Grammar for Writing: Level Blue — Chapter 10

A Voyage from Earth to Mars NASA is sending a team to Mars, and it will be a long, long trip. The voyage is the next step in space exploration-exciting, challenging, demanding, and perilous. Imagine that you are a senior member of NASA's think tank. You will invent a device, piece of equipment, or some other item that will meet a need of the astronauts aboard ship. Remember that weightlessness, energy sources, storage space, and disposability are all key issues in the design of every item on the Mars ship. What will those fearless explorers need? How will you meet this need? STEP 1: Initial Search Begin your research by learning about the challenges the astronauts will face, and inventions, ideas, and space solutions NASA has already devised. Then, get information about technology trends from magazines such as Popular Science. Take detailed notes and make sketches of any interesting ideas and items you find. Visit the following Web sites: NASA Commercial Technology Network NASA Quest Popular Science STEP 2: Expanded Search Continue your research by doing a general search for your area of interest. For example, if you are concerned with creating a transportable food item, search for information on types of space foods. Your search will lead you to NASA's Spacelink Web site, which has the history of space food, current developments, and a list of the various types of space foods. STEP 3: Make a Model and Give a Presentation Make a model of your invention and give a presentation to your class. A poster with clear directions will help explain how your invention works (or possibly could work). Is space singular or plural? How about NASA? Brainstorm a list of space-related nouns, including singular and plural forms. Use ten of these nouns as subjects in sentences, double-checking for subject-verb agreement. (See Grammar for Writing, Level Blue, page 185.) Solving a problem in space People who work in different scientific fields use jargon, a specialized or technical language. You can use jargon when your audience has the same background as you and will understand the terms used, but not when you write for a general audience. In other words, it's fine for Scotty to tell Captain Kirk there's a warp core breach and a failure in the forward nacelle, but he should write his mother that the Enterprise had engine trouble! Copyright ©2007 by William H. Sadlier, Inc. All rights reserved.