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Issue For December 9, 2004

Writing Question of the Week

I'm having trouble with "gerunds." What exactly is a gerund? --Cathy Ward, Florence, AL

Answer

Cathy,

A gerund is a verb that is functions as a noun in a sentence. They invariably end with an -ing. Here's a few examples:

Running was my sister's number one sport!

In the above example, "running" is the subject of the verb "was."

You can find out all you need to know about Gerunds by visiting "The Gerund" website: http://chompchomp2.com/gbfree/terms/gerund.htm --Chris Berry, Owl Coordinator

The OWL Help Nest

Each week we'll publish a request for advice or information. If you wish to contribute a response to the topic, please write to us at owln-@owl.english.purdue.edu. Please let us know if you want us to include your name and/or your email address when we publish your response. The following week, we'll publish the best information and advice that we receive in the newsletter. If you have a question for our readers, please send it to us at owln-@owl.english.purdue.edu.

Last Week's Questions

Question #1: Now that the election season has wrapped up, I'm trying to reevaluate how I teach political subjects in my introductory composition class, without becoming confrontational or being accused of being biased. Does anyone have any methods for teaching political discourse in composition in a way that challenges but doesn't anger students? Is such a thing possible?

Answer: My favored way of engaging students in political discourse is to frame the assignment as a critical thinking exercise in which the students must analyze a major political party's positions from the perspective of one of the more minority political parties (Libertarian, Green, Natural Law, and etc.) Though several students still find the assignment questionable, there are far fewer problems with their suspecting bias on my part. (Anonymous)

Question #2 I'm curious to know whether readers of this newsletter use the grammar checker on Microsoft Word. Does anyone find this useful? My grammar is sort of shakey, I know. But sometimes I feel like I write correct sentences and word thinks they're incorrect.

Answer: Egads! The grammar checker in MS Word is terrible. I almost never rely on it for anything, and always suggest to my students that they turn it off. (The same cannot be said of spell checking, which I find reasonably accurate if the students are using the correct word. It still won't help them, of course, if they're spelling the wrong word correctly.) I really suggest going with your instincts rather than using Word's grammar checker. (Chris Berry, OWL Coordinator)

What's Happening on OWL

What's Happening in the Writing Lab

Final Thoughts

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