Self-tutoring about home maintenance terms: the tutor mentions “kerf.” The following is by my understanding. A kerf is a notch cut lengthwise along a piece of substrate. It may be intended to receive a tab to hold other material, such …
Tutoring English, strategies towards writing are important. The tutor mentions preparation. The following is by my understanding. Preparation, in the context of writing, means deciding what you want to explain, to whom, and why. In a high school setting, in …
Self-tutoring about English vocabulary: the tutor mentions exfiltration. The following is by my understanding. I didn’t know exfiltration was a word, but I encountered it reading about computer security. Exfiltration, one might imagine, means exit through a filter. In cybersecurity, …
Tutoring English, the comma is often a source of questions. The tutor mentions a case for it. I mention coordinating conjunctions in my post from June 30. During my research, another point about them came up. I will often use …
English: commas with coordinating conjunctions, part0 Read more →
Tutoring English, ideas about usage come up. The tutor mentions coordinating conjunctions. The following is by my understanding. A coordinating conjunction is one that links two sentences that each could be complete on its own. Such a situation might be …
Self-tutoring about English: the tutor mentions a distinction between farther and further. The following is by my understanding. I always thought farther and further were interchangeable, but it seems I was wrong. Apparently, farther refers to actual distance: In one …
Self-tutoring about English: the tutor mentions a peculiarity among compound words. Back on August 31, 2014, I mention a case of a compound word. A compound word is one that is made of two standalone words brought together. Something is …
Tutoring English, word economy is a topic. The tutor mentions some hints. I mention in yesterday’s post a situation where I had to become very economical with my words. What are some quick hints on how to do so? The …
English: economical writing: Canadian Writer’s Companion Read more →
Self-tutoring about English: the tutor recalls when too many words was unacceptable. Over ten years ago I had to take an English course to get into a new program. I hadn’t taken an academic English course for a long time. …
English, retrospect: a need for economical writing, part 1 Read more →
Self-tutoring about English: the tutor mentions the present participle. The following is according to my understanding. In English, the present participle ends in -ing. It’s a form of verb used to indicate an ongoing action (which can be part of …