Quotatations paraphrases and summaries

I have a problem with these gramatical errors because I haven't done English for quite some time beside last semester. This assignment on rhetorical analysis is alsmost like a research paper where we quote, paraphrase and summarize, but then we also critique. So I just think knowing how to do this more effectiviely will help my writing in the long run.

Quotations must be identical to the original, using a narrow segment of the source. They must match the source document word for word and must be attributed to the original author.
Paraphrasing involves putting a passage from source material into your own words. A paraphrase must also be attributed to the original source. Paraphrased material is usually shorter than the original passage, taking a somewhat broader segment of the source and condensing it slightly.
Summarizing involves putting the main idea(s) into your own words, including only the main point(s). Once again, it is necessary to attribute summarized ideas to the original source. Summaries are significantly shorter than the original and take a broad overview of the source material.

How to use quotations, paraphrases, and summaries
Practice summarizing the following essay, using paraphrases and quotations as you go. It might be helpful to follow these steps:
Read the entire text, noting the key points and main ideas.
Summarize in your own words what the single main idea of the essay is.
Paraphrase important supporting points that come up in the essay.
Consider any words, phrases, or brief passages that you believe should be quoted directly.
There are several ways to integrate quotations into your text. Often, a short quotation works well when integrated into a sentence. Longer quotations can stand alone. Remember that quoting should be done only sparingly; be sure that you have a good reason to include a direct quotation when you decide to do so.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/563/01/

money and from seven floors up

Politics affect art immensely. I love this first poem because it really speaks the truth on money and the roles it palys on all of our lives. I love how the author says to, ''choke it up, fork it over.'' To me this really explains how we are all victim to the monetary system which controls our every day lives. What would life be like with no mentary system? I believe the world would be a much better place. The artist mentions greenbacks in the same sentance as ginnie maes which is the housing market. I also enjoy what this poet is saying because we just had a bail out in October where we gave almost a trillion dollars to these privately owned mortgage foundations and now Obama is doing it again. Where is help for me? Furthermore, the artist wraps up his poem by saying, '' You don't know where it's been, but you put it where your mouth is.'' This is wonderful because most people have no idea that money is just an iou and if the government wanted to superinflate our system there would be nothing we could. But, still we invest in it so much as to feed ourselves and our children.

The next poem ''From Seven Floors Up'' didn't really do much for me but maybe I needed to examine it more. Politics do affect the way we look at the world. This man is observing a homeless man which in turn makes him grateful for his own life. The part I liked particularly is how he hugged the clean toilet because he was greateful for what he had and felt sorry for the homeless man. This poem goes real good with my topic on foregin relations for the semester because if we don't stop this war we could see more people suffer the grim realities of homelessness.

A or An?

So when I first started english again after taking five years off I noticed I kept getting graded poorly on my use of the word an or a. So hear is the rules for this type of grammar

"A" goes before all words that begin with consonants.
a cat
a dog
a purple onion
a buffalo
a big apple
with one exception: Use an before unsounded h.
an honorable peace
an honest error
"An" goes before all words that begin with vowels:
an apricot
an egg
an Indian
an orbit
an uprising
with two exceptions: When u makes the same sound as the y in you, or o makes the same sound as w in won, then a is used.
a union
a united front
a unicorn
a used napkin
a U.S. ship
a one-legged man
Note: The choice of article is actually based upon the phonetic (sound) quality of the first letter in a word, not on the orthographic (written) representation of the letter. If the first letter makes a vowel-type sound, you use "an"; if the first letter would makes a consonant-type sound, you use "a." So, if you consider the rule from a phonetic perspective, there aren't any exceptions. Since the 'h' hasn't any phonetic representation, no audible sound, in the first exception, the sound that follows the article is a vowel; consequently, 'an' is used. In the second exception, the word-initial 'y' sound (unicorn) is actually a glide [j] phonetically, which has consonantal properties; consequently, it is treated as a consonant, requiring 'a'.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/esl/esliart.html

Rich Hill

So anyone who grew up here in Utahs Dixie or went to the schools of Dixie, Tuacahn, or Hurricane may know of a man named Richard Hill. Let me start off by saying he is one hell of a guy. He was my drama teacher in tenth grade and I have never had such a charasmatic teacher in all my life. I didn't really like drama and I still really don't but he is someone who I loved to just be around because he is always open to so many things.
Mr. Hill is a slender surfer from the sixities. He's got tan skin and light almost grayish hair. He has a long pointy noise and he makes the expressions only a seasoned actor could possibly make. The one thing I like about Mr. Hill was whenever we came to class we knew that some unsuspecting girl would get either their hair in a clip or pony tail flung from side to side and he always would say, ''wuba wuba'' I laugh just thinking about how many girls he upset or made laugh. No matter when he did this I would laugh.
Another thing I liked of Mr. Hill was that he didn't just give us an easy A because we were in drama. We had to earn our A and I loved all the insight he had for us in the drama field. Mr Hills drama class was the only class I can remember having to go up on stage and perform which I thoight was so much fun. Just recently I found me and Mr. Hill are into a lot of the same extra curricular activiteis and I just have a lot of respect for him. by the wat I just think this is a funny picture. It reminded me of all my friends in high school.

''I just wanna be average''

I thought this was a pretty good story. I liked how the author went through a transformation from being a vocational student to someone going to a highly respected private college. The fact that the author had to be in vocational classes for two years just goes to show how our school systems can be to strict and to relaxed at the same time. For instance the author was placed in these classes because of a testing error. You would think someone would have caught on to this either him, his parents or the school system. The author goes on further to mention how all of his classes contained guys cheating and disrespecting the teacher in their class.
I thought the book was kind of strange when the author brought up his father out of no where and decided to talk on him. The story almost seemed to add that part in even though the sistuation had little to do with school or what the author had origanally started talking about. I did feel bad for him however because no one wants to go through the pain of watching their Dad die.
The last part of the story made me really happy because the boys situation reminded me of my own life. I didn't really like high school mainly because I didn't feel challenged and I hated being their. I love college(just as long as the work is not too hard) but I feel so much more in place. I don't feel like someone is breathing down my throat all the time or that I have an obligation to be here. I just thought it was wonderful how the teacher wanted to relate to his students on a more personal level and I don't think teachers get enough credit. They have the hardest jobs, but get the least amount their hard work.

Hyphens

So I have never really used hyphens before , but I am noticing that they are becoming more used throughout my college experience so i might as well learn how and when to use them now. I have never used them because I didn't know where they belonged.

1. Use a hyphen to join two or more words serving as a single adjective before a noun:
a one-way streetchocolate-covered peanutswell-known author
However, when compound modifiers come after a noun, they are not hyphenated:
The peanuts were chocolate covered.The author was well known.
2. Use a hyphen with compound numbers:
forty-sixsixty-threeOur much-loved teacher was sixty-three years old.
3. Use a hyphen to avoid confusion or an awkward combination of letters:
re-sign a petition (vs. resign from a job)semi-independent (but semiconscious)shell-like (but childlike)
4. Use a hyphen with the prefixes ex- (meaning former), self-, all-; with the suffix -elect; between a prefix and a capitalized word; and with figures or letters:
ex-husbandself-assuredmid-Septemberall-inclusivemayor-electanti-AmericanT-shirtpre-Civil Warmid-1980s
5. Use a hyphen to divide words at the end of a line if necessary, and make the break only between syllables:
pref-er-encesell-ingin-di-vid-u-al-ist
For line breaks, divide already hyphenated words only at the hyphen:
mass-producedself-conscious
For line breaks in words ending in -ing, if a single final consonant in the root word is doubled before the suffix, hyphenate between the consonants; otherwise, hyphenate at the suffix itself:
plan-ningrun-ningdriv-ingcall-ing
Never put the first or last letter of a word at the end or beginning of a line, and don't put two-letter suffixes at the beginning of a new line:
lovely (Do not separate to leave ly beginning a new line.)eval-u-ate (Separate only on either side of the u; do not leave the initial e- at the end of a line.)


This was found at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_hyphen.html