Activities for Writing An Introduction to Writing 1. Writing Vs. Speech
writing is more formal than speech:
1) speech involves informal & abbreviated forms and construction.
in writing, we avoid those.
2) in speech, speakers do not worry precision in expression. in writing, writers organize ideas well.
3) speech can be telegraphic. (e.g., He car. My car. Bong Bong. He car broken. My car all right.)
4) speech is temporally ephemeral (短暂的).
5）repetition of a phrase or sentence is allowed in speech.
Part One Manuscript Form I.
Arrangement
Use the checklist to locate the seven mistakes in format in the following lines from a student paper. Explain the mistakes in the spaces provided. One mistake is described for you as an example. (p.487)
“Being alone” This is something that I simply cannot tolerate, and I will predi- ctably go to great lengths to prevent it. For example, if I know…
1. Hyphenate only between syllables (predict-ably, not predi-ctably) 2._____
……
III. Capitalization
Capital letters are used with
a) All his life, Father has been addicted to gadgets b) I contributed to Senator McGrath’s campaign fund. c) The college offers evening sections of Introductory Psychology I, Abnormal Psychology, and Educational Psychology.
d) My grandfather’s Polish accent makes his English difficult to understand.
e) He grew up in the Midwest but moved to the South to look for a better job.
f) During the Middle Ages, the Black Death killed over one-quarter of Europe’s population.
g) Tanya has lived on army bases in Germany, Italy and Spain.
h) Dear Sir: Sincerely yours,
IV. Punctuation e.g., 1. I laughed.
Badly frightened by the explosion, the boy rushed out of the laboratory.
2. His head tilted at an angle, and his eyes half closed. His head tilted at an angle; his eyes half closed. 补充： Apostrophe 1.
used in contractions to show where letters are omitted. e.g., I’m who’s 2.
used to show ownership or possession. E.g.,
Mark’s umbrella Tom’s car Note: Ross’s car Or Ross’ car The boys’ car Or the boys’s car Numbers Rule 1:
In Jody’s kitchen is her collection of seventy-two cookbooks. Jody has a file of 350 recipes. Rule 2:
After the storm, maintenance workers unclogged 46 drains, removed 123 broken tree limbs, and rescued 3 kittens that were stuck in drainpipe. Rule 3:
The burglary was committed on October 30, 2003, but not discovered until January 2, 2004.
Before I went to bed, I set my alarm for 6: 45 a. m. (But: seven o’clock)
The library is located at 45 West 52nd Street.
When you take the skin off a piece of chicken, you remove about 40 percent of the fat.
The name of the murderer is revealed in Chapter 8 on page 236.
Part Two Diction
I. Levels of Words
Rewrite the following sentences, replacing the italicized slang words with more formal words. (p.544)
1. I didn’t realize how messed up Joey was until he stole
some money from his parents and split for a month. 2. Greg was so bummed out the day he got fired that he
didn’t do anything except veg out in front of the TV. 3. The entire town was psyched that the corrupt mayor got
busted.
Underline the cliché in each of the following sentences. Then substitute specific, fresh words for the trite expression. (p.547)
1. When I realized I’d lost my textbook, I knew I was up
the creek without a paddle.