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Showing posts from April, 2023

Grammar for Being Rebelious (Week 15)

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 English grammar is one of the most intriguing and challening subjects for students.  Despite having rules and structures, teachers from different regions may teach the rules and expectations differently based on regional differences, needs, and practices. Weinstein and Finn stated that "nearly all the grammar rules taught in elementary school and high school are quite reasonable and should be observed" (127).  In addition, they stated that "certain rules commonly taught at the high school level ae questionable" (127). As a result, students get confused, and they break certain rules when they speak or write. For example, "The bureaucracy continued to run things, badly."  As a student, I did not learn to use adverb at the end of the sentence.  I was taught to use adverbs before a verb to modify an action or the state of being. Instead of having an adverb at the end, I would use it at the beginning to be formal and directly. In addition, I would use it at t

Grammar for Being Open-Minded (Week 15)

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   The world includes people of different aspects of life, backgrounds, needs, wants, desires, thinking ideologies, inquisitiveness, and many more. This diverse world has moved away from being in a vacuum and toward a melting pot. As a result, people engage in different processes or "forms of inquiry" (Weinstein and Finn 92), so they can "open-mindedly" (Weinstein and Finn 92) work and live with each other in this diverse world. In some cases, people, including writers, use "cross-outs" (Weinstein and Finn 91) to "eliminate" (Weinstein and Finn 91) something they may not want to hear, see, or engage with. For example, in m conversation with several colleagues at work, they end up omitting something in their arguments, such as "I meant to say this, but you know..."  Realistically speaking, I did not know what the speaker meant to say since we were both diverse individuals with different thinking. The speaker wanted to make a point but en

Grammar for Being Capable of Dealing with Complexity (Week 13)

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  I recently wrote a paper for an English course: ENGL5800 -  Race/Gender in Medieval/Renaissance.  I thoroughly reviewed my paper before submission. But my professor marked several points on my paper that she regarded as contradictory and confusing.  After reviewing my submitted paper, I found three cues of complication throughout it.  For example, I was writing about two medieval women whose rights and freedom were nonexistent.  Even though I thoroughly explained how they were abused and tortured, I failed to make a connection how they end up using their abuse as a mean to revenge for their hardship, which was the feedback from my professor. After reading over, I did agree with my professor's feedback.  I recently had a disagreement with my current boss about an incident that alleged of my ill behavior. I tried to defend myself, but it was not successful.  In my defense, I was trying to do a full justice by stating my position.  I tried to use cues of contradiction to counterclai

Grammar for Being Trusting (Week 13)

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 Weinstein and Finn expressed that "grammar affords us a variety of ways to stress certain words" (51). Stressing certain words can help speakers and writers to emphasize their important points. For example, the use of exclamation points, italics, capitals, and emphatic (Weinstein and Finn) can help speakers and writers put more emphasis on certain points in their messages. For example, "Before 9/11, no one could have predicted that terrorists would use our own planes as missiles against us!"  The use of an exclamation mark in this sentence strongly express that speaker's strong feeling for this sentiment. I would use this mean to emphasize my strong feeling about the event.  However, the use of exclamation mark is only good for writing. In speaking, I have to stress with emotions to ensure my targeted audience would understand my feelings. I would not use capitals in the previous sentence because it could indicate that I was screaming. I would not also use ita

Grammar for Being Honorable (Week 12)

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  Speakers and writers are careful when they present information to their targeted audience. In some cases, their targeted audience may misunderstand their intended messages. As a result, they could be misquoted or misunderstood, which could go awry and negatively consequential. For example, I was misrepresented at work because the "blamer" did not have enough evidence to make allegations against me. However, the misrepresentation did more harm even thought I was able to justify it. For example, the blamer reported to a supervisor stating that "Hau disrespectfully argued with a presenter at a meeting." The quoted report did not represent what I said at the meeting. Even though I did disagree with the presenter, I voiced my concern emotionally. I was not being disrespectful. I wondered why I could not emotionally argue my point of view.  I was not yelling or having a tantrum.  I was able to resolve the misrepresentation, but it was already causing my reputation to be

Grammar for Being Adaptable (Week 12)

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I have known the use of adverbs can make a difference in how speakers can demonstrate their actions. Words such as "quickly," "soon," "willingly," and "far."  My favorite adverbial proviso is "if." I like "if" because it is a condition that I can use with "will statement" to guarantee a better chance of something that I can do when I make a commitment to do something in the future. For example, "I will go to Peru if I have time and money." When I make this statement, I make a condition that can only happen "if" another condition can meet my goal.  The use of "if" helps me to undo the promise that I may not commit to when unfortunate circumstances may arise unexpectedly.  Here is a brief account of a situation in which I used "if" adverbial proviso.  I shared with my family members in Vietnam that I would travel to Vietnam to visit them "if" I have time and extra mone