May 22nd , 2013
4 Tips for Writing a College Admissions Essay
Are you about to start writing your college admissions essay? Don’t stress! We have 4 tips that will make the essay writing process simpler and smoother. Enjoy!
1. Stay focused
Once you have started writing, stay on topic. Choose an experience in which you learned a life-changing lesson or have a story to tell and work hard to stay on this particular subject. Don’t be tempted to stray off topic or throw in other achievements along the way.
2. Describe the “why,” not the “what”
Start your application essay by explaining “why” you did something that you are proud of rather than just describing “what” you did or “how” you did it. Describing what prompted you to start your own business (the “why”) is more interesting than the details of how you did it (the “what”).
3. What makes YOU unique?
Describe the talents, hobbies and skills that YOU bring with you to college. Write about what sets you apart from other applicants. Did you build a rocket? Start a charity?
4. Write with passion
Write with the same passion that you bring to your hobbies, talents, and skills. The reader will be able to tell if you are writing with passion or just writing to get the job done.
Good luck! Do you have any other helpful tips to add?
Posted in Archive
May 15th , 2013
Do you need help with confusing words?
Is it “regardless” or “irregardless?”
The English language has many confusing words that sound. Here are 4 quick tips from Ginger’s blog to help clear up the confusion!
Regardless, NOT Irregardless!
Always AVOID using the word irregardless. Regardless means “without regard to” or “despite.” For example, “I will go for a jog today, regardless of how cold it is outside.”
Irregardless is not a word, and often misused both conversationally and in writing. The word probably arose from combining “regardless” and “irrespective.” Read more
Immigration or Emigration?
“Immigration” is the act of moving into a country. (The “i” stands for into.) Similarly, “emigration” concerns the act of moving away, or exiting, your county. (The “e” stands for exit.) Read more
Compliment VS Complement
Compliment can be a noun meaning a polite expression of praise or admiration. It can also be a verb meaning to congratulate or praise someone for something.
Complement is also both a noun and a verb. In its role as a noun, complement is something that brings completes or brings something to perfection, just like the word “addition”. As a verb, complement mean to add, enhance or improve something much like the word supplement. Read more
Anyway vs. Anyways
“Anyway” is an adverb meaning regardless. Simply put, “anyway” without an S is correct. Always use it without the S.
“Anyways” with the S is considered slang, and is a part of nonstandard, colloquial, or informal English. Read more
What confusing words would you like to see on our blog?
Posted in Archive
May 13th , 2013
What would you say to a prehistoric hunter?
What if you had the opportunity to communicate with someone from 15,000 years ago? What would you say? What could you say?
You, hear me!
Give this fire to that old man.
Pull the black worm off the bark and give it to the mother.
And no spitting in the ashes!
If you found yourself muttering these sentences in your native tongue while mingling with hunter-gatherers, you just might be understood. Many of today’s modern languages originate from an ancient common ancestrial language in Asia, and researchers now think that a surprising number of words have been preserved over time.
The words in these sentences come from a fascinating list of 23 ancient “cognates,” or words that both sound the same and mean the same thing, that date back to the end of the last Ice Age 15, 000 years ago. Examples of cognates of the word “father” include: padre (Italian), pere (French), pater (Latin) and pitar (Sanskrit).
Researchers at the University of Reading in England worked hard to identify these 23 words that have been “ultra-conserved” over 15,000 years. This new research contrasts the common view that words do not survive longer than 8,000-9,000 years.
Below is a complete list of the 23 words that have remained largely unchanged in several different languages.
thou, I, not, that, we, to give, who, this, what, man/male, ye, old, mother, to hear, hand, fire, to pull, black, to flow, bark, ashes, to spit, worm
Which words would you expect to see on the list?
Read more about this study here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/linguists-identify-15000-year-old-ultraconserved-words/2013/05/06/a02e3a14-b427-11e2-9a98-4be1688d7d84_story.html
Posted in Archive
May 8th , 2013
How to Overcome Writer’s Block
Writer’s block is that horrible feeling where your imagination turns off and you are left with a loss for words. Writer’s block can be fleeting or last for years. In extreme cases, some authors have even quit their profession!
We have 3 solutions to keep your imagination active.
1. Solve a Problem
Writing about ways to solve a problem forces you to outline the problem and creatively think of solutions. Problems range from the simple to the complex. Is your microwave always dirty? Do your shoes always come untied while running upstairs? Are you looking for a better way to communicate with your boss? Brainstorm solutions and share them with the world.
2. Sleep!
A 15-minute nap can gently ease your stress and free up your imagination. Let’s face it, we all deserve a nap, don’t we?
Set a timer, lie down somewhere quiet and comfortable and let your thoughts run free until you drift into a light sleep. Short naps between 10-15 minutes are revitalizing. Don’t have an alarm nearby? You can use Salvadore Dali’s zany alternative. He would sit with his arm holding a spoon and relax and start to drift off to sleep. The spoon would loudly clatter to the ground when he completely fell asleep and wake him up. He claimed that this nap worked wonders – and we know he didn’t have a problem with creativity!
3. Take Pixar’s Advice: Write what would NOT happen next! http://thewritepractice.com/writers-block-pixar/
If you are stuck writing fiction, take a page out of Pixar’s giant library of success and write what would NOT happen next! Is your protagonist out on a walk by the beach? Make a list of bizarre things that would likely never happen.
Maybe a turtle walks out of the water and asks for directions (yes we are thinking about finding Nemo!). Perhaps a giant submarine pulls up and the president of the United States pops up and invites him to go surfing? While these ideas may not be relevant to your story, they will get your imagination working overtime, and at the very least give you a reason to smile and continue writing.
What ideas can you add?
Posted in Archive
May 6th , 2013
Alternate Realities: The Subjunctive Mood
Phuc Tran speaking at TED
In his Ted Talk, “Grammar, Identity, and the Dark Side of the Subjunctive, Phuc Tran discusses the subjunctive and how this verbal mood can impact the way in which we see the world.
“What would have happened if…”
How many times have you asked yourself this question? Phuk Tran often spends time thinking about what would have happened if his family had not escaped Saigon in 1975. Before boarding a bus to flee, Tran began crying and shrieking uncontrollably. His family did not get on the bus, which minutes later exploded. What if he had not cried? What if his family had not made it out of Saigon?
These type of “what if” questions are known as the subjunctive. The subjunctive mood is used for expressing hypothetical statements such as “what if,” “I wish,” “I would,” “I could,” etc. As opposed to the indicative mood, which is used for stating facts, the subjunctive mood expresses potential and alternate outcomes.
Subjunctive: Time/space dream machine
According to Tran, the subjunctive is a “time/space dream machine that can conjure alternative realities.” Since Vietnamese lacks the subjunctive mood, Tran had the ability to imagine alternate possibilities to various actions whereas his parents did not. For his parents, reality was simply what happened. There was no sense of what could have happened.
Many of us get brought down by wishing we were someone or something else, and this Tran refers to as the “dark side of the subjunctive.” Tran believes his parents’ resiliency to deal with their difficult situation stems from the lack of the subjunctive in Vietnamese. Without a linguistic way to express the concept, his parents did not waste time worrying about alternative realities.
Vietnamese optimism
In a 2011 Gallup International poll, Vietnam was considered the most optimistic country, a fact that Tran attributes to their lack of a subjunctive mood. Without the ability to linguistically express what could have happened, Vietnamese do not spend time pondering over what they “should have” done, and instead, live with what happened or did not happen.
While the subjunctive can cause us unnecessary anxiety by worrying “what if,” it also allows us beautiful creativity in our thoughts and language. Use the power of the subjunctive correctly – choose to have an optimistic outlook like the Vietnamese, but continue to dream the lovely dreams of “what if.”
Check out Tran’s TED Talk here: http://tedxdirigo.com/speakers/phuc-tran/
Posted in Archive
Apr 30th , 2013
5 Tips for Stress-Free Essay Writing
Do you dread writing essays? Does just the thought of doing the research make you break out in a cold sweat? Stop worrying and start writing! Use these 5 quick tips to help lessen your essay agony and increase your productivity.
1. Choose an engaging topic!
This may seem obvious, but picking an essay topic that you feel connected to will keep you writing when the going gets tough and your coffee runs out.
2. Write everyday!
December 15th may seem light years away when you are enjoying the sunny, carefree afternoons of late September, but it isn’t. Write early and write often to save yourself from last-minute stress!
3. Finish at the start!
Only write the introductory paragraph after you have finished the rest of your essay and you can explain your thesis and arguments in the best way possible.
4. Set realistic time goals.
Telling yourself that you will sit down for 5 hours to work on your essay is easier said than done. Manage your time by taking a 5-minute break every 25 minutes. This helps you stay fresh and in control of your inevitable distractions.
5. Either lose the mistakes or lose your marks!
Download Ginger’s Spelling and Grammar Checker to keep your essay error-free!
What tips can you add?
Posted in Archive
Apr 14th , 2013
What’s Your Style?
English is the most complex and vocabulary-rich language in the world. As of January 2012, there over 1 million words in use and a new word is added to the English language every 98 minutes! English incorporates many words and grammatical rules from other languages which makes it even more complicated.
How do we use language? Naturally, with so many influences and new additions, there tend to be disagreements on how language is used. Below are three disagreements over style.
Is it email or e-mail?
Back in 2011, this question was in the news due to two giants in the writing business: the Associated Press and the New York Times. To hyphenate or not to hyphenate? The AP Stylebook removed the hyphen since they thought it was only needed to explain that email meant “electronic mail” in the early days of the internet where new concepts needed clarification.
The New York Times decided to stick with the hyphen in e-mail while acknowledging that there is no longer the need to write the “message” after the word e-mail as in “e-mail message.”
Starting a sentence with and or but
Grammatically speaking, it is acceptable to start a sentence with “and” or “but.” The problem with starting your sentence with one of these conjunctions is that your writing will often come off as informal.
Instead, you can replace “and” with “in addition” and replace “but” with “however” to sound more professional.
Hanged or Hung?
Until recently, both “hanged” and “hung” were used as the past participle of hang.
Today, however, “hanged” usually only refers to someone who has been executed by hanging: “His neighbor was hanged.”
Objects are “hung”: “Nostalgic posters were hung around the restaurant.”
Do you have other examples of style differences in English?
Posted in Archive
Mar 30th , 2013
Easter Fun Facts
Happy Easter from Ginger!
Easter is a joyous holiday celebrated by Christians in early spring. There are many
different Easter traditions, and our favorite is the Easter egg hunt.
Roots in the Middle Ages
While the Easter Bunny may seem like a modern concept, the idea of a bunny
bringing eggs for Easter is traced back to at least the 17th century. The Easter Egg
Hunt is a game where decorated, chocolate or candy eggs are hidden for children to
find.
Easter egg hunts can be fun with just a few people or an entire town. According to
the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest egg hunt in the world included
80,000 eggs hidden in an American town of just 950 people.
Virtual Easter Eggs
In today’s electronic world, virtual Easter eggs have hatched on the scene. In the
world of high-tech, internet and gaming, interesting spinoffs of the “Easter egg” have
emerged.
A “virtual Easter egg” is a hidden feature, message or joke that can be found in video
games, websites and even movies. For example, websites “hide” eggs in their sites
and ask users to “find” them.
Our 3 Favorite Google “Easter Eggs”
Google dominates the online Easter egg hunt. Their Easter eggs consist of hoaxes,
pranks and jokes on unsuspecting visitors to their site.
We have spent some time searching and here are our favorite Google Easter Eggs!
Enjoy!
1. Do the Harlem Shake.
If you search “do the Harlem shake” on Youtube, and wait a minute, the
entire search page and video previews will do their own digital Harlem Shake
right in your browser.
2. Do a barrel roll!
Searching this phrase on the Google home page will cause the page to spin
360 degrees horizontally, giving you the same perspective as if you were in a
rolling barrel.
3. Have Gmail wash your clothes.
If you go to the Gmail Suggest a Feature Page, you can suggest Gmail to do your laundry. (Go to Gmail > New Features > Help > Additional Resources > Suggest a Feature > Feature Suggestions Page > Helpful Additions.)
Can you find any Easter eggs on Ginger’s site?
Posted in Archive
Mar 27th , 2013
A Language Lesson from Ashton Kutcher
Ashton Kutcher’s Verbiage
In 2007, Ashton Kutcher co-created MTV’s hilarious practical joke
show “Punk’d.” This word came to describe the action of making televised
practical jokes on celebrities: “Ashton punk’d Mila Kunis.” (Ashton played
a joke on Mila Kunis.)
Verbing: Turning a Noun into a Verb
“Punk’d” is an example of the concept of “verbing.” Verbing is when
you take a noun (person, place or thing), and turn it into a verb (action
word). “To punk” becomes a verb to describe the action of playing a
practical joke on someone, unlike its noun “punk,” which is generally used
to describe a worthless person.
Some examples of nouns that now have verb forms include: to showcase,
to input, to host, to impact, and to share.
4,000+ New English Words
Each year, the Oxford English Dictionary adds about 4,000 new words.
The concept of verbing is certainly trending. (The word “trending” is an
example of verbing!) Internet lingo and the rapid and viral nature of social
media play a large role in spreading new examples of verbing.
Here are some familiar examples of verbing from the world of social media:
• to tweet
• to google
• to blog
• to friend/defriend
• to pin
… and the list goes on!
The team at Ginger Software works hard to stay on top of new slang words
and, of course, the latest examples of verbing from the world of social
media!
What are your favorite examples of verbing?
Posted in Archive
Mar 24th , 2013
Jazz: The Word of the Century
Spring is in the air and jazz is on our stereo.
Why? Because we enjoy it and because April is Jazz Appreciation month.
Jazz is characterized by improvisation and syncopation. Originating from black
communities in the United States, the music is held together by a forceful or regular
rhythm.
The Word “Jazz”
Etymologists, or people who trace the history of a word by analyzing its parts, were
curious about the word jazz. Surprisingly, they didn’t find a definite answer!
Researchers worked hard to track down the origins of the word jazz and this
intrigue and excitement caused the American Dialect Society to name jazz the Word
of the Twentieth Century.
One of the earliest mentions of jazz was in 1915. The editor of the Chicago Daily
Tribune wrote that a musician had, “jazzed the jazziest streak of jazz.”
Here jazz is used as a verb, adjective and noun all in the same sentence!
The “Duke” Disagrees
Not all musicians in the early jazz era were fans of the term jazz being used to refer
to their music. Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington, a prolific American musician who
wrote more than 1,000 compositions, felt that the word jazz represented economic
injustices due to the laws prohibiting the mainly black musicians from interacting
with or being a part of the very society that they were entertaining.
Often these musicians would not be allowed to enter as patrons into the casinos or
bars whose stages they were playing from.
In the 1950s, Duke Ellington would introduce his fellow musicians as being
“musicians beyond category,” rather than use the word jazz.
Thankfully, today the racist laws that prevented early jazz musicians from being a
part of society no longer exist.
Even if the “Duke” disagreed, the term jazz caught on and is used to describe the
music that entertains millions worldwide at large festivals, in smoky bars or on our
iPods.
Happy Jazz Appreciation Month from the team at Ginger!
Who is your favorite jazz musician?
Posted in Archive