BAC 101 Tutoring Supersession

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BAC 101 Tutoring Supersession
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Key Resources

• The Purdue On-line Writing Laboratory (OWL)
  http//owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
• OWL Proofreading Your Writing
  http//owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/561/01/
  
• OWL Finding Common Errors http//owl.english.pur
  due.edu/owl/resource/561/02/
• OWL Suggestions for Proofreading Your Paper
  http//owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/561/03/
  
• www.merriam-webster.com

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Sentence Structure Definition

• Sentence structure means the way sentences are
  built using words, phrases, and clauses.
• Words single units link up in sentences to
  form clauses and phrases
• Clauses word groups with subjects and verbs
• Phrases word groups without subjects and verbs
• Clauses are the most important because they make
  statements tell who did what OR what something
  is in a sentence.

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Identifying Clauses vs. Phrases

• We brought oranges at the farmers market on Main
  Street.
• We bought oranges (clause who did what)
• at the farmers market and on Main Street
  (phrases dont have somebody/subject doing
  something/verb they clarify where we bought the
  oranges)
• Is We bought a complete sentence on its own
• How about We bought oranges
• Yes it is. You could leave out one or both
  phrases and still have a sentence We bought
  oranges

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Sentence Structure Fragments

• You cannot, however, leave the clause We bought
  oranges out. Youd be left with a fragment At
  the farmers market on Main Street.
• Every sentence MUST have at least one clause that
  can stand by itself (an Independent Clause).
• Independent clause or fragment?
• Wandering around the mall all afternoon.
• Because I tried to do too many things at once.
• By interviewing the applicants in groups.
• Incomplete sentence structures fragments fail
  to communicate a complete thought. How about
• I ate lunch.
• Computer prices are dropping theyre still beyond
  my budget.

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Run-Ons

• Unlike fragments, run-ons make complete
  statements.
• The trouble is that they make two or more
  complete statements.
• The first statement runs on to the second without
  correct punctuation. For example
• Computer prices are dropping theyre still beyond
  my budget.
• Computer prices are dropping. Theyre still
  beyond my budget.
• Computer prices are dropping theyre still
  beyond my budget.
• Computer prices are dropping, but theyre still
  beyond my budget.

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Practice

• Independent Clause, Fragment, or Run-on?
• The forecast calls for rain Ill wait to wash my
  car.
• Just ran around with his arms in the air.
• Paul and his sister with the twins.
• I want a fulfilling job.
• Hoping for a chance at an interview.
• While some of us wrote in our journals.
• A truck parked in front of my driveway, I
  couldnt get to school.
• Ah-ha! The last one was a type of run-on
  sentence known as a comma splice.

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So What? Its Only Punctuation.

• Read and explain the following statement
• Panda eats, shoots and leaves.
• Title of a book and derived from a joke on bad
  punctuation (Lynne Truss, 2003)
• A panda walks into a café. He orders a sandwich,
  eats it, then draws a gun and proceeds to fire it
  at the other patrons.
• Why? asks the confused, surviving waiter amidst
  the carnage, as the panda makes towards the exit.
  The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife
  manual and tosses it over his shoulder.
• Well, Im a panda, he says, at the door. Look
  it up.
• The waiter turns to the relevant entry in the
  manual and, sure enough, finds an explanation.
  Panda. Large black-and-white, bear-like mammal,
  native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves.
• Panda eats shoots and leaves.

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Still Not Convinced?

• How would you punctuate the following sentence?
• Woman without her man is nothing.
• Woman, without her man, is nothing. (men)
• Woman Without her, man is nothing. (women)
• A grammatical blunder may force Rogers
  Communications Inc. to pay an extra 2.13-million
  to use utility poles in the Maritimes after the
  placement of a comma in a contract permitted the
  deal's cancellation. (Reportonbusiness.com,
  April 2006) http//www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet
  /story/RTGAM.20060806.wr-rogers07/BNStory/Business
  /home
• Slow children crossing vs.
• Slow, children crossing.

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6 Punctuation Marks/6 Rules

• The purpose of punctuation
• To help the reader!
• 6 Marks/6 Rules
• Period at the end of a sentence and after most
  abbreviations full stop
• Question Mark after a direct question but not
  after an indirect one.
• Did you lock the door? (direct)
• I wonder if he locked the door. (indirect)
• Exclamation point after an expression that
  shows strong emotion used primarily in informal
  correspondence

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Punctuation

• 6 Marks/6 Rules (cont.)
• Semi-colon use between two independent clauses
  in a sentence (unless they are joined by a
  connecting word like for, and, but, or,
  yet, so. Also used to separate complex items
  in a series/list
• He rushed out of the room I later learned that
  he was not feeling well.
• I used to manage operations in the following
  cities Detroit, Michigan Green Bay, Wisconsin
  Billings, Montana Sacramento, California
  Westminster, Colorado Montreal, Canada and
  London, England.

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Punctuation

• 6 Marks/6 Rules (cont.)
• Colon follows a complete statement that
  introduces a name, a list, a quotation, or an
  explanation
• The company announced its new RMG Sara Barnwell
• You can buy the car in any one of the following
  colors turquoise, black, hot pink, lime green
  and cough drop red.
• Thoreau had this to say about time Time is but
  the stream I go
• Dashes (--) use to signal an abrupt change of
  thought, to emphasize what follows, or to isolate
  inserted information
• Wendy Welser the City of Ann Arbors Customer
  Service Manager received her own special
  parking space.
• I found out today or was it yesterday that I
  had won the lottery.
• We have some exciting news for you were moving!

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Commas

• Use the OWL Quick Guide to Commas. Its a great
  resource!
• http//owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/607/01/
  

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Proofreading Checklist

• Does the introductory paragraph capture your
  interest and give you a good idea of the papers
  topic and content?
• Does each sentence end with appropriate
  punctuation?
• Is the punctuation within the sentences correct?
• Are there any sentences or passages that dont
  make sense or that are difficult to read (you had
  to read more than one time to try and
  comprehend)?
• Are there any sentence fragments? Run-ons?
  Comma splices?
• Are there any misspelled words?
• Any words or phrases that are used repetitively?
• Have any words been omitted?
• Are there any abrupt shifts in the content
  moves from one point to the next without warning
  (use of an appropriate transitional word/phrase)?
• Are there parenthetical references within the
  document as well as a list of Resources?
• Does the Conclusion effectively wrap things up,
  or does it trail off
• Content for this presentation was borrowed from
• The Least You Should Know About Writing
  Skills, by Paige Wilson and Teresa Ferster
  Glazier
• Expressways for Writing Scenarios From
  Paragraph to Essay, by Kathleen T. McWhorter