Summer And Winter

The first paragraph of any essay is the introduction of that essay. Refer to the chapter in your textbook about what belongs or does not belong inside an introduction. This chapter has been assigned or will be assigned soon. I recommend not writing an introduction until you have a thesis and all of your body paragraphs finalized. After a clear main idea and support for that main idea are established, you can decide how you’d like to introduce it. Beginning an essay about torture with a joke may not be wise, but until you have your essay written, there is no way of knowing whether a joke is appropriate.The final one or two (please spell all numbers under 100) sentences of the introduction is/are the thesis, and it must be followed immediately by paragraphs of support. Every body paragraph must begin with a topic sentence, which contains the main idea of the paragraph, and the following is the topic sentence of this paragraph: There are a few common grammar errors that every stu dent in this class should be aware of, so he or she can earn the grade desired. First, never use 2nd person (you, your) in an essay. There are easy ways around it, and it tends to create problems with clarity of language.For example, â€Å"I never fail to do my assigned reading because you never know† vs. â€Å"I never fail to do my assigned reading because I want to be prepared for class†. The second sentence is more professional, academic, which is what this course is obligated to teach. It may be necessary to use 2nd person if it is within a quotation. For example, â€Å"You know you want to go,† my brother said. When a student rewrites his or her paper, he or she will have the opportunity to improve the quality of a sentence by eliminating 2nd person, and in doing so becoming a better writer, because there are various punctuation marks youwill have to use. (That was a joke) Every student will learn to use a comma in five distinct ways, but each student will also learn one way to use a semicolon. A semicolon is only used between two complete sentences, and though there are other ways to use a semicolon, they are not required for this course. If two sentences are closely related or completely opposite, a writer can use a semicolon to show emphasis. For example, my mother is a Democrat; my father is a Republican. This implies that this difference is significant.The other method to connect two complete sentences is to use a comma and a coordinating conjunction, and this sentence is an example. Students must also learn to separate items or phrases in a series. Grapes, oranges, pears and bananas are four of my favorite fruits; the previous sentence is an example. After a grammar handout is given to each student, I will discuss beginning sentences with subordinating conjunctions because when a sentence begins with a subordinating conjunction, that sentence begins with a dependent clause and must be separated from the independent clause.One of my favorite professors once said, â€Å"Perseverance and effort trump talent†. The previous sentence has another example of how to use commas in dialogue. The studious, patient person achieves more in time. In the previous sentence, there is an example of two adjectives modifying the same noun. These two adjectives must be separated with a comma. When a student begins to write essays he or she can be proud of, it is an important, empowering moment. Students in an English 015 course must also learn to write academic and not conversational English.The sharp difference between writing and speaking is the opportunity to clarify what is being communicated. If I accidentally say something rude, I can apologize in person. If I accidentally write something rude, I am not going to be there to correct the mistake. This means anything written must be more precise. Because it often confuses rather than clarifies, slang cannot be used in this course. For example, â€Å"On the real, thin gs were not going well† is slang and may be misunderstood by some. Instead, a better sentence can read, â€Å"In reality, the outlook was very bleak.† It is okay to use profanity, but it must be in proper context and not profanity for its own sake. For example, I was so mad at my brother damaging my car I said, â€Å"I’m gonna kick your ass. † Because the words are inside of quotes, it is okay to use profanity and/or slang, but this is the only time a student may use either. ‘Would’ and ‘Could’ are not past tense verbs and must only be used conditionally. Many students are accustomed to using would as a past tense verb. For instance, â€Å"When I was young, I would ride my back all day. † This is incorrect.As I read that sentence, a question comes to mind; you would ride your bike if what? What the writer of that sentence means is â€Å"When I was young, I rode my bike all day. † This is a better sentence. The word c ould is used in the same way at times. â€Å"I could run two miles without breaking a sweat in high school. † A reader may understand what is being said in the previous sentence, but â€Å"I ran two miles without breaking a sweat in high school on a daily basis,† is a better sentence. Every student in every class begins with an ‘A’ grade, and that grade drops depending on how much work he or she does.This is the conclusion of this essay and a good student will see that there should be a comma in this sentence. Nevertheless, every student must restate his or her thesis somewhere in the conclusion, but there are also other elements that belong in a conclusion. These elements are listed in the textbook for this course. I’ll end this essay with a quote from one of my favorite writers while in college. Henry David Thoreau once said, â€Å"For it matters not how small the beginning may seem to be, what is once done well is done forever! †