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Purdue OWL News for October 29, 2004
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The Purdue OWL Staff
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Oct 29, 2004 12:26 PDT
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The Purdue OWL News
October 29, 2004
Welcome to the Purdue OWL News!
The Purdue OWL News is an online newsletter about happenings in the
Purdue University Writing Lab and the Purdue University Online Writing
Lab (OWL). You can visit our website at
<http://owl.english.purdue.edu>. To subscribe to the newsletter, visit
<http://www.topica.com/lists/purdueowlnews/subscribe/>. To unsubscribe
from the newsletter, click on the link at the bottom of this email.
Writing Question of the Week
I was wondering how you'd cite something from a dictionary? Thanks!
Answer
The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers mentions the following
about citing familiar reference books such as the dictionary or the
encyclopaedia are.
"Treat [...] a dictionary entry as you would a piece in a collection,
but do not cite the editor of the reference work. [...] if the
dictionary arranges articles alphabetically, you may omit volume and
page numbers" (160).
When citing a dictionary, do not give full publication information. List
only the edition (if stated) and the year of publication.
Example: "Noon." _The Oxford English Dictionary_. 2nd ed. 1989.
Or if you are citing a specific definition, you should indicate the
appropriate designation.
Example: "Noon." Def. 4b. _The Oxford English Dictionary_. 2nd ed. 1989.
The OWL Help Nest
Each week we'll publish a request for advice or information. If you wish
to contribute a response to the topic, please write to us at
owln-@owl.english.purdue.edu. Please let us know if you want us to
include your name and/or your email address when we publish your
response. The following week, we'll publish the best information and
advice that we receive in the newsletter. If you have a question for our
readers, please send it to us at owln-@owl.english.purdue.edu.
This Week's Questions and Answers
Question #1
In our study of the proper use of pronouns, the following question came
up: What is the difference in meaning (if any) between the two
sentences, "All of the employees should read their company manual," or
"All employees should read their company manual." Is it more "modern"
to avoid an "of the ..." phrase when possible? Paula Alves/Shasta
College, CA
Answer:
Literature in our present era favors concise writing. Even fiction
writing favors the succinct. In any sentence you write, cut out the
unnecessary. A basic rule is: mean what you say, say what you mean, and
keep it brief. Exceptions exist.--Derrell B. Thomas, Freelance Writer
Question #2
How can I explain to my fifth grade ELL class the following:
Put the following sentences into the past tense.
1. We like to hear the bell ring for recess.
2. Mary blows the horn when she drives her car.
Nearly every student ansswered:
1. We liked to hear the bell rang for recess.
2. Mary blew the horn when she drived her car.
Thank you,
Mary Seppi
Answers:
1.We like to hear the bell ring for recess.
When "hear" is combined with another verb, the other verb goes in the
base form. Only the main verb, "like", is changed to a past form.
2.Mary blows the horn when she drives the car. Both actions take place
simultaneously, so both verbs would be in the past tense.--Debbie Green
(ESL teacher Ann Arbor)
This question made me ask "How would I explain this to myself?" and
there was not an easy answer. The second sentence has the word "when"
which could indicate a dependent clause and show that two actions took
place at the same past time. "Mary blew the horn when she drove the
car" would be an acceptable response to the question and show that Mary
was probably an assertive, horn-blowing driver. The use of "drived" for
"drove" seems to indicate lack of knowledge about some irregular past
tense verbs. The first sentence does not have a conjunctive adverb,
such as "when." If it did, it might be phrased "We liked it when the
bell rang for recess" but the original version of sentence 1 could
perhaps be explained as a colloquial expression. I am not sure that
"ring" is a verb. It might be a shortened infinitive, without "to" or it
might be a noun phrase.
The subjunctive voice is pretty much ignored in current writing
instruction. Some handbooks don't even mention it; others as much as
say, well, if you insist, then the subjunctive is used to show a
condition which is not actually occurring, among other things. The
example in the query seemed to refer to a situation which was not
occurring since it was past, and which also was a bit nostalgic. It
appears to be a present tense verb, but actually could be a verb in the
subjunctive. Now, no reference which I have consulted has mentioned a
nostalgic use of the subjunctive. It might be that the sentence cited
omitted a subsequent dependent clause, such as "when I was in school"
and that the "bell ring" might be a use of the subjunctive for a
non-existing, past situation.
Can fifth graders understand something which does not exist? Yes. Can
they feel nostalgia? Yes, albeit of a somewhat short sort. Is that a
way to explain this unusual usage? Perhaps, but the subjunctive in
English might be obsolete when the 10 year olds are 20, in 2014 or
so.--Joseph (Jay) Howard, Ed.D., Community College of Philadelphia
Next Week's Questions
Question #1
I am an English teacher in Greece and I am teaching landscape
architecture terminology to students. I have found a lot of information,
articles, books, and internet sites, but I would like to start creating
a dictionary with English terms that will be translated to Greek. Are
there any sources or sites of advising you on how you can start forming
a dictionary? Or are there any dictionaries or sites with this
terminology? I would appreciate any help.--Theothosia Albanti
Question #2
I'm looking for books and multi-media resources suitable for teaching
Language Arts for High School and Language for an International
Baccalaureate Diploma program. Please recommend or help me get in touch
with any bookshop/book companies that carry such books (in English,
Please).
What's Happening on OWL
OWL Eye on...Technology Problems at Purdue
The OWL News has been off the radar for the last few weeks because of
severe security problems here at Purdue, problems severe enough that we
actually made CNN.com's headlines. Check out
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/internet/10/22/us.purduehack.ap/index.html.
We hope to have Purdue OWL News back on track from now through the end
of the semester. Thanks for your patience and concern as we worked
through these problems.
What's Happening in the Writing Lab
OWL Eye on...November Workshops
Tuesdays at 12:30-1:20
11/2 - Research and the Internet
11/9 - Organizing your Argument
11/16 - Sentence Clarity and Combining
11/23 - Proofreading Strategies
11/30 - Using APA
Wednesdays at 3:30-4:20
11/3 - Visual Rhetoric (In the DLC/Hicks Undergraduate Library)
11/10 - Writing literary analysis
11/17 - PowerPoint
11/24 - **Thanksgiving Break**
12/1 - Using MLA
OWL Eye on...ESL Conversation Groups
Please join us for English conversation in the Lab!
Fall 2004 M 1:30-2:30, Tu/Th: 4:30-5:30, W: 11:00-noon, F: 11:30-12:30
Final Thoughts
Thanks for reading our newsletter. You can email us at any time at
owln-@owl.english.purdue.edu. You can also email the OWL coordinator,
Chris Berry, at coordi-@owl.english.purdue.edu and the webmaster,
Karl Stolley, at webma-@owl.english.purdue.edu. (Chris and Karl take
turns writing the newsletter.)
If you received this newsletter as a forward and would like to get your
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http://www.topica.com/lists/purdueowlnews/subscribe/ to subscribe.
This newsletter is copyright (C) 2004 the Purdue University Writing Lab
and Purdue University. Purdue's OWL is located at
http://owl.english.purdue.edu.
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