Academic Art

“Academic Art: Art created in the prevailing styles of the European and American art academies. By the late 19th century the avant-garde looked on academic art as a moribund style being practiced in isolation from current styles—a view now under reconsideration.”

Excerpted from: Diamond, David G. The Bulfinch Pocket Dictionary of Art Terms. Boston: Little Brown, 1992.

Common Errors in English Usage: Methodology/Method

Once more, from the pages of Paul Brians’ book Common Errors in English Usage (to which he–amazingly–allows free access on his Washington State University Web page), here is a worksheet on the use of the nouns methodology and method. This is a full-page document with a reading of three sentences and ten modified cloze exercises.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

Discourse

“Discourse (noun): Verbal expression or interchange of ideas; discussion or conversation; a formal address or paper on a subject. Adjective: discoursive; adverb: discoursively; noun: discoursiveness; verb: discourse.

‘He is not so amused, however, at the disclosure of my having temporarily “lost” my papers in the forest. He gives me a discourse on carelessness. It is a short discourse, but it weighs about four tons.’ Tom Robbins, Another Roadside Attraction”

Excerpted from: Grambs, David. The Random House Dictionary for Writers and Readers. New York: Random House, 1990.

Cultural Literacy: Melodrama

Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on melodrama. This is a half-page document with a reading of one sentence and three comprehension questions. Short, sweet–and somehow thorough.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

The Doubter’s Companion: Bretton Woods

“Bretton Woods: A system for international financial management and stability which was put in place by the Allies, minus the Soviets, in 1944 and destroyed in 1973 by President Richard Nixon without consideration being given to a replacement.

Nixon hoped in this way to solve some short-term American economic problems by recreating the sort of financial disorder in which the largest power would be the best placed to benefit. It could be said that this was the single most evil act undertaken by a leader in the postwar period. Other leaders should be discouraged, however. The opportunity to do worse is perpetual.”

Excerpted from: Saul, John Ralston. The Doubter’s Companion. New York: The Free Press, 1994.

The Weekly Text, 31 July 2026: Introduction to Writing Sentences Lesson 8, Writing the Imperative Sentence

Another Friday, another Weekly Text from Mark’s Text Terminal: this one, as the header indicates, is the eighth lesson plan from the Introduction to Writing Sentences unit, on writing the imperative sentence. This worksheet on parsing sentences worksheet to find nouns opens this lesson as a do-now exercise.

This scaffolded worksheet on writing the imperative sentence stands as the principal work of this lesson; students will benefit in their work on this material by using learning support on the concept of an imperative.

If you find typos in these documents, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

The Algonquin Wits: Robert Benchley

“On the death of a Hollywood movie queen whose sensational love-life had been highly publicized, Benchley suggested an epitaph” ‘She sleeps alone at last.’”

Excerpted from: Drennan, Robert E., ed. The Algonquin Wits. New York: Kensington, 1985.

Common Errors in English Usage: Media/Medium

Moving right along this morning, here is a worksheet on the nouns media and medium. This is a full-page document with a nine-sentence reading and ten modified cloze exercises. Professor Paul Brians, from whose book Common Errors in English Usage this work is excerpted and adapted, (and who allows access at no cost to that book at his Washington State University web page) does a nice job of explaining the formation of plurals of English nouns which have their roots in classical languages.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

Term of Art: Socratic Seminar

“Socratic seminar: A class discussion in which the teacher advances a lesson on a specific topic or text by interacting with students, continually asking challenging questions about an assigned reading and responding to the students’ answers by posing more questions. This method, proposed by Mortimer Adler in the Paideia, is intended to encourage students to think rather than just look for the ‘right’ answer. Socratic seminars are based on primary-source works of literature, philosophy, and history instead of textbooks. See also developmental lesson; Paideia Program.”

Excerpted from: Ravitch, Diane. EdSpeak: A Glossary of Education Terms, Phrases, Buzzwords, and Jargon. Alexandria, VA: ASCD, 2007.

Cultural Literacy: Non Sequitur

Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on the concept of a non sequitur. This is a half-page document with a reading of three sentences and three comprehension questions. A good basic introduction to a Latinism that means “does not follow” and worked its way into the English language beginning in the 16th century.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.