02-02-2012, 12:28 AM
You are definitely getting better, but I also think you are getting overwhelmed. You are trying to go from learning the basics to college in a few weeks. I think you should step back and focus on the basics. Spelling, capitalization, and punctuation should come first.
Instead of trying to memorize rules, maybe you can try copying the way you see others writing. That way you learn the patterns the way you learned to speak. You developed an "ear" for what sounds right and what doesn't, so you can also develop an "eye" for what reads correctly and what doesn't. Also, realize much of the writing you see in forums online is very informal and would be thrown in the English professor's garbage, so it probably isn't the best to learn from.
You should also read books, magazines, and newspapers. A lot. They have to be edited in order to be published and should help give you the "eye" for reading and writing.
Ultimately you should look to move away from writing like this:
To writing more like this:
This is not the only way to "fix" your paragraphs, but it should give you an idea of the direction you should go.
I read a story years ago that Picasso's father made him draw according to specific rules, day after day, year after year. If he deviated one tiny bit his father made him start over. He said that because of that he knew the rules, and because he knew the rules he knew when he could break them. I don't know if it's a true story, but it certainly is true in writing.
By the way, I've written English all my life, and I was afraid of this test. It is a learning process for all of us, and we already know the language.
Instead of trying to memorize rules, maybe you can try copying the way you see others writing. That way you learn the patterns the way you learned to speak. You developed an "ear" for what sounds right and what doesn't, so you can also develop an "eye" for what reads correctly and what doesn't. Also, realize much of the writing you see in forums online is very informal and would be thrown in the English professor's garbage, so it probably isn't the best to learn from.
You should also read books, magazines, and newspapers. A lot. They have to be edited in order to be published and should help give you the "eye" for reading and writing.
Ultimately you should look to move away from writing like this:
Quote:ok , its me again
i have two weeks studying and yesterday i tried the practice on the rea college composition official guide and my scoure was so bad it was 25%
but the good news i knew what is my weakness so am not good at spelling ,material research ,cities , modifier, vacubary and the big problem was on essay .
yesterday i was on the library and tried to get some books about these subjects but i cant found the correct book ,so any suggestion about the material which help me on my weakness ?
thank you
To writing more like this:
Quote:Hello, it's me again.
I have spent the past two weeks studying English composition. Yesterday I tried the practice test on the REA College Composition official guide and my score was very bad: 25%. The good news is I know what my weaknesses are. I am not good at spelling, material research, citations, modifiers, or vocabulary. The biggest problem was on the essay.
Yesterday I was in the library and tried to get some books on these subjects but I can't find any that are helpful. Do you have any suggestions for material that will help me with my weakness?
Thank you.
This is not the only way to "fix" your paragraphs, but it should give you an idea of the direction you should go.
I read a story years ago that Picasso's father made him draw according to specific rules, day after day, year after year. If he deviated one tiny bit his father made him start over. He said that because of that he knew the rules, and because he knew the rules he knew when he could break them. I don't know if it's a true story, but it certainly is true in writing.
By the way, I've written English all my life, and I was afraid of this test. It is a learning process for all of us, and we already know the language.
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Complete: TESU BA Computer Science
2011-2013 completed all BSBA CIS requirements except 4 gen eds.
2013 switched major to CS, then took a couple years off suddenly.
2015-2017 finished the CS.
CCAF: AAS Comp Sci
CLEP (10): A&I Lit, College Composition Modular, College Math, Financial Accounting, Marketing, Management, Microecon, Sociology, Psychology, Info Systems
DSST (4): Public Speaking, Business Ethics, Finance, MIS
ALEKS (3): College Algebra, Trig, Stats
UMUC (3): Comparative programming languages, Signal & Image Processing, Analysis of Algorithms
TESU (11): English Comp, Business Law, Macroecon, Managerial Accounting, Strategic Mgmt (BSBA Capstone), C++, Data Structures, Calc I/II, Discrete Math, BA Capstone
Warning: BA Capstone is a thesis, mine was 72 pages about a cryptography topic
Wife pursuing Public Admin cert via CSU.
Complete: TESU BA Computer Science
2011-2013 completed all BSBA CIS requirements except 4 gen eds.
2013 switched major to CS, then took a couple years off suddenly.
2015-2017 finished the CS.
CCAF: AAS Comp Sci
CLEP (10): A&I Lit, College Composition Modular, College Math, Financial Accounting, Marketing, Management, Microecon, Sociology, Psychology, Info Systems
DSST (4): Public Speaking, Business Ethics, Finance, MIS
ALEKS (3): College Algebra, Trig, Stats
UMUC (3): Comparative programming languages, Signal & Image Processing, Analysis of Algorithms
TESU (11): English Comp, Business Law, Macroecon, Managerial Accounting, Strategic Mgmt (BSBA Capstone), C++, Data Structures, Calc I/II, Discrete Math, BA Capstone
Warning: BA Capstone is a thesis, mine was 72 pages about a cryptography topic
Wife pursuing Public Admin cert via CSU.