I face many problems when dealing with english language as my fundamentals are weak. As a result, i have difficulty writing in University Classes. The problems I have during the writing process occur during the planning stage which involves generating ideas.
Planning stage is an important process in writing as this directly tells the reader the content about your essay. During the planning stage, I tend to have problems generating ideas. I spend quite a considerable amount of time trying to list down the points that is relevant to the essay question. Even after I have listed down all the points, I need to spend some time linking and organising the points together to ensure that I do not stray away from the essay question. But usually my ideas are weak and it does not have alot to write on. This pre-writing process worries me because in the examinations, I cannot afford to waste too much time in planning my essay.
In order to overcome these problems, I will probably need to underline relevant keywords in the essay question. The underlining of the keywords allows me to understand better and keep in mind of what the essay question is asking. This would also allow me to generate ideas related to the topic of the essay question without getting out of point. Perhaps during the planning process, I should change the method in which I plan my essay. The most preferred method for me is listing. However, I discovered that listing has a major disadvantage. It is not an effective method in helping me visualising the order or sequence of my essay. Listing is merely just writing down whatever ideas that I can think of at that point of time. As a result, after I have sufficient points for my essay, these points listed are all disorganised and extra time is needed to sort out the points in a logical sequence. Therefore, I should switch to mind mapping instead as it is a much more organised way of planning essays. Mind mapping is a more efficient method in helping me plan my essay in the shortest time possible.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
ePortfolio 6
3 of the common grammar mistakes I always made are subject verb agreement, preposition and article.
One of the most common grammar mistakes I commit is the use of prepositions. Prepositions are used in sentences to describe relationship between other words. The general categories of words commonly used together with prepositions are time, location, objects and events. It is difficult to use the correct preposition all the time as most of the prepositions can be used with specific words or sentences. For example, the word “proud” can only be used with the preposition “of”. However, words such as “hope” can be used with more than one preposition such as “for” and “in”. If the incorrect preposition is used, the meaning of the word or sentence might change and this might cause the readers to misinterpret what you are trying to portray.
The next mistake is with pronoun reference. Mistakes in pronoun references are due to the assumption made that the reader understood the implied references. Pronouns usually refer to the other words, called their antecedent. A pronoun’s antecedent may be a noun or another pronoun. Hence, in both cases, it must be clear what the antecedent is. For example, in a mistake made in my recent assignment, “These changes are met with resistance as it may vary with each individual”. The antecedent in the preceding sentence, in this case, is changes. However, the reference is not clear and requires elaboration. Thus, it should be written as the following; “These changes in technology are met with resistance as the degree of adjustment to these changes may vary with each individual”.
The last common mistake I always commit is the subject verb agreement (SVA). I am weak at spotting countable or uncountable noun and this always causes me to use the wrong SVA. Besides having to spot the noun, sometimes mistakes I commit may be due to modal, gerunds or auxiliary verbs. For example, “The objection is from a group of people who thinks that the creation of human embryos is a violation of a human life.” In this sentence, the head noun is the people instead of the objection.
One of the most common grammar mistakes I commit is the use of prepositions. Prepositions are used in sentences to describe relationship between other words. The general categories of words commonly used together with prepositions are time, location, objects and events. It is difficult to use the correct preposition all the time as most of the prepositions can be used with specific words or sentences. For example, the word “proud” can only be used with the preposition “of”. However, words such as “hope” can be used with more than one preposition such as “for” and “in”. If the incorrect preposition is used, the meaning of the word or sentence might change and this might cause the readers to misinterpret what you are trying to portray.
The next mistake is with pronoun reference. Mistakes in pronoun references are due to the assumption made that the reader understood the implied references. Pronouns usually refer to the other words, called their antecedent. A pronoun’s antecedent may be a noun or another pronoun. Hence, in both cases, it must be clear what the antecedent is. For example, in a mistake made in my recent assignment, “These changes are met with resistance as it may vary with each individual”. The antecedent in the preceding sentence, in this case, is changes. However, the reference is not clear and requires elaboration. Thus, it should be written as the following; “These changes in technology are met with resistance as the degree of adjustment to these changes may vary with each individual”.
The last common mistake I always commit is the subject verb agreement (SVA). I am weak at spotting countable or uncountable noun and this always causes me to use the wrong SVA. Besides having to spot the noun, sometimes mistakes I commit may be due to modal, gerunds or auxiliary verbs. For example, “The objection is from a group of people who thinks that the creation of human embryos is a violation of a human life.” In this sentence, the head noun is the people instead of the objection.
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