ative English speakers need to improve their English writing, and English teachers are working to meet this challenge. People today may text each other in abbreviated English and nonstandard spelling, often limiting their reading to cereal boxes over breakfast. Many people lack the background necessary to either teach well or write well. The past, however, is no different. There was no utopian era of writing. Thirty years ago television may have distracted people and eighty years ago radio. Before that people may have not had the time or been illiterate. To nostalgically remember a Golden Age where a high level of literacy was the norm and all English speakers waxed poetry is to deny reality.

Today’s reality demands that more and more people write, and write well, to be successful. Students need to write to do well in school, people in business at all levels need to write to carry out their business, and many people need to write others at long distances to maintain personal relationships. Writing and writing well present a challenge for the native English speaker. For the nonnative English speaker, however, writing is even more of a challenge. Speaking presents a myriad of challenges too, but speaking focuses on getting our messages across. While some people who write speeches and some others do focus on crafting their speech, most people simply speak.

Writing, however, demands that we craft our words. First we think about what we are going to write. Then we write it. After that, we go back and examine what we have written. Sometimes we read our writing aloud to hear how it sounds. All this work helps us to edit our writing. Nonnative speakers, however, often lack the ear or a sense of the language, complicating the writing process for them. When we teach writing to nonnative speakers, we see writing that is a combination of knowledge from their English knowledge and from their first language. If nonnative speakers know languages other than their first language and English, we may see their influence too.

As an example, let’s look at Japanese who are not native speakers of English and how their English studies and the influence of their native language may influence their English writing. Starting with the influence of their English studies, many Japanese are used to speaking English. When they first start to write in English, they use the same patterns that they use when speaking. Teachers teaching such students need to be sure that their students understand the difference between written and spoken text. This will require giving the students examples, providing reading, and showing them how to edit their written texts.

Japanese students are also influenced by the long sentences common to Japanese. Below is an example of how an English sentence might look if it were written a Japanese student in English but with Japanese construction:

As almost all our writing work concerns Japanese to English translations, this section will address sentence lengths of English sentences, which can get very confusing when they are too long; many Japanese writers use very long sentences, compared to English writers.

The above example is not well written and is just too long. The sentence has too much punctuation: three commas and a semicolon. The student did not understand that semicolons normally connect two short sentences, not two long ones. The Japanese student also needs to learn that sentences with too many commas are confusing. Lastly is the problem that the sentence has too many ideas. The student needs to learn the general rule that each sentence should have one idea.

Many Japanese sentences are very long and contain more than one idea. Japanese students may create such Japanese sentences in their mind and produce them as English sentences. This is one error that creates many difficult to understand English sentences. Japanese students must remember that one long Japanese sentence should be reorganized into two, three, or even four smaller English sentences.

When teaching English writing to speakers of other languages, knowing about the influence of their native languages can help. Read the writing of enough nonnative English students with the same native language and you will see the influence. Understanding this influence is one way to help to better teach these students.

Do you want to make lots of money fast? Well, don’t fret. If you possess a decent talent for writing, money will not be hard to come by. Just look at the number of freelance writers out there. Look at the blogs that are generating a steady income month after month!

Having an interest in writing will help you make lots of money fast. While writing a novel about your life might earn you millions one day, below are some proven tips that will help you earn a fat sum now.

1) Blog for other blogs.

One way to make lots of money fast is by blogging for other blogs. You might notice the number of blogs that have popped up over the recent years. Some of them are soloists while others require a variety of writers to make up a team. Your ticket is in the latter group.

Look for a blog that specializes in your line of interest and offer your blogging services. The great thing about being a hired blogger is that you not only get to keep your own voice, you get paid for it as well. And you don’t even have to worry about advertisement or paying for the site. All you have to do is blog.

2) Be a ghostwriter.

Another way you can make lots of money fast is by ghostwriting. It is a well-known fact that a lot of company leaders have people who write their speeches or letters for them. If you have a knack for any of these, don’t be intimidated to show your work. Who knows? This might be your best meal ticket yet!

3) Read other articles.

Always make it a habit to read other people’s work. They will give you the inspiration to start writing. If not, they will at least give you an idea of where to begin. Writer’s block can be tough to overcome at times; but as long as you know how to motivate yourself, you’ll have no trouble getting back in the game.

As a writer, you have the potential to make lots of money fast. Check out the Internet. There’s always someone in need of writing services. The income varies, of course, so you’d better check out your opportunities wisely.


- Michael Lee

Your wedding vows should suit you and your partner only, it really doesn’t matter what anyone else expects you to do. These vows are made to each other and they are the most personal part of your wedding. If you mean every word and remember them always you are well on the way to a long and happy marriage.

You will be officially married once you have exchanged your vows; they are the most important part of the wedding ceremony.

Your vows represent what promises you are making to each other and what your marriage means.

Many people are now replacing the traditional vows with words of their own that are not so formal, they are deciding on their own words which better reflect the way they feel for each other and what their love means. You may feel that traditional vows are right for you but if not then you should decide on your own words.

Here are the typical wedding vows…

“I [your name] take you [your partners name] for my lawful [wife/husband] to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part”

Many people use these traditional vows as the foundation that they will modify to suit their needs by adding personalized touches where they like.

A lot of people like to include poetry in their vows. and also in their wedding invitations.

Some people also like to recite poems at the reception and this can add a really nice touch to the speeches.

You can get some good ideas for wedding poetry from wedding cards and these might even help inspire you or your partner to create your own poems for the wedding.

One relatively simple way to help you write your own poetry for your wedding is to write down the all the words and comments that you would like to say in a series of sentences and then go to a site like www.rhymezone.com on the internet and find words that rhyme with the words at the end of each sentence.

By rearranging the sentences and making appropriate changes you can create your own poetry that will be unique to your wedding ceremony.

The rearrangement of the words might mean you will need to add or remove phrases until your have a nice flowing poem.

You will need to read it out aloud as this is the best way to see whether the poem flows or whether you need to add or remove ‘filler’ words.

It can be fun writing your own wedding vows or poetry however if you or your partner find it too difficult to get it sounding as you would like then you might need to consider using some pre-written wedding vows or poetry that you should be able to find with a search on the internet or as previously mentioned from wedding cards.

Just remember to never stop having fun because that’s what it’s all about – getting the most happiness in your life by sharing it with someone you love.


- Jayne Waldorf

I am stumped again! I just can’t seem to write things out the way I see them in my head! Ok, so here’s what i am TRYING to write. There are two ten year olds, or Pre-teens idk, that meet for the first time in a forest. I tried to write a conversation starter, but I ended making the m say hi and introduce each other. It was really bland and i really did’nt like it. Is there a way to write it that isn’t like the typical “Hi, my name is…” speeches? Please give me an example! I am dying of writers block syndrome!( if ever such a thing lol)
- rubik

What is the instrument used to accompany personal poetry?
drums
flute
harp
lyre

Obdurate means
violent
perfect
heroic
stubborn

What can you conclude from the crowd’s reaction to the speeches Brutus and Antony make in the marketplace after Caesar’s death?
Everyone loved Caesar.
Everyone hated Caesar.
Brutus is not respected.
The crowd is easily swayed.
- picture