English composition and grammar help

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A university student and English tutor, referred to as Evo Child, is offering assistance with English homework, paper reviews, and answering questions. There is interest in creating a dedicated forum for English help on the platform, especially to support non-native speakers and those needing assistance with technical terms. Participants discuss the potential benefits of such a forum, noting that many users could benefit from English language support. The conversation also touches on the challenges some students face in mastering English, including grammar and composition skills. Suggestions for where to post requests for help are made, emphasizing the need for a clear space for English assistance, separate from other subjects. The overall sentiment is positive towards establishing this support system, highlighting its potential value for the community.
  • #31
BobG said:
Walmart is in at least one movie. Haven't you ever seen the movie about the Walmart baby? (Where the Heart Is)

Um, sorry, I'm not trying to be obtuse, but how does that support the contention that WalMart metaphors are common in literature? Or is there chain-yanking going on here? I can't quite pin this down. I'm a naive sort. :smile:

I used to tutor other kids in my classes when I was in high school and have volunteered as an adult literacy tutor for a number of years. It's more than surprising how many people make it out of school but have poor language skills. And given how important they are particularly in personal presentation when the only representation someone has of you are your words on paper (or pixels on a screen) I value it as a skill worth honing and information worth sharing. So why wouldn't someone appeal to an academically-inclined website for well-rounded assistance? You can't craft a solid research grant without those skills.

I've found similar situations, Evo, where people are math or science whizzes who can't seem to grasp the nuances or rules for written communication. Conversely, math is an all-out battle for me -- I can get it, but it takes quite a bit of doing -- whereas English soaks up naturally.
 
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  • #32
GeorginaS said:
Um, sorry, I'm not trying to be obtuse, but how does that support the contention that WalMart metaphors are common in literature? Or is there chain-yanking going on here? I can't quite pin this down. I'm a naive sort. :smile:

When Shakespeare said...

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."

... he was referring to buying generic drugs from Walmart at a much lower price than the name brands.

(His premise is false, by the way. People's perception of things is greatly influenced by the words used to describe it - something English speakers sometimes miss since our nouns have no gender. Likewise, the placebo effect will often result in Tylonel bringing faster pain relief than the generic acetaminophen medication.)
 
  • #33
I think it's a great suggestion for a new forum, not only to assist non-native speakers, but also to enable people to polish up grammatical errors from things like graduate application essays, etc etc.

It's a very generous offer from the Evo child to help in such a way. (I imagine there are some other members who could also help out.)

I don't think it would be good as a subforum in the homework forum, though, since that is under the name "Science Education", and such a forum will likely get hidden in there. Maybe as a subsection of GD? Hey, we could always replace P&WA :wink:
 
  • #34
BobG said:
When Shakespeare said...

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."

... he was referring to buying generic drugs from Walmart at a much lower price than the name brands.

(His premise is false, by the way. People's perception of things is greatly influenced by the words used to describe it - something English speakers sometimes miss since our nouns have no gender. Likewise, the placebo effect will often result in Tylonel bringing faster pain relief than the generic acetaminophen medication.)

Wow, again, sorry, I'm entirely lost. waht wrote this:

I went to walmart today that was being renovated for months. I did not understand the reason behind the renovation, the old one was just fine. Needless to say, I was astonished to find a new department selling steaks, fish, apples and oranges. They even built a new bakery. It's great now, we like variety.

I don't see the first thing about generic drug purchasing in there.

berkeman wrote
(I was kidding... The post was an artistic metaphor! Walmart metaphors are common in the literature, I hope you know.)

I don't see generic drugs there either.

Let me try this avenue, then. Are you, Bob, suggesting to me that the "Walmart metaphors in literature" comment means that the word "Walmart" can be liberally substituted for stories containing a similar or parallel characters or places or objects who have a like definition for "Walmart's" business practises? (Okay, I can barely unravel that sentence. Good luck to you! :biggrin:)

I'll go with that, to a point. What that has to do with one lone movie, I don't know. I'm also not sure what that has to do with renovations and a bakery. But, I'll leave this alone and live with my lack of Walmart literary references. :smile:
 
  • #35
Stop it, stop it! My abs hurt. Owieee!

OMG, I'm ROTFLMAO. I need some popcorn...
 
  • #36
cristo said:
I think it's a great suggestion for a new forum, not only to assist non-native speakers, but also to enable people to polish up grammatical errors from things like graduate application essays, etc etc.

It's a very generous offer from the Evo child to help in such a way. (I imagine there are some other members who could also help out.)

I don't think it would be good as a subforum in the homework forum, though, since that is under the name "Science Education", and such a forum will likely get hidden in there. Maybe as a subsection of GD? Hey, we could always replace P&WA :wink:
So, I'm wondering where I should post this so that I get some serious responses? As was pointed out to me, GD is the last place I should have posted this, since most people needing help probably aren't looking in GD.
 
  • #37
Feedback forum would be the next step. Greg's on vacation though, I think...
 
  • #38
I was trying to be serious when I said I thought it was valuable, Evo. (Not that my opinion counts for a whole bunch.) Evidently I unintentionally amuse berkeman. I'm not sure if I should curtsy or smack him across the back of the head.

Anyway, Forum Feedback and Announcements seems as if it might be a good place for the suggestion. I think.
 
  • #39
GeorginaS said:
I was trying to be serious when I said I thought it was valuable, Evo. (Not that my opinion counts for a whole bunch.) Evidently I unintentionally amuse berkeman. I'm not sure if I should curtsy or smack him across the back of the head.

Anyway, Forum Feedback and Announcements seems as if it might be a good place for the suggestion. I think.
Yours was one of the serious responses, and I appreciated it. I don't know if feedback will reach the right people either.

I'm trying to reach the people that come here for help. A LOT need English help, but I don't want to spam the homework forum. Help with English hasn't been offered here before and in the past we referred them to forums for that, but it makes sense to offer it here.
 
  • #40
Evo said:
Yours was one of the serious responses, and I appreciated it. I don't know if feedback will reach the right people either.

I'm trying to reach the people that come here for help. A LOT need English help, but I don't want to spam the homework forum. Help with English hasn't been offered here before and in the past we referred them to forums for that, but it makes sense to offer it here.

Especially for ESL speakers (well, writers), having a forum with people familiar with technical terms from very specialized fields may be helpful. Evo Child may need some assistance in those cases.
 
  • #41
Evo said:
So, I'm wondering where I should post this so that I get some serious responses? As was pointed out to me, GD is the last place I should have posted this, since most people needing help probably aren't looking in GD.

I'm pretty sure just about everyone in GD needs help!

I'm just not sure what kind of help we need.
 
  • #42
lisab said:
Especially for ESL speakers (well, writers), having a forum with people familiar with technical terms from very specialized fields may be helpful. Evo Child may need some assistance in those cases.
That's what I was thinking, here they can get both.
 
  • #43
GeorginaS said:
Evidently I unintentionally amuse berkeman. I'm not sure if I should curtsy or smack him across the back of the head.

You could try a little of each and then go with the one that works best. :biggrin:

I think either here or feedback is fine (or you could put it in Philosophy...there are plenty of people posting here who REALLY need help writing coherent sentences). The silly banter just helps keep it toward the top anyway, so more of the people who could benefit can see it. :biggrin:

More importantly, we should figure out where the people who want to seek help should post their questions, at least until a final decision is made whether or not to create a whole new subforum for it somewhere.
 
  • #44
I never imagined that walmart would generate such responses like a tree of a fractal that grew from a single seed. If people got offended on the way, I'm terribly sorry.
 
  • #45
I remember about 5-8 GD threads were created in last 1 yr or so specifically asking for help in English and lots of people helped the OP very enthusiastically.

About 1 or 2 asked for help in translating another language poem/song meaning to English. I don't think they were received any attention or if OP was helped successfully.
 
  • #46
rootX said:
I remember about 5-8 GD threads were created in last 1 yr or so specifically asking for help in English and lots of people helped the OP very enthusiastically.

About 1 or 2 asked for help in translating another language poem/song meaning to English. I don't think they were received any attention or if OP was helped successfully.

Right, I remember some of those posts. Well keep in mind, I don't think what we're discussing here is translation, but rather refining a rough draft (of English) into polished, professional English.
 
  • #47
waht said:
I never imagined that walmart would generate such responses like a tree of a fractal that grew from a single seed. If people got offended on the way, I'm terribly sorry.

I just googled Walmart Fractal, and got a single hit. Amazing. o:)
 
  • #48
Moonbear said:
More importantly, we should figure out where the people who want to seek help should post their questions, at least until a final decision is made whether or not to create a whole new subforum for it somewhere.

How about right off the top level of the forums? "English and Translation Help"
 
  • #49
berkeman said:
How about right off the top level of the forums? "English and Translation Help"
That might look more like it's for teaching English than for composition and grammar help for students.
 
  • #51
Count Iblis said:
The service provided by PF is free of charge, so we may get a flood of proofreading/editing request here.

I don't think proof-reading of papers should be allowed. I envisaged this service as being more useful towards students than researchers.
 

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