Welcome

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Spelling and Pronunciation

	Spelling Rules
syllables	Every syllable has one vowel sound.
c	C can be prounced as /k/ or /s/.
c	C is pronounced as /s/ before an e, i, or y (cent, city, cycle).
c	It is pronounced as /k/ before everything else (cat, clip).
g	G is pronounced as /g/ or /j/.
g	G may be pronounced as /j/ before an e, i, or y (gem, giant, gym).
g	It is pronounced as /g/ before everything else (garden, glad).
q	Q is always followed by a u (queen).
f, l,s	Double the consonants f, l, and s at the end of a one-syllable word that has just one vowel (stiff, spell, pass).
k	To spell the sound of /k/ at the end of a word, we use ck or k. Use ck after a short vowel (sick). After everything else, use a k (milk).
a,e,o,u	A, e, o, and u usually say their name at the end of a syllable (a-pron, me, go, u-nit).
v, j	Words do not end in v or j. We add a silent-e at the end of the word (have).
I,o	I and o may be pronounced as /i/ and /o/ before two consonants (kind, sold).
j	/J/ is spelled dge after a short vowel (edge).

Syllabus

English 82B Syllabus Lincoln University
Written Communication II
Dr. Sylvia Y. R. Schoemaker

Phone: 510.628.8036
Semester: Spring 2007
Units: 3 Contact hours: 40
Course Days: T Time: 9:30 – 12:15; Location: Room 302
Course sites: http://wcom072.blogspot.com/
Course Website: writCommunication.tripod.com;
Office: Room 305
Office Hours: T-T, 9:9:30, 12:15-1, and by arrangement
E-mail: docsyl072@gmail.com


Objectives
You will develop your writing skills for academic, professional, and socio-cultural purposes, in context-centered essay writing. You will learn editing, documentation skills, use of online and other resources.

University learner goals 1 -6, and specifically in English:: To develop
basic academic and professional skills(1); To develop the ability to communicate
effectively in English, orally and in writing, and to read with understanding
(1.1) and institutional goals , especially 1,(1.1-1.4), 2.4

Description:
English 82B covers the aspects of composing well-organized written communications in functional contexts. The core of the course will emphasize practice in organizing ideas in a clear, logical manner and other elements involved in writing papers in various applied contexts.

Catalog Description: ENG 82A & 82B - WRITTEN COMMUNICATION I, II

ENG 82A & 82B - WRITTEN COMMUNICATION I & II
First term: A thorough study of grammar and the fundamentals of composition. Practice
in writing themes, book reviews and other short papers is given. Particular
attention is directed toward sentence structure, syntax, and general rhetorical
principles. Second term: Critical reading and evaluation of selected texts and
writings; composition of well-organized expository papers; a careful
consideration of methods of research, organization in a clear, logical manner
and other elements involved in writing research papers. (3 + 3
units)

Course Materials
Required Texts

VanderMey et al. The College Writer. Second Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2007.
Dictionary, thesaurus
Library cardFormat

A cooperative learning model is employed. Small group and individual discovery exercises and presentations will augment lectures, discussion and applications.


Student Responsibilities:
Students are expected to attend class, to complete assignments, to participate in the course in a productive manner, and to take personal responsibility for meeting the objectives of the course.

Evaluation/Grading:
Essays, assignments, exercises, class participation, portfolios /projects, presentations, midterm and final (see schedule) are averaged in determining the final grade in the following proportions:

Essays: 20%)
Homework/in-class work: 20%
Midterm:20%
Final:20%
Projects: 20%

Policies:

· Assignments are to be submitted in a timely manner. Late work will receive
reduced points and must be accompanied with a written explanation for its
tardiness.
· Plagiarized work will receive 0 points, and if persistent will
result in course failure.
· All assignments must be typed, include in the
top right hand corner your name, course, date submitted, assignment name and
revision number.
· Attendance is mandatory. Missed classes will constitute 0
points for the day’s class participation points. Excused absences are limited to
serious medical or other problems, and are to be explained in writing either
before or immediately after the absence. Persistent unexcused absences will
result in course failure.

Assignment Schedule

Unit	Week	Date	Topics/Assignment	Notes
Unit 1	Wk 1	1/16/2007	Introduction	Recommended reference texts: Handbook, Dictionaries
Introduction	Wk 2	1/23/2007	Introductory Essay: Personal (family), Social (culture, home country), Professional (economic now/future), Universal (philosophical, goals, definition of success)	QnA-- Interviews Essay: Where do you stand? (feet, stomach, heart, ears, eyes, hands, brain)
	Wk3	1/30/2007	Peer Evaluation	Unit 1 Paper Due
Unit 2:	Wk 4	2/6/2007	Introductory essay due	Language, Literature, Art, Music Story of English; Do You Speak American?
Humanities Focus	Wk 5	2/13/2007	C24, Writing about Literature and the Arts	MLA Format
	Wk 6	2/20/2007	Literary Analysis (357), oral presentations (319), web writing (399)
	Wk 7	2/27/2007	C25, Academic Essays	Unit 2 Paper Due
	Wk 8	3/6/2007	Review; Presentations
	Wk 9	3/13/2007	Midterm
		3/20/2007	Spring Recess
Unit 3	Wk 10	3/27/2007	C26, Writing for the Workplace	APA Format
Social Sciences Focus	Wk 11	4/3/2007	Abstracts/summaries(538,540,550)	Business, Economics America at Work
	Wk 12	4/10/2007	experiment report (341), observation report (319), research paper(423)	Unit 3 Paper Due
Unit 4	Wk 13	4/17/2007	C27,, Writing and Designing in the Web	Cosmos
Physical Sciences	Wk 14	4/24/2007	Field Report (341), research paper (423)	Nature/ Ecology Micrososmos
	Wk 15	5/1/2007	Review; Presentations	Unit 4 Paper Due
Conclusion	Wk 16	5/8/2007	Final

SQ4R Method

S	Survey
Q	Questions
4R	Read	Read the text. Use a pencil or pen to mark the text (Do not use a highlight marker!). Underline, star, or flag vocabulary words or ideas that you think are important.
	Respond	As you read, try to find the answers to the questions you asked. Remember, as you read, you might ask more questions. Be sure to write your answers in the margins.
	Review	When you finish reading, review the written text. Can you answer the questions that you asked? Do you understand everything about the written text? If the author(s) were sitting next to you, what other questions would you ask?
	Reflect	Close the text. Think about what your have read. Discuss the main points with someone. Do you agree or disagree with the author(s)? What surprised you about the written text? What did you find to be interesting? What did you find to be confusing? What did you learn?

Parts of Speech

n. (noun) - a name word; name of a person, place, thing, or idea
pn. (pronoun) - a word used in place of a noun
vb.(verb) - word for an action or state of being
adj. (adjective) - a describing word
adv. (adverb) - aa modigying word
prep. (preposition) - a word used to show a relation
intj. (interjection) - an interrupting word
conj. (conjunction) - a combining word

HAVE you ever heard anyone say, “I feel badly”? Of course you have, because almost everyone seems to have the mistaken idea that “I feel bad” is awkward and inelegant. In order to understand why “I feel bad” is correct, we must understand the difference between adjectives and adverbs.

ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS

As you recall, an adjective can modify either a noun or a pronoun; whereas an adverb modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. The following chart of a sentence will enable you to fix these facts in mind. As you study the plan, remember that the subject and the object must always be nouns or other parts of speech used as nouns.

THE SENTENCE PLAN
Subject	Verb	Object
Adjective	Adverb	Adjective
Adverb	Adverb	Adverb

Two Positions of the Adjective

Few of us have any difficulty in identifying an adjective when it is close to the noun it modifies. In each of the four sentences at the top of Page 4, the adjective immediately precedes the noun it modifies.

Check Your Spelling, Anyone? -- from the Net

The Trouble with Spell Checkers

Pome

1
I have a spelling checker -
It came with my PC.
It plane lee marks four my revue
Miss steaks aye can knot sea.

2
Eye ran this poem threw it,
Your sure reel glad two no.
Its vary polished in it's weigh,
My checker tolled me sew.

3
A checker is a bless sing,
It freeze yew lodes of thyme.
It helps me right awl stiles two reed,
And aides me when aye rime.

4
To rite with care is quite a feet
Of witch won should be proud.
And wee mussed dew the best wee can,
Sew flaws are knot aloud.

5
And now bee cause my spelling
Is checked with such grate flare,
Their are know faults with in my cite,
Of nun eye am a wear.

6
Each frays come posed up on my screen
Eye trussed to bee a joule
The checker poured o'er every word
To cheque sum spelling rule.

7
That's why aye brake in two averse
By righting wants too pleas.
Sow now ewe sea why aye dew prays
Such soft wear for pea seas!

Why English is Baffling

1	The bandage was wound around the wound.
2	The farm was used to produce produce.
3	The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4	We must polish the Polish furniture.
5	He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6	The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7	Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
8	A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9	When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10	I did not object to the object.
11	The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12	There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13	They were too close to the door to close it.
14	The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15	A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16	To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17	The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18	After a number of injections my jaw got number.
19	Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
20	I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
21	How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

Reading Strategies

Reading Strategies
1. Learn to read actively.
2. Understand the vocabulary in context
3. Look for basic structures in what you read
4. Make inferences
5. Appreciate the writer's craft: intros, conclusions, signal words, type of support, patterns of organization, tone, purpose, audience, signal words (connectors, time words, transitions)
6. Learn to outline or map and summarize
7. Discuss your ideas

Reading Comprehension Tips from How to be a Successful Student

How to Improve Reading Comprehension

Key Point

Good reading means building frameworks for connecting words to thoughts.

The Purpose of Reading.


The purpose of reading is to connect the ideas on the page to what you already know. If you don't know anything about a subject, then pouring words of text into your mind is like pouring water into your hand. You don't retain much. For example, try reading these numbers:


7516324 This is hard to read and remember.

751-6324 This is easier because of chunking.

123-4567 This is easy to read because of prior knowledge and structure.



Similarly, if you like sports, then reading the sports page is easy. You have a framework in your mind for reading, understanding and storing information.


Improving Comprehension.

Reading comprehension requires motivation, mental frameworks for holding ideas, concentration and good study techniques. Here are some suggestions.


Develop a broad background.

Broaden your background knowledge by reading newspapers, magazines and books. Become interested in world events.

Know the structure of paragraphs.

Good writers construct paragraphs that have a beginning, middle and end. Often, the first sentence will give an overview that helps provide a framework for adding details. Also, look for transitional words, phrases or paragraphs that change the topic.



Identify the type of reasoning.

Does the author use cause and effect reasoning, hypothesis, model building, induction or deduction, systems thinking? See section 20 for more examples on critical thinking skills.



Anticipate and predict.

Really smart readers try to anticipate the author and predict future ideas and questions. If you're right, this reinforces your understanding. If you're wrong, you make adjustments quicker.



Look for the method of organization.

Is the material organized chronologically, serially, logically, functionally, spatially or hierarchical? See section 10 for more examples on organization.



Create motivation and interest.

Preview material, ask questions, discuss ideas with classmates. The stronger your interest, the greater your comprehension.



Pay attention to supporting cues.

Study pictures, graphs and headings. Read the first and last paragraph in a chapter, or the first sentence in each section.



Highlight, summarize and review.

Just reading a book once is not enough. To develop a deeper understanding, you have to highlight, summarize and review important ideas.



Build a good vocabulary.

For most educated people, this is a lifetime project. The best way to improve your vocabulary is to use a dictionary regularly. You might carry around a pocket dictionary and use it to look up new words. Or, you can keep a list of words to look up at the end of the day. Concentrate on roots, prefixes and endings.



Use a systematic reading technique like SQR3.

Develop a systematic reading style, like the SQR3 method and make adjustments to it, depending on priorities and purpose. The SQR3 steps include Survey, Question, Read, Recite and Review. See Section 14 for more details.



Monitor effectiveness.

Good readers monitor their attention, concentration and effectiveness. They quickly recognize if they've missed an idea and backup to reread it.



Should You Vocalize Words?



Yes, although it is faster to form words in your mind rather than on your lips or throat. Eye motion is also important. Frequent backtracking slows you down considerably.

Copyright 1991 Donald Martin, How to be a Successful Student

RComp Links

Links

Freemind

Reading Exercises Online

Tales of Wonder

Career Skill and Ability Videos

Write On, Laugh On

HOW TO WRITE GOOD [sic]*
Thanks to: Chani Silverberg for this contribution

*Note: [sic] or (sic) (from Latin sic for "thus") is a bracketed expression used to indicate that an unusual spelling, phrase, or any other preceding quoted material is intended to be read or printed exactly as shown (rather than being an error) and should not be corrected.... from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIC

My several years in the word game have learnt [sic] me several rules:

1. Avoid alliteration. Always.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat.)
4. Employ the vernacular.
5. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
6. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.
7. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
8. Contractions aren't necessary.
9. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
10. One should never generalize.
11. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said:
"I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."
12. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
13. Don't be redundant; don't more use words than necessary;
it's highly superfluous.
14. Profanity sucks.
15. Be more or less specific.
16. Understatement is always best.
17. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
18. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
20. The passive voice is to be avoided.
21. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
22. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
23. Who needs rhetorical questions?

Links

http://www.eslmonkeys.com/student/storyroom/storyroom.html

http://www.cdlponline.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=stories&topicID=4

Where do you stand

FEET: What do I stand for as a foundation of reading comprehension?

STOMACH: What upsets me about reading comprehension?

HEART: What do I love about reading comprehension?

HANDS: What do I feel about reading comprehension?

EARS: What do I hear about reading comprehension?

EYES: What do I see about reading comprehension?

BRAIN: What do I think about reading comprehension?

Welcome

Welcome to the blog for Reading Comprehension -- spring 2007

Where do you stand?

FEET: What do I stand for as a foundation of writing?
STOMACH: What upsets me about writing?
HEART: What do I love about writing?
HANDS: What do I feel about writing?
EARS: What do I hear about writing?
EYES: What do I see about writing?
BRAIN: What do I think about writing?

Welcome

Welcome to the blog for Written Communication II -- spring 2007




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Syllabus

IEP Reading Comprehension is an intensive English course focusing on reading skills development.

Required text:
Richards, Jack C. and Samuela Eckstut-Didier. Strategic Reading 1: Building Effective Reading Skills. Los Angeles, CA: Cambridge University Press, 2006. ISBN: 0521555809.

Week Date Unit Topic

1 8/27/2009 1 Music

2 9/3/2009 2 Money

3 9/10/2009 3 Work

4 9/17/2009 4 Sports

5 9/24/2009 5 Weather

6 10/1/2009 6 Clothes

7 10/8/2009 7 Culture

8 10/15/2009 8 Outer space

9 10/22/2009 9 Animals

10 10/29/2009 10 Travel

11 11/5/2009 11 The Internet

12 11/12/2009 12 Friends

13 11/19/2009 13 Gifts

14 11/26/2009 14 Emotions

15 12/3/2009 15 Food; Sleep and dreams

16 12/10/2009 16 Post Tests

Spelling Internet-related words -- from Dictlionary.com

From dictionary.com:

Usage Note: The transition from World Wide Web site to Web site to website seems to have progressed as rapidly as the technology itself. The development of website as a single uncapitalized word mirrors the development of other technological expressions which have tended to evolve into unhyphenated forms as they become more familiar. Thus email has recently been gaining ground over the forms E-mail and e-mail, especially in texts that are more technologically oriented. Similarly, there has been an increasing preference for closed forms like homepage, online, and printout.

(12/7/05)

Ben -- Argument and Logical Fallacies Summary

Ben's summary of arguments and logical fallacies: