Reading and Writing Crash Course

1. Reading and Writing Crash Course Read Like a PRO 10 Deadly Sins of Writing Proofreading Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

2. Read Like a PRO! Critical Reading Strategies Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

3. What is PRO? • Prepare to read (pre-reading) • Read Actively • Organize to Learn Hey – Am I a PRO? Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

4. Part 1: Pre-reading Strategies • Concentrate • Preview • Use Prior Knowledge • Ask pre-reading questions and make predictions • Choose a reading strategy Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

5. 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! Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

6. 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 Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

7. Use Prior Knowledge • How do you relate to the piece you’ve 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? Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

8. Ask Questions/Predict • What do you want to learn? • What can you predict the author will discuss? Hum…I’m guessing the author will discuss something about how cute babies are! Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

9. 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? Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

10. Part 2: Reading Actively Reading Actively means… annotating and making connections between the material and what you already know or have experienced Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

11. 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 Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

12. 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 Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

13. Strategies for Reading Actively • Keep a Reading Log • Orient yourself to the text • Create a Discussion Web Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

14. What Are You Looking For? • Note the subject matter and author’s 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 Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

15. Remaining Active • Interact with the author as you read • Try to figure out the author’s stance • Monitor your comprehension and act when your concentration flags Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

16. 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 Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

17. Part 3: Organizing to Learn • Apply Post-Reading tips • Create a Semantic Map • Form a Discussion Group • Mark Your Text • Outline • Chart Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

18. 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 Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

19. 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 Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

20. Three Components of SM • Core question or concept • Strands • Supports Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

21. SM - Spider Map Example Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

22. SM – Fishbone Map Example Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

23. Form a Discussion Group • Brings out new ideas you’d 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 Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

24. 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 Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

25. Outline What You Read • Place major/general points to the left • Indent each more specific point to the right Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

26. 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 Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

27. 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. Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

28. 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. Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

29. 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. Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

30. 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. Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

31. Grammar Mechanics: The 10 Deadly Sins of Writing Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

32. A Quick Note Don’t worry! This workshop was designed to address the most common grammatical and compositional errors in writing. That’s why we’re here; to make all of us, including myself, better writers. Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

33. 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? Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

34. 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. Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

35. 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. Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

36. 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? Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

37. 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. Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

38. 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. Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

39. 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. Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

40. 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. Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

41. 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. Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

42. 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: Don’t try and stretch your vocabulary. If needed, grab a dictionary to find the best word. Also, try and avoid extremely pretentious wording. Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning

43. Additional Resources • CTL - http://www.uis.edu/ctl/writing/tutorials.html • Grammar Punctuation and Spelling - http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/ • Grammar and Punctuation – http://www.grammarbook.com/ • Writing World Grammar Resources - http://www.writing-world.com/links/grammar.shtml Offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning