Friday, June 15, 2007

* Blog 022 Foundations for Academic Writing

For Intermediate/Advanced Learners of English as a Second/Foreign Language



For
Upper Intermediate level students, and even students at the Advanced level of English language proficiency, the following link connects you directly to a single site of resources related to grammar and writing. These resources are sponsored by the Capital Community College Foundation, a nonprofit organization.

These resources are grouped under the following headings:

Word and Sentence Level

Paragraph Level

Essay and Research Paper Level

Ask Grammar, Quizzes, Search Devices

Peripherals and Powerpoint

Click the link below for both the group index and the detailed sub-indexes:

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/index.htm

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Consolidated Index

Below is a long list of topics. Try scrolling through them, for they relate to matters of English grammar and writing.

There are 427 of them. Many of these topics will not be recognizable, unless you have reached a fairly Advanced level of second language proficiency. But the list is still useful for Intermediate level second language learners.

Don’t worry if you don’t recognize most of these names.

If you actually go and look at the topic, you will often find that you already know something about it, even if you didn’t know what it is named.

It is not the name that is important. It is what the name refers to that is important. The only way you can find out what that is, is to take a look at it. In other words, explore the topics.

You will recognize many of these topics from the English second language, or foreign language, learning texts and workbooks you have been using .

Scroll down to find topics that are recognizable to you at your current learning level, and that you think may contain useful information that describes, explains and demonstrates a particular point.

Make note of your choices. Let your curiosity lead you to explore other topics that have names that mean nothing to you…yet.

Live Index Link To Each Item

Scroll to the bottom of the long list below, and you will find a link that connects you to a Live Index of all of these items.

There you can then click on your choices and also explore other subtopics.

Here is the long, long list: of topics covered, just to get you started on this exploration.

Remember, the Live Link is at the bottom of the long list of entries below:


A, An, The (articles)
A- Adjectives
Abbreviations
Abstract Nouns
Absolute Phrases
Acronyms (plurals of)
Acronyms (redundancy)
Active Voice (in verbs)
A.D. and B.C.
Adjectives
Adjective Clauses
Adjectival Labels
Adjuncts
Adverbs
Adverb Clauses
Adverbial Conjunctions
Agenda (for meetings)
Agent (of a sentence)
Agreement: Pron. & Ant.
Agreement: Subj. - Verb
Alphabetical Order
Amplifiers
Analysis-Classification
And to begin sent.
Anomalous Anonymies
Antecedent
Apologetic Quotation Marks
Apostrophe
APA-style Documentation
Appositive Phrases
Argumentative Essays
Articles
Articles & Acronyms
As versus Like
Ask Grammar
Attributive Noun
Author's Credentials
Auxiliary Verbs
Awards (for this site)
Bad and Badly
Bare Infinitive
"Be" (the verb)
Because to begin sent.
Because clause
Bible (parallelism)
Bookshelf (recommended)
Brackets
Brainstorming
British Spelling
Bulleted Lists
Bush, George W., solecisms
Business Letter (format)
But to begin sent.
Can and Could
Capitalization
Case (of pronouns)
Cases in appositives
Catenative Verbs
Causative Verbs
Cause-Effect Essays
Classification-Analysis
Clauses
Cleft Sentences
Clichés (Eliminating)
Clustering (ideas)
Coherence
Collective Adjectives
Collective Nouns
Colon
Combining Sentences
Commas
Comma Splices
Company Names
Comparative Adjectives
Comparative Adverbs
Comparison-Contrast
Complements
Complete Predicates
Complex Sentences
Compositions (writing)
Compound Plurals
Compound Possessives
Compound Words
Compound Sentences
Compounded Subjects/Objects
Compound-Complex Sentences
Compounding Pronouns
Computers and Writing
Concluding Paragraphs
Concrete Language
Concise Sentences
Conditional Verbs
Conditional (1st, 2nd, 3rd)
Confusion (Eliminating)
Conjunctions
Conjunctive Adverbs
Conjuncts
Contractions
Contractions (in essays)
Coordinate Adjectives
Coordinating Conjunctions
Copulas (verbs)
Correlative Conjunctions
Could
Count Nouns
Cumulative Sentences
Dangling Modifiers
Dashes
Deadly Sin Checklist
Definition Essays
Degrees (adj) w/ premodifiers
Demonstrative Pronouns
Dependent Clauses
Descriptive Essays
Determiners
Diagramming Sentences
Dictionaries, Thesauri (list)
Direct Objects
Directory of Tenses
Discontinuous noun phrase
Disjuncts
Display (Vertical) Lists
Ditransitive Verbs
Do, Does, Did
Do versus Make
Double Negatives
Double Possessives
Double Prepositions
Double Punctuation
Downtoners
Dynamic Verbs
Editing/Proofreading
E.g. and i.e.
Ellipsis
Elliptical Clauses
E-mail (capitals)
Emphasizers
Emphatic Sentences
Essay Writing
Essential Clauses

Euphemism
Evaluative Essays
Examples (in essays)
Exclamation Mark
Expletive Constructions
Factitive Verbs
Family Names (plurals)
FANBOYS
FAQ (page)
Few and A Few
Fewer and Less
Finite Verbs
First Conditional
Five-Paragraph Essay
Focus Adverbs
Format Requirements
Fragments
Freewriting
Freq. Asked Questions
Fused Sentences
Future Tenses
Gender Problems
Gerunds
Gerunds vs Infinitives
Gerund Phrases
Gettysburg Address (parallelism)
Going to . . .
Good and Well
GRAMMARLOGS (answers)
GrammarPoll
GrammarRock Lyrics
Guestbook
Guestbook Archives
Have, Has, and Had
Helping Verbs
Historical (a/an)
Holidays (forms)
Homonyms/Homophones
Hyphens
I.e. and e.g.
Imperative Mood
Indefinite Pronouns
Indefinite Relative Pronouns
Independent Clauses
Indicative Mood
Indirect Objects
Indirect Questions
Indirect Quotations
Indirect Speech
Infinitives
Infinitive Phrases
Initials
Intensifiers (adverbs)
Intensifiers (Unnecessary)
Intensive Pronouns
Interjections
Internet (writing resource)
Interrobang
Interrogative Adjectives
Interrogative Pronouns
Intransitive Verbs
Introductory Paragraphs
Inversion (of subj-verb)
Irregular Plurals
Irregular Verb Forms
Italics
Its versus It's
Jr., Sr., etc.
Lay, lie
Less and Fewer
Like versus As
Linking Verbs
Lists
Literature (writing about)
Little and A Little
Logic
Mass Nouns
May and Might
Minutes (for meetings)
Misplaced Modifiers
Mixed Constructions
Mixed Metaphors
MLA-style documentation
Mnemonics (spelling)
Modal Auxiliary Verbs
Modifiers
Modifier Placement
Moods of Verbs
More Than vs Over
Mutating/Mutated Plurals
Myself, me
Narrative Essays
Nonrestrictive Clauses
Negative Adverbs
Nominative Absolute
Nominative Possessive
Non-Count Nouns
None (singular/plural)
Non-Finite Verbs
Nouns
Noun Clauses
Noun Markers
Noun of Address
Noun Phrases
NOTORIOUS CONFUSABLES
Numbered Lists
Numbers (Using)
Object Complements
Objectivity (maintaining)
Objects
One (as a pronoun)
Online Resources
Outlining
Over vs. more than
Oxford Comma
Packed Noun Phrases
Paragraphs
Parallelism
Parentheses
Parenthetical Elements
Participles
Participial Phrases
Particles
Parts of Speech
Passive Gerunds
Passive Infinitives
Passive Participles
Passive Voice (in verbs)
Perfect Infinitive
Periodic Sentences
Periods
Person (of pronouns)
Personal Essays
Personal Pronouns
Phrasal Modals
Phrasal Verbs
Phrases
Plagiarism (avoiding)

Plague Words
Pleonasm
Plural Noun Forms
Plurals & Apostrophes
Plurals of Compounds
Point of View
Possessives
Possessive w/ Gerunds
Powerpoint Presentations
Predeterminers
Predicate Adjectives
Predicate Nominative
Predicates
Prefixes
Preposition (end of sent.)
Prepositions
Prepositions (list)
Prepositions, Superfluous
Prepositional Phrases
Primer Language (Avoiding)
Process Essays
Progressive Verbs
Pronouns (Defined)
Pronoun - Ant. Agrmnt
Pronouns & Nouns Combined
Pronoun Cases
Pronoun Consistency
Proofreading/Editing
Proofreading Symbols
Proper Adjectives
Proper Nouns
Punctuation
Purpose (in writing)
Quantifiers
Question Marks
QUIZZES
Quotation Marks
Reciprocal Pronouns
Redundancy (Avoiding)
Referral Form
Relative Adverbs
Relative Clauses
Relative Pronouns
Reflexive Pronouns
Reported Speech
Research Papers
Restrictive Clauses
Resulting Copulas
Resumes
Resumptive Modifier
Reviews (Literary)
Rhetorical Questions
Run-on Sentences
SEARCH ENGINE
Second Conditional
Sequence of Tenses
Semicolons
Sentence Combining
Sentences (defined)
Sentences (types)
Sentential Clauses
Sequence of Verbs
Serial Comma
Sexism in Language
Shall and Will
Should
Sic
Silent Speech
Simple Predicates
Simple Sentences
Simple Subjects
Single Quote Marks
Slant (or Slash)
Slash (or Virgule)
Solidus (or Slant)
Spelling
Split Infinitives
Sports Teams' Names
Squinting Modifiers
Stacked Noun Phrases
Stative Verbs
Stylistic Fragments
Subject Complements
Subjects
Subject-Verb Agreement
Subject-Verb Inversion
Subjunctive Mood
Subordinate Clause
Subordinating Conjunctions
Summative Modifier
Suffixes
Superlative (Adjectives)
Suspended Compounds
Tag Questions
Tenses of Verbs
Tense Consistency
Than and Then
Than (in comparisons)
That (omitted)
That versus Which
Thesis Statement
Third Conditional
Third-Person Essays
Titles (italics, etc.)
"To Be" Verb
Tone
Topic Sentence
Toward and Towards
Transitions (b/w sentences, par's)
Transitive Verbs
Unbiased Language
Underlining
Understood Subjects
Untriggered Reflexive Pron.
Used to
Verbals
Verbs
Verb Complements
Verb Tense Sequence
Verb Tense Directory
Verb Tenses
Verb Tense Consistency
Vertical (Display) Lists
Viewpoint Adverbs
Virgule (or Slash)
Vocatives
Vocabulary (Building)
Voice (active/passive)
Warning (about Guide use)
Well and Good
Which versus That
Who and Whom
Will and Shall
Will and Would
Wordy versus Concise Sentences
Writers (on writing)
Writer's Block
Zero Articles

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Live Link Is Below

Click the link below to reach the Live Consolidated Index, that can connect you to any one or more of the 427 items listed above.

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/index2.htm


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Monday, June 11, 2007

* Blog 021 Listening Comprehension - Revisited


Scroll down the sidebar on the right to find resource links. Several of those links refer to online listening comprehension exercises in the form of videos, Internet radio, and other formats.

To those links we can add another, named History.com . It contains many, short comprehension exercises in the form of short video presentations covering a wide range of subjects.

In addition to promoting the expansion of your general listening vocabulary, comprehension of the content of these videos can help to extend the range of your academic vocabulary and your overall global awareness.

The topics contribute to an understanding of where we are and where we are going. The video production is of high quality. The site content is frequently replenished.

Click the link below, navigate it, explore the site, bookmark and visit it on a regular basis. You will soon find that you are practicing your English listening comprehension skills for longer periods of time. Your attention will have been grabbed by the unusual topics covered.

Click: http://www.history.com/


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