#Writers, Avoid these 5 ''Gotchas''

Writers, avoid these 5 writing ''gotchas'' for more effective writing.

1. Always know who your audience is. Thinking is the first step in writing. Before tapping the keyboard or writing the first sentence on paper, ask: Who am I writing for? Who will read my marvelous work? Your word choice and paragraph construction are quite different depending upon how you answered these questions. Decide that before you start writing.
   
2. Create an outline. Do you know how to reach a new destination without a map? An outline organizes  your thoughts and saves time in your writing project. What information or storylines will you convey?Build a detailed outline and watch your productivity soar!
   
   
3. Wordiness is boring. As Shakespeare's Polonius reminds us in Hamlet, ''...brevity is the soul of wit.'' As lover of words, writers often get caught up in their art. Delete as many words as possible. Less words bring more clarity and cohesiveness to writing.
   
   
4. Vary sentence length for action. Readers get lost in long involved sentences. Short snappy sentences are active, but vary their length. Most sentences contain about 10 words.
   
   
5. Cut run-on sentences. My students are famous for this one. Remember, when you complete a thought, stop by adding the period(.). Sometimes it is necessary to write a compound sentence, but remember the conjunction!

Happy writing!

*** If you are in São Paulo and need English lessons, or Elite English Services including translations (Spanish/French/Portuguese to English), please contact Professor Winn by sending an email to mrenglish101@gmail.com for a prompt evaluation. Buy your English-language texts today!

Bring the Bard into your English class today!

Using Shakespeare in EFL Class
While sometimes controversial for whatever reason, even his detractors must concede the Bard on both the English language and literature.

If one can understand the literature of a second language, one can derive a deeper understanding of that language.

Even for some English speakers, William Shakespeare may be a challenge. As an EFL instructor, you have a choice among tragedies, comedies, and histories. His sonnets may be a tougher assignment.

Julius Cesar's Assassination
Julius Cesar is one of my favorite tragic-histories of the Bard.

One the more memorable scenes is the assassination of Cesar on the Ides of March in the Roman Senate (Act III, Scene I).

So, here is a suggestion. Take a popular scene. If there is video, all the better. Have students take turns reading the parts - all the better with passion of a Shakespearean actor if possible. Then play the video for students to follow the scene if necessary with the texts they just read.

Resources
For the assassination scene in Julius Cesar, enotes.com and youtube.com are handy. Enotes has a split-page showing the original text and the ''modern interpretation.'' Youtube has this scene as a short video.

You have all the elements for introducing students gently to the Bard in the classroom!

Have you used Shakespeare in your class already? Do you have more suggestions or tips?

*** If you are in São Paulo and need English lessons, or Elite English Services including translations (Spanish/French/Portuguese to English), please contact Professor Winn by sending an email to mrenglish101@gmail.com for a prompt evaluation. Buy your English-language texts today!

Beware the Ides of March!

It is March 15 - the Ides of March!

Today we mix history and literature to learn a famous expression in English.

In Act III, Scene 1 of Julius Caesar, Shakespeare writes his version of the assassination of the famous Roman in the Senate circa 44BC.

Immemorial in English literature is the last dramatic phrase from Caesar to Brutus, his closest friend and rival - "Et tu, Brute?" (And you, Brutus?).

Brutus answers with a final thrust into his erstwhile friend.

Thus, the phrase "Beware the Ides of March" entered the English language.

Do you know two other expressions in the English associated with the earlier history of Caesar and Rome?

Stay tuned till tomorrow for the answer!
***
If you are in São Paulo and need English lessons, or Elite English Services including translations (Spanish/French/Portuguese to English), please call Professor Winn at 6214-1511 or send an email to mrenglish101@gmail.com for a prompt evaluation.

Buy your English-language texts today!

Happy Twelfth Night!

January 6 is known as the Epiphany, a holiday that always reminds me of William Shakespeare´s comical play, Twelfth Night, which has nothing to do with the holiday and has an alternate name, What You Will. Shakespeare´s wit was endless!

The beginning lines set the light mood:

If music be the food of love, play on;
Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken, and so die.

That first line ranks #7 in Top Shakespeare lines.

Shakespeare, born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England,  is arguable the most influential writer of the English language penning comedies, tragedies, histories, and sonnets. The play on words, puns, farce, androgyny, the play within a play as in Hamlet, mockery, and other literary devices were employed to entertain Elizabethan England at the Globe Theater.

MIT offers the whole of Shakespeare´s dramas on a special page. Using Shakespeare´s plays is an excellent way to teach English.

If you need to quickly brush up on your Twelfth Night, remember Spark Notes is there to help! Literature is an excellent way to teach English.
***
If you are in São Paulo and need English lessons, or Elite English Services including translations (Spanish/French/Portuguese to English), please call Professor Winn at 6214-1511 or send an email to mrenglish101@gmail.com for a prompt evaluation.

Buy your English-language texts today!