clauses

Independent and dependent clauses are basic grammar rules, but I thought they would be nice to review since I haven't studied them for a few years.

Independent clauses is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb. It is a complete sentence.
Dependent clauses contain subjects and verbs, but do not express a complete thought. it is not a sentence. most of the time a dependent clause is marked by a dependent marker word. some examples of these marker words are: after, although, as, as if, because, before, even if, even though, if, in order to, since, though, unless, until, whatever, when, and whenever.
even though this is a fairly elementary level grammar rule; it was nice to review and learn more.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_clause.html#definitions

Money!

I have never really been into the whole poetry thing, but reading these poems was rather interesting to me. i liked the first one the most. It talked a lot about how it burns holes through peoples pockets. how true is that. for most people, as soon as they get a little money they go buy something. they find it extremely hard to save. they think, "i have it, why not spend it?" I like how the author indicates both the problems of money as well as the importants of money. She states, "feathers a nest, holds a head above water" people feel secure when they have money. It keeps a smile on their faces and gives a sense of happiness.
In politics, with all the "whopla" that's going on about the economy, money is number one. To our world money is everything. if you dont have it, good luck. I recently read an artical in the Spectrum about how our country is so far in debt that we will most likily never get out from under it. But yet people continue to spend massive amounts of money on "just stuff." as i was looking at the art gallery I couldnt help but notice how expensive these works were. I mean I am not trying to say anything bad about art, but fifteen thousand dollars for wall haning? dang!
So politics impacting art, I think it can both in a positive way by by polotitisions buying fancy art and setting a standard for other people, and in a negative way by taking money from people to bail out companies and soforth so that people dont exactly have the money to go buy things they want.

Transitions

I have really been finding out lately how important transitions are when writing papers.
I felt that with the upcoming assignment we have, it would be a benefit to better understand transitions. I am finding that there are many different uses for transitions than I thought. there are transitions to show comparison, contrast, time, limit or prepare, cause, effect, and conclusion. Holly cow! transitions for all these? I don't know if I can do it. However, as i've read examples they are worth there weight in gold to the English field and should be to all of us. words such as: To repeat, in fact, to put it another way, similarly, like, likewise, nevertheless, unlike, rather than, before, mean while, following, to illustrate, for instance, consequently, and for that reason. are all examples of transition words that I hope to intergrate into my personal writing for this class.

http://depts.gallaudet.edu/englishworks/writing/transitions.html

parentheses

Parentheses are punctuation that I seldom use. I guess I just haven't seen its uses or found ways around using them cause I haven't known how. ha ha
You use parentheses to set off words, phrases, or sentences which are used by way of explanation, transition, or comment. which are independent constructions.
for example, Swen wanted a lifted vehicle (Jeep).
Another thing that I noticed is that the final punctuation is after the last parentheses.

http://www.tedmontgomery.com/punctuation/prnthses-b.html

6th grade

As I approached the 6th grade, I had the same rotten attitude as I did in the past five years. I hated going to school. I would have much rather stayed home and shot my BB gun! I grew up on a farm and had tons of space to just be out doing things like building huts, shooting my gun, and riding a four-wheeler. some days my mum would actually have to take me right up to the doors as I kicked and screamed. I am quite embarrassed about how I acted, but that's really what I felt like. I just didn't do well in school, and I felt dumb around the other kids a lot of the time. Spelling and English were, and still are, by far my worse subjects. I would always do terrible on my tests and because we graded each others tests, people would see what I got. I got teased a bit and that kinda sucked. I cant say my dislike for school was just because of that, but it played a role.
In the sixth grade my teacher was Mrs Shaw. I remember her being the nicest lady ever, but when I heard her say, "get out a piece of paper. We are going to have a spelling test first thing." I quickly remembered the past and got a bad taste in my mouth, if you will. I was stressing through the whole test and knew that I wasn't going to do very well. I was waiting for her to say "pass them to the person on your left to grade them." but she never did. She came around and picked each one of them up personally. She then stated that this was just for here to see where everyone was in the class so she would know how to teach. I quickly felt a relief come over me. Mrs. Shaw was so good to all of us in the class and worked extra hard to make sure everyone was learning. What I liked about it is that she kept it confidential. No one picked on anyone else because we only knew how WE were doing and no one else. As she taught us I found myself liking school and enjoying going. I mean I didn't love it but I liked it.
Mrs. Shaw gave me a better understanding of what school was all about and helped me prepare for my future classes in middle and high school. I remember getting several hundred percents on my tests that year. It was a great sense of accomplishment. I am grateful for this teacher who took the time and helped me gain a positive attitude about what school was and is. It turned my life around for sure.

Colon's

I figured that I already did a semicolon, so I might as well learn the proper use of a colon too. I dont think I can remember a time in all my writings that I have ever used a colon. Sad I know. but its the honest truth.
Colons are to be used before a list.
eg. I have a lot of things to do today: work, Psycology, English, Humanities, Homework, fix my car, and find time to eat.
Also, colons are to be used with an explanation that is preceded by a clause that can stand by itself.
eg. The windows dont lock: watch out for intruders.

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/marks/colon.htm

Average aye

I found it extremely difficult to get into this essay. the first few pages just seemed to drag on. I could see the rhetoric and how i needed those little definitions down at the bottom. I would have been lost without them.
When Mr. McFarland was introduced, that is where things started picking up. I really don't like the way Rose writes, but i liked it and it was more interesting to me because I could relate to it. I like Rose struggled with school for a long time. I had an English teacher turn me around also. I havent gone on to make something big of myself because of it, but it helped me get through school and made things a lot more enjoyable.
I cant say that this was anywhere near one of my favorite readings, but I think it had a pretty good message and outcome in the end.