Making A Personal Grammar Guide

 Hello, Learners!

Welcome to Mrs. Lund's Connect Activity!


     For this activity, you will be making your own Grammar Guide. Consider it a cheat sheet for use in all of the writing you will do as you continue your education.

     To create your guide, you will make a document for your blog which contains:

• Frequently misspelled words
• Grammar uncertainties
• Punctuation and capitalization problems
• Source crediting conundrums

   These are to be items with which you commonly have difficulty.  For example, I would list in my personal grammar guide the word "privilege" because I constantly catch myself thinking of the "ledge" part of words like  "knowledge" and "ledger" when I run across this word.  Quite often I do not realize it until Spellchecker squiggles me!  I feel a bit less embarassed because I know that both "knowledge" and "privilege" are often cited as commonly misspelled words (Sebranek, Kemper, & Meyer, 2001, p. 485).

     Visit each of the sites listed and take at least one item from each site for your Grammar Guide.  Be sure to copy the URL and cite your sources! Organize your document using the bulleted items above as headings.  Number your items beneath each heading.  For each item, you will create an example of correct usage.   When you have finished your blog post, you will be critiquing three of your classmates' Grammar Guides. 
  
DETAILED DIRECTIONS FOR GRAMMAR GUIDE ENTRIES
Frequently Misspelled Words
     List five words with their correct and incorrect spelling.  The two sites below contain lists of commonly misspelled words.  Take at least one word from each of the two sites below.  Looking at the lists, you might be surprised by some words that you thought you were spelling correctly!  You will also need to write a sample sentence with the proper spelling for each of the five words you have selected.

Commonly Misspelled Words

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Punctuation and Capitalization Problems 
     List five punctuation rules that you don't know solidly, are unsure of, or frequently break.  One example would be the proper placement of  punctuation in a sentence with parentheses.  List the complete rule and a sample sentence with proper usage for all five.
Here is a list of topics concerning punctuation:  Spacing after punctuation marks, Periods, Commas, Semicolons, Colons, Dashes, Quotation Marks, Double or Single Quotation Marks, Apostrophes, Italics, Ellipses, Question Marks, Exclamation Points, Parentheses, Brackets, and Slashes.  Here are topics in capitalization:  Words beginning a sentence, Major words in titles and headings, Proper nouns and trade names, Nouns followed by numerals or letters, Titles of tests, Names of factors, variables and effects (APA, 2010, p. vii).

Grammar Uncertainties
     Find five points of grammar that you didn't know or have trouble with.  Subject-verb agreement is an example (Sebranek, Kemper, & Meyer, 1999, p. 88).  List and explain the point of grammar then write a sentence demonstrating the correct usage for each situation. (The first link below discusses grammar only.  The next three discuss both grammar and punctuation.)  Here are some topics in grammar: Verb tenses, Prepositions, Transitive & intransitive verbs, Adverbs, Adjectives, Possessive nouns, Possessive Adjectives, Subject & verb agreement, Irregular verbs, and Conjunctions (Sebranek, Kemper, & Meyer, 2001, pp. 501-528).

Intermediate Level English

Grammar Rules

Grammar Book

Rules of Writing

Crediting Sources
     Next, you will tackle crediting sources. As nearly everything you find published (whether on the Internet or in print), is copyrighted, (either by law or by umbrella rules), you must be careful to avoid plagiarism. Find five rules for citing sources. List and explain each rule. Write a sample citation or appropriate entry demonstrating the proper method of citation. The two links below will take you to sites with information on crediting sources.  These are of few of the many topics in citing sources:  Parenthetical references, One author, Two or three authors, Corporate authors, Reference material, Indirect sources, Literary works, Abbreviations, Government publications, Periodicals, Television or radio programs, Film, Lectures, Web sites, Online government documents, and Online journals.


Citing Sources

APA Formatting & Style Guide - Citations


     When you have finished, you should have an organized, usable tool tailored to your own writing needs.  Good luck! 


References
Sebranek, P., Kemper, D., & Meyer, V. (1999).WRITE SOURCE 2000:  A Guide to WRITING, THINKING, and      LEARNING. Wilmington, MA: Great Source Education Group, Inc.

Sebranek, P., Kemper, D., & Meyer, V. (2001). WRITERS INC: A Student Handbook for WRITING and LEARNING.  Wilmington, MA:  Great source Education Group.

Vandenbos, G.R. (Ed.). (2010). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th Ed). Washington, DC:  American Psychological Association.