Search results for 'tag:Essays tag:English grammar' matching tags 'Essays' and 'English grammar'

Re: whats wrong with this paragraph???

bernice.farrugia — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 10:43:31 GMT

(1) We only played one ... and it was four years ago. - You need to use the PAST SIMPLE here because you're talking about something which happened 4 years ago.

(2) ...between his wife and the girls' coach... - you need the apostrophe after 'girls' because it's a possessive

(3) ...he packed his and his wife's bags... - same thing 's for possessive

Bernice

Re: About this sentence...

bernice.farrugia — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 11:03:15 GMT

The first sentence is correct. The second one is not grammatically correct. TO BE (in the infinitive - so as it is in this sentence) cannot be followed by a noun (perfection is a noun).

Bernice

Re: please help for checking any grammer mistakes.Thanks

bernice.farrugia — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 14:17:39 GMT

Below is the real-life story ofmy classmate, Susan who used to be my best friend. She always used to hand in her homework on time. Everyone thought she was a good student but unfortunately this stopped being a fact 2 years ago.

One day, I saw Susan walking with her friends on the opposite side of the street, so I walked up to her. One of her friends took out a packet of cigarettes and asked us whether we wanted. I told him I didnât smoke. Then he gave a cigarette to Susan and told her to try smoking. Susan didnât refuse at that time, instead she asked him if he had a light. I was really shocked. She started smoking due to peer pressure and in no time she became addicted to it. Susanâs health took a turn for the worse when she started smoking. On one occasion we ran together during a P.E. lesson and I discovered that she ran slower than she used to in the past. Furthermore, she got sick with influenza easier. I also observed that she was looking tired all the time and that she couldnât concentrate on what the teachers said during the lessons. As a result of this she produced work of a much lower leven and therefore, teachers did not trust her as much as they used to do before. Her classmates kept their distance to avoid passive smoking. Her parents and I encouraged her to stop smoking, but she didnât take any notice of our advice. The father of the guy who gave Susan her first cigarette quit smoking last month because of some serious disease, and consequently the guy himself quit too. He told Susan not to smoke anymore, and she thought about it seriously. A few days later there was a talk about the damage caused by smoking at school, and Susan discovered that she was in danger. So she decided to quit smoking.

Dear Sweet_love take a look at the following corrections above and keep in mind that when writing an essay you need to have some sort of structure - the most basic form being INTRODUCTION; BODY; CONCLUSION. This means that you need to have at least 3 paragraphs in your essay.

Hope you find this information useful

Bernice

Re: ENGLISH GRAMMAR AND WRITING HELP

Grammar Geek — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 17:56:54 GMT

Hello Robert, and welcome to the forums.

There is a section here for posting your writing. You can post what you write and ask for input. Please realize that the shorter your essay, the more likely it will be read.

Please do NOT write in all capital letters, however. That will virtually guarantee that no one will read it.

learning grammar - When, Why, etc...

Hoa Thai — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 12:09:18 GMT

To the native English speakers and educators,

Please share with me your experience:

1. When (at what grade) do children in your country institutionally start learning grammar?
2. Do they concentrate on learning grammar for one year, or does the subject spread out over many years?

3. How many sessions and how many hours per session are considered adequate to form a good foundation?

4. How important is learning grammar compared to other skills in an English grammar curriculum?

The reasons for my asking are:

1. Countless ESL students in my country focus too much on grammar and they often do well in English grammar tests, particularly multiple-choices. However, rarely, I can find a student, who can write a good essay or speak well (at least make himself / herself understandable while worrying too much of making grammatical errors for concerning of sounding stupid).

2. I have seen many blogs on Internet do often contain fundamental English errors (from the grammar references that I have). Do you think those errors are there because specific groups of bloggers have their own acceptable ways to express themselves? If these bloggers consider speaking their way is cool, should I keep trying to correct my nephews and nieces, who love anything America (using my limited knowledge and experience) and take away their desire and fun of feeling belonging?

Thanks and Best Regards,
Hoa Thai

P.S. Cool Breeze advised me to start a new thread for each subject to help focus our discussion. However, I hope you don't mind of the many questions I've just asked since I feel they are importantly related for me to form a good picture before sending my two-cent worth to the Ministry of Education and Training.

Re: Beware the grammar expert!

Hoa Thai — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 03:34:14 GMT

Dear all,

Coming here from a link pointed out by CalifJim and after reading your exchanges, I, an ESL learner, now feel a bit more comfortable with English grammar knowing that the experts have their own preferences. To me, that means I can relax and concentrate more on my conversational delivery than grammatical correctness, which changes with time and is geographically and culturally relative.

Countless ESL students in my country focus too much on grammar and they often do well in English grammar tests, particularly multiple-choices. However, rarely, I can find a student, who can write a good essay or speak well (at least make himself / herself understandable while worrying too much of making grammatical errors for concerning of sounding stupid).

May I ask you all, the native English speakers, a question? When (at what grade) do children in your country start learning grammar? The reason I ask is because I have seen many blogs on Internet do often contain fundamental English errors (from the grammar references that I have). Were those errors used because specific groups of bloggers have their own acceptable ways to express themselves (i.e., we know they are grammatical wrong, but we prefer to use them our way anyway) ? If these bloggers consider speaking their way is cool, should I keep trying to correct my nephews and nieces, who love anything America (using my limited knowledge and experience) and take away their desire and fun of feeling belonging?

In any event, for the last 4 days, I have learned much from this site. Please keep pouring your comments and if possible with a lot of examples, particularly in the grammar sessions.

Special thanks and Best wishes to you all,
Hoa Thai

P.S. I believe Bill Clinton in his memoir, My Way, used similar construct shown in item #5. And please, if you could comment on my writing, please send a note to me (ngochoathai@yahoo.com).

Re: Could someone check the English grammar in my essay please?

julielai — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 03:14:20 GMT

Alexgn,

I've reformatted your essay to make it easier to read. I've also highlighted some errors for you.

I 've written an essay. I am not confident about my English. I would like someone to help me to check the grammar.

Thanks!

1. Introduction

James Martin in his crimson book, Telecommunications and Computers, suggests that there is closed relationship between the two technologies. The first term (which?) emphasizes the role of infrastructure or hardware in communications, the second term deals with contents that play a significant role in todayâs advanced communications in all human activities like banking, manufacturing plan, and also at home.

The use of telecommunication and computers immediately develops into the term "information technology" that becomes a famous jargon in todayâs sophisticated information era. In corporations, the use of information technology is mandatory since it simplifies jobs accomplishment and eliminates unnecessary costs (Ferguson, 2000).

Simplification occurs in many areas including in a service company like performed by Party Planners Plus, an organisation that provides party planning services. Concerning the use of information technology in Party Planners Plus, this report will discuss the selection and installation of information system (i.e. hardware and software) that will help Jessica, the owner of Party Planners Plus, better meet her information needs.

2. Identification of Information Needs

As a planner of events, the needs for information systems or computerisation are necessary to help Jessica manage their time and resources. In general, the computerisation needs for Jessica is basic or entry level and can be categorised into following groups:

â¢ Presentation: advising clients about the eventsâ menu, decoration, entertainment

â¢ Design: develop designs of invitations, party locations

â¢ Project Management: determining resource planning (personnel), collaborating with team members to complete tasks appropriately

3. Selecting Suitable Software for Party Planners Plus

Based on the previous identification of computerisation needs for Jessica and her team in Party Planners Plus, below is the more details suggestion on types of software that Jessica can install in her companyâs information network.

3.1. Presentation

This kind of tasks is the challenging tasks among the other tasks that Jessica deals with in organising a party. This is because presentation to customers will determine whether they buy Jessicaâs ideas and thus appoint her to manage their parties. Therefore, during presentation, Jessica has to incorporate a wide range of information in interesting format and appearance to attract customers.

In order to do so, Jessica can use Microsoft PowerPoint to develop attractive presentations to customers. There are many benefits when using Microsoft PowerPoint especially the software provides us with the capability to create and develop designer-quality graphics (SmartArt graphics) that add strengths to the presentations (Microsoft Corporation, 2007c).

3.2. Design

This task is not only the jobs for real graphic designers. This could happen since many design applications and software enable common computer to develop attractive graphic designs with simple steps. Currently, there are many kind of design software in the IT market, friendly software is Microsoft Publisher.

The software has capability to develop designs for variety publications including postcards, brochures, newsletter, web sites and email formats. For each designs, the software provide users with attractive design template that lessen the users in making designs (Microsoft Corporation, 2007b).

In addition to Microsoft Publisher, there are other applications and software that help customers to design marketing tools (brochures, flyers etc); they include Corel Draw, Adobe Photoshop.

3.3. Project Management

Since Party Planners Plus has many kinds of particular jobs when organising parties, the company needs integrated software to manage all distinctive tasks. For this reason, the company may use Office Groove Server 2007.

When using this software application, the company can integrate team tasks in Groove workspace. This application also comes with feature "live" business data that helps each member of the team to get updated data. Therefore, although each member is separated miles away, they still can share the progress of their jobs by using Groove Server (Microsoft Corporation, 2007a).

4. Choosing a Computer System

Assuming that there are at least eight people that work for Party Planners Plus, we can determine the number of required software and hardware to make computerisation at the company works well. Table 1 shows general requirement and network design for computerisation at Party Planners Plus.

5. Costs Estimation

Based on the elaboration above, we can determine the initial costs for Party Planners Plus when developing new computer systems. In order to get rid of cabling systems, in this cost estimation I use wireless connection (Figure 1).

The availability of brand for computer equipments and peripherals suggests that we should perform side-by-side comparison from a computer manufacturer to compare alternative systems configurations. Table 2 shows the comparison of some computer equipments.

http://picccs.mine.nu/pics/it_report.doc

Could someone check the English grammar in my essay please?

Alexgn — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 05:08:39 GMT

edited

An essay on Information Systems

Alexgn — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 03:07:26 GMT

Here's another essay with which I have been having some problems. Could someone please check English grammar in piece of writing?
Your help will be very much appriciated.

Value Chain Analysis

Many organisations do not achieve the profits they anticipate by using incorrect methods or models to determine the true costs of products and services. This failure to correctly assess the costs associated with business affects the profit margin and the organisationsâ competitive advantage. Michael Porter described a method which he called the Value Chain Analysis. The value chain analysis can be a very powerful tool in assessing if the organisation is not failing to realise optimum resource allocation, and in increasing organisationâs competitive advantage; by correctly pricing products and assessing the true costs of materials and labour, organisations can align the improvements in efficiency, quality, and profits with its strategic objectives.

According to Kippenberger (1997) Michael Porter suggests that organisationsâ activities can be grouped into two categories: primary activities and supportive activities. Primary activities â those that are directly concerned with creating and delivering the product. These are further grouped into five different areas: inbound and outbound logistics, operations, marketing and sales, and services. Supportive activities â those that are not directly involved in production but are used to support the primary activities. Supportive activities include firm infrastructure, human resource management, technology development and procurement.

Within the value chain, it is important for an organisation to correctly identify how each primary activities category relates to its organisation. The first category is inbound logistics. In a manufacturing environment inbound logistics would involve receiving and warehousing of raw materials and their distribution to manufacturing as they are required. It is important to note, however, that the value chain can be applied to service industries too. For example, in healthcare, the raw materials would be replaced with patients.
Let us assume that the organisation is going to develop a new technology for doctors. The organisation is going to develop a form of wireless PDA that is about the size of a clipboard. Instead of carrying a paper file into every patient appointment, the doctors will have this smart-pad that they can use to input patientsâ data. Throughout the day, the doctor connects the smart-pad to his office PC via USB cable and the information is transmitted into the patientsâ database. Inbound logistics would include identifying what materials will be needed as well as what software will be needed to support the new technology. Inbound logistics would need to determine what components will be outsourced, which will be built in-house, and what software will be needed to support the new technology.
Once all steps of inbound logistics have been completed, the next step in the value chain is operations. Operations involve the activities used in transforming the raw materials into the final product (Kippenberger, 1997). In the case of the new doctorâs technology, operations would involve those activities necessary to convert the raw materials into the finished products. Operations, in this case, would involve component assembly and software installation, as well as packaging.
Once inbound logistics and operations are complete, the next step is outbound logistics. Outbound logistics âinclude activities that store and distribute products to buyers (e.g. warehousing, delivery vehicle operations, order processing)â (Kippenberger, 1997). This may be an area where combining more than one methodology may be appropriate. For example, if products are completed and stored in warehouses until orders are received, this could have a negative effect on the organisationâs profit margins. But in analysing the value chain it may have been identified that switching to a just-in-time method of delivery may be more cost effective. The organisation could look at the outsourcing of components and the reliability of suppliers. If the tools and suppliers are able to meet the demands, then the organisation would be able to improve profits by not needing to store as many products. Outbound logistics would also involve distribution of the product to the customers.
Marketing and sales âare the activities that provide the means for the buyer to purchase (e.g. advertising, sales force operations, selection and management of distribution channels)â (Kippenberger, 1997). In the case of doctorâs technology, if the organisation is focusing on sales only to doctors, the organisation may be missing out on substantial profits. In evaluating the value chain the organisation may find that marketing and sales has not aggressively sought out contracts with large managed care organisations. If marketing and sales understands value chain analysis then it would need to be able to show these organisations how this product can improve their own value chains.
The final step in value chain analysis is service. Service can significantly impact on the profits and solvency of the organisation. In the doctorâs technology example, there would need to be technical support for the product and software, as well as possible upgrades and feature enhancements. Customer feedback surveys would be a useful tool in determining customer satisfaction, and in measuring product quality.

References

Kippenberger, T. (1997), The Value Chain: The Original Breakthrough, The Antidote, Vol 2, No5, pp7-10. Retrieved July 20, 2007
Porter, M.E. (2001), Strategy and the Internet, Harvard Business Review, March, pp62-78. Retrieved July 20, 2007
Robson, R., 1997, Strategic Management and Information Systems: am Integrated Approach, Prentice Hall, London.

or

point your web browser at http://picccs.mine.nu/pics/infs.pdf

Regards,

Alex

Re: Functions of the conjunction (and) ?

Hikari — Mon, 21 May 2007 05:25:13 GMT

It's English grammar in context (E303) an Open University course http://www3.open.ac.uk/employment/associate-lecturers/courses/E303.shtm

They asked us to write about 1500-2000 words but since it was really hard to do that, I wrote about the conjunctions in general, anyways my essay is now around 850 words so I would really like to make that into 1500 words and to actually answer the essay question.

You see, I found these information on how the conjunction (and) could be used but I just don't know which of the above sentences these functions apply to.

The possible meanings of the most common coordinating conjunctions

AND
1. To suggest that one idea is chronologically sequential to another: "Tashonda sent in her applications and waited by the phone for a response."
2. To suggest that one idea is the result of another: "Willie heard the weather report and promptly boarded up his house."
3. To suggest that one idea is in contrast to another (frequently replaced by but in this usage): "Juanita is brilliant and Shalimar has a pleasant personality.
4. To suggest an element of surprise (sometimes replaced by yet in this usage): "Hartford is a rich city and suffers from many symptoms of urban blight."
5. To suggest that one clause is dependent upon another, conditionally (usually the first clause is an imperative): "Use your credit cards frequently and you'll soon find yourself deep in debt." top
6. To suggest a kind of "comment" on the first clause: "Charlie became addicted to gambling â and that surprised no one who knew him."

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