Reading and Writing Crash Course

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Reading and Writing Crash Course

• Read Like a PRO
• 10 Deadly Sins of Writing
• Proofreading

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Read Like a PRO!

• Critical Reading Strategies

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What is PRO?

• Prepare to read (pre-reading)
• Read Actively
• Organize to Learn

Hey Am I a PRO?
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Part 1 Pre-reading Strategies

• Concentrate
• Preview
• Use Prior Knowledge
• Ask pre-reading questions and make predictions
• Choose a reading strategy

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Concentrate

• When is the best time during the day for you to
  read and study?
• Where is the best place for you to read and study?

This is what happens to me when I study at night!
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Preview

• Title
• What does each word in the title mean?
• What does the phrase mean as a whole?
• Author information
• Who is the author ?
• When did s/he write the piece?
• Headings, Notes, Pictures, or Side Panels

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Use Prior Knowledge

• How do you relate to the piece youve previewed?
• Are there any similarities between you and the
  author or any of the characters?
• Have you read or heard any of the information
  elsewhere before?

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Ask Questions/Predict

• What do you want to learn?
• What can you predict the author will discuss?

HumIm guessing the author will discuss
something about how cute babies are!
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Choose a Reading Strategy

• What is the purpose in reading this text?
• What is the level of difficulty?
• How will I actively read the text?

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Part 2 Reading Actively

• Reading Actively means

annotating and making connections between the
material and what you already know or have
experienced
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Becoming an Active Reader

• Devote time to fully focus on comprehending the
  text
• Apply strategies that will swiftly engage you
  with a text and keep your concentration

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Preparing to Become an Active Reader

• Be aware of the environmental factors that
  enhance and hurt concentration
• Be realistic about how long reading certain texts
  will take and set aside time for that reading
• Plan to keep a Reading Log for every difficult
  text/document you are required to read

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Strategies for Reading Actively

• Keep a Reading Log
• Orient yourself to the text
• Create a Discussion Web

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What Are You Looking For?

• Note the subject matter and authors purpose
• Recognize the organization of the text, structure
  and genre
• Determine the context of the text
• Find the connections to the course
• Decide your purpose and goal

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Remaining Active

• Interact with the author as you read
• Try to figure out the authors stance
• Monitor your comprehension and act when your
  concentration flags

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Dealing with Demanding Texts

• Identify the major problem and resolution
• Research the subject matter
• Look up unknown words
• Ask your peers, family, and friends for help

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Part 3 Organizing to Learn

• Apply Post-Reading tips
• Create a Semantic Map
• Form a Discussion Group
• Mark Your Text
• Outline
• Chart

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Apply Post-Reading Tips

• Decide if you achieved your goals for reading
• Discuss the accuracy of your predictions
• Summarize major ideas
• Research additional information
• Distinguish between relevant and irrelevant ideas
• Paraphrase relevant details
• Reflect and personalize the text

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Create a Semantic Map (SM)

• Helps the reader to identify important ideas
• Shows how the ideas fit together
• Uses comprehension/concentration skills and
  evolves in a note taking form
• Represents visually the content of your reading

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Three Components of SM

• Core question or concept
• Strands
• Supports

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SM - Spider Map Example
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SM Fishbone Map Example
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Form a Discussion Group

• Brings out new ideas youd previously not
  considered
• Takes existing ideas or concepts about the
  reading and expands upon them
• Allows your interpretations to be challenged and
  will fill in some of your blind spots regarding
  what you just read

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Mark Your Text

• Read first and then mark selectively
• Box transitions and number important ideas
• Circle specialized vocabulary
• Jot down main ideas in the margin
• Write questions as you read
• Make brief summaries at the end of each section

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Outline What You Read

• Place major/general points to the left
• Indent each more specific point to the right

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Chart What You Read

• Organize categories into columns
• Record information into the appropriate category
• Tracks conversations and dialogues
• Reduces amount of writing
• Provides easy review

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Practice

• THEME FOR ENGLISH B - By Langston Hughes
• The instructor said, Go home and write a page
  tonight. And let that page come out of you---
  Then, it will be true. I wonder if it's that
  simple? I am twenty-two, colored, born in
  Winston-Salem.

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Cont

• I went to school there, then Durham, then here
  to this college on the hill above Harlem. I am
  the only colored student in my class. The steps
  from the hill lead down into Harlem through a
  park, then I cross St. Nicholas, Eighth Avenue,
  Seventh, and I come to the Y, the Harlem Branch
  Y, where I take the elevator up to my room, sit
  down, and write this page It's not easy to know
  what is true for you or me at twenty-two, my
  age. But I guess I'm what I feel and see and
  hear, Harlem, I hear you hear you, hear me---we
  two---you, me, talk on this page.

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Cont

• (I hear New York too.) Me---who? Well, I like to
  eat, sleep, drink, and be in love. I like to
  work, read, learn, and understand life. I like a
  pipe for a Christmas present, or
  records---Bessie, bop, or Bach. I guess being
  colored doesn't make me NOT like the same things
  other folks like who are other races. So will my
  page be colored that I write? Being me, it will
  not be white. But it will be a part of you,
  instructor.

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Cont

• You are white--- yet a part of me, as I am a
  part of you. That's American. Sometimes perhaps
  you don't want to be a part of me. Nor do I
  often want to be a part of you. But we are,
  that's true! As I learn from you,I guess you
  learn from me--- although you're older---and
  white--- and somewhat more free.
• This is my page for English B.

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Grammar Mechanics The 10 Deadly Sins of Writing
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A Quick Note

• Dont worry! This workshop was designed to
  address the most common grammatical and
  compositional errors in writing. Thats why
  were here to make all of us, including myself,
  better writers.

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SIN 1 The Sentence Fragment

• A sentence fragment is a partial or incomplete
  thought that is used as a complete sentence. In
  most writing, sentence fragments are the result
  of a less formal, more conversational tone.
• Ex When I tripped on the curb.
• Re When I tripped on the curb, I split my pants
  right down the middle.
• TIP Look at your writing. Do you have any
  sentences that cannot stand alone?

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Sin 2 The Run -On

• The run-on occurs when two (or more) complete
  thoughts or phrases are written as a single
  sentence without separation. Run-ons are
  generally a result of simple carelessness.
• Ex Dave went to the store to buy some beer he
  forgot his wallet.
• Re Dave went to the store to buy some beer, but
  he forgot his wallet.
• Tip Run-ons are not confined to longer
  sentences check the structure of short
  sentences, too.

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Sin 3 The Comma Splice Fused Sentences

• This is a type of run-on sentence in which two
  (or more) complete sentences are connected with
  only a comma. These types of fused sentences are
  usually the result of the writer trying to tie a
  complex thought together.
• Ex Collin works out, he is the strongest guy in
  the class.
• Re Because Collin works out, he is the strongest
  guy in the class.
• TIP Review your work. If one sentence can
  easily be read as two complete sentences, it is
  probably a comma splice or fused sentence.

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Sin 4 Lack of Agreement

• A lack of agreement occurs when the subject does
  not agree with the verb (both are not singular or
  both are not plural).
• Ex The girl run fast down the street.
• Re The girl runs fast down the street
• TIP Try to pay close attention to the verb and
  its subject(s) or a pronoun and its
  antecedent(s). Do they agree?

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SIN 5 Inconsistent Tense

• You can have inconsistent tense when the tense of
  two (or more) verbs in a sentence do not agree.
• Ex She forgot that she needs to do some homework
  for her math class.
• Re She forgot that she needed to do some
  homework for her math class.
• Tip When you have multiple verbs in one
  sentence, pay close attention to the tense.

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SIN 6 Poor Parallelism

• Poor parallelism is a grammatical mistake whereby
  there is an awkward lack of balance in the
  creation of lists and series.
• Ex I glanced out the window and saw an elm tree,
  a tree with bright red fruit, and a large bush.
• Re I glanced out the window and saw an elm tree,
  an apple tree, and a large bush.
• TIP When making a list or series, pay close
  attention to the grammatical structure of the
  nouns.

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Sin 7 Dangling Modifiers

• Simply put, dangling modifiers describe or
  reference words that never actually appear in a
  sentence.
• Ex Driving down the street, the weather seemed
  to be changing rather quickly.
• Re Driving down the street, I noticed the
  weather seemed to be changing rather quickly.
• Tip Try not to carelessly add descriptive
  phrases to a sentence. Pay attention to the
  phrases in a sentence and what they modify.

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Sin 8 Passive Voice

• With passive voice, the subject of a sentence
  becomes the receiver of the action. Basically,
  nothing or no one is performing the action.
• Ex The haunted house at the top of the hill was
  greatly feared by us.
• Re We feared the haunted house at the top of the
  hill.
• Tip Unless you absolutely need a passive verb,
  change it to the active voice.

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SIN 9 Redundancy

• As the term implies, redundancy is the overuse
  or needless use of words.
• Ex She was totally the tallest girl in the
  classroom.
• Re She was the tallest girl in the classroom.
• Ex To fix the car, you will need both a wrench
  and a screwdriver.
• Re To fix the car, you will need a wrench and a
  screwdriver.
• Tip Go through your work and look for
  descriptive words you often use when speaking
  these tend to be redundant in writing.

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Sin 10 Inexactness/Imprecision

• When writing, make sure you use words and phrases
  which correctly convey your meaning.
• Ex In an attempt to levitate the situation, the
  police officer backed off a few steps.
• Re In an attempt to alleviate the situation, the
  police officer backed off a few steps.
• Tip Dont try and stretch your vocabulary. If
  needed, grab a dictionary to find the best word.
  Also, try and avoid extremely pretentious wording.

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Additional Resources

• CTL - http//www.uis.edu/ctl/writing/tutorials.htm
  l
• Grammar Punctuation and Spelling -
  http//owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/
• Grammar and Punctuation http//www.grammarbook.c
  om/
• Writing World Grammar Resources -
  http//www.writing-world.com/links/grammar.shtml