Tired and hungry, she finished the trek. Or the blog. Whatever.
Well, this has certainly been one interesting semester. Going through my first blog, trying to find material to work with, I realized I sounded quite sure of myself. What a surprise I was in for!
Let’s start with the successes. While I had a semblance of understanding about the who/whom issue at the start of the semester, I am now fully apprised of the different rules and stipulations that go with each of these words. I can say with confidence that I won’t be making that particular mistake anymore. I found an example of my extension and growth of knowledge in my personal blog. “People like me deserve a chance to marry whomever we choose,” is in a recent post of mine, and it’s nice to see that even though I wasn’t sure before, I am getting the hang of it.
Another success, albeit in the loosest sense of the word, would be with the affect/effect issue. The reason I say that it’s not a total win is that I don’t know the exceptions to the rule that one is a verb and one is a noun. Slowly and surely, I’m slowly getting the hang of that one. I can’t find any specific examples in any of my writing this semester, but I know that I’ve improved.
The last of my goals, the difference between lay and lie, hasn’t really been met. Although we went over this in class, I still don’t fully understand the difference. When I write out a sentence, try as I might, I can only guess at its correctness. I stay away from it for the most part, but I was able to find an example. I think it’s right, but I don’t know for sure. “She toweled off and found herself back in her bedroom, and upon laying eyes on her desk, she realized she still had a job application to fill out before her grandmother’s return.” Good help, descriptive and understandable, is needed.
Some other things that I’ve been more conscience of in my own writing include the mini-lesson that Michelle and I taught. Again, when going through my more recent blogs, I found an example: “People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract. Lamps are next.” This was a rule, steadfast and unchanging, that I had always known intuitively, but nobody had ever explained it to me. When I actually explained it to others, it helped me in that I could now put a name and explanation to my writing rules.
I’ve also been trying to incorporate more of the brush strokes in my writing, and especially in my creative writing. However, when I was looking through some of my older creative writing pieces, I found that I do use some already. Here is an example of a participle I used in a story written over two years ago: “She got up, suitcase in hand, and turned from the room.”
Overall, I feel like I’ve learned much more than I thought I would, which is a pleasant surprise. I hope my grammar skills continue to improve throughout my life. Thank you, Barbara.
Let’s start with the successes. While I had a semblance of understanding about the who/whom issue at the start of the semester, I am now fully apprised of the different rules and stipulations that go with each of these words. I can say with confidence that I won’t be making that particular mistake anymore. I found an example of my extension and growth of knowledge in my personal blog. “People like me deserve a chance to marry whomever we choose,” is in a recent post of mine, and it’s nice to see that even though I wasn’t sure before, I am getting the hang of it.
Another success, albeit in the loosest sense of the word, would be with the affect/effect issue. The reason I say that it’s not a total win is that I don’t know the exceptions to the rule that one is a verb and one is a noun. Slowly and surely, I’m slowly getting the hang of that one. I can’t find any specific examples in any of my writing this semester, but I know that I’ve improved.
The last of my goals, the difference between lay and lie, hasn’t really been met. Although we went over this in class, I still don’t fully understand the difference. When I write out a sentence, try as I might, I can only guess at its correctness. I stay away from it for the most part, but I was able to find an example. I think it’s right, but I don’t know for sure. “She toweled off and found herself back in her bedroom, and upon laying eyes on her desk, she realized she still had a job application to fill out before her grandmother’s return.” Good help, descriptive and understandable, is needed.
Some other things that I’ve been more conscience of in my own writing include the mini-lesson that Michelle and I taught. Again, when going through my more recent blogs, I found an example: “People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract. Lamps are next.” This was a rule, steadfast and unchanging, that I had always known intuitively, but nobody had ever explained it to me. When I actually explained it to others, it helped me in that I could now put a name and explanation to my writing rules.
I’ve also been trying to incorporate more of the brush strokes in my writing, and especially in my creative writing. However, when I was looking through some of my older creative writing pieces, I found that I do use some already. Here is an example of a participle I used in a story written over two years ago: “She got up, suitcase in hand, and turned from the room.”
Overall, I feel like I’ve learned much more than I thought I would, which is a pleasant surprise. I hope my grammar skills continue to improve throughout my life. Thank you, Barbara.