Three Grammar Writing Exercises

Exercise 1 of 3
1- The team won (its) (it's) game. Did you win (yours) (your's), (to)
(too) (two)?
The team won its game. Did you win yours too?

2- They left (their) (there) books (there) (their) (they're).
They left their books there.

3- I hear (your) (you're) about to graduate.
I hear you’re about to graduate.

4- (Its) (It's) nice that (there) (their) (they're) friendly.
It’s nice that they’re friendly.

5- Although I get (alot) (a lot) of colds, I feel (all right)(alright)
now.
Although I get a lot of colds, I feel alright.

6- (Whose) (Who's) prettier (then) (than) you?
Who’s prettier than you?

7- Are you tired? I'm out of (breathe) (breath), (too) (to) (two).
Are you tired? I’m out of breath, too.

8- Run back and (fourth) (forth) from (hear) (here) to (their) (there).
Run back and forth from here to there.

9- (Your) (You're) about to (loose) (lose) (your) (you're) book.
You’re about to lose your book.

10- Everyone will (accept) (except) the prize (accept) (except) you.
Everyone will accept the prize and accept you.

11- Do you know (weather) (whether) or not he will give me the prize.
Do you know whether or not he will give me the prize.

12- Many people (choose) (chose) to live in large cities.
Many people choose to live in large cities.

13- Is the doctor (through) (thorough) (threw) with my exam?
Is the doctor through with my exam?

14- What (affect) (effect) does the school (principle)(principal) have
on you?
What effect does the school principal have on you?

15- What did he (advice) (advise) you to do? Did you take his (advice)
(advise)?
What did he advise you to do? Did you take his advice?

16- (There) (Their) (They're) are (alot) (a lot) of (your) (you're) friends
in the boat.
There are a lot of your friends in the boat.

17- I will (buy) (by) a book (buy) (by) Ray Bradbury.
I will buy a book by Ray Bradbury.

Exercise 2 of 3
Identifying Sentence Structure
Results here

Exercise 3 of 3
Sentence Fragements
Results here

Grammar Exercise

1. Some radio stations have powerful signals, they can be heard in nearby cities.
Some radio stations have powerful signals; they can be heard in nearby cities.
2. One disc jockey reads letters, he also jokes with callers
One disc jockey reads letters; he also jokes with callers.
3. Several stations hold contests, prizes are often albums.
Several stations hold contests; prizes are often albums.
4. Tanya won one contest, she named a song correctly.
Tanya won a contest; she named a song correctly.
5. The sound system is complex, few people could operate it.
The sound system is complex; few people could operate it.
6. The Reds won the pennant they will play in the World Series.
The Reds won the pennant, and they will play in the World Series.
7. Last summer we camped, it was the best vacation ever.
Last summer we camped; it was the best vacation ever.
8. Tony has a set of barbells, he lifts weights every day.
Tony has a set of barbells; he lifts weights everyday.
9. We saw an old Hitchcock film, it was a classic thriller.
We saw an old Hitchcock film; it was a classic thriller.
10. A raccoon visits our back porch every evening, we call him the Lone Ranger.
A raccoon visits our back porch every evening; we call him the Lone Ranger.

My Adventure Through My Neighbourhood.

One bright, sunny day, I decided to go for a walk around my block. During my journey, I saw a lot of interesting and sometimes terrifying things.
As I stepped out of my house, I noticed that our garbage can was there, and being the curious little fellow that I am, I decided to see what we were throwing away. I climbed inside and saw that my mother was throwing away my lucky sneakers; I was furious. My mother had always said she was going to throw them away because the stench coming from them made everybody’s eyes water, but I never actually believed her. So I yanked them out of the garbage can and continued on my adventure.
Not too far from my garbage can there was a wigwam. This interested me very much, so I walked in to see what was inside. When I went in I found all of my friends playing. I asked them if I could play, but they wouldn’t let me. I begged and begged for them to let me join them, but only ended up being chased out of the wigwam and all the way across the street to where Mr. Wilson was washing his car.
Mr. Wilson isn’t a very friendly old man, and doesn’t tend to like children very much, especially me, but my mother always taught me to be polite to our neighbours. I asked him if he needed any help and he said he didn’t, but I insisted on giving him a hand. I grabbed the bucket of soapy water and a rag and began to clean. Mr. Wilson got very angry and attempted to yank the bucket from me; he also isn’t strong, so when I yanked the bucket back it ended up flying in the air and landing right on top of his head. Mr. Wilson managed to get up; his face was the color of a fire truck. I could tell he was extremely mad, so I ran with all might right into Mr. Underhill’s chicken coup.
Mr. Underhill has a lot of vicious chickens that do not like many visitors. I laid there trying to keep very still and quiet so I wouldn’t disturb them, but one eventually spotted me and started to cluck with all its might, which made all of them cluck. All of the dangerous chickens made their way over to me and started to peck at me, I yelled and yelled and finally got out of the coup, but ended running right into Mr. Underhill while he mowed his lawn.
I stood there and listened as Mr. Underhill gave me a lecture on how I should be more like all of the other children on the block. I tried to explain to him that it was an accident, but he didn’t seem to want to listen to me. He then sent me on my way and told me that my parents should expect a phone call from him later on tonight.
When I finally got home it was dark, and I had missed supper. My mom was over reacting, and said she had no idea where I was. I explained to her that I only intended on taking a tiny walk but ended up running into a few teeny, tiny obstacles.
Later on that night, my parents did receive their phone call from Mr. Underhill, and a surprise one from Mr. Wilson. My parents were furious, and ended up grounding me for a week. I learned a valuable lesson that night; never take a walk by yourself, because you end up getting all of the blame.

Review for The Twilight Movie Review

I have recently watched the movie Twilight, and have read a movie review for it. I chose this review because the author agrees with most of what I thought about the movie.
The San Francisco Chronicle claims that Twilight, the movie does not include the major parts of the 500 page book. I agree with this; most of the good parts from the book were missing, like when Edward and Bella are driving home from Port Angeles, and she is asking him about his ‘condition.’
This review also states that the movie does not give you the same feeling as the book does. I strongly agree with this, because I have read the book also, and the movie does not contain the wistful words of Edward, or a good description of how in love they are, the movie doesn’t get me carried away like the book did.

Freedom Writers: an emotionally moving film.

Freedom Writers is an emotionally moving film directed by Richard LaGravenese, it was released in theatres on January 5, 2007 and was out on DVD May 22, 2007. Some of the main characters in this movie are, Erin Gruwell, played by Hilary Swank, Scott Casey, played by Patrick Dempsey, whom you may know from Grey’s Anatomy , Steve Gruwell, played by Scott Glen, Andre, played by Mario, the singer, and Eva, played by April L Hernandez.
This movie is about a young woman named Erin Gruwell who went to a school to teach a class full of different races, who were said to be ‘delinquents,’ Erin struggled to educate them because all they were focused on was fighting with each other in class and staying alive. After Erin broke the ice, she bought all of the students a journal to record their thoughts, stories, poems, and lyrics. The children loved this idea and were writing in their journals every day. As the movie progressed, the children started to become a whole group instead of separating themselves according to race and they began to read The Diary of Anne Frank as a class, they enjoyed the novel and discovered that Anne was just like them, she also had to struggle to stay alive. At the end of the movie, the end of sophomore year came and the children publish their journals into a book, called the Freedom Writers.As the year came closer to an end, the children asked Erin if she was going to be teaching them again during junior year, the children were upset to find out she wouldn’t be, so she took her case to the department of education. The end of the film is very rewarding.
A movie that is similar to Freedom Writers is Coach Carter. This movie is about Ken Carter, played by Samuel L Jackson, a successful sporting goods store owner, who accepts the job of basketball coach for his old high school in a poor area of Richmond, CA, where he was a champion athlete. Carter set out to change the attitude of his players and their grades. He does this by locking the gym and cancelling all practices until his wishes are met, and with no struggle, the boys bring their grades up and are able to play basketball again. This movie is similar because of the fact that an adult is trying to change or help struggling children with their own issues, and bring some discipline into their lives.
An aspect of the movie that I thought was very well done, were the scenes where the children talked about their life experiences, they really shone some light on what the kids were going through and also gave each of them some character development. A scene that I really liked was where Mrs. Gruwell was reading the journals of their life stories and encounters. I like this particular scene because it made me put myself in their shoes for a minute and realize how lucky we are to live in the community that we do.
I feel that the message this movie was trying to send is everyone is the same, no matter who they are, or where they come from. The movie delivers this message when the children realize that Anne Frank had to go through the same type of battles they went through everyday; staying alive. The movie also delivers this message when the children start to come together as one whole group, because they now know that just because they are all different race, doesn’t mean they can’t go though the same type of battles.

Cover Letter

February 5, 2009

Michelle Jardine
Blackville, NB
MiJa00253@student.nbed.nb.ca

Mr. Carter
The Blackville Talon


Dear Mr. Carter:

I am applying for a position on The Blackville Talon to work on the “Kids Korner” and the “Middle School Viewpoint”. You should select me because I have experience with children and I get along with them well.
I am writing because I am told there are positions open to work on The Blackville Talon.
I feel you should choose me because children have always been a big part of my life. Also, I love to interview people and do research to find out other people’s opinions. I have experience as a Sunday school teacher which will be very helpful when working with people younger than me.
Thank you for considering me for a position and I hope to hear from you in the near future.

Respectfully yours,

Michelle Jardine

A Night Full of Regret

It was a cold, winters night. My friends and I were coming home from the most amazing New Years party ever! I was in the passenger seat, my three friends in the back, and my boyfriend was driving; he was our sober driver.

We were getting close to the overpass in Renous, the roads were shockingly icy and because of the storm, it was hard to see the pattern of the highway.
We finally reached the overpass, and were on our way to drop my friends off at home. All of a sudden, I felt the car swerve underneath me and everything started spinning and became very blurry. I heard the faint screams of my friends
behind me and the terrifying shout of my boyfriend; then everything went black.

When I woke up, I was lying in a hospital bed with wires connected to me everywhere and a broken leg, I noticed my mom sleeping peacefully in a chair that looked rather uncomfortable. I tried to yell for her but my voice was way too hoarse, so I buzzed for the nurse instead. My nurse came in and my mother woke up. I rapidly started asking a million and one questions and all they could say was, “it will be okay, don’t worry.”

The biggest questions I had were, “where are my friends, are they okay?” “What about my boyfriend?” The answer I got hit me extremely hard, it shattered my whole world, they told me my friends were fine, but my boyfriend didn’t make it, they said the force of the crash crushed him. I didn’t know what to do, I was speechless.

Two days later, I was released from the hospital. I arrived home and then it hit me, my boyfriend was dead I would never see him again. I collapsed on my floor, and spent my day sobbing.

Three months have passed and my days are filled with sorrow and regret of that night. My mind is filled with the images of the car spinning, and my ears are filled with the screams of my friends and my boyfriend. I wish I could take that night back, because all I want is him to come back to me.