Learn Grammar the Easy Way (Part 2)

Course Name

Learn Grammar the Easy Way (Part 2)

Contact Hours: 20

Course Description

Do you know which sentence in each pair below is correct?

1. The fireworks against the black sky made a dramatic affect. The fireworks against the black sky made a dramatic effect.
2. Neither Bob nor Tom was ready for the test. Neither Bob nor Tom were ready for the test.
3. Its cold. It’s cold. Casey and me went to the fair. Casey and I went to the fair.
   
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Misusing homonyms, pronouns, and words like effect and affect cause many sentence errors. Many times, people will select the wrong word. Also, errors in subject-verb agreement are common, too. People have trouble deciding when the verb should be plural or singular (were or was). As a result , their writing looks less than polished and their work appears less credible to the reader. In this course we’ll take a look at common word selection and grammar problems. As students go through exercises and readings, the instructor is always available for tutoring through e-mail.

Outcome

After taking this course, students will:

• Understand what a homonym is and be aware of the need for proper usage
• Be able to identify and fix a subject-verb mismatch
• Be able to identify and fix common pronoun problems
• Understand the difference between usage in certain word pairs (such as affect/effect, ensure/insure, etc.)

Assessment

Self-quizzesand Instructor-initiated exercises

Outline

1. In this first week, we look at homonyms and commonly misused words. The idea is to rid us of bad habits and to concentrate on proper usage. Students will do a variety of exercises.
   
2. The second week is devoted to subject-verb agreement and pronouns errors. Our goal is to get you to the point where you can recognize an error and correct it.