BQ CONG THUONG TAP DOAN DET MAY VIET NAM TRUONG CAO BANG KINH TE - KY THUAT VINATEX I KHOA NGOAINGU - TIN HOC DE CUONG BAI GIANG| VIET 4 TP. HCM, THANG 8/2013 LUU HANH NOLBOUNIT 1 The Classification Essay The patterns of exposition are really ways to organize’ thoughts, to develop ideas in an organized fashion so the reader can follow them easily. Some topics are best developed as example essays; others are best developed as comparison and contrast essays. This chapter will pursue another common pattern of exposition: classification and division. This pattern, like process analysis and cause-and-effect analysis, is used for analyzing topics. ' When analyzing a subject, you break it down into parts to study or deter-mine the relationship of the parts or the nature of the parts. For example, analyzing an engine involves examining the parts to see how they make the engine run. If you were analyzing the U.S. government, you would probably begin by dividing the government into its three branches-the legislative, executive, and judicial-and then by studying how these branches operate to make up the government. If you were studying psychology and were interested in dreams, you would probably begin by sorting the dreams into categories that share common characteristics, and by so doing you might learn something about, the various kinds of dreams. Taking one thing-such as the government-and breaking it down into parts is analysis by division; taking a large group of things-such as governments-and separating the group into categories is analysis by classification. Since classification and division are very similar processes of analysis, and since as patterns of exposition they are even more similar, the general rhetorical term classification will be used to refer to the general pattern. The Principle of Classification When you classify, you divide the members of a group into categories whose members share similar characteristics. But on what basis do you assign the members to categories? When you classify, you need a principle of classification-a guideline for your classifying procedure. For example, the students in your English class might be classified according to the languages they speak natively: Spanish speakers, Vietnamese speakers, Japanese speakers, Dutch speakers, Arabic speakers, and so on. However, including a group such as "hard-working students" disrupts the classification by switching principles of classification. Members of the "hard-working" group could also be members of any of the other groups. Using more than one principle in this way causes categories to "overlap"; that is, the members of one category could also fit into one or more of the other categories. Just what principle of classification to choose is up to you. There are any number of principles available; the important thing to remember is to use ly one principle of classification in an essay.EXERCISE 1.1 Study the following classification groups. Underline the category that does not belong. The first one is done. 1. Automobiles: two-door, four-door, station wagons, economy. Policemen: detectives, sergeants, lieutenants, captains. Transportation: on land, by water, by air, by train. Rivers: long, dangerous-, short. Drugs: stimulants, depressants, illegal. Students: hard-working, motivated, not motivated. Bus drivers: friendly, indifferent, safe, mean. Languages: Semitic, Indo-European, ancient. Teachers: well-prepared, easy graders, hard graders. 0. Clouds: high clouds, middle clouds, white clouds, low clouds. Beer aya eD Any number of principles of classification are available for a topic To illustrate, consider the topic of students. Students could be classified according to 1. How many credits they have completed: freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors. 2. Age: under eighteen, nineteen to twenty-five, twenty-six and above 3. Majors: biology, history, science, and so forth. 4. Level of intelligence: brilliant, intelligent, average, below average. 5. Where they sit in class: front row, back row, side walls, middle. 6. Their attitude toward school: a place to improve one’s general knowledge, a place to socialize, a place to learn a trade. 7. The way they dress: formally, semi formally, casually. _ Most of the principles of classification are of three types: degree (inferior to superior-for example, rating students from poor to excellent); chronology (dividing the subject according to time periods); and location. These are common types of principles, but not all principles are these types. EXERCISE 1.2 Study the following subjects and the categories. In each blank, write the principle of classification. The first one is done for you. 1. Teachers: those who dress conservatively, those who dress fashion-ably, those who dress in a variety of styles. ‘The teachers in this school can be classified according to the way they dress. 2. Teachers: those with bachelor's degrees, those with master’s degrees, those with PhD’The teachers at our school can be classified according to 3. Students: residents, nonresidents. The students at this university can be classified according to 4, Precipitation: snow, sleet, hail, rain. Precipitation can be classified according to _ 5, Snakes: those that swallow the prey live, those that inject poison , into the prey, and those that squeeze the prey to death. Snakes can be classified according to 6. Smokers: Those who smoke because of nervousness, those who smoke to look sophisticated, those who smoke out of boredom. Smokers can be classified according to - 7. Readers: those who read voraciously, those who read regularly, those who read sporadically, and those who read as rarely as possible. People who read can be classified according to 8. Readers: those who read heavy, difficult material, those who read moderately difficult material, those who read only light material. Readers car. be put into categories according to 9 Drivers: careless, careful, overly careful. Drivers can be classified according to — 10. Instructors: professors, associate professors, assistant professors, instructors. Instructors can be classified according to Making the Classification Complete Once you have decided on a principle of classification, check to see if the classification includes all of the members of the group. For instance, if you are classifying the students in a class, the categories might cover each and every one of the students in that class, if at all possible. If the students in a class were classified as brilliant or stupid, an obvious group-the average students-would be left out. To avoid omission of members, and to avoid oversimplifying the analysis, therefore, it is generally a good idea to divide the group into more than two categories. For most college essays, three or four categories are the average. When you divide a large group into categories whose members share common characteristics, there will be some members that do not fit perfectly into a category. For instance, you might classify politicians as liberals or conservatives, but since some politicians may be liberal concerning some issues and conservative concerning others, it would be wise to admit any variations or complications in the classification. It is also a g00d idea to note what the primary characteristics of the members are. For instance, dothese politicians vote conservatively most of the time? If so, then placing them in the conservative category and mentioning that they vote liberally on some issues could be justified. EXERCISE 1.3 WRITING ASSIGNMENT 1-1 Evaluate television programming to determine the quality of the programs. Since “television programming” is rather broad, narrow that topic down to a particular type of show, such as news programs, detective shows, or children’s programs. Make a list of all the television shows in that group. Then sort through that list to find groups that share common characteristics. Rewrite the list, clustering the shows into groups. Make sure that a show that appears in one group cannot fit into another group. Write out the principle of classification, Remember to keep in mind the purpose in classifying these programs. If you prefer, choose radio programs, movies, or books. Organizing the Classification Essay After deciding on the principle of classification and dividing the group into categories, you need to discuss each of those categories. In the developmental paragraphs it is useful to devote one paragraph to each category. When discussing the category, include the following points: 1. Identify the group. If it has a special name, identify it. 2. Describe or define the category. What are the general characteristics of the members of this category? Once you have established what the category is according to your classification, discuss the common characteristics of the members. 3. Cite examples. Often it is helpful to illustrate the characteristics (which are generalizations, by the way) by giving one or two examples of typical members of the category. In the second and subsequent developmental paragraphs, add another point: 4. Distinguish this category from the other categories. Discuss the characteristics of the second category by comparing and contrasting them with these of the first category. Doing this will help to distinguish between the + categories. How does Group 1 really differ from Group 2? (For coherence, as in comparison-contrast, try to discuss the characteristics in the same order as the previous group.) In these respects, classification papers are really a combination of example essays and comparison-contrast essays. Therefore, you will need the expository skills you have been developing. InteIn an introductory paragraph it is often a good idea to introduce the categories by mentioning the names of the groups. The thesis statement for the classification essay can be one that simply introduces the classification and the categories: The teachers in this college can be classified according to the way they dress: those who dress formally, those who dress semi formally, and those who dress casually. There are basically three types of bus drivers: friendly, indifferent, and mean. Drugs fall into three categories: stimulants, depressants, and hallucinogens. Although there is no law that says the categories must be identified in the introduction, identifying them will help keep the essay organized. When you name the categories in the introduction, express them in parallel structure; that is, express them in the same parts of speech. If you identify a category using a clause, then all of your categories should be identified using clauses. There are those who like movies, those who hate movies, and those who are indifferent toward movies, (clauses) There are basically three types of bus drivers: friendly, indifferent, and mean. (adjectives) The students in this class fit into the following categories: the minies, the middies, and the maxies. (nouns) Mast people respond in one of three ways: eagerly, indifferently, o: reluctantly. (adverbs) Study the following essay and determine if it contains the characteristics of a good classification paper: a single principle, well-defined categories, good examples, categories expressed in parallel structure, and completeness. COLLEGE TEACHERS Before I came to college, I was told not to expect my professors to care much about me or my work; indeed, I was told that I would be lucky if any of them even knew my name! But when I came to the university, I soon learned that these generalizations were too broad. Not all teachers are the same. In fact, I have found that most of the professors here at State fall into three categories: the positive teachers, the neutral teachers, and the negative teachers. The positive teachers are by far the most agreeable teachers. A positive teacher is one who seems interested in his subject and his students. The first thing a positive teacher does is try to learn all of the students’ names. This kind of teacher allows for questions and discussions in class and does not seem to mind if a student disagrees with him. A positive teacher shows his interest out of class as well. Not only is he available for conferences, but he encourages students to sec him if they need help. The students tend to feel comfortable in the presence of this teacher. A good example of a positive teacher ismy French teacher, Monsieur Poirrot. He always allows lime during the class hour for some free discussion. Once, when some of the students in our class were having trouble with the pronunciation of the rolled "r” in French, he took several hours of his own time to work with us in very small groups in his office until we had mastered the sound. Unfortunately, teachers like Monsieur Poirrot are relatively small in number. Unlike the positive teachers, the neutral teachers are not very agreeable. In general, the neutral teachers just do not seem interested in either the subject or the students. These teachers usually do not learn all of the students’ names, though they may learn a few. ‘Their classes tend to be more boring than the positive teachers’ classes because they allow less time for discussion. However, like the positive teacher, the neutral teacher allows for questions and some discussion, but he just does not seem to care if the students are interested enough to want to discuss the subject or not. Although the neutral teacher is available for conferences, he does not encourage students to come see him for help; as a result, most students feel slightly uncomfortable in his presence, especially during a conference. Professor Hilton, my economics professor, is typical of the neutral teacher. She comes into class, opens her notebook, lectures, allows questions and some discussion, and then leaves class. When I had a problem understanding one of the concepts we had discussed in class one day, I went to her office for a conference. She was polite enough but did not make any special effort to see that I understood the concept during the conference. She more or less repeated what she had said in class. Very few students go to see her for a conference because they think she is simply not interested, From what I have gathered in my conversations with other students, the neutral teachers make up the largest category. Of the three types of teachers, the negative teachers are the least agreeable. These are the kind that every student dreads. Not only do they not lear the students’ names, but they seem almost hostile both in class and out of class. In class, the negative teachers, like the neutral teachers, primarily lecture; they may want the students to lear, but unlike the neutral and positive teachers, the negative teachers allow virtually no questions and no discussion, The negative teachers also seem inimical to the idea of having conferences and are almost never in their offices. Students avoid seeing them for conferences if at all possible, An excellent example of a negative teacher is Dr. Wollen, my physics professor. His classes are twice as boring as any class of a neutral teacher, and he is often intimidating in class. One day, for example, when one student asked him to repeat his explanation of the theory of relativity, ne became quite angry and refused to repeat what he had just lectured on. The negative teacher is too often inflexible; in fact, he seems more like a machine than a human being. Fortunately, this group is in the minority. ‘The type of teacher students get can directly affect how much they lear. Obviously, students learn more from a positive teacher; unfortunately, as we have seen, this typemakes up the minority. Since the mission of the university is to educate, administrators should try to get the neutral arid negative teachers to improve their teaching methods and attitudes; otherwise, the administrators should consider dismissing at least the negative teachers and make every effort to hire those teachers who show promise of being positive ones. EXERCISE 1.4 Answer the following questions about the essay "College Teachers.” 1. What is the thesis? 2. What seems to be the writer’s purpose for writing about these kinds of teachers? 3. What is the principle of classification? 4, What is the controlling idea about the positive teachers? 5. What are the characteristics of the positive teachers? 6. What is the controlling idea about the neutral teachers? The negative teachers? 7. What are the characteristics of the neutral teachers? The negative teachers? 8. Do the examples the writer uses to illustrate the categories seem appropriate? 9. Does the conclusion appear to be logical? 10. Write an outline of this essay. WRITING ASSIGNMENT 1.2 In Writing Assignment 1.1 you were asked to make some notes about television programs. Using the preceding essay as a model, make the first draft of an essay on that topic. COMPOSITION SKILLS Introductory Paragraphs: The “Turnabout” You learned how to compose one of the most common types of introductory paragraphs, what is often called the "Funnel.” This approach to opening essays is a good one, but of course it is not the only way writers can introduce their essays. “Another common approach is what we might call the "Turnabout.” This type of introduction opens with a few sentences summarizing a point of view that is actually the opposite of the writer’s own thesis. By the end of the introduction, the writer makes a complete turnabout and presents his or her thesis—the opposite of what he or she started out with. This technique is useful when the writer's purpose in the essay is to argue a point or to clear up a commonly held misconception. Like the Funnel, the Turnabout opens generally and congenially, but unlike the Funnel, the Turnabout has this dramatic shift in ideas. In other words, in the Turnabout the writer sets up the« opponent's view for attack, You have already seen some examples of this type of introduction. "College Teachers" on page 226 opens with a Tumabout introduction. In the following introductory paragraph from Chapter 5, Pamela Moran opens with a statements about the generally held view thatwatching television is a worth-while pastime, but by the end of the paragraph, she presents the opposing view for her thesis: We live in an era where television is the national pastime. Since the invention of the television set, people have been spending more of their free time watching television than doing anything else. Many of the television addicts feel that this particular pastime is not a bad one; indeed, they argue that people can learn a great deal watching television. I am sure that if you look long and hard enough, you can probably find some programs that are educationally motivating. But, for the most part, I say that watching television is a waste of time. WRITING ASSIGNMENT 1.3 1. For the draft of the essay you composed for Writing Assignment 1-2, revise the introduction to make it a Turnabout. 2. Select one of your essays you wrote for an exercise in a previous chapter. Rewrite your introduction using the Turnabout approach. Coherence Transitions for Classification A classification essay is really a combination example and comparison- contrast essay. Therefore, expect the transitions for this type of essay to be generally the same as those for the example and comparison-contrast essays. Review the following transitions: 1, TRANSITIONS TO INTRODUCE CATEGORIES. These are generally additive transitions: first, second, next, last, another, in addition. The first group includes those students who dress formally. The next group includes those who dress semiformal. The Jast category includes those who dress casually. ~ And finally, there is the type that everyone dreads: the negative teacher. In addition to these two groups, there is another group: the dunces. 2. TRANSITIONS TO SHOW SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES. In a classification paper it is important to clarify the distinctions between the categories: therefore, make use of the transitions to show similarities and differences discussed in the last chapter. Unlike the positive teachers, the neutral teachers are not very agreeable. However, like the positive teacher, the neutral teacher allows for questions. In contrast to the positive teachers, the negative teachers are unpleasant. Their classes tend to be more boring than the positive teachers’ classes because they allow less time for discussion.3. TRANSITIONS TO INTRODUCE EXAMPLES. A good example of a positive teacher is my French teacher, Monsieur Poirrot ‘An excellent example of a negative teacher is Dr. Wollen. One day, for example, when one student asked him to repeat his explanation, he became quite angry. Professor Hilton is lyrical of the neutral teacher. 4, TRANSITIONS TO SHOW THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CLASS. Itis a good idea to indicate if an example or a category is more of less significant than the others, Indicate, too, the relative size. Of the three types of teachers, the negative teachers are the least agreeable. Fortunately, this group is in the minority. WRITING ASSIGNMENT 1.4 Study the following essay. In the original version there were transitions, in this version most of the transitions have been omitted. Rewrite the essay to include transitions wherever they may be necessary. ATTITUDES TOWARD MONEY ‘Americans these days are very concerned with the economy. It seems more people are having to lea to spend less and to spend wisely due to the hard times we are experiencing. However, people's attitudes toward money differ. Some attitudes toward money are reflected by the following three types of people. The misers accumulate money in banks, if their income is large, or in the house stuffed in mattresses or under the living room rug if they are low-income people. They seem almost obsessed with the idea of saving. The misers deprive themselves of many things and most live miserably in order to hoard their wealth. My ninety-year-old neighbor, having gained the sympathy of neighbors, often collected groceries and money from them. She dressed shabbily and lived in an old deteriorated house. After her death it was discovered that this old woman had left thousands of dollars to the church and other organizations. She left nothing to her family. The spenders are people who cannot seem to hold on to their money. They have a tendency to spend too much on too many unnecessary things. They are often too generous, making elaborate gifts to friends and family. Credit cards in some spenders’ hands are often dangerous weapons. They become addicted to using them only to regret it later when the bills come in and they are unable to pay. Other spenders like to gamble, and this can also be destructive if it turns into a vice. Many spenders do not necessarily 10throw their money away but give it to charities for good causes, simply because they enjoy giving. My Uncle Mario is @ big spender. He makes over $25,000 a year, but he never has any money in his savings account because he spends his entire pay- check each week on necessities and luxuries. Last week he spent $500 on a new moped, not because he needed one, but because he thought it would be fun to own one, As a result of his spending, every year in April he has to borrow money to pay his taxes because he has spent it all. The economizers are practical people who spend wisely, usually making use of a budget. They can enjoy more and various material things and activities due to their careful utilization of funds. They spend in moderation and save in moderation for their future retirement or the education of their children, Parents are usually the best economizers, My mother, who budgets our money, resists the temptation to buy things we do not need and cannot afford. Instead, she makes a point of saving a certain amount of money from each of my father's paychecks. As-a result, we always have some money in the bank for emergencies and for education expenses. When my brother started college, we had the money to pay for his tuition and books. In conclusion, economizers are what most of us are having to be in. the 1980's, The acute problems of inflation, shortages, and low salaries in this nation are foreing us to become economizers. It is the only way to be if we are to survive in the future, Hopefully, the misers and big spenders will modify their extreme attitudes toward money and convert into economizers. WRITING ASSIGNMENT 1.5 What is the thesis of this essay? Make an outline of the essay. WRITING ASSIGNMENT 1.6 Use this essay as a model, write an essay classifying people's attitudes toward leisure time, education, or travel. Be sure to include transitions and examples. GRAMMAR REVIEW Correlative Conjunctions Coordinating conjunetions (and, but, yet) can be used as transitions to give writing coherence. Correlative conjunctions can also connect two sentences together, just as regular conjunctions do. The correlative conjunctions include both... . and either ... or not only. .. but also neither .... nor Note how these pairs of words are used in examples: i‘The Rabbit and the Chevette differ not only in ride, but also in mileage. Both Nhan and Hung want to do good things for human beings. You can take the test either on Monday or on Wednesday. Ithas neither a good price nor good gas mileage. Cortelative conjunctions add clarity and coherence to writing by signaling the relationship between the two ideas in the sentence, When reading the first one of the pair, the reader immediately knows the second one is to follow and what the relationship between the two ideas is. On the other hand, with a regular conjunction in a compound sentence, this relationship is not clear until the reader reaches the second part of the sentence. Compare: That professor is not a good lecturer, and he is not a fair grader. That professor is neither a good lecturer nor a fair grader. The position of the correlative conjunctions in the sentence is important. Each conjunction comes just before the item it is comparing. Further, the grammatical elements that follow correlative conjunctions should be parallel. That is, they should both be verbs, nouns, infinitives, and so on. Study these examples: Both... and Both John and | love to ski. (nouns) John loves both to ski and to dance, (infinitives) John both loves to ski and hates to dance, (verbs) Either .. or Either Bill or his cousin will give the party, (nouns) Bill will either take out the trash or wash the dishes, (verbs) Bill will take out either the trash ot the old newspapers. (nouns) Not only... but also Not only is Bill rich, but his wife is rich also, (nouns) He is not only rich, he is also talented, (adjectives) Mozart composed not only for piano, but also for violin, (prepositional phrases) Mozart not only composed for piano, but also wrote for violin, (verbs) Not only did Mozart compose for piano, but he also wrote for violin. Neither... nor Thave read neither the book nor the short story, (nouns) Thave neither read the book nor seen the movie, (verbs) Pay attention to subject/verb agreement with neither ... nor, either .. . or. and not only . but also. With a compound subject the verb agrees with the nearer part of the subject. Study these exampl Neither John nor Bill is excited abEither the boys or their sister is feeding the dog. Neither John nor his brothers are interested in this book. Not only Bill but also Mary is intending to go with us. EXERCISE 1.5 Combine the two sentences into one using the correlative conjunctions given. Pay special attention to the position of the be or auxiliary with not only and nor. 1. The first type of student is quiet. The second type of student is quiet. a. Not only is the first type 2. The first type of student is quiet. The first type of student is smart, a. The first type of student is not only b. Not only is the first 3. The second type of student hates sports. The second type of student hates music. a. The second type of student hates b. The second type of student not only c. Not only does the second _ _ 4. The students can be classified according to where they live. The students can be classified according to how they get to school a. The students can be classified not only . The students can not only cc. Not only can the students 5. John does not like this type of teacher. a. John neither _ _ ee 6. This type of teacher does not prepare properly. This type of teacher does not grade fairly. a. This type of teacher neither 1. This type of teacher should not be hired. This type of teacher should not be paid. a. This type of teacher should neither hn will not take his classes. EXERCISE 1-6 Combine the two sentences using the correlative conjunctions given. 1. (Both . . . and) Physics is classified as a physical science. Chemistry is classified as a physical science. 2. (neither . .. nor) We cannot classify mathematics as a biological science. We cannot classify psychology as a physical science. 3. (not only... but also) Botany and zoology are normally considered biological sciences. They ate generally requirements for a B.S. degree.4. (either . . . or) All liberal arts majors nave to take two physical science courses. Instead, ill liberal arts majors could take two biological science courses. 5. (not only... but also) Tn order to graduate, all students in college must take certain required courses. They have to take some electives. 6. (both... and) The motorcycle is an efficient type of vehicle. The bieycle is an efficient type of vehicle. 7. (neither... nor) The motorcycle is not easy to ride in the rain. The bicycle is not easy to ride in the rain, 8. (either... or) Both the motorcycle and the bicycle are fun to take on vacation. They are good for work. 9. (not only. . . but also) The motoreyele fits in the category of motorized vehicles. The motorcycle is in the category of pleasure vehicles. 10. (not only .... but also) The motoreycle and the bicycle are efficient means of transportation. The compact car is an efficient means of transportation. 11. (either... or) My cousins are going to buy a motoreycle. My unele is going to buy a motorcycle. WRITING ASSIGNMENT 1.7 1. Using some of the transitions mentioned in this chapter as well as correlative conjunctions if they fit logically, revise your classification essay of television programs. 2. The following essay lacks coherence. Using ail of the coherence devices you have studied so far, rewrite it. You will need to add transitions and conjunctions and repeat key words and phrases. You will also need to rewrite some sentences to make them flow smoothly. Everyone makes excuses. Who hasn't said, "Oh, it's so hot. I just can't go outside and wash the car," or "It was really John’s idea. He made me do it,” or "I had a terrible headache." It seems as we all, at one time or another, feel the need to explain why something happened or didn’t happen, to assign blame. Because we all do it, making excuses may seem innocent enough. Certain excuses, sometimes called "little white lies,” perform a social function of smoothing over a potentially disagreeable situation. No one is truly deceived and perhay so innocent. They areintended to deceive. While it may seem we intend to deceive others, it is really ourselves that we are deceiving. Making excuses is a way of not taking responsibility for our actions. It is a way of assigning blame to something else, someone else, or even our mental or physical state so that we do not have to look at ourselves. We can escape blame by pointing the finger at forces or circumstances outside ourselves. ‘You may say, "I couldn't possibly write a good essay. It was ninety degrees in the room. Thete was no air conditioning. It was just too hot." Since you have no control over the heat, you are exonerated. It's not your fault. Pethaps you've heard someone say to the teacher, "I'm sorry I missed class today, but my car ran out of gas on the freeway.” The person is not responsible, right? There are forces outside our control that intervene and prevent us from doing something. There are floods, fires, and "acts of God." These might be valid reasons for why something was or was not accomplished. They might not be excuses. The important thing is to look at the circumstances and determine our own attitude and reaction, Are we blaming a force outside ourselves for our own inability? If so, we are making an excuse. We can blame other people. This type of excuse lets you off the hook because you are not responsible; someone else is. Typical examples include; "Well, it wasn't my idea to cheat on the test. Bill suggested it and I just went along with him." "I got a bad grade in that course because the teacher doesn't make it interesting." "I didn't get a raise because my boss is so stingy." "I know my child is naughty but his mother spoils him so." The person making the excuse is not taking his or her responsibility. Passing the buck is a special kind. This kind of excuse making often occurs in large companies and government bureaucracies. Let's say a company loses a million dollars because of a bad investment. The president of the company blames the vice-president who advised him. The vic president passes the buck to one of her analysts who had done the research. The analyst says, "It wasn't my fault. The research was erroneous," or even "The typist typed it wrong." The blame gets passed from person to person and maybe to the computer, with no one ever taking responsibility for the error. It is easier to look outside ourselves and assign blame than to look at ourselves and our true capabilities. Excuses closest to home are those in which we blame our own mental or physical state but at the same time do not accept responsibility for them, It is as if our body and mind are separate from us and can be blamed. Here you have the psychosomatic excuses: "I had such a head-ache I couldn't write my report.” "Every time I jog I get a terrible stomachache. I guess I just won't exercise anymore.” "My eyes burn if I read too much." At times we are truly sick. The problem is in determining when we use our physical state as a way of avoiding something we consider unpleasant. We blame our inaction or inability on our mental state. "I was so depressed about my family I didn't study for the exam." "I wasn't in the mood to go to that party and see all those strangers." "I was so 15excited I just didn't think about the consequences.” Excuses allow us to avoid looking at ourselves and the problems that we face. We all make excuses. They are not necessirily healthy for us. When we look at ourselves, at circumstances, or at our own physical and mental state, we do not have to look at ourselves and see something unpleasant. We do not take responsibility for ourselves and our actions. Our physical and mental health depends on our ability to solve problems. If we are to solve the problems that confront us, we must look through our excuses and see ourselves. GRAMMAR REVIEW Adjective Clauses Reduced to Participial Phrases Adjective clauses connect two sentences by replacing a noun with a relative pronoun (who, which, that, and so on). Certain adjective clauses can be reduced to participial phrases. To reduce an adjective clause—relative clause—to a participial phrase, delete the relative pronoun that is acting as a subject and the form of the verb to be that follows the pronoun. This should leave a present participle (an -ing word) or a past participle (an -ed/- en word). To see how this works, first underline the adjective clauses, in the following sentences: I know the man who John is picking up. I know the man who teaches at this school. I know the man who is standing over there. I know the man who was taken to jail. I know the man who was being charged with the crime. Note that in the first two sentences, the adjective clauses cannot be reduced. In the first one, the relative pronoun is not the subject of the clause. In the second one, we do not have a form of the verb to be or the present participle. A reduction here would result in an incorrect sentence: Incorrect: {know the man teaches at this school. (Often in this type of sentence the verb can be changed to a present participle and we can have the following: [ know the man teaching at this school.) Note the correct sentences when who is/was is deleted: I know the man standing over there. I know the man taken to jail. I know the man being charged with the crime. The sentence with the present participle is reduced from an active verb, whereas the sentences with the past participle (-ed/-en) are reduced from passive verbs. Do not confuse the simple past tense verbs with passive. Note this sentene 16