| Overview: This course is designed for individuals without a formal background in writing and who are responsible for creating various types of documents.
Duration: 2 days
Fee: $490 per person
Upcoming Dates:
Please call for availability.
Prerequisite: A working knowledge of Adobe FrameMaker or Microsoft Word.
Delivery: Content will be delivered over two successive Saturdays. It will be divided between lectures (about 40%) and in-class group work and exercises (about 60%). Some short homework assignments may be assigned, depending on they type of students and the pace of the course.
Evaluation system:
- 30% attendance
- 60% in-class work
- 10% final quiz
Materials: Participants will receive reference materials related to the course.
Workshops can also be conducted in-house for your own teams. Please call or e-mail for a consultation.
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Topics Day 1
Throughout each stage of this seminar, exercises will consist of writing and peer review.
- Introduction and the four rules of grammar
Discuss the objectives of the course and the goals of the students. Run a Q & A to determine the level of the students. Discuss some common problems that the students have noticed. Introduce them to the four portable rules of grammar.
Discuss the types, characteristics and the function of the basic elements of a sentence: Verbs, Adverbs, Nouns, and Adjectives. Briefly define their functions.
Do an in-class exercise: Using simple sentences, identify the basic elements.
Discuss the types and the function of nouns. Identify nouns in a sentence. Cover pronouns.
Build on the content of the previous section by introducing adjectives as noun modifiers. Discuss agreement with the noun, compound adjectives and nouns that function as adjectives.
Do an in-class exercise.
Lunch
Discuss the types and the function of verbs. Identify verbs in a sentence. Cover tenses, types, person and agreement with the subject. Cover verb forms that are used adjectives (verbals).
Do an in-class exercise.
Continue with mood, active and passive voice.
Do an in-class exercise.
Build on the content of the previous section by introducing adverbs as verb modifiers. Discuss agreement with the verb. Discuss using adverbs to modify other adjectives and adverbs.
Do an in-class exercise.
- Clarifying sentences (remove unnecessary words)
Give examples of sentences that are too long and unclear. Show how to remove verbiage, jargon, “marketese”, and false formality.
Pronouns
Discuss agreement and placement, so that it is clear what they refer to.
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Topics Day 2
- Phrases, clauses, and sentences
Discuss the types and uses of each topic. Alternate discussions with an in-class exercise.
Do an in-class exercise, building and parsing each other’s simple, one-clause sentences.
- Conjunctions (tie it together)
Discuss the types and uses of conjunctions. Explain how they bind different and similar concepts. Alternate discussions with an in-class exercise. Explain run-on sentences.
Discuss apostrophes versus quotation marks, and their other uses. Discuss ending and beginning a sentence with a preposition.
Do an in-class exercise.
Lunch
Do an in-class exercise: Write a paragraph using two-clause sentences. Then pair up with another student and do a peer review.
Cover various tips and tricks, common errors and solutions.
Wrap up. Review all the previous topics. Do a quick Q&A.
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