Search results for 'tag:Conversations tag:Semicolons' matching tags 'Conversations' and 'Semicolons'

Could you help me to proof this essay?

Cheese1987 — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 18:28:50 GMT

Analyse the formality of the article in SCMP

It is indispensable for us to use an appropriate style when writing. There is no doubt that formal style should be practiced for newspaper as objectivity and impersonality are important. South China Morning Post is one of the most prevalent newspapers in Hong Kong. It is believed that the language style of its article is formal. There is an analysis of the formality of a newspaper article in the SCMP.

High Formality can be revealed when looking at the articleâs choice of vocabulary. Instead of using âa lot ofâ or âlots ofâ, the writer used âthe number ofâ and âmanyâ. âjustâ is also replaced by âonlyâ. However, some informal words can also be found in the article. For instance, âjobâ and âgetâ are less formal words. In order to be formal, âpositionâ and âacquireâ should be used insteadâ. Somehow it is reasonable to use these less- formal words because these words are used in the conversation. In this article, two-word verbs and words from old English are not used. Therefore, It is clearly that SCMP has high formality.

Complete sentences, complex sentences and passive constructions should be used when writing in a formal English style. In this article, every sentence is written in complete sentences. Take the second paragraph as an example. â The study results, released by Oxfam yesterday, showed about one in eight workers made less than HK$5000 a month last year.â this sentence is completed. It is also a complicated sentence because it included complementary meaning. Passive construction is used in the paragraph. Hence, high formality of the article can be seen from its sentences and constructions.

The formality can also be shown by the use of transitional words, phrases and the use of punctuation. . Some of the words such as âmoreoverâ, âwhileâ, âdue toâ, âasâ are often used in a formal article. However, only âbutâ can be found in this article. Also, no semicolons are in it. Although there is only a few âformalâ words or punctuations used in the article, the âinformalâ punctuation such as dashes and parentheses are nowhere to be found too. From this point of view, it is believed that it is a semi-formal article.

Abbreviations and short forms are informal. To write a formal article, they should be avoided. Indeed, there are no abbreviations and short forms in this article. Hence, this article should not be treated as low formality. Instead, it should be seem as semi-formal or highly formal.

In conclusion, South China Morning Post is written in a formal style to a large extent. Its high formality can be shown when looking at its choice of vocabulary, sentence, construction, transitional words, phrases and the use of punctuation. Formal style should be used in the newspaper. SCMP does it well in this aspect it is a good newspaper and worth reading.

Re: semicolon and colon usage

Mister Micawber — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 08:59:33 GMT

1-- I certainly don't think I am reading too much into that simple statement, but I don't get your point. What is it? 'Streams' means 'consecutively many', so....?

2-- 'While men's is competitive' is a dependent clause, headed by a subordinate conjunction. That is why it cannot stand alone as a complete sentence. Remove the subordinate conjunction, and it is fine-- and a semicolon can then be used: Women's conversation is cooperative; men's is competitive.

Re: semicolon and colon usage

Anonymous — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 08:36:27 GMT

Thank you, Mr. M. In your answer you said "the post-colon portion elaborated the number of books on chaos theory" in regard to the following example sentence:

We've had streams of books on chaos theory: no fewer that tweleve since 1988.

My one possible foible is the fact that I try read the sentence as it is (or as it seems to me) and don't read too much into the sentence to extract information that is possibly there.

Going back to the sentence, only the underlined part "streams" say anything near to what you have brought out -- the number of books. Are you equating "streams" with "the number"? Doesn't that show possibly that you are reading too much into the sentence?

At the previously mentioned cogs.susx.ac.uk website, it was noted that a semicolon would be impossible in the following example, since the sequence after the comma is not a complete sentence. I don't understand the underlined part, I see that it has a subject, complement -- and that seems to be good enough to be thought of as a valid sentence. Only thing that seems to veer off from it being a sentence is the fact the underlind part is too, too closely related to the main clause (that seems all).

Women's conversation is cooperative, while men's is competitive.

semicolon and colon usage

Anonymous — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 07:52:39 GMT

Hi,

1. I was looking at the punctuation section of cogs.susx.ac.uk website for its help on semicolons and colons and I have some questions on them.

In its "The Semicolon" section, it is noted, "If a suitable connecting word is used, then a joining comma is used, rather than a semicolon: Women's conversation is cooperative, while men's is competitive."

Can you give me some common connecting words that appear a lot in sentences that would make a comma suitable (with simple sentences)? Thank you.

Do conjunctive adverbs like "however", "hence" and "therefore" can be accepted as suitable connecting words?

2. In "The Colon" section of the same said website, it was noted that the colon is used to indicate that what follows it is an explanation or elaboration of what precedes it.

Does that mean what follows can explain or elaborate any part of what precedes it -- any small part?

In "The Semicolon" section of the said website, it was noted that a colon, instead of a semicolon, should be used for this. If a colon is to be used, then what part of the preceding clause does the clause that follows it elaborate or explain?

We've had streams of books on chaos theory: no fewer that twelve since 1988.

Inspiration Essay

Seabeesweetie — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 00:59:42 GMT

Good evening everyone,

I have just started to write my first essay since high school. It is very intimidating to me because I do not make it a habit to write very often. I have started the journal, and it seems to help a little. I was wondering if you would please take a look at what I have written so far, and answer a few of the questions I have. I will put my questions at the bottom. I am required to write a descriptive essay about someone who has inspired me, and write about one way they have inspired me.

ESSAY: FIRST DRAFT

What does someone do to inspire you? To me, inspiration is the process of instilling faith in someone to motivate him or her to do something. Many people do things simply out of the kindness in their heart, and do not realize they are inspiring others around them.

To me, my husband Dave inspires me the most. He is a very loving and caring person. He gives me the strength in my heart to do whatever I put my mind to. He inspires me to do things by example. He inspires me most when I see how his generosity makes other people feel, and how good it makes him feel because of their reaction. From that example, it makes me want to do something so I can experience the same feeling.

Dave always inspires me to make goals for myself, chase my dreams, and to do things to help others. He volunteers whenever he can. A few of his favorites are Cub Scouts, Drug Awareness Programs, Children's Hospitals, Supporting our Veterans, Community Highway Clean-up, and Habitat for Society. He is also very dedicated to helping his country. He has been in the United States Navy for almost 20 years as a Senior Chief Builder in the Seabees. He will retire soon, but his desire to help our country and community will continue.

It was one rainy evening in particular I will never forget. We were sitting in the living room discussing his plans for a motorcycle run to raise money for the Veterans Hospital in Hampton Virginia. The TV was playing in the background, and our son was sitting at the kitchen table working on his homework. In the middle of our conversation, his cell phone rang. He stepped outside to take the call, and I went to check our son's progress with his homework. When he came back into the house, he did not say a word. He just turned the volume on the TV up, and started to watch the coverage for the upcoming hurricane.

He began to explain the phone call he had just received. It was from his boss in the military. He said if the hurricane were going to be as strong as they think it will be, he would have to leave right away to be there for the disaster recovery. This started to make me worry about what was going to happen to the motorcycle run. We had over 200 people already pre-registered, the t-shirts ordered, the food was being prepared, the permits were in hand, and the police escort had already been set up. I knew this was something Dave was passionate about, and it had to go on.

Suddenly, on August 29, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf coast. There was severe damage mostly in the cities of Mobile, Alabama, Waveland, Biloxi/Gulfport, Mississippi, and New Orleans. At least 1,836 people lost their lives due to the severe storm surge damage. Dave was ready to go as soon as he heard the news, so he could provide help to those who lost everything.

More than 3,000 U.S. Navy Seabees from all over the United States aided in the hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Hurricane Katrina was so devastating; Dave and his crew volunteered to stay longer, and could not make it back in time for the motorcycle run for the veteran's hospital.

His passion to help his community, and our country inspired me to take over the motorcycle run. I wanted to make a difference in peopleâs lives just as Dave would have done. He wanted to make life a little easier not only for our veterans in the hospital, but also the people who lost everything due to the hurricane. After a lot of hard work and dedication, it was a very rewarding feeling knowing I could help that day. The motorcycle run was a huge success, and we were able to present them with a check for over five thousand dollars.

Without the inspiration from my husband, and continuing to do things out of the kindness of his heart, I would not have been motivated to do the things I have done. He continues to inspire me to do things everyday, and I would not be the person I am today without him.

QUESTIONS:

1. I am worried about my commas and semi-colon usage. When I listed the things he volunteers for, did I need to use a comma or a semicolon when I said "a few of his favorites are"

2. "He said if the hurricane were going to be as strong as they think it will be, he would have to leave right away to be there for the disaster recovery." Did I use the word were properly?

3. "There was severe damage mostly in the cities of Mobile, Alabama, Waveland, Biloxi/Gulfport, Mississippi, and New Orleans." Did I list the names correctly?

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much for your time.

Sincerely,

Seabee Sweetie