Students in higher learning institutions need to write lots of reports based on the projects done. Since they are at the tertiary level of education, they are required to use English in their reports. This is to ensure that they are able to function well in English later at the workplace. Writing requires students to apply rules regarding sentence…

Outlines the basic elements and classroom applications of "word grammar," a form of sector (tagmemic) analysis to be used in standard English instruction. (RL)

Almost every discussion of technical or scientific writing style mentions the passive voice as a stylistic choice to avoid. However, the passive voice does have legitimate uses in technical and scientific writing--the problem is to define the appropriate or effective uses and the inappropriate or ineffective ones. An examination of passive voice…

This grammar handbook emphasizes formal written usage, offering clues to help with comprehension. The seven sections discuss: (1) "Nouns" (e.g., most nouns can follow "the," and possessives can show more than possession); (2) "Pronouns" (e.g., pronouns come in small groups, and some pronouns defy logic); (3) "Verbs" (e.g., some plural subjects…

Offers examples of appropriate and improper use of the passive voice in technical communications and gives suggestions for using these examples in technical writing classrooms. (RL)

Presents a writing mini-lesson for primary and intermediate elementary school students that encourages them to spend more time on verbs and less time on details in order to improve their overall writing. A sidebar provides a list of useful children's books. (SM)

Intended for use by students at any level above grade 3, this practice book helps students use the parts of speech correctly in speaking and writing. The book reviews (1) the kinds of sentences; (2) the use of nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives in sentences; (3) capitalization and punctuation; and (4) proofreading. The book is…

This workshop guide is designed to help civil service students both learn to use good grammar and develop their technical writing skills. Discussed are such topics as nouns, gender, number, person and case, appositives, pronouns, mood, verbs, (transitive and intransitive), adjectives and adverbs, comparisons, articles, conjunctions, infinitives,…

Drawing on a program used successfully in the classroom for 20 years, this book presents 15 reproducible skills lessons that teach students in grades 4 through 8 essential grammar rules in an engaging, meaningful way. The book uses games, puzzles, mazes, and model sentences that tell amusing stories while teaching rules. Units in the book cover…

This guide is intended for use in helping students master the language arts skills necessary to pass the writing skills portion of the General Educational Development examination. It could also be used in adult basic education classes. The following topics are covered in the individual units: capitalization, punctuation, verb tense, subject-verb…

A survey of 34 professors teaching English as a second language in 20 Japanese universities elicited information about common errors in student writing. In open-ended questions, respondents identified 40 student error types, which were grouped into 18 categories. The most common problem category was sentence development, and other high-frequency…

A curriculum unit on English for mathematics students at the University of Haifa is presented. The text content concerns mathematics while integrating language principles. Exercises are included that involve comprehension of geometric diagrams, reading comprehension, word meanings, and restructuring sentences. The 12 sections cover: projective…

A part of the adult basic education (ABE) teaching/learning management system called CUBE (Continuity and Unity in Basic Education), this manual consists of a series of tests and guides for use in teaching English and vocabulary skills to ABE students. Among the tests provided in the manual are the Mott 1600 and Mott 1900 pretests and posttests,…

Writing exercises used as a means of reinforcing language presented and practiced in the spoken medium should include clear cues for the student that can stimulate and guide the writing of connected sentences. Three principles are suggested as being fundamental to the planning and use of effective exercises: (1) focus throughout should be on the…