Lesson 3 Achieving Academic Excllence: Written Communication

Grammar is

Grammar is the set of rules that define how we read and understand the meaning of any given text. It's the key that tells us how to interpret the words and punctuation on the page.

One of the best tools for helping you outline and organize your thoughts is a

graphic organizer

A common grammatical error is

improper subject-verb agreement

Semicolons are used to

join two complete sentences together

A comma only precedes a conjunction when its

joining two independent clauses which are complete sentences

a comma indicates a

pause

Tips for Writing a paper

Organize your thoughts, write a first draft, revise your first draft, proofread your paper, publish your paper (write the final paper to submit)

What are some ways to make sure your voice comes through in your writing

Read a variety of novels and identify what you like about hte author's writing Identify qualities of your personality (playful, serious, quirky, ect) free write topics of your choice to craft your style say a sentence aloud, then write it down verbatim write what feels natural to you don't force it

what is subject-verb agreement

This means that if your subject is singular, your verb must be singular; similarly, if your subject is plural, your verb needs to match and be plural.

List some tips to check your work

read over each sentence, one at a time read your paper aloud use the spelling and grammar tool inside of your word processing program to check for errors use an online tool like Grammarly Check grammar rules from reliable and credible online sources refer back to your style guide use the tools within the Ashworth College writing lab for help book a tutoring session within the Ashworth college writing lab ​

An exclamation point means

tells the reader that you mean your point to be taken with emphasis.

A semicolon conveys to the reader

that these two sentences are part of the same thought

A period indicates

the end of a thought

Once you have outlned your topics for each paragraph, you will need to come up with ____ or ____ key points that support and prove the statements you make in each body paragraphs

three or four