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English Classes

Entrance Exams
English Grammar
Vocabulary Builder
Writing Skills


SAT VERBAL
SAT Reading section
SAT Vocab Words
SAT Reading Tips
SAT Reading Strategies
SAT Reading Passages
Strategies for SAT Reading
What is SAT Verbal? Raise Your Reading Score
SAT Reading
Adjectives vs Adverbs
Author Technique Questions
Inference Questions
Pronoun Agreement
Pronoun Case
Sentence Fragments and Run-ons
Subject-Verb Agreement



SAT WRITING
SAT Writing - word choice and diction
Relative Pronouns on SAT Writing
SAT Writing section
SAT Essay with Examples
Sentence Fragments and Run-ons
Wordiness and Redundancy
Guide for SAT Writing
Improving Paragraphs
Relative Pronouns on SAT Writing
SAT Writing Strategies
Verb Tenses and Forms on SAT Writing



ACT ENGLISH
Author Main Points
ACT English Prep
Faulty Modifiers on ACT English
ACT English
ACT Reading
Parallel Structure
Punctuation
Relative Pronouns on ACT English
ACT Grammar Rules
ACT Reading Strategies
ACT Reading
Study Guide for ACT English
ACT Reading Tips
ACT English Strategies
Transition Questions on ACT English
Verb Tenses and Forms on ACT English
Strategies for ACT Reading
ACT English section
ACT Reading section



PHONICS
Phonics
the Alphabet, pictures
Silent letters
A & An
There, Their, & They're Usage help Sheet
Capital letters



GRAMMAR
parts of speech, examples
Parts of speech
Prepositions, pictures
Prepositions of place
Prepositions
abbreviations


 
VERBS
Learning verbs, pictures
verbs, pictures
verbs - to be
Helping verbs - should
verbs - to have
present tense
have - past participle



WRITING
Email writing
Improve your writing
Improve your writing 2
Letter writing
opening & closing phrases



 

Writing Skills, Composition

In the pursuit of clear, concise writing, you might think about watching, or listening to, the following free lectures online.

Secret Sauce of Great Writing
Free
by Shani Raja, Editor and Writing Coach
10.1K students 613 active students (74 Reviews)


Creative Writing Samples
Free
by K.C. Finn, Author, Educator, Consultant, Reviewer
2.1K students 337 active students (6 Reviews)


Wordpress 101 Course
Free
by KK Tse, Freelance Translator, Marketer
54.6K students 1.9K active students (169 Reviews)


Power Writing for Marketing
Free
by Ed Scotti, Udemy Business and Marketing Skills Sherpa
1.4K students 134 active students (5 Reviews)


Self-Publish a Book on Kindle
Free
by Ka Tecia "Kate" Redwine, Teaching How to Become a Best-selling Author!
4.7K students 154 active students (52 Reviews)



Make the paragraph your basis of writing a larger work, and limit each paragraph to a specific topic. In fact, begin each paragraph with your topic sentence, thereby avoiding a succession of loose sentences. Choose a method of organizing your thoughts in advance, which will allow you to complete an essay or writing assignment with flair and a readable style.

Narration is normally presented in chronological order (through time). However, a good narrative contains more than just listing events in the order that they happened. Narration develops characters, describes a setting, entertains via a conflict, and ultimately a resolution. You don't just throw your story onto the page, you must have a point to the story.

Exposition is explanatory writing, presented with clarity, and credibility, often relying on a source for factual information, citing authorities who have good credentials or are experts in the subject. Meaning is found in the world, not in the dictionary. Bring the world into your story and use it to define your terms.

Descriptive paragraphs must avoid flat-out telling something. Adopt a strategy that makes your description into a story: move from far to near, left to right, old to new, or along any other natural flow. Try dropping in a dramatic revelation along the way, like you were watching a movie unfold. The main difficulty in description is that people can take in a scene almost instantly, but they read sequentially, in a series of small pieces.

Comparisons can be made easier by drawing out a 't-chart' on a blank piece of paper, to make certain you have enough elements to compare and contrast. List the two items being compared at the top, and all the differences and similarities you can think of that will be compared, on the left and right sides of your page. Finally, choose among your options to put together a decent comparison.

Process Analysis explains how to perform a series of actions, breaking the process down into a series of steps. Then, you arrange the steps into some sort of meaningful sequence. Perhaps ask a friend to read your analysis out loud to see if they can follow your directions easily.

Persuasion is the art of letting people make up their minds. More is required than just your opinion or personal sense of conviction. You need to equip the reader with information, analysis, and context, so they can form their own opinions, make judgments, and perhaps take action. Readers are primarily interested in their own opinions, so if you can help them formulate and deepen their understanding, they'll likely enjoy reading your article.






Reading List:

The secret to improving your score on any type of English test boils down to one common factor, your skill in reading.

The Catcher in the Rye
by J.D. Salinger
3.77 of 5 stars


Brave New World
by Aldous Huxley
3.92 of 5 stars


Siddhartha
by Hermann Hesse
3.93 of 5 stars


Animal Farm
by George Orwell
3.78 of 5 stars


Atlas Shrugged
by Ayn Rand
3.67 of 5 stars


A Tale of Two Cities
by Charles Dickens
3.74 of 5 stars


A Clockwork Orange
by Anthony Burgess
3.94 of 5 stars


Ulysses
by James Joyce
3.72 of 5 stars


The Prophet
by Kahlil Gibran
4.18 of 5 stars


Jonathan Livingston Seagull
by Richard Bach
3.73 of 5 stars


Tao Te Ching
by Lao Tzu
4.32 of 5 stars


Thus Spoke Zarathustra
by Friedrich Nietzsche
4.03 of 5 stars


I Ching, Book of Changes
by Cary F. Baynes (Translator)
4.13 of 5 stars


Man and His Symbols
by Carl Jung
4.75 of 5 stars


Heaven and Hell
by Emmanuel Swedenborg
4.5 of 5 stars


Tibetan Book of the Dead
by Padmasambhava
4.8 of 5 stars


The Upanishads
by Eknath Easwaran
4.8 of 5 stars


The Essential Rumi
by Rumi
4.42 of 5 stars


The Mathnawi of Jalaluddin
by Rumi
4.33 of 5 stars


The Book
by Alan Watts
4.1 of 5 stars


Isis Unveiled
By H.P. Blavatsky
3.9 of 5 stars


The Secret Doctrine
by H. P. Blavatsky
3.9 of 5 stars
Gitanjali
by Rabindranath Tagore
4.34 of 5 stars


First and Last Freedom
by Aldous Huxley
4.44 of 5 stars


Beelzebub's Tales
by G.I. Gurdjieff
4.03 of 5 stars


Zorba the Greek
by Nikos Kazantzakis
4.09 of 5 stars


In Search of the Miraculous
by P.D. Ouspensky
4.28 of 5 stars


Tertium Organum
by P.D. Ouspensky
4.2 of 5 stars


Psychology of Man
by P.D. Ouspensky
4.04 of 5 stars


Leaves of Grass
by Walt Whitman
4.12 of 5 stars


Meetings With Remarkable Men
by G.I. Gurdjieff
4.15 of 5 stars


Experiments With Truth
by Mahatma Gandhi
4.05 of 5 stars


Bijak of Kabir
by Kabir
4.28 of 5 stars


The Will to Power
by Friedrich Nietzsche
4.01 of 5 stars


Communist Manifesto
by Karl Marx
3.44 of 5 stars


Brothers Karamazov
by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
4.27 of 5 stars


Waiting for Godot
by Samuel Beckett
3.79 of 5 stars


Songs of Milarepa
by Milarepa
4.3 of 5 stars


The Yoga Sutras
by Patanjali
4.35 of 5 stars


The Talmud
by Ben Zion Bokser
3.93 of 5 stars


Anna Karenina
by Leo Tolstoy
3.99 of 5 stars


Zen and Japanese Buddhism
by D.T. Suzuki
3.93 of 5 stars


Snow Crash
by Neal Stephenson
4.2 of 5 stars



Word Roots

Learning the following word roots and prefixes are a fast way to strengthen your vocabulary. Given that a fluent English speaker must learn over 5,000 words, combining word-parts is a smart approach. Even if you don't know the meaning of a new word straight off, you can make an 'educated guess' if you only had a clue to the word root or prefix within the word.

 
Prefix or Word Root Meaning Example
a, ab/s from, away, off abstract
aer/o air aeroplane
agr/i/o farming agriculture
ambi, amphi both, on both sides, around amphibian
ambul walk, move ambulance
ami/o love amiable
anim life, spirit animal
anthrop/o human anthropology
anti against, opposite of antibody
aqu/a water aquarium
arch/a/i primitive, ancient archaeology
arthr/o joint arthritis
astro, aster star, stars, outer space astronaut
aud/i/io hear audible
auto self, same, one automatic
avi/a bird aviation
bene good, well benefactor
bi/n two, twice, once in every two biweekly
bibli/o book bibliography
bio life, living matter biology
calc stone calcium
capt, cept, ceive take, hold intercept, perceive
cardi/o heart cardiology
carn/i flesh, meat carnivorous
cede, ceed, cess go, yield exceed
cent/i hundred, hundredth centennial
centr/o/i center egocentric
cerebr/o brain cerebral
cert sure certain
chrom/o chromat/o, chros color, pigment chromatic
chron/o time chronic
circum around, about circumnavigate
claim, clam shout, speak out clamor
co with, together, joint coauthor
cogn/i know cognition
con with, jointly concur
contra/o against, opposite contradict
corp/o body corporation
counter opposite, contrary, opposing counteract
cranio skull craniology
cred believe incredible
crypto hidden, secret encryption
cycl circle, ring bicycle
dec/a, deka ten decade, decathalon
dem/o people democracy
dent, dont tooth dentist
derm/a skin dermatology
dia through, between, apart, across diagonal
dict speak contradict
domin master dominate
don/at give donation
duc/t lead conduct
dyn/a/am power, energy, strength dynamic
dys abnormal, bad dyslexia
e- out, away evaporate
ego self egotistic
em, en into, cover with, cause empathy
endo within, inside endotherm
ethno race, people ethnic
ex from, out, excavate
extra, extro outside, beyond extraordinary
fac/t make, do manufacture
flor/a, fleur flower florist
fore in front of, previous, earlier forefront
form shape formation
fract, frag break fracture
funct perform, work function
gastr/o stomach gastric
gen/o/e/ birth, production, genealogy
geo earth, soil, global geography
giga a billion gigabyte
gram letter, written diagram
graph/y writing, recording, written graphics
hect/o, hecat hundred hectare
helic/o spiral, circular helicopter
hemi half, partial hemicycle
hem/o/a blood hemorrhage
herbi grass, plant herbs
hetero different, other heterogeneous
homo, homeo like, alike, same homogeneous
hydr/o liquid, water hydroelectric
hyper too much, over, beyond hyperactive
hyp/o under hypoglycemia
il, in in, into illuminate
ig, il, im, in, ir not, without illegal, irrespective
infra beneath, below infrastructure
inter between, among, jointly international
intra, intro within, inside intrastate
juven young juvenile
kilo thousand kilobyte
lact/o milk lactate
liber free liberate
lingu language, tongue linguistics
luc light elucidate
lumin light illuminate
lun/a/i moon lunar
macro large, great macroeconomics
magn/a/i great, large magnify
mal/e bad, ill, wrong malcontent
mania madness, excessive desire maniac
mater, matr/i mother maternal
mega great, large, million megastore
meta change, after, beyond, between metaphysics
meter, metr measure audiometer
micro very small, short, minute micrometer
mid middle midsection
milli onethousandth millimeter
min/i small, less miniskirt
mis/o bad, badly, wrong, wrongly, misbehave
morph/o form metamorphosis
multi many, more than one or two multicolored
nav ship navigate
neo new, recent neolithic
nom/in name nomenclature
omni all omniverous
para beside, beyond paranormal
per through, throughout permit
peri around, enclosing periscope
phon/o sound phonograph
phot/o light photogenic
pod/e foot podiatrist
poly many, more than one polygraph
post after, behind postdated
pre earlier, before, in front of prevention
pro before, in front of, fore proactive
psych/o mind, mental psychology
quad/r/ri four quadrant
re again, back, backward rebound
retro backward, back retroactive
rupt break, burst bankrupt
scop/e/y see, examine, observe microscope
scrib, script write, written scribble, inscription
self of, for, or by itself self-respect
semi half, partial semiannual
sol sun solar
son sound sonic
sphere ball spherical, biosphere
spir breathe inspire, spirit
struct build construction, structure
sub under, lower than, inferior to submarine
super, supra higher in quality or quantity superimposed
techno technique, skill technology
tel/e/o far, distant, complete telephone
temp/or time temporary
term/ina end, limit terminus
therm/o heat thermal
trans across,beyond, through transfer
tri three, once in every three, triangle
ultra beyond, extreme, more than ultralight
un not,opposite of, lacking unavailable
uni one, single unicycle
urb city urban
vac empty evacuate
vid see video
vis, vid see vision
viv/I, vit live, life revival
voc/i voice, call advocate



 
Suffix Meaning Example
- able capable of, worthy of noticeable
- ade action or process, persons acting renegade
- age state of being, or quality, pertaining to marriage
- al state of being, or quality, state of marital, causal
- ancy state, quality, act or condition agency
- ant one who acts registrant
- archy rule, government monarchy
- ard one who acts steward
- ary pertaining to, connected with elementary
- ced move, yield recede, secede
- cide killing, act of homoicide
- cious capable of capacious
- cit having the quality, or call incite
- clam call, cry out exclamation
- clino lean decline, incline
- clud shut seclude, preclude
- cracy rule democracy
- crat ruler, member of ruling body autocrat
- ennial yearly centennial, perennial
- ent, er one who acts student, teacher
- ery occupation, business, or condition archery grocery
- ette small or diminutive dinette, statuette
- fic of, bringing, yielding pacific, soporific
- gon angled, angular polygon, pentagon
- grade step retrograde
- hood full of abounding in, to make, belong to childhood
- ible capable of, worth of, tending to, or having the quality of credible
- ic, ical of, pertaining to, similar or like historical
- ier possessing or being, one who acts carrier
- ify full of, abounding in, to make state of, move, do testify
- il, ile act, quality or state, like one who acts civil, servile
- ine act, quality or state, pertaining to, like one who acts heroine
- ing expressing action running, growing
- ion state, condition or act of volition
- ish acting like, in the nature of, or similar to impish, mannish
- ism art of, philosophy of, practice of liberalism, Buddhism
- ist one who acts philanthropist, artist
- ite possessing or being, one who acts favorite
- ive having the nature of, tending toward imaginative, collective
- ize to make into, to practice mesmerize, familiarize
- ject hurl or throw projectile
- lateral side unilateral, multilateral
- lent full of, abounding in succulent
- less without, beyond the fearless, useless
- like resembling childlike
- lith stone monolith
- logy knowledge, termination in writing psychology
- ly similar in manner fully, carefully
- ment state, quality, or act of entanglement
- metry measure geometry
- ness condition, or state consciousness
- ology science or branch of knowledge technology
- or a person or thing that acts actor, elevator
- ory of, pertaining to, place of auditory
- ous state or quality furious
- par make ready prepare
- pathy suffering, feeling sympathy, telepathy
- philia abnormal liking or tending toward hemophilia
- phobia fear, dread acrophobia, hydrophobia
- phone sound telephone
- pon, pos place, put postpone, position
- pter wing, feather helicopter
- scope see microscope
- sect cut intersect, section
- ship state or quality, art of skill partnership
- sis action, process, state thesis
- some like or same bothersome
- sophy science of philosophy
- sphere layer hemisphere
- stat standing, stationary, set thermostat
- ster one who acts teamster
- tomy a cutting appendectomy
- tort to twist distort
- tract draw, draw from, pull extract, tractor
- tron an instrument cyclotron
- try art or profession of, state or quality forestry, ministry
- tude art or profession of, state or quality aptitude
- ule diminutive force miniscule
- ulent abounding in fraudulent
- ure act or process, result of adventure, tenure
- urgy work dramaturgy, metallurgy
- ven, vent come convention
- vore, vorous eating carnivore


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