Freshman College Composition CLEP

lay & lie

"to put" & "to recline" present tense: lay , lie past tense: laid , lay past participle: laid , lain

intellectual image

(aka a literary or historical allusion) the writer may allude or refer to anything in the public record (science, art, literature, music, etc.) in order to have the reader associate the character or situation with that history, knowledge, or idea

limited-omniscient narrator

(first person) usually already knows the outcome (includes only knowing one character's thoughts, although they may guess other characters' thoughts, and having one person's personality)

types of evidence

(from most to least valid) -documented facts and statistics -expert testimony -personal experience and anecdote -hypothetical illustration -analogies (the last two are not hard evidence, but offer common sense and probability to support an argument)

hubris

(named by the ancient Greeks) overwhelming arrogance or pride in the face of the gods or fate which the tragic hero usually must overcome or deal with

repetition of structural signals

(such as auxiliaries, prepositions, and conjunctions. when connecting similar grammatical constructions, such as all adjectives or all clauses.) INCORRECT: I have quit my job, enrolled in school, and am looking for a reliable babysitter. CORRECT: I have quit my job, have enrolled in school, and am looking for a reliable babysitter. (both are correct with prepositions) You can travel by car, by plane, or by train; it's all up to you. OR You can travel by car, plane, or train; it's all up to you.

omniscient narrator

(third person) all-seeing, all-knowing, and able to be everywhere at once (includes knowing all of the characters' thoughts)

affect & effect

(verb) "to influence" & (noun) "a result" or (verb) "to bring about"

spelling

-"i" before "e" except after "c", or when sounded as "a" as in neighbor and weigh -there are only three words in the English language that end in "-ceed": proceed, succeed, and exceed (the rest end in "-cede") -there is only one word in the English language that ends in "-sede": supersede

subject verb agreement

-a verb agrees with its own subject (regardless of any additive/parenthetical/appositive phrase, beginning prepositional phrase, its subject compliment, and/or expletive) -fractions may be singular or plural depending on what they refer to -subjects joined by "and" take a plural verb unless the subjects are thought to be one item or unit -when the subjects are joined by "or", "nor", "either...or", or "neither...nor" the verb must agree with the subject closer to it -relative pronouns, such as "who", "which", or "that", require the same verb (singular/plural) as the antecedents (singular/plural) they refer to. -subjects preceded by "every", "each", and "many a" are singular -a collective noun, such as "audience", "faculty", "jury", etc., requires a singular verb when the group is regarded as a whole, and a plural verb when the members of the group are regarded as individuals -subjects preceded by "the number/percentage of" are singular, while subjects preceded by "a number/percentage of" are plural -titles of books, companies, name brands, and groups are singular or plural depending on their meaning -nouns which have the same singular and plural spelling (such as "deer", "shrimp", and "sheep") are singular or plural depending on the meaning of the sentence -words used as examples, not as grammatical parts of the sentence, require singular verbs -mathematical expressions of subtraction (-) and division (/) require singular verbs -mathematical expressions of addition (+) and multiplication (*) take either singular or plural verbs -nouns expressing time, distance, weight, and measurement are singular when they refer to a unit and plural when they refer to separate items -expressions of quantity are usually plural (ex. Nine out of ten dentists recommend that their patients floss.) -some nouns ending in "-ics", such as "economics" and "ethics", take singular verbs when they refer to principles or a field of study; however, when they refer to individual practices, they usually take plural verbs -some nouns like "measles", "news", and "calculus" appear to be plural but are actually singular in number (thus requiring singular verbs) -a verbal noun (infinitive or gerund) serving as a subject is treated as singular, even if the object of the verbal phrase is plural -a noun phrase or clause acting as the subject of a sentence requires a singular verb -clauses beginning with "what" may be singular or plural depending on whether "what" means "the thing" or "the things" .organize better?...

capitalize

-all proper nouns -the first word of a sentence -the first word of a direct quotation -names of ships, aircraft, spacecraft, and trains -names of deities -geological periods (Neolithic age, Cenozoic era, Ice Age, etc.) -names of astronomical bodies (Mercury, Halley's comet, Milky Way, Big Dipper, North Star, etc.) -personifications (ex. Reliable *Nature* brought *her* promised spring.) -historical periods (the Middle Ages, Reign of Terror, Roaring Twenties, etc.) -organizations, associations, and institutions -governments and judicial groups (New Jersey City Counsel, Census Bureau, Peace Corps, Department of State, etc.) -if a general term that accompanies a specific name is after the specific name (ex. Washington State, the state of Washington) -when a sentence appears within a sentence capitalize it -in a title: the important words are capitalized (not including conjunctions [and, or, but, etc.] and short prepositions [of, on, by, for, etc.]), and the first word and last word are capitalized -newspaper and magazine titles -radio and TV station call letters -regions (the South, the Northeast, Eastern Europe, but not the south of France, the east part of town) -specific military units (the German Navy, the 7th Fleet, etc.) -political groups and philosophies (Democrat, Communist, Nazism, etc.) -do not capitalize systems of government or individual adherents to a philosophy (democracy, communism, agnostic, etc.) -do not capitalize compass directions or seasons

use the possessive case

-before a noun in a sentence -before a gerund in a sentence -as a noun in a sentence -to indicate possession

use the objective case

-for the direct or indirect object of a sentence -for the object of a preposition -for the appositive of a direct object -for the object of an infinitive -for the object of a gerund -for the object of a past participle -for a pronoun that precedes an infinitive (the subject of an infinitive) -for the compliment of an infinitive with an expressed subject -for the object of an elliptical clause -for the object of a verb with the same referent

use the reflexive case (-self/-selves)

-for the direct or indirect object of a sentence to rename the subject -for the object of a preposition/prepositional phrase -as a predicate pronoun -for the appositive of a direct object -for the object of an infinitive -for the object of a gerund -do not use it instead of the nominative pronoun -notice that these pronouns are not set off by commas

use the nominative case

-for the subject of a sentence -for pronouns that have the same referent as the subject -for the predicate subject compliment -for the subject of an elliptical clause -for the subject of a subordinate clause -for the compliment of an infinitive with no expressed subject

using commas

-in a series, including with two or more describing words that don't have coordinating conjunctions between them and a series of clauses (it takes the place of the word "and" in the series) -sometimes omitting the last comma in a series makes the sentence confusing -after a long introductory phrase -it is not necessary in a short sentence -if an introductory phrase includes a verb that is being used as another part of speech (a verbal), it must be followed by a comma -(in a compound sentence) when a sentence contains more than one clause (subject and verb), and the two clauses are joined by a conjunction, use a comma before the conjunction (unless they are short and closely related). Be careful, if the subject is the same for both verbs, there is no need for a comma. -to set off abbreviations after names (such as Jr. or Ph.D.) to set off interjections (an exclamation without added grammatical connection) -to set off the name of a person when they are being directly addressed -in tag questions (ex. I'm really hungry, aren't you?) -in geographical names and addresses (except before the zip code) -to set off transitional words or phrases -to set off parenthetical words and phrases -to clarify sentences with unusual word order -to set off nonrestrictive elements (such as modifiers that are not vital to the meaning of the sentence) -to set off direct quotations -commas always go inside of the closing quotation mark, even if it is not part of the material being quoted -do not set off indirect quotes or quotes that are used as subjects or compliments -to set off contrasting elements (ex. Her intelligence, not her beauty, got her the job.) -in dates (ex. April 6, 1998, ... May 2012, ... 5 June 1983) -when a subordinate clause introduces a sentence put a comma after it

MLA citation

-in text (Lastname page-number(s)) ~except: exclude name if it was mentioned in the text; can refer to a whole volume instead of pages (multiple = Lastname page-number(s); Lastname page-number(s)) -in works cited Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication. ~Print

avoid pronoun reference errors

-make sure that the pronoun has a conspicuous antecedent and that one pronoun substitutes only for another noun or pronoun, not for an idea or a sentence -when a pronoun refers to either of two antecedents -when a pronoun refers to a remote antecedent -when "this", "that", and "which" refer to the general idea of the preceding clause or sentence rather than the preceding word -when a pronoun refers to an unexpressed but implied noun -when "it" is used as something other than an expletive to postpone a subject -when "they" or "it" is used to refer to something or someone indefinitely, and there is no definite antecedent -when the pronoun does not agree with its antecedent in number, gender, or person -when a noun or pronoun has no expressed antecedent

pronouns and their antecedents should agree in

-number (singular or plural) -gender (masculine, feminine, or neuter; if it could be either gender use "his" or "her" or you could make it plural so you can use "they") -person -every pronoun must have a conspicuous antecedent

correcting a run-on sentence and comma splice

-separate the sentences with a period (.) -separate the sentences with a comma and a coordinating conjunction (, + and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so) -separate the sentences with a semicolon (;) -separate the sentences with a subordinating conjunction (such as although, because, since, if, etc.)

common comparison mistakes

-they can be ambiguous when elliptical/omitted words create more than one interpretation of the sentence -they can be incomplete when the two things being compared are not explicitly stated -do not omit the words "other", "any", or "else" when comparing a thing/person with a group of which it/he or she is a part of -do not omit the second "as" of "as...as" when making a point of equal or superior comparison (ex. ...as large as or larger than...) -do not omit the first category/thing of the comparison, even if the two categories/things are the same

do not use semicolons

-to separate a dependent and an independent clause -to separate an appositive phrase or clause from a sentence -to proceed an explanation or summary of the first clause -to substitute for a comma -to set off other types of phrases or clauses from a sentence

use semicolons

-to separate independent clauses not joined by a coordinating conjunction -to separate independent clauses separated by a conjunctive adverb -to separate items in a series which includes internal commas (be consistent. if you use it in between two items, use it in between all of the items) -to combine two independent clauses connected by a coordinating conjunction if either or both of the clauses contain other internal punctuation

use apostrophes

-to show possession add 's or just ' for words ending with "s" or "es" (the latter including for singular nouns if 's distorts the pronunciation) -show possession for only the last word in compound words or groups -show possession for only the last name when indicating joint ownership -add 's to both names when you intend to show ownership by each person -possessive pronouns change their forms without an apostrophe (his, hers, yours, theirs, its) -use the possessive form of a noun preceding a gerund -add 's to words and initials to show that they are plural (three A's, the do's and don't's, IRA's are available, etc.) -just add "s" to numbers, symbols, and letters to show that they are plural (TVs, the 1880s, the returning POWs, etc.)

finding which case/pronoun to use

-when a pronoun follows a comparative conjunction like "than" or "as", complete the elliptical construction to help you determine which pronoun is correct (ex. She has more than me/I [do].) -when a conjunction connects two pronouns or a pronoun and a noun, remove the "and" and the other pronoun or noun to determine what the correct pronoun should be (ex. Mom gave Tom and I/myself/me cake. Mom gave [...] me cake.) -the only pronouns that are acceptable after "between" and other prepositions are: "me", "her", "him", "them", and "whom".

use quotation marks

-when writing dialogue, begin a new paragraph each time the speaker changes -to enclose words that are used as words (sometimes italics are used for this. ex: Do you know what "abstruse" means?) -to set off slang words or phrases which are used within more formal writing -when words are meant to have an unusual or specific significance to the reader, such as in the service of irony or humor (the same way they are used in everyday speech) -if a quote is longer than five or six lines you may want to indent the quote instead of setting it off with quotation marks -don't use quotation marks with indirect quotes -when quoting several paragraphs, put quotation marks at the beginning of every paragraph and at the end of the last paragraph -commas and periods always go inside of the quotation marks even if they are not part of the quote -punctuation marks (besides commas and periods) go inside or outside of the quotation marks depending on if they are part of the quotation or not -only use one end punctuation mark at the end of a sentence

adjectives

-words that modify nouns or pronouns -use these words as subject compliments with linking verbs

adverbs

-words that modify verbs, adjectives, or other words that are the same part of speech as itself, and that express such ideas as time, place, manner, cause, and degree -use these words with action verbs -words that often end in "-ly"

foreshadowing

A device used in literature to create expectation or to set up an explanation of later developments. (details or dialogue that hint at future events.)

nominative case pronouns (subject pronouns)

I, he, she, we, they , who

antecedent

a noun or pronoun to which another noun or pronoun refers

for action that occurred before the main verb use _______

a perfect participle (ex. Having read the directions, I started the test.)

inference

a reader's probable and reasonable conclusion or interpretation of an idea based upon what the writer has written (writers imply; readers infer)

sentence fragment

a sentence that is incomplete (sometimes they are separated by a semicolon)

simile

a type of metaphor that uses the words "like" or "as" to compare the things

use colons

after a complete sentence and followed with a list, explanation, or restatement of what was before it (can you put a period after what is before it? is the part before it grammatically complete?) -to introduce a list (of at least one item) proceeded by "as follows" or "the following" -to separate two independent clauses, when the second is a restatement or explanation of the first -to introduce a formal appositive -to separate the introductory words from a quotation which follows, if the quotation is formal, long, or paragraphed separately -do not use it before the words "for example", "namely", "that is", or "for instance" even though these words may be introducing a list

use "that" not "because"

after words like "reason" and "explanation" (correct: His explanation for his tardiness was that his alarm did not go off.)

picaresque

an adventure of a young man or woman, usually an orphan (picaro), who by virtue of his or her wits, manages to overcome the many obstacles thrown in his or her path

"sort of" and "kind of"

are often misused by writers who actually mean "rather" or "somewhat"

run-on or fused sentences

connecting two sentences without using the appropriate punctuation

plural: criteria, alumni, data, media = singular: ________

criterion, alumnus, datum, medium

denotation

dictionary definition

connotation

emotional, social, cultural, or historical associations people make with a word in addition to its literal meaning/definition

for an action that will have been completed at a specific future time use ________

future perfect tense (ex. By May, I shall have graduated.)

deductive reasoning

general to specific

allegories and romances

happens in timeless places and unreal or idealized settings, and the characters tend to be flat and not develop much

flat characters

have a single overriding quality and never change or develop in the course of the story, they lack true individuality

stream of consciousness

hearing a character's thoughts (or internal monologue) at the same time as they are thinking them

concrete words

indicate something that can be observed directly through our senses

abstract words

indicate something that is understood only indirectly by association or indirect evidence (such as love, fear, friendship, etc.)

good & well

is an adjective (its use as an adverb is colloquial and nonstandard) & may be either an adverb or an adjective (as an adjective it means "in good health")

real & really

is an adjective (its use as an adverb is colloquial and nonstandard), it means "genuine" & is an adverb meaning "very"

bad & badly

is an adjective used after sense verbs such as look, smell, taste, feel, or sound, or after linking verbs (is, am, are, was, were) & is an adverb used after all other verbs

to set off book, motion picture, newspaper, and magazine titles use ________

italics (or underline when handwritten)

coordaination

joining two sentences with punctuation and a conjunction

metaphors

linking together two items that are not usually associated in order to highlight certain aspects. types include: auditory, olfactory (smell), visual, tactile (touch), savory (ex. "the warm bread of his feelings for her..."), tensile (evoking muscular tension).

subordianation

linking two clauses in a sentence so that one is dependent on the other (one is more important than the other)

fallacy

logical errors (usually based on a false premise) common types: -either/or (they assume there are only two opposing possibilities) -oversimplification -begging the question (they assume that they have proved something which has not been proven) -ignoring the issue (arguing something that is irrelevant to the issue) -arguing against a person, not an idea -"it does not follow..." or non sequitur (they leap to a wrong conclusion) -drawing the wrong conclusion from a sequence

objective case pronouns (object pronouns)

me, him, her, us, them, whom

expository

nonfiction

episodic plot

one event seems to happen after another in the logic of time unfolding as it normally does

limited or restricted narrator

one person telling the story from their perspective and who has limited insight into what will happen next (they learn what happens when it happens)

paradigmatic plot

one thing happens after another as though designed by fate or "the gods", or by a logic so compelling as to leave no doubt as to the links among the characters and the action (like in a mystery).

hero and antihero

originally Aristotle set these guidelines: a man of noble or high birth (a king or aristocrat), a man of noble intention and with high ethical and intellectual skills, a man of great courage and high purpose. Now this character in a story can follow some or none of these guidelines. (the second term was what they called a character who had the direct opposite type of characteristics, but was still playing the same role.)

for an earlier action that is mentioned in a later action use ________

past perfect tense (ex. Cindy ate the apple that she had picked. -first she picked it, then she ate it)

ordinarily, the relative pronoun "who", "which", "where", and "that" are used to refer to

people, things and places, places, and places or things, respectively. (the distinction between "that" and "which" is is a grammatical distinction. Many writers prefer to use "that" to refer to collective nouns.)

indefinite pronouns such as several, few, both, and many are ________

plural

for action that occurs at the same time as the verb use ________

present participle (ex. Speeding down the interstate, I saw a cop's flashing lights.)

for an action that began in the past but continues into the future use ________

present perfect tense (ex. I have lived here all my life.)

in statements of universal truth, and statements about the contents of literature or other published works use ______

present tense

verisimilitude

presenting a story or drama in a universe that appears just like the real one. most novels and television sitcoms do this. ("imitation of life")

modifiers

put as close to the word, it modifies, as possible, and make sure that it is not between two words it might modify. -a split infinitive is placing an adverb between the "to" and the verb (ex. to rise, to not rise; to golf, to slowly golf; to dive, to quickly dive) -a dangling modifier (a modifier or verb in search of a subject) either appears to modify the wrong word or has nothing to modify. a sentence with a dangling modifier often looks correct. to correct a dangling modifier: -change the modifying phrase to a clause with a subject Or - change the subject of the sentence to the word that should be modified

to set off TV shows, poems, stories, and book chapters use ________

quotation marks

"while"

refers to time and should not be used as a substitute for "although", "and", or "but" (correct: Although I'm usually interested in popcorn, I'd rather not have any tonight.)

"where"

refers to time and should not be used as a substitute for "that" (correct: We read in the paper that they are making great strides in DNA research.)

archetypal patterns

reoccurring literary themes, images, and plots (they are often used by writers to promote comparisons or analogies between the problems of the characters in the immediate work and all humanity) common patterns: ~person against person, nature, society, God, or the gods ~rites of passage (based on one of the cultural transitions in life. common ones: birth, entering adulthood, fertility, death) -birth and rebirth (going through trial and ending up a better person) -from adolescence to adulthood (can also be used for those an older age, from irresponsible to responsible) -marriage and fertility (it could be a figurative marriage) -death/rebirth (including symbolic death, and spiritual afterlife, etc.)

round or three-dimensional characters

show a complex variety of qualities and attributes, including successes and failures. they change and develop throughout the course of the story

indefinite pronouns such as each, either, one, everyone, everybody, and everything are ________

singular

indefinite pronouns such as all, some, most, and none are ________

singular or plural depending on what they refer to

inductive reasoning

specific to general

plagiarism

taking another person's ideas and representing them as their own (this can happen even if you do not cite your sources properly)

cardinal and ordinal numbers

the first are numbers and the second are places such as first, second, third... (write out places, the second term, if it can be expressed in one or two words. ex. thirty-fifth, twenty-second)

who's and whose

the first is a contraction and the second is possesive

original and derivative research

the first is doing your own research to come up with new ideas/findings, and the second is studying other people's research

primary and secondary sources

the first is the original thing that is being studied, original researcher, original study notes, etc., and the second is someone talking about or referring to the original

protagonist

the main character or "good guy"

persona (and dramatic monologue)

the narrator in a poem, they become a character (a god, animal, idea, character from history, etc.) and tell the poem. this is not the same as the author as they may be different personalities. (and when the comments of the aforementioned are important to what they are describing)

antagonist

the one makes it hard for the "good guy" (the "bad guy" isn't always a person)

express a wish or state a condition contrary to fact by using ________

the subjunctive mood (ex. If it were not raining, we could have a picnic.) -also use the subjunctive mood in "that" clauses after verbs like "request", "recommend", "suggest", "ask", "require", and "insist"; and after such expressions as "it is important" and "it is necessary"

format

the way the paper looks to the reader

"slice of life"

the writer has chosen to write about this particular time rather than some other time (it is one part of a life story)

irony (and poetic justice)

things turning out to be not what they originally appeared to be (and a form of the previously mentioned where a character, usually evil, ends up getting what he or she wanted done to others)

when deciding between "who" and "whom"

try substituting "he" for "who" and "him" for "whom"; then follow these steps: -isolate the "who" or "whom" clause (ex. whom we can trust) -invert the word order, if necessary. place the words in the clause in the natural order of an English sentence, subject followed by the verb (ex. we can trust whom) -read the final form with "he" or "him" inserted (ex. we can trust him)

comma splice

unjustifiably using only a comma to combine what really is two sentences (common in run-on sentences)

avoid redundancies and circumlocution

unnecessary repetitions and failure to get to the point

comparative & superlative

use this form of a word when comparing two people/things (-er or more; better, older, more talented, etc.) & use this form of a word when comparing more than two people/things (-est or most; best, oldest, most talented, etc.)

personification

when a writer turns an idea, object, or feeling into a living being (including animals that talk and act like people)