Six Websites for Writers, Annotated

                    

teachwrite.com

Its homepage invites you to “Step into Speculative Writing.” Mike Akins led me to the site after we discussed proofreading marks last week. For a comprehensive list of them, click on Teachwrite’s “edit” footprint. Don’t stop there. Take advantage of explanations offered about a story’s structure. Try the graphics the site provides to help you flesh out characters and outline your ideas. Designed for students, it exemplifies how computers impact today’s classroom. It deserves a place in the “favorites” of writers, parents, teachers, and students.

world-english: test, learn and study the English language online

Describing itself as “the one-stop resource for the English language and more…,” it fascinates and overwhelms. Avoid the site when you’re pinched for time, or if you tend to amble down rabbit trails when you should be working. Examples of distracting links: “Interesting News Stories,” “World English Slang,” and the numerous quiz links. But true to its subtitle, it is a great place to check your vocabulary, and have fun with word games and grammatical quizzes.

Lynch Guide to Grammar

 Lynch Guide to Grammar and the many links Jack Lynch provides covering all things English is another site that’s fun to get lost in. If you can put a name on a grammatical question, Jack Lynch’s guide will no doubt help you. If you can’t name your problem, check out “Bugbears,” and you may decide to wing it. His introduction begins with: “Arguments over grammar and style are often as fierce as those over Windows versus Mac, and as fruitless as Coke versus Pepsi or boxers versus briefs. Pedantic and vicious debates over knotty matters such as….” Well, you get the gist. But there are conventions in English, and if in doubt you’d do well to find out what Mr. Lynch has to say.

Resources for Writers and Writing Instructors

Jack Lynch apologizes for the page he states needs reorganizing. Sure enough, I discovered several broken links. On the plus side, though, the annotated links give you a better idea of what you can find than by simply reading the title alone. Also, according to Mr. Lynch, none of the sites he lists are commercial. I’d give him two thumbs up for that.

The Norton Anthology of Poetry

If you are a non-poet and a member of a mixed-genre critique group, peruse this site. It is a good place to begin learning how to understand, and eventually appreciate poetry. Its glossary, less complete than websites aimed at the more advanced poet, also lacks pronunciation of the words listed. On the other hand, it offers the novice a learning aid: “glossary flashcards.”

Worthless Word for the Day

You can Google it. Also, you’ll find it with the dictionaries listed in onelook.com. Ironically, the dictionary includes aubade, a word listed in Norton’s Anthology of Poetry. If aubade is silly, the serenade must be as well. Kudos to wwtd’s compiler. Where can humor writers find a better list of uncommon, rib-tickling words?

Speaking of words, 500 are enough for now, aren't they?

A Grammar Point: The Apostrophe

A group I meet with has decided to review one point in grammar per week. The word apostrophe begins with  the letter a, so it's a good place to start our grammar review. Besides, a high school student asked me about apostrophes last week.

We speak of grammar rules, but grammatical standards is a more precise term, and for students, perhaps a little less intimidating than the word rule. As mentioned in my article Squeaking Chalk on the Blackboard, certain so-called rules may be accepted by one group and not another. And, like our language, styles can change over time. If I were a teenager, I believe that little fact would make me feel better about English classes. "On whose authority do you make that statement?" I could ask.

We learn best by starting with what we know. The apostrophe is...

...well, you know what it is, right? It is a punctuation mark that used to look like comma but it's placement was just above the lowercase letter was it placed next to. Now, on most keyboards the same punctuation  mark ( ' ) is used for the apostrophe and single quotation mark.

Think of it as a signal. It has three main functions:

1. To indicate possession of nouns.
2. To signal that letters are left out of a word. 
3. To prevent confusion for readers who encounter certain plurals.

ONE: The apostrophe signals or indicates possession of a noun.

• That toy mouse belongs to KittyCat. That is KittyCat's toy mouse. 
• (Note: write the noun, then an apostrophe followed by the letter s.)

What if the words toy mouse are not stated?

• Don't discard that grungy toy mouse; it is KittyCat's.
• (Note: write it as described above, because toy mouse is understood and does not need to be repeated. 

But what happens if KittyCat must share ownership of the toy mouse with other cats?

• That toy mouse belongs to the cats. That is the cats' toy mouse.
• (Note: write the plural noun; then add the apostrophe. Do not add an extra s.) 

What if the cats who share the mouse are named?

• That mouse belongs to Snook and KittyCat. It is Snook and KitttyCat's.
• (To help you remember, think of a similar usage, as we went to John and Mary's last night.)

 And if they don't share an item? 

• Snook's and KittyCat's food are labeled. They do not share because KittyCat is on a diet. 

TWO: The apostrophe is used for a contraction. That is, it takes place of letters left out of a word.

• We are leaving now. We're leaving now.
• (Note: similarly the following are correct: they're for they are she's for she is, and so forth)

Question: Why do teachers sometimes bleed over words like its, they're, we're and others?
Half answer: The issue probably deals with homonyms and homophones. Think: if you could write "he is," then he's is acceptable in informal English. Similarly, use we're for we are, they'll for they will. and so forth.

THREE: The apostrophe is used in certain plurals to prevent confusion for the reader.

• In cursive writing, if you fail to cross the letter t, it looks like the letter l. If you don't cross your t's, they look like l's. 
• (Note: without the apostrophe, a ts or ls looks like a misspelled word.) 

What if you are talking about uppercase letters?

• He knew his ABCs by age three. 
• (Note: when letters are capitalized, there should be no confusion for the reader, so the apostrophe is not necessary.)

Websites: Put the word apostrophe in your search box, and you will find plenty of information by grammarians who do not always agree with one another. I think students will like theoatmeal.com because it is fun to read. When learning's (or learning is) fun, it's (or it is) easier to remember what you read.

Warning: the apostrophe explanation is good, but elsewhere on that particular site, however, I find the language offensive.  

Squeaking Chalk on the Blackboard

On a piece of paper write the numbers 1-6. Beside each write Y or N to indicate whether you agree or disagree with the following.

1.      An ellipsis consists of three dots which are separated by spaces.

2.      Use the ellipsis for a thought that trails off. To avoid a time-consuming discussion, I agreed, but wondered ...

3.      When expressing a thought discontinued due to strong emotion or an abrupt change, use an em dash. A second after I agreed, I remembered that conversation. I stood up and shouted—  

4.      In an article KittyCat indicated he didn’t like to have his nails trimmed. There’s a word for his ordeal: exungulate, pronounced eg ZUN gyou late.

5.      The solidus, a punctuation mark formed by a diagonal line, is also called a slash or slant mark. A common use of it is with the words and/or.

6.      The word critique is a not used as a verb in standard English.

If two up-to-date style books or grammar guides were a part of your library, would you find definitive answers to all grammatical questions? No. Therefore, relax. Study the basics. Aim for the use of standard English in your writing, but don't obsess over it. Discussions on the subject can be fun. If you have opinions about the following, please express them in the “Comments” box. 

1.      An ellipsis (plural: ellipses) indicates omitted words. As a punctuation device in today’s usage, the ellipsis is usually written as three dots with no spaces between them. Certain references still adhere to the form as three dots each separated by a space (. . .). Look hard enough, and you can find the ellipsis written to indicate a half space between the dots, but that relates to squiggles once written on manuscripts for communication between authors and typesetters.

2.      Did you notice the “trailing off” ellipsis does not require further punctuation?     

3.      Tricky. Number three is factually correct, but not well expressed. Isn’t this better? When strong emotion or an abrupt change interrupts a thought, emphasize the unexpressed words with an em dash. 

4.      Most grammar guides would use italics when writing the word exungulate. Note: the first letter of a word following a colon is in lowercase, unless the word should otherwise be capitalized.  

5.      As used in #5, there is no reason to italicize the word solidus. But, when a word is used as a word, as it is in this comment, it is italicized. Just for fun, look up the word look up the word virgule.

6.      OK, let’s not be stuffy. Thirty years ago, I might have offered to criticize a friend’s manuscript. Today, since criticize has a negative connotation, I would offer (albeit incorrect) to critique the writing, and keep the friend. Until dictionary usage panels allow the word’s use as a verb in standard English, a better word choice is evaluate.

Express yourself. If in your youth, you missed some training because you covered your ears when chalk squeaked on the blackboard, start fresh. Join a writing group, buy an updated stylebook, and have fun. A publisher who thinks your work will turn a profit, knows where to find a good editor.  

(c) 2012, Bernice W. Simpson