Writing Prompt ~ British Vs. American Spelling

You must have noticed the differneces between Brtitish English (BrE) and American English (AmE). They are both popular English, and Brits and Americans can understand each other very well,  but it may not be so easy for learners of English to handle the differences between the two, such as spelling or grammar differences. 

You may not be so sure if you are speaking BrE or AmE - chances are you are speaking the mixture. If you really want to make sure you're speaking one instead of the other, or if you need to take the TOEFL or other AmE tests, you need to know "what's what". 

Example (by Expector)

Hi Tara, (BrE)

Do you really think it's vital for learners of English to know the differences between BrE and AmE? Big deal? Anyway, I'm speaking English - I may not be aware which English I'm speaking (BrE, AmE or AuE). I just need to practise more. I learn English wherever or whenever I have time - when I'm travelling or even in a lift or in a garden with all kinds of colourful flowers or in the sport centre. I'm sure you can understand me even though you know I'm using the mixture. Right? Nevertheless, I'd appreciate it if you can teach me more about the differences. 

Thanks,

Expector

Hi Expector: (AmE)

Thanks for the message. Yes, it may not be such a problem if you don't know the differences. I just want to challenge some of the advanced learners to try to learn more. It's true you need to pratice more - when traveling or in an elevator or in a yard with colorful flowers or in a sports center. With more practice, you'll know more about the differences. Let me know if you need more help!

Cheers!

Tara

Expector: Hi Swift. How's the weather in Sanya?

Swift: Hi Expector. It's sunny and warm as always here. It must be a freezing cold day in Changchun?

Expector: Yeah, it's minus twenty-five according to the forecast. It's sunny but so chilly. We just experienced a terrible blizzard.

Swift: Blizzard? I hope it didn't cause any damage to you. You must be used to it - every winter there are so many blizzards in the northeast. 

Expector: We don't really care so much about it, but I don't think it's a good idea to live in a place where a winter can be so long and harsh. Sometimes you just feel like you're being stuck in a place while you want to enjoy outdoor activity so much.

Swift: Sorry to hear that. But the pictures you sent are so cool - I love the heavy snow.  In fact, my kids keep asking me to take them to the northeast to enjoy the snow. 

Expector: Snow can be so enjoyable and fun, but it's not always a blessing to live with so much snow. The roads can be so icy, muddy or slushy after a heavy snow.  I kind of hate the inconvenience and wish I was living in sunny warm place like Sanya. 

Swift: So why not take a trip to Sanya to enjoy the sunshine beach? Be prepared for a sunburn, though. The sunlight can be so dazzling - you might as well bring the sunglasses. 

Expector: I'd love to.  Welcome you and your family to Changchun to enjoy the snow together. 

Did you hear that an angry Chinese passenger opened the emergency exit of a plane? That can be so unbelievable but really happened.

The plane was on the way to the runway, but the runway was so busy that the plane had to wait until it was allowed to use the runway - all the passengers had already been stuck on their seat without air conditioning for quite a while. Suddenly, a passenger unfastened his seat belt and went to open the emergency exit (door).  The passenger was arrested for his abrupt action. 

Opening the emergency exit of a plane can be so dangeous. You're risking the lives of all the passengers on the plane, and you may damage the plane. Air safety is such a concern now - we have already lost several flights. Everybody should abide by the rules if you choose to take a plane. You should know flight delay is not uncommon worldwide (not just in China). China is now the world's second busiest country of air transport, so flight delay is inevitable - maybe we should get accustomed to it. You still need to pay attention to the travel etiquette wherever you go however fast your economy is growing. 

Some people, however, may argue that the government or the airline or the airport is also to blame for the "air rage". Sometimes, flight delay can be so long and unbearable. Try to imagine you sitting between two big guys without air conditioning (not available since the plane is about to take off) - that can be such a nightmare. They should improve their service quality. 

Nevertheless, I don't think it's acceptable to open the emergency exit of a plane just for fresh air or for getting off a plane quicker unless it's in an emergency situation, and no matter how intolerable the flight delay is or how angry you are. 

Note: 

If you want to write an argumentative essay/blog like this, you might like Expector's Writing Challenge: Argumentative Essay.  

Are you ready for another writing challenge? I hope so. Let's try to write an argumentative essay.

Essay is a short piece of writing. Argumentative writing is different from narrative writing, descriptive writing or expository writing. Argumentative writing can be so useful, not only in taking an English test such as TOEFL, but also in sharpening your writing skills. Writing or composing an argumentative essay can be so challenging, though. 

First, you need to know what an argumentative or persuasive essay really is - google it on the Internet or look it up in a textbook. You also need to make sure your topic is debatable or arguable, for example, "living in a big city vs living in a small town". It's debatable since you may prefer to live in a big city while others may want to live in a small town. In this case, you should try to convince your reader with your arguments, and let your reader agree that living in a big city is such a right choice. 

Second, you should know the usual formats of an argument essay. You could use the "three paragraph" format. In the first paragraph, you state your thesis or your idea or topic or the debatable problem. In the second paragraph (argument part), you give your arguments and try to convince your reader with them. In the third paragraph (usually the last paragraph), you come to your conclusion or your opinion. Be careful that in the last paragraph you must let's know your choice or preference - here, you're not allowed to love both.

Your task

Try to write such an argumentative essay or blog. Don't be tempted to copy anything (text or photo) from the Internet - you may find there are so many argumentative essays on the Internet. Your blog tittle could look like this: "Smoking can be beneficial to our health". 

English tip: "argue", but "argument - argumentative - arguable"  ( don't add an additional "e")

An example

I still prefer to go by air (written by Expector)

I usually travel by air and still prefer to do so. Some people may argue that there have already been several air crashes. 

It's said that the airplane is still the safest form of transport. And, I don't want to spend several days on the bus or train just for going to another place - I don't have the time and you can't sleep well since the passengers keep getting on and off.  There are also hygiene or health problems - it can be such a nightmare. 

You may prefer to go by train or bus - to enjoy the scenery or think about or recall something thoroughly. And, you may feel safe - anyway, you are on the ground not high in the sky.

I still prefer to go by air, though. Time really matters for me.  

Delicious dishes really add flavour to holidays, or rather, no holiday is complete without enjoying the mouth-watering food. Food is part of holidays.

I'm not really a foodie, but I do cook and enjoy food, especially during the holiday season. It's said that you'll enjoy eating what you usually ate when you were a child. I entirely agree with that. I'll cook what I usually ate when I was young. One of my favorites is this dish: Lotus-root Sandwich (I'm not sure it's the proper English name for the dish) - the flavour of home. It reminds me of my grandma wheneven I have it - somehow I still can't make it as delicious as what my grandma made. 

Ingredients

• lotus root
• meat (whatever you like) 
• flour
• seasoning (salt, sauce, vinegar, etc)

Directions

1. Slice the lotus root to make lotus-root slices
2. Cut and mash the meat
3. Mix the mashed meat with some seasoning to make "meat stuffing"
4. Blend the flour with water to make paste
5. Put the meat stuffing between two lotus-root slices
6. Immerse the sandwich lotus-root slices in the paste
7. Fry the paste-covered lotus-root slices until golden brown 

Does it sound delicious and easy to cook? I hope so. The recipe can be modified, though. You could add some other seasoning instead of those mentioned above. You can also roast the lotus-root slices rather than fry them. Do you think you could call this dish a pie or a pasty or anything else? 

You may not read every blog which is published here. I wonder why you read some blogs with interest while you did skip or neglect some. We're trying to encourage our members here to write more, but it's no fun if no one wants to read what we write. So, here's the question: What kind of blog are you interested in? Or, what kind of blog do you usually read with interest?

Topics

You may be so interested in some topics, say, English learning, travel, food, culture, politics, religion, etc. 

Bloggers or authors

Are there any bloggers whose blogs you love to read? That means you'll read the blogs by the blogger(s) whenever you see them. Or you may read just those blogs which are written by native English speakers or advanced members. Do you read the blogs by novices? 

Writing style

What do you prefer? Concise or lengthy? Difficult or easy? Plain or colourful? 

Writing Challenge

Do you find the writing challenges fun or useful for your English writing? Or, are you just tired of all of those writing challenges?

Try to help us answer the above questions. If we know what you really want to read, we'll try to write something you'll be so interested in. As the blog Moderator here, I'd appreciate any feeback or comments on this blog. 

You might find the following blogs useful:

Writing Challenge: To Capitalize or Not

Writing challenge: Catchy Blog Titles

Try to make your blog readable

Only when you start to write in English

I'm so pleased to see that more and more members here have started to write and publish blogs. I really enjoyed reading most of them. But I'm afraid to say some of the blogs are not so readable, which means they are not so easy or enjoyable to read. 

Now that you've got such a wide vocabulary and have learned all of the grammar basics, you can write something wonderful for other members to read. Here're some tips for you:

Don't use the words which are hard to understand

Try to use the words which are easy to read and understand. Keep in mind you're not trying to show how wide a vocabulary you've got. You should try to express yourself clearly. It's not usually recommended to use so many adjectives or adverbs or modifiers or unfamiliar words in your writing unless you're trying to write a "challenge blog" in which you're encouraged to use as many such words as possible. 

Be careful with the format

Never write something all in capitals. I HOPE YOU CAN GET IT. You shouldn't try to write in different colours, especially in red. Don't try to highlight so many words in bold, either. 

Try to learn how to paragraph your blog

It's not a good idea to have a large block of text. Try to avoid long paragraphs - several short paragraphs will read better than a long one. 

Don't try to write something too long

Make it shorter. Be aware that it takes time to read something which is so long or complicated. It's no fun if no one wants to read what you write - anyway, you should try to encourage others to read your writing. 

Always try to punctuate your sentences

It's hard to imagine a paragraph without any punctuation in it. Your readers need the space or pause.

So, bear those in mind and write such a nice blog.  I'd welcome any feedback on this blog!  

Every month several members are featured as star members. Then, who will make a star member?

Some members are so active but have failed to be featured as star members, while those who are not so active were featured - some star members may have published just one blog. Here's the link to the "frequently asked questions" where you'll find the answer. 

According to our admin Tara, those members who have private pages can't be featured, even though their content was featured in the monthly newsletter or they were most active that month - "Many members don't even realize they have their Settings set to private,"  said Tara. 

I hope you'll be our next star member. You deserve a star member, don't you? Keep up your great work here on MyEC. 

You may have learned English for years or ages or even decades, and already learned all the basic grammar rules, but when you're trying to write something in English, you'll find it more difficult than you may have thought. You can understand or even enjoy what other people wrote, but you find it so hard to write something yourself - even when you did manage to write a blog or comment, you may have failed to properly express yourself, or other members can't understand what you were trying to say. If that is the case, you need more writing practice. Now, let's answer the following question:

Do we really need so many writing challenges?

Every month, our admin Tara will post a writing challenge for us to practice writing. Other advanced members may try to post a similar writing challenge, too.

Sometimes you may run out of topics or aren't sure of what to write,  or when you're trying to find something to write, then you may find the writing challenge is just what you need.

When you're taking part in the writing challenge, other members will try to correct the mistakes you made in your "challenge blog". Keep in mind that they will correct you in public - other members who read the corrections will benefit from them too. When you're not so sure about the corrections, you can always try to ask a native English teacher such as Tara, Mr. Bob, or you could ask Alan at EC's "Grammar Help" forum. I suggest you take up Tara's monthly writing challenge - you'll agree that it's worth it. 

Only when you start to write in English can you realize you need more writing practice. 

Are you ready for one more writing challenge? I hope so.

You could always add one or more adjectives before or after every noun to enrich the sentence. You usually do so for a colourful sentence or a vivid description.  Let's compare these two sentences:

-- A man in the village was sitting in a chair.

-- A white-haired old man in the peaceful village was sitting in a black wooden chair. 

It can be so challenging to make such a sentence. Here are some tips for you:

1. You need to find the proper adjectives for a noun, for instance, "cold weather", "lovely day", or  "smart people". 

2. You should know the rules for "adjective order" when you are trying to use several adjectives before a noun. For example, you say "a small round black Chiese wooden chair", not "a black round Chinese small wooden chair".

3. Some adjectives are not used before a noun. You don't say "an asleep boy" or "an afraid man'. You can say "a sleeping boy" or "a frightened man" instead. 

So, your blog should look like this: (a short paragraph by Expector)

I went shopping with my good friend Steve yesterday. There were so many people in the big shopping mall that we could not find a quiet place or a vacant seat to rest for a while.  We were trying to get a lovely, small, old-fashioned, round, black, Chinese, wooden chair. Eventually, we found such a nice chair, but we could not afford to buy it even though it was on sale. 

Does it sound like fun to write something like this? Now it is your turn - try to write one.  

Hi Everyone,

Thank you so much for all of the congratulations which really made my day - I was so pleased to know that my profile was just featured on MyEC. I'm so grateful for and appreciate it - what gift can be a more desirable gift than this for a Thanksgiving Day?! 

Congratulations on all of the members and entries which were just featured too. I'd like to thank all of those who helped make MyEC a pleasent place but failed to be featured. Many thanks to Tara and Josef for featuring me, to Luci, noalpls, Anele, Anah, Mr. Bob, Jasmine and other members who are actively involved with MyEC for all of their blogs, comments, corrections, challenges and so on. 

As a blog moderator, I'm so glad that this month has seen so many amazing blogs. I really enjoyed reading them and learned so much. I'm sorry I failed to leave a comment on every blog I read, and also sorry for failing to correct the mistakes I saw in a blog with the "correction tag". I won't try to correct the mistakes which I think may be typos or can be corrected by the bloggers themselves, though.

Keep up your great work here. I look forward to reading more blogs or comments by you. 

Thanks again,

Expector

Hi Everyone,

Just as you can see, I'll try to make some corrections for anyone who really wants to be corrected, or whenever I see the "correction tag", which means you don't mind others correcting you in public/openly.

English is such a tricky language, so it's inevitable for you (a learner of English) to make some mistakes in your writing. In fact, we all make mistakes - even a native English teacher. But we learn from our mistakes.

The problem is that we may have failed to spot the mistakes in our writing, or we may have been totally unaware of them. If someone else can help point out or correct our mistakes, then we will learn from the mistakes we made. I'd appreciate it if someone helps me to correct the mistakes in my blogs - I don't need to pretend I'm so good at English. I know I'll make mistakes whenever I write since I'm just a learner of English. We're here to learn English, anyway - it's not a matter of saving face.  I don't mind you correcting me in public whenever you find mistakes in my writing. So, don't try to save my face - just correct me in public!

I do mind, however, if you're trying to humiliate me instead of helping correct me!

Do you think it's a good idea to turn a blind eye to the mistakes in someone's blogs, especially when you see the "correction tag"?  It takes a lot of time and effort to make corrections, but it's worth it - to teach is the best way to learn. 

English tip: you can say "someone helps someone else (to) do something" or "someone helps (to) do something" -- the "to" is optional. 

Did you ever wonder why the comments were closed for a certain blog?

You may have assumed that the comments must have been closed by a moderator or the admin or the system itself, which may have puzzled you because you didn't find anything wrong with the blogs or the bloggers. In fact, I was puzzled too, and I tried to consult with Tara (the admin), and it turned out that the bloggers themselves disabled the comments. 

There are a variety of reasons for them to do this. They may not want to receive any comment. You may think the comments are so desirable, and sometimes you write a blog just for receiving some comments. Most of you may find it fun to get all of the comments on your blog. And, you may wonder how could some bloggers choose to disable the comments on their blog. 

It's possible there's something wrong with the Privacy & Comments setting. When they tried to publish a blog, they may have unintentionally chosen the "Just me" for the question "Who can comment on this post?"

The moderator or the admin, however,  does flag or delete blogs which are inappropriate, illegal, or spam, or contain sexual content.

You may have learned English for years or ages, but you are still unable to speak it fluently or you still find it difficult to understand what other people are talking about on TV or radio. If you are just one of them, you should try to ask youself if you have failed to pay enough attention to the pronunciation, or if you have tried to pronounce every new word. 

I know a lot of learners of English can read and understand quite well what are written on paper, but they are weak on speaking and listening. They seem to have been learning a so-called "mute or silent English". They know the meaning of a word but may not be so sure how to pronounce it correctly. If you can't pronounce a word correctly or if you don't know or are not so sure what a word sounds like, you'll hesitate when you're trying to speak or you'll fail to catch the word when someone is speaking it. 

Also, pronunciation can help you spell words rightly. Some words are so hard to spell, but if you know how to pronounce them, you may find it easy to spell them. Be careful that some words can be so hard to correctly spell, for example, words with double letters or words such as "argument" (not "arguement")

So, try to look a new word up in a dictionary for the pronunciation - not just for the meaning. 

By the way, I'm trying to record myself for a member's group, and I hope I'll pronounce every word correctly. It's also true there may be different pronunciations for a certain word  - British or American pronunciation. 

Memory?  Yes, I mean the ability to remember things may have a lot to do with your learning. Some people even said that learning is just a matter of memory. Does that make sense to you?

You may have learned English for such a long time, which may mean you have read so many English books, articles, blog posts and other reading material. Also, you may have watched or listened to a lot of English movies/films, songs, TV programs etc - all in English, and most of them are things written or sung by native English speakers. But, did you possibly ask yourself how much you have really learned or truly memorized? When you are trying to write or speak by using what you have read or heard, chances are you'll be not so sure whether you have remembered them correctly, and thus you hesitate or even can't manage to write or speak anything. How so? How could I...?  You didn't try to remember/memorize what you read or heard, or you didn't really learn them. Or, you may have tried but failed to remember them.

Memory "tricks"

Remembering things is not always so easy, though - it takes a lot of time and effort. There are skills or effective ways to help you to memorize words, phrases, sentences or even paragraphs, but you may find some of them work well for you while some not. Repetition can be such a good way but can also be boring. Some people may try to remember them as a group or a set or by comparing; some may try to write them down or make a sentence or even write a passage with them. Some people are really good at remembering, while some may feel so helpless or hopeless. Some people suggest using your imagination when you're trying to remember a word or words or whatever you're trying to remember. The key is that you should try to find a way or a trick which works well for you. 

Do you think or agree that learning is a matter of memory? Can you share some memory tricks with us? 

Yes, I mean all the unfamiliar names of people or places in an article, news report or blog post. Usually there are so many unfamilar names of people or places in what you're reading, which may impede/hamper your reading. This can be a problem. I wonder how you'll deal with it. 

Some names of people or places are so hard to spell or pronounce. Maybe you never tried to pronounce or get familar with them. You may just ignore them and continue your reading because you know they are just certain names and you don't need to remember all of them - you may only need to know just someone was saying or doing something somewhere, for example, you know "a MyEC mod - say, Expector - just said in his hometown - say, Jinlin, China - he found it hard to pronounce or memorize all the unfailiar names of people or places". In this case, you didn't bother to pronounce or get familiar with the names "Expector or Jinlin", but you got it very well.

Or you don't think it's a problem for you, or you're a native English speaker and never find it hard to read all the unfamiliar names of people or places. Just share your thoughts with us, nevertheless.

Incidentally (by the way), it may be another story to talk about most popular English names of people, say, Mark, Jacob, Max, Caroline, etc.

And, you might also find shahab's blog interesting.

English tip: "say": suggest/suppose something, for example: Let's add something to it, say, an apple.

As a car, I'm so pleased I'm so popular now - more and more people are using me, and some people even can't imagine a life without me. That's music to my ears. But I'm a bit concerned about how you are using me. I can give you some advice about how to make good use of me, though. 

Be aware of my exhaust gas

Some people call it waste gas or exhaust fumes. I'm glad some of you have already realized I'm to blame for the worse air quality, too.  Don't you think there are already too many of us on the roads?  So do abstain from me - don't buy me if you don't really need me or if you can go by bus or by bike or on foot. Unfortunately, I'm still the epitome of wealth in some areas. And, even though you have already owned me, use me when necessary. 

Be careful when you're driving me

Don't you think there've already been so many traffic accidents? So many lives were lost. So you have a good reason to drive carefully. It's safety that really matters. You really don't need to drive so fast. What concerns me so much is there are still so many people who are totally unware of the danger. Try to have me checked or repaired before driving, which may result in a decrease in the death rates.

Don't leave anything valuable in me 

Before you get off me, try to check if there's something valuable which you need to take with you rather than leave it in me. Some people may try to steal what you left in me by breaking in. It's not just that you'll lose the wallet or something else. You'll have to take me to the 4S store for the repairment. Some people even keep a baby in me after leaving.  

Try to get more exercise by leaving me behind

It's no good driving a lot. When you drive, you're cutting down the time which you need for exercises such as walking, jogging. I may also be to blame for obesity or heart attacks or diabetes. 

Good luck in driving me!

If you say a sentence is grammatically correct, you mean there's no grammar mistake in it, but it may not be natural or impossible for native English speakers to make a sentence like that.

It's not so easy for a learner of English to make a sentence which is natural, even though they have learned English for such a long time/so long and have learned all the grammar rules. But, with more practice, you could possibly make a sentence which is grammatically correct. So you should try to learn some grammar. If you can make a sentence, then you may be able to write a paragraph. 

Some people may say, though, that taking so much time to learn grammar is no use or just a waste of time. They argue that a native English child who may not have learned any grammar could make a grammatically correct sentence. They may not have learned grammar, but they live in an English speaking country and they know how to express their thoughts in a natural way. You are not a native English speaker, so it's impossible for you to make a grammatically correct sentence if you haven't learned any grammar. So, do you find grammar important?

If you can't make a sentence which is natural, why not try to make one which is grammatically correct? Keep in mind, only too often, it's the grammar mistakes in your sentence that give you away. 

More and more members have found the "correction tag" very useful and tried to use it.

If other members see the tag, they will try to help correct you or your writing. Sometimes they will just point out the mistakes and encourage you to correct them yourself. They will try to do it openly or publicly, which some members may think is a bit embarrassing. So, make sure you really want others to correct you in public when you use the correction tag - they will try to correct you, even though you're an advanced learner. And, other members who can see the corrections may benefit from the corrections, too. 

Keep in mind that most of the members who will help correct you may not be native English speakers, much less native English teachers.  They may just be some advanced members who are trying to help you, which means the corrections by such members might be incorrect - just for your referrence. You could ask Alan, the mod of EC's "Grammar Help" , or a native English teacher like Tara for help if you are not so sure about the corrections by another member. English can be so tricky that sometimes there's a mistake in each one of the sentences you made.

In fact, everybody makes mistakes. You don't need to be so nervous about making mistakes (grammatical, spelling, or typing) when you're writing. We learn from mistakes, though. As MyEC's blog mod, I really want or invite you to correct me whenever you find an error or a mistake in my blog post. 

Keep and enjoy your writing!

Did you notice this month's writing challenge? Every month, Tara(the admin of MyEC) will post a writing challenge for all of the learners here to practice their English writing skills. Most of the members may find it interesting or helpful while some may find it so daunting. 

I'm glad that some of our members are always trying to participate in the challenge, and I can tell their English writing skills have improved so much. I've enjoyed all of their challenge blog posts, and tried to make a few corrections for them. I hope they can keep up their great work here.

I understand some of our members here still hesitate to take part in the challenge.  They may find it too difficult to write. Some may be afraid of making mistakes. In fact, Tara and some of the advanced members will read your blog and will try to correct some of the mistakes in it, which sure is so helpful. And your blog/blog post doesn't need to be a long or complicated one - keep it simple. Only when you write can you really improve. So why not give it a try!

Let me know if you publish such a post - I will read it. You know, sometimes I just read it for errors in your blog, which I hope you'll agree is so beneficial. Good luck in your writing!