writing+journal

__Directions: For each entry, name and date it.__

__Active Voice vs. Passive Voice - Monday, September 21__
 * link: []
 * Active Voice - when the subject of the sentence is performing the action
 * The boy kicked the ball.
 * The boy is the subject, he is doing the action (kicking the ball).
 * Active voice is strong, its the man!!!
 * Passive Voice - the subject of the sentence receives the action
 * The ball was kicked by the boy.
 * The ball is the subject, and it is receiving the action.
 * PASSIVE VOICE=WEAK

__**WRITING TIPS: Monday, Sept. 28th**__
 * Do not use second person pronouns (you, your, yours)
 * Do not use BE VERBS (linking verbs) all the time. Instead use ACTION VERBS.
 * Do not write in passive voice; write in active voice!
 * Proofread! Read your papers aloud to hear the mistakes.
 * Never announce what you think by saying "I think, I believe, in my opinion," etc. JUST SAY IT!
 * Use transition words at the beginnings of paragraphs.
 * Use transition sentences at the ends of paragraphs.


 * __POSSESSION (Ownership) - Monday, Sept. 28th__**
 * To make a singular word possessive, add an 's.
 * Billy's friend went to the store.
 * The child's dog ate Harry's lunch.
 * The girl's lunch box is green.
 * To make a plural word possessive, put the apostrophe at the end of the word ending in "s."
 * The girls' lunch boxes are green.
 * The community churches' communion boxes were full.
 * __**EXCEPTIONS:**__
 * What if a plural word does not end in "s"?
 * Examples: women, men, children, geese
 * Add an 's to the end of the word to make it possessive.
 * What is a singular name ends in "s"
 * Examples: James, Charles, Jess
 * It's acceptable to just put an apostrophe after the "s" OR you can add an 's.
 * James' book OR James's book

9/24/09 Reflection: Origin Myth I definitely feel as though I could have saved myself some points and really helped the quality of my story just by proofreading better and more often. That is not to say that I did not proofread at all, but I only read it silently to myself and I only did it once. I lost two cheap points just from stupid mistakes and other conventional errors. Overall, I am happy with the story. I also think that the story itself was interesting, but still it was enhanced by the way I presented it. Next time, I think it would be smart to read it out loud to myself and also do so multiple times. I think that is the only obvious way for me to improve at this time. There are other things, and I can only hope to write this well consistently, but as of now, I will focus on my conventions and such errors in order to better my writing.