way!" What did Paul do when she told him "It’s over"? He stared at her sadly and asked "But why?"

These conventions apply to titles in quotation marks as well as to quoted speech.

CAPITALIZATION RULES The following words should be capitalized: 1. The first word in a sentence or the first word in a direct quotation 2. The word “I” and people’s names 3. Names of specific places and languages 4. Names of specific groups of people (races, religions, nationalities, companies, clubs, and other organizations) 5. Calendar items (days of the week, months, holidays) Exception: seasons do not get capitalized 6. Brand name products get capitalized, but the kind of product does not get capitalized 7. Titles (books, television shows, plays, songs, magazines, movies, poems, stories, etc.) 8. Family words only get capitalized when they are being substituted for a proper names 9. The title of specific school courses

32

PART 2- RESEARCH The Research Process Some of the points you need to consider before beginning your research process are: • What is your research question? (i.e. what is it you are looking for?). • What kind of information do you need?

• • •

What tools are you going to use to find this information? (i.e. the Internet, the school library) How are you going to find this information? (i.e. if you are using Internet search engines, what keywords are you going to use?) How are you going to evaluate your information? (i.e. when you are finished your research it is always useful to reflect on the process. What things worked, what things didn’t, what would you do next time?). 33

Planning Your Search Before even begin your research, a key first step is deciding on what type of information you are looking for and brainstorming where you might find your answers. In the space below, list out at least four significant questions you would like to answer during your research process. 1. _______________________________________________________ 2. _______________________________________________________ 3. _______________________________________________________ 4. _______________________________________________________ It’s important to condense your research questions into clearly defined keywords. Keywords that are too general may return you hundreds of thousands of hits. In order to avoid being overloaded with information, think carefully about what you are searching for.

Think of all the possible terms you might use for your subject. List 4-6 keywords below: 1._________________________ 2._________________________ 3._________________________ 4._________________________ 5._________________________ 6. ._________________________ Using these key words, begin your search. Think back to your library orientation information and the Google Advanced Search techniques you learned. Looking for Resources: Print and Electronic Sources Remember, the best place to start looking for information is NOT the internet. Your local librarians are experts in locating a variety of both print and non-print information. Talk with your librarian about how and where to locate information on your particular topic. Evaluating Resources Finding the information you want is only the first step. There is a lot of material available, but not all of it is equally reliable and useful. As a researcher, a large part 34

of your job is not simply to find information, but to make judgments about its merit. Before you use any material you have found, you need to spend some time evaluating it for accuracy and importance. Use the following questions as a guide.

Evaluating Internet resources is not that different from evaluating other kinds of resources. You will need to consider the following aspects of each web resource you are considering using: Can you trust the site’s 1) authority, 2) currency, 3) author, and 4) bias. Who put this information here? The source of the material might give you a clue to its reliability. A site maintained by a university or government organization might be more reliable than one maintained by a private citizen. • Many web site addresses include the name and type of organization sponsoring the webpage. The 3-letter domain codes and 2-letter country codes provide hints on the type of organization. Common domain codes are:in Sample

How old is the material? Sometimes the age of information matters. If you need current statistics then check the age of the material you have found. As a rule of thumb, in most fields anything more than five years old is probably out-dated. But a site which deals with historical information may not need updating as frequently as one which is all about the 35

latest political events. Just because information isn’t regularly changed doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use it, but you need to be aware that your information is not necessarily the most recent. Who wrote the information? Who is responsible for this information being here? You can probably assume that material written or otherwise provided by a known expert in the field is likely to be reliable. Just because you have never heard of the author of the page doesn’t mean that the information is inaccurate or unreliable, but it does mean that you can’t take it at face value. •

Who is responsible for the website? Check for an Author Look for the name of the author or organization responsible for the page. Look for the following info: o Credentials -- who is the author or organization and what sort of qualifications do they have? o Contact address -- is an email or some other contact information given? o "About" link -- is there an "about," "background," or "philosophy" link that provides author or organizational information? Why is this material here? Who put the material on the Internet and why? Think about whether they might have some reason other than pure helpfulness for posting information. Many special interest groups have web pages, and while this doesn’t necessarily mean the material is biased, it is something you need to think about. All sorts of groups now have web pages on the Internet, and obviously all of them have a message they are trying to get across. Think about what is being said, and why the material is there. Can I do a cross check? Think about ways you might cross check the information you have found. You might have a look at another site with similar material, ask somebody who knows 36

something about the topic, have a look at a book on the subject. Use your own experience as well. If you have already done some research in the area, you will already have some knowledge of the subject. How does this material fit in with what you already know?

Plagiarism & Citing Resources What is Citing? Citing simply means that you indicate which material is not your own and show where you got it from. Even if you have not used someone’s exact words, but have rephrased their ideas, you need to give credit your sources. The idea is that someone else reading your work should be able to recognize the difference between your work and someone else’s. You need to provide them with enough information about your sources that they could find the source for themselves. In order to cite words correctly, you must keep track of where you found information. Every time you photocopy information from a book, print out pages from a website, take notes from a magazine, you should be writing down all the bibliographical information of each source. The Modern Language Association has created a standard format for writing academic papers. There are two levels to MLA citation style: the works cited page and parenthetical citations.

MLA Formatted Paper THE SET-UP 1. Everything is double spaced 2. All margins should be 1-inch. 3. Use 11 or 12 pt. font, either Times New Roman or Arial. No other font type is acceptable 4. No extra space between paragraphs FIRST PAGE 1. Upper left corner: • Your full name 37

• • •

2. 3. • • •

•

Your teacher’s name Course name and title Day Month Year Headers go in the upper right corner of every page . your last name and the page number(ex. Anderson 2). Title: The title is centered Do not underline, italicize, or bold your title Do not put quotation marks around your entire title Do not put an extra space between your title and the opening paragraph of your paper

Creating a Works Cited Use the following pages to help you keep track of the bibliographical information for each of your research sources. Basic Setup of a Works Cited Page 1. Everything is double spaced 2. 1” margins at top/bottom and right/left 3. 11 or 12 pt. font- either New Times Roman or Arial. 4. No extra space between entries 5. Do NOT number the entries 6. Sources must be alphabetized by whatever comes first (usually the author’s last name, but if no author is given, by the first important word in the title) 7. Articles are in quotation marks and titles are underlined 38

8. Every entry must end with a period. 9. Every line except for the first line of a new entry is indented. If you have two sources by the same person, alphabetize by the next item in the MLA citation (usually the article title) and use --- (three dashes followed by a period) for the author’s name in your second entry to indicate that source is by the same person as listed before it.

MLA Citation Style General Rule for Style Author. “Title of Article”. Title of Book/Magazine. Volume. Place of Publication: Publisher. Date. Page. Web Info. Book Author. Book. Place of Publ: Publ, Date. Pages. Okuda, Michael, and Denise Okuda. Star Trek Chronology: The History of the Future. New York: Pocket, 1993. Journal Article Author. “Article.” Book. Volume Date. Pages. Wilcox, Rhonda V. "Shifting Roles and Synthetic Women in Star Trek: The Next Generation." Studies in Popular Culture 13.2 (1991): 53-65. Newspaper or Magazine Article 39

Author. “Article.” Magazine. Date. Pages. Di Rado, Alicia. "Trekking through College: Classes Explore Modern Society Using the World of Star Trek." Los Angeles Times 15 Mar. 1995: A3.

Book Article or Chapter Author. “Article.” Book. Editor. Place of Publ: Publisher, Date. Pages. James, Nancy E. "Two Sides of Paradise: The Eden Myth According to Kirk and Spock." Spectrum of the Fantastic. Ed. Donald Palumbo. Westport: Greenwood, 1988. 219-223. Encyclopedia Article (well known reference books) Author. “Article.” Encyclopedia. Volume/Edition Date. Sturgeon, Theodore. "Science Fiction." The Encyclopedia Americana. International ed. 1995. Encyclopedia Article (less familiar reference books) Author. “Article.” Encyclopedia. Editor. Volume/Edition. Place of Publ: Publisher. Date. Horn, Maurice. "Flash Gordon." The World Encyclopedia of Comics. Ed. Maurice Horn. 2 vols. New York: Chelsea, 1976. E-Library Author. Book/Article. Place of Publ: Publisher. Date. ELibrary. Date Accessed. Fuss-Reineck, Marilyn. Sibling Communication in Star Trek: 40

The Next Generation: Conflicts between Brothers. Miami: Speech Communication Assn. 1993. ELibrary. 8 Nov. 2008. Website Author/Webmaster. “Page Name.” Website Name. Date Updated. Website Publisher. Date Accessed. . Lynch, Tim. "DSN Trials and Tribble-ations Review." Psi Phi: Bradley's Science Fiction Club. 1996. Bradley University. 8 Oct. 1997 . Parenthetical Citations The Basics: • Anytime you use a direct quotation or paraphrase an idea, fact, statistic, date, or definition from another source, you must list it in your Works Cited and insert a parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence. • The author’s last name and page number appear in parentheses. If an author is not listed, you use whatever comes next in the works cited entry inside your parentheses. If you mention author’s name in the sentence you are citing, you only need the page number in parentheses. • No punctuation is inserted between name and page number. • No abbreviation (p.) or word (page) is included to identify the number as a page number. Example: The Weather Channel proclaims a 45 percent increase in hurricane activity in the year 2005 (“How ‘Bout that Weather?” 5). When you include a quotation in the text of the paper: • Introduce the quotation with a comma, if it is a whole sentence embedded within your sentence. • Close the quotation with quotation marks. • Place the parenthetical citation directly after the quotation marks. • End the sentence with a period. 41

How do I cite? Any information that you obtain from your research that is mentioned in your paper should be cited. Information that you paraphrase OR quote directly must be cited. The following is an example of information I am crediting to the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. Example: The works that you cite within the paper must be those cited at the end of the paper. In other words, "References in the text must clearly point to specific sources in the list of works cited" (Gibaldi 204). Where do I place the citation? The citation is placed directly after the information that is taken from another source. The citation includes: • The author’s last name, a space, and a page #. o Example: (Smith 4) o note there is no "pg." or "p." included Example of quoted documentation: It has been argued by researchers that, "We are what we eat" (Franklin 75). Example of paraphrased documentation: Many researchers maintain the relationship between our actions and our diet (Franklin75). Block Quotations A blocked quotation is a quotation that is set off (by wider margins) from the rest of the text. When a quotation would take up more than four lines of text in your essay, you should block it. When blocking a quotation you should indent the entire quote 5 spaces (tab once). Example: Friendship has been described by many, but perhaps not so beautifully as by Ralph Waldo Emerson: I do not wish to treat friendships daintily, but with roughest courage. When they are real, they are not 42

glass threads or frostwork, but the solidest thing we

the

know. For now, after so many ages of experience, what do we know of nature, or of ourselves? Not one step has man taken toward the solution of problem of his destiny. (46)

Notice that because the sentence introducing the quotation contains the author’s name, the name is not listed again following the quotation. Also notice that block quoting does not require the use of quotation marks. Finally, notice that the end punctuation comes before the parenthetical citation; there is no period following the parentheses. Within the format of the paper, the blocked quotation maintains double spacing. Avoiding Plagiarism Plagiarism occurs when you present words and ideas as your own when they are actually someone else’s. Changing a word “here or there” or even putting an author’s original ideas into your own words without giving credit, is still plagiarism. Plagiarism includes the following: • • • • • • •

failure to identify with quotation marks words copied from another source failure to identify the source of quoted information failure to identify the source of paraphrased information failure to identify the source of summarized information failure to provide a Works Cited page for a paper that requires research turning in another individual’s paper as your own turning in a paper off the Internet as your own

Plagiarism can be avoided by identifying the source of any borrowed words or ideas in a parenthetical citation. Parenthetical citations typically include, in parentheses, the author’s last name and page number(s) where the information can be found. Use parenthetical citations to identify the source of any quoted, paraphrased, or summarized information. Facts that are considered common knowledge do not need to be cited.

43

PART 3- WRITING AND EDITING Editing How to edit a paper: 1. Start at the bottom of the paper and read each sentence to make sure each individual sentence makes sense. 2. Highlight every “to be” verb (am, is, are, was, were, be, been , being). Try to replace these verbs with more descriptive ones. 3. Check for spelling and grammar errors and mark them according to the editing marks below.

44

4. Make editing corrections and re-read paper to check for fluency and any additional mistakes.

45

46