Selection of a Library Book:

Step One:
1. I chose the book South African Tragedy becasue I studied abroad in South Africa and lived there for nearly 5 and a half months and I learned about the history and it is very interesting to me. I think not many people know about it, and how it is still happening today, and how it affected the lives of millions and still affects them everyday.
2. This book only has one author, Alan Paton
3. The title is South African Tragedy
4. This book was distrubted in the United States by Charles Scribner's and Sons
5. It was printed in New York in 1965

Step Two:
The book I chose is called South African Tradegy by Alan Paton. It was printed in the New York, United States in 1965 and was distrubuted by Charles Scribners and Sons. I chose this book because I studied abroad in South Africa last year, and was there for about 5-6 months and I think the whole South African history is very interesting. This book is about the life and times of Jan Hoemeyr. This book is a fiction history novel, that incorporates the tragedy that happened in South Africa. I enjoy this becasue I learned a lot about what I have read while scimming through the book. For example, Paton talks about the aftermath of the Boer War and how the four provinces came to be in South Africa. "In 1910 the four provinces- the Transvaal, the Orange Free State, Natal, and the Cape Provinces-formed the Union of South Africa within the British Empire." (Paton, ix) I remember learning this while I was in class in South Africa.


Works Cited:
Paton, Alan. South African Tragedy; the Life and times of Jan Hofmeyr. New York: Scribner, 1965. Print.

Improvements: The Editing Process

 

 

Author:  Tareq Alsomahi 
Editor: Brittany Hofstater

Neon Skirt Story:

It all started with a skirt. Berta’s life is forever changed, all because a skirt. Who knew a skirt could change your life. Who knew a skirt would find you the love of your life but also at the same time make you spend time in jail…

One hot July day, Berta was out walking in the park. She ran into this nice guy who caught her eye immediately. She was interested in him instantly. The guy approached Berta and he introduced himself as Harry. Harry asked Berta to join him for coffee tomorrow morning at 9am. Berta was in love at first sight, so she graciously accepted. She was filled with excitement so she called her best friend Louise so they could go shopping to buy Berta a new skirt. Louise met Berta at the mall and they started there shopping day.

Berta and Louise went into their favorite store. Berta saw a new skirt, the skirt is neon pink. She wants this skirt! She thinks this skirt will impress Harry and has to have it. She noticed a different customer with the skirt in her hand. Bummer! She tells Louise that she needs that skirt. So Louise and Berta head to the dressing room to come up with a plan on how to get it. The plan went as followed: Louise was going to cause a diversion in the store and scream that the customer is trying to steal a pair of sunglasses. Berta is to put the sunglass in the customer’s purse to make it look like she is stealing them, in return getting her kicked out. Berta waited for the plan to start. After the security guard kicked out the customer, Berta takes the skirt. With money in her pocket and a hole burning in her pocket she waits in line. She walks to the cashier; at this same time the cashier closes the register just as Berta hopes to pay. What now? So she decides against the skirt and leaves the boutique.

Upon returning home, Berta tries not to think about the skirt anymore. Restlessness, Berta calls Louise at 10pm begging for her help. Louise comes up with another plan. They are to go to the store the next day, around 1am to break into the boutique to steal the skirt. Berta loves this idea, she needs this skirt to impress Harry for her date, and she cannot wait until the store opens at 10am because her coffee date is at 9am. Louise and Berta go to the boutique. The shop is open, someone forgot to lock it! She goes and grabs the skirt, and leaves the money and a note for the boutique about what had happened. So technically Berta bought the skirt. This feels good. Elation!  Her and Louise leave the store, at this point they can hear sirens from a distance and run out so the police do not catch them. She takes it home and tries it on again. Berta soon realizes she has nothing to match a hot pink neon skirt. What was she thinking. It fits none of her other clothes. At this point Berta is depressed. She still has nothing to wear for her date with Harry.

Little did Berta know, while she was leaving the money, she dropped her ID on the ground of the store. The cops showed up at Berta’s house and arrested her for robbery and breaking and entering. Berta never made it to her date, but she did meet the love of her life while in jail, it was the police officer that arrested her. So all in all the skirt ruined and enhanced her life. Berta realized that it is not ok to steal, and that breaking into the boutique is wrong, but her life started with a skirt. 

How my group organized our presentation on punctuation!

Firstly, my group organized our presentation by decided what punctuation we wanted to use. Since there are so many different kinds of punctuation we narrowed it down to a select few that are commonly used. Then we decided who did what. Almuhannad would research commas and apostrophes, Bingzhe would research semicolons and colons, and as for me, I researched periods, questions marks, exclamation marks, quotation marks, and hyphens. I did more because the punctuation marks that I chose were a lot smaller and easier to discuss. After we divided the work, we all researched our punctuation marks and created a word document of what we wanted to talk about. After we were all done we e-mailed them to each other so we could place each presentation on our blogs.  I think we worked well together to come to a finished project. All in all I think our presentation discussion went well and I think when we present it, it will be good.

LEO group presentations:

Punctuation:
Group 5: Brittany Hofstater, Bingzhe Xu, and Almuhannad Aljahdali
 

Period [.]: Use a period at the end of a sentence (The dog ran fast.), command (Hand in your homework by Friday.), indirect question (The teacher asked why Frank was late to school.), or for abbreviations (Mr. Smith went to Texas.).

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/marks/period.htm, September 11, 2012

Question Mark [?]: Use a question mark at the end of a question. (What are you doing?)

*Question words: Who, what, where, when, how, whom, whose, and which

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/marks/period.htm, September 11, 2012
http://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/wh-question-words.htm, September 11, 2012

Exclamation Point [!]: Use an exclamation point at the end of an empathic declaration, interjection, or command. (Do it now! or What are you doing! Stop!)

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/marks/exclamation.htm, September 11, 2012

Quotation Marks [“ ”]:  Use quotation marks to set off material that represents quoted or spoken language. Quotation marks also set off the titles of things that do not normally stand by themselves: short stories, poems, and articles. Use quotation marks to enclose direct quotations. (My mother always said “Be careful what you wish for”)

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/marks/quotation.htm, September 11, 2012
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/566/01/, September 11, 2012

Hyphen [-]: Use a hyphen to join two or more words serving as a single adjective before a noun (a one-way street), with compound numbers (sixty-three), to divide words at the end of a line if necessary, and with the prefixes (ex-husband).

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/576/01/, September 11, 2012

Semicolon [;]: Use semicolon to separate items in a list, when some of those items already contain commas.

Example: I bought shiny, ripe apples; small, sweet, juicy grapes; and firm pears.
Use a semicolon between closely related independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction if the clauses are already punctuated with commas or if the clauses are lengthy.
Example: Some people write with a word processor, typewriter, or a computer; but others, for different reasons, choose to write with a pen or pencil
Using a semicolon between independent clauses linked with a transitional expression.
Example: The five nations respects the abilities of all its people; therefore, both women and men participate in making tribal decisions.

Use To announce, introduce, or direct attention to a list, a noun or noun phrase, a quotation, or an example/explanation.

Lists example: We covered many of the fundamentals in our writing class: grammar, punctuation, style, and voice.
Noun/noun phrase example: My roommate gave me the things I needed most: companionship and quiet.
Quotation example: Shakespeare said it best: “To thine own self be true.”

Colon [:]: Use a colon to separate titles and subtitles, to express time, to cite a law or biblical passage, to end a salutation, to separate the place of publication and the publisher in a bibliographic entry.

Example: Richard Nixon: The Tarnished President

4:00 p.m.

Dear Rachel:
West, Gerald. How to Write Best Sellers. New York: Henry James Publishing, 1973.
The point of final game was 104:97

Use a colon to connect two sentences when the second sentence summarizes, sharpens, or explains the first.

Example: Religion and politics can be sensitive subjects: many people hold opinionated views and are easily offended by other peoples' remarks.

Reference

http://www.writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/Semicolons.html, September 11, 2012

http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/semi-colons-colons-and-dashes/, September 11, 2012
http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/punct/colon.html, September 11, 2012 

Apostrophe [‘]:

What is the apostrophe? The apostrophe indicates that a number or letter has been omitted. Moreover, apostrophes are also used to show possession or ownership.

http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/punct/apostrophe.html, September 11, 12

There are some examples how to use them.
He is= he’s
Does not= doesn’t
There are some singular (not ending with –s)

Owner	Thing Owned	Correct Form
a child	shoes	a child’s shoes
anyone	idea	anyone’s idea
a person	incoming	a person’s income

 Singular Nouns (ending with –s)

Owner	Thing Owned	Correct form
Chris Jones	dog	Chris Jones’ dog
James	room	James’ room

 Plural Nouns (not ending with –s)

Owner	Thing Owner	Correct Form
people	beliefs	people’s belief
children	songs	Children’s songs

 Plural Nouns (ending with –s)

Owner	Thing Owned	Correct Form
Two weeks	vacation	two weeks’ vacation
ten dollars	worth	Ten dollars’ worth
students	addresses	Students’ addersses

 http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/punct/apostrophe.html, September 11, 12

Comma [,]:
What is the comma? A comma is a punctuation mark used to indicate separation that in spoken English is proved by a brief pause (or breathing space).

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_meaning_of_comma, September 11, 12

There are six rules for using commas.

1.       Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction (and, or, but, nor, yet, for, so) that separates two independent clauses. For example: One of our teachers gave us a lot of homework for next week, but he changes his mind and moves the due date.

2.       Use a comma after an introductory word, phrase, or clause that comes before a main clause. For example: Strangely, no one has suggested that Watergate gave us a "new Nixon."

3.       Use commas around words, phrases, and clauses in the middle of a sentence when they aren't essential to the meaning of the sentence. For example, this was not, in other words, an invisible 56 percent of the population.

4.       Use commas between items in a series. For example: Three reasons for the closing were insufficient enrollment, poor instructional materials, and inadequate funds.

5.       Use commas before and after a quotation within a sentence. For example: The band leader said, "Once the simple marching drill is learned, we will work on more maneuvers."

6.       Use a comma before an afterthought or contrasting element. For example: To understand a particular culture, we must consider the society as a whole, not its individual parts.

http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/punct/comma.html, September 11, 12

LEO Topic Review

While viewing the LEO web page, I decided to write this blog about when to use commas. I know sometimes I still struggle on where commas go and when I should use them or maybe just begin a new sentence. I am writing this blog to help people out, because if we want to admit it or not, we all need a refresher.

Firstly, I will start with the rules:
Rule 1: Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction (and, or, but, nor, yet, for, so) that separates two independent clauses.
Rule 2: Use a comma after an introductory word, phrase, or clause that comes before a main clause.
Rule 3: Use commas around words, phrases, and clauses in the middle of a sentence when they aren't essential to the meaning of the sentence.
Rule 4: Use commas between items in a series.
Rule 5: Use commas before and after a quotation within a sentence.
Rule 6: Use commas to set off geographical names, items in date, and professional titles.

Those are the six rules on when to use commas. Now that you know the rules, let us look at some examples of each rule (each number corresponds with the rule number).
1. State censorship boards flourished, but the pressure groups wanted a more comprehensive ban on objectionable material.
2.In addition to television's influence, some parents and teachers ascribe children's diminished drive to play to recent changes in the elementary school curriculum.
3. This was not, in other words, an invisible 56 percent of the population.
4. Robin, blue jay, hawk, sparrow, and crow are all examples or birds.
5. The band leader said, "Once the simple marching drill is learned, we will work on more maneuvers."
6. Today's date is September 10, 2012.

Since everybody does not know the rules in this world, there are bound to be errors that can happen. There are three main mechanical errors. These are called comma splice, fused sentences, and run-on sentences. Now to define them:
1. Comma splice is is an error caused by joining two independent clauses with only a comma. Oftentimes, the subject of the second sentence is this, that, these, or those.
2. Fused sentences are errors caused by running two independent clauses together with no separation at all.
3. Run-on sentences are errors caused by joining two or more independent clauses with only a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet).
Examples of each are: (mistake first then correction)
1. Many income tax reforms provide spaces for indicating contribution to the AIDS campaign, this makes money to help people in need. To fix this it should read: Many income tax reforms provide spaces for indicating contribution to the AIDS campaign; this makes money to help people in need. 
2.  The cat and dog were fighting then the dog ate the cat. To fix this it should read: The cat and dog were fighting; then the dog ate the cat.
3. Groups to end childhood hunger have been established in all cities and are have been given funding to support them.  To fix this it should read: Groups to end childhood hunger have been established in all cities, and are have been given funding to support them.

There are many ways to help correct these three main errors and they are:
1. Separate the clause with a period
2. Join the clause with a semicolon
3. You can connect the clauses with a semicolon and a conductive adverb followed by a comma.
4. You can connect the clauses with a comma and a coordinating conjunction.
5. You can use a subordinator to make one clause dependent upon another.

I hope this blog was helpful in helping to answer that question, "where do I put my commas?!" I hope it helps!



References
http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/punct/comma.html, September 10, 2012
http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/punct/csfsro.html, September 10, 2012

Critique of Story in a Box:

Student Review of Story in a box:

 
The class was given the task to write a story about thirteen mystery items from around the world. Then each student was to read everybody’s in the class's stories and rate them 1-10, and the 2 worst stories did not receive a rating.

 
The story I chose to rate worst was mainly a lack of creativity. The author simply stated she was at a museum and listed the objects and described them. For example (1) "There are the collection of coins set, American canoe, Chinese stamp and colorful plates.” The author also used two different fonts with in the story, and the first font was not the most pleasant to read in my opinion. This author also did not make sure that words were on the same line. The story also had a few grammatical errors, for example (2) “Some pictures on it, however, if we observe the stamp carefully, we will find two words on the bottle. I don't know the meaning of the word”.  The author says there are words on the bottle (plural) but then uses word later in the sentence (singular). At times words were on two separate lines and not put together. Lastly the title of the blog post was not Story in a Box; it was called “Unforgettable Visit”.

 

The story that I found the best in the class was creative and interesting. The author used the thirteen items in a unique fashion and connected the items together. The author did not just list them. The story was easy to follow and flowed together quite well. The author used the objects in a more abstract way of thinking and not only used them as what they actually are. For example (3) the author used the canoe not only as a boat “They tried to avoid a canoe that fell off a truck that was in front of them and ended up in the bush.” The author also had correct grammar and spelling.

 
1.      http://xianpingen191f12s28.blogspot.com/, September 4, 2012
2.      http://xianpingen191f12s28.blogspot.com/, September 4, 2012
3.      http://en191f12s28jonaou.blogspot.com/, September 4, 2012