A Gamer’s Guide To Grammar Written By Kevin DiazLopez 1
Table Of Contents Grammar Book Section 1 Part Of Speech Nouns Pronouns Verbs Adjectives Adverbs Conjunctions Prepositions Interjections Grammar Book section 2 Phrases Phrases Grammar Book Section 3 Clauses Clauses Grammar Book Section 4 Sentences Sentence Parts Sentence Types Sentence Patterns Sentence Errors Grammar Book Section 5 Paragraphs Paragraphs Grammar Book Section 6 Essays Essays Grammar Book Section 7 Capitalization Capitalization Grammar Book Section 8 Punctuation Punctuation Grammar Book Section 9 Commonly Confused/Misused Word Choices Quizzes Answer Key 2
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Introduction Through all the hard work and time spent for this project, I present the reader with a grammar book meant for a person that enjoys gaming. This book is not restricted to gamers but it is also meant for those interested in the world of gaming and to learn more of what gaming really is and what it means to me. The two main games included in this game were Call of Duty and Runescape. The time that was not spent on this project was spent playing Black ops III for the authenticity of the information in this book. 3
About the Author My name is Kevin DiazLopez, I was born on June 13, 1999 and was born in California. I attend Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School and I currently reside in Los Angeles with my mom and stepdad and 3 brothers. After this whole semester in Mr. Rodriguez’s I have discovered that I never really knew or learned about true writing and hard work until I was put into this class. All my other english classes either simply taught me the basics of writing or nothing at all. This project will show you a glimpse of what I have learned in this class and to simply put it into perspective it might been a hard job but it was all worthwhile. 4
Grammar Book Section 1 Part Of Speech I.
Nouns A. Types of Nouns: 1. Common Nouns: Gamers, gaming convention, man cave 2. Proper Nouns: Anaheim convention center, 3. Compound Nouns: Dashboard (xbox dashboard), dualshock, head 4. Concrete Nouns: Controller, console, television 5. Abstract Nouns: Attentiveness, addiction, strategist B. Noun Identifiers 1. Noun Endings: ness (Attentiveness) tion (addiction) ism (adventurism) ist (Strategist) ture (adventure) tude (solitude) ment (accomplishment) ance (extravagance) ence (defence) ity (ability) ster (blaster) ory (glory) eer (conventioneer) hood (knighthood) 2. Following a noun marker (NM): a, all, an, both, each , every, her , his, my, our, several, some, that , their, these, this, those, one , two, three, etc. Emboldened words are pronouns that function as noun markers only when they act as adjectives, i.e., Some boxes are square. (“some” acts as an adjective, so it’s a noun marker). Some are square. (“some” acts as a noun so it’s ot a noun marker). NM N Simple: The virtual game was technologically advanced compared to others. 5
NM N Advanced: The virtual game was technologically advanced compared to the other games at the convention center which were only console games. 3. Plural form: PN Simple: The gamers enjoyed playing with the pro players at the convention center. Advanced: The high quality designs and effort put into the PN blasters for the Star Wars beta showed that it was made to intrigue people to buy the actual game. 4. Possessive form: PN Simple: The gamer’s controller was like a baby to him since it was customized to his liking. PN Advanced: The gamer’s controller was like a baby to him since it was customized to his hands which made it more comfortable for him to play. 5. Following a preposition: These are some common prepositions: aboard, about, above, according to, across from, after, against, along, alongside, alongside of, along with, amid, among, apart from, around, as, as far as, aside from, at, away from, back of, because of, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, but (except), by, by means of, concerning, despite, down, down from, except, except for, excluding, for, from, from among, from between, from under, in, in addition to: NM N ADV V Prep NM N Simple: The gamer uncontrollably jumped on top of the table after he had won the final game. NM N ADV V Prep NM Advanced: The broadcaster excitedly shouted into the N microphone due to the fact that the gamer had just achieved the impossible. 6
C. Functions (How nouns are used): 1. Subject (comes before the verb) S V Simple: The gamer threw the controller because of the frustration he felt. S V Advanced: The game director hired only the best actors for the characters of the game, this was easily displayed in the Call of Duty series. 2. Direct Object (comes after the verb and answer what or whom) S ADV V N Simple: The gamer urgently threw his tactical grenades at his enemies Advanced: The gamer urgently threw his tactical grenades at his enemies to be able to stun them and take an easy kill. 3. Indirect Object (answers to who or to whom) Simple: Vonderhaar proudly presented the trophy to “Optic Gaming” . Advanced: Vonderhaar proudly presented the trophy to “Optic Gaming” , the winning team of the Call Of Duty Championships . 4. Adverbial Object (comes after the verb and answers when) Simple: Typical programmers work from dawn to dusk on a regular day. Advanced: Typical programmers work from dawn to dusk on a regular day, but on a busy day they only have a slight chance of going home because of the diligent hours they have to work to be able to program a game. 5. Object of the preposition (follows a preposition) Simple: The bomb was planted inside the donut shop and left the players up to a tedious job to take out the enemies and defuse the bomb. Advanced: The opposing team secretly planted the bomb inside the donut shop and hoped for the time to expire to be able to last another round against the reigning champions of the Call Of Duty Championship. 6. Subject Complement (following a linking verb) 7
Simple: Treyarch is the top gaming company that wisely uses its time to satisfy its dedicated fans. Advanced: Treyarch is the gaming company that comes on top of Infinity Ward, the opposing company, because of the way it brilliantly uses its time to listen to its fans desires. 7. Object Complement (follows a direct object and renames it) Simple: Hector, the owner of Optic Gaming, finally adjudicated that heselected “Scumpii” captain of the team. Advanced: Hector, the owner of Optic Gaming, finally adjudicated that he selected “Scumpii” captain of the team because to Hector it seemed as if though he was the best choice. 8. Appositives (renames nouns, separated by commas) Simple: Vonderhaar, my idol programmer , announced that there would be an intership program at Treyarch for one lucky person. Advanced: Vonderhaar, my idol programmer , announced that there would be an intership program at Treyarch for one lucky person, which would give me an opportunity to learn about the gaming industry. 9. Adjectival (describes noun following it) Simple: The computer exhibition managers gladly displayed the vast variety of computers that were capable of processing anything of your desire. Advanced: The computer exhibition managers gladly displayed the vast variety of computers that were capable of processing anything of your desire which would complement to gamers because normal computers can’t process their games. 10. Noun in Direct Address Simple: “Scumpii”, are you planning to compete in the Call of Duty championships this year? Advanced: “Scumpii”, are you planning to compete in the Call of Duty championships this year or would you rather let the novices of your team get a chance to compete? 11. Object of the gerund (noun that follows a gerund) Simple: Winning the semifinals of the ladder tournament allowed me to have a secure spot in the Call of Duty championships. Advanced: Winning the semifinals of the ladder tournament allowed me to have a secure spot in the Call of Duty 8
championships because only the top 16 teams were allowed to advance to the championship. 12. Object of the participle (noun that follows a participle) Simple: After the gaming convention had notably ended with their Black Ops 3 sneak peek, everyone was glad they had received a night to remember. Advanced: After the gaming convention had notably ended with their Black Ops 3 sneak peek, everyone was overly excited to find out that the most anticipated game of the year was actually going to be what they had asked for. 13. Object of the infinitive (noun that follows an infinitive) Simple: I unexpectedly won the tournament that I had been awaiting for all year. Advanced: I unexpectedly won the tournament that I thought I had lost because of the mistake I made on the second round but luckily my opponent forgot to defuse the bomb. II. Pronouns Pronouns take the place of nouns that have been established. 1. Personal: Nominative (subjects) Objective (objects) I/we Me/Us you/you you/you He, she, it, one/they him, her, it, one/them Possessive My, mine our, ours Your, yours your, yours His, her, hers, its, one’s their, theirs 2. Relative: Nominative Objective Possessive Who Whom whose That That of that those/this 3. Interrogative who, which, what, whatever, whoever 4. Reflexive: (personal pronouns plus the suffix self or selves) used only: A. when the action verb is directed toward the subject of the construction: 9
i.
He grades himself more harshly than his students. She bought herself two books. B. to intensify a point: i. The coordinator himself delivered the speech. Even though it was hard work “I can finish the job myself” the student thought 5. Demonstrative: this/these that, those 6. Indefinite: all, another, anybody, anyone, anything, both, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, everywhere, few, many, much, neither, nobody, none, no one, nothing, other, several, somebody, someone, such. III. Verbs A. How verbs are identified 1. Verb Ending: ize(digitize), ing(gaming), s(plays),ed(played) 2. Tense: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Simple Past Programmed 8.Present Progressive Past Played 9.Present Perfect Progressive Past Perfect had hacked 10.Future will game Past Progressive Bossing 11.Future Perfect will have gamed Simple Present Present Game Present Perfect 3. Forms: a) Forms of “to be”: am (i am gaming), are (we are dominating this game), is (he is hacking to win) b) Forms of “to do”: to game, he does game, he did game, he is done gaming, he is doing his gaming session c) Forms of “to have”: have (have programmed) , had (had programmed), has (he has programmed), having (having the privilege of programming) 4. Types: a) auxiliary verbs (helping verbs): Does, haven’t, is b) linking verbs (verbs that do not describe action, but connect the subject of a sentence to other parts of the sentence usually the predicate): Come, do, fell c) lexical verbs (main verbs): arrive, see, walk d) dynamic verbs (indicate action): play, melt, hit e) stative verbs (describe a condition): hate believe, contain 10
f) finitive verbs (indicate tense): painted, varnished, promised g) nonfinitive verbs (infinitive or participles): been, want, refuse h) regular verbs (weak verbs): accept, add, admire i) irregular verbs (strong verbs): backslide, broadcast, j) transitive verbs (verbs followed by a direct object): kicked, wants, wrote k) intransitive verbs (verbs that do not take direct objects): arrived, went, lie 5. Voice: Voice is the form of the verb that indicates how it relates or interacts with the action. The English language has two voices: ACTIVE and PASSIVE Active: The gamers took the survey provided in the beta. Passive: The survey was taken by gamers all around the world. 6. Verbals: (verb forms not used as verbs) a) Gerund: word ending in “ing” used as a noun G (1) Gaming is the considered one of the best forms of entertainments. G (2) Gaming is the considered one of the best forms of entertainments because there is always something for everyone of all ages. b) Participle: word ending in “ing” or “ed” used as an adjective PARTICIPLE (1) He was chuckling after the novice challenged him to a 1 versus 1 game. PARTICIPLE (2) He helped his teammate that was in a sticky situation and without his teammate he wouldn’t have been able to win the game. c) Infinitive: verb preceded by the word “to” (to go, to jump) used as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs INFINITIVE (1) He forgot to drink his gamer fuel which left him drowsy the whole day after streaming all night. 11
INFINITIVE (2) To dream about winning the world tournament is one thing but actually exceeds any wish or dream that you could think of. IV.
Adjectives Adjectives modify, describe, limit, and identify nouns and pronouns. 1. Kinds: Demonstrative: Simple: That game at the expo was the most amazing game I had ever seen. Advanced: This video game was rated 10/10 on IGN but that same game was said to be the most static and pointless game for the new console. Common: Simple: His precise aiming was the reason they won the tournament Advanced: The producers of the game were asked when the lagging servers would be fixed, they said provided that they had time to fix it, it would probably be in a few weeks. Proper: Simple: The Japanese CEO of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, died unexpectedly. Advanced: Since the release of American video game, “Call of Duty: Ghosts”, the standards for the next “Call of Duty” game was lowered. 2. Endings: able/ible
playable,
al
lethal, abysmal, magical
ful
doomful
ic
Energetic
ive
addictive, archive
less
aimless 12
ous
joyous,
3. Conversions: How are other parts of speech converted into adjectives? React>Reactive Advance>Advanced Impeccability>Impeccable 4. Articles: What are these? How/When are they used A: Simple: A gamer is thought to be quick and aggressive Advanced: A professional gamer is sought to be concentrated and ready for any challenge An: Simple: The newly released game was an anticipated game. Advanced: The game was anticipated because it was the only one to almost receive an almost perfect rating by all companies The: Simple: New consoles were the main moneymakers of the company Advanced: He was the only person to ever pass the game and was rewarded greatly 5. Comparatives/Superlatives: What are these? How/When are they used? Comparatives: Simple: He was said to be the greater man for shaking his hand after a dispute about the gamer Advanced: Mason woods was said to be the greater in real life than in the video game but we will never know. Superlatives: Simple: I thought I was the best gamer in the world after doing good in that online match. Advanced: Only the best of the best have the chance to compete in the tournament in Anaheim. 13
II. Adverbs Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. a. Endings i. ly (quickly, perfectly, excitedly), wards (spaceward, skyward, moonward), wise (profitwise, warpwise, endwise) b. Conversions i. How can adjectives or verbs be converted into adverbs? Quick>Quickly, Awesome>awesomely, Astonishing>Astonishingly c. Types: d. e. i. ii. Example Types: Manner: Simple: The gamer played aggressively when he saw the other team catching up Advanced: The player had to react quickly because someone was shooting at him while he was the last one alive. Time: Simple: After the match was over, he instantly got up and celebrated. Advanced: Place: Simple: While I was frantically searching for my ps4 controller, I later found out, I had forgotten it over there, at my friend’s house. Advanced: There was a scratch on my game but I couldn’t find where it was, turns out it was under my nose the whole time. Degree: Simple: He was extraordinary at a game he had never played before. Advanced: After a few matches, he came into a game lobby where everyone was good at the game, sadly, he started doing horrible. Frequency: Simple: I was frequently doing good in the call of duty Advanced: 14
VI. Conjunctions A. Coordinating (FANBOYS): Simple: Gaming is only for entertainment, yet people have found a way to make it competitive. Advanced: When the first video game came out, it seemed like it was only for the rich or a luxury, but now almost anyone has some sort of video game to play. B. Correlative Simple: We had to make a decision, either we protected bomb “A” or bomb “B”, both of them were just as important as the other. Advanced: Either we lose this match or we put up a good fight and make us look like a good team whether we lost or not. C. Subordinate Simple: As long as we keep playing for the objective, we will be able to win. Advanced: While one teammate went one side, the rest of the team went the other way because we could have a warning signal of where the enemies were located.
Grammar Book Section 2 Phrases 2. Phrases a. Prepositional A group of words that begins with a preposition and ends with a noun, and is used as an adjective or an adverb ADJ N ADV V i. Basic: The ultimate gamers in the world were gladly given the luxury Pre. Phrase room which was at the top of the complex. ADJ N ADV ii. Advanced: As the game started for the excited players, the host eagerly V 15
began introducing every player and their origin, the players were placed Pre. Phrase upon a beautiful island in which they would be playing a game of domination. b. Appositive A group of words that include all the words or phrases that modify an appositive N App. Phrase i. Basic: Matt also known as “Nadeshot”, the best Call of Duty player, ADV V announced that he was going to reluctantly retire from playing call of duty. ii. Advanced: c. Verbal A group of words that begin with a verbal and ends with a noun i. Gerund word ending in “ing” used as a noun 1. Basic: Programming is only the foundation of what has come from technology. 2. Advanced: Gaming consoles have evolved so much that you can watch tv, movies, game, listen to music, and even make your own videos on the same console. ii. Participle word ending in “ing” or “ed” used as an adjective. 1. Basic: I jumped from my seat from shock as i heard that the prize pool for this year’s world league. 2. Advanced: Based on my performance last year, I knew that I would be participating in this year’s world league to have a chance to be one of the top 32 teams. iii. Infinitive verb preceded by the word “to” (to go, to jump) used as noun, adjectives, or adverbs. 1. Basic: As I joyously walked out of the store with “Call of Duty: Black Ops III”, I knew that I was going to play all night.
Grammar Book Section 3 Clauses 3. Clauses d. Independent Can stand alone as a complete sentence, known as a simple sentence pattern 16
i.
Basic: Only the best gamers of the world can compete at league finals. ii. Advanced: Some of the new call of duty games are thought to be too simple. e. Subordinate Cannot stand alone as a complete sentence and must begin with a subordinate conjunction i. Noun Used as the noun in a sentence and may function as a subject, a predicate noun, a direct object, an object of a preposition, an indirect object, or an appositive. 1. Basic: After winning the championships, he was interviewed by the press. 2. Advanced: Even though he faced a challenge of having to defeat 5 enemies on his own, he was still able to keep his sang froid. ii. Adjective Used to modify a noun in an independent clause 1. Basic: Matt, who has played for over 10 years, thinks that it’s finally time to retire. 2. Advanced: Matt, who is considerably the best player in the world, dominated everyone at the Los Angeles gaming convention. iii. Adverb Used to modify verbs, adjectives, and adverbs in an independent clause, introduced by a subordinating conjunction and used to indicate time, place, cause, purpose, result, condition, and/or concession 1. Basic: After the shooter game came out, I played endlessly until my eyes burned from not seeing the sun in a long time. 2. Advanced: I was waiting for an enemy to come to me and once I saw him turn around the corner I reacted as fast as I could to kill him for the winning kill. iv. Essential Clauses necessary to the meaning of the sentence 1. Basic: The programmer is working day and night , to get a promotion. 2. Advanced: The programmer is working day and night , to get a promotion to be able to provide for his family that has been accustomed to being spoiled with gifts. v.
NonEssential Clauses that are not necessary to the meaning of the sentence 17
vi.
vii.
1. Basic: I hope to be the best gamer in the world one day, that is only if I practice enough . 2. Advanced: I hope to be the best gamer in the world one day, that is only if I practice enough because the saying is practice makes perfect or perfect practice makes perfect. Relative Dependent clause that begins with a relative pronoun 1. Basic: The professional gamer had won the tournament for the team and was handed a trophy in which he did not accept it. 2. Advanced: The professional gamer had won the tournament for the team and was handed a trophy in which he did not accept it because he felt like his teammate that practiced the most deserved it. Elliptical Adverb clauses in which part of the clause is omitted 1. Basic: While gaming , I watched his moves carefully as a reference for myself. 2. Advanced: After gaming , not only did he unintentionally forget to do his homework but he also forgot to study for the next test which would determine his grade.
Grammar Book Section 4 Sentences Sentence Parts 1) Subject (3) a) Simple a sentence with a single subject and predicate. S Simple: Nadeshot defeated his enemies with ease. S Advanced: Nadeshot defeated his enemies at the tournament to be able to take home the grand prize of $1 million dollars. b) Compound A sentence with more than one subjects. S Simple: After Nadeshot retired from his Call of Duty career, a new up and coming S 18
player known as “ Scumpii ” took his place. S Advanced: After Nadeshot retired from his Call of Duty career, a new up and S coming player known as “ Scumpii ” astonishingly took his place and won every tournament that he played in. c) Complete has a subject and a verb predicate and is a complete thought Simple: Advanced: 2) Predicate a) Simple Simple: The conventioneers took their seats before the reveal of the new video game started. Advanced: The conventioneers hurriedly took their seats to not miss the reveal of the new game because they announced that no late entries were allowed. b) Compound Simple: Advanced: c) Complete Simple: Advanced: Sentence Types 1) Declarative Simple: “Optic Gaming” was the definite winner of the national Call of Duty championship
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Advanced: Not only was “Optic Gaming” the winners of the Call of Duty Championship but they were also the champions of the X Games gaming event. 2) Interrogative Simple: Do you think that gaming is harmful to teenagers or even adults? Advanced: Do you think that gaming is harmful to teenagers or even adults? If your answer was yes, then why do you think teachers around the world are using video games to teach students? 3) Imperative Simple: If you want to make it to the gaming convention in time, then leave your house at 5:45. Advanced: If you want to make it to the gaming convention in time, then leave your house at 5:45 to be able to beat the afternoon traffic on the 5 freeway. 4) Exclamatory Simple: Everyone has to understand that gaming has become part of our society but it shouldn’t take control of us! Advanced: Everyone has to understand that gaming has become part of our society but we shouldn’t let it control us and just play every day! Sentence Patterns 1) Simple Sentence: A sentence that is just one independent clause. ADJ N ADV V a) Basic: The midnight streamers vigorously fought against the deprivation of sleep. ADJ N ADV V b) Advanced:The midnight streamers vigorously fought against the deprivation of sleep, only to find out they were rewarded with 10,000 viewers by the end. 2) Compound Sentence: A sentence with multiple independent clauses, but no dependent clauses. 20
V ADJ N a) Basic: A life without gaming is like a monotonous life but then again gaming can be a burden to some. b) Advanced: I had enough money to spend all week, but then I found out my favorite game was coming out in a week. 3) Complex Sentence: A sentence with one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. ADJ V a) Basic: My character died a gruesome death because another player killed me in the V ADV “PVP” area, but after that I was able to respawn quickly b) Advanced: My character died a gruesome death because another player killed me in the “PVP” area with the best swords in the game, the drygore longswords, but it was amazing to see those astonishing swords. 4) ComplexCompound Sentence: A sentence with multiple independent clauses and at least one dependent clause. a) Basic: Yesterday, I achieved level 60 attack on "Runescape", level 60 attack is a remarkable milestone but there are still many more levels to go. b) Advanced:Yesterday, I achieved level 60 attack on "Runescape", level 60 attack is a remarkable milestone but there are still many more levels to go and the rewards begin to get better and better to give me the experience of a lifetime. 5) Loose Sentence: A sentence that contains an independent clause plus a subordinate construction (either a clause or phrase). a) Basic: Mastering a skill in "Runescape" takes a ridiculous amount of patience, only those that work for it complete this bizarre task. b) Advanced:Mastering a skill in "Runescape" takes a ridiculous amount of patience, only those that work for it complete this bizarre task and the reward is even greater the tedious adventure. 6) Periodic Sentence: A sentence in which the independent clause is given at the end of the sentence in order to create interest or generate suspense. 21
th a) Basic: It is being released on October 29 , the great game called “Deadman Mode” is being released next week.
th b) Advanced: It is being released on October 29 , the great game called “Deadman Mode” is being released next week, in which the whole fantasy world is a “PVP” area or player vs. player. 7) Balanced Sentence: A sentence where phrases or clauses parallel each other by virtue of their likeness of structure, meaning, or length.
a) Basic: Do not play “Runescape” but let “Runescape” play you and help you grow your imagination. b) Advanced: Do not live to play “Runescape” but play to live in “Runescape”, a world of endless imagination where your wildest dreams come true. 8) Parallel Structure: A sentence using the same pattern of words to show that two or more words or ideas are of equal importance and to help the reader comprehend what is being written. a) Basic: I love play basketball, to run, and to play “Runescape”, where my time is spent playing with others. b) Advanced: I love to play Call of Duty, to run, and to play “Runescape”, where my challenge is to improve my skills and become better than others. 9) Chiasmus: A sentence that includes a repetition of ideas (words, phrases, or clauses) in inverted (reversed) order a) Basic: Children play to seek entertainment, whereas men play to seek a challenge and defeat their opponents. b) Advanced:Children play to seek entertainment, whereas men play to seek a challenge and a chance to be able to conquer their opponents for the title of the best gamer. 10)Asyndeton: A sentence that leaves out conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses for a rhetorical purpose. a) Basic:Challenges, honor, Victory, is all that we seek for when we are happily gaming against others. b) Advanced: Challenges, honor, Victory, is all that we seek for when we are happily gaming against others because there are no better rewards than being call the best gamer in the world. 22
11)Polysyndeton: A sentence that uses multiple conjunctions in close proximity to each other between words, phrases, or clauses for a rhetorical purpose. a) Basic: If gaming companies don’t provide us with great games we’ll take our business, and money, and joyness, and our thrill to play video games elsewhere. b) Advanced: If gaming companies don’t provide us with great games we’ll take our business, and money, and joyness, and our thrill to play video games to another company that actually enjoys satisfying its customers. 12)Anaphora: A sentence that features the purposeful repetition of a word, words, or a phrase at the beginning of several successive clauses in order to place emphasis and draw attention. a) Basic: Gaming has become a part of all our lives, gaming probably keeps us all from becoming lifeless and bored, and gaming has come so far thanks to us. b) Advanced: Gaming has become a part of all our lives, gaming probably keeps us all from becoming lifeless and bored, and gaming has been brought to this world to keep some people from going insane from boredness. 13)Epistrophe: A sentence featuring several phrases or clauses ending with the same word or words. a) Basic: Jagex will save us all, Jagex knows what we want, Jagex will give us all the update we’ve been waiting for, Jagex never disappoints. b) Advanced:Jagex will save us all, Jagex knows what we want, Jagex will give us all the update we’ve been waiting for, Jagex never disappoints unfortunately in 2012 Jagex released the worst update which made it lose 25% of its audience. Grammar Book Section 5 Paragraphs 1. Paragraphs Explain what needs to be in each of the three (3) types of paragraphs, how many sentences each paragraph should have, and include one (1) example for each of the pieces in each of the paragraph sections. a. Introductory Paragraphs i. Hook (lead) 23
ii.
1. Anecdotal (Brief story to set the mood and intro the topic) a. Kevin, a semiprofessional gamer, has been playing since he was a child. His “career” or passion for gaming started when he was only 5 years old, his mother had bought his brothers and him a “Playstation 2”. Although only being 5 years old he was still allowed to play any game. The more he played the better he got and the more time he spent playing while he wasn’t at school. It didn’t change anything except the way he felt towards video games. 2. Query Based (Question that brings the reader to the topic) a. Is playing violent video games really detrimental for children? Thesis Statements (the purpose of a piece of writing usually one sentence in length and something that is arguable) 1. Assertion (claim) a. Video gaming has been proven to actually promote decisionmaking and increase the reaction time and hand eye coordination. 2. Fact (empirically verifiable) a. Eric Klopfer, a professor at MIT, said “People don’t like to play easy games, and games have figured out a way to encourage players to persist at solving challenging problems,’’ this proves that gaming can really help people. 3. Opinion (personal position on a topic) a. I personally think that video gaming is good for people only to a certain extent because too much of anything is bad for you. 4. Belief (social, religious, or political in nature an opinion held by many to be a fact, though it is not necessarily) a. Due to popular belief, most people think that video gaming can cause problems to the eyes, brain, and other mental problems. 5. Generalization (uses absolute or statistical pronouns: all, always, every, never, none, most, half avoid using this type of thesis statement )
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a. Most people in the world play video games and nothing bad has happened to them if they didn’t play excessively. 6. Document Based (cites a specific source and its position on a topic) a. Gaming potentially has the chance to increase the brain’s power and strength, also said by Robert Lee Hotz after a study “People who played actionbased video and computer games made decisions 25% faster than others without sacrificing accuracy, according to a study.” 7. Theory (a statement that can be tested and potentially proven) a. b. Body Paragraphs (must have echoes of the thesis in each and present evidence to support or expand on the thesis) i. Topic Sentences (must specifically indicate the topic of the paragraph and focus on one subject and area of evidence or support) 1. Although gaming has many good effects on children and adults, people still find the “dangers” of gaming. ii. Evidence from Quotations (quotes should never be used as individual sentences quotes should be embedded within the sentences) 1. With all the forms of media in the world, gaming is probably one of few that promotes health, as “CNN” said "Kids are incredibly savvy these days. But being children, they still need guidance. Games can be beneficial to children as a modern form of media, albeit one that they need to learn how to use, cope with, contextualize and manage" (CNN 12). 2. Gaming has come so far to even be able to teach kids, (much like Sweden who is using “Minecraft” to teach their kids), much like the study done by scientist said in this quote “ One reason is that scientists made an experiment where they took a group of doctors and had one group go through the normal course for becoming a doctor with a teacher and another group played a game based on surgery wounds cuts etc. The group who went through the course actually got 25
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lower scores than the group that played the games on the final test/exam” (Gershenfeld 1). To prove my point siobhan Keogh said, “According to Brown University, there is a correlation between gamers and people who learn new skills quickly at least when learning new visual skills” (NzHerald 23). Skills used in the daily life such as driving are skills that are better in gamers according to a study, “Cognitive researchers from University of Rochester have shown that playing action games improves people's ability to make accurate decisions under time pressure” (NzHerald 25). Even mental problems that were thought to be incurable such as autism is fought with gaming, “A study published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science found nonviolent storytelling games were helpful in improving some of the social issues that come with autism.” (NzHerald 27). Paraphrase (rewording of a quote into other words of the same length without quotation marks, but still citing the source) a. ORIGINAL QUOTE Gaming has come so far to even be able to teach kids, (much like Sweden who is using “Minecraft” to teach their kids), much like the study done by scientist said in this quote “ One reason is that scientists made an experiment where they took a group of doctors and had one group go through the normal course for becoming a doctor with a teacher and another group played a game based on surgery wounds cuts etc. The group who went through the course actually got lower scores than the group that played the games on the final test/exam” (Gershenfeld 1). b. PARAPHRASE It was proven that doctors who went through the simulated surgeries got better scores on a test than those who took the class with other doctors. (Gershenfeld 1) Summary (condensing larger quotes or sections) a. ORIGINAL QUOTE "Kids are incredibly savvy these days. But being children, they still need guidance. 26
Games can be beneficial to children as a modern form of media, albeit one that they need to learn how to use, cope with, contextualize and manage" (CNN 12). b. SUMMARY Gaming is proven to be the best form of media but need to learn how to restrain themselves from too much (CNN 12). 8. Abstract examples (hypothetical, “what if” examples AVOID ) a. What if parents one day accepted gaming as for it to be good, what would change? 9. Concrete Examples (actual, referenceable examples) a. According to a study done by “ESRB,” 25% of gamers in the world are under 18 spending 8 hours a week on gaming, meaning that even if gaming for too long would be bad for you most of the underage gamers don’t even spend a lot of time on video games. iii. Closing Sentences (must end the discussion of the topic within the paragraph with a transitional or culminating word possibly an adverb and should echo the thesis of the essay) 1. In this case, where Kevin has been gaming all his life, it is true and agreeable to other sources that gaming isn’t hurting you in any way. c. Closing Paragraphs (Conclusions should not be mere summaries of the previous paragraphs of your essay) i. Statement(s) of Extension (extending the thesis statement using the consequences of disregarding the implications of the thesis could be one or more sentences) 1. If gaming was actually proven to be harmful for children and adults then why aren’t kids and adults wearing glasses, having back problems, or why aren’t their brains rotting because of gaming? ii. Final Sentence (connects to the hook) 1. Although only being a bit of a distraction to Kevin, gaming meant and did no harm to him because in the end he is happy, healthy, and doing sports like any other kid out there.
Grammar Book Section 6 27
Essays 1. Essays Explain the purpose and specific features of each type of essay. Show the specific tactics used to create successful essays of each type. Students do NOT have to include their own examples for each, they just have to explain and discuss each type. If students decide to create essay examples to include in their grammar books, twenty points (20) extra credit will be given for each original example (CREATED BY THE STUDENT FOR THIS PROJECT) of a FULL, MULTIPAGE that is included when the essay section is turned in. a. Types i. Persuasive (Argumentative) A persuasive essay is used to convince the reader into believing what the writer has to say and to change the reader’s opinion about a certain topic. ii. Expository (Informative) 1. Definition or Description An essay that requires the writer to analyze an idea , assess evidence, present an idea, and set an argument 2. Process/HowTo Start with a hook, identify the question, and provide background in the intro. Each body paragraph will have 2 facts or statements and they will be compared and contrasted. In the conclusion, summarize the question and discuss the larger significance of the question. 3. Compare and Contrast In the body paragraphs you give 2 statements about the 4. Cause and Effect You first have to determine a scenario for the essay and explain what happened and why that event occurred. iii. Analytical/Critical 1. Evaluative Demonstrates the quality, whether being good or bad, of a service, program, or company. The writer has to make sure that his/her own opinion is not incorporated too much. 2. Interpretive Is an essay that asks a reader to read and write about a text, closely related to a DBQ iv. Narrative (Tells a story) 1. Personal Anecdote A personal anecdote is written to create credibility between the reader and the writer. This gives the reader a true experience that he/she can relate to as he reads about the argument or question that was given. 28
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Research 1. MLA Format Is the format of an essay and procedure to cite sources used within the liberal arts and humanities. 2. APA Format Is the format of an essay and procedure to cite sources used within the social sciences vi. Timed 1. Document Based Question (DBQ) Is an essay that is written based upon the writer’s knowledge of a question given to him/her. A range of one to a few documents can also be provided to the writer in the purpose of having the writer support his evidence or argument 2. Prompt Based Is an essay that was written after the writer was given a topic or issue to write about in the essay. b. Strategies i. PreWriting/Prompt Analysis/Outlining Is a form of brainstorming in the purpose of having the writer know what he/she is going to discuss in the essay. This helps the writer prevent themselves from jumping around about different topics. ii. Research/Evaluation of Sources Researching the sources or topics of an essay beforehand allows the writer to have knowledge at their fingertips to provide evidence or support during the essay. c. Work Cited Page i. MLA Format To cite a quote or picture you must be able to identify the author and page you got it from. 1. Vonderhaar, David. Interview by Kevin Diaz. “David Vonderhaar: Black Ops 3 Interview ” Shack News . Shack News, September 2015 Web. 23 September 2015 ii. APA Format For APA format it is a citation for a website that you received information from. 1. Shack Staff (2015, September 23). General format . Retrieved from http://www.shacknews.com/article/90196/shackreelscallof dutyblackops3davidvonderhaarinterview
Grammar Book Section 7 Capitalization 29
1. Capitalize the first word, the last word, and all important words in a title. Title ADJ N a. “Black Ops III” is an intriguing game to me because all three games modes are integrated with so much action that there is nothing to get bored of. 2. Capitalize Mother, Dad, and other titles when they serve as a replacement for the person’s name. N ADV V a. Mom had reluctantly bought me “Black Ops III” because she always assumes it is a waste of money. 3. Capitalize the name of organizations a. Esports organization is the main participators or organizers of the Call of Duty championships. 4. Capitalize names of day, month, holidays, and special days a. Treyarch usually likes to release games a few weeks before Thanksgiving 5. Capitalize a proper adjective but not the noun it modifies unless the noun is part of a title. a. Our Tuesday meeting consisted of playing the new Call of Duty and explaining what we enjoyed and despise of the game. 6. Capitalize brand names but not the product(s) a. Wienerschnitzel produce the best chili and cheese hotdog in my opinion. 7. Capitalize business names a. Treyarch is an ambitious gaming company that seeks to help gamers enjoy the true meaning of competitive gaming. 8. Capitalize institution names a. Most gaming clans can be considered institutions because they all gather for a social reason or for gaming to be exact, some examples are Optic Gaming or Faze. 9. Capitalize names of particular geographic places a. California is the most well known place for its mass amount of gamers and their enthusiasm. 10. Capitalize historical events, periods of time, and historical documents a. Assassin’s Creed is known for incorporating historical events such as the French Revolution into their game. 11. Capitalize religions, religious denominations, religious documents, names of churches, and names of a supreme being a. “Zamorak” is an evil god in the world of Runescape in which you are set out to help “Saradomin” , another god, to defeat him. 12. Capitalize languages a. Gaming companies have finally begun to start introducing new languages to their games such as Mandarin and Japanese. 13. Capitalize specific names of structures.
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a. The Twin Towers were taken out of GTA III because it was a controversial issue on whether to include such a historic building that was brought down during the development of the game. 14. Capitalize names, initials, and titles appearing with names. a. David Vonderhaar is easily the best game producer/director in the history of gaming because of his highly anticipated games 15. Capitalize the first letter of the first word in a sentence a. We have been deprived of our right to know the actual rating of a game, gaming companies technically bribe other to give them a good rating and we have been unlawfully lied to as us being gamers 16. Capitalize the pronoun I. a. In my opinion, I think every gamer should receive all the extra gifts Treyarch happily gives out to those that pay extra money for the gifts. 17. Capitalize the first word of the greeting and closing of a letter. a. Dear David, I, as the representative of gamers, would gladly like to bestow upon you the trophy of game producer of the century. With your brilliant work and wise use of today’s technology, the vote to reward you with the trophy was unanimous and easily decided to also reward you with a plaque. Sincerely , Kevin Diaz 18. Capitalize a specific, wellknown area or event. a. The Los Angeles Convention Center is a common place for Treyarch to happily host the annual Call of Duty championships. 19. Capitalize the first letter of the first word in a direct quotation. a. “ Even with the technological warfare of today, man will still be better than technology because what happens when the enemy steals the keys to our robots?” 20. Capitalize government bodies and departments. a. 21. Capitalize races and ethnic groups. 22. Capitalize North, South, East, West, Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and Southwest when they refer to a region of the country or world. a. The mission “New World” took place in the Northwest region of the U.S. where John Taylor reluctantly taught you the basics of being a robot/man soldier. 23. Capitalize political parties and their members. a. The Democratic party is known for being more connected to the young people of the U.S. which is why some presidents have played video games at a meeting with the public. 24. Capitalize the first letter only in most hyphenated words that being a sentence. 25. Capitalize President when it refers to the leader of the United States. a. In the beginning of the Black Ops you are given a mission to carefully extract President Obama from the pernicious terrorists that captured him 31
Quizzes Quiz: Phrases 1) True or False: A prepositional phrase always ends with a noun. 2) What is a gerund? a) A verb used as a noun b) A word ending in “ing” used as a noun c) A word ending in “ly” used as a noun d) An adjective used as a noun 3) What word precedes the verb in an infinitive phrase? 4) What is a phrase? 5) True or False: An appositive renames a noun in the sentence. 6) What is a relative pronoun used for? 7) What participle is used for the word “Sang” ? a) Simple past b) Past c) Infinitive d) Simple present 8) True or False: A gerund is made from an adjective. 9) True or False: Infinitive is a type of participle. 10) What is a preposition used for? Quiz: Clauses 1) Determine the type of clause: The gamer who was hungry had been waiting in line for hours to retrieve his game. a) Relative clause b) Adjective clause c) NonEssential clause d) Adverb clause 2) True or False: A relative clause always contains a verb. 3) True or False: The relative pronoun introduces the clause. 32
4) Determine the type of clause: The gamer who had won the tournament celebrated his very first victory. a) Elliptical clause b) Essential clause c) Adverb clause d) Relative clause 5) What is the clause that is also known as a simple sentence pattern? a) Noun clause b) Independent clause c) Relative clause d) Adverb clause 6) True or False: An adverb clause is used to modify verbs in an elliptical clause. 7) True or False: A clause is omitted in the nonessential sentence. 8) What is an adjective used for in an independent clause? 9) What comes at the beginning of a relative clause? 10) Determine the type of clause: The programmer is working day and night , to get a promotion. a) Adverb Clause b) NonEssential Clause c) Essential Clause d) Elliptical Clause
Paragraphs Quiz 1. What kind of sentence is used hint to the reader what the topic of the essay is?_______________ 2. True or False: You are supposed to include quotation marks when paraphrasing. 3. When citing a quote what do you include?________________________ 4. Where do you include the theory in an essay?________________ 5. What words should not be used without the proof of statistics? (Name at least 4) 6. What is the query based sentence used for? 7. Should the final sentence connect to the hook? 8. How long should a thesis statement usually be? 9. What is included in the hook? 10. What is the first part of the hook? And why is it recommended to be the first part of evidence? Essays Quiz 1. What does (DBQ) stand for? 2. What is the purpose of an expository essay? 33
3. Which type of essays gives a personal life experience? 4. A persuasive essay is supposed to ________ a reader. (Fill in the Blank) 5. What is the difference between a MLA and APA format citation? 6. List 3 types of essays mentioned in this Grammar Book Section. 7. Why is it better to have a strategy before typing or writing an essay? 8. What types of sources can you use for a research essay? 9. What should you always start an introduction with? 10. What is contained in a narrative essay?
Answer Key Phrases Quiz Key 1) 2) 3) 4)
True b) A word ending in “ing” used as a noun “to” a small group of words standing together as a conceptual unit, typically forming a component of a clause. 5) True 6) A relative pronoun is used to connect a clause or phrase to a noun or pronoun. 7) Simple past 8) False 9) False 10) A preposition may be defined as connecting word showing the relation of a noun or a noun substitute to some other word
Clauses Quiz Key 1) NonEssential Clause 2) False 3) True 4) Essential Clause 5) Independent Clause 6) False 7) False 8) Used to modify a noun 9) Relative Pronoun 10) c) Essential Clause
Paragraph Quiz Answers 1) Query Based 34
2) False 3) Name of author and Page number 4) In the thesis statement 5) all, always, every, never, none, most, and half 6) (Question that brings the reader to the topic) 7) Yes 8) One sentence 9) Anecdotal and query based sentences. 10) It is recommended to be an anecdotal sentence(s) so it can show the reader that there is living proof of your claim. Essays Answer Key 1) Document Based Question 2) To inform the reader of a topic 3) Narrative/Personal Anecdote 4) Persuade 5) MLA is for a book while APA is for a website 6) Expository, persuasive, and Narrative 7) It’s better because you know what you’re going to write beforehand 8) Websites, books, magazines, newspapers, etc. 9) A hook 10) Personal anecdotes and stories of other people
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Glossary Black Ops III : Black Ops 3 is a dark, gritty future where a new breed of Black Ops soldier emerges and the lines are blurred between our own humanity and the cuttingedge military technology that define the future of combat. Buy now. Infinity Ward : Infinity Ward is an American video game developer . They developed the video game Call of Duty , along with five other installments in the Call of Duty series . Nadeshot : Matthew Haag (born August 3, 1992), known by his handle Nadeshot, is a veteran professional American Call of Duty player. He is the coowner and former captain of the OpTic Gaming in the 20142015 Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare season, playing the objective support role. Haag is a Major League Gaming (MLG) X Games 2014 gold medalist and 2011 Call of Duty XP World Champion, winning Best “eSports” player at The Game Awards 2014. He is a first Red Bull Call of DutyeSports athlete and participates in the MLG.tv streaming program. Haag is also sponsored by several gaming hardware companies, including Astro Gaming and Scuf Gaming. In April 2015, shortly after the Call of Duty Championship 2015, NaDeSHoT announced that he was leaving OpTic as a player and taking a leave of absence from competitive gaming — currently on hiatus. It is possibility that Haag will return to competitive gaming next year. Optic Gaming: OpTic Gaming is a professional Call of Duty and eSports team.
PVP: Player(s) versus player(s), or PvP, is a type of multiplayer interactive conflict within a game between two or more live participants. This is in contrast to games where players compete against computercontrolled opponents and/or players, which is referred to as player versus environment (PvE). Runescape: A truly unique “MMO” Set in the medieval fantasy world of Gielinor, RuneScape is a free browser “MMO” game where millions of players from around the globe become heroes with the freedom to explore and experience a realm full of magic, mystery and adventure. Saradomin: Saradomin (pronounced /ˌsærәˈdoʊ̯ mɪn/) is the god of order and wisdom, and is believed to be the most worshipped god on Gielinor. (Runescape) Scumpii: OpTic Scumpii is a member of the OpTic Gaming Call of Duty team. He is one of the most decorated players in the history of Call of Duty eSports and has had a long, successful career with OpTic. 36
Treyarch: Treyarch is an American video game developer company, founded in 1996 by Peter Akemann and Doğan Köslü (aka Don Likeness), and acquired by Activision in 2001. Located in Santa Monica, California , it has produced multiple games, including Call of Duty: World at War , Call of Duty: Black Ops , Call of Duty: Black Ops II , and Call of Duty: Black Ops III . Zamorak: Zamorak (colloquially known as Zammy) is one of the three major gods (the other two being Guthix and Saradomin). He is the God of Chaos. (Runescape)
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Works Cited Horing, Jeff (2015, November 30) Runescape. Retrieved from http://www.runescape.com/community Hirshberg, Eric (2015, December 1) Black Ops III. Retrieved from https://www.callofduty.com/blackops3 Angeli, E., Wagner, J., Lawrick, E., Moore, K., Anderson, M., Soderlund, L., & Brizee, A. (2010, May 5). General format . Retrieved from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ Eleanor, Seth (2012, June 10) Scumpii. Retrieved from http://opticgaming.wikia.com/wiki/Scumpii
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