This month we wanted to share two video excerpts from The Basic Cozy Grammar Course on the three degrees of comparison and make two special announcements about several new features that make Cozy Grammar easier to use, even more interactive, and even more affordable.
The first video excerpt comes from Lesson 13 of The Basic Cozy Grammar Course:
One of the things I appreciate about this lesson is how Marie reminds us that comparisons always bring two or more things together in our minds at the same time. If we say taller, for instance, we mean taller than something else, whether or not we mention this something else.
This understanding can be very useful for a writer, as I point out in my own video from Marie's Study Notes for Lesson 13:
Two Roads
Here's one more example of how a writer makes use of the comparison of adjectives.
In his poem "The Road Not Taken," the poet Robert Frost compares two roads that seem to be, at first, more or less the same. But in the poem's famous closing lines, he makes one key comparison:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
(You can read the entire poem on the Poetry Foundation website.)
By using the word less—the comparative degree—Frost is able not only to bring the two roads into focus, but also to remind us how seeing a difference can make all the difference in the world.
Course Progress, Exercises, and Certificates
Speaking of comparisons, we wanted to share two new changes that we believe will make Cozy Grammar even easier to use and more interactive than ever.
First, we're excited to announce that we've added five new features to the structure of the courses:
- You can now track your progress and begin exactly where you left off.
- Exercises are now scored automatically, with additional tips specially tailored to your answers.
- Navigation between the videos, study notes, and exercises has been made clearer.
- By marking each section complete as you go and by doing all the exercises successfully, you will be able to print an official course completion certificate at the end of each course.
- It is now possible to access and print a complete record of exercise results for documentation of learning.
You will be able to use all of these features starting today, Friday, June 1, 2018.
Since all of these changes were built on what was already in place, it will be straightforward to continue through the courses. The main difference will be that you can now mark off each section as you complete it.
If you're already working through a course and would like to have your current progress reflected in the new system, please contact us and we'll be happy to set that up for you.
Summer Special: Five-Year Access
We're even more excited to announce a special offer for the summer: 5-Year access to Cozy Grammar's courses.
We've come to recognize that while some people seek access to Marie's courses for the period of an academic year, others wish to be able to review the courses from time to time or to use them with their children over a period of several years.
In response, we're now delighted to offer 5 years of unlimited access to the Basic Cozy Grammar Course or to the Basic Cozy Punctuation Course for $39.95 each, and 5 years of unlimited access to both courses for $59.95 total.
(For comparison, 1 year of access to either course is $19.95, and 1 year of access to both courses is $29.95.)
This special offer will be available June, July, and August of 2018.
If you've already purchased one or both of these courses, you may upgrade your access at a prorated price by simply logging in and then registering for the 5-year package you would like.
Whether this is your first issue of our newsletter or you've been with us from the beginning, we're glad to have you with us. Thank you for reading, and best wishes to you for the start of summer.
See you again next month!
Warmly,
Thomas
Marie's Language Consultant
The Cozy Grammar Series of Courses