| Beide Seiten der vorigen RevisionVorhergehende ÜberarbeitungNächste Überarbeitung | Vorhergehende Überarbeitung |
| schueler:englisch:language_and_style [01.11.2010 23:01] – Ingo Krause | schueler:englisch:language_and_style [26.01.2011 11:44] (aktuell) – Ingo Krause |
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| ===== Improving Language and Style ===== | ===== Improving Language and Style ===== |
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| You can improve your language and style by using various grammatical structures, e.g. structures that help you to create complex sentences instead of simple sentences. Here are a few tips: | You can improve your language and style by using various grammatical structures, e.g. structures that help you to create complex sentences instead of simple sentences. Here are a few tips. |
| * __relative clauses__ to connect sentences (who/whom/whose, which, that) | |
| * __participle clauses__ (e.g.: <del>When she reads a book</del> Reading a book, she forgets everything around her.) | |
| * __gerunds__ (e.g.: He remembers <del>how his mother cooked his favourite dishes</del> his mother cooking his favourite dishes.) | |
| * __if-clauses__ (e.g.: If she had known, she could have helped.) | |
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| * __linking phrases/connectors__ to structure your text and to link paragraphs/sentences (e.g.: First, / Second, ... etc.; Furthermore, ... / Moreover, ...; //check [[http://www.flinders.edu.au/shadomx/apps/fms/fmsdownload.cfm?file_uuid=565C036F-D131-8865-5534-76353409B290&siteName=flinders|Flinders University help sheet]] | ==== Improve complexity ==== |
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| | * **conjunctions**: a) __coordinating__ (//for, and, nor, but, or, yet,// and //so//); b) __correlative__ (//both … and, [n]either … [n]or, and not [only] … but [also], whether … or//); c) __subordinating__ (//after, although, as much as, as long as, as soon as, because, before, if, in order that, lest, since, so that, than, that, though, unless, until, when, whenever, where, wherever, whether,// and //while//) |
| | * **relative clauses** to connect sentences and/or add extra information (who/whose/whom, which, that) |
| | * **participle clauses** (e.g.: //<del>When she reads a book</del> Reading a book, she forgets everything around her.//) |
| | * **gerunds** (e.g.: //He remembers <del>how his mother cooked his favourite dishes</del> his mother cooking his favourite dishes.//) |
| | * **if-clauses** (e.g.: //If she had known, she could have helped.//) |
| | |
| | ==== Improve accuracy ==== |
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| | * **tenses**: Make sure you know when to use a) Past perfect, Present perfect, Past tense, Present tense, Future tense; b) Simple form (//She __reads__ the newspaper.//) or Progressive/continuous form (//She __is reading__ the newspaper.//) |
| | * **referencing**: a) __congruency__, i.e.: Do verb and/or personal pronouns match the subject in number and person (singular/plural, 3rd-person ending in simple present)?; b) __use of personal pronouns__, i.e.: Did you clearly mention the subject or object you are referring to with a personal pronoun? (Before you can write about //him//, you need to state who that //him// is.) |
| | * **grammatical patterns**: Depending on the vocabulary you use, certain grammatical structures will be inevitable, e.g.: Some verbs require a direct object instead of a prepositional object. (//They were discussing <del>about</del> the topic.//) |
| | * **active/passive voice**: Make sure that you stick to standard English! Passive voice consists of the verb //to be// + past participle. (In informal, spoken American English, you will often hear a version that includes the verb //to get//.) Thus, the correct sentence reads: //She <del>got</del> __was bullied__ by the boy next door.// |
| | * **adverb vs. adjective** |
| | * **word order**, especially **position and order of adverbs**: Check [[http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/adverbs.htm]]. |
| | |
| | ==== Improve structure ==== |
| | |
| | * **linking phrases/connectors** to structure your text and to link paragraphs/sentences (e.g.: //First, / Second, ... etc.; Furthermore, ... / Moreover, ...//; → Check this pdf-document: [[http://www.flinders.edu.au/shadomx/apps/fms/fmsdownload.cfm?file_uuid=565C036F-D131-8865-5534-76353409B290&siteName=flinders|Flinders University help sheet]]. |
| | * **paragraphing**: Paragraphs show the reader that you (= the author) are starting a new topic or thought, and that both your ideas and your writing are developing and moving towards the next step. This should be reflected in your use of paragraphs. Some information and exercises can be found here: [[http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/words/writing/paragraphs/|BBC: Paragraphing]] and [[http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks3bitesize/english/writing/structure_paragraphs/revise1.shtml|BBC: Structure and Paragraphs]]. |
| | |
| | ==== Style Sheets ==== |
| | If you are having difficulties with punctuation, hyphenation, etc., these style sheets may help: |
| | * [[http://www.ox.ac.uk/document.rm?id=1035|University of Oxford: Writing and Style Guide]] |
| | * [[http://www.docstyles.com/mlacrib.htm|MLA Style Sheet(long version)]] //(The Modern Language Association (MLA), New York, has published the so-called __MLA Handbook__ which helps you with how to do research and cite properly. The guidelines describe rules of formatting text, incl. spacing, citation, punctuation, etc.)// |
