Inspired to Write, But How Class Number Three Announcement

Welcome to Week Number Two of the Class, “Inspired to Write, But How”

"It’s none of their business that you have to learn to write. Let them think you were born that way." ~Ernest Hemingway

Welcome to Class Number Two and Review of Class Number One

Congratulations upon completion of Week Number One’s Activity and Welcome to Week Number Two of “Inspired to Write, But How”.   You are here and that says that you are ready to continue on your path become a writer of poems, short stories, articles, essays, university assignments, and books.  Because this is an online long distance learning experience, consultation via email is available.

Writing Rule

A writing rule that serves well is to write as short as possible to share your thoughts, as simple as possible for ease of reading and as clear as possible to be easily understood.

The Five Remaining Weeks Class Syllabus

·         Monday, May 13, 2013 – Focus on Types of Sentences and Punctuation

·         Monday, May 20, 2013 – Focus on Writing Paragraphs

·         Monday, May 27, 2013 – Focus of Developing a Writing Outline

·         Monday, June 3, 2013 – First Draft of 750 – 1000 Words Writing Project

·         Monday, June 10, 2013 – Final Draft of 750 – 1000 Words Personal Writing Project

For Class Number Two, we will accomplish the following:

·         Identify the Four Types of Sentences

·         Identify Punctuation Marks and Describe how and when they are used

·         Learning Activity

·         Assignment and Email Consultation

·         Preview of Class Number Three – Focus on Writing Paragraphs

• a word or group of words that put forward or shares a point of view.  Examples:  The man walked for hours.  The woman danced to every song.  The baby cried.  I like a red car.   These are declarative sentences.  The task of the declarative sentence makes clear statement. The punctuation mark for a declarative sentence is a period.
• a word or group of words that asks a question.  Examples:  Where are my cars?  Would you go out on a date with me?  What time is your appointment?  Where would you like too on vacation.  These are examples of interrogative sentences.  The task of the interrogative sentence asks questions.  Interrogative is the same words as interrogate.  When police officers and detectives ask persons of interests and suspect’s questions, they are interrogating them.  The interrogative sentence’s task is to ask a question.  The punctuation mark for an interrogative sentence is a question mark.
• a word or group of words that gives instruction to be done or accomplished.  Examples:  Brush your teeth.  Wash the car.  Fix your buttons.  Clear the table.  Do the homework.  Ask questions.  These are examples of imperative sentences.  They give instructions for activity managed immediately.  The punctuation mark for an imperative sentence is a period.
• a word or group of words that speaks with high energy and enthusiastic voice.   Examples: Stop in the name of the law!  Help!  Get out!  Run!  Scream!  These are exclamatory sentences because they are a made from high energy raised voices scenarios.  Fear is a motivator for exclamatory sentence.  Goods news can prompt excited raised voices.  The punctuation mark for the exclamatory sentence is the exclamation point.

Identify the Four Types of Sentences

1.    Declarative (makes a statement).

2.    Interrogative (asks a question)

3.    Imperative (gives a command)

4.    Exclamatory (a high energy raised voice demanding immediate action and attention)

Learning Activity – Write five examples of each type of sentence.  What kind of sentence was the direction?  What kind of sentence is the question?

Types of Punctuation Marks and When They are used

·     

• the period is the punctuation mark used after a declarative and an imperative sentence to indicate the sentence or statement is complete, has stopped and ended.  The period has other applications but for the purpose of this class, the period indicates a full stop.
• the question mark is the punctuation mark that follows a question or interrogative sentence.  They are used only to indicate a question has taken place or been asked.
• the comma is the punctuation mark used after introductory words, phrases, or clauses in a sentence.  Examples:  After school, we had football practice.  In the morning, I am going fishing.  When time ran out, we were not finished.
• the comma is the punctuation mark also used to set off elements that interrupt or add information in a sentence.  Examples:  The team bus runs on gas, tires, and oil.  The man carried his briefcase, coat, and cane.  The girls were all 6 feet tall, weigh 150 pounds, and had big appetites.  The comma has other applications but these are sufficient for the purpose of this writing class.
• the apostrophe is the punctuation mark that shows possession.  Examples:  The lady’s hat, the race car’s engine, Oscar’s children, Bonnie’s husband, or the team’s coach.  The apostrophe shows possession.
• the quotation mark is the punctuation mark that identifies what is being quoted or bring spoken.  The opening for today’s lesson included this quote.  "It’s none of their business that you have to learn to write. Let them think you were born that way." ~Ernest Hemingway   Further examples:  John said, “My plane leaves tomorrow at noon.”  The teacher was quoting Shakespeare saying, “To be or not to be, that is the question.”  Quotations marks appear also around titles of written works.

Other punctuation marks appear in English.  They include the colon, the semi - colon, the dash, the hyphen, parentheses, brackets and the ellipsis.  These will not be central to all we will learn for this class.

Learning Activity:  Write five examples of each identified and defined punctuation mark

Assignment and Email Consultation – I am available to you to respond to your questions at oscarcrawfordmedia@gmail.com.

Class Number Three – May 20

We will examine:

·     

      Writing Paragraphs – a paragraph is more than one sentence joined together provide more information.  Get ready.  We will be working on four sentence paragraphs.  Examples are provided.

Inspired to Write, But How is a production of Oscar Crawford Media
© 2013 Oscar Crawford Media  

Your donations and gratuities are appreciated! 

Inspired to Write, But How Announcement for Class Number Two

For more information, email to:  oscarcrawfordmedia@gmail.com

Welcome to Week Number One of the Class, “Inspired to Write, But How”

Congratulations and Welcome to Week Number One of the Class, “Inspired to Write, But How”.   You are here and that says that you are ready to become a writer of poems, short stories, articles, essays, university assignments, and books.  This is a long distance learning experience.  Consultation via email is available.

The Six Weeks Class Syllabus

·        Monday, May 6, 2013 – Focus on the Eight Parts of Speech

·         Monday, May 13, 2013 – Focus on Types of Sentences and Punctuation

·         Monday, May 20, 2013 – Focus on Writing Paragraphs

·         Monday, May 27, 2013 – Focus of Developing a Writing Outline

·         Monday, June 3, 2013 – First Draft of 750 – 1000 Words Writing Project

·         Monday, June 10, 2013 – Final Draft of 750 – 1000 Words Personal Writing Project

For Class Number One, we will accomplish the following:

·         Glimpse the influence of English across Planet Earth

·         Identify the Eight Parts of Speech of the English Language

·         Learning Activity

·         Assignment and Email Consultation

·         Preview of Class Number Two

Glimpse the influence of English across Planet Earth

How many people in the world speak English?  The countries with the highest populations of native English speakers are, in descending order: United States (215 million), United Kingdom (61 million), Canada (18.2 million), Australia (15.5 million), Nigeria (4 million), Ireland (3.8 million), South Africa (3.7 million), and New Zealand (3.6 million). This information is derived for the 2006 Census.

• List of countries where English is an official language  

English is an official language or language of government in 60 sovereign states and 28 non-sovereign states.   English is a de facto national language of India.  The national language of Pakistan is Urdu. English is an official language and used in business, government and law.

English is the primary spoken and written language of education, commerce, and politics in America.  We will be learning how to write in English. 

We begin identifying the Eight Parts of Speech of the English Language. They are:

1. Nouns
2. Pronouns
3. Adjectives
4. Verbs
5. Adverbs
6. Conjunctions
7. Interjections and 
8. Prepositions 

Nouns:  a noun is a person, place, or thing. 

Examples for person include woman, man, boy, girl, aunt, uncle, mother, father, sister and brother.

Examples for place include Hawaii, Australia, America, Virginia, China, and Africa.

Examples for thing include shoe, house, ball, food, car, hospital and water.

Nouns are persons, places and things that act or receive action.

Pronouns: a pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun.  Instead of having to say or restate the noun repeatedly, a pronoun may take the place of the noun. 

Examples include the man went to the store.  He drove his car.  He bought milk, bread and eggs.  The girl wanted to learn how to play soccer.  She bought shoes to play.  She asked her friends to play.

In the examples, man and girl are the nouns.  Instead, of saying man and girl repeatedly, the pronouns he and she take their place.

Further example includes the book is very old.  The author wrote it 70 years ago.  It sold millions of copies.

In the example, book is the noun.  Instead of saying, book repeatedly, the pronoun it replaces the noun book.

Other pronouns include we, us, their, them, they, your, mine, and ours.

Adjectives:  an adjective is a word that describes or provides more information about a noun in the sentence.

Example includes the crispy southern fried chicken strips dipped in barbecue sauce was the favorite tasty appetizer.  The candy apple red car ran out of gas just outside of the city.

In the examples, the adjectives in the first sentence are crispy, southern, fried, and chicken. Each adjective described or provided more information about the noun strips.  The adjective barbecue described or provided more information about the noun sauce.  The adjectives favorite and tasty described or provided more information about the noun appetizer.  The adjectives candy, apple, and red described or provided more information about the noun car.

There is a note of exception to remember.  The words “a, an, and the” are also adjectives.  They are article adjectives because they point specifically to the noun that follows them.

Examples include the car, the house, and the train; or, a car, a house, and a train; or, an eye and an ear.   

Article adjectives point directly to a specific noun.

Verbs: a verb identifies the action of a noun or a pronoun.

Examples include the man scared her.  Scared is the verb identifying the action of the noun, man.  The baby cried all night.  Cried is the verb identifying the action of the noun, baby.  The horse fell after the jump.  Fell is the verb identifying the action of the noun, horse.

Adverbs:  an adverb is a word that describes or provides more information about a verb, adjective or other adverb.

One example is he walked extremely slowly.  Extremely is an adverb describing or providing more information about the adverb slowly.  Slowly is an adverb describing or providing more information about the verb walked.

Another example is the boy created a beautifully original painting.  Beautifully is an adverb describing or providing more information about the adjective original.

Conjunctions:  a conjunction is a connecting word like for – and – nor - but – or – yet – so.  Conjunctions connect words and sections of sentences.

Examples include:

Wayne believed he had an excellent opportunity to be chosen as a cast member, for his friend was a member of the cast screening group.

The Carson Family had to stop by the travel agency first and they would go to the airport later.

The weather was neither sunny and bright nor warm and comfortable.

The team let the coach down but he still believed in them.

You can work hard for the money or you can be without money.

The children do not like the cold yet they love to play in the snow.

Joanna was not the only nurse, so are Greg, Isabella, and Katie.

Other conjunctions include because, as though, and unless.

Prepositions:  a preposition is a word that describes the relationship between nouns, pronouns and other words or sections of a sentence.  Prepositions include the words through, of, on, to, at, in, by, during, before, until, after, throughout, before, in front of, behind, under, beneath, beside, next, between, into, off, over, upon, across, concerning, like, about, except, around, toward, for, past, without and against.

Examples:   She stood behind the desk.  The group walked around the park.  Throughout the year, the work continued.  They worked into the evening.

Note:  When prepositions precede other words as in the examples, the group of words is a prepositional phrase.

Interjections:  An interjection is a word that has extra energy, emotion, enthusiasm, and power.  They exclaim with emphasis, protest, and command.  Interjections can stand-alone or be parts of sentences.  Words of Profanity serve as interjections.  Interjections follow with exclamation points identifying strong emphasis.

Examples include Wow!  Yes!  No!  Stop!  Hoo Ray!  Hurry!

Learning Activity

Listen to :

·         The Eight Parts of Speech Rap http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DnCFGqm8qY

·         Parts of Speech – Running Through the Parts of Speech http://www.flocabulary.com/parts-of-speech/

·         Eight Parts of Speech http://www.schooltube.com/video/73a85ca5c9804217a321/Eight-Parts-of-Speech-Rap

Assignment and Email Consultation

1.      Write Examples of the Eights Part of Speech.

2.      Use each part of speech in two sentences.

3.      Read a paper, book or magazine and observe how the parts of speech are used.

4.      Record your notes.  Write what you have learned from this lesson.

5.      Email questions or observations to oscarcrawfordmedia@gmail.com

Class Number Two

We will examine:

·         Types of Sentences

·         Punctuation Marks

Inspired to Write, But How is a production of Oscar Crawford Media
© 2013 Oscar Crawford Media  

Your donations and gratuities are appreciated! 

Inspired to Write, But How - Help for People Who Want to Learn How to Write

Inspired to Write, But How Blog Logo

Since the first humans began leaving their marks and drawings on cave walls, humans have been writing.  It is important to us that we leave our scribbles and marks behind to let people know we existed.

I follow in the scribbles of my Neanderthal Ancestors.  I want to leave my mark, too.  I have been writing for a very long time.  Over the past 30 years, my work has appeared in two world journals, national magazines and books.  Hundreds of my articles and short stories appear on the Internet. Many also appear in print. My work has achieved for me cash, prizes, and books. 

Friends talk to me about writing all the time.  They want to know from where does the inspiration and motivation to write come.  They want to know how I learned. 

Many want to become writers because they have tragic experiences the want to share, poems, short stories, screenplays and even novels alive inside them screaming to get out.  Others ask me about how to write to make money.  Others still want to learn how to write college and university papers. I can help with that too as I have taught undergraduate students attending community college and university.

People and loving people are my primary passions.  I have an extreme passion to meet people from as many places as possible.  National and International travel has served to complement both my passions; people and writing.

I write because writing drives me.  I must write.  It is not optional for me. 

My writing skills result from my education and experience.  I have earned multiple degrees from accredited institutions of higher education that required extensive writing to achieve.  I earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in French from Kentucky State University in Frankfort, Kentucky.  I earned a Master of Divinity from the Methodist Theological School in Ohio in Delaware, Ohio.  I earned a Master of Science in the Administration of Justice and Security from the University of Phoenix in Phoenix, Arizona.

Oscar Crawford

I am going to help others with their writing.  Join me on my new blog, “Inspired to Write, But How”.  This will be for people want to keep a diary, personal journal, or learn how to write how – to articles, poetry, short stories, screenplays, blogs or novels.  Inspired to Write, But How will teach the skill of writing.  

The ability to think and write clearly is a valuable asset.  My name is Oscar Crawford.  I am a writer and I approve this message.

Inspired to Write, But How is an Oscar Crawford Media Production

© 2013 Oscar Crawford Media