Q: Sometimes called "higher" and "lower" concerns, it's important to prioritize major issues like content, creative thinking, and organization over more minor issues like grammar, usage, and spelling. These designations obviously depend upon many things, like the assignment, the grade-level of your students, and their individual concerns. If you're in the middle of a unit on comma usage, it's perfectly fine to call that a "higher" concern. But in general, a basic writing assignment should prioritize the higher concerns listed above. When you've got a stack of 50 or 100 papers to go through and another stack of quizzes to finish and lessons to plan it can be tempting to jump right in and start slapping Bs on everything. Resist that temptation. Read through each essay individually before marking anything. Look for the highest order of concerns first:  Does the student address the prompt and fulfill the assignment effectively? Does the student think creatively? Does the student clearly state their argument, or thesis? Is the thesis developed over the course of the assignment? Does the writer provide evidence? Does the paper show evidence of organization and revision, or does it seem like a first draft? Getting an assignment back that looks like someone bled all over it can be a source of great anxiety in the life of a student. Some teachers argue that red asserts authority. While that may be true, there are other ways to assert your authority than pen color. Marking essays in pencil can suggest that the issues are easily fixable, keeping the student looking forward, rather than dwelling on their success or failure. Pencil, blue, or black pen is perfectly appropriate. Write comments, criticisms, and questions in the margins as neatly as possible. Find moments that the writer needs to clarify and circle them or underline them. Be as specific as possible when asking questions. "What?" is not a particularly helpful question to scrawl in the margin, compared to "What do you mean by 'some societies'?" When you've addressed the most important issues of the essay, its content, feel free to mark some lower-order concerns, like usage, grammar, and punctuation. Depending on the grade-level of the essays and the skill-level of your students, these may be more or less important. Typical proofreading marks include the following:  ¶ = to start a new paragraph three underscores under a letter = to lowercase or uppercase the letter "sp" = word is spelled incorrectly word crossed out with a small "pigtail" above = word needs to be deleted Some teachers use the first page as a rule of thumb for marking later concerns. If there are sentence-level issues, mark them on the first page and then stop marking them throughout the essay, especially if the assignment needs more revision.
A: Learn the difference between major and minor errors. Read the paper through once without marking anything. Keep the red pen in your desk. Read through the paper again with your pencil ready. Proofread for usage and other lower-order concerns.

Q: Baking soda can reduce the amount of oil in your hair and neutralize odors. In a bowl or glass, mix 1/4 cup of baking soda and 3/4 cup of water.  It will form a paste.  (Double these amounts if your hair is past your shoulders.) Wet your hair, and apply the baking soda and water mixture. Leave it in for about five minutes, and then wash your hair with shampoo.  Do this about once a week. Apply rose water directly onto your hair. Massage the rose water into your scalp. Let it soak in for 20 minutes, then wash your hair as you normally would. The rose water will leave a lingering scent of roses. Rose water can be drying, so use it sparingly. Lemons are great for making your hair smell fresh, and they also fight dandruff.  Shampoo your hair first. Squeeze two fresh lemons into 1 cup of water, and then massage the juice into your hair.  Let it soak for up to ten minutes. Be sure to condition afterwards so that the juice doesn't dry your hair out.   Lemon juice is astringent and may dry out your hair. Beware that lemon juice also tends to lighten your hair and bring out highlights, especially if you go out in the sun with it still in. You can also add an essential oil to the lemon-water mixture, but it's not necessary since lemons already have a very strong smell.
A: Make a baking soda rinse. Use rose water. Make a rinse out of lemons.

Q: Support farmers who avoid chemical pesticides and can deliver produce to market without significant fuel consumption (and pollution).  Every bit of pollution prevention helps endangered species, and you will help make organic farming the socially and financially sensible choice for growers. If your municipality has a recycling program, make full use of it. If there isn't a program, work to create one.  Keep as much of your waste out of landfills as possible.   Landfills take up valuable space and some waste (like plastic bags and bottles) inevitably seems to make its way into wild habitats or the huge swirls of trash found out at sea, with negative consequences to animal life. Buy products and food without packaging whenever possible. Take your own bags to the store. This will reduce the amount of garbage and waste you produce, not to mention the pollution resulting from the creation and distribution of this packaging.  Whales and tigers will thank you. Start an initiative to share specialty tools and seldom-used household items among neighbors. There are good examples of people working with their local libraries to have a tool lending section. Donate used toys, books, games, clothing, etc., to hospitals, shelters, daycares, or charities. Before throwing something out, consider creative ways of reusing it.  A toilet bowl flower pot may not be your style, but that old, beat-up kitchen table might make a nice little workbench. Walk or ride a bicycle to work or the market.  It's good for your body and produces zero emissions that negatively impact earth's delicate climate balance.  Take public transportation when available.  When you do use the car, drive more slowly.  Animal-vehicle collisions are on the rise as human and animal habitats increasingly overlap, and this is a particular threat to certain endangered species. Unplug televisions, computers, and other items that still draw electricity even when turned off. This will stop the "vampire" energy drain of these devices.  You will cut pollution that damages the habitats of endangered species while also saving money.  Not a bad deal.  Make it a habit in your own life and share it with others.  Tell them you can save them a buck and help the polar bears. Turn off the tap while you brush your teeth and use water-saving devices on your toilet, taps and shower head.  Fix leaky pipes and faucets promptly.  Even a small drip can waste large amounts of water over time.   Use drip irrigation or other water saving devices in the garden. If legal in your area, consider installing a "grey water" system that uses water from showers and sinks in the garden. If you are hardcore, install a composting toilet. Growing human demand for water leads to changes in freshwater ecosystems, beyond just reducing water levels.  For instance, the building of dams to make reservoirs can prevent salmon from reaching their spawning grounds.
A:
Shop for locally-grown organic produce. Reduce, reuse, and recycle. Consider alternatives to driving. Save energy by turning off lights and electrical appliances when not in use. Don't waste water.