Thursday, January 14, 2010

ERROR ANALYZING
IN USING CONJUNCTIONS OF THE SENTENCES
Writing in Professional Context 2














Name : Hani Rahman
NPM : 07211210023
Class : 5A


ENGLISH EDUCATION PROGRAM
FACULTY OF TEACHING AND EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF IBN KHALDUN BOGOR
2009/2010
INTRODUCTION
Some students has an opinion that writing is a difficult activity because it needs skills, but the other students say that writing is an interesting way for expressing feelings, ideas, critics, suggestions, and many others. There are some reasons why they don’t like writing than speaking. In speaking, may be we just need a confidence and some information without regarding words choices, grammar, punctuation and many other rules; but in writing, there are some aspects which are noticed, like as: words choices, punctuations, grammar and structure and many other rules in writing. Grammar in generally used to mean the structure of a language. By learning some aspects of grammar, we can probably learn to write sentences that are more mature and well-formed than we now write. In this paper, I give a title “Error analyzing in using conjunctions of the sentences” because I often find some mistakes which are made by my self and also my friends in using conjunctions. Therefore, I will analyze about the mistakes in using conjunctions in order that me and my friends can solve their mistake about using conjunctions. It is a small mistake but it has a big effect for conveying the information so that the purpose of our written can be understood by the readers well. Conjunctions extremely important words in our language because they express relationships between ideas, thus contributing to clarity smoothness in writing




THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
Most conjunctions are historically derived from other parts of speech, particularly from prepositions. Like prepositions, conjunctions are members of a small class that have no characteristic form. They function chiefly as non movable structure words that join such unit as parts of speech, phrases, or clauses.
A conjunction is a coordinating when it connects two (or more) parts of a sentences that are equal in rank-that is, parts that have the same grammatical structure or that function so identically that they can be thought of as having the same grammatical structure. The great English writer Samuel Taylor Coleridge went so far as to say that “a good writer may be known by his pertinent use of connectives. And another great English writer, Thomas de Quincy, said “all fluent and effective composition depends on the connectives”.
For constructing a good composition, it must be a parallelism of each sentence. When two or more sentences parts are joined by a coordinating conjunction, they are said to be in parallel structure, which means that every sentences of a composition are equal in rank and have a relationship from each other. In English structure, there are two main kinds of coordinating conjunctions, they are: coordinate conjunctions and subordinate conjunctions; and then will merge all two groups classify them according to the relationship they express between sentences or parts of sentences. Coordinate conjunctions join structural units that are equal grammatically. On the contrary, subordinate conjunctions will be taken up in detail later under the syntactic structures each one introduces.

DATA FINDING
1. Coordinate conjunction
The coordinate conjunction joins structural units that are equal grammatically. The conjunction comes before the last unit and is grammatically independent of this unit. Units joined are labeled compound . Compound units may be classified according to the formal structure of the units (parts of speech, phrases, clauses) or according to the function of the units (subject, predicate, and object). Coordinate conjunctions covering:
And
But
Yet Or
Nor For
so

Except for ‘for ‘and ‘so’, the coordinating conjunctions can connect virtually any kind of sentence parts, from single content word to independent clauses. This is one of the characteristics that make coordinating conjunction and conjunctive adverbs separate groups. Examples:
In the house and on the roof
Waiting patiently but not enjoying the delay
Curious yet afraid


Structural units joined by coordinate conjunctions
Part of speech (single word)
Conjunction and, or
The old woman slipped and fell on the pavement (compound verb)
A pronoun and a noun may be joined in the coordinate conjunctions, for example:
Auxiliaries may also be joined by coordinate conjunctions, for example:
We can and will succeed
A comma after the last coordinate auxiliary is optional, depending on whether the user would pause in speech.

Functional units joined by coordinate conjunctions
Coordinate units consisting of parts of speech, phrases, or clauses may also be classified according to their function in the sentence
Compound subjects How much she pays for her clothes or where she buys them does not interest her husband. (subject consists of noun clause)
Compound predicates They went out for dinner but returned in time for their favorite television program. (predicate consists of verbs and modifiers)
Compound objects He said that he was tired and that he was going to bed. (direct object consists of noun clauses)
Compound modifiers Anyone who doesn’t like the new policy of this company and who would like to resign is free to do so. (modifier consist of adjective clauses)

2. Correlatives conjunctions
Such paired conjunctions, called correlative conjunctions, serve to intensify the coordination. This correlative pair expresses addition, with greater emphasis placed on the second element. The correlatives are two-part coordinating conjunctions, as follows:
Both… and
Not only… but (also)
Either…or (else)
Neither… nor Not… but
Not… nor
Never… nor
Whether… or



These two-part conjunctions may join independent clauses or parts of sentences.
Examples:
Either you will apologize or I will bust your nose
Punctuation with coordinate conjunctions
Commas used with coordinate conjunctions appear only before the conjunctions. If only two words, two phrases, or two independent clauses are joined by a coordinate conjunction, no comma is used before the coordinate conjunctions. Examples: He said that he was very tired and that he was going home to rest. Sometimes, however, a comma may separate long dependent clauses. Example: Because he didn’t like to work in a tropical climate, and because he felt his abilities were not recognized by the company he worked for, he decided to look for a job in a colder climate.

3. Subordinate conjunctions
A subordinate conjunction introduces a clause that depends on a main, or independent clause. It never separated from its clause by a comma. Like coordinating conjunctions, subordinating conjunctions express a relationship between two ideas. For reference, here is a list for the chief subordinating conjunctions.
After
Although
As
As…as
As if
As soon as
As though
Because
Before
Fewer than
Fewer…than
However
if Inasmuch as
In case
In order that
In that
Less than
Less… than
Like

More than
More… than
No matter how
Now that
once Provided (that)
Since
So (that)
So…that
Than
Though
Till
Until
when
where
Whereas
Wherever
while











DATA ANALYZING
I have explained the types of conjunctions and their functions in compounding phrases, clauses and sentences. Now, I do like to explain some mistakes are often made by students in my class.
Faulty parallelism is a mistake happens because students have not understood yet about compounding the parts of speech or the functions of the units (subject, predicate, object, modifier, or complement) in the sentences. In addition, students often do a faulty parallelism in their sentences because they cannot distinguish the function of the words in every sentence. Faulty parallelism occurs when different grammatical structures are used coordinately for the same grammatical functions. For instance:
Nominal function
Faulty parallelism I’m reading about the origin of the violin and how it developed through the ages.
Correct to: I’m reading about the origin and development of the violin
Faulty parallelism Swimming in the lake and to walk through the woods are his favorite pastimes.
Correct to: Swimming in the lake and walking through the woods are his favorite pastimes.
Or To swim in the lake and to walk through the woods are his favorite pastimes.

Adjectival function
Faulty parallelism Mary is tall, with blond hair, and who has blue eyes
Correct to : Mary is tall, blond, and blue-eyed

From the table above, we can conclude that faulty parallelism can be avoided by recognizing the functions of the words in the sentences. in the example of number one, there is a faulty parallelism because it is not a parallel Compounding phrases. "The origin of the violin" is the first object of the sentence and it is a noun phrase, and “how it developed through the ages" is the second object of the sentence belongs to a kind of clause. Therefore, in order to make it becomes a parallel we must change it through compounding phrases, so the correct sentence is "I’m reading about the origin and development of the violin”.
Second the mistake which is often done by students is clauses not logically parallel- The boy was tall, dark, and very methodical. (The first two items refer to the boy’s appearance, the last item to one of his habits. Logical parallelism is required even with independent clauses that are joined coordinately. The example of clauses not logically parallel is
clauses not logically parallel Mr. Jones is our neighbor and he has a large house.

One way to eliminate such faulty coordination is to reduce one of the independent clauses. Therefore, the clauses above can be parallel- Mr. Jones, our neighbor, has a large house. However, the coordinate items must be arranged according to some logical principle. Thus we might have a climactic order (such as from less important to more important), a spacial order (such as from near to far), an order according to size (such as from small to large), or temporal order (such as from earlier to later. For instances:
Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested. (Francis Bacon) (Climactic order)
As a small boy, a grown man, and a senile invalid, he had always looked at the gloomy side of life. (temporal order).
An awareness of parallelism is important not only for the negative purpose of lining up related ideas in similar grammatical forms. Such a use of “positive parallelism” is especially important in formal English; the parallel structures help the reader or listener to see the relationship between many complexities of thought that are being expressed.
It is because nations tend to stupidity and baseness that mankind moves so slowly; it is because individuals have a capacity for better things that it moves at all. (George Gissling).
Third, the mistake which is often done by student in using conjunction is punctuation. Commas used with coordinate conjunctions appear only before the conjunction. Commas may separate items representing the same part of speech, the same type of phrase, or the same type of clause. If only two words, two phrases, or two dependent clauses, no comma is used before the coordinate conjunction- men and women are welcome. If three or more items are coordinated, commas separate the items. However, a comma before the conjunction preceding the last item is optional.
Besides that, generally, it is advisable to use a comma before the coordinate conjunctions for, in order to prevent misreading it as a preposition- the girl did all the shopping and cooking, for her mother was in the hospital. A semicolon may appear before a coordinate conjunction joining clauses if there is already internal punctuation within one or more of the clauses.


















CONCLUSION
There are two types of conjunctions, coordinate and subordinate. The coordinate conjunction join structural units are equal grammatically. On the contrary, subordinate conjunctions will be taken up in detail later under the syntactic structures each one introduces. Some mistakes are often done by student in using conjunctions in their composition are: faulty parallelism, clause not logically parallel, and error in using punctuation especially when a conjunction is used.

SUGGESTION
I suggest you to read many grammar books because it can help you to write a good composition well. A good composition can’t be separated with structure, grammar, and other rules in writing, so we must notice all of that.











REFERENCES

1. Azar, Betty schrampfer. 1989. Understanding and Using English Grammar. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
2. Frank, Marcella. 1972. Modern English a Practical Reference Guide. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
3. Thieven, Richard C, and Birtney, Robert C. 1964. Reading for Introductory Psychology. New York: Harcourt, Brace & world, Inc.
4. Whison, George E. and Julia M Burks. 1980. Let’s write English Revised Edition. New York: Litton Educational Publishing.
5. Wilis, Hulon.1976. Grammar and composition. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.

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