ESL 970G Advanced Grammar Review and Editing

Fall 2004 Syllabus

Section 30327 Online and Section 30328 MW 9:20-10:45

Course description, expectations and communication procedures. Purchase textbook. Study (= read and complete the exercises) Applied English Grammar (AEG) Chapter 1 pp 24-53 Analyzing Words and Sentences.
Introduction to the blackboard web learning environment. Login.Tools. Personal info. Password. Email. Telephone. Announcements. Course info. Assignments. Communication.

Thu Sep 2, 4:00-7:00 pm Orientation Session 1 for Section 31327 (online section), Tech Center TC-1 => N2-301. Course introduction (as above). In-class writing sample.

In-class writing sample.

AEG Chapter 1 Analyzing Words and Sentences. Parts of Speech. Sentence Parts (The basic English sentence; subject, verb, object complement, and modifier; phrases, clauses). Sentence types by purposes and grammatical structure. Spoken English compared to written English. Using simple sentences to make other sentences. Simple sentences. Compound sentences. Complex sentences. Compound-complex sentences. Ch 1 Online exercises: 1-A Practice Parts of Speech and Vocabulary, 1-B Practice with Sentence Types. You may check the answer key (AK) for the the textbook exercises in the cvc.blackboard.com Course Documents area.

Wed Sep 8, 4:00-7:00 pm Orientation Session 2 for Section 31327 (online section), Tech Center TC-1. Digital Drop Box. Discussion Boards. (Please read the descriptions in Resources.)
AEG Ch 1.

Diagnostic Test of English Sentence Skills. UserID and password will be given in class.
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Week 3 beginning September 13

Study AEG Chapter 2 Past Time Frame; do the exercises in the book. Check the answer key (AK) in the blackboard Course Documents area. Ch 2 Online exercises: 2-A Practice with Simple Past Tense and Irregular Verbs, 2-B Practice with Past Perfect, 2-C Practice with Past Progressive, 2-D Practice with Past Time Expressions,  2-E Practice with the Present Perfect

Writing Assignment: Post a message on the Paragraph in the general truth time frame. (20 pts) Due date: 11 pm Fri Oct 8
Write a paragraph of 150-175 words using different action verbs in the general truth time frame. (Refer to AEG Chapter 3).Use third person subjects. Use at least one of each sentence type, in any order: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex. Pay attention to subject-verb agreement (SVA) and subject-pronoun agreement (SPA). Possible topics:a basic scientific principle or a basic principle in your field of study of work; a regularly occurring procedure, activity, or event in your job, your workplace, your college, or your community.
zes available 10PM Mon Sep 27 - 11PM Sat Oct 9: Verbs in the general truth time frame (20 pts), Subject-Verb Agreement (20)
To

Week 7 beginning October 11

References:Guide to Grammar and Writing: Helping and Modal Auxiliary Verbs
shall, will, should; do, does, did; have, has, had; can, could; can, may; may, might; will, would; used to.

Print the article New life for S.F. lakes (or SJ Mercury News) and use colored pens to identify the following verb forms:simple present, present progressive, present perfect, present modal. After completing the exercise, click on the link to the answer key.
Practice quizzes on modal auxiliaries
Helping and Modal Auxiliary Verbs | Use of Modal Auxiliaries | Fill in the gaps with can, can't, must and mustn't.
Modal Quiz | Past Modal Quiz | Past Modal Auxiliaries

zes:30328 in-class Wed Oct 13: Verbs in the Present Time Frame (20), Verbs and Time Expressions (10), 30327 until 11PM Sat Oct 16

Grandmother Prepares for Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii Print the article Never mind the sun setting. Use colored highlighters to mark subject(s) and verb(s)in each and every clause.
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Study AEG Chapter 12 Punctuation. Do the exercises in the book and Ch 12 online exercises 12-6. Rules for Using Commas. 12-8. Practice with Capitalization. Overview of Punctuation Choices, The Period and Other End marks, The Comma, The Apostrophe, The Semicolon, The Colon, Quotation marks, Underlining, Capitalization
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Guide to Grammar and Writing: Punctuation Marks
Explanations, examples and self-quizzes on the period, comma, question mark, exclamation mark, colon, semicolon, hyphen, dash, parentheses, brackets, ellipsis, apostrophe, quotation marks, and slash
Punctuation from Purdue University Online Writing Lab

available Oct 12 until 11 PM Thu Oct 21: Modals Must/Have to
Midterm Exam 30328 in-class Wed Oct 20: Verb Tenses and Forms (50), 30327
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Week 9 beginning October 25
Study AEG Chapter 7 Questions and Commands. Do the exercises in the book. Do the Ch 7 online exercises Importance of Questions, Purposes of Questions, Review of the Basic Grammar of Yes-No Questions, Review of the Basic Grammar of Informattion Questions, Tag Questions, Questions Inside of Sratements, Commands

AEG Section Four: Editing Written English
Learning how to edit
1) The most serious problems, 2) intermediate problems, 3) punctuation and mechanics problems
Practice the Editing Process: Editing Past Time, Editing for Subject-Verb Agreement, Editing Modal Auxiliaries, Writing Focused on the Past Time Frame, Writing Focused on the General Truth Time Frame, Writing Focused on the Modal Auxiliaries. (We will come back to this section again later.)

zes available until11PMSun Oct 31: Questions and Commands (30) Grammar in the News (20)

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Study AEG Chapter 9 Nouns, Articles, and Determiners. Do the exercises in the book and on Ch 9 online exercises.
Articles and other determiners, Proper and common nouns, Count nouns, Noncount nouns, Meanings of nouns, Summary of the use of articles, Determiners and quantifiers with count and noncount nouns

Guide to Grammar and Writing: Nouns
Plural forms of nouns, Possessive forms of nouns, An exercise in recognizing nouns, Count versus non-count nouns, An exercise in categorizing count- and non-count nouns, Compound nouns (and adjectives)
Explanations and examples at the Purdue University Online Writing Lab Count and NonCount Nouns (with Articles and Adjectives) | Count and Non-Count Nouns (with Plurals, Articles, and Quantity Words) | Articles (A/An/The)

Practice quizzes on nouns:Count/Noncount Nouns | Recgonizing nouns | Naming nouns | Count and non-count nouns |
Articles, Determiners and Quantifiers Articles, determiners, and quantifiers are those little words that precede and modify nouns
Practice quizzes on articles: Articles a, an, the | Articles a, an, the or no article
Practice quizzes on quantifiers:: Quantifiers much, many, most,few,a few, little, a little | Quantifiers a few, a Practice quizzes on quantifiersgreat deal, a little, a lot, a lot of, a majority of, enough, many, much of, plenty, several of, some

zes available until 11PM Nov 7: Prepositional Phrases (30) Verb + Preposition (20)
Always check the DIscussion Board area for Extra Credit opportunities.
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Study Chapter 10 Adverbial, Noun, and Relative Clauses. Do the exercises in the book. Do the Online Exercises
Traditional Definitions, Recognizing Different Types of Clauses: Adverbial Clauses, Relative (Adjective) Clauses, and Noun Clauses
Recognizing and Correcting Common Sentence Problems, Sentence Combining Practice: Adverbial Clauses and Relative (Adjective) Clauses, Sentence Combining; Making Decisions about Combining Sentences

Appositives. Study the explanation and examples of appositives at the Purdue University Online Writing Lab.

Practice Quizzes at the Purdue University Online Writing Lab Grammar, Punctuation, and Spelling
Accept and Except, Affect and Effect, Apostrophes, Commas vs. Semicolons, Commas with Nonessential Elements [1] [2] [3] , I/E Spelling Rules, Sentence Fragments, Using Commas, Words that Sound Alike: Exercises

zes available until 11PM Nov 14: Noun Forms (20), Indefinite Articles (20), Articles A, An, The and No article (30)
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Week 12 beginning November 15

Study Chapter 11 Passive Sentences. Do the exercises in the book. Do the online exercises.
“Passive” Defined, Comparing Active and Passive Sentences, When to Use Passive Sentences, Making Passive Verbs, Using the By-Phrase, Passive Look-Alikes

Identifying Passive sentences in the news: Five-alarm fire

Analysis of Complex and Compound-Complex Sentences. Try the other Review, practice and self-text exercises in the Assignments area of BlackBoard: Analysis of Simple Sentences: Snow; Analysis of Compound Sentences: Stonehenge; Edit for Word Order: The Rosetta Stone; Edit for Word Order: Dinosaurs

Writing Assignment: Sentences with Relative Clauses: Due date: 11PM Nov 18. (20 pts) Write eight sentences related to a job (the one you have now, the one you had before, or the one you desire. In each sentence, use a relative adjective clause or a relative adverb clause. Set the relative clause or phrase in square brackets. Use each of these relative pronouns at least once: who, whom, whose, that, which. Use each of these relative adverbs at least once: when, where. Write at least two restrictive clauses and two nonrestrictive clauses. Use proper grammar and punctuation. Follow my example, which uses relative clauses: Teaching ESL970G.
Extra credit: Read messages written by others on the "Relative Clauses" and post a thoughtful response of 20-25 words to the writer. (2 pts ea, up to 10 pts) Due date: 11PM Nov 22.

zes: available until 11PM Nov 19::Subordinators (30), d Adjective Clauses and Phrases (10)

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Week 13 beginning November 22

Study AEG Chapter 13 Nouns, Adjectives, and Personal Pronouns. Do the exercises in the book. Do the online exercises.
Noun phrases, Adjectives, Review of personal pronouns

Identifying Nouns, Adjectives, and Noun Phrases: Hurricanes, Typhoons, and Cyclones. Click and print the article. Underline all nouns and noun phrases. With a yellow highlighter pen, highlight the adjectives. With a green highlighter pen, highlight other modifiers of that noun (articles, personal pronouns, nouns, possessive nouns, adverbs). Draw an arrow from each adjective and other modifier to the noun that it modifies.

Writing Assignment: Error Analysis and Editing: 29 sentences. Doing this exercise will help prepare you for the final exam. Download the file from the Course Documents area of Blackboard. (10) Due date: 11PM Nov 24

Study AEG Chapter 14 Adverbs. Do the exercises in the book. Do the online Exercises.
“Adverb” Defined, Formation of Adversb from Adjectives, Adverbs of Frequency, No and Not , Word Order with Adverbs and Adverbials
Interactive Practice Exercises from Purdue University Online Writing Lab
Adjective or Adverb, Prepositions of Direction: To, On (to), In (to), Prepositions of Location: At, In, On
Guide to Grammar and Writing: Adverbs
Definition of Adverb, Using Adverbs in a Numbered List, Adverbs We Can Do Without, Kinds of Adverbs, Positions of Adverbs
Order of Adverbs, Adjuncts, Disjuncts, and Conjuncts, Some Special Cases, Relative Adverbs, Viewpoint, Focus, and Negative Adverbs

zes available until 11PM Wed Nov 24: Identifying Adverb, Adjective, and Noun Clauses (25), Active and Passive Voice (20), Capitalization (20)

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Week 14 beginning November 29
Study Chapter 15 Conditional and Hypothetical. Do the exercises in the book. Do the online exercises. .
“Conditional” and “Hypothetical” Defined, Meaning and Grammar of Conditional Sentences, Modal Auxiliaries in Conditional Sentences, Meaning and Grammar of Hypothetical Sentences, Were in Hypothetical If-Clauses, Wishes as Hypothetical Sentences, Verbs in Conditional Sentences and Hypothetical Sentences

Study Chapter 16 Gerunds and Infinitives. Do the exercises in the book. Do the online Exercises
“Gerund” and “Infinitive” Defined, Uses of Gerunds and Infinitives: Gerunds as Direct Objects, Prepositions Followed by Gerunds, Used To and Be Used To, Infinitives as Direct Objects: Infinitives and Adjectives; Infinitives and Too; Infinitives and For; Infinitives and In Order To; How, When, Where + Infinitives, Verbs That Can Have Either a Gerund or an Infinitive as Direct Object with no Meaning Difference, Verbs That Can Have Either a Gerund or an Infinitive as Direct Object with Different Meanings
zes available until 11PM Sun Dec 5: Word Order (20), Gerunds and Infinitives (20), Sentence, Fragment, Comma Splice, or Run-on (20), Error Analysis and Editing

Final exam choice of times- Reply on the Discussion Board "Open Forum - November".
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Week 15 beginning December 5
REVIEW. Select from the following exercises to review for the final exam.
Analysis of Simple Sentences: Snow Mark the subject, verb and prepositional phrases in each simple sentence.
Analysis of Compound Sentences: Stonehenge Mark the subjects, verbs, prepositional phrases, and coodinating conjunction in each compound sentence.
Analysis of Complex and Compound-Complex Sentences: Space Flight Mark the subjects, verbs, prepositional phrases, coodinating conjunctionm subordinators, independent clauses and dependent clauses.
Edit for Run-on and Comma Spice Errors: 4A The Composing Process; 4B Efficient Test Taking Find and correct 5-6 run-on and comma splice errors in each paragraph.
Edit for Fragments: 1A The Braille Alphabet; 1B Human Memory Find and correct 5 fragments in each paragraph.
Edit for Verbs: 2A The Flight of the Voyager; 2B The Genetic Manipulation of Tobacco Find the 10 verb errors in each paragraph.
Edit for Agreement: 3A Skimming; 3B The Solar System Find 8 and 12 subject-verb agreement errors in each paragraph.
Edit for Word Order: The Rosetta Stone Find the word order errors in this paragraph.
Edit for Word Order: Dinosaurs Find the word order errors in this paragraph.
Edit for Word Choice: Tornadoes Find the word order errors in this paragraph.
Edit for Articles: 9A The Sundial; 9B Diamonds Find 17 and 10 article errors in each paragraph.
Edit for Punctuation: 10A Historians and Archeologists; 10B Earthquakes Find and insert 20 punctuation marks in each paragraph.
Edit for Capitalization: 11A Calculus; 11B Thanksgiving
Sentence Combination: Types of Tests, Classroom Behavior, and A Study Plan Combine 3 groups of short simple sentences into compound and complex sentences in the context of 3 distinct paragraphs

Singular subjects need singular verbs; plural subjects need plural verbs. Learn and practice with these links:
Subject-Verb Agreement, including PowerPoint presentation. 12 important points and 3 quizzes (Charles Darling, Capital Community College)
Subject-Verb Agreement, including subject following verb, expletive "it" , "each", "none", subjects are joined by "and", subjects are joined by "or", singular and plural subjects, linking verbs, collective nouns, relative pronouns (University of Madison).
Making Subjects and Verbs Agree (Purdue University)
Agreement: subject-verb, inc. self-test (Scott Foll, Big Dog Grammar)
Rules for Subject-Verb Agreement, inc. practice and drill (Arizona State University Writing Center)
Subject-Verb Agreement (Kellee Weinhold, Oregon University
Subject-Verb Agreement (Texas A&M Writing Center)
Google's links to Subject-Verb Agreement
These self-quizzes can help you practice what you have learned about subject-verb agreement.
Dave Sperling's Subject-Verb Agreement quiz
City University of hong Kong's English Language Centre Subject-Verb Agreement quiz
Colleen Weldele's Subject/Verb Agreement quiz
Vera Mello's Subject and Verb Agreement quiz
English Zone's Subject-Verb Agreement quizzes: Easy, Intermediate, Advanced Levels. Some quizzes are free; others require membership.
Subject-Verb Agreement quizzes (Erlyn Baack's page, Advanced Composition for Non-Native Speakers of English)
Sample TOEFL grammar questions: Word form: Subject-Verb Agreement
Do the exercises and then check your answers in the AK.
Sentence Fragment Exercisesó#1 Analyze each of 16 sets of sentences as correct (C) or a fragment (F).
Sentence Fragment Exercisesó#2 Proofread 5 brief paragraphs and edit them for fragment errors.
Sentence Fragment Exercisesó#3 Read a paragraph with no punctuation. Add capitals, periods, commas, and/or other punctuation that may be needed to make the word groups into complete sentences. Make sure that there are no fragments.
Take a self-quiz on The Functions of Clauses (self-quiz)
View Prof. Darlingís Powerpoint presentation Run-on Sentences and Comma Splices
and take the self-quizzes: Avoiding Comma Splices 1 & 2, Repairing Run-on Sentences, and Fragments and Run-on Sentences
Commas with Nonessential Elements
Commas Set off Nonessential Elements: Exercise #1
Commas Set off Nonessential Elements: Exercise #2

available until 11PM Sat Dec 11: Conditionals and Hypotheticals

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Week 16 beginning December 12

In the Discussion Board area, reply to the exam time that you will attend: Wed Dec 15, 8:30-10:30AM OR Wed Dec 15, 5:00-7:00PM
Final exam week