This was my experience with the Hacker Exercises:
At the beginning, it felt somewhat tedious. I wasn't open to the idea of doing many exercises to improve my English skills. I thought my skills were adequate. To an extent, I wasn't wrong. Although, I still needed to be reminded of some rules and suggestions. Some things are forgotten due to bad habits and others we are simply ignorant to. During some exercises I was confused sometimes, but after working through a few examples it gradually began to make sense. Especially during "needed words" I was able to see and learn from my mistakes. For example: Christopher had an attention span longer than that of the other students. "That of" clarifies what is being described in the sentence. Without it, the reader would easily make the assumption that Christopher's attention span must be longer than the other students themselves are, instead of his attention span being longer than their attention spans. Parallelism was one topic that intrigued me. The way that makes it crystal clear for the reader is always the best choice. For example: In 1998, a tsunami hit a populated coast in Papua New Guinea, killing two thousand people and wiping out whole towns. Or: In 1998, a tsunami hit a populated coast in Papua New Guinea, killing two thousand people and whole towns were wiped out. The second sentence explains the same thing, but the way it says "whole towns were wiped out" isn't parallel with the verb used before it, "killing," and should be stated as it was in the first sentence. Misplaced modifiers taught me that the limiting modifier "only" should come just before the words it modifies to avoid confusion. All in all i have learned how to make my sentences and, further, my thoughts more clear and precise.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Hacker Review of:
E-ex 8-1 Active vs. passive verbs- It was good to review but I have a clear understanding.
E-ex 8-2 Active vs. be verbs- It wasn't easy to tell the difference and I need to work on these.
E-ex 8-3 Active verbs - Important to know and it refreshed my memory.
E-ex 9-1 Parallelism- I hadn't noticed how common this was.
E-ex 9-2 Parallelism- Same as 9-1
E-ex 9-3 Parallelism- After the first two reviews changing them wasn't too difficult.
E-ex 10-1 Needed words- This section helped me decipher what words must be included for a sentence to make sense, as well as what should be left out.
E-ex 10-2 Needed words- Same as 10-1
E-ex 11-1 Mixed constructions- This made more sense if you took it slowly.
E-ex 11-2 Mixed constructions- Same as 11-1
E-ex 12-1 Misplaced modifiers-This one was hard for me because it is something I do without realizing.
E-ex 12-2 Misplaced modifiers- Same as 12-1
E-ex 12-3 Dangling modifiers-It wasn't easy to distinguish between the correct and incorrect sentence.
E-ex 12-4 Dangling modifiers- Same as 12-3
E-ex 13-1 Shifts: person and number- This was a fairly common mistake and should be taken note of.
E-ex 13-2 Shifts: tense-Same as 13-1.
E-ex 13-3 Shifts-Same as 13-1
E-ex 13-4 Shifts- It was helpful to review what was learned and try it out.
E-ex 14-1 Choppy sentences- This is hard to notice without reading aloud.
E-ex 14-2 Choppy sentences- Same as 14-1
E-ex 14-3 Subordination- This became gradually easier with more examples.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Prioritized Class List of what makes a good story:
1--Grammar and Structure
2--Imagination: Being creative makes it more interesting to read, and more engaging.
3--Has a good hook in the beginning
4--Personalized stories with your own words and ideas are more meaningful and interesting
5--Using good resources to find legit information.
6--Be logical: a story should make sense
7--Conclusion that summarizes main points of the story
8--Good choice of words but has to make sense
--Transition from one point to another
-- Introduction: Needs to catch your attention and make you want to keep reading to find out what happens.
9--Creative: Should be something new that makes story more interested and different
10--Creative body could make readers not loose their interests in your story
11-- When it is made for the reader to understand. Target audience.
12--Emotion: the ability to connect to the emotions of what is happening
13--Clear and interesting ending
14--Put facts from least to most important.
15--Attractive clues that makes you want to read more.
16--Pace: How fast the story moves shouldn't be to fast or to slow
17--Mystery: don't make the topic be extremely obvious. allow the reader to actually think about it and try to figure things out for themselves.
1--Grammar and Structure
2--Imagination: Being creative makes it more interesting to read, and more engaging.
3--Has a good hook in the beginning
4--Personalized stories with your own words and ideas are more meaningful and interesting
5--Using good resources to find legit information.
6--Be logical: a story should make sense
7--Conclusion that summarizes main points of the story
8--Good choice of words but has to make sense
--Transition from one point to another
-- Introduction: Needs to catch your attention and make you want to keep reading to find out what happens.
9--Creative: Should be something new that makes story more interested and different
10--Creative body could make readers not loose their interests in your story
11-- When it is made for the reader to understand. Target audience.
12--Emotion: the ability to connect to the emotions of what is happening
13--Clear and interesting ending
14--Put facts from least to most important.
15--Attractive clues that makes you want to read more.
16--Pace: How fast the story moves shouldn't be to fast or to slow
17--Mystery: don't make the topic be extremely obvious. allow the reader to actually think about it and try to figure things out for themselves.
Grammar Topic: Needed Words
Group 3: Joseph Reece, Nicholas S, Hao Xu.
Words needed are not always clear. When writing about a topic we tend get wordy and over-write or miss subtle differences that may confuse the reader. Here are a few examples:
Ex 1:
Original: Patrick O’Brian’s novels contain more accurate information about naval history than any other author.
Proper: Patrick O’Brian’s novels contain more accurate information about naval history than any other author's books.
In the original sentence the reader may confuse comparing Patrick's novels to other authors instead of other author's books.
Ex 2:
Original: The man whom we encountered at the airport turned out to be a long lost friend.
Proper: The man we encountered at the airport turned out to be a long lost friend.
The word whom is not crucial to understanding the sentence and therefore can be omitted.
Summary:
If a word does not affect the meaning or interpretation of the sentence than it can usually be omitted. Sometimes an "extra" word or two may be necessary to distinguish what is being referred to or compared in the sentence.When choosing words make sure they are needed in your sentence, not just placeholders.
Reference: http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/bedhandbook7enew/Player/Pages/Frameset.aspx
Grammar Techniques:
I chose comma usage as my part of grammar to work on. I think there are many different uses for commas and we are too busy trying to put them in the right places and we add many commas unnecessarily. Some of comma usage is personal preference which can make it more difficult to distinguish the right place from the wrong.
Example:
I chose comma usage as my part of grammar to work on. I think there are many different uses for commas and we are too busy trying to put them in the right places and we add many commas unnecessarily. Some of comma usage is personal preference which can make it more difficult to distinguish the right place from the wrong.
Example:
- We bought scarves, mittens and sweaters before leaving for Iceland. (comma unnecessary before "and")
- We ate apples, plums, and strawberry and kiwi compote. (comma needed before "and" for clarity)
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
What makes a story "good"
Group 3: Joseph Reece, Nicholas S, Hao Xu.
What makes a story good?
Spelling, grammar, and punctuation must be accurate and correct for a story to be readable.
There should a main focus; whether it is an object or a character.
A story should be organized and have a logical order of events.
Semantics should be varied and a large vocabulary should be used.
It should use dialogue sparingly and strategically.
It needs to contain sensory details, painting a picture for the mind of the reader.
There should be a climax as well as twists in the plot to keep the reader guessing.
A story should have a purpose or a theme.
The story should flow well and use transitions wisely when necessary.
It should display interest on the part of the author.
The author should be credible and have basic working knowledge of what they talk about in their story.
It should be readily accessible by the intended audience and be in their native language.
The ending should provoke thought or give new information the reader has not heard before.
It should have good usage of literary devices such as: metaphors, similes, alliteration, and personification.
What makes a story good?
Spelling, grammar, and punctuation must be accurate and correct for a story to be readable.
There should a main focus; whether it is an object or a character.
A story should be organized and have a logical order of events.
Semantics should be varied and a large vocabulary should be used.
It should use dialogue sparingly and strategically.
It needs to contain sensory details, painting a picture for the mind of the reader.
There should be a climax as well as twists in the plot to keep the reader guessing.
A story should have a purpose or a theme.
The story should flow well and use transitions wisely when necessary.
It should display interest on the part of the author.
The author should be credible and have basic working knowledge of what they talk about in their story.
It should be readily accessible by the intended audience and be in their native language.
The ending should provoke thought or give new information the reader has not heard before.
It should have good usage of literary devices such as: metaphors, similes, alliteration, and personification.
Inventory List for Story in a Box
Inventory
1. Blanket
This is an intricately designed, flowery, small chinese throw. It appears to be made by hand out of fleece.
2. 3 Chestnuts
These are roasted chestnuts that were grown naturally. They seem to have aged and there are 3 of them.
3. Wooden Head
This is a wooden carving that was formed into the shape of a human head. It has color paint added to the eyes and lips with a skin tone placed on the rest of the head.
4. Singapore Coin Collection Book
This is a blue plastic covered book made to hold coins. It has an insignia on the front that states it is from singapore.
5. A Wooden Ruler
This is an instrument used to measure length in centimeters and inches. It was constructed from wood.
6. A Hand-Crafted Canoe
This is a functional scale model of a canoe used by Native Americans to hunt and transport. It appears to be hand-crafted.
7. Solemn African Woman Statue
This is a figurine of an african woman standing solemnly. It is made out of a very dark wood.
8. A Man in Motion Carving
This appears to be a man trying to run, but he is stuck. This displays man's desire to keep moving.
9. Finka
The is a stone sculpture of a spanish house. It is very intricately made.
10. Chinese Jade Stamp
This is a chinese stamp made of jade. It is a very solid piece of jade.
11. Hand-Stitched Mongolian Wallet
This is a leather wallet that was hand-stitched. It appears to be from Mongolia and is in pristine condition.
12. Jar with a wooden cork
This is a clay jar. It has been fitted with a wooden cork.
The following story is about a former employee of the Smithsonian Museum. A tragedy occurs at the museum and he is reassigned to be a recovery expert. His assignment will bring him on a journey across the world and across culture in order to return the twelve items on his list that need to be safely recovered.
Story in a Box:
The Smithsonian Incident
It started with a bang. Once the dust settled, it was clear what had taken place in the Smithsonian Museum that day. There had been a lot of talk about the idea of a heist with such a vast and priceless collection being held all in one location, but no one dreamed it would ever happen with the impenetrable security systems in place. Between the brute force and highly intelligent disguises, they had pulled off the heist of the century. The next day, every single shelf was empty. They hadn’t left a single priceless gem. This highly unfortunate event left a massive job for me. I am in charge of the recovery of the artifacts and luckily, for the sake of preservation, have a very loose budget when it is necessary.
Naturally, you had to know where to start looking for these artifacts. In addition, they are usually one of a kind and therefore require an expert to verify the authenticity of the item. I happen to be an expert of authenticity at the Smithsonian before being reclassified as their recovery specialist, so I personally handle each and every item before it returns to it’s proper home, in the Smithsonian. Sometimes artifacts like these get sold to shady pawnshops, but the expensive ones usually go up for auction and we had just finished our museum-wide roll out of low jack on all the items that went missing.
My first assignment was a wooden carving of Charlie Sheen’s head. It took me awhile to find it in a corner store in Brooklyn, New York, but it was recovered. In the same day I came across a figurine being sold into the black market. Upon further investigation it turned out to be the statue of the solemn African woman from the Smithsonian! It was a great start to the first day on the job; two out of twelve artifacts were recovered within the first twenty-four hours, which had to be a record. The next morning, I got coffee at Starbucks and brought my laptop for a little recon. A number of the items on my recovery list had appeared on a website hosting auctions for artifacts. I promptly went to the owner’s location to verify the authenticity of the various gems they claimed to possess. Upon arrival I immediately noticed the famous coin collection book from Singapore, which was unable to be valued at anything but priceless. Under a blanket, I discovered a Finka, which is a model of a Spanish house. Then I examined the blanket more closely only to find it wasn’t just any blanket but the Chinese throw that had gone missing as well!
Things were looking up for the Smithsonian and this had been a blazing-fast start to recovering them all, but there were still more items on the list. One of the items was more replaceable than all the rest. There were 3 chestnuts from a museum employee’s lunch that were also grabbed in the heist. A simple trip to the grocery store was all it took to take care of that. Tools were also removed from the premises so I stopped at the hardware store and picked up a new 12” ruler so that the employees could get back to measuring new artifacts.
One of the cars of the thieves was identified today in a traffic camera. The police found the car and asked me to come out and search the car. The first place I looked was in the glove box. Luckily, underneath the car’s registration was the model canoe that was made by Chief Joe. The car turned out to be quite a find by the FBI agent looking through the tapes. Next, in the trunk I found a bundle of rope; that was definitely not on the list. Upon unraveling the rope, however, there was a statue of a running man. The thief who drove this car must have had quite the sense of humor, but still they managed to protect the artifacts so I wasn’t complaining. I got inside the trunk and looked around the spare tire but didn’t see anything until I took it the tire itself out. Underneath they had stored the Mongolian wallet hoping to disguise it within the rim of the tire. I guess they didn’t plan on being caught on camera either.
The next lead was a Chinese tattoo shop that had been sending out letters with markings made only from a jade stamp we had lost. Of course, we noticed immediately where it was from and I stopped in to pick it up. Then as I looked at the receptionist’s desk I noticed the last piece on my list, the clay jar with a wooden cork. She had been using it as a paperweight! That made me realize that they in fact had no one working there who gave tattoos and in fact were the masterminds of the heist trying to cover themselves up by giving back the jade stamp. We immediately had them arrested and it is safe to say they will not be stealing artifacts for a very long time.
1. Blanket
This is an intricately designed, flowery, small chinese throw. It appears to be made by hand out of fleece.
2. 3 Chestnuts
These are roasted chestnuts that were grown naturally. They seem to have aged and there are 3 of them.
3. Wooden Head
This is a wooden carving that was formed into the shape of a human head. It has color paint added to the eyes and lips with a skin tone placed on the rest of the head.
4. Singapore Coin Collection Book
This is a blue plastic covered book made to hold coins. It has an insignia on the front that states it is from singapore.
5. A Wooden Ruler
This is an instrument used to measure length in centimeters and inches. It was constructed from wood.
6. A Hand-Crafted Canoe
This is a functional scale model of a canoe used by Native Americans to hunt and transport. It appears to be hand-crafted.
7. Solemn African Woman Statue
This is a figurine of an african woman standing solemnly. It is made out of a very dark wood.
8. A Man in Motion Carving
This appears to be a man trying to run, but he is stuck. This displays man's desire to keep moving.
9. Finka
The is a stone sculpture of a spanish house. It is very intricately made.
10. Chinese Jade Stamp
This is a chinese stamp made of jade. It is a very solid piece of jade.
11. Hand-Stitched Mongolian Wallet
This is a leather wallet that was hand-stitched. It appears to be from Mongolia and is in pristine condition.
12. Jar with a wooden cork
This is a clay jar. It has been fitted with a wooden cork.
The following story is about a former employee of the Smithsonian Museum. A tragedy occurs at the museum and he is reassigned to be a recovery expert. His assignment will bring him on a journey across the world and across culture in order to return the twelve items on his list that need to be safely recovered.
Story in a Box:
The Smithsonian Incident
It started with a bang. Once the dust settled, it was clear what had taken place in the Smithsonian Museum that day. There had been a lot of talk about the idea of a heist with such a vast and priceless collection being held all in one location, but no one dreamed it would ever happen with the impenetrable security systems in place. Between the brute force and highly intelligent disguises, they had pulled off the heist of the century. The next day, every single shelf was empty. They hadn’t left a single priceless gem. This highly unfortunate event left a massive job for me. I am in charge of the recovery of the artifacts and luckily, for the sake of preservation, have a very loose budget when it is necessary.
Naturally, you had to know where to start looking for these artifacts. In addition, they are usually one of a kind and therefore require an expert to verify the authenticity of the item. I happen to be an expert of authenticity at the Smithsonian before being reclassified as their recovery specialist, so I personally handle each and every item before it returns to it’s proper home, in the Smithsonian. Sometimes artifacts like these get sold to shady pawnshops, but the expensive ones usually go up for auction and we had just finished our museum-wide roll out of low jack on all the items that went missing.
My first assignment was a wooden carving of Charlie Sheen’s head. It took me awhile to find it in a corner store in Brooklyn, New York, but it was recovered. In the same day I came across a figurine being sold into the black market. Upon further investigation it turned out to be the statue of the solemn African woman from the Smithsonian! It was a great start to the first day on the job; two out of twelve artifacts were recovered within the first twenty-four hours, which had to be a record. The next morning, I got coffee at Starbucks and brought my laptop for a little recon. A number of the items on my recovery list had appeared on a website hosting auctions for artifacts. I promptly went to the owner’s location to verify the authenticity of the various gems they claimed to possess. Upon arrival I immediately noticed the famous coin collection book from Singapore, which was unable to be valued at anything but priceless. Under a blanket, I discovered a Finka, which is a model of a Spanish house. Then I examined the blanket more closely only to find it wasn’t just any blanket but the Chinese throw that had gone missing as well!
Things were looking up for the Smithsonian and this had been a blazing-fast start to recovering them all, but there were still more items on the list. One of the items was more replaceable than all the rest. There were 3 chestnuts from a museum employee’s lunch that were also grabbed in the heist. A simple trip to the grocery store was all it took to take care of that. Tools were also removed from the premises so I stopped at the hardware store and picked up a new 12” ruler so that the employees could get back to measuring new artifacts.
One of the cars of the thieves was identified today in a traffic camera. The police found the car and asked me to come out and search the car. The first place I looked was in the glove box. Luckily, underneath the car’s registration was the model canoe that was made by Chief Joe. The car turned out to be quite a find by the FBI agent looking through the tapes. Next, in the trunk I found a bundle of rope; that was definitely not on the list. Upon unraveling the rope, however, there was a statue of a running man. The thief who drove this car must have had quite the sense of humor, but still they managed to protect the artifacts so I wasn’t complaining. I got inside the trunk and looked around the spare tire but didn’t see anything until I took it the tire itself out. Underneath they had stored the Mongolian wallet hoping to disguise it within the rim of the tire. I guess they didn’t plan on being caught on camera either.
The next lead was a Chinese tattoo shop that had been sending out letters with markings made only from a jade stamp we had lost. Of course, we noticed immediately where it was from and I stopped in to pick it up. Then as I looked at the receptionist’s desk I noticed the last piece on my list, the clay jar with a wooden cork. She had been using it as a paperweight! That made me realize that they in fact had no one working there who gave tattoos and in fact were the masterminds of the heist trying to cover themselves up by giving back the jade stamp. We immediately had them arrested and it is safe to say they will not be stealing artifacts for a very long time.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
What do people write when they are asked the question, "Who am I?"
Joseph Reece
1/10/2012
What do people write when they are asked the question, "Who am I?"
When students were asked to write about the topic "Who am I," their choices were widely varied. Commonly picked choices were: preferences, tastes, experiences, and hobbies. Some students took their challenge more seriously and wrote meticulously such as: "Detail my cognitive perspectives and personality dynamics." The student's choices reflected the amount of trust and willingness they have to share right off the bat with any random person who may be interested. In a sense, they came close to defining who they are as a person merely based on their reactions to the question: "Who am I?". They showed what about their lives and themselves they feel is worth sharing and, more importantly, what should be focused on and what should be ignored. What they didn't want brought up might have had to do with insecurities about themselves or just a lack of creativity. Some students are less complex than others in their responses and in their personalities. For instance, a student that feels who they are is only defined by their daily schedule and the location of where it takes place. Others dug deeper wanting to describe themselves with their dreams, aspirations, and goals. Luckily, no student choose to write "no one" or "nothing". Each and every student displayed an interest in portraying themselves in their own unique and creative way; the way that they want to be seen and read about.
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