Factors Affecting Handwriting

There are many factors that affect handwriting.

Environment:Environment can affect children in a number of ways. Lack of opportunity to play and experiment with graphic materials will have developmental consequences. Pressure from parents and teachers to perform can cause undue tension. Other factors include inadequate light and poor position of the lighting, the type of writing surfaces (too

many things on the desk), and the position of the writer to other people (too close together).

Motor:Fine-motor control is an essential foundation for writing skills. Without it the accuracy necessary to guide the pencil through the required formations will be severely affected. Motor planning is required so that the child can accurately reproduce the required shapes.

Vision:Difficulties with vision will affect the child's hand-eye coordination which is required for aspects of spatial and motor control. Poor vision is often the cause of many learning difficulties, so adults should be sensitive to emerging patterns.

Perception/Spatial:Handwriting has many spatial requirements such as direction, size, shape, slope, and positioning. Spatial problems can make it very difficult for children to create a legible print. Visual discrimination is required to distinguish between similar and mirror letters. Auditory discrimination is necessary to associate verbal information with graphic forms.

Attitude:A poor attitude and an inability to care or take responsibility for one's own actions is arguably the main reason for children's poor handwriting. Children must be trained to take responsibility--and parents and teachers must expect it. Self helplessness is a behavior some children develop in handwriting and in other areas if they are not encouraged to become responsible for themselves. Boys seem to be the main culprits.

Visual-Motor Integration: This refers to the child's ability to accurately reproduce shapes. It is the process that links what the eye sees to what the hand produces. Without adequate development in this area, the child is going to have difficulty reproducing the complexities of letter formations and their spatial requirements.

Attention/Memory:Without attention to a task, a child will remember little, if anything, and any attempts to learn are futile. It is known that young children respond best to new and colorful stimuli. Because of their short attention span, it is important that our attempts to teach children handwriting are interesting and sessions are shorter.

Emotion:Our emotional state can affect our handwriting dramatically. For example, if a child feels uptight and under pressure, it is reflected in his or her handwriting. We cannot expect children to be robots and produce the same quality of written work every day. As their emotional state fluctuates, so may their handwriting.

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Paragraph WritingWhat is a paragraph?It is a group of sentences that introduces, presents and developsone main idea aboutthe topic. And it can be divided intot hree major parts.A. The Topic Sentence•It is normally the first sentence of the paragraph.•It conveys the overall point of the paragraph.•It helps the writer focus on the idea written about.•It helps the reader know about what the paragraph is all about.B. The Supporting Details•They are sentences used to support the main idea stated in the topic sentence.•They give more information about the main idea through examples.•They say in details what the topic sentence says in general.•They should be clear evidence that what the topic sentence says is trustworthy.•They should be strong convincing points on which the topic sentence can rely upon.C. The Concluding Sentence•It is a reflection of the main idea pronounced in the topic sentence.•It sums up what the topic sentence and the supporting details talk about.•It is the closing sentence that reminds the readers of what they have to value.•It is compulsory for the completion of the paragraph unity.•It eventually indicates the end of a paragraph.•It prepares the reader for a smooth transition to the next paragraph if there is one.How to write your paragraphParagraph writing consists of many necessary elements to be taken intoconsiderationb e f o re,whil e andafter writing.I. BEFORE WRITING:•In this stage it is important to specify the topic you are intending to tackle.•Take a sheet of paper and just start jotting down notes that have tightconnection with your topic.•In this stage, mistakes and word-order are to be overlooked momentarily.•After you gathered the data necessary for your topic the next step is to betaken.

________________________________________________________________II. WHILE WRITING:oTopic SentenceChoose a topic sentence for your paragraph that states the main idea of your topic.

The topic sentence is a statement that generally introduces the topicand thus it is often referred to as: the opening statement. Keep in mind thatthe readers will greatly rely on what it says so as they can decide if theparagraph is worth reading or not. It gives them a broad view of what youare writing about because the topic sentence is meant to state the main ideaof the paragraph. It helps readers save time as it tells them what the reset ofthe paragraph is all about. If they are interested in the topic, they willcontinue reading; if not; the topic sentence has given them guiding cluesthat help them be selective in their reading. I mean that the topic sentencein each paragraph is the short cut that helps the readers economize theamount of time and effort when they are skimming for gist or scanning forspecific information. That’s why your topic sentence should be a sort ofclincher, that is - a tempting statement that catches the readers’ attentionsand entice them to carry on with the reading of the paragraph. The studentsare the most meant by this because their corrector should intelligently bedragged into liking and enjoying reading the paragraph because this topicsentence controls the entire paragraph. It helps the student focus on themain idea and not drift away from it. If it is well put, it easily helps thestudents narrow their supporting details, which will follow, into morespecific and subject related examples because the supporting details arethere to reinforce the topic sentence and to do that effectively they shouldeach include at least one example.oSupporting Details

These are sentences that support the topic sentence. They giveinformation that reinforces the main idea stated in the topic sentence. Sothere should at least be three supporting details because one or two makethe paragraph less

convincing and not worth the effort done to build it. Thusthe students are strongly advised to provide at least three strong detailswhich can support the main idea. The students can use all the writingtechniques necessary to make the paragraph sustainable and eligible:descriptions, definitions, examples, elaboration and exploration. If any of thesupporting details doesn’t correlate with the main idea or does not supportit, it will break the unity of the paragraph.oConcluding Sentence

This is the last sentence of your paragraph and it should reflect whatyou have talked about in your paragraph and it should echo the topicsentence in a way or another.

___________________________________________________________III. AFTER WRITING:Reviewing

This final step can be called the editing step. This is a very crucial stage of your workprocess as you should review what you have done and make sure the paragraph is eligible,technically speaking. Among the things that this stage is about are:oCoherence and cohesion of the contentoThe stability of the formoThe linking wordsoGrammar, spelling and punctuation.oClear handwriting.Apart from these essentials, other factors are to be mulled over:1.Your main idea should be expressed in the topic sentence in a full, cleardeclarative sentence.2.Your topic sentence should in no way be a purpose statement such as:The purpose of this paragraph is …I will prove in this paragraph …In this paragraph, I will tell …Show but don’t tell.3.Don’t repeat yourself now then thinking that you are reinforcing your point.4.Don’t use complex or far fetched terms that may puzzle the corrector.5.Don’t use long winding sentences. Keep simple.6.Instead of giving definitions, it’s better to explain and give examples.7.Your supporting details shouldn’t be too excessive.8.Try not to be redundant or out of point. Stick to your topic.9.Never introduce or present new ideas.10. Irrelevant supporting details should immediately be discarded.Finally, you can transform your concluding sentence into a thought provokingstatement that the reader may find appealing

Building a sentence

A sentence is a group of words which starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop (.), question mark (?) or exclamation mark (!). A sentence contains or implies a predicate and a subject.

Sentences contain clauses.

Simple sentences have one clause.

Compound sentences and complex sentences have two or more clauses.

Sentences can contain subjects and objects.

The subject in a sentence is generally the person or thing carrying out an action. The object in a sentence is involved in an action but does not carry it out, the object comes after the verb.

For example:

The boy climbed a tree.

If you want to say more about the subject (the boy) or the object (the tree), you can add an adjective.

For example:

The young boy climbed a tall tree.

If you want to say more about how he climbed the tree you can use an adverb.

For example:

The young boy quickly climbed a tall tree.

The sentence becomes more interesting as it gives the reader or listener more information.

        

There are more things you can add to enrich your sentence.

Parts of a sentence Description

Adjective Describes things or people.Adverb Alters the meaning of the verb slightly

Articlea, an - indefinite articlesthe - definite articles

Conjunction Joins words or sentences togetherInterjection A short word showing emotion or feelingNoun Names thingsPreposition Relates one thing to anotherPronoun used instead of a noun to avoid repetitionProper noun (subject) The actual names of people or places etc.Verb Action or doing word

For example:

              

What makes a complete sentence?

If it helps you, think about a sentence as if it were a skeleton, the skeleton contains various bones and these bones are put together to form different parts of the body. So are sentences formed by words, the words are the bones and they are put together in different ways to form sentences.

Simple Sentences

A simple sentence contains a single subject and predicate. It describes only one thing, idea or question, and has only one verb - it contains only an independent (main) clause.

Any independent clause can stand alone as a sentence. It has a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought.

For example:

Jill reads.

Even the addition of adjectives, adverbs, and prepositional phrases to a simple sentence does not change it into a complex sentence.

For example:

The brown dog with the red collar always barks loudly.

Even if you join several nouns with a conjunction, or several verbs with a conjunction, it remains a simple sentence.

For example:

The dog barked and growled loudly.

Compound Sentences

Compound sentences are made up of two or more simple sentences combined using a conjunction such as and,or or but. They are made up of more than one independent clause joined together with a co-ordinating conjunction.

For example:

"The sun was setting in the west and the moon was just rising."

Each clause can stand alone as a sentence.

For example:

"The sun was setting in the west. The moon was just rising."

Every clause is like a sentence with a subject and a verb. A coordinating conjunction goes in the middle of the sentence, it is the word that joins the two clauses together, the most common are (and, or, but)

For example:

I walked to the shops, but my husband drove. I might watch the film, or I might visit my friends. My friend enjoyed the film, but she didn't like the actor.

Complex Sentences

Complex sentences describe more than one thing or idea and have more than one verb in them. They are made up of more than one clause, an independent clause (that can stand by itself) and a dependent (subordinate) clause (which cannot stand by itself).

For example:

"My mother likes dogs that don't bark."

Dependent clauses can be nominal, adverbial or adjectival.

The anatomy of a sentence

The Verb

The verb is the fundamental part of the sentence. The rest of the sentence, with the exception of the subject, depends very much on the verb. It is important to have a good knowledge of the forms used after each verb (verb patterns), for example: to tell [someone] TO DO [something]

Here we can see that the verb to tell is followed immediately by a person (the indirect object, explained later), an infinitive with 'to', and, possibly, an object for the verb you substitute for DO.

Verbs also show a state of being. Such verbs, called BE VERBS or LINKING VERBS, include words such as: am, is, are, was, were, be, been, being, became, seem, appear, and sometimes verbs of the senses like tastes, feels, looks, hears, and smells.

For example:

"Beer and wine are my favourite drinks." The verb "are" is a linking (be) verb.

Fortunately, there are only a limited number of different verb patterns. Verbs can descibe the action (something the subject actually does) or state (something that is true of the subject) of the subject.

For example:

ACTION: I play football twice a week. STATE: I've got a car.

Some verbs can represent both actions and states, depending on the context.

For example work:

ACTION: David's working in the bank. STATE: David works in a bank.

Finding the Verb

When you analyze a sentence, first identify the verb. The verb names and asserts the action or state of the sentence.

For example:

"Working at the computer all day made David's head ache."

The main verb of the sentence is "made", not working.

Verbs identify our activity or state.

For example:

eat, sleep, run, jump, study, think, digest, shout, walk ....

The Subject

The subject is the person or thing the sentence is 'about'. Often (but not always) it will be the first part of the sentence. The subject will usually be a noun phrase (a noun and the words, such as adjectives, that modify it) followed by a verb.

Finding the Subject

Once you determine the verb, ask a wh...? question of the verb. This will locate the subject(s).

For example:

David works hard.o Who "works hard"?=David does=the subject.

Beer and wine are my favourite drinks.o What "are my favourite drinks"? Beer and wine are=the subjects.

The subject(s) of a sentence will answer the questions, "who or what."

The Predicate

Once you have identified the subject, the remainder of the sentence tells us what the subject does or did. This part of the sentence is the predicate of the sentence.

The predicate always includes the verb and the words which come after the verb. For example:

Michael Schumaker drove the race car.

o "Michael Schumaker" is the subject; "drove the race car" is the predicate.

More Advanced Terminology

The Object

Some verbs have an object (always a noun or pronoun). The object is the person or thing affected by the action described in the verb.

Objects come in two types, direct and indirect.

The direct object refers to a person or thing affected by the action of the verb.

For example:

"He opened the door. "- here the door is the direct object as it is the thing being affected by the verb to open.

The indirect object refers to a person or thing who receives the direct object.

For example:

" I gave him the book." - here him (he)is the indirect object as he is the beneficiary of the action.

Transitive / Intransitive verbs

Verbs which don't have an object are called intransitive. Some verbs can only be intransitive (disagree). In addition they cannot be used in the Passive Voice e.g. smile, fall, come, go.

For example: David disagreed. - intransitive.

Verbs that have an object are called transitive verbs e.g. eat, drive, give.

For example:

David gave her a present.

Some verbs can be transitive or intransitive e.g. sing

For example:

Xavier Nadu sings. - intransitive. Xavier Nadu sings pop songs. - transitive.

Adverbials

An 'adverbial' or 'adverbial phrase' is a word or expression in the sentence that does the same job as an adverb; that is, it tells you something about how the action in the verb was done.

For example:

I sometimes have trouble with adverbs. He spoke very quietly. I've read that book three times. She's gone to the bank.

The first tells us the frequency of the action (sometimes), the second how he carried out the action (quietly), and the third how many times the action has happened (three).

The fourth is a little different, as in this case the adverbial (gone to the bank) is more or less demanded by the verb (has).

To remember the form of such verbs use your notebooks to write down the different forms.

For example:

to go [somewhere] to put [something][somewhere]

This information is also useful when deciding the order of adverbials in a sentence. Unlike the previous parts of the sentence, a sentence can contain an indefinite number of adverbials, although in practice it's a good idea to keep them few in number.

Complement

A complement is used with verbs like be, seem, look etc. Complements give more information about the subject or, in some structures, about the object.

There are various definitions of 'complement', which range from the very general (anything in the predicate except the verb, including the direct object and adverbs) to the much more restrictive one used here.

A complement is the part of the sentence that gives you more information about the subject (a subject complement) or the object (an object complement) of the sentence.

The complement to be used, if any, is dependent on the verb used in the sentence. Subject complements normally follow certain verbs.

For example:

He is Spanish. She became an engineer. That man looks like John.

Object complements follow the direct object of the verb-

For example.

They painted the house red. She called him an idiot!

I saw her standing there.

The complement often consists of an adjective or noun phrase, but can also be a participle phrase, as in the last example. It is often not very clear whether a phrase is a complement or an adverbial.

The mechanics of writing

Effective writing requires a sound understanding of the mechanics of good writing. A useful analogy in thinking about the mechanics of writingis that of driving a car. Important information includes

the various components of the car (or parts of speech in writing), and how they function together (the rules of grammar), and

what is needed to keep the car moving along, stopping and starting in the right places, and pausing whenever it is necessary (punctuation).

The various parts of speech and how they function together

The basic element of writing is the word. The first important thing to recognize is that there are several types of words used in written and spoken speech, each with its defining characteristics and its specific purposes.

Nouns are naming words, those that give names to people, to things, or to places. The following sentence shows some examples (italicized)of nouns.

Although UNSW is located in Sydney, Australia, it is a university where you are likely to meet students who come from many countries in the world.

All the italicized words are nouns. Some of them are singular nouns (for example, university, world) and others are plural (for example,students, countries). Some are proper nouns, or those that name places and people (for example, UNSW, Sydney, Australia). Note that they begin with a capital letter. Nouns can also express collectivity, that is, groups of people or entities (for example, the family, the parliament, the Committee) and it is important to note that they are treated like singular nouns (for example, The committee believes that there was insufficient information to make an evaluation of the scientific merit of the proposal).

Pronouns stand in place of nouns. They can be personal pronouns standing for people (for example, he, she, you) or impersonal pronounsthat stand for things (for example, it, those). Pronouns can also be subjective case, which means they are the subject of the sentence (for example, I want to write effectively; or You are reading about writing). They can be objective case, or the object of the sentence (for example, This material interests you; or I am pleased to know about it). Also, pronouns can denote possession (for example, Yourunderstanding pleases me; or My reading of the novel captures their interest).

Verbs are doing words. They express action. The following sentence shows some examples (italicized) of verbs.

Although UNSW is in Sydney, Australia, it is a university where you are likely to meet students who have come to study from many countries in the world. Like many Australian universities, UNSW grew during the 1970s and 1980s. Who knows how large UNSW will become in the next twenty years.

All the italicized words are verbs. Some of them indicate that the action is taking place now, and are therefore in the present tense (for example, is, knows), others are in the past (for example, have come), and still others indicate action that is to take place in the future (for example, will become).

Verbs can be in the active or in the passive voice. That simply refers to whether the subject of the verb acts (for example, Sally drove the car) or is acted upon (for example, the car was driven by Sally).

Some parts of speech that sometimes present problems are present participles, which might be thought of as almost verbs. These are words that end in "ing" (for example, driving, or writing). The most important thing to note about present participles is that they cannot function as verbs. The following sentence shows some correct and incorrect uses of present participles.

 Learning to write effectively.The students are learning to write effectively.

Articles have a definite form (that is, the) and two indefinite forms (that is, a or an). The difference between them is that the definite articleindicates one particular noun or thing is being referred to (for example, in the sentence, "The student who enjoys the psychology lectures",the refers to a particular student), whereas when the indefinite article is used, it could be any of a number of people or things (for example, Astudent who enjoys the psychology lectures). An is the form of indefinite article used with a noun that begins with a vowel (for example, anargument).

Adjectives describe nouns and pronouns and adverbs describe or modify verbs or adjectives, as the italicized words in the following sentence show.

UNSW is an Australian (adjective) university where students willingly (adverb) make a strong (adjective) commitment to learning andactively (adverb) engage in particularly (adverb) coherent (adjective) programs of study.

Prepositions are used to denote relationships between nouns and pronouns and other parts of speech. The italicized words in the following sentences are prepositions.

Students at UNSW are engaged in the learning of various disciplines with the primary aim for some students being employment within a particular profession, and for others, simply the path by which they come to decide the area of work in which they will ultimately want to move.

Conjunctions are joining words. And is a conjunction that provides the link between two words (for example, "The teachers and the students arrive by bus each day"). Other conjunctions (as, although, than) are required to link two things in the same sentence (for example, "Althoughlearning to write effectively can take some time, it is worth the trouble in the end"; or "As should be apparent, the issues here are straightforward"; or "Psychology is more interesting than Mathematics"). The conjunctions that often present problems for writers arehowever, nevertheless, and moreover). They must be used to link ideas in adjacent sentences. The following sample sentences show correct and incorrect usage of these conjunctions.

Learning to write effectively can take some time, however, it is worth the effort, and you might have to work hard, nevertheless, you should try.

Learning to write effectively can take some time. It is, however, worth the effort. You might have to work hard. Nevertheless, you should try.

Relative pronouns that we use often are who, whom, which and that. These relative pronouns are often used incorrectly, so it is worth drawing attention to a few important points about them. First, while who and whom are used to refer to people, that generally refers to objects, animals or things (for example, "The students who come to university are generally learning the subject that interests them most"; or"the students about whom I was speaking, are in this class"). Second, that should be used to introduce a clause indispensable to the meaning of a sentence (for example, "The component of this material that is of greatest value is the section on grammar"). In contrast, which should be used to introduce a parenthetical clause, or one that could be omitted without changing the meaning of the sentence (for example, "These programs, which attract many highly able students, cover diverse skills and abilities").

A phrase consists of more than one word. Phrases express a component of an idea. The following sentence is broken into its phrases.

The students (phrase 1) at the University of New South Wales (phrase 2 = prepositional) who come (phrase 3) from overseas (phrase 4 = prepositional) contribute much (phrase 5) to the cultural life (phrase 6) at UNSW (phrase 7 = prepositional).

A clause also consists of more than one word. A clause contains a verb and at least a subject. Some clauses are dependent because they are incomplete and cannot stand on their own as a sentence, whereas others are independent and contain a complete thought, as in the following example.

The students at the University of New South Wales who come from overseas (dependent clause 1) contribute much to the cultural life at UNSW.

A sentence contains a verb and a subject. A sentence is a complete idea in itself. A simple sentence can include a subject and a verb (for example, He goes.), can have an object of the verb (for example, She rode the waves), or can be more complex and consist of more than one clause, as in the preceding example concerning the students at the University of New South Wales.

Punctuation

A well written piece of work must also have good punctuation. By learning to use different forms of punctuation you will be able to communicate and express your ideas and arguments more clearly. Below, we have listed the most frequently used forms of punctuation and their functions.

Full Stops (.) have three distinct uses. 1. to mark the end of a sentence; 2. to indicate abbreviated words, and 3. to punctuate numbers and dates.

Colons (:) are used to separate a clause that introduces a list, quotation or summary.

For example, You must take the following on the trip: sweatshirt, swimmers, and clipboard.

A colon can also be used to separate an initial sentence or clause from a second clause, list, phrase or quotation that supports the first in a particular way.

For example, Writing an assignment is not easy: to begin with you have to do a lot of research.

Semi-colons (;) separate two complete sentences that are, however, closely linked. The semi-colon can be replaced by a full-stop, but the direct link between the two parts is lost.

For example, To err is human; to forgive, divine. Do not go near the lions; they could bite you.

Commas (,) have a vital role to play in longer sentences. They separate information into readable units. Skilful use of commas can ensure the correct reading of a sentence, especially one that starts with a long introductory element.

For example, Although the ironic theory of mental control can explain the increase in unwanted thoughts that occurs when the suppression of those thoughts is attempted, it is unable to explain why this occurs for some types of thoughts and not others.

Sets of commas also serve to separate items in a list.

For example, Clinical psychologists assess and treat a wide range of psychological disorders, including mood disorders, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and schizophrenia.

Question marks (?) are used at the end of a sentence that is a question.

For example, What are some of the causes of depression?

Apostrophes (‘) have two uses. 1. One is to show that something has been left out.

For example, when we use the words or phrases, Don’t, It’ll, She’ll

2. The second is to indicate ownership or possession.

For example, The boys’ locker room. The dog’s tail

Hyphens (-) link two or more words that would not normally be placed together, in order that they work as one idea.

For example, There are several dieting-related disorders.

Dashes (--) are like brackets; they enclose extra information.

For example, There are three major types of eating disorders — anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder — and the diagnostic criteria can be seen in DSM-IV.

Commas work just as well, and they are probably more frequently used than dashes in academic writing.

Sentences:  Simple, Compound, and Complex

Experienced writers use a variety of sentences to make their writing interesting and lively. Too many simple sentences, for example, will sound choppy and immature while too many long sentences will be difficult to read and hard to understand. 

This page contains definitions of simple, compound, and complex sentences with many simple examples.  The purpose of these examples is to help the ESL/EFL learner to identify sentence basics including identification of sentences in the short quizzes that follow.   After that, it will be possible to analyze more complex sentences varieties. 

SIMPLE SENTENCE

A simple sentence, also called an independent clause, contains a subject and a verb, and it expresses a complete thought. In the following simple sentences, subjects are in yellow, and verbs are in green.  

A. Some students like to study in the mornings.B. Juan and Arturo play football every afternoon.C. Alicia goes to the library and studies every day.

The three examples above are all simple sentences.  Note that sentence B contains a compound subject, and sentence C contains a compound verb.  Simple sentences, therefore, contain a subject and verb and express a complete thought, but they can also contain a compound subjects or verbs. 

COMPOUND SENTENCE

A compound sentence contains two independent clauses joined by a coordinator. The coordinators are as follows:for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. (Helpful hint: The first letter of each of the coordinators spells FANBOYS.) Except for very short sentences, coordinators are always preceded by a comma. In the following compound sentences, subjects are in yellow, verbs are in green, and the coordinators and the commas that precede them are in red. 

A.  I tried to speak Spanish, and my friend tried to speak English.  B.  Alejandro played football, so Maria went shopping.  C.  Alejandro played football, for Maria went shopping.

The above three sentences are compound sentences.  Each sentence contains two independent clauses, and they are joined by a coordinator with a comma preceding it.  Note how the conscious use of coordinators can change the relationship between the clauses.  Sentences B and C, for example, are identical except for the coordinators.  In sentence B, which action occurred first?  Obviously, "Alejandro played football" first, and as a consequence, "Maria went shopping.  In sentence C, "Maria went shopping" first.  In sentence C, "Alejandro played football" because, possibly, he didn't have anything else to do, for or because "Maria went shopping."  How can the use of other coordinators change the relationship between the two clauses?  What implications would the use of "yet" or "but" have on the meaning of the sentence?

COMPLEX SENTENCE

A complex sentence has an independent clause joined by one or more dependent clauses. A complex sentence always has a subordinator such as because, since, after, although, or when or a relative pronoun such as that, who,or which. In the following complex sentences, subjects are in yellow, verbs are in green, and the subordinators and their commas (when required) are in red.

 A. When he handed in his homework, he forgot to give the teacher the last page.  B. The teacher returned the homework after she noticed the error. C. The students are studying because they have a test tomorrow.D. After they finished studying, Juan and Maria went to the movies. E. Juan and Maria went to the movies after they finished studying.

When a complex sentence begins with a subordinator such as sentences A and D, a comma is required at the end of the dependent clause. When the independent clause begins the sentence with subordinators in the middle as in sentences B, C, and E, no comma is required. If a comma is placed before the subordinators in sentences B, C, and E, it is wrong.

Note that sentences D and E are the same except sentence D begins with the dependent clause which is followed by a comma, and sentence E begins with the independent clause which contains no comma.  The comma after the dependent clause in sentence D is required, and experienced listeners of English will often hear a slight pause there.  In sentence E, however, there will be no pause when the independent clause begins the sentence. 

COMPLEX SENTENCES / ADJECTIVE CLAUSES

Finally, sentences containing adjective clauses (or dependent clauses) are also complex because they contain an independent clause and a dependent clause.  The subjects, verbs, and subordinators are marked the same as in the previous sentences, and in these sentences, the independent clauses are also underlined. 

 A. The   woman  who(m) my mom talked to sells   cosmetics .B. The   book  that Jonathan read is   on the shelf .C. The   house  which AbrahAM  Lincoln was born in is   still standing .D. The   town  where I grew up is   in the United States .Adjective Clauses are studied in this site separately, but for now it is important to know that sentences containing adjective clauses are complex.

CONCLUSION

Are sure you now know the differences between simple, compound, and complex sentences?  Click QUICK QUIZ to find out.  This quiz is just six sentences.  The key is to look for the subjects and verbs first.

Another quiz, this one about Helen Keller contains ten sentences.

These quiz sentences based on the short story, The Americanization of Shadrach Cohen, by Bruno Lessing.Quick Quiz:  Shadrach

After each quiz, click GRADE QUIZ to see your score immediately. 

Remember that with the skill to write good simple, compound, and complex sentences, you will have the flexibility to (1) convey your ideas precisely and (2) entertain with sentence variety at the same time!  Good luck with these exercises! 

Teaching Grammar

Strategies for Learning Grammar

Language teachers and language learners are often frustrated by the disconnect between knowing the rules of grammar and being able to apply those rules automatically in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. This disconnect reflects a separation between declarative knowledge and procedural knowledge.

Declarative knowledge is knowledge about something. Declarative knowledge enables a student to describe a rule of grammar and apply it in pattern practice drills.

Procedural knowledge is knowledge of how to do something. Procedural knowledge enables a student to apply a rule of grammar in communication.

For example, declarative knowledge is what you have when you read and understand the instructions for programming the DVD player. Procedural knowledge is what you demonstrate when you program the DVD player.

Procedural knowledge does not translate automatically into declarative knowledge; many native speakers can use their language clearly and correctly without being able to state the rules of its grammar. Likewise, declarative knowledge does not translate automatically into procedural knowledge; students may be able to state a grammar rule, but consistently fail to apply the rule when speaking or writing.

To address the declarative knowledge/procedural knowledge dichotomy, teachers and students can apply several strategies.

1. Relate knowledge needs to learning goals.

Identify the relationship of declarative knowledge and procedural knowledge to student goals for learning the language. Students who plan to use the language exclusively for reading journal articles need to focus more on the declarative knowledge of grammar and discourse structures that will help them understand those texts. Students who plan to live in-country need to focus more on the procedural knowledge that will help them manage day to day oral and written interactions.

2. Apply higher order thinking skills.

Recognize that development of declarative knowledge can accelerate development of procedural knowledge. Teaching students how the language works and giving them opportunities to compare it with other languages they know allows them to draw on critical thinking and analytical skills. These processes can support the development of the innate understanding that characterizes procedural knowledge.

3. Provide plentiful, appropriate language input.

Understand that students develop both procedural and declarative knowledge on the basis of the input they receive. This input includes both finely tuned input that requires students to pay attention to the relationships among form, meaning, and use for a specific grammar rule, and roughly tuned input that allows students to encounter the grammar rule in a variety of contexts. (For more on input, seeTeaching Goals and Methods.)

4. Use predicting skills.

Discourse analyst Douglas Biber has demonstrated that different communication types can be characterized by the clusters of linguistic features that are common to those types. Verb tense and aspect, sentence length and structure, and larger discourse patterns all may contribute to the distinctive profile of a given communication type. For example, a history textbook and a newspaper article in English both use past tense verbs almost exclusively. However, the newspaper article will use short sentences and a discourse pattern that alternates between subjects or perspectives. The history textbook will use complex sentences and will follow a timeline in its discourse structure. Awareness of these features allows students to anticipate the forms and structures they will encounter in a given communication task.

5. Limit expectations for drills.

Mechanical drills in which students substitute pronouns for nouns or alternate the person, number, or tense of verbs can help students memorize irregular forms and challenging structures. However, students do not develop the ability to use grammar correctly in oral and written interactions by doing mechanical drills, because these drills separate form from meaning and use. The content of the prompt and the response is set in advance; the student only has to supply the correct grammatical form, and can do that without really needing to understand or communicate anything. The main lesson that students learn from doing these drills is: Grammar is boring.

Communicative drills encourage students to connect form, meaning, and use because multiple correct responses are possible. In communicative drills, students respond to a prompt using the grammar point under consideration, but providing their own content. For example, to practice questions and answers in the past tense in English, teacher and students can ask and answer questions about activities the previous evening. The drill is communicative because none of the content is set in advance:

Teacher: Did you go to the library last night?Student 1: No, I didn’t. I went to the movies. (to Student 2): Did you read chapter 3?Student 2: Yes, I read chapter 3, but I didn’t understand it. (to Student 3): Did you understand chapter 3?Student 3: I didn’t read chapter 3. I went to the movies with Student 1.

#9 How to Improve Your Spelling: Techniques That Work

Tip: If you seriously want to improve your spelling, then we highly recommend you try the popular program, Ultimate Vocabulary. Click Ultimate Vocabulary to learn more.*

For an adult, not possessing the necessary spelling skills to function successfully at work or in general life can create distress. The good news is that there are answers to the question of how to improve your spelling. Good spelling practice and knowledge also starts early in life. If we give our children this knowledge, we can provide them with the best of advantages. The following techniques offer ways to improve spelling.

Technique 1: Spelling a Word That is Unknown

To spell a word that you do not know, first consider its meaning. There might be parts of it that you are familiar with. Break the word into syllables and see if this helps. Perhaps you are familiar with a similar word that you can use. Start spelling the word using the foundation word (DOE Tasmania, 2007).

Technique 2: Spelling: Look, Say, Cover, Write, Check

How to develop your spelling and learn a new word might involve your first looking and familiarising yourself with the word. Next, say the word; then hide the word from view; and say the word as you are writing it (DOE Tasmania, 2007). Finally, check to see if the word is correct.

Technique 3: Patterns

Get learners to search for patterns in words, such as recognisable consonants or vowel groupings, suffixes, or prefixes (Angelisi, 2000).

Technique 4: Recognizing PhonemicsRecognizing phonemics or sounding out the syllables in a word can help learners to spell better. A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound of an alphabetic language. For example, "may" has 2 phonemes, /m/ /ay/; "sit" has 3 phonemes, /s/ /i/ /t/, "tax" has 4 phonemes, /t/ /a/ /k/ /s/. Phonemic awareness (PA) is the ability to distinguish our speech sounds (National Institute for Literacy, 2007).

In a study of third graders conducted by Angelisi (2000), it was found that learning to spell via the rote learning method of instruction caused frustration and anxiety, whereas recognising phonemics and word identification increased concentration levels, improved motivation, and increased confidence.

Technique 5: Word Identification

Word identification involves the learner's breaking words into smaller more identifiable words.

Technique 6: Computer-assisted, Interactive LearningAnother method of improving your or your child’s spelling skills is to use computer-assisted learning. For example, Ultimate Vocabulary’s Ultimate Spelling product is software that accelerates learning and makes it fun for your child. The software has a 142,647-worddictionary and thesaurus. High-quality audio pronunciations also assist correct pronunciation and aid spelling.

For many, how to improve your spelling and vocabulary is a basic concern that affects our daily lives. The good news is that there are various techniques we can equip ourselves with to achieve success in this part of our life.

What is Cloze Procedure?

Cloze procedure is a technique in which words are deleted from a passage according to a word-count formula or various other criteria. The passage is presented to students, who insert words as they read to complete and construct meaning from the text. This procedure can be used as a diagnostic reading assessment technique.

What is its purpose?

It is used:

to identify students' knowledge and understanding of the reading process to determine which cueing systems readers effectively employ to construct meaning

from print to assess the extent of students' vocabularies and knowledge of a subject to encourage students to monitor for meaning while reading

to encourage students to think critically and analytically about text and content

How do I do it?

To prepare materials for Cloze exercises, any of the following techniques may be used:

1. Select a self-contained passage of a length appropriate for the grade level of the students being assessed. Use materials easily read by the students.

2. Leave the first and last sentences and all punctuation intact.3. Carefully select the words for omission using a word-count formula, such as every

fifth word or other criteria. To assess students' knowledge of the topic or their abilities to use semantic cues, delete content words which carry meaning, such as nouns, main verbs, adjectives and adverbs. To assess students' use of syntactic cues, delete some conjunctions, prepositions and auxiliary words.

4. When preparing the final draft of the passage, make all blanks of equal length to avoid including visual clues about the lengths of omitted words.

5. Have the students read the entire passage before they fill in the blanks.6. Encourage the students to fill each blank if possible.7. Although there should be no time limit for this exercise, the time necessary for

completion should be noted.8. Suggest that students reread the completed passage.