My ESL students have spoken, and I decided to deliver.  Here is the first episode on writing!

Because this is going to be about basics, I want to let you guys know in advance that this is writing for Pre-Intermediate students.  The majority of my Thai students have problems with capitalization, and this is something that needs to be addressed and understood because when you’re writing, in any kind of exam, test, essay, or even just a segment, making these mistakes won’t be a good look.  Therefore, I’m going over the basics with you guys today and some sentences to help you.

However, it’s time to test yourself write now by writing a paragraph introducing yourself on my Facebook page.  This will be good for a lot of learners to break the ice and not be scared to receive constructive criticism.  From there, mechanics will be applied.

Task

Write a paragraph introducing yourself and post it on my Facebook page under either in the notes or this video!

Mechanics

1. The first word in the sentence must always be capitalized.
2. The pronoun I will never be lowercase.
3. I’m, I’ve or any other apostrophe I words — the I must be capitalized.
4. Different abbreviations can be used in informal writing.  CNN, FOX NEWS, USA, JPN
5. Proper nouns: Mr., Mrs, Ms. and and names of people and their titles.
6. Nationalities: Chinese, Greek, Estonian, Brazilian, Ecuadorian
7. Names of cities, states, countries.
8. Specific geographic locations like South America, North America, Eastern Europe, but not the regular compass directions such as east, west, north, or south.
9. Days, months, holidays, special days, but never the seasons of the year.
10. Specific structures and hotels must be capitalized.
11. Universities, clubs, teams, government agencies
12. Names of school courses like English 202 and Communications 315, but not names of classes without numbers, except languages: Japanese Literature.
13. First, last, and all important words, books, magazines, movies, stories, songs, tv programs.

 

Correcting Capitalization Errors in Sentences

1. his major is economics.
2. christmas is a holiday not only celebrated in america, but dozens of other countries.
3. christmas is always celebrated on the 25th of december.
4. laem chabang is a seasport city of thailand.
5. chulalongkorn university is located near sam yan mrt station.
6. my student is taking four classes this semester: physics 201, entrepreneurship 101, graphic designing, and physical education.
7. one of my favorite books ever is the one by Napoleon Hill called law of success.
8. my suitemate at university was from california, so he spoke with a similar accent to mine.
9. the two main religions in thailand are buddhism and muslim.

Podcast