Point of View
Now that we have begun our essay work, I want each of us to begin to consider point of view.  Under what circumstances do you use first person, third person, or do you resort to second person?  This is very important because it prevents confusion and adds clarity to your content and its impact on the reader. You will complete work relating to point of view in MyCompLab this week.  Below is additional information regarding point of view.
Use this link to read additional information regarding point of view in academic writing:  http://www.harpercollege.edu/writ_ctr/pnt_view.htm
Consider the following surrounding point of view in storytelling. This is more of a creative writing assignment.
Limited omniscient point of view approximates more closely than the omniscient conditions of real life; it offers a ready-made unifying element, since all the details of the story are the experience of one person.
Omniscient is the most flexible point of view and permits the widest scope. Omniscient is told in the third person by a narrator whose knowledge and perspectives are unlimited. They can interpret on all and comment as well. They can tell us as much or as little as they please.
First person allows the author to disappear into one of the characters, who then tells the story in first person.  This character may be a major or minor character. This angle offers a gain in immediacy and reality since we get the story directly from the participant. It offers no opportunity for direct interpretation by the author.
Directions:   I want each of you to read the assignment below, placing your completed responses in the drop box by October 10,  no later than 11:55.  This assignment will start you thinking about the role of writer and his/her responsibility to his/her audience.
Assignment:

•    Read an article in a magazine/newspaper should be st Petersburg times or daily news where it is clear who is telling the story/situation or presenting his side of the story/situation. Rewrite that article presenting two other viewpoints, each different  from the way the article is presented initially.
•    Your draft must be equal in length to the original article.
•    Title your work and also provide the original title and web address so that I can locate the article. Place the link to the article into the drop box with the written document.
For example, I read an article about one of the rescues in Mississippi. I saw a baby dangling from the arms of the parent. I could only imagine what the child was thinking. So, I replaced the events the parent reported to the writer with the child’s experience. Retell the event through first person “I,” as if you were the child.  Of course that is a LEAP, but that approach makes me consider the value of viewpoint and as a writer I am accountable to all the characters and situations I author.
Next, report on the event using third person- he, she, they, them-  from the perspective of a bystander. Recall the events in two paragraphs labeling each as first person and then third person. Create details as appropriate.
Correcting Common Errors
Some of the most common errors found in student essays are listed below.
1.    A sentence fragment results when a phrase or a dependent clause is treated as if it were a complete sentence. Correct a fragment either by attaching it to the previous sentence or by adding the right words to the fragment to make it a complete sentence.
2.    A comma splice occurs when a comma instead of a period or a semicolon separates two independent clauses. There are four ways of correcting a comma splice:
1.    Separate the independent clauses with a period.
2.    Separate the independent clauses with a semicolon.
3.    Join the independent clauses by a comma and a coordinating conjunction.
4.    Subordinate one independent clause to the other.
•  A run-on sentence occurs when one sentence is piled on another without any kind of punctuation, often resulting in an incoherent passage. Correct a run-on sentence by placing a period or a conjunction between the two sentences.
•  An error in agreement occurs when the subject does not agree with the verb or when a pronoun does not agree with its antecedent. Avoid errors in subject-verb agreement by learning to recognize the subject of a sentence. To avoid errors in pronoun agreement, learn which pronouns are plural and which are singular.
•  Case errors most commonly occur when a student fails to distinguish between the subject and objective cases. The subject is always a noun or pronoun that the predicate says something about. The subject answers “who?” or “what?” about the predicate. The object, on the other hand, receives the action of the verb and is not the same as the subject.
•  Errors in point of view occur when the writer needlessly shifts person, tense, mood voice, or key words.
•  Reference errors occur with the use of pronouns that do not stand for anything specific. Every pronoun must have an unmistakable antecedent.
•  Dangling modifiers occur when words or phrases are used that have no logical relationship to any other element in the sentence. These words simply “dangle” in front of the reader, causing mystification and mirth. The most frequent dangling errors are caused by (1) misused verbal phrases and (2) misused subordinate clauses. To correct dangling elements, assign the logical subject to all verbal phrases or subordinate clauses.
•  Misplaced modifiers occur when modifying words, phrases, or clauses are not placed as close as possible to the words they modify. Confusing, illogical, or awkward sentences are caused by misplaced modifiers.
•  Lack of parallelism occurs when similar grammatical constructions are not used to express parallel ideas. The result is a disruptive break in the rhythm of writing.
•  Poor diction (also called poor word usage) refers to the use of a word to mean something other than its dictionary definition or the use of a word in a way unacceptable to standards of users of ideal English. Ideal English can be defined as language spoken or written according to standards of educated people. It is the language of good books, magazines, and newspapers. People who follow precise standard usage rules are using ideal English, although they probably express themselves less formally in day-to-day communication–on the bus, in the Laundromat, or in the supermarket.
Ideal English is the language of concentrated formality. Dun J. Li, introducing a textbook on Chinese civilization, uses ideal English when he states: “Of all ideologies that influenced the thinking and life of traditional China none was more important than Confucianism.” On the other hand, the irate factory worker complaining about his wages uses colloquial English when he writes, “If you wasn’t so darn pigheaded, you’d raise our pay.” Both messages are clear, but the difference is in their levels of formality.
Because it is highly precise, ideal English is generally required in student writing. Colloquial, substandard, or slang words are unacceptable in ideal English. If you are unsure about a word’s meaning, we suggest that you look it up.