Response Blog 5

Summary
     In TSIS book, chapter 8 tells about different ways you can connect all parts of a sentence . One of the strategies are transitions . They advice readers the direcction that your writing follows. Transitions help you to move from one sentence to another and to combine one or more sentences into one. The categories of transitions are : addition , example , elaboration , comparison , contrast , cause and effect , concession , and conclusion. "Using them is to make your writing more reader- friendly , not less" ( TSIS p . 112 ) .

Response
     In my opinion, transitions are very helpful. Transitions are easy to remember and easy to use. I try to use them in my writings because they not only help me to join sentences , but also they help me to organize better what I 'm writing. "As a result, the more you use transitions, the more you'll be able not only to connect the parts of your text but also to construct a strong argument in the first place" (TSIS p. 111).

Response Blog 4

Summary

      In “Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted”, Malcolm Gladwell tells a story about a revolution act occurred in 1960. He uses this example to show how communication has been changing over time. Years ago, communication was personal. Today people use the social networking to communicate. “The platforms of social media are built around weak ties.” People could have many “virtual friends”, but they will never have the personal interaction with them. Gladwell says that social media is helpful, but Facebook and Twitter are not necessary to organize revolution acts.

Response
I disagree with Gladwell that social media is not necessary to start a revolution. You do not need to be physically doing an activity with a group of people in order to participate and to feel motivated. Twitter helps you to follow people that probably you will never met; Facebook helps you to be close to the people with whom you cannot be close physically, but at the same time they are helpful to start a revolution. By using them, thousands of people around the world could share information on internet and passing it in just seconds. Technology helps to have done things quickly.

Response Blog 3

Summary:
     In the book "English Grammar and Usage," by Lester and Beason, the authors give advices about how to write correctly. One of them is called "Agreement with Lost Subjects." It refers on how to find the subject- verb agreement when the sentence is too long or complicated. This situation makes that the subject get lost and that the verb incorrectly relates to another word than the subject. They suggest that to avoid errors , you have "to write like third graders with short subject noun phrases" in order to understand what is the sentence about, and then you can expand the phrase.


Response.
     When I read this part of the book, I realized that when I write I do this error, and when I read I have problems to find the the subject and the agreement with the verb . One strategy that I use to do is to cross off as many prepositional phrases in the sentence. Thus I remove all unnecessary words and I just stay with the most important: the subject and the verb. So I realize if a subject-verb agreement exists.