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How Do You Conclude?

6/29/2015

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Conclude:  finish, finalize, stop

It happens to the best of us.  Sometimes, we talk a lot and offer a lot of examples.  This is great, but we might need to remind people of our original point.  How do you conclude or restate your idea in your writing or speech?  The answer…. transition words!

Here are a few of the most common transition words for wrapping up or concluding your statement:

All in all, for these reasons, to sum up, in brief, in conclusion, in short, in summary, to conclude, to summarize, these examples show …, it is clear that …, you can see that...

Transition words are usually placed at the beginning of the sentence, followed by a comma. The last three phrases also start the sentence, but you don’t need to use a comma.  Here are some practice questions. Share your idea first, then restate your opinion with one of the words listed above.
  1. Do you prefer Macs or PCs?  Why?
  2. What is the best country to live in?  Why
  3. Would you rather get married earlier or later in life?  Why?
  4. What is the best career right now?  Why?
  5. Who is the best leader in the world right now?  Why?

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How Do You Show Cause and Effect?

6/19/2015

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Cause:  source, root, origin, or beginning
Effect:  result, consequence, or outcome

Many writing assignments will ask you to explain the cause and effect relationships between different events.  For example, you might be asked to explain the consequences of a political policy...cause and effect!  Maybe your professor or boss will ask you to explain mistakes you made in a project and their impact on the final result.... cause and effect!  As you can see, cause and effect reappears again and again in conversations.  So, how do you show cause and effect in your writing or speech?  The answer…. transition words!

Here are a few of the most common transition words for cause and effect:
For cause:  Because, since, as, because of (+ noun)
For effect:  Therefore, consequently, as a result, so

Transition words are usually placed at the beginning of the sentence, followed by a comma.  See if you can use some of the words listed above to answer these questions.

  1. What happened the first time you got a bad grade?
  2. Why do you want to learn English?
  3. What will happen if it rains tomorrow?
  4. Why do you go to work every day?
  5. What happens on hot days?

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How Do You Show Order?

6/12/2015

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Order:  sequence, organization, or series

You might need to show or explain the order of activities for many different situations.  Recipes, driving directions, experiments, dances, and craft projects are just some examples of things that usually have a specific sequence of steps.  How do you show order of steps in your writing or speech?  The answer…. transition words!

Here are a few of the most common transition words for order:
first, second, third, etc., first of all, next, then, after that, finally, now, soon, meanwhile, following this, at this point, afterward, subsequently, previously, before this, simultaneously, concurrently

Transition words are usually placed at the beginning of the sentence, followed by a comma.  See if you can use some of the words listed above to answer these questions.

  1. Tell me how to make your favorite food
  2. Tell me how to do laundry
  3. How do you change a light bulb?
  4. How do you send an email?
  5. How do you get to work or school from your house?

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Fixing Misplaced Modifiers

5/29/2015

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Hopefully, you have a basic understanding of the rules controlling modifiers.  Now it's time to practice!  Here is a link to my favorite list of absolutely misplaced modifiers.  How would you correct them?

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The Third Rule about Modifiers

5/22/2015

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Rule 3:  Make the connection between clauses clear

Some words have a very special role in a sentence.  For example, because let's you know that the sentence is about cause and effect.  When let's you know that two things happened at the same time.  If we forget these words it might make the sentence confusing.  Here are a few examples of confusing sentences:

Getting a good night sleep, the day is always easier.
Running out of money, the refrigerator was empty.
Carrying the heavy bag all day, my back was very sore.

As you can see, making small changes to these sentences would make them much clearer.  These sentences need actors, and they also need words to show the relationship between each clause.  How would you change my sample sentences?

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The Second Rule about Modifiers

5/15/2015

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Rule 2:  Don't forget the actor.

Sometimes, you know what you want to say, so it is hard to see what you've really said.  Here are a few examples of confusing sentences:

Switching on the TV, the room seemed brighter.
After spilling the milk, the power went out.
Closing the windows and curtains, the storm continued to rage outside.

What's missing in all of these sentences?  Yup!  The actor.  The person who did each of the actions is implied, but not stated.  This makes each sentence a little bit confusing.  By adding the person to each sentence, you can make the information much clearer.

So, how would you change my sample sentences?

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