A writer often struggles to find inspiration when faced with a blank page without a spark of inspiration. To help, two excellent lists of essay prompts for college have been created, covering a wide range of topics from personal experiences and challenges to creative writing. These prompts are designed to help writers craft their best PIQ responses.
The 7 Common App essay prompts for the 2024-2025 cycle are provided, each with distinct topics and strategies. The prompts are chosen based on their relevance and link to the richest Times materials from their Student Opinion collection.
Twinkl offers a mash-up of creative writing prompts from 1200 Creative Writing Prompts, including questions about punctuation, points, commas, parentheses, quotation marks, and colons. Students can use corpus extracts to deduce rules for the placement of commas and apply them in their own argumentative essays. They must correctly insert commas to change the tone of the conversation and make it clearer, more dramatic, or comedic.
In addition to writing, students will learn how to use commas, periods, and question marks to add correct punctuation to notes in a grammar and mechanics worksheet. For example, they will review three comma rules they learned previously by completing a 5-question worksheet and then learn and take notes on two new comma rules.
In summary, creative writing prompts are essential for writers to find inspiration and engage their readers. By using these prompts, students can enhance their punctuation skills and become more successful in their writing endeavors.
📹 Comma story – Terisa Folaron
It isn’t easy holding complex sentences together (just ask a conjunction or a subordinate), but the clever little comma can help …
📹 Remember This Grammar Rule
Get into your dream school: https://nextadmit.com/roadmap/
A comma marks a slight break between different parts of a sentence. Used properly, commas make the meaning of sentences clear by grouping and separating words, phrases, and clauses. Many people are uncertain about the use of commas, though, and often sprinkle them throughout their writing without knowing the basic rules. Here are the main cases when you need to use a comma: in lists in direct speech to separate clauses to mark off certain parts of a sentence with ‘however’ Using commas in lists You need to put a comma between the different items in a list, as in the following sentences: Saturday morning started with a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and French toast. The school has a vegetable garden in which the children grow cabbages, onions, potatoes, and carrots. The final comma in these lists (before the word ‘and’) is known as the ‘serial comma’. Not all writers or publishers use it, but it is used by Oxford Dictionaries – some people refer to it as ‘the Oxford comma’. Using it can make your meaning clearer. Take a look at this sentence: My favourite sandwiches are chicken, bacon and ham and cheese. It isn’t entirely clear from this sentence whether the writer is listing three or four of their favourite sandwich fillings: is ‘ham’ one of their favourites and ‘cheese’ another, or is it ‘ham and cheese’ that they like? Adding an Oxford comma makes the meaning clear: My favourite sandwiches are chicken, bacon, and ham and cheese. Using commas in direct speech When a writer quotes a speaker’s words exactly as they were spoken, this is known as direct speech.
4:32: Conjunctions never need the help of commas. Commas are only used AFTER conjunctions in lengthy sentences to surround a portion of the sentence that, when removed, still makes sense. For instance, “Two of Bartheleme’s many hobbies include dancing and, despite his fear of heights, skydiving.” When the portion surrounded by the commas is removed, the sentence still makes sense: “Two of Bartheleme’s many hobbies include dancing and skydiving.” The sentence at 4:04, “Bartheleme was accepted into the University of Chicago, and he is on the waitlist for Stanford University” is sufficient without the comma. I find it strange why one would randomly and awkwardly place a comma where it is not needed. Commas are only placed before the conjunction “and” when listing multiple items in a list. For example, “Bartheleme needs to buy eggs, milk, cheese, bread, and yogurt.”
Nope. There are too many exceptions to these rules. I’ll point out one exception, perhaps the most significant one. “However” is better classified as a conjunction, and that’s if you’re going to say it’s either a conjunction or a subordinate, which is problematic in itself. It would be better to work from these examples of common conjunctions and subordinates to a more solid understanding of the two concepts themselves, then to work from there back to the words again to show that the issue is more about grammatical function than the words themselves. That is, given enough supporting structure, a word like “however” (or, dare I say, any word) could be a conjunction or a subordinate (or any other type of word), depending on the whole sentence. I appreciate using human cognitive shortcuts (i.e. anthropomorphization and common-sense physics) to construct rules of thumb; it’s a clever pedagogical move, however (or but) there are too many exceptions to these rules of thumb to make them very handy.
listening to this on headphones; the noise-gate on the audio is reeeally distracting and super-unprofessional of you, TED! If all the dialogue is recorded with constant noise just leave it in in-between! the hissing coming and going is too distracting, either EQ it out or leave it in throughout… Did you let an inexperienced intern edit this? Don’t do that 😉
My whole life, ALL of my english teachers were like: “English language doesn’t use these, so guys, since there are no rules for it, let’s not bother, okay?” while in my language, the Czech language, we received a lower grade for each incorrect use of a comma. Really, the english grammar is a joke in comparrison (now, it’s a shocking discovery, a bit less of a joke). I always knew, there’s more to it. 😊😊😊 (Now, I’m intentionally using the commas the same way, the Czechs use them, because my whole life I was led to believe, that I shouldn’t use them in english writing and now I want to make up for it, muhehehe!)
3.1415926535897932384626433832795028841971693993751058209749445923078164062862089986280348253421170679821480865132823066470938446095505822317253594081284811174502841027019385211055596446229489549303819644288109756659334461284756482337867831652712019091456485669234603486104543266482133936072602491412737245870066063155881748815209209628292540917153643678925903600113305305488204665213841469519415116094330572703657595919530921861173819326117931051185480744623799627495673518857527248912279381830119491298336733624406566430860213949463952247371907021798609437027705392171762931767523846748184676694051320005681271452635608277857713427577896091736371787214684409012249534301465495853710507922796892589235420199561121290219608640344181598136297747713099605187072113499999983729780499510597317328160963185950244594553469083026425223082533446850352619311881710100031378387528865875332083814206171776691473035982534904287554687311595628638823537875937519577818577805321712268066130019278766111959092164201989380952572010654858632788659361533818279682303019520353018529689957736225994138912497217752834791315155748572424541506959508295331168617278558890750983817546374649393192550604009277016711390098488240128583616035637076601047101819429555961989467678374494482553797747268471040475346462080466842590694912933136770289891521047521620569660240580381501935112533824300355876402474964732639141992726042699227967823547816360093417216412199245863150302861829745557067498385054945885869269956909272107975093029553211653449872027559602364806654991198818347977535663698074265425278625518184175746728909777727938000816470600161452491921732172147723501414419735685481613611573525521334757418494684385233239073941433345477624168625189835694855620992192221842725502542568876717904946016534668049886272327917860857843838279679766814541009538837863609506800642251252051173929848960841284886269456042419652850222106611863067442786220391949450471237137869609563643719172874677646575739624138908658326459958133904780275900994657640789512694683983525957098258226205224894077267194782684826014769909026401363944374553050682034962524517493996514314298091906592509372216964615157098583874105978859597729754989301617539284681382686838689427741559918559252459539594310499725246808459872736446958486538367362226260991246080512438843904512441365497627807977156914359977001296160894416948685558484063534220722258284886481584560285060168427394522674676788952521385225499546667278239864565961163548862305774564980355936345681743241125150760694794510965960940252288797108931456691368672287489405601015033086179286809208747609178249385890097149096759852613655497818931297848216829989487226588048575640142704775551323796414515237462343645428584447952658678210511413547357395231134271661021359695362314429524849371871101457654035902799344037420073105785390621983874478084784896833214457138687519435064302184531910484810053706146806749192781911979399520614196634287544406437451237181921799983910159195618146751426912397489409071864942319615679452080951465502252316038819301420937621378559566389377870830390697920773467221825625996615014215030680384477345492026054146659252014974428507325186660021324340881907104863317346496514539057962685610055081066587969981635747363840525714591028970641401109712062804390397595156771577004203378699360072305587631763594218731251471205329281918261861258673215791984148488291644706095752706957220917567116722910981690915280173506712748583222871835209353965725121083579151369882091444210067510334671103141267111369908658516398315019701651511685171437657618351556508849099898599823873455283316355076479185358932261854896321329330898570642046752590709154814165498594616371802709819943099244889575712828905923233260972997120844335732654893823911932597463667305836041428138830320382490375898524374417029132765618093773444030707469211201913020330380197621101100449293215160842444859637669838952286847831235526582131449576857262433441893039686426243410773226978028073189154411010446823252716201052652272111660396665573092547110557853763466820653109896526918620564769312570586356620185581007293606598764861179104533488503461136576867532494416680396265797877185560845529654126654085306143444318586769751456614068007002378776591344017127494704205622305389945613140711270004078547332699390814546646458807972708266830634328587856983052358089330657574067954571637752542021149557615814002501262285941302164715509792592309907965473761255176567513575178296664547791745011299614890304639947132962107340437518957359614589019389713111790429782856475032031986915140287080859904801094121472213179476477726224142548545403321571853061422881375850430633217518297986622371721591607716692547487389866549494501146540628433663937900397692656721463853067360965712091807638327166416274888800786925602902284721040317211860820419000422966171196377921337575114959501566049631862947265473642523081770367515906735023507283540567040386743513622224771589150495309844489333096340878076932599397805419341447377441842631298608099888687413260472156951623965864573021631598193195167353812974167729478672422924654366800980676928238280689964004824354037014163149658979409243237896907069779422362508221688957383798623001593776471651228935786015881617557829735233446042815126272037343146531977774160319906655418763979293344195215413418994854447345673831624993419131814809277771038638773431772075456545322077709212019051660962804909263601975988281613323166636528619326686336062735676303544776280350450777235547105859548702790814356240145171806246436267945612753181340783303362542327839449753824372058353114771199260638133467768796959703098339130771098704085913374641442822772634659470474587847787201927715280731767907707157213444730605700733492436931138350493163128404251219256517980694113528013147013047816437885185290928545201165839341965621349143415956258658655705526904965209858033850722426482939728584783163057777560688876446248246857926039535277348030480290058760758251047470916439613626760449256274204208320856611906254543372131535958450687724
What about that posh fellow, the Oxford comma. Commas are used to break up the items in a list – “Please bring me some wood, a hammer, some nails, and a chisel.” However, some people for some strange reason, leave out the last comma in that sentence. Really clever people, however, even if they have never studied in the hallowed halls of the University of Oxford, know that it is just as essential as are the commas that come before it! 😉😉
3:55 Isn’t this an Oxford comma, meaning it’s not actually necessary? I mean, I myself don’t mind it, and I even used it just now! However, I’m personally kinda inconsistent. Anyway the point is I think this is sort of a bad example considering the comma doesn’t actually need to be there, but it can still be there
I have to support MrEjemploanomino. At least foreigners have problems. What about an address – is the house xyz at or in road/street abc? Am I on the bus or in the bus? Are there aliens on or at planet 59? Are you in a place or at a place in your city? Are words written on a letter or in a letter? There are several cases in which other languages use other words than the English equivalent.
Maybe I’m hypersensitive, but this article seems to be slightly offensive in that it reinforces the stereotype that strong people are dumb and weak people are smart. Also, a little extrapolation would also suggest that the presenter is making men look dumb and women look smart. Perhaps next time the presenter could come up with a less juvenile way of explaining intellectual concepts considering most of us perusal this are probably adults. Also, get rid of the female chauvinism in the subtext…
I think that the tone of the lesson doesn’t match the way it’s being taught. This looks to be aimed at a young audience, around the 10-13 age group. However, especially with the examples, it feels a bit too convoluted for them to follow, and it also feels a little clumsy, mentioning long names “Bartheleme” and “interpretive dance” when something simpler like “Suzy” and “music” would suffice. What I’m saying is, you need to dumb it down *just* a bit to get a better effect.
This is out of the subject, Save yourself and pray that God will forgive you for your sins. Dear God, I know I’m a sinner, and I ask for your forgiveness. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son. I believe that He died for my sin and that you raised Him to life. I want to trust Him as my Savior and follow Him as Lord, from this day forward. Guide my life and help me to do your will. I pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen. God forgives your sins through the sacrifice of Christ. And enjoy a clear conscience, eternal life, forgiveness, and fellowship with God.
English is a very convoluted language. As a speaker/student of nearly any language I can encounter I see that non-English speakers find it the most difficult language to learn. Complex, superfluous and ever changing in nomenclature. As a English-as-a-first language speaker I hit the wall with Bulgarian.
This article is not very useful, I’m afraid. It distinguishes between ‘conjunctions’ and ‘subordinates’. But that’s confusing because they’re both conjunctions and the article fails to hit the proper categories (It is like dividing the students in a classroom into A: female and B: redheads). What is meant is ‘coordinating conjunctions’ and ‘subordinating conjunctions’. What’s more: The author needs far too complicated diversions to point out the fairly simple fact that main clauses are (or can be, rather) indicated by a comma. The real question, i.e. where to put a comma with a suborddinate conjunction, is not so much about a sentence’s balance but rather about where the main clause’s subject and predicate are, an information I need in order to get a quick grip on the sentence’s syntax and meaning. The article aims at simplifying something seemingly complex, but, in fact, it complicates something rather simple.
4:05 i learned that when you say “and” you don’t need a comma, bc it, hmm, kind of binds the other halfs together? but maybe that’s just in german. when i wrote a short story in english on my mobile a couple of days ago and wanted to continue on the computer a day after, it constantly told me to put a comma before my “and”s. (have grammarly installed on my computer.) guess i learned sth new today.
i always had a hard time with commas,my lung capacity is larger then average person. we tested that once with the whole class. so i never understood why i need to put a comma in there. cause i had still air plenty to say more words. is kinda strange,that every person is different,so you would put the comma in diffrent places. but ofc you put them in there for structure….not only for air.
This feels full of jargon and over abundant with examples. Simply put if a subordinate is used to join two sentences, and is at the beginning of a sentence, use a comma where the subordinate would be if it wasn’t at the beginning. If it’s not at the beginning a comma isn’t necessary. If you’re combining two complete sentences with a conjunction a comma should be used before the conjunction. If a conjunction is used between a complete sentence and a sentence that wouldn’t be complete on it’s own (a fragment sentence), then use a comma.
I do enjoy perusal this kind of things, they are really helpful and cute. to simple the facts shared before ‘ Fanboy’s: For, and, but,or, yet, so. ( Or can be the exception). After the first sentence after However, although, Even-though, and much more. They can be used to show list of word, and great to use to separate a long sentence, such as this one. Even-though the comma is confusing, it is an important piece of punctuation. I suggest those that do not like it stop being a fussy wussy.
My English sucks but I do know to use a comma properly. Simpler explanation: use a comma when you link a dependent clause with an independent clause. A complete sentence requires one independent clause, or one dependent clause and one independent clause. A complete sentence cannot be formed with two dependent clauses. At 3:27: Both “Bartheleme loves to sing” and “he never sings in front of others” are an independent clause. However, when a conjunction “Even though” is added to an independent clause, the clause becomes a dependent clause. So, “Even though Barheleme loves to sing” is a DC. As I mentioned at the start, above, use a comma when you want to link a dependent clause to with a IC. “Even though Bartheleme loves to sing, he never sings in front of others.” Only uses a comma when the dependent clause comes first. Don’t use a comma when the independent clause comes first. “Bartheleme (He) never sings in front of others even though he loves to sing.”
Listen non-native English learners, TED is an excellent tool for learning and should be taken lightly. Although, it may seem difficult at times, education is a lifestyle not a competition of knowledge. Be courteous and stoic in your journey in life. Love the article and especially the fanboys acronym, I will use this in my lesson plan tomorrow in class. 🙂
Here’s a more intuitive way of thinking about it: When subordinates are placed in between two clauses, there doesn’t need to be a comma. When they are placed at the beginning of the sentence, the comma separates the clauses. Conjunctions (fanboys) typically aren’t at the front of a sentence. If they are, then they technically aren’t preforming the task considered in the article. If the clauses a conjunction separates are missing a verb or a noun on either or both sides, a comma isn’t needed. (“We are cooking porkchops and green beans” doesn’t need a comma because the conjunction doesn’t have a verb on both sides. “Would you like to go hiking or fish?”, similarly, doesn’t need a comma because the conjunction separates two clauses, one of which doesn’t have a noun.) But, if it separates two independent clauses, meaning both sides have a noun and a verb, a comma is needed, such as in the sentence, “Jared will go to the store, and then he’ll have dinner”. If you got rid of the “he’ll” in this sentence, it wouldn’t need a comma.