Quotation marks: as written on the board in class, “quotation marks look like this” as opposed to ‘quotation marks look like this.’ The single mark quote mark in American English is reserved for quotes within quotes. Rhetorical use of…
On Commas: the controversy!
How do we feel about where the period goes at the end of a quote? Students, when consistent, tend to use logical punctuation (see Slate article for argument). If they (students) choose “logical” punctuation, they have to state that in…
What I’m Learning from the SRTOL Essays: FA2010
I want students to get away from the idea of correct or incorrect grammar. This thinking indicates a prescriptive rather than descriptive definition of grammar – and runs counter to the goal of the assignment; however, if someone really wants…
Linguistic integrity? Royal order of linguistic prejudice?
People often assume to know my position on English Only laws and proposals – but my take is nuanced and complicated. Linguistic integrity is an interesting idea – but it hasn’t been tried yet. WHY do Asian menus refer to…
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What I’m learning Re: SRTOL Papers – Rhetoric
These comments apply to many papers. I see semantic confusion facts vs. opinions (if this is a rhetorical ploy – it doesn’t work on the well-educated; consider your audience). I hear semantic confusion. Define terms as you will use them.…
What I’m learning Re: SRTOL Papers – citing sources
I’ve only read a handful of papers. 1/2 have been amazing, and half have been … uninspiring but generally ok. That’s not too bad. Some advice, tips or clarifications for you-all. In text quotations Re: block quotations. Only one person’s…
Re: Students’ Right to Their Own Language
Don’t worry about taking the wrong position on this topic. I’ve argued both sides. In graduate seminars in Education, they teach that educators struggle to balance 3 needs or demands: the student, the society and the curriculum. No one can…
Passive voice
When I speak of excessive use of passive voice (or passive verbs) I refer to the over use of “to be” verbs: is, are, was, were, be, being, been and am. Passive verbs are to writing what salt is to…
Superbowl, gender diversity and the SRTOL paper
Absenteeism was up for my 2 classes on Monday. Some research shows this may be caused by the Superbowl. See a scholarly journal here, or see a more news magazine article here. It could also have been the weather. Maybe…