Grammar Lottery Presentations Day 5: Fragments

Beau Lewis, Comm Lab
tutor, ponders whether
sentences with subjects
and verbs are always
complete.

We had a little delay in the posting of the latest Grammar Lottery presentations, but we are back today with Fragments.

Fragments, like run-on sentences, are forms of sentence boundary problems.

Tutor Beau Lewis explains fragments and gives a fun activity for identifying fragments.

Beau Lewis has been a tutor in the Communications Lab for over one year.

Considering himself to be the Comm Lab ladies' man, Beau is a creative individual who likes to do his own thing; this is exemplified in his photography.

Though Beau's approach to explaining fragments may seem a little brief at first, it was a strong contender for the Grammar Lottery prize due to its simplicity and ability to engage students in a creative manner.

Tomorrow, we will leave sentence boundaries in the Grammar Lottery and begin to present the Grammar Lotteries dealing with subject/verb relationships.

Spanish Tutor and Comm Lab Friend Wins Award

Bill Smiley has wins a local
radio station contest
for Teacher of the Week.

OCCC Spanish tutor Bill Smiley and long-time Communications Lab friend has been named Teacher of the Week by Oklahoma City's Magic 104.1 FM KMGL radio station.

According to an email from OCCC Arts and Humanities Dean Susan VanSchuyver, the accolade was bestowed to Smiley following a letter written to the radio station by a student.

The unnamed student said, "Bill ... not only built award winning choirs, he touched lives. His laugh & voice can easily fill a room & with his playfully sarcastic sense of humor, he has the uncanny ability to motovate a lot of young people to keep practicing, pay attention, listen to & work with one another"

Smiley is currently a teacher at Bridge Creek High School in Bridge Creek, Oklahoma, where he has taught for over 20 years.  Smiley plans to retire in December of this year.

Smiley teaches music appreciation and choir and has taught Spanish at the high school.

Grammar Lottery Presentations Day 4: Run-Ons

Comm Lab tutor James Williams
explains run-ons sentences
and how to correct them.

We are officially out of clauses now on the Grammar Lottery Presentations.  The past presentations focused on parts of speech.

The different clauses, when used correctly, are normal parts of constructing sentences, even when we aren't aware when we are using them.

Other presentations in the Grammar Lottery focused on issues that are always considered incorrect when used.

For example, today's presentation is about run-on sentences.

Tutor James Williams explains what a run-on sentence is and how they can be avoided.  James has been a tutor in the Communications Lab for almost one year, having started his tutoring position in January of 2010.

James is also a student at OCCC, majoring in literature.  James plans on attending the University of Oklahoma next semester and teaching when he graduates.

When James is not tutoring students in the lab, he enjoys watching movies with his son, playing softball, and leaving his laptop unattended in the lab with his Facebook page logged in.

Join us tomorrow for more Grammar Lottery presentations as we count down to the winner of the Grammar Lottery.

Grammar Lottery Presentations Day 3: Adverbial Clauses

A bright-eyed Charlton Rigsby on
his first day of tutoring in the lab.

It's day three of the Comm Lab Grammar Lottery Presentations.  We are very glad to be back following the much needed Thanksgiving Break.

As a special treat, we bring you Adverbial Clauses today, finishing up our clause theme from the previous two Grammar Lottery Presentations.

Today's Grammar Lottery presentation comes from tutor Charlton Rigsby.

Charlton has been a tutor in the Communications Lab for almost two years.  He is currently a student at OCCC and is majoring in history.

When he is not tutoring students in the lab, Charlton enjoys helping with ESL conversations groups, watching Glee, spending time with his new wife and helping out at his church.

You can access Charlton's presentation on Adverbial Clauses by clicking here.

Please be sure to check back for tomorrow's Grammar Lottery Update as we count down to the winner of the Grammar Lottery!

Grammar Lottery Presentations Day 2: Adjective Clauses

Tutor Spencer Stephens enjoying a nice sit with a cane.

Day 2 of the Grammar Lottery Presentations is all about Adjective Clauses. This second grammar concept comes to you from tutor Spencer Stephens after yesterday's discussion on noun clauses by tutor Bethany Vander Schans.

Spencer has been a tutor in the Communications Lab for about 2 years and has a bachelor's degree from Oklahoma Christian University in English..  Spencer enjoys playing chess and Magic the Gathering when he is not tutoring in the lab.  He produces his own podcast and tutors students online.

Spencer is quite the aficionado about common and obscure grammar concepts, so users can feel privileged to experience only a piece of his library of wisdom here on The Complete Thought.

Users can also support Spencer's beard by joining its Facebook group by clicking here.

Grammar Lottery Presentations Day 1: Noun Clauses

"ESL students and
students enrolled in
developmental writing
classes would benefit
from learning about
nouns and noun clauses."

The grammar lottery presentations at the November 18th staff meeting were a big success.

All of the tutors did a great job, making the selection of one prize winner quite difficult for the lab assistants.

The Complete Thought will post all of the presentations, one each day. You can access them by clicking on the link on the upper right corner of the blog that reads "Grammar Lottery Presentations" under the "Pages" tab, or you can click here.

Today's presentation comes from Comm Lab tutor Bethany Vander Schans. She presented her lesson on Noun Clauses.

A winner was chosen, and that winner will follow the other presentations. Be sure to check back each day and read all of the grammar lottery presentations.

Pencil power: The role of the writing utensil in tutoring.

By Lydia Rucker

Lydia has been a lab assistant
in OCCC's Communications
Lab for almost three years.

Sometimes, they are yellow. Sometimes, they are red or green or speckled with glitter and multifaceted rainbow swirls. No matter what they look like, I think pencils are the greatest tool in the writing tutor’s toolbox.

Several years ago when I first became a writing tutor, using a pencil during a tutoring session was highly frowned upon. 

The reason behind this, I was told, is that tutors are less likely to “fix” a student’s paper and are able to better focus on verbal exchange with a student. 

On my second day of tutoring, I forgot this rule and carried a pencil with me into a tutoring session. Well into the session, I felt a gentle tug on my pencil and before I could look up, it was swiftly removed from my poised fingers and placed on the table beside me.