General Information: Parts of Speech

Understanding just the basics - Parts of Speech. 

This is just a little bit of information to help you understand the different parts of speech.  This should also help you with your writing. 

General Information: Comma Rules

Careful, how, you, use, commas

Here are some good tips for comma use:

General Information: Improve your Grammar

Improve your grammar with these simple ideas.

It's a good start. 

General Information: Misused Words

Commonly used....or rather....misused words. 
Check out his quick reference. 

Writing Styles: How to Write a Guide

Writing Styles: How to Write a Guide

Before writing a guide on how to do something, there are a couple of questions that you need to ask yourself: 

Do you know the subject well enough to explain it in simple terms, and can you write a concise set of instructions based on that explanation?

Keep It Simple.

Wales Essential Skills Toolkit (WEST)

WEST puts you in charge of your learning and gives you all the tools and support you need for Essential Skills success. 

Courses are added to suit individual needs, so only materials that are relevant to you will be in your course list.

After you log in, view the area called ‘My courses’. Just choose the course you want to start working through from the list.

Use Grammarly for Corrections

Grammarly   <-- Click on this to link to Grammarly; you

can also open it in Google Chrome to use: www.grammarly.com 

This is a brilliant online tool to help proof read your work. Here is how you sign up for the free online digital tool so you can use it.

Spelling Rules

Understand the rules of spelling by getting to know these terms:

Vowels: The vowels are: a, e, i, o, u

    

Consonants: The consonants are all the other letters of the alphabet.

Prefix: A beginning added to a word to form a new word.

For example:

dis + solve = dissolve

un+ natural = unnatural

un + happy = unhappy

Suffix: an ending added to a word to form a new word.

For example:

wonder + ful = wonderful

care + less = careless

use + less = useless

Useful Website: Readtheory.org

Reading for Meaning

Read Theory                                                                   

This is a great tool to help prepare for the TEST.

Read Theory is a powerful educational tool that offers on-line reading activities for all ages and ability levels. Our custom web application adapts to students’ individual ability levels and presents them with thousands of skill building exercises that suit their needs. (http://www.readtheory.org/)

Find the Main Ideas in a Text

Find the Main Ideas in a Text

Condensed from: http://sydney.edu.au/stuserv/learning_centre/help/reading/rd_ideas.shtml 

The first thing is to know why you are reading a particular text – are you trying to get an overview of the text or are you looking for a particular point? What sorts of things are you looking for – issues, arguments, perspectives, or all of the above?

Basic Grammar Rules

Basic Grammar Rules

From: http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/grammar-rules-and-tips/basic-english-grammar-rules.html

There are hundreds of grammar rules but the basic ones refer to sentence structure and parts of speech, which are noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition and conjunction. Let's look at the way sentences are put together and the words that form them.

Capitalisation

From: http://esl.fis.edu/grammar/rules/capital.htm 

Below are the most important rules for capitalising words in English.

Useful Website: Proof Reading & Marking for Corrections

Proof-Reading & Marking for Corrections

Extremely useful website. Here's the link:
Language Tool

English Grammar Guide: Web Link

Give an Effective Presentation

Give an Effective Presentation

1. Show your Passion and Connect with your Audience

It’s hard to be relaxed and be yourself when you’re nervous.

But time and again, the great presenters say that the most important thing is to connect with your audience, and the best way to do that is to let your passion for the subject shine through.

Be enthusiastic and honest, and the audience will respond.

Taking Part in a Good Discussion

Taking Part in a Good Discussion

Prepare yourself. If you don't know your material ahead of time, you will have less to contribute and will understand the discussion less. Research some background information on your topic if you are given it ahead of time; make notes that you can refer to regarding the main ideas.

Be confident: If you aren't confident with yourself, you'll be scared of sharing your opinions. You need to trust yourself and others and you need to feel confident in your thoughts. Share your opinions- it doesn't matter what other people think as long as your thoughts matter to you.

Writing Styles: The Writing Process

Writing Styles: The Writing Process

It is important to follow the writing process for a successful paper.

Plan your paper

Print a draft and mark it for corrections

After corrections, print the final. 

Writing Styles: Summary

Writing Styles: Writing a Summary

When writing the summary there are three main requirements:

1. The summary should cover the original as a whole.

2. The material should be presented in a neutral fashion.

    3. The summary should be a condensed version of the material, presented in your own words.

Writing Styles: Formal Letter

Writing Styles: Formal Letter

Writing Styles: Informal Letter

Writing Styles: Informal Letter

Writing an Informal Letter                                

   There is certainly less pressure when writing an informal letter to someone you know, for example, including an address isn't necessary though it is probably a good idea to include it in case the person receiving the letter can't remember your address.

Writing Styles: Essay Structure

Writing Styles: Essay Structure

There are several types of essays; we are focusing on the Persuasive Essay.

Writing Styles: Article

Writing Styles: Article 

What is an article?                                        

An article

• is a piece of writing usually intended for publication in a newspaper, magazine or journal

• is written for a wide audience, so it is essential to attract and retain the readers’ attention

Writing Styles: Notice

Writing Styles: Notice

Notice:  A displayed sheet, etc. with announcement; intimation, warning; formal declaration of intention. A written piece of information whose purpose is to give communication.

Writing Styles: Leaflet or Flyer

Writing Styles: Leaflet or Flyer                       

What is a Leaflet or Flyer?

Leaflets are a type of open letter which is designed to be handed out to people, either by hand, by post, or inserted in local newspapers for distribution, to grab their attention.

Writing Styles: Blog

Writing Styles: Blog

Blog:

What is a blog?  Web + log = BLOG

    A regularly updated website or web page, typically one run by an individual or small group that is written in an informal or conversational style.

Writing Styles: The Purpose of Texts

Writing Styles: The Purpose of Texts

1)    A text is a piece of writing. Every text has a purpose.

2)    A purpose is the reason why the text has been written.

3)    These are the main purposes you could come across:

›  Texts that inform. For example, a leaflet about a theme park.

Writing Styles: Starts and Transitions

Writing Text: Starts and Transitions

Common Spelling Errors

UK, Common Spelling Errors

Highlight words on this list that you have difficulty with.

Complex Sentences

How to write complex sentences

Writing a complex sentence is easy if you have a basic understanding of conjunctions and relative pronouns. Study the examples given below.

Punctuation

Punctuation: The colon, semi-colon, hyphen, comma and apostrophe 

The following section looks at the most common punctuation marks used in English. Using punctuation marks correctly can greatly enhance both the clarity and the power of your writing.

The colon ( : )  The colon has a number of functions:

To introduce an idea.

The colon has two main uses. Firstly it is used to introduce an idea that is an explanation or continuation of the one that comes before the colon. Have a look at these examples:

Words That Sound the Same...

Words

English is full of words, which sound the same or similar yet have different meaning and are easily confused. A computer spell checker will not highlight a word that is spelled correctly but used incorrectly. If you are uncertain about the correct spelling of a particular word, the only way to be certain is to look the word up in a dictionary and check the definition so you know you are using the correct word.

It's and Its

It's and Its

It's is the contracted form of 'it has' or 'it is' and is used in the following ways:

"It's been a long time since we spoke," he whispered. (It has)

"Come on," he shouted, "it's a lovely day!" (it is)

"There is no way it's going to be ready on time."(it is)

"It's been ready for weeks!" (it has)

To, Two and Too

To, Two and Too

Two is the number. In academic writing it is better to use the written form than to write the

numeral '2'.

When I looked in the tin, there were only two biscuits left.

Tim has only got two friends: Colin and Donald.

Two cars passed the building shortly before the explosion.

We were stopped by two angry-looking policemen.

Too is used with adverbs and adjectives in sentences like these:

English grammar is far too complicated for me.

I'm not buying this car; it is far too expensive.

The French speak too quickly for me to understand them completely.

The match was none too exciting until the final few minutes.

There and Their and They're

There and Their and They're Their is the possessive form indicating belonging to them. You should only use this when you are indicating possession to a group.