Communicative Skills II

Ethio Lens College

Teaching Material
Communicative English skill II

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 Communicative Skills II

UNIT 1: Writing Effectiveness

1.0. Objectives
1.1. Introduction
1.2. What is writing?
1.3. What do we write?
1.4. Why learn writing
1.5. Distinguishing features of written Text: Speech and writing
1.6. Types of writing
1.7. Let us sum up
1.0. Objectives
Dear Distance Learners, by the end of this section, you should be able to;
 Explain what ‘writing’ is;
 Discuss the importance of writing.
 Distinguish features of written and spoken communications.
1.1. Introduction
Dear Distance Learners, English Basic writing is designed to help improve Intermediate level English
writing skills including sentence, paragraph and basic essay writing. This unit helps you to understand what
writing is, identify distinctive features of writing and types of writing. It is intended to raise your awareness
concerning writing; so there are several activities you should undertake. We believe that you will have to be
familiar with the concept of writing before you begin writing texts.
In this section there are a number of questions that you need to answer. It is aimed at helping you discover
the meaning and purposes of writing, when you finish answering the questions, you may come up with a
clear understanding of writing.
1.2. What is writing?
Dear Learners, Many students confuse the meaning of ‘writing’. They tend to consider writing to be
scribbling words and sentences on a blank paper. As you may recall from various lessons of language
courses, writing is one of the four-macro language skills (writing, reading, speaking, and listening are
considered to be the four-macro language skills). So, you can guess that as a skill it requires skills on how to
formulate thought and put it in words, sentences, and texts.When we write, we use graphic symbols: that is
letters or combinations of letters, which relate to the sounds we make when we speak. On one level, then,
writing can be said to be the act of forming these symbols: making marks on a flat surface of some kind. But
writing is clearly much more than the production of graphic symbols, just as speech is more than the
production of sounds. The symbols have to be arranged, according to certain conventions, to form words,
and words have to be arranged, according to certain conventions, to form sentences, although again we can
be said to be ‘writing’ if we are merely making lists of words. It is as inventories of items such as shopping
lists.As a rule, however, we do not write just one sentence or even a number of unrelated sentences. We
produce a sequence of sentences arranged in a particular order and linked together in certain ways. The
sequence may be very short-perhaps only two or three sentences-but, because of the way the sentences have
been put in order and linked together in certain ways, they form a coherent whole. They form what we may
call a ‘text’.Sometimes writing comes easily, if we are in the right ‘mood’ or have clear and perhaps
pressing need to express something, but as a rule it requires some conscious mental effort: we ‘think out’
our sentences and consider various ways of combining and arranging them. We reread what we have written
as a stimulus to further writing. Other common practices are making notes drafting and revising. We may
even write several versions of a text before we are satisfied with the result.The reason for this is that we are
writing for a reader. Writing involves the encoding of a message of some kind: that is, we translate our
thoughts in to language. Reading involves the decoding or interpretation out this message. But, except on
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 Communicative Skills II
those occasions when we are writing for ourselves -our shopping list may have been for this purpose-the
reader is someone who is not physically present. This, after all is why normally choose this particular
channel of communication rather than the more common one of speech. And because our reader is not
present, and in some cases may not even be known to us, we have to ensure that what we write can be
understood without any further help from us. This is the reason for the care we have to take with writing. It
is by the organization of our sentences in to a text, in to a coherent whole which is as explicit as possible
and complete in itself, that we are able (or hope to be able) to communicate successfully with our reader
through the medium of writing.
Check your progress 1
Dear Distance Learners, Think about the following questions and write your answers
Do you write in your first language?
What do you write? Put a mark in front of the following to show your answer.
Notes for students
Letter to a relative or friend
An application letter
Notes for your own study
Shopping lists
Reminders for your daily activities
Diary (recording your daily activities)
A. How frequently do you write? Order them from the most frequent to the least frequent
Most frequent __________________
__________________
Least frequent _________________
B. Have you ever written in English?
C. What have you written in English? List below.
_______________________
Most frequent ________________
________________
Least frequent ________________
Dear Distance Learners!
D. Do you think that when you write in English it is mainly in relation to your academic purposes, such as
note making, answering assignment questions, etc.?
E. Do you consider writing in your first language and writing in English to be different?
F. can you think of some of the similarities and differences between writing in first language and writing in
English?
Similarities Differences
_________________ _________________
_________________ __________________
1.3. What do we write?
Dear Distance Learners, It is helpful to keep in mind some of the many uses we are likely to make of
writing. For example, on a personal level, most of us use writing to make a note of something (things we
have to do or want others to do, like our shopping list) and to keep records of things we want to remember.
We send messages and write letters to friends, and a few of us keep diaries. Most of us have to fill in forms
from time to time (especially applications- for example, for insurance-or questionnaires) and occasionally
we write formal letter (for example, if we change our job). Apart from this, the amount of writing we do
regularly will relate to our professional life. Some might spend a good deal of time writing letters,
instructions, reports, etc. For others this will only be an occasional activity. Few of us on the other hand, are
likely to spend any time writing poetry or fiction. As part of your attempt to understand the meaning of

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writing, you will carryout certain activities. First, you will find questions, which will keep you, ponder over
the concept of writing and related issues
1.4. Why learn writing?
Dear Distance Learners, Clearly it is possible to learn to speak a foreign language without learning how to
write in it and for many of students, perhaps even the majority of them, writing will be the skill in which
they are not only least proficient, even after considerable practice, but also the one for which they will have
the least use. The situation is not very different in it. Because, therefore, writing is a skill, which is both
limited in value and difficult to acquire, we should be very clear about our purpose in learning it. In the
early stages of a course oriented towards oral proficiency, writing serves a variety of pedagogical purposes:
(a) The introduction and practice of some form of wiring enables us to develop different learning styles
and needs some learners, especially those who do not learn easily through oral practice along. Feel
more secure if they are allowed to read and write in the language. For such students writing is likely
to be an aid to retention, if only because they feel more at ease and relaxed.
(b) Written work serves to provide you with some tangible evidence that you are making progress in the
language. It is not likely to be a true index of your attainment but once again it satisfies a
psychological need.
(c) Exposure to the foreign language through more than one medium, especially if skills are properly
integrated, appears to be more effective than relying on a single medium alone. Even at an
elementary level there are many opportunities for activities that effectively integrate skills.
(d) Writing provides a variety in activities, serving as a break from oral work (and is therefore a quieter
and more relaxed time for the students and teacher!). As you progress to the intermediate stages of
language learning, the pedagogical factors which we have noted above still apply but, in addition, we
can provide for written word on a more extensive scale and in particular integrate it more effectively
with other skills. At this level, the written language itself will also provide contexts for learning –
through reading – and writing activities may be related to these.At the same time, both here and at the
post-intermediate level, writing may become a goal in itself. We can identify and concentrate on forms
of writing which give a practical value, the relevance of which should be easily apparent to the learners.
Specific needs can also be met because writing practice can to some extent be individualized.The first
example we shall examine is a letter. The text is a piece of personal communication: the writer knows
his reader and we may assume that he had reasons for writing to him, rather than speaking to him
directly (for example, on the phone).
92 mount road
London
NW10 3YE
October 10 1987
Dear Mike,
Sorry I wasn’t able to get to your party last Saturday. I was all ready to come and just about to leave when I
got a phone call from a friend. He had just arrived from Teheran-on his way to Canada-and he wanted to
spend the evening with me before he left the next morning well, I couldn’t refuse, could I ? of course I tried
to phone you, but your number was engaged. And after that I was busy with my friend all evening. I hope
you’ll understand. I know you needed my records, but I’m sure you all had a marvelous time just the same.
My evening, as it turned out, was rather boring.
Hope to see you soon.
Yours,
Nick
What, then are the kinds of thing can do in order to understand and to look at this letter as a piece of
personal communication? A possible approach is outlined here.
(a) What is the writer’s purpose?

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That is, I want you to decide why Nick is writing to Mike. If you can recognize that Nick is
apologizing and giving his reasons (or excuses!) for not doing something, then you have identified
the overall communicative purpose of the letter. In this case it is fairly obvious, but in other contexts
it may be harder to elucidate. The point lf the activity is to demonstrate that understanding the
writer’s communicative purpose is an essential part of understanding the text.
(b) How does the writer achieve his purpose?
Here I get you to consider some of the ways in which the writer does this. For example, how does he
apologize? How does he try to assure Mike that he intended to come to his party? How does he
assure him that he tried to get in touch with him? What is the significance of: well, I couldn’t refuse,
could I? and I know you needed my records? Why does he mention that he had such a boring
evening himself? It is through questions of this kind that you can understand why the writer wrote
certain things and expressed them in a certain way.
(c) How does the writer establish and maintain contact with his reader?
Here I can get you to look both at the language in general and at particular expressions to draw your
attention to the ways in which he does this In this letter it is done Partly through the informal style,
which reflects certain features of conversational English (for example, the use of contracted forms
such as wasn’t couldn’t and ellipsis: sorry I wasn’t able and partly through appealing to his reader
directly with: Well, I couldn’t refuse, could I? and I hope you”; understand.
(d) What typical features of written English are there in the text
Here I will get you to look at features such as linking devices sentence structure and inter-sentence
structure. While you would not expect to find a great many samples within the context of an
informal letter such as this (this third sentence provides the best example, with cohesion through the
use of the pronoun he and the structure of the sentence itself). We want them to appreciate that this is
not speech written down, however informal the style may be and however much it reflects certain
features of conversational English. To reinforce this point, we might get them to transform the letter
into a conversation, which, even though it is hypothetical, will underline the differences between the
two mediums of communication. A conversation between Nick and Mike might have gone
something like this:
Nick: Look, Mike, I’m terribly sorry I couldn’t get to your party…
Mike: Yeah… why didn’t you phone?
Nick: Well, I did try… I just couldn’t get through…
Mike: So what happened then?
Nick: Well just at the last minute… I was just about to leave in fact…
and the phone rang and, well, I’ve got this friend in Teheran, you
see, and…(etc.)

1.5. Distinguishing Features of written Text: Speech and writing

Dear Distance Learners, Written texts or discourses have certain distinctive features. The features become
evident when you compare it with the spoken discourse. This section gives you a chance in which you will
be engaged in identifying how writing differs from speaking.A comparison between speech and writing
should help us to understand some of the difficulties we experience when we write. The table below
highlights the main differences. Note, however, that does not take in to account certain situations in which
the spoken language is used such as telephoning and lecturing.Although writing is clearly much more
dependent on how effectively we use the linguistic resources of the language, it would be wrong to conclude
that all the advantages are on the side of speech. While it is true that in writing we have the task of
organizing our sentences carefully so as to make our meaning as explicitness as possible without the help of
feedback from the reader, on the other hand we do not normally have to write quickly: we can rewrite and
revise or sentences until we are satisfied that we have expressed our meaning. Equally, the reader is in a
more privileged position than the listener to some extent: he can read at his own pace and reread as often as

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he likes. In this way, then some of the disadvantages of communicating through the written medium are
offset.
Check your progress 2
In the following you will find different short texts-some are taken from written interactions. Classify them
as ‘written’ and “spoken” how would it look like. Use the table below to classify them. Put ‘X’ mark under
either ‘written’ or ‘spoken’ to show your answer.
Written Spoken
Text 1 ______________ ______________

Text 2 ______________ ______________

Text 3 ______________ _______________

Text 4 ______________ ____________________

Text 1
Ok-in this picture, in picture number 1, I can see a little girl, who probably in inside her horse who is
playing with a bear … perhaps… perhaps I can also see, children who are tiring to, I think, enter a room but,
I guess, who could not succeed.
Text 2
The term; helter is widely used in every day conversation, with little apparent ambiguity. However, also
examination revels various different interpretation of ‘health’ –each with different implications for the role
of the state.

Text 3
As I told you, you see, the party was quite entertaining and fully of surprises, em… many surprise. I don’t
like, like, in fact, many surprises … but you can’t avoid going there … well enjoyment is … is it not part of
our life?

Text 4
In most developing countries agriculture provides employment for the majority of the working population.
In most African countries, more than 60% of the working population is engaged in farming. In Ghana the
estimate is 60% and in Togo 85%. In Ethiopia the figure is about 80%.Another way of comparing the two
types of texts is by analyzing the nature of the content (or lexical) words. Lexical words are classified as
‘high frequency’ words and ‘low frequency’ words. Lexical words which are used commonly and frequently
are known as ‘high frequency’ words, while lexical words which are used rarely may be called ‘low
frequency’ words. In the spoken texts, the words are high frequency whereas in the written only you find
low frequency words.The following table is aimed at highlighting the main differences that exist between
the two ways of communication.
SPEECH WRITING

1. Takes place in a context, which often 1. Creates its own context and therefore has to be
makes references clear (e.g. ‘that thing over fully explicit
there’)
2. Speaker and listener(s) in contract. 2. Reader not present and no interaction possible
Interact and exchange roles
3. usually person addressed is specific 3. Reader not necessarily known to write

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4. Immediate feedback given and expected 4. No immediate feedback possible. Writer may try
(a) verbal: questions, comments … to anticipate reader’s reactions and incorporate
murmurs, grunts them in to text
(b) non-verbal facial expressions
5. Speech is transitory. Intended to be 5. Writing is permanent. Can be reread as often as
understood immediately. If not, listener necessary and at own speed
expected to interact
6. Sentences often incomplete and 6. Sentences expected to be carefully constructed,
sometimes ungrammatical Hesitations and and linked and organized to form a text
pauses common and usually some
redundancy and repetition
7. Range of devices (stress, intonation, 7. Devices to help convey meaning are punctuation,
pitch, speed) to help convey meaning-Facial capitals and underlining (for emphasis). Sentence
expressions, body movements and gestures boundaries clearly indicated.
also used for this purpose
8. Speaker and listener(s) are in contact in face Writer and reader do not interact face to face
to face interaction
9. Immediate feedback is given and expected No immediate feedback is possible
through verbal (questions, murmurs, grunts) and
non-verbal (facial) expressions.
10. Sentences are often incomplete and Sentences are usually constructed carefully, and
sometimes ungrammatical. Very often, a linked and organized to form a text.
hesitation e.g. pauses, redundancy, and
repetition. It is also common to find reduced
word forms
11. Other devices such as stress, intonation, Devices to help convey meaning are
pitch, and speed are also present to help convey punctuation.
meaning.
12. Vocabulary is also informal and mostly Formal vocabulary such as Latinate and
phrasal verbs. polysyllabic

1.6. Types of writing

Dear Distance Learners, There are many types of writing, and it is thus difficult to make exhaustive lists and
distinctions. However, in this section we will try to examine the most common types of writing.All writings
are usually and generally classified as ‘personal’ writing and ‘public’ writing. Although this is the
distinction that we find in many sources, further distinctions can be made. These are ‘study’ writing,
‘creative’ writing ‘social’ writing and ‘institutional’ writing.
Personal Writing Public Writing Creative writing
diaries Letters of - enquiry Poems
journals - Complaint Stories
shopping lists - Request Rhymes
reminders for oneself form-filling Songs
packing lists applications (for membership) Autobiography
addresses
recipes

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Social Writing Study Writing Institutional writing
Making notes while reading Agenda
Letters Taking notes from lectures Minutes
Invitations Making a care index Memoranda speeches
Notes - of condolence Summaries Reports application
- of thanks Synopses Review curriculum
- of congratulations Reviews Contracts vitae
cablegrams Reports of experiments Business letters
telephone messages - workshop Specification
instruction – to friends - visits Publications
-to family essays Advertisement
bibliography Note-making (doctors and
other professionals)

As the above table displays, writings are classified in to six groups, and under each various examples are
mentioned. In order to give you further insights into the nature of each type of writing, a brief explanation is
offered as follows:Personal Writing- is a kind of writing mainly made for oneself. These writings include
aid-memories, diaries, and journals. They are not usually written with much thought, for they are kept for
one’s won reading. They would help you remember or recall what you did or what you intend to do.Study
Writing- is also made for oneself, with an intention of reading or studying sometime on the course of
academic words. For example, students use this type of writing to make notes while reading, take notes
during lectures, and make summaries for exam revision.Public Writing- is quite different route above types
of writing. In this type of writhing, the audience or the intended reader is the writer himself whereas public
writings are primarily read by people who work in institutions, organizations etc.In this category of
writhing, it is possible to mention applications, letters of enquiry, and form filling. Since these writhing are
meant to be ready by others, mostly by officials or people who hold a certain position, it is essential to
conduct the writing with great care and thought. It is particularly important to write in line with the
appropriate conventions and acceptable practices.Social writing- is mostly conducted with a particular view
of establishing and maintaining social relationships with colleagues, friends, relatives, etc. When you write,
for example, personal letters and invitations, your intention is to strengthen the ties that exist between others
and you.Institutional Writing- is mostly conducted in relation to professional roles to help maintain
communication among the various parts of an institution. The notable examples are reports, minutes,
memos, etc, and often these writings have their own specialized texts in the way they are written.In some
instances, the examples given in the table above could be strange for you since you might have not had a
chance to use them or see written by others. We suggest that you conduct a searching activity to collect
samples of all the writings mentioned in the table. It is possible for you to refer to magazines, books, various
documents of institutions, post cards, newspapers, etc.
Now, since you have gone through this section, you will have to ask yourself the following questions,
 Have I learnt that writing is usually distinguished as ‘study writing’, ‘creative’ writing, ‘social writing
and ‘institutional writing?
 Have I known in what condition each type of writing is used?
 Have I identified the various forms of writing that are used under each type of writing?
 Have I recognized that the type of text I write is determined by the purpose of writing I have?
1.7. Summary
Dear Distance Learners, Whatever you have to say in your writing, you will want to say it within the rules
of standard written English – the ‘good English’ that readers generally expect to find in papers, reports,
articles, and books. Fortunately, you already follow most of those rules without having to think about them.
In fact, if you did think about them while composing, you would have trouble concentrating on your ideas.
The time to worry about correctness is after you have finished at least one draft. Then you can begin making

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certain that your points will come across without such distractions as incomplete sentences, spelling errors,
and subjects and verbs that are incorrectly related.
Possible answers to check your progress
Check your progress 1
Try yourself
Check your progress 2
Written Spoken
Text 1 ______________ _______X_______

Text 2 _____X_________ ______________

Text 3 ______________ _______X________

Text 4 _______X_______ ____________________

A close examination of these texts revels that Text 1` and 3 are most likely taken from spoken interactions
Some of the distinguishing features include that they have reduced forms of words, repletion’s,
redundancies, and incomplete sentences. In text 3, for example you find words such as ‘don’t’ and ‘can’t’.
These words are contractions of ‘do not’ and ‘cannot’, and they are typically used in conversations. They
are reduced forms, since conversation takes place in haste. Moreover, you find repletion such as ‘like’,
surprises’ and redundancies like ‘em’ and ‘you see’ incomplete sentences like’well … enjoyment is …
However, Texts 2 and 4, such features are not present or rare. From this you understand that written texts
are well planned to avoid ambiguity. On the other hand, spoken interactions are spontaneous and there is
ambiguity in the course of communication the listener will ask for clarification.Another important difference
between the spoken and written texts is in the density of lexis. As any verbal communication requires the
use of words, both written and spoken interactions are characterized by the use of words. The words are
divided into two types. The first type is content words. Content words are words, which have their own
independent meaning. For example, ‘eat’, ‘stone’ ‘liquid’ all have their meaning whether we put them in
sentences or not. The second type is grammatical words. Grammatical words are not meaningful
independently. That means they give us meaning when we put then in sentences. These words include ‘is’,
‘were’, ‘should’, and ‘will’. In typically written texts, we find more content words than grammatical words.
For example; Text 2 has a total of 32 words. Out of these, about 20 words are content (or lexical) words and
12 are grammatical words. You may not find such a ratio in all cases.

UNIT 2: WRITING EFFECTIVE PARAGRAPHS (THE SENTENCE)

2.0. Objectives
2.1. Introduction
2.2. Definition of a sentence
2.3. Parts of a sentence and their order
2.4. A Primer on Fragments, Run-ons, Coordination, Subordination, and Sentence Combining
2.5. Sentence clarity
2.6. Complete sentences
2.7. Sentence variety
2.8. Types of a sentence
2.9. Writing effective sentences
2.10. Sentence errors
2.11. Let us sum up
2.0. Objectives

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Dear Distance Learners, when you finish this unit, you will be able to:
 define a sentence;
 explain why some groups of words cannot be a sentence;
 describe the relation between being a sentence and making sense.
 put words together to create a complete sentence;
 identify different types of sentences based on their structure;
 discuss the differences and similarities of these types of sentences;
 write sentences from each type; and
 list down some qualities of a good sentence
 writing effective sentences
 identifying sentence errors

2.1. Introduction
Dear Distance Learners, In this unit, you will study about the basic skills in writing a sentence: putting
words together in an appropriate way to create a complete sentence, identifying the major parts of a
sentence, identifying various types of sentences and writing them for your consumption. Once you learn and
understand these basic skills, I hope that the ideas you put in a written form will be easy to read and
understand. In other words you will use written English at sentence and paragraph levels weigh minimum
difficulty.

2.2. Definition of a Sentence

Dear Distance Learners, In this Section, the definition of a sentence will be discussed. This definition will
help you make the discussions to be made later easier. Although, there are many definitions of a sentence, I
have presented only few, which can be applicable to our discussion.This section begins with some
discussion questions. Please read and try to answer all the questions. When you finish, try to understand the
discussions given below. In doing so, you can crosscheck your first responses.
Check your progress 1
(1) What does a sentence mean to you?
_______________________________
Why do you think some groups of words cannot be a sentence?
___________________________
(2) What do you mean when we say sentences make sense?
___________________________
THE ONLY WAY TO BE SURE IS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT MAKES A SENTENCE.
So what is a sentence?

Dear Distance Learners, before elaborating too much on the nature of sentences or trying to define a
sentence's parts, it might be wise to define a sentence itself. A sentence is a group of words containing a
subject and predicate, and expresses a complete thought. Sometimes, the subject is "understood," as in a
command: "[You] go next door and get a cup of sugar." That probably means that the shortest possible
complete sentence is something like "Go!" A sentence ought to express a thought that can stand by itself,
but it would be helpful to review the section on Sentence Fragments for additional information on thoughts
that cannot stand by themselves and sentences known as "stylistic fragments." The various Types of
Sentences, structurally are defined with examples under this section on sentence variety. Sentences are also
defined according to function: declarative (most of the sentences we use), interrogative (which ask a
question — "What's your name?"), exclamatory ("There's a fire in the kitchen!"), and imperative ("Don't
drink that!")It needs quite a reasonable thinking to give a clear cut definition for a sentence. Every one
pretty much knows when a group of words is a sentence. But to look at the sentence logically, we must go

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beyond that: We must find out why a sentence is a sentence, and what it does. To begin, then we must
define it.First, most students, though they probably know what a sentence is have difficulty in defining one:
second, that students are likely to think that the main value of grammar is to provide a slightly fancier
vocabulary for simple words like noun and verb.What is important about a sentence? In fact, a sentence tells
the reader who did what to whom or what happened to what is what. In this regard, therefore one may
assume that a sentence expresses a complete thought. A little reflection reveals that, to be a sentence, a
group of words must mean something. If no meaning is received from what is supposed to be a sentence,
communication will be disrupted and confusion will arise. It is, therefore, important that the words you
write as sentences express a complete thought.

                               efinitions you need to know: 

       Phrase:  a roup of words that functions as a single part of speech – has no subject or predicate (no
verb) 

        Clause:  a group of words that has a subject and a verb.

There are two types of clauses –

Check your progress 2

Dear Distance Learners, Now identify which of the following groups of words are sentences and which ones
are not. Just say, “sense’ for meaningful collection of words (sentences) or ‘No sense” for meaningless
collection after studying the examples given. The first one has also be done for you as an example.
Example 1: it was a hot day.
These words make sense because they express a complete thought. Therefore they make a sentence.
Example 2: Barking dogs
The words do not make sense because the thought expressed is not complete. Therefore, this group of words
is not a sentence.
Example 3: Dogs bark.
In this sentence, the thought is complete and the words made sense. Therefore, this group of words is a
sentence.
(1) Grass grows. Sense
(2) Before noon._______
(3) Broken window. _________
(4) Cold water. _____________
(5) Show fails, _____________
(6) Mosquitoes bite. _________
(7) Almost disappear ___________
(8) Ice melts _______________
(9) On Monday. ____________
10) They shouted. ___________

2.3. Parts of a Sentence and Their order

Dear Distance Learners, In the first Section of this unit, you discussed about the definition of a sentence. I
hope that you benefited from it. This Section is also the continuation of it.
This one begins by presenting discussion-questions and goes to the discussion part where you crosscheck
your responses. Please, make sure that you do all the activities and discussion-questions before proceeding
to the next topic.

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Upon completion of this section, you’ll be able to:
 Identify parts of a complete sentence;
 Identify a complete sentence from an incomplete one;
 Discuss the differences and similarities between these parts; and
 Recognize the basic patterns of English sentences
Check your progress 3
(1) What are the parts of a sentence?
__________________________
__________________________
(2) Can you define these parts?
_________________________
_________________________
(3) Which part comes first?
_________________________
(4) Which part comes next?
_________________________
(5) Please write a sentence and indicate those parts.
Sentence: _____________________________
Parts: ________________________________
_________________________________

2.3.1. Basic parts of the sentence

Dear Distance Learners, The purpose of this section is to provide a thorough, detailed discussion of every
part of the sentence. It is a place to turn for some practical explanation for how these parts of the English
sentence function and why they are important to better writing.

Subject.

The subject is the part of the sentence which performs an action or which is associated with the action. The
subject of the sentence "John cried" is the proper noun "John". The subject of the sentence "Lions and tigers
growled." is the compound subject "lions and tigers".The subject of a sentence is that noun,
pronoun, or phrase or clause about which the sentence makes a statement.

Find the verb and then ask "who" or "what was" and you'll discover the subject. Another way of
understanding the subject is to ask yourself, "What is the main concept or concern of the
sentence."Sometimes individual words are the subject of a sentence, but other times groups of words are the
subject. Here are two examples (the subjects are underlined):

Jane made a cake for Harold's birthday.

Fixing the leaking pipe took a lot longer than Frank expected.

In both cases, however, asking "who" or "what" after finding the verb would help you identify both of the
subjects above.

<subject> = <simple subject> | <compound subject>

<simple subject> = <noun phrase> | <nominative personal pronoun>

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Ingrammar, we call the naming part of a sentence, the subject. The subject denotes the person or
thing about which something is said. In other words, who or what the sentence speaks about is called the
subject.

Example: Water freezes.

Water is the subject of this sentence. It is the topic of discussion
Check your progress 4
Dear Distance Learners, Can you identify the subjects in the following sentences?
(You can use the space below to write your answer)
________________________________________________________
(1) The children laughed
(2) Several branches fell
(3) Most students passed the test.
To find the subjects in the above sentences or any other similar cases, ask who or what the sentence is
about? The answer you get for such questions is the subject of that sentence. For instance,
(1) What is the first sentence about?
(2) What is the second sentence about?
(3) What is the third sentence about?

Finding the subject and the working verb of a group of words is key to avoiding a number of serious
grammar errors when we write. That's why it's important that you be able to find these two key parts. In the
section Major Errors, you can put the theory discussed here into some practical
application.

Einstein's general theory of relativity has been subjected to many tests of

validity over the years.
Although a majority of caffeine drinkers think of it as a
stimulant, heavy users of caffeine say the substance relaxes
them.
Surrounding the secure landfill on all sides are impremeable
barrier walls. (Inverted sentence pattern)
In a secure lanfill, the soil on top and the cover block storm
water intrusion into the landfill. (Compound subject)

Predicate.

We have already said that any typical English sentence has two main parts. One of the main parts is a
predicate. A predicate tells something about the subject. In the example water freezes “freezes” is a
predicate. It tells about the subject ‘water’.The predicate is the rest of the sentence coming after the subject.
It can include the main verb, subject complement, direct object, indirect object, or object complement.
Thus a predicate is what is said about the person or thing in the subject position In other words, the
predicate is the part of the sentence that contains a verb or verb phrase and its complements. The predicate
of the sentence "John cried" is "cried". The predicate of the sentence "Mary will give me a letter." is "will
give me a letter".

<predicate> = (<verb> | <verb phrase>) <complement>

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What are the predicates in the above three sentences?
(You can use the space left below to write you response on)
To find a predicate, ask what the sentence says about the subject.
(1) What does the first sentence say about the children?
They laughed.
(2) What does the second sentence say about the branches?
They fell
(3) What does the third sentence say about the students?
They passed.

The pressure in a pressurized water reactor varies from system to

system.
The pressure is maintained at about 2250 pounds per square
inch to prevent steam from forming.
The pressure is then lowered to form steam at about 600 pounds
per square inch.
In contrast, a boiling water reactor operates at constant
pressure.

Verbs

Often the easiest part of the sentence to identify is the verb (or predicate). If you simply ask yourself, "what
energy is being expended in this sentence?" you can often identify the energy words or verbs of the
sentence. Verbs can express action (Jack hit the ball), occurrence (The snow stopped), and existence (Harold
is here). Sometimes the main verb has some extra verb-words that go with it in order to change tenses (is,
are, was, were, be, am, been, being, have, has, had, do, does, did, shall, will, should, would, could, may,
might, can, must).Usually when a teacher asks you to identify the main verb, the teacher wants just the key
verb which expresses the energy of the sentence (hit). If the teacher asks you to identify the complete verb,
the teacher wants the main verb plus the extra verb-words that help make the various tenses (was hit). If the
teacher asks you to identify the predicate, the teacher wants you to include the complete verb plus any
modifying parts (was hit by John).But there are words that look like verbs that are not functioning as verbs
in a sentence. The way to tell if these words are "working verbs" is to look for a subject (a noun or pronoun)
that tells you who or what? For example in the sentence, "The bone was eaten by the dog," you know that
was eaten is a working verb because it has a subject that answers the question "what was eaten?" But in the
sentence "Jack expects to spend his winter vacation in Colorado skiing the slopes," the word skiing is not a
working verb because it doesn't have its own subject.Action verbs constitute the majority of English verbs.
They include "sing", "write", "swim", etc. The typical regular verb conjugation is similar to:

Infinitive (Vinf): start  

Present Participle (Ving): starting  
Past participle (Vpastp): started  
     
Person,Numbe
  Present Past (Vpast)
r
1st,singular I (V1s) start started
2nd,singular you (V2s) start started

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3rd,singular he/she/it  (V3s) starts  started

1st,plural we (V1p) start started
2nd,plural you (V2p) start started
3rd,plural they (V3p) start started

Check your progress 5

Find the subject and verb in the following sentences. Remember that some sentences can have an inverted
order.

1. Here is my shoe!

2. The little boy hit the big girl.

3. You seem unhappy today.

4. Down the road hopped the rabbit.

5. Are we going out on Halloween?

6. Have the men come all the way from Europe?

7. The soup tasted good in the cold weather.

8. The passenger should have been stopped at the gate.

9. The mail could have arrived earlier.

10. Don't go into that house 

Verb Tense

Verb tense is an inflectional form of a simple verb or verb phrase expressing a specific time distinction.

The Verb "To Be"

The verb "to be" is the most irregular verb in English. It is conjugated as follows:

Infinitive: be  
Present Participle: being  
Past participle: been  
     
Person,Numbe Presen
  Past
r t
1st,singular I am was
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2nd,singular you are were

3rd,singular he/she/it  is was
1st,plural we are were
2nd,plural you are were
3rd,plural they are were

The form "ain't" is considered substandard; do not use it. Use "isn't", "aren't", "am not", or another
appropriate form instead.

Verb phrase.

The main verb, or verb phrase, of a sentence is a word or words that express an
action, event, or a state of existence. It sets up a relationship between the subject
and the rest of the sentence.

The first high-level language to be widely accepted, FORTRAN, was

implemented on an IBM 704 computer.

Instruction in the source program must be translated into

machine language.

The operating system controls the translation of the source

program and carries out supervisory functions. (Compound verb)

Verb Phrases are sequences of auxiliary and action verbs that may show tense, mood, aspect, and voice. The
future tense, for example, is constructed by placing "will" before an infinitive form of a verb as in "She will
study tomorrow". Aspect refers to the manner in which the verb action is experienced. An example of
present perfect aspect is "John has lived in Paris".

Subject complement.

The subject complement is the noun, pronoun, adjective, phrase, or clause that comes after a linking verb
(some form of the be verb):

The maximum allowable concentration is ten parts H2S per

million parts breathable air.
The deadening of the sense of smell caused by H2S is the
result of the effects of H2S .
Continuous exposure to toxic concentrations of H2S can be
fatal.

Direct object.

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A direct object — a noun, pronoun, phrase, or clause acting as a noun — takes the action of the main verb.
A direct object can be identified by putting what?, which?, or whom? in its place.

The housing assembly of a mechanical pencil contains the

mechanical workings of the pencil.
Lavoisier used curved glass discs fastened together at their
rims.
The dust and smoke lofted into the air by nuclear explosions
might cool the earth's atmosphere some number of degrees.
A 20 percent fluctuation in average global temperature could
reduce biological activity.
The cooler temperatures brought about by nuclear war might endall life
on earth.

Indirect Object.

An indirect object — a noun, pronoun, phrase, or clause acting as a noun — receives the action expressed in
the sentence. It can be identified by inserting to or for.

In the application letter, tell [to] the potential employer

that a resume accompanies the letter.
The company is designing [for] senior citizens a new walkway
to the park area.
Do not send [to] the personnel office a resume unless someone
there specifically requests it.

Object complement.

An object complement — a noun or adjective coming after a direct object — adds detail to the direct object.
To identify object complements, insert [to be] between the direct object and object complement.

The superviser found the program [to be] faulty.

The company considers the new computer [to be] a major
breakthrough.
Most people think the space shuttle [to be] a major step in
space exploration.

Completers
To complete our discussion of the major parts of the sentence, we need to mention the completers.
Completers, from their very name, tell you that they finish or "complete" the sentence. They do not always
appear in every sentence (The rain stopped), but most sentences have them. There are several types of
completers, but knowing their names and what they are will probably not help you avoid grammar
problems. Here's a list of the various types of completers in the English sentence (if you wish to know more

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about each type, consult your handbook): Direct Object, Indirect Object, Object Complement, Predicate
Nominative, Predicate Adjective

Simple Subject and Simple Predicate

Every subject is built around one noun or pronoun (or more) that, when stripped of all the words that modify
it, is known as the simple subject. Consider the following example:

A piece of pepperoni pizza would satisfy his hunger.

The subject is built around the noun "piece," with the other words of the subject -- "a" and "of pepperoni
pizza" -- modifying the noun. "Piece" is the simple subject.Likewise, a predicate has at its centre a simple
predicate, which is always the verb or verbs that link up with the subject. In the example we just
considered, the simple predicate is "would satisfy" -- in other words, the verb of the sentence.A sentence
may have a compound subject -- a simple subject consisting of more than one noun or pronoun -- as in
these examples:

Team pennants, rock posters and family photographs covered the boy's bedroom walls.
Her uncle and she walked slowly through the Inuit art gallery and admired the powerful sculptures
exhibited there.

The second sentence above features a compound predicate, a predicate that includes more than one verb
pertaining to the same subject (in this case, "walked" and "admired").

Check your progress 6

For each of the following sentences, identify the subject and the predicate.
1. The rain grows the grass.
1. My father bye me a house.
2. The child is healthy.
3. The flames spread everywhere.
4. The students work hard.
6. The poor are not always sad.
7. The children are playing football on the street.
8. He tried his best.
9. Barking dogs seldom bite.
10. A stitch in time saves nine.

2.3.1.2. Other sentence elements

Nouns. A noun is the name of a person (Dr. Sanders), place (Lawrence, Kansas, factory, home), thing
(scissors, saw, book), action (operation, irrigation), or idea (love, truth, beauty, intelligence). Remember
that, while a word may look like a noun, it must function in the sentence as a noun:

Tom has lost his key.

Julia had a great holiday.
A flat-plate collector located on a sloping roof heats water.
The one experiment that has been given the most attention in the

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debate on saccharin is the 1977 Canadian study done on rats.

The Calorie Control Council, a group of Japanese and American
manufacturers of saccharin.
The blades start turning when the wind speed reaches 10 mph.

Pronouns. A pronoun stands in the place of a noun. There are several types: personal pronouns,
demonstrative and indefinite pronouns, and relative and interrogative pronouns. Pronouns have antecedents,
a reference to a word they take the place of.

 Personal pronouns. Personal pronouns include nominative case, objective case, and possessive case
pronouns.

Nominative case pronouns are used in the positions of subjects or subjective complements; they
include:

I we
you you
he, she, it they

Objective case pronouns are used as direct objects, indirect objects, and objects of
prepositions; they include:

me us
you you
him, her, it them

Possessive case pronouns show possession; they include:

my, mine our, ours

your, yours your, yours
his their, theirs
her, hers
its

 Demonstrative and indefinite pronouns. Demonstrative pronouns substitute for things being
pointed out; indefinite pronouns substitute for unknown or unspecified things:

Demonstrative pronouns Indefinite pronouns

this these each either

that those any neither
anybody some
every somebody

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everybody someone

 Relative and interrogative pronouns. Relative pronouns link dependent to independent clauses;
they link to adjective or noun clauses to simple sentences. Relative pronouns include

who which
whom
whose that

Here are some examples of relative pronouns in use:

Until the early 1960s, desk calculators, which performed only the basic
arithmetic operations, were essentially mechanical in operation.
The invention of the transistor in 1948 and the integrated
circuit in 1964 were two events that formed the basis of the
electronic calculator revolution.
The form in which memory is presented to the software is
sometimes called local address space.
George Boole, who was a self-taught man, is famous for his
pioneering efforts to express logical concepts in mathematical form.
In 1855, Boole married Mary Everest, a niece of Sir George
Everest after whom Mount Everest was named.
Lemaitre proposed that all the matter in the Universe was con-
centrated into what he termed the primeval atom, whose
explosion scattered material into space to form galaxies,
which have been flying outward ever since.

Interrogative pronouns, similar to relative pronouns, are used in question

sentences:

What is the fundamental unit of storage in a computer?

When did the first exhibit of computer graphics occur?
Who were the mathmaticians that arranged that first
exhibit?
Where was the first computer graphics exhibit held?
Why is computer-aided art not considered art by some?

Verbs. Traditionally, verbs are divided into four groups: active verbs, linking verbs, auxiliary verbs, and
modals.
 Active verbs. Active verbs express some sort of action and can be subdivided into intransitive and
transitive verbs. Intransitive verbs do not take direct objects while transitive verbs do, as these two
sets of examples show:
 Linking verbs. A linking verb is any form of the verb to be without an action verb; it sets up
something like an equal sign between the items it links. Linking verbs of a sentence can be longer
than one word:

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had been would have been

was being might have been
had to have been will have been

A few linking verbs do not use to be but function like it:

That word processing program seems adequate for our needs.

This calculus problem looks difficult.
Since the oil spill, the beach has smelled bad.
He quickly grew weary of computer games.

 Auxiliary verbs. Auxiliary verbs "help" the main part of the verb. Here are some auxiliary verbs:

By 1967, about 500 U.S. citizens had received heart

transplants.
Better management in transplant operations has yielded better results.
Researchers have found propranolol to effective in the
treatment of heartbeat irregularities.

 Modals. Modal verbs change the meaning of the verb in a variety of ways as illustrated in the
examples below:

Cracks in the welding can only be detected by x-rays.

Liquid oxygen could have leaked into the turbine and caused
the fire.
The light metal fast-breeder reactor must be operated under
extreme safety precautions.

Verbs are used together in a complex variety of tenses. In the chart below, keep in mind that
"continuous" tenses are those that use -ing and "perfect" tenses are those that use some form of the
auxiliary verb have.

Simple Present works Simple Past worked

Present Continuous is working Past Continuous was working
Present Perfect has worked Past Perfect had worked

Simple Future will work

Future Continuous will be working
Future Perfect will have worked
Present Perfect Continuous has been working
Past Perfect Continuous had been working
Future Perfect Continuous will have been working

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Adjectives. An adjective provides more detail about a noun; that is, it modifies a noun. Adjectives occur
just before the nouns they modify, or after a linking verb:

The armature is a rectangular ring about which another coil of wire is

wound.
The generator is used to convert mechanical energy into
electrical energy.
The steel pipes contain a protective sacrificial annode and
are surrounded by packing material.

Adverbs. An adverb provides more information about a verb, adjective, or another

adverb; that is, it "qualifies" the verb, adjective, or adverb:

The desk is made of an especially corrosion-resistant

industrial steel.
The drilling bit actually tears rock apart to get at the oil.
The power company uses huge generators which are generally turned
by steam turbines.
The debate over nuclear power has often been bitter.

Conjunctions. Conjunctions link words, phrases, and whole clauses to each other and are divided into
coordinating, adverbial, and subordinating conjunctions. In this list, only the coordinating conjunctions are
complete:

 Coordinating conjunctions link words, phrases, and clauses. Here are some examples:

Nuclear-powered artificial hearts proved to be complicated,

bulky, and expensive.
In the 1960s, artificial heart devices did not fit well and
tended to obstruct the flow of venous blood into the right
atrium.
The blood vessels leading to the device tended to kink,
obstructing the filling of the chambers and resulting in
inadequate output.
The small clots that formed throughout the circulatory system used up so
much of the clotting factor that uncontrolled bleeding from external or
internal injury became a risk.
Current from the storage batteries can power lights, but the
current for appliances must be modified within an inverter.

 Subordinating conjunctions combine separate sentences in a different way: they turn one of the
sentences into an adverb clause. Here are some examples of subordinating conjunctions:

The heart undergoes two cardiac cycle periods: a diastole, when blood
enters the ventricles, and systole, when the ventricles contract and blood

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is pumped out of the heart.

Whenever an electron acquires enough energy to leave its orbit, the
atom is positively charged.
If the wire is broken, electrons will cease to flow and current
is zero.

Adverb clauses. An adverb clause is also nearly a complete sentence; it functions like an
adverb does by explaining the how, when, where, and why of the discussion. The
adverb clause usually contains a subordinating conjunction, a subject, a complete
verb, and any other related phrases or clauses:

Because the shortage in donor hearts is so severe, transplant surgery

is limited to people with the best chances of surviving.
As long as the wind speed is sufficient, the electrical energy
will be continuously generated.

Noun clauses. A noun clause is a group of words used as a noun. Introduced by a relative pronoun, a noun
clause can play any of the functions a noun plays: subject, direct object, object of preposition, subjective or
object complement. Here are example noun clauses, with their functions labelled:

Estimates indicate that 20 million Americans owned hand-held

calculators by 1974. (direct object)
Computer systems are often measured by how much main memory
their architectures allow and by how fast that memory can be
accessed. (object of preposition - two of them!)
Lemaitre proposed that all matter in the Universe was once
concentrated into what he termed the primeval atom. (direct object;
in this sentence, "what he termed the primeval atom" is also a noun
clause.)
Most microcomputers use what are called flexible diskettes for
program and data storage. (direct object)
The major disadvantage of sequential files is that they are
slow. (subject complement)

Coordinated elements. Many of the sentence elements described above can be "coordinated"; that is, they
can be doubled, tripled, or even quadrupled and linked with coordinating conjunctions like and and or. For
example, in the phrase "a black and white Datsun 240Z," two adjectives are are coordinated. Here are some
examples of coordinated sentence elements and their coordinating conjunctions:

Check your progress 7

Directions: In the following sentences identify the subject, the verb, and the complement. (Write in the
subject if it is the subject of an imperative sentence.)

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 1. The tenors are not singing on key.

2. The four of us strongly disapprove of his actions.

3. During his vacation, Murgatroid visited England, France, Italy, and Germany.

4. Most of the roads are covered with ice and snow.

5. Living alone is often a depressing experience.

6. Most importantly, reread all your work carefully.

7. After saying goodnight to our host, we left the party.

8. Do you know him well?

9. His earliest attempt at composing music was the ballad.

10. Each of you must be aware of the dangers of smoking.

11. The pyramid emits a mysterious sort of power.

12. Knock before entering.

13. After leaving the opera, Igor escorted Prunella home.

14. Cyrus McCormick was born in Rockbridge County, Virginia, in 1809.

15. The McCormick reaper revolutionized agriculture.

Check your progress 8

Directions: In the sentences below, identify the subject and the verb; then indicate the direct object (DO)
and the indirect object (10) with the appropriate abbreviation. In passive sentences indicate the subject, the
passive verb. 

1. At precisely timed intervals, the security guards check the doors to the building.
2. According to folklore, carrying certain dried fruits in your pocket will help prevent certain
diseases.
 3. The children played several games before going home.
 4. A. You promised Igor a salary increase within six months.
  B. Igor was promised a salary increase in six months.
5. Did you tell him all of the story?
 6. The Ford Foundation will award the best qualified student a study grant of one thousand
dollars.
 7. Can you tell us the best route to the park?
 8. This exercise gives me a big pain.
 9. A. I offered him ten dollars to take Hortense to the dance.
  B. Mortimer was offered ten dollars to take Hortense to the dance.

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10. The rainy weather gave everyone colds.
11. Eleven people were killed in the infamous Haymarket riot in Chicago on May 4, 1886.
12. Scott Joplin, a turn-of-the-century Black composer, taught himself to play the piano and
studied music at a Missouri college.
 13. Joplin originated the musical style called "ragtime."
14. The Titanic was considered unsinkable.
 15. On the ship's maiden voyage, an iceberg ripped a 300 foot gash in the Titanic's double
hull and sent the ship and 1500 of its passengers to the bottom of the North Atlantic.

  Check your progress 9

Directions: Identify the subject and the verb of each sentence; then indicate the subjective complement (SC)
and the objective complement (OC) with the appropriate abbreviation. In passive sentences indicate the
subject, the passive voice verb. 

1. After this test, I will paint the town red.

 2. Even at his age, he is still a popular entertainer.

3. No, Virginia was not the first state to ratify the Constitution.

4. A. The Exalted Order of Muskrats elected Toad president.

B. Toad was elected president by the Exalted Order of Muskrats.

5. Igor's goals are fame and fortune.

6. A. Very few people consider politicians trustworthy or honest.

B. Politicians are considered untrustworthy or dishonest by many people.

7. By the end of his speech, we were tired, bored, and hungry.

8. Fashion dictates when a male may wear his hair long.

9. The major reason that I failed this course is that I did not study.

10. After several hours of debate, the jury found the defendant guilty.

Check your progress 10

Directions: in the following sentences, identify the complete and incomplete sentences. Rewrite the
incomplete sentences to make them complete.
Example 1: Till my arrival.
Stage 1: Identification: This is an incomplete sentence.
Stage 2: Rewriting: Till my arrival, wait here,
Example 2: he wrote the letter according to the instructions
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Stage 1: Identification: This is a complete sentence.
Stage 2: Rewriting This sentence does not need rewriting
1. This was done in my absence.
Stage 1: Identification ________________________
Stage 2: Rewriting _________________________
2. After the death of his father.
Stage 1: Identification _______________________
Stage 2: Rewriting _________________________
3. These are not the methods of business.
Stage 1: Identification ________________________
Stage 2: Rewriting ___________________________
4. Your father is the man who can help you in this matter.
Stage 1: Identification _________________________
Stage 2: Rewriting ____________________________
5. With your permission
Stage 1: Identification _______________________
Stage 2: Rewriting ___________________________
The following table summarizes the different parts of the sentence with what and the examples.
Part of Sentence Definition Examples

Subject The noun, or word group acting as a noun, The author uses symbolism and
that performs the action expressed in the repetition to convey the character's
predicate of a sentence or clause. personality.

Analyzing a literary text is a

subjective process; supporting the
analysis is not.

Predicate The part within a given clause or sentence Linguists study the science of
other than the subject and its modifiers. language.

The connection between economic

conditions and fashion trends appears
variable rather than fixed.

Object A noun, pronoun, word, or word group

acting as a noun that receives the action of a
verb or is influenced by a transitive verb,
verbal (a word derived from a verb, i.e.,
gerund, infinitive, and participle), or a
preposition.

Direct objects Receive the action of a verb or verbal and The essayist Pico Iyer examines social
frequently follow it in a sentence. issues.

Aristotle's words about invention

deserve renewed study.

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Indirect objects Tell for whom, to whom, or to what Reading the poem "Stopping by the
something is done. Woods on a Snowy Evening" gives me
a sense of a long journey lying ahead.

The heroine lends the situation

dignity.

Objects of Follow prepositions and are linked by them Accomplished public speakers can
Prepositions to the rest of the sentence. move their audiences to action with
their eloquent words.

Complements A word or word group that completes the

sense of a subject, object, or a verb.

Subject Follow a linking verb and modify or refer to The market is dynamic.
complements the subject. They may be nouns (also known (adjective complement/predicate
as predicate nouns) or adjectives (also adjective)
known as predicate adjectives).
The market is an economic indicator.
(noun complement/predicate noun)

Object Follow and modify or refer to direct objects. The Church labeled Galileo a heretic.
complements (The noun heretic complements the
direct object Galileo.)

They considered his ideas dangerous.

(The adjective dangerous
complements the direct object his.)

Verb Are direct or indirect objects of a verb. They Campus-based volunteer groups
complements may be nouns, pronouns, or words or word provide students an opportunity to
groups acting as nouns. work in the community.
(Students is the indirect object, and
opportunity is the direct object of the
verb provide; both objects are verb
complements.

Phrases A group of related words that lacks a subject

or predicate or both and that acts as a single
part of speech.

Prepositional Consist of prepositions and their objects and The poet leads the reader through her
phrases modifiers. childhood.

A consultant forms an opinion during

an initial meeting.

Verb phrases Are verb forms of more than one word that The main character has experienced
serve as the predicate of a sentence or much isolation.

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clause.
Can we define normalcy?

Verbal phrases Are formed from a verbal (a word derived

 
from a verb).

Infinitive Consist of infinitives and their objects, plus The critic seems to avoid direct
phrases any modifiers. comment.

Participle Consist of participles and their objects, plus The corporation seeking financial
phrases any modifiers that function as adjectives. stability must remain flexible.

Gerund phrases Consist of gerunds (the -ing form of a verb Tracing an earthquake's causes
used as a noun) and their objects, plus any requires data from several sources.
modifiers, which function as nouns.

Clauses A group of related words containing a

subject and a predicate.

Main Can stand by themselves as sentences. The author's style emphasizes the
(independent) character's confusion.
clauses

Subordinate Cannot stand by themselves. The author's style emphasizes the

(dependent) character's confusion when he is
clauses captured.

2.3.2. Sentence patterns in English

Subject + verb.
Dear Distance Learners, The simplest of sentence patterns is composed of a subject and verb without a
direct object or subject complement. It uses an intransitive verb, that is, a verb requiring no direct object. In
the examples below, the words that are bolded are all subjects and the underlined words are verbs.

Control rods remain inside the fuel assembly of the reactor.

The development of wind power practically ceased until the early
1970s.
All amplitude-modulation (AM) receivers work in the same way.
The cross-member exposed to abnormal stress eventually broke.
Only two types of charge exist in nature.

Subject + linking verb + subject complement.

Dear Distance Learners, Another simple pattern uses the linking verb, any form of the to be verb without an
action verb. In the following illustrations, the words that are bolded are all subjects and the underlined
words are linking verbs.

The chain reaction is the basis of nuclear power.

The debate over nuclear power has often been bitter.

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 Communicative Skills II

Folding and faulting of the earth's surface are important geologic

processes.
Windspeed seems to be highest during the middle of the day.
The silicon solar cell can be difficult and expensive to manufacture.

Subject + verb + direct object.

Dear Distance Learners, Another common sentence pattern uses the direct object: In the sentences below,
all the bolded words are direct objects.

Silicon conducts electricity in an unusual way.

The anti-reflective coating on the silicon cell reduces reflection from 32
to 22 percent.
Prestressing of the concrete increases the load-carrying capacity of the
members.

Subject + verb + indirect object + direct object.

Dear Distance Learners, The sentence pattern with the indirect object and direct object is similar to the
preceding pattern. In the examples given below, the bolded words are the indirect objects and the
underlined words are the direct objects.

We are sending you the balance of the payment in this letter.

The supervisor mailed the applicant a description of the job.
Austin, Texas, has recently built its citizens a system
of bikelanes.

Subject + verb + direct object + object complement.

Dear Distance Learners, The sentence pattern using the [direct object] and object complement is not
common but worth knowing). The words bolded in the following sentences are all object complements.

The walls are usually painted black.

The plant shutdown left the entire area an economic disaster.
The committee declared the new design a breakthrough in
energy efficiency.
The low cost of the new computer made competition much too difficult for
some of the other companies.

Passive voice pattern.

Dear Distance Learners, The passive voice is not ordinarily considered a "pattern," but it is an important and
often controversial construction. It reverses the subject and object and, in some cases, deletes the subject.
(See the section on problems with the weak use of the passive.) Compare these example active
and passive voice sentences:

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Passive voice Active voice

Saccharin is now permitted as The FDA now permits saccharin
an additive in food. as an additive in food.
This report is divided into I have divided this report into
three main sections. three main sections.
Windmills are classified as Scientists classify windmills
either lift or drag types. as either lift or drag types.
The valves used in engine A computer usually controls the
start are controlled by a valves used in an engine start.
computer.
The remains of Troy were des- Later builders on the site of
troyed by later builders on Troy destroyed the remains of
the site.
Some restaurant locations can You can lease some restaurant
be leased locations.

Consider the following examples.

His grades improved
1. Haile changed his grades
2. The company sent them a sample.
3. He looked angry.
Can you observe any significant difference among the above four sentences? (Write you response on the
space given) __________________________________
Are they the same? _______________________________
Are they different? Why? __________________________
Now, please look at the predicate part of every sentence. What significant difference can you observe?
Try to check your answers having looked at the discussions made below.
Discussions
As we have seen in the previous sections (sections 1& 2), all sentences do not have the same pattern they
rather have different patterns. Most of these differences occur in the predicate. Since there is no exact
agreement about the number of sentence patterns lists of theirs patterns range from three to nine. The four
basic patterns are listed below.
PATTERN 1
Subject Verb (optional Adverb)
Black fades (easily)
The children arrived (late)
The snow fell (everywhere)
Though sentences as simple as the above are relatively rare in mature writing, they show the core of all
English sentences. When we think, we think about something; and we think some thing about that
something. When we write, we follow this same pattern.
PATTERN 2

Subject Transitive Verb Direct Object

Dogs eat Bones
The carpenter repaired the roof.
Abeba prefers tennis.
Someone insulted him.

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The verbs in this pattern are always action words. Such verbs are called TRANSITIVE verbs, meaning that
they can pass their action along to OBJECTS. The object is always a noun, a pronoun, or a group of words
serving as a noun, which answers the question “what “ or “whom” after the verb.
What significant difference/have you observed?
(You can use the space left below to write you response on)
____________________________________________________

Check your progress 11

Directions: You are to write a sentence for each pattern designated below; if the suggested pattern is not
possible, explain why.

S (subject) SC (Subject Complement)

V (Verb) OC (Objective Complement)

DO (Direct Object) IO (Indirect Object)

 1. S v

2. S v SC (adj)

 3. S v SC (noun)

 4. S v DO

 5. A. S v IO

B. S v OC

 6. IODO

7. DO IO

 8. DO OC (ad')

9. s DO OC (Noun)

PATTERN 3

Subject: Indirect Object Direct Object

Transitive Verb

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Sam A car
His father Bought
The office Found Me Work
John Brought Marry The card
Abera Sold her A book

The INDIRECT OBJECT occurs with verbs of asking, giving, telling, receiving, and the like. It names the receiver of the
message, gift, or whatever, and always comes before the DIRECT OBJECT. The name meaning an usually be expressed by a
prepositional phrase placed after the direct object.
What is /are the difference/s between pattern 2 and 3?

PATTERN 4
Subject: Linking verb Predicate Noun Predicate Adjective
Was A Frenchman
Napoleon
My brother Remains An architect
Abera May become A president
The book Seemed Interesting
Work Was Hard
The fruit Tasted Sweet
The pattern occurs only with a special kind of verb, called a LINKING VERB. The most common linking
verb is being in its various forms: is, are, was, were, has, been, might be, etc. Other common linking verbs
include appear, become seem, and in some contexts such verbs as grow, act, look, taste, smell, and sound.
Linking verbs are followed by a COMPLEMENT, which may be either a PREDICATE NOUN or a
PREDICATE ADJECTIVE. A complement following a linking verb, in contrast to an object after a
transitive verb, is related to the subject of the sentence. Predicate nouns rename the subject; predicate
adjectives modify the subject.
Check your progress 12

Identify the following sentences as Pattern 1, Pattern 2, Pattern 3, or Pattern 4. Fowling this, please explain
each part as indicated in the example.
Example: The apples are ripe.
This sentence follows pattern 4. It is constructed from a subject (The apples) a link verb (are) and a subject
complement (ripe).
1. He was unlucky _____________
2. The teacher punished the boy for disobedience _____________
3. He gave me a dog __________________
4. I cannot work _____________
5. I wrote her a letter ______________
6. Honesty is the best policy _______________
7. He gave them an order _________________
8. The horse ha skilled a man. ______________
9. His father died. __________________
10. The woman has just arrived. ____________

There is a simple way to see the difference between a direct object and a subject complement. A direct
object usually follows an action verb (write, kill, correct, give, send, build, etc), but a subject complement
follows a linking verb (seem, appear, is, am, are, etc).

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2.3.2.1. Word Order in a Sentence
Dear Distance Learners, So far, we have seen definition and parts of a sentence. Now, we are going to
discuss about “word order”. Please try to answer the following questions before proceeding further. “What
do you think about word order in many common and complete sentences? What comes first? A subject or a
predicate? ________ What comes next?______________
Discussion
A sentence is considered to be normal or common or is in order when the subject precedes the predicate.
For example: The hospital offers medicine to the poor.
The subject is “The hospital”. It precedes the predicate. “offers medicine to the poor.”. In other words, the
subject. The hospital, comes before the predicate, offers medicine to the poor.
2.3.2.2. Wrong word Order in a Sentence
What do we mean by wrong word order?
(You can use the space left below to write you response on)
______________________________________________
Can you give two examples of sentences, which show wrong order? What
made the order wrong?
______________________________________________

Discussion
Many errors in constructing sentences are caused by the inability of maintaining the right order. The ability
to recognize wrong orders and to change them to normal or common order is a technique that you should
use to avoid making such error.
Example 1:
Play the children football.
Is it a sentence?
______________________________________________
What is wrong with it?
______________________________________________

Can you correct the order? How? Please write the sentence again with the
correct order.
______________________________________________
______________________________________________

Check your progress 13

Following the same procedure that you have studied so far correct the following collection of words to make
them meaningful combinations. Don’t forget to use capital letters at the beginning of every sentence.
1. the report she completed.
______________________________________________________________

2. the bus station he arrived.

______________________________________________________________

3. drove the man a car.

4. was I in the church.

______________________________________________________________

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5. musician is a talented she.

6. his mistake is unforgivable really.

7. walk he used to rapidly.

8. she somewhat today is feeling better.

9. different my views quite are.

______________________________________________________________

10. an engineer his brother is.

2.4. A Primer on Fragments, Run Ons, Coordination, Subordination, and Sentence Combining

These lessons will help you achieve a better sentence style--greater clarity, concision, and correctness.
Learning this material and applying it to your writing, will ensure that you don't lose points on the sentence
structure part of the language.

2.4.1. Avoiding Fragments

Sentence fragments come in different types:

1. Dependent clause fragments--you can spot these by the subordinating conjunction (words like: "when"
"if" "before" "after" "during" "while" "because" "until") at the start of the clause. These words make a
clause dependent--in need of an independent clause to complete the meaning. For example: Orwell and
Baldwin's discriminations shared common stages. Although the men lived in different environments. The
dependent clause can't stand on its own. Incorporate it into the independent clause either before or after it. If
before, use a comma to introduce the clause.

2. Modification structures (noun clauses, infinitive phrases, participial phrases, gerund phrases, adverbial
clauses etc.) punctuated as sentences--English sentence structure allows for an incredible array of phrase
and clause modification.

3. Failure to ensure that each independent clause has a subject and verb--When you strip away the adjectival
and adverbial modification structures of English, you must be left with an independent clause.

For example: In the first phase, starts with Orwell and Baldwin being confused, being victimized.

Modification structure #1--in the first phase (prepositional phrase). Structure #2--being confused, being
victimized (participial phrase)

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When you strip these out, you get: starts with Orwell and Baldwin. There is no subject here. There is a two
word verb (to start with) and a direct object (Orwell and Baldwin).

Contrast these three sentences (two without modification structures, one with):

1--Cows chew. (Simple subject-verb pattern)

2--Cows chew grass. (Subject-verb-object pattern)

3--In the peaceful pastures before the light of dawn breaks over the horizon, the hungry cows, pacing up and
down the field, slowly chew grass while the farmer prepares a list of the day's tasks.

Modification structures:

Prepositional phrase used as an adverb--where do the cows chew? in the peaceful pastures

Dependent clause used as an adverb--when do the cows chew? before the light of dawn breaks

Participial phrase used as an adjective--who is doing the pacing? the cows.

To avoid fragments, be sure that when you use phrasal and clausal modification structures, you attach these
structures with the correct punctuation (a comma, a dash) to the independent clause.

Check your progress 14

1. Find the fragment in this paragraph and fix it using punctuation.

When faced with the actions we have committed, actions we normally wouldn't have considered but for the
pressures put upon us to comply with social norms, we tend to reflect upon the events leading up to and
including our decisions. With that reflection comes understanding. The understanding of how we became
something we normally wouldn't have.

2. Find the fragment in this paragraph and fix it using punctuation.

I often marvel at the magic of fall colors. How the leaves change from bright green to all shades of yellow
and orange, to finally fall to the ground. To me, this is amazing.

3. Find the fragment in this paragraph and fix it using punctuation.

In his days of anger, Baldwin wandered the streets hypnotized by pain, looking for a way out. A way to
teach all white people the hatred they blindly gave to him.

4. Rewrite the above sentence to eliminate the problem of the missing subject.

Check your progress 15

Identify any run-ons in the following sentences, and correct them by inserting a proper join. Two
sentences are correct.

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1. My twin brother Mark and I are both tall, slender blondes and look very much alike, however any
resemblance between us ends there.
2. Mark is an avid sportsman he likes to ski, golf, jog, and play tennis.
3. In contrast, I am entirely non-athletic, my daily exercise is walking between the house and the bus
stop.
4. Mark is a health nut; he eats only vegetarian meals low in fat and he never eats junk.
5. However, I love all kinds of junk food, in fact, I could survive on a steady diet of chocolate, potato
chips, and pop.
6. When he is not being physically active, Mark likes to spend his quiet time reading and writing
poetry.
7. I spend my quiet time watching television or talking on the phone to my friends but I hardly ever
open a book or a magazine.
8. Mark is an introvert, therefore he likes activities that he can do by himself.
9. I, on the other hand, am an extrovert so I have plenty of friends who unfortunately distract me from
solitary pursuits like reading and studying!
10. To those who know us, Mark and I are incredibly different; it is hard to believe that we are twins.

2.4.4. Sentence Combining

Next we will discuss about two ways of joining sentences: one is to use a comma with a coordinating
conjunction; the other is to use a semicolon.

Using a Comma with a Coordinating Conjunction

A conjunction is a joining word. Coordinating conjunctions are words that join things of equal value, such
as two nouns, two verbs, two phrases, or two sentences. There are seven coordinating conjunctions: for,
and, nor, but, or, yet, and so. The key word fanboys, formed from the first letters of these seven
conjunctions, will help you to remember them. Two sentences can be joined properly using a comma and a
coordinating conjunction.

Examples: Alison went to the library to study, and Jennifer went to the gym.

The driver was exhausted, so he fell asleep at the wheel.

We missed our flight, for our tickets had been stolen.

Ryan could not fasten his bindings, nor could he find his ski poles.

(Note that in each example, the comma comes before the coordinating conjunction.)

2.5. Sentence Clarity

2.5.1. Put your meaning into grammatically important words.
When you think of revising a draft sentence, start by looking for its main idea-the point that out to be
conveyed by a clear, concise independent clause. If, instead, you see that the point goes on and on or is
trapped in a subordinate part of the sentence, you are ready to make your most essential improvement. Put
your idea into an independent clause, making sure that the grammatically strongest part of that clause
conveys important information.

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The strongest parts of a clause are generally a subject and a verb, possible linked to either a direct object or
a complement:
S V
 The committee exists.

 The committee meets on Tuesdays.

S V D OBJ
 The committee is drafting a report.
S V C

 The committee is an official body

S V C
 The committee seems prepared.

Considered the "correct" but unimpressive sentence that follows.

DON’T:
x The departure of the airplane is thought to be dependent on the weather:
Here the essential grammatical elements are a subject and verb, The departure …is thought. This is scanty
information; we must root around elsewhere in the sentence to learn what is being said about the departure.
The idea is that bad weather-here tucked into a prepositional phrase, on the whether- can get weather into
the subject position and replace the wishy-washy construction is though to be dependent on with a very that
transmits action to an object.
Do:
S V ground D. OBJ
 Bad weather may the airplane
Notice that we now have three strong elements of grammar -a subject, a verb, and a direct object-that do
carry significant meaning.

DON’T V
S
x The thing Fitzgerald says is that the human race is lacking what is needed to keep from being deceived.
Notice how little information is conveyed by this subject and verb: the thing is. To find the writer's
meaning, we must identify the embedded subordinate clauses, an infinitive, and a preposition phrase, each
of which adds a little more strain to our memory.
S v D. OBJ
DO.
 According to Fitzegerald, human beings necessarily deceive themselves.
Now the subject and verb do convey information. The key grammatical units, subject-verb-direct
object, bear the chief burden of meaning: Human beings deceive themselves. And as a result of this
realignment, the sentence core now takes up just a few words instead of nineteen. Notice, too, how
setting off the introductory phrase at the beginning of the sentence helps highlight the central
statement.
2.6. Complete Sentences
COMPLETE SENTENCE SENTENCE FRAGMENTS
 One-lane country roads unnerve x Which unnerve the best drivers
the best drivers
 The zookeeper feeds the x The zookeeper feeding the penguins at
penguins at noon. noon.
Since a sentence is the basic unit of written discourse, you must be able to recognize complete and
incomplete sentence in your drafts. A sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a period, question

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 Communicative Skills II
mark, or exclamation point. Unfortunately, sentence fragments show those very features. You need to
know, then, that a grammatically complete sentence normally requires its subject with in independent
clause.
2.6.1 Recognize a verb
A verb is a word that tells the state of its subject or an action that the subject performs. (If the verb consists
of more than one word, as ‘was starting’ or ‘would have been’ accomplished, it is called a verb phrase.)
Every verb function in one of three ways:
1. A transitive verb transmits the action of the subject to a direct object
S V D OBJ

 The doctor solved the problem.

S V D OBJ
 The technician took an x-ray.

2. An intransitive verb in itself expresses the whole action:

S V
 The patient recovered.
S V
 Dr. McGill lectures often.
or
3. A linking verb connects the subject to a complement, an element that helps to identify or describe
the subject.
S V C
 Her training has been scientific
S V C
 She is a recognized professional.
The verb plus all the words belonging to it make up the predicate.
2.6.2. Verb Position
In normal word order for statement, the subject comes before its verb:
S V
 The highway committee is meeting.
S V
 The law will remain on the books.

But in some questions the verb comes before the subject:

V S
 Are you sure?
And in most questions the verb has two parts that surround the subject:
V
 Is he driving the Honda tonight?
S
V
 Do you know where she left the car?
S
2.6.3. Change of verb form
Verbs show inflection, or changes of form, to indicate tense, or time.
PRESENT TENSE PAST TENSE FUTURE TENSE
They iron their jeans They ironed their jeans They will iron their jeans
He fights hard. He fought hard. He will fight hard.

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Verb versus Verbal

VERB (In complete sentence) VERBAL( In fragment)

V VERBAL
 We will break our record x To break our record.
V VERBAL
 Eve was laughing out loud. x. Laughing out loud.

V VERBAL
x Winning the championship
 Are they winning the
championship

Certain words resemble verbs and can even change their form to show different times. Yet these verbals-
namely, infinitives, participles, and gerunds- function like nouns or modifiers instead of like verbs. Thus,
they do not supply a key element for constructing a complete sentence.

Check your progress 16

Compare the complete sentence with the fragments in the box above. Note how you can tell that the three
verbal in the right column are not functioning as verbs:

2.7. Sentence Variety

2.7.1. For short, choppy sentences

1. Coordination:
and, but, or, nor, yet, for, so

Join complete sentences, clauses, and phrases with coordinators:

example: Doonesbury cartoons satirize contemporary politics. The victims of political corruption pay no
attention. They prefer to demand that newspapers not carry the strip.
revision: Doonesbury cartoons laugh at contemporary politicians, but the victims of political corruption pay
no attention and prefer to demand that newspapers not carry the strip.

2. Subordination:
after, although, as, as if, because, before, even if, even though, if, if only, rather than, since, that, though,
unless, until, when, where, whereas, wherever, whether, which, whileLink two related sentences to each
other so that one carries the main idea and the other is no longer a complete sentence (subordination). Use
connectors such as the ones listed above to show the relationship.example: The campus parking problem is
getting worse. The university is not building any new garages.revision: The campus parking problem is
getting worse because the university is not building any new garages. example: The US has been overly
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 Communicative Skills II
dependent on foreign oil for many years. Alternate sources of energy are only now being sought.revision:
Although the US has been overly dependent on foreign oil for many years, alternate sources are only now
being sought.Notice in these examples that the location of the clause beginning with the dependent marker
(the connector word) is flexible. This flexibility can be useful in creating varied rhythmic patterns over the
course of a paragraph. See the section below under "For the same pattern or rhythm in a series of
sentences."

For the same subject or topic repeated in consecutive sentences

1. Relative pronouns

which, who, whoever, whom, that, whose

Embed one sentence inside the other using a clause starting with one of the relative pronouns listed above.

example: Indiana used to be mainly an agricultural state. It has recently attracted more industry.
revision: Indiana, which used to be mainly an agricultural state, has recently attracted more industry.

example: One of the cameras was not packed very well. It was damaged during the move.
revision: The camera that was not packed very well was damaged during the move.

example: The experiment failed because of Murphy's Law. This law states that if something can go wrong,
it will.
revision: The experiment failed because of Murphy's Law, which states that if something can go wrong, it
will.

example: Doctor Ramirez specializes in sports medicine. She helped my cousin recover from a basketball
injury.
revision 1: Doctor Ramirez, who specializes in sports medicine, helped my cousin recover from a basketball
injury.
revision 2: Doctor Ramirez, whose specialty is sports medicine, helped my cousin recover from a basketball
injury.
2. Participles
Present participles end in -ing, for example: speaking, carrying, wearing, dreaming.
Past participles usually end in -ed, -en, -d, -n, or -t but can be irregular, for example: worried, eaten, saved,
seen, dealt, taught.
Eliminate a be verb (am, is, was, were, are) and substitute a participle.
example: Wei Xie was surprised to get a phone call from his sister. He was happy to hear her voice again.
revision 1: Wei Xie, surprised to get a phone call from his sister, was happy to hear her voice again.
revision 2: Surprised to get a phone call from her, Wei Xie was happy to hear his sister's voice again.

3. Prepositions
about, above, across, after, against, along, among, around, as, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, by,
despite, down, during, except, for, from, in, inside, near, next to, of, off, on, out, over, past, to, under, until,
up, with

Turn a clause into a prepositional phrase (a phrase beginning with a preposition, such as the ones listed
above).

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example 1: The university has been facing pressure to cut its budget. It has eliminated funding for important
programs. (two independent clauses)

example 2: The university, which has been facing pressure to cut its budget, has eliminated funding for
important programs. (subject, relative clause, predicate)

example 3: Because it has been facing pressure to cut its budget, the university has eliminated funding for
important programs. (dependent clause, independent clause)
revised: Under pressure to cut its budget, the university has eliminated funding for important programs.
(prepositional phrase, independent clause: the most concise version of the four)
3. Use active rather than passive verbs
Wordy

An account was opened by Mrs. Simms.

Your figures were checked by the research department.

More Concise

Mrs. Simms opened an account.

The research department checked your figures.

4. Avoid overusing noun forms of verbs

Use verbs when possible rather than noun forms known as nominalizations. Sentences with many
nominalizations usually have forms of be as the main verbs. Using the action verbs disguised in
nominalizations as the main verbs--instead of forms of be--can help to create engaging rather than dull
prose.

Wordy

The function of this department is the collection of accounts.

The current focus of the medical profession is disease prevention.

More Concise

This department collects accounts.

The medical profession currently focuses on disease prevention.

5. Reword unnecessary infinitive phrases

Some infinitive phrases can be converted into finite verbs or brief noun phrases. Making such changes also
often results in the replacement of a be-verb with an action verb.

Wordy

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The duty of a clerk is to check all incoming mail and to record it.

A shortage of tellers at our branch office on Friday and Saturday during rush hours has caused customers to
become dissatisfied with service.

More Concise

A clerk checks and records all incoming mail.

A teller shortage at our branch office on Friday and Saturday during rush hours has caused customer
dissatisfaction.

Use active voice

Sentences in active voice are usually easier to understand than those in passive voice because active-voice
constructions indicate clearly the performer of the action expressed in the verb. In addition, changing from
passive voice to active often results in a more concise sentence. So use active voice unless you have good
reason to use the passive. For example, the passive is useful when you don't want to call attention to the
doer; when the doer is obvious, unimportant, or unknown; or when passive voice is the conventional style
among your readers.

For more on this topic, consult our handout on active and passive voice.

 clear (active):

The committee decided to postpone the vote.

 not as clear (passive):

A decision was reached to postpone the vote.

Use parallel constructions

When you have a series of words, phrases, or clauses, put them in parallel form (similar grammatical
construction) so that the reader can identify the linking relationship more easily and clearly.

 clear (parallel):

In Florida, where the threat of hurricanes is an annual event, we learned that it is important (1) to
become aware of the warning signs, (2) to know what precautions to take, and (3) to decide when to
seek shelter.

 not as clear (not parallel):

In Florida, where the threat of hurricanes is an annual event, we learned that it is important (1) to
become aware of the warning signs. (2) There are precautions to take, and (3) deciding when to take
shelter is important.

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 Communicative Skills II
In the second sentence, notice how the string of "things to be aware of in Florida" does not create a parallel
structure. Also, notice how much more difficult it is for a reader to follow the meaning of the second
sentence compared to the first one.

Avoid noun strings

Try not to string nouns together one after the other because a series of nouns is difficult to understand. One
way to revise a string of nouns is to change one noun to a verb.

 unclear (string of nouns):

This report explains our investment growth stimulation projects.

 clearer:

This report explains our projects to stimulate growth in investments.

Avoid overusing noun forms of verbs

Use verbs when possible rather than noun forms known as "nominalizations."

 unclear (use of nominalization):

The implementation of the plan was successful.

 clearer:

The plan was implemented successfully.

We implemented the plan successfully.

Avoid multiple negatives

Use affirmative forms rather than several negatives because multiple negatives are difficult to understand.

 unclear (multiple negatives, passive):

Less attention is paid to commercials that lack human interest stories than to other kinds of
commercials.

 clearer:

People pay more attention to commercials with human interest stories than to other kinds of
commercials.

Choose action verbs over forms of be

When possible, avoid using forms of be as the main verbs in your sentences and clauses. This problem tends
to accompany nominalization (see above). Instead of using a be verb, focus on the actions you wish to
express, and choose the appropriate verbs. In the following example, two ideas are expressed: 1) that there is
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 Communicative Skills II
a difference between television and newspaper news reporting, and 2) the nature of that difference. The
revised version expresses these two main ideas in the two main verbs.

 Unclear (overuse of be verbs):

One difference between television news reporting and the coverage provided by newspapers is the
time factor between the actual happening of an event and the time it takes to be reported. The
problem is that instantaneous coverage is physically impossible for newspapers.

 Clearer:

Television news reporting differs from that of newspapers in that television, unlike newspapers, can
provide instantaneous coverage of events as they happen.

Avoid unclear pronoun references

Be sure that the pronouns you use refer clearly to a noun in the current or previous sentence. If the pronoun
refers to a noun that has been implied but not stated, you can clarify the reference by explicitly using that
noun.

 Unclear (unclear pronoun reference):

With the spread of globalized capitalism, American universities increasingly follow a corporate
fiscal model, tightening budgets and hiring temporary contract employees as teachers. This has
prompted faculty and adjunct instructors at many schools to join unions as a way of protecting job
security and benefits.

 Clearer:

With the spread of globalized capitalism, American universities increasingly follow a corporate
fiscal model, tightening budgets and hiring temporary contract employees as teachers. This trend
has prompted faculty and adjunct instructors at many schools to join unions as a way of protecting
job security and benefits.

 Unclear (unclear pronoun reference):

Larissa worked in a national forest last summer, which may be her career choice.

 Clearer:

Larissa worked in a national forest last summer; forest management may be her career choice.
Larissa worked in a national forest last summer, and she may choose a forest management career.

2.8. Types of A sentence

Dear distance learner! We are now going to discuss about types of sentences, which are elements of
effective writing. Effective writing always involves the choice of expressions, the arrangement of words
within sentences and variety in types of a sentence or usually determined by the nature and the number of
clauses in it. This section, therefore, focuses on two major classifications: Structural and Functional.
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 Communicative Skills II
INTRODUCTION
Effective writers have the ability to use a variety of sentence structures to express their ideas or thoughts.
Less experienced writers, on the other hand, tend to use a few basic structures over and over, which
weakens their expressive power and leads to a monotonous writing style. This section on “Types of a
sentence” will introduce you with the different types of sentences and their nature so that you would
develop the confidence and the skill to use a variety of sentence structures to convey your ideas to readers.
OBJECTIVE
After studying this Section, you will be able to:
 Construct simple, compound, complex and compound-complex sentences:
 Combine words together to produce declarative, interrogative, imperative and exclamatory
sentences;
 Identify the two types of clauses;
 Distinguish the similarities among the four structural classification of sentences;
 Distinguish the differences among the four structural classification of sentences;
 Sort out the similarities among the four functional classification of sentences; and
 Sort out the differences among the four functional classifications of sentences.
2.8.1. Structural Classification of sentences
Before involving yourself with this section in depth, determine your answers to the following
questions about types of sentences.
Look at the following sentences:
I saw a good film yesterday
A. They cannot leave the school until they do their work
B. I got up and I went to the toilet.
Can you observe any significant difference among the above three sentences?
__________________________________________________________________

Are they the same? How? _____________________________

Are they different? Why? ______________________________

1. a) structurally, in how many ways can you classify sentences?

(Write your response on the space given)
_______________________________________________

b) Can you give one example from each?

(Write your response on the space given)
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________

Ok! Now check your answers again after reading the possible explanations offered below. If your answers
are different, please do not lose hope. Just try again. If they are not still clear, make them ready for your
tutorial sessions.

Discussion

First, the bad news. . .

There are billions of sentences out there that we might have to understand. 

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 Communicative Skills II
Next, the good news. . .

Structurally, all sentences are divided in to four categories.

They are:

Simple Sentence

Compound Sentence

Complex Sentence

Compound-Complex sentence 

Let's take them one at a time.

2.8.1.1. Simple sentence

Definition

A simple sentence is a sentence with one independent clause. 

Note what the definition does not say. It doesn't say that a simple sentence is short or easy to understand. It
doesn't say anything about phrases. A simple sentence can have forty-seven phrases, but only one
independent clause. 

Let's look at an example: 

I love simple sentences.

(That's easy enough. It is obviously one independent clause.) 

But look at this:

Being an English teacher with a penchant for syntactical complexity, I love simple sentences.

(It's longer, more challenging and contains bigger words, but it's still a simple sentence. Being an English
teacher with a penchant for syntactical complexity" is a participial phrase. "With a penchant" and "for
syntactical complexity" are prepositional phrases.) 

Look at this:

Being an English teacher with a penchant for syntactical complexity, I love to read simple sentences upon
getting up and before going to bed.

(Amazingly, it's still a simple sentence. I am piling on phrase after phrase, but the sentence still contains
only one independent clause.)

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 Communicative Skills II

 A simple sentence expresses one idea. It is built around one subject-verb (S-V) or subject-verb-object (S-V-
O) combination. The sentence may be a long one because there may be other words which describe the S-V
(-O). Both of the following are simple sentences:

 The horse galloped.

 The black horse galloped smoothly to the barn with her colt.

Therefore, a simple sentence is “simple “as long as it remains one clause containing one subject and one
predicate. Either one of these (the subject or the predicate) or both can be compound and still be a
simple sentence.

In short, a simple sentence can exist in four different forms:

1. single subject and single predicate

Example; The man wrote a letter yesterday

Single subject single predicate

2. compound subject but single predicate

Example : The man and his wife wrote a letter yesterday

Compound subject single predicate

3. single subject but compound predicate

Example: The man wrote a letter and mailed it yesterday.

Single subject compound predicate

4. Compound subject with compound predicate

Example : The man in the blues and wife wrote a letter a mailed it yesterday
Compound subject compound predicate

Check your progress 17

Now write at least three sentences on each of the above types of simple sentences.
Examples:
Type 1 Mustera stayed in his room
Type 2 The smoke and water caused much damage.
Type 3 Gebru dived in to the lake and disappeared.
Type 4 All the doors and windows were closed and locked.
____________________________________________
____________________________________________

___________________________________________
___________________________________________

__________________________________________
__________________________________________

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The following examples illustrate the case in point.

1. Our teacher gave us an assignment.

Subject: teacher
Verb: gave
2. The men work hard.
Subject: men
Verb: work
3. The sea is deep.
Subject: Sea
Verb: is
4. The marbles spilled on the floor.
Subject: marbles
Verb: spilled.
In the sentences above, you identified a simple subject and a simple predicate (the verb). The simple
subject and information about it is called the subject the simple predicate and information about it is called
the predicate or verb the subject and the predicate are identified in the example below.
Subject Predicate
(who or what) (What is said about the subject)

The Walia Ibex lives in the North West highlands of Ethiopia.

Subject verb

2.8.1.2. Compound sentence  

Definition

A compound sentence contains two or more independent clauses. 

Example 1. I love conjunctive adverbs, but my students love each other.

Sometimes a compound sentence contains more than two independent clauses. 

2. I love conjunctive adverbs; my students love each other, and we all love holidays. 

Sometimes longer linking words can be used.

  3. I can name several conjunctive adverbs; consequently, my friends are impressed.

 When a writer connects two or more ideas with a certain kind of connecting word, that is a compound
sentence (S-V, and S-V).

 Deaf people use their eyes very well, so they do not need help driving.
 Most people use their ears for hearing the car motor, but deaf people feel vibrations.

A compound sentence has two or more main clauses each containing a subject a predicate, each describing
an action complete in itself. The clauses in the compound sentence are joined by a connective-and, but or,
nor, yet, for, or so –or by a semicolon. We can also use a conjunction adverb such as “however”, thus,
therefore, consequently, indeed, moreover or furthermore.”

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Many of the connecting words in compound sentences are listed below with the
necessary punctuation.

, and , so , yet either, or not only, but also

, but , or , for neither, nor
; moreover, ; thus, ; for example, ; then,
; consequently, ; also, ; as a result, ; besides,
; however, ; for instance,
; furthermore, ; nevertheless,

Sometimes two ideas may be joined by a semicolon (;) alone. Usually this is done only when the first idea is
general, and the second illustrates the first or when the two ideas are clearly related.

 It was cold today; the thermometer dropped to -14. 

When do we use a compound sentence?

How do you construct a compound sentence?
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
__
Differences between compound and simple sentences.
As indicated above, we can divide a compound sentence into two independent and meaningful clauses. A
simple sentence, on the other hand, cannot be divided into two independent and meaningful sentences.
Examples
1. The sign was too small, and many people failed to see it.
We can divide this sentence into two independent and meaningful clauses:
a. The sign was too small to see.
b. Many people failed to see it.
Thus, the above sentence is compounded as we can divide it into two independent clauses.
2. My aunt uncle from Bale visits us every summer. We cannot divide this sentence into two
independent clauses. Thus, it is a simple sentence.
Check your progress 18
Now identify which of the following groups of word are simple sentences and which ones are compound
sentences. Following this, separate the compound sentences into independent and meaningful clauses. The
first one has been done to help you.
1. The man had not completed his work by sunset.
An Answer: We cannot divide it into two clauses, so it is a simple sentence.
2. The man and his wife broke their legs.

3. She cannot ride a horse.

__________________________________________

4. The ship was wrecked, but the crew was saved.

__________________________________________

5. He received your message, and sent it at once.

__________________________________________

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 Communicative Skills II
6. She likes eating apples.

7. Give the book and I will read it.

8. A good boy will always carry out the command of his elders.

9. The lion was wounded but not killed.

10. Having finished his exercise, he put away his books.

___________________________________________

The compound sentence is one of the most common and useful sentence structures with the following
distinctive features:
1. A compound sentence contains two independent clauses jointed by a coordinating conjunction: and,
but, so, yet, for, and or. An independent clause contains a subject and verb and can stand alone as a
sentence.
2. A comma (,) comes before the conjunction in a compound sentence.
3. The coordinating conjunction shows the relationships between the two independent clauses of the
sentence.
Here are examples of compound sentences with different coordinating conjunctions. Notice that there is a
complete sentence (independent clause) on each side of the coordinating conjunction, that there is a comma
before the conjunction, and that each conjunction shows a different relationship between the two
independent clauses of the sentence. (The conjunctions are underlined).
I’m leaving Bahir Dar tonight, and won’t be back for a month.
I’m leaving for Bahir Dar tonight, but I’ll come right back if it is so hot
Feven is a good student, yet she could be doing even better.
Feven is a good student, so she should be able to stand first from her class

Yet

It is similar to but; show a contrast between two thoughts or actions.

Examples
I’m going to school for you, Yet’d rather stay home and watch TV

Aragie isn’t feeling well, yet he is going to work this morning any way

So

It shows cause effect relationship: what happens in the first half of the sentence influences what happens in
the second half.

I am running short of money, so I’m going to have to find a part-time job

Many private companies are mush rooming these days, so there will be many
new jobs available in the near future.

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For

This means “because”, what happens in the second half of the sentenc influences what happens in the
first half:
Example

The negotiations were finally called off, for in neither side in the wage dispute would change their
position.
You should wash your hair everyday, for really shines when it is clean.
The sorghum crop is large this spring, or at least it seems larger than last year’s crop.
The sorghum crop is large this spring, so we should have a good harvest.
The sorghum crop is large this spring, yet the maize looks pretty small.

Notice that each coordinating conjunction shows a different relationship between the two halves
(independent clauses) of the sentence. Here is how each is used:
Coordinating conjunctions

and:
joins information together, adds one action or thought to another with out showing a relationship
between them.

Examples:
My father moved to Awassa in 1993, and he has lived there ever since.
Gumessa is a quiet, polite man, and he works for the post office of the Art Killo branch
but:
Shows a contrast between the two independent clauses of the sentence; the second clause is often
opposite in meaning to what is expected.

Examples:
Mammo looks very weak and tired, but he is actually in perfect health.
Beshirt had an “F” grade in Ethiopian Geography half way through the semester, but he worked hard
and finished the course with a “B”
Or
It shows options: a choice is available
Examples:
We could call a taxi to get us. or we could walk sixteen blocks to the restaurant. We’ll call you before we
come over, or we might just drop by unexpectedly sometimes.
Check your progress 19
Instruction: Complete the following compound sentences by adding a complete sentence (independent
clause) after the coordinate conjunction ties in with the first half and the conjunction.
Example: I know we’ve driven through this part of town before, yet I don’t recognize it.
1. The linguistics class may be held in room 32 tomorrow, or ____________________
2. This is the last day of the semester, so ___________________________________
3. I really enjoy reading a good novel in the evening, and ______________________
4. You have got good grades on all your test, so ______________________________
5. Ato Metaferia is spending the week with us, for ____________________________
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 Communicative Skills II
Exercise 2

Write your own compound sentences using the coordinating conjunctions provided. Remember a compound
sentence contains two independent clauses, a coordinating conjunction, and a comma before the
conjunction.

Example. I used to enjoy staying out late at night, but now I am contented to come home before mid night.

1. and 2. but 3. yet 4. for 5. or 6. so

Commas vs. Semicolons in Compound Sentences

Comma (,)

Use a comma after the first independent clause when you link two independent clauses with one of the
following coordinating conjunctions: and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet. For example:

I am going home, and I intend to stay there.

It rained heavily during the afternoon, but we managed to have our picnic anyway.

They couldn't make it to the summit and back before dark, so they decided to camp for the night.

Semicolon (;)

Use a semicolon when you link two independent clauses with no connecting words. For example:

I am going home; I intend to stay there.

It rained heavily during the afternoon; we managed to have our picnic anyway.

They couldn't make it to the summit and back before dark; they decided to camp for the night.

You can also use a semicolon when you join two independent clauses together with one of the following
conjunctive adverbs (adverbs that join independent clauses): however, moreover, therefore, consequently,
otherwise, nevertheless, thus, etc. For example:

I am going home; moreover, I intend to stay there.

It rained heavily during the afternoon; however, we managed to have our picnic anyway.

They couldn't make it to the summit and back before dark; therefore, they decided to camp for the night.

There are two interactive exercises available for practice: you can try commas vs. semicolons exercise 1, or
commas vs. semicolons exercise 2. 

 Check your progress 20

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If the following sentences are correctly punctuated with introductory commas, mark a
C on the line to the left of the sentence. If there is an error, put an X on the line and
circle the error. Do you know why each sentence is correct or incorrect?

missing comma after introductory

___ 1. As the boat turned about a dozen dolphins began to follow it.
clause ending with turned

correct use of comma after

___ 2. Since we moved into town, our fuel bill has tripled.
introductory clause

___ 3. Having chosen nursing as a career Susan enrolled in many science missing comma after introductory
courses. participial phrase ending with career

correct use of comma after

___ 4. Usually, I have time to eat breakfast.
introductory adverb

___ 5. From outside the twelve-mile fishing limits off the coast of Maine, correct use of comma after
a strange phenomenon has been reported. combination of prepositional phrases

missing comma after introductory

___ 6. When he was in high school he was known only as an athlete.
clause ending with school

___ 7. Before you decide what courses to take, you should consider the correct use of comma after
amount of work you are willing to do. introductory clause

missing comma after introductory

___ 8. Nevertheless I do not want to meet him.
transitional word Nevertheless

Introductory Clauses

Introductory clauses are dependent clauses that provide background information or "set the stage" for the
main part of the sentence, the independent clause. For example:

 If they want to win, athletes must exercise every day. (introductory dependent clause, main clause)
 Because he kept barking insistently, we threw the ball for Smokey. (introductory dependent clause,
main clause)

Clue: Introductory clauses start with adverbs like after, although, as, because, before, if, since, though,
until, when, etc.

Introductory Phrases

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Introductory phrases also set the stage for the main action of the sentence, but they are not complete clauses.
Common introductory phrases include prepositional phrases, appositive phrases, participial phrases,
infinitive phrases, and absolute phrases.

 To stay in shape for competition, athletes must exercise every day. (introductory infinitive phrase,
main clause)
 Barking insistently, Smokey got us to throw his ball for him. (introductory participial phrase, main
clause)
 A popular and well respected mayor, Bailey was the clear favorite in the campaign for governor.
(introductory appositive phrase, main clause)
 The wind blowing violently, the townspeople began to seek shelter. (introductory absolute phrase,
main clause)
 After the adjustment for inflation, real wages have decreased while corporate profits have grown.
(introductory prepositional phrases, main clause)

Introductory Words

Introductory words like however, still, furthermore, and meanwhile create continuity from one sentence to
the next.

 The coaches reviewed the game strategy. Meanwhile, the athletes trained on the Nautilus equipment.
 Most of the evidence seemed convincing. Still, the credibility of some witnesses was in question.

When to Use a Comma

Introductory elements often require a comma, but not always. Use a comma in the following cases:

 after an introductory clause. (Does the introductory element have a subject and verb of its own?)
 after a long introductory prepositional phrase or more than one introductory prepositional phrase.
(Are there more than five words before the main clause?)
 after introductory verbal phrases, some appositive phrases, or absolute phrases.
 if there is a distinct pause. (When you read the sentence aloud, do you find your voice pausing a
moment after the introductory element?)
 to avoid confusion. (Might a reader have to read the sentence more than once to make sense of it?)

When not to Use a Comma

Some introductory elements don't require a comma, and sometimes the subject of a sentence looks like an
introductory element but isn't. Do not use a comma in the following cases:

 after a brief prepositional phrase. (Is it a single phrase of less than five words?)
 after a restrictive (essential) appositive phrase. (See our document on appositives.)
 to separate the subject from the predicate. (See below.)

Each of the following sentences may look like it requires a comma after the opening segment (marked with
an x), but the opening segment is really the subject. It's sometimes easy to confuse gerund- or infinitive-
phrase subjects like the following with nonessential introductory phrases, so be careful.

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 Preparing and submitting his report to the committee for evaluation and possible publication[x] was
one of the most difficult tasks Bill had ever attempted.
 To start a new business without doing market research and long-term planning in advance[x] would
be foolish.
 Extracting the most profit for the least expenditure on labor and materials[x] is the primary goal of a
capitalist.

2.8.1.3. Complex sentence

Definition

A complex sentence is a sentence that contains one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses. 

Example: 

1.Because life is complex, we need complex sentences.

(The independent clause is in bold. The dependent clause is italicized.) 

 2. Because people know that I am an English teacher, they make allowances for how I dress and what I
say. 

(This sentence contains four dependent clauses. The independent clause is in bold. Note that two of the
dependent clauses are inside of and part of the independent clause. Don't be alarmed. That happens all the
time.)

When a writer connects two or more ideas with a certain kind of connecting word that makes a complex
sentence. If the connecting word is between two ideas, no punctuation is used. If the connecting word begins
the sentence, put a comma at the end of the first idea.

 I will meet you for lunch unless you call to cancel.

 Unless you call to cancel, I will meet you for lunch.

Many of the connecting words typical in complex sentences are listed below.

Time Cause Condition Relation

after because unless who,whose,whom
before since although that
until so that if which
when as if what, whatever
while whether...or not
as even though

What do you think is the major difference between compound and complex sentences?
(You can use the space left below to write you response on)

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Check your progress 21

Identify the main and subordinate clause in the following sentences.
1. Because it was raining, we could not go out.
Main clause: we could not go out.
Subordinate clause: Because it was raining
2. Except that he hurt his hand, he saved himself from the car accident.
_____________________________________________________
3. He asked why I came.
_____________________________________________________
4. I do not know when I shall return.
_____________________________________________________
5. Tell me what you mean by this.
_____________________________________________________
6. Every thing comes if a man only works hard and waits.
____________________________________________________
A complex sentence is like a simple sentence in that it consists of only one MAIN clause, but unlike a
simple sentence it has one or more SUBORDINATE clauses functioning as an element of the sentence. For
example (1) ‘I reject her conclusions’ is a simple sentence in that, the sentence consist of one main clause
with out and subordinate clauses; on the other hand, the sentence (2) ‘Although I admire her reasoning, I
reject her conclusions’ is complex sentence because the main clause contains a subordinate clause
functioning as an adverbial clause.
Check your progress 22
Instruction:- complete the following complex sentence by adding the missing clause. The subordinating
conjunctions are underlined. Notice that a comma is placed in the middle of a complexes sentence beginning
with a subordinating conjunction.
Examples When Kedir left for America, I cried for a week
While the band played, they danced on the floor
1. As the sun began to rise, ___________________________
2. Before you met Gelila and Aabrahm,__________________
3. I won’t do any morework on my car until ______________
4. you may put the Fertilizer Wherever __________________
5. After I heard about my mother’s illness ________________
Instruction:- Write your own complex sentences using the following subordinating conjunctions and the
topics provided. When the subordinating conjunction begins the sentence, place a comma after the
dependent clause.
Examples when dogs
When your dogs bark at me, I bark back at them.
As the old Renault rounded the corner, it hit a big pillar.
I was in bed with malaria while every one else was enjoying summer vacation.
1. when a particular class
2. after final exams
3. until waiting for a taxi
4. while eating lunch
2.8.1.4. Compound-complex 
Definition

A compound-complex sentence contains two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent
clauses. 

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Example: 

Because I am an English teacher, some people expect me to speak perfectly, and other people expect me
to write perfectly.

(The dependent clause is underlined, and the independent clauses are in bold.) 

Example:

Some people tell me that my grading is too tough, and others tell me that my assignments are boring.

(The independent clauses are in bold. The dependent clauses are italicized. Note that the dependent clauses
occur within the independent clauses. It often happens.)

The compound-complex sentence joins a compound and a complex sentence together. It should contain two
or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clause: Magma sings in a language they created,
and they feel that proper grammar has no place at their shows, which are often quite
obnoxious. Sometimes we can combine compound and complex sentences, using at
least two main clauses and one subordinate clause. The result of such combination is
called compound-complex. A compound-complex sentence contains two or more main
clause and one more subordinate clauses.

Main clause subordinate clause

Example: 1. The scientist knew that his experiment would succeed,
but he avoided publicity until the final test was complete.
Main clause subordinate clause
1. When the sky darkened, the wind blew and the leaves fell.
Subordinate clause main main
2. Because it was hot day, Hanna ordered a cold Pepsi, and drank it at once.
Subordinate main main
Check your progress 23
A. State which of the following sentences are complex and which ones are compound-complex.
1. Quarrels would not last long if the fault were only on one side.
2. Whenever you do, do well.
3. As the boxers advanced into the ring, the people said they would not allow them to fight.
4. Night came on and we all got very wet as the rain fell heavily.
5. You lose all hope if you are deceived by your friends.
B. After each sentence, select the option that best describes that sentence.

1.  Pauline and Bruno have a big argument every summer over where they should spend their summer
vacation.
A. Simple Sentence
B. Compound Sentence
C. Complex Sentence
D. Compound-Complex Sentence

2.  Pauline loves to go to the beach and spend her days sunbathing.
A. Simple Sentence

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B. Compound Sentence
C. Complex Sentence
D. Compound-Complex Sentence

3.  Bruno, on the other hand, likes the view that he gets from the log cabin up in the mountains, and he
enjoys hiking in the forest.
A. Simple Sentence
B. Compound Sentence
C. Complex Sentence
D. Compound-Complex Sentence

4.  Pauline says there is nothing relaxing about chopping wood, swatting mosquitoes, and cooking over a
woodstove.
A. Simple Sentence
B. Compound Sentence
C. Complex Sentence
D. Compound-Complex Sentence

5.  Bruno dislikes sitting on the beach; he always gets a nasty sunburn.
A. Simple Sentence
B. Compound Sentence
C. Complex Sentence
D. Compound-Complex Sentence

Check your progress 24

Identify each sentence as simple, compound, complex and compound-complex. Following this indicate the
function of each clause as shown in the example.
Subordinate clause
Example. As soon as the enemy troop left, he entered the town and
occupied the largest building he could find. Main clause
main clause main clause
Therefore it is a compound complex.
1. He worked hard, yet did not succeed.
____________________________________________________________
2. He must not attempt to escape on pain of death.
____________________________________________________________
3. We must eat, or we cannot live.
____________________________________________________________
4. The moment, which is lost, is lost forever.
____________________________________________________________
5. Time makes the worst enemies of friends.
____________________________________________________________
6. The old man died in his native village.
____________________________________________________________
7. Unless we do our work well, our master will be anger with us.
____________________________________________________________

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8. The young girl jumped under the covers when her uncle walked in wearing his new suit, and she refused to
come out.
____________________________________________________________
9. The hunter in the gray shirt, a wooden spear in his hand, attacked the lion swiftly from behind the rocks.
____________________________________________________________
10. Thomas and his wife ran at Guenet Gymnasium before classes.
_____________________________________________________________

2.8.2. Functional Classification of Sentences

Look at the following sentences:
A. What a gorgeous car you have!
B. What do you do for a living?
C. Give me the gun!
D. He is an outstanding student.
Can you observe significant difference among the above four sentences?
_____________________________________________________________
(Write your response on the space provided)
Are they the same? How? _______________________________________
Are they different? Why? _______________________________________
Questions for discussion
a) Functionally, in how many ways can you classify sentences?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
b) Please give one example from each.

_____________________________________________________________________

Ok! Now check your answers again after reading the possible explanations offered below. If your answers
are different, please do not lose hope. Just try again. If they are not still clear, make them ready for your
tutorial sessions.
Discussion
Each sentence you write serves a purpose. In other words, every sentence has some function. The English
language has four kinds of sentences with functions (purposes). These are called declarative, imperative,
interrogative, and exclamatory.
2.8.2.1. Declarative Sentences

A declarative sentence makes a statement. In other words, declarative sentences are sentences, which make
statements or assertions. These types of sentences make statements rather than asking a question or making
an exclamation.

Example
a. He is studying geography.
b. He has a good memory.
c. The assignment is due tomorrow.
Sentences of such kind that make a statement or assertion are called declarative or assertive sentences. In
most declarative sentence the subject is followed by the predicate.

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 Communicative Skills II
Declarative sentence always end with a period.
Check your progress 25
Please write five declarative sentences and then check your answer with the suggested answers given at the
end of the module.
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
___
2.8.2.2. Imperative Sentence

2. An imperative sentence gives a command or makes a request. Examples: Hand it in now. Stop.

Imperative sentences express a request or a command. An imperative sentence usually ends with a period
(.).
Example
a) Be quiet.
b) Walk through the garden.
c) Stop staring at me.
d) Fix the project.
In the above examples, we have seen that names are not indicated. It is understand that the subject is “you”.
Check your progress 26
Now write five imperative sentences. When you finish check your answers with suggested answers given at
the end of the module.
______________________________________________________________________________________
_
2.8.2.3. Interrogatives Sentences
An interrogative sentence asks a question. These kind of sentence rise in volume when spoken and are
punctuated marks when written, usually the verb comes before the subject of an interrogative sentence.
Some interrogative sentences use an auxiliary verb, such a form of do or will. In this case only the auxiliary
come before the subject.
a) Do you know the man?
b) What do you do for a living?
c) Have you seen Martha yet?

Interrogative sentences many times have the subject between the parts of the verb phrase. To find the verb
and the subject, turn the question into a statement. Example: Have you seen my coat? You have seen my
coat. Who or what have seen? You have seen. You is the subject.Find the subject and verb in these
interrogative sentences.

1. Has James left for home?

2. When did the noise begin?

3. Where is Jeanne attending college?

4. Did Jeff eat any dinner?

5. Will you return on Sunday?

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2.8.2.4. Exclamatory sentences

An exclamatory sentence shows strong feeling. Declarative, imperative, or interrogative sentences can be
made into exclamatory sentences by punctuating them with an exclamation point. Examples: The
assignment is due tomorrow! Stop! Do you know the man!In other words, those sentences, which
express strong feelings, shocks or surprises, are exclamatory sentences.

Example:

How cold the night is!

What an amazing film this is!
The theater is on fire!
How depressed she looks!
An exclamatory typically rises in volume when spoken and is punctuated with an exclamation mark (!)
when written.
Check your progress 27
Write five exclamatory sentences. When you finish, check your answers with the suggested answers given
at the end of the Module.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Read the following extract and consider the punctuation.
What’s new? He keeps getting minor injuries on his back. He really ought to start and exercise the program.
But do you think he’ll ever rally to start managing his own health? I don’t!
Check your progress 28
A. Identify the following sentences as declarative (D), interrogative (I), imperative (Im) and exclamatory
(Ex). Then, put the correct punctuation for each kind of sentences.
Example: Did you know a man who made a television set in 1927
Answer. The sentence is “Interrogative”, the punctuation is “?”
1. You can read about his invention.
Answer: ___________________________________________________
2. It works, it really works
Answer ____________________________________________________
3. Will you come on Saturday
Answer ____________________________________________________
4. Please bring me the book
Answer ____________________________________________________
5. Show us the movie now
Answer ____________________________________________________
6. What a horror film
Answer ____________________________________________________
7. War is hell
Answer ____________________________________________________
8. we will see you tomorrow
Answer ____________________________________________________
9. Oh, my brother can’t be dead
Answer ____________________________________________________

When finding the subject and the verb in a sentence, always find the verb first and then say who or what
followed by the verb. Example: The bell rang. Find the verb - rang. Now say who or what rang? The bell
rang. Bell is the subject.
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B. Find the subject and verb in the following sentences.

1. Give me the gun!

2. Help me please.

3. Bring me the paper.

4. Lock the car door always.

5. Run next door for some sugar.

2.9. Writing effective sentences

“How to Say What You Want to Say in the Best Way”

Dear Distance Learners, Expressing your ideas in skillfully written sentences contributes greatly to the
success of your writing as a whole.  The following guidelines will help you effectively compose or revise
your sentences:

A. Add variety to your sentences in these ways:   

1. Structure: Use a variety of clauses and phrases within your sentence and vary their  order within
the sentence.  This will help you avoid beginning each sentence in  the same way as well as help
you more accurately show the relative importance  of each part of your sentence.

2. Length: Too many short sentences together sound choppy; too many long sentences together might
make your sentences difficult to read. 

B. Add emphasis to parts of your sentences by using: 

1. Parallelism: Items in a series should have the same grammatical form.

 Incorrect: Three requirements for good health are good nutrition, getting enough sleep, and to exercise
regularly.

       Correct:  Three requirements for good health are good nutrition, adequate sleep, and regular
exercise. 

2. Repetition: Repeat ideas or words (or words similar in meaning) to emphasize them. Example: The
child was ready to go, waiting to go, and wanting to go.

3. Active Voice:  Generally, use active verbs rather than passive verbs.

     Passive: The contest was won by my cousin.  (weaker)

             Active:  My cousin won the contest.  (stronger) 

4. Structure: Arrange the wording of the sentence to show the relative importance of ideas.
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 Communicative Skills II
Coordination: Show that two or more ideas are of equal importance by using a

coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) to connect

words, phrases, and clauses.

Example:  The mechanic replaced the tires and balanced the wheels.

Subordination:  Put the information you want to emphasize in the main clause and the less important
ideas(s) in a dependent clause or phrase.    

 Example:  The neighbor listens to music while he does yard work. While the neighbor does yard work, he
listens to music. 

5. Order:  To emphasize a part of a sentence, place it at or toward the beginning of the    sentence.

                  Example: Through the gate and down the road galloped the horse. 
 

C. Use concise wording to create more powerful sentences. 

Eliminate all grammatically unnecessary wording and redundancy of content. Use a phrase instead of a
dependent clause or a word instead of a phrase if you can do so without losing the effectiveness of the
sentence.

            Example.  Omit words:

                  Wordy: I feel that my employer has not recognized the fact that many of the employees of this
company feel they are ignored.                                                                       

                  More concise:  My employer has not recognized that many of his      employees feel ignored. 

D. Achieve clarity (clear meaning) by avoiding these problems: 

      1.  Shifts (lack of agreement) in:

            Verb Tense (time)—Do not shift back and forth between present and past      

                  without a reason.

               Incorrect:  In the beginning of the novel the character seems honest,

                                but his later actions revealed his deceptiveness.

            Correct:  In the beginning of the novel the character seems honest, but his        later actions reveal
his deceptiveness.

            Point of View—Do not switch between first, second, and third person points of view. Use third
person for most college writing.

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 Communicative Skills II
Incorrect: One cannot change the past, but you can change your future.    

          Correct:  One cannot change the past, but one can change the future. 

            Number (singular/plural)—A subject and verb should match in number, and a    pronoun should
match its antecedent (the noun it stands for) in number.   

 Incorrect:  The flock of birds are flying south for the winter.

          Correct:  The flock of birds is flying south for the winter.

      Type of Discourse—Use quotation marks only around a person’s exact words.

                  Direct Discourse:  He said, “I have finished my assignment.”        

        Indirect discourse:  He said that he had finished his assignment.

     2.  Mixed Constructions (incorrect combinations of grammatical forms):

            Incorrect:  She was sick was the reason for her absence.

            Correct: Her sickness was the reason for her absence. 

     3.  Logic Errors—The grammar is correct, but the idea is expressed illogically:    

Incorrect: Poor management and rising costs were the downfall of the company.    

Correct:  Poor management and rising costs caused the downfall of the company.              

E. Achieve specific meaning by using modifiers (words, phrases, and dependent clauses which act as
adjectives or adverbs):

Too general: The salesman relaxed.

More specific: Exhausted by his travels, the salesman relaxed in his quiet hotel
room.                                                                                                                                                                     
             
2.10. Sentence Errors

Since the goal of every writer is to communicate clearly and effectively, it is important to be able to write
clear, error-free sentences in essays and reports. Incomplete sentences, run on sentences and vague
wording are among the most common sentence errors in student writing (and everyone else's), which
interfere with effective communication. To help you avoid these errors and recognise and correct them in
your essays, an explanation of run on sentences, comma splices, sentence
fragments and dangling modifiers, and exercises in correcting them are given below.
2.10.1. Run on sentences and comma splices
Run on sentences and comma splices are two of the most common types of sentence error. They involve
joining two complete sentences (or independent clauses) with incorrect punctuation or no punctuation at all.

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 Communicative Skills II
Arun on sentence or comma splice often seems to go on and on and causes confusion for the reader
because it is actually more than one sentence. A run on sentence occurs when two complete
sentences are run together with no punctuation separating them. If the two sentences being strung together
are fairly short, closely related in meaning and easily understood,they often will not be marked as an error.
But if they are long and causeconfusion for the reader, they are a serious problem, as they interfere
with clear communication.A run-on occurs when two complete sentences are run together with no adequate
sing given to mark the break between them. It occurs when two independent clauses are not separated by
punctuation nor joined by a comma with a coordinating conjunction. In other words, a run-on sentence is
two or more sentences incorrectly joined.

Examples:

Run-on Two suspects were arrested last week one of them was a woman.
Revised 1: Two suspects were arrested last week; one of them was a woman.
Revised 2: Two suspects were arrested last week. One of them was a woman.
A comma splice is very similar to a run on sentence; it occurs when two
complete sentences are joined using only a comma.
Examples:
Run on: Chemicals such as pesticides and herbicides were used to
control the pests this was effective.
Comma splice: Chemicals such as pesticides and herbicides were
used to control the pests, this was effective.
How to correct run on sentences and comma splices
Run ons and comma splices can be corrected in several ways:
Option 1. Place a full stop at the end of the first sentence, making two
separate sentences.
Correction: Chemicals such as pesticides and herbicides were used to
control the pests. This was effective.
Option 2. Separate the two sentences using a semicolon.
Correction: Chemicals such as pesticides and herbicides were used to
control the pests; this was effective.
Option 3. Link the two sentences using a comma and appropriate
connecting word, called a coordinating conjunction (and, but, so, for, yet,
or, nor).
Correction: Chemicals such as pesticides and herbicides were used to
control the pests, and this was effective.
2.10.2 Sentence fragments or incomplete sentences
A sentence fragment is an incomplete sentence punctuated as a sentence.
The fragment may be missing the subject or the verb of the sentence.
Even if it has a subject and verb, if the group of words begins with a word
that makes it dependent -- such as when, if, because, until, although,
before, after -- it is not a complete sentence because it does not express a
complete thought. This is called a dependent clause. A dependent clause
needs to be attached to an independent clause to complete the meaning
of the sentence.
Examples:
Fragment: Finally, contemplating the effects of racism and whether they
contribute to social cohesion or assist with division. (This is a phrase
without a subject or a complete verb.)

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How to correct sentence fragments
Option. Rewrite the sentence, supplying the missing subject or verb or
both.
Correction: Finally, society must contemplate the effects of racism and
whether they contribute to social cohesion or assist with division.
(rewritten, supplying subject and verb)
Correction: Finally, contemplating the effects of racism and whether they
contribute to social cohesion or assist with division is an essential first
step in understanding this issue. (The original phrase is the subject,
predicate added)

Fragment: Although Carsaniga cannot believe why this issue is so unclear

to everybody and thinks that it should have been laid to rest long ago.
(This is a dependent clause; it needs to be attached to an independent
clause. Alternatively, the dependent word although could be removed to
make a complete sentence or independent clause.)
How to correct sentence fragments
Option 1. Join the phrase or subordinate clause to an appropriate
independent clause.
Correction: Although Carsaniga cannot believe why this issue is so unclear
to everybody and thinks that it should have been laid to rest long ago,
most observers believe the problem is complex. (independent clause
added to existing subordinate clause)
Option 2. If the fragment is a subordinate clause, leaving off the first
word, (the subordinate conjunction), will create a complete sentence.
Before doing this, be sure the sentence will make sense in the context of
your writing.
Correction: Carsaniga cannot believe why this issue is so unclear to
everybody and thinks that it should have been laid to rest long ago.
(subordinate conjunction although, omitted)
2.10.3. Dangling modifiers
When a sentence begins with an introductory phrase, that phrase must
relate to the noun or pronoun that comes directly after it. When an
introductory phrase modifies the wrong word or no word at all in the
sentence it is called a dangling modifier. Dangling modifiers often sound
vague and confusing, sometimes ridiculous.
Examples:
Dangling modifier: Being very old and in need of repair, I paid very little
money for the car.
Dangling modifier: Noting that there was this apparent propensity for
information to jam in the bottleneck, only a small amount of information
would pass through for cognitive recognition.
How to correct dangling modifiers
Option 1. Put the noun that the phrase modifies in the dangling phrase.
Correction: Since the car was very old and in need of repair, I paid very
little money for it.
Correction: The researcher noted that because there was this apparent
propensity for information to jam in the bottleneck, only a small amount
of information would pass through for cognitive recognition.

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 Communicative Skills II
Option 2. Place the noun that the introductory phrase modifies
immediately after the phrase.
Correction: Being very old and in need of repair, the car cost very little
money.
Correction: Noting that there was this apparent propensity for information
to jam in the bottleneck, the researcher found that only a small amount
of information would pass through for cognitive recognition.
Check your progress 29
Direction: Each sentence below is a comma splice or run on sentence. Identify and
correct the error in each sentence. Try using all three methods for correcting comma splices and run ons.

1. McDonald's 12,418th outlet opened in 1991, even Moscow and

Beijing have not escaped.
2. Recently scientists have made some discoveries, they have prolonged the life of some species.
3. This is caused by cross-links between peptides and hydrogen atoms furthermore due to organic chemical
reactions free radicals are formed.
4. Often it is the culmination of cerebrovascular disease of many years’ standing in this situation a history of
longstanding hypertension was a disease which contributed to the patient's Cerebral Vascular Accident.
5. There are many deficits of a CVA, the deficits I will be focusing on are Expressive and Receptive
Aphasia, as well as Hemiplegia, which are physical deficits that the patient has received as a result of a
thrombotic Cerebral Vascular Accident.
6. However, the future is bright most children in Australia today are exposed to cultural difference from an
early age.
7. It is the interpretation by the author of his or her imagination that we see in print, whether this is the truth
or a deception is left to our interpretation.
8. Australia was then seen to be highly successful and diligent in economic growth this could have been a
contribution from the high levels of immigration into the nation.
9. The financial analysts denounced the oversubscription of Qantas shares to international investors,
nonetheless they avoided reporting the criterion, displaying their control and the ruling power of the
media.
10. Major risk factors such as high blood cholesterol, obesity, diabetes, lack of exercise, stress, smoking and
alcohol and high blood pressure may be controlled by changing our dietary and exercise habits and even
our personality traits (Eysenck 1989) however it is
not easy.
Check your progress 30
Direction: Each group of words below contains a sentence fragment. Correct each,
using the different methods for turning the fragments into complete sentences.
1. They may not find it easy as they will more than likely have to change a lifetime of eating habits. So too
may the person who is tackling obesity.
2. Thirdly, some more discoveries on the free radical theory, next defences against oxidation and damage.
Finally, the environment and the effects it has on the body and ageing.
3. Not being able to speak on the phone to her sons, or to answer questions asked by doctors and nursing
staff, or being excluded from conversation.
4. An overuse of descriptive words to give the impression of power in the simple cup of tea and the ability
of a "morsel of cake" to revive and regenerate a weary body.
5. Nurses must try to relieve their embarrassment. Such as giving them support by assuring them that there
is nothing wrong with their intelligence.
6. On examination of the term multiculturalism, along with the history and formation of Australia's
multicultural policy.

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 Communicative Skills II
7. For example, a life threatening disease such as acute pancreatitis wherein multiple organs are affected.
8. Also the effective manager has certain personal qualities. Ability to work well under stress, being able to
have and recognise new ideas, responses and approaches.
9. Going as far as saying that the lack of tolerance and understanding
of the diverse cultures throughout Australia weakens social cohesion.
10. Depending on how deeply a reader wants to analyse the use of language and characters would result in a
different interpretation.
Check your progress 31
Direction: Each sentence below contains a dangling modifier. Correct each sentence
and try using both methods as you eliminate the dangling modifiers.

1. When empowered with control over their own destiny and allowed the freedom to choose, then dying
with dignity could be seen as a respected right, giving back self-esteem to the aged.
2. If portrayed skillfully, the reader is held in suspense waiting for what will happen next.
3. After leaving school, career choices were limited for girls.
4. For example when looking at a car, information about the car is being processed in parallel.
5. Using second grade children, it was found that body build preferences and character influenced attraction
ratings, and that character had the strongest effect.
6. Being a multicultural society, the Australian calendar is peppered with ethnic festivals.
7. Whilst driving the car and listening to the radio, an accident is witnessed then focus is given to the feature
of the accident.
8. Not knowing what to expect and lacking ability to cope with a particular situation, stress may affect the
patient.
9. In order to be effective, the gap between cultures must be bridged by the health professional.
10. Having identified L. acidophilus as a relevant spoiling agent, the experiment has been designed to test
the effects of pH as a preservative factor for the survival and control of the organism.
2.11. Let us sum up
Since the sentence is the basic unit of written discourse, you must be able to recognize complete and
incomplete sentences in your drafts. A sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a period, question
mark, or exclamation point. Unfortunately, sentence fragments show those very features. You need to
know, then, that a grammatically complete sentence normally requires a verb and its subject within an
independent clause.
You can think of a fully developed sentence as a skeletal paragraph containing major and minor elements
that ought to be easy for a reader to spot. You can already recognize the parts of sentences – subjects and
verbs, for example, or independent and subordinate clauses – and put together grammatically coherent
statements of your own.
Possible answers to check your progress
Check your progress 1
Try yourself
Check your progress 2
2. No sense
3. No sense
4. No sense
5. No sense
6. Sense
7. No sense
8. Sense
9. No sense
10. Sense
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 Communicative Skills II
Check your progress 4
1. The children
2. Several branches
3. Most students
Check your progress

Subject verb

1. my shoe is
2. the little boy hit
3. you seem
4. down the road hopped
5. we are going
6. the men have come
7. the soup tasted
8. the passenger should have been stopped
9. the mail could have arrived
10. you don’t go
Check your progress 6
Subject Predicate
1. The rain grows the grass
2. My father bye me a house
3. The child is healthy
4. The flames spread everywhere
5. The students work hard
6. The poor are not always sad
7. The children are playing football on the street
8. He tried his best
9. Barking dogs seldom bite
10. A stitch in time saves nine
Check your progress 7
Subject Verb Complement
1. The tenors are not singing on key
2. The four of us disapprove his action
3. Murgatrolod visited English, France, Italy, Germany
4. Most of the roads are covered with ice and snow
5. Living alone is a depressing experience
6. You reread your work carefully
7. We left the party
8. You knew him well
9. His earliest attempt was the ballad
11. The pyramid emits a mysterious sort of power
12. You knock before entering (imperative)
13. Igor escorted Prunella home
14. Cyrus McCormick was born in Rockbridge country,
Virginia 1809

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 Communicative Skills II
15. The McCormick reaper revotionalized agriculture

Check your progress 8

S V DO IO

1. The security guards check the doors the building.

2. Dried fruits will help, prevent certain diseases.

 3. The children played several games

 4. A. You promised Igor a salary increase

  B. A salary increase was promised Igor (passive verb)

5. You tell the story? him

 6. The Ford Foundation will award a study grant of

one thousand dollars. the best qualified student

 7. You tell the best route to the park?

 8. This exercise gives big pain me

 9. A. I offered ten dollars him

  B. Ten dollars was offered Mortimer to take Hortense

to the dance. (passive verb)

10. The rainy weather gave colds everyone

11. were killed Eleven people

12. Scott Joplin taught, studied music a Missouri college.

13. Joplin originated the musical style called "ragtime."

14. was considered The Titanic (passive verb)

15. an iceberg ripped, sent a 300 foot gash, ship

Check your progress 9

S V SC OC

1. I will paint the town red

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 Communicative Skills II
2. He is a popular entertainer.

3. Virginia was not the first state

4. a. The Exalted

order of Muskrats elected Toad president.

b. The Exalted

Order of Muskrats was elected president

5. Igor's goals are fame and fortune.

6. a. Very few people consider trustworthy or honest

b. Many people are considered untrustworthy or

dishonest

7. We were tired, bored, and hungry.

8. Male may wear long

9. I failed, did not this course study

10. The jury found the defendant guilty

Check your progress 10

1. Stage 1: Identification: This is a complete sentence.

Stage 2: Rewriting: This sentence does not need rewriting.

2. Stage 1: Identification: This is an incomplete sentence.

Stage 2: Rewriting: After the death of his father, he is not feeling good.

3. Stage 1: Identification: This is a complete sentence.

Stage 2: Rewriting: This sentence does not need rewriting.

4. Stage 1: Identification: This is a complete sentence.

Stage 2: Rewriting: This sentence does not need rewriting.

5. Stage 1: Identification: This is an incomplete sentence.

Stage 2: Rewriting: With your permission, we can do anything.

Check your progress 12

1. Pattern 4
2. Pattern 2

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 Communicative Skills II
3. Pattern 3
4. Pattern 1
5. Pattern 3
6. Pattern 4
7. Pattern 3
8. Pattern 4
9. Pattern 1
10. Pattern 4

Check your progress 13

1. She completed the report.

2. He arrived at the bus station.
3. The man drove a car.
4. I was in the church.
5. She is a talented musician.
6. His mistake is really unforgivable.
7. He used to walk rapidly.
8. She is feeling somewhat better today.
9. My views are quiet different.
10. His brother is an engineer.
Check your progress 14

1. When faced with the actions we have committed; we normally wouldn't have considered but for the
pressures put upon us to comply with social norms, we tend to reflect upon the events leading up to and
including our decisions. With that reflection brings understanding; the understanding of how we became
something we normally wouldn't have.

2. I often marvel at the magic of fall colors; how the leaves change from bright green to all shades of yellow
and orange, and to finally fall to the ground. This is amazing to me.

3. In his daze of anger, Baldwin wandered the streets hypnotized by pain; looking for a way out, and a way
to teach all white people the hatred they blindly gave to him.

Check your progress 15

1. Comma splice (the comma should be replaced with a semi-colon, or a conjunction should be added.
2. Fused run-on
3. Comma splice (the comma should be replaced with a semi-colon).
4. Correct
5. Comma splice
6. Comma splice (the conjunction ‘and’ is used without a comma)
7. The conjunction ‘or’ and ‘but’ has been used without a comma)
8. Comma splice (the comma should be replaced with a semi-colon, or a conjunction should be added.
9. Fused run-on (the semi-colon should be put before ‘so’).
10. Correct

Check your progress 16

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 Communicative Skills II
1. One kind of verbal, an infinitive, often follows to (to break). A true verb in a sentence stands without to.
2. A verbal ending in-ing is one word. When a true verb ends in -ing, it always follows a word or words that
count as part of the verb (was laughing, having been winning).

Check your progress 18

2. We cannot divide it into two clauses, so it is a simple sentence.

3. We cannot divide it into two clauses, so it is a simple sentence.
4. It is a compound sentence.
a. The ship was wrecked
b. The crew was saved.
5. It is a compound sentence.
a. He received the message.
b. He sent the message at once.
6. We cannot divide it into two clauses, so it is a simple sentence.
7. It is a compound sentence.
a. Give me the book.
b. I will read the book.
8. We cannot divide it into two clauses, so it is a simple sentence.
9. It is a compound sentence.
a. The lion was wounded.
b. The lion was killed.
10. It is a compound sentence.
a. He has finished his exercise.
b. He has put his book away after he has finished his exercise.
Check your progress 20
A.
1. C
2. C
3. X
4. C
5. C
6. C
7. C
8. C
Check your progress 21
2. Main clause – He saved himself from the car accident.
Subordinate clause – Except that he hurt his hand
3. Main clause – He asked
Subordinate clause – Why I came
4. Main clause – I do not know
Subordinate clause – When I shall return
5. Main clause – Tell me
Subordinate clause – What do you mean by this
6. Main clause – Everything comes
Subordinate clause – If a man only works hard and waits.
Check your progress 23
A. 1. Complex
2. Complex

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 Communicative Skills II
3. Complex
4. Compound complex
5. Complex
B. 1. A
2. B
3. B
4. A
5. B
Check your progress 25
1. He is going to USA tomorrow.
2. She has a good score in English.
3. The earth goes round the moon.
Check your progress 26
1. Boil the water.
2. Close the window.
3. Eat the biscuits.
Check your progress 27
1. What a cruel man he is!
2. How beautiful she is!
3. How dirty the room is!
Check your progress 28
A.
1. The sentence is “Declarative”, the punctuation is “.”
2. The sentence is “Exclamatory”, the punctuation is “!”
3. The sentence is “Interrogative”, the punctuation is “?”
4. The sentence is “Imperative”, the punctuation is “.”
5. The sentence is “Imperative”, the punctuation is “.”
6. The sentence is “Exclamatory”, the punctuation is “!”
7. The sentence is “Declarative”, the punctuation is “.”
8. The sentence is “Declarative”, the punctuation is “.”
9. The sentence is “Exclamatory”, the punctuation is “!”
B. ‘you’ is the subject of all the sentences.
Check your progress 29
1. Comma splice
McDonald's 12,418th outlet opened in 1991; even Moscow and
Beijing have not escaped. Or
McDonald's 12,418th outlet opened in 1991, and even Moscow and
Beijing have not escaped.
2. Comma splice
Recently scientists have made some discoveries; they have prolonged the life of some species. Or
Recently scientists have made some discoveries, and they have prolonged the life of some species. Or
Recently scientists have made some discoveries. They have prolonged the life of some species.
3. Run-on
This is caused by cross-links between peptides and hydrogen atoms. Furthermore due to organic chemical
reactions free radicals are formed.
4. Run-on
Often it is the culmination of cerebrovascular disease of many years’ standing in this situation. A history of
longstanding hypertension was a disease which contributed to the patient's Cerebral Vascular Accident. Or

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 Communicative Skills II
Often it is the culmination of cerebrovascular disease of many years’ standing in this situation; a history of
longstanding hypertension was a disease which contributed to the patient's Cerebral Vascular Accident. Or
Often it is the culmination of cerebrovascular disease of many years’ standing in this situation, and a history
of longstanding hypertension was a disease which contributed to the patient's Cerebral Vascular Accident.
5. Comma splice
There are many deficits of a CVA. The deficits I will be focusing on are Expressive and Receptive Aphasia,
as well as Hemiplegia, which are physical deficits that the patient has received as a result of a thrombotic
Cerebral Vascular Accident. Or
There are many deficits of a CVA; the deficits I will be focusing on are Expressive and Receptive Aphasia,
as well as Hemiplegia, which are physical deficits that the patient has received as a result of a thrombotic
Cerebral Vascular Accident. Or
There are many deficits of a CVA, and the deficits I will be focusing on are Expressive and Receptive
Aphasia, as well as Hemiplegia, which are physical deficits that the patient has received as a result of a
thrombotic Cerebral Vascular Accident.
6. Run-on

However, the future is bright. Most children in Australia today are exposed to cultural difference from an
early age. Or
However, the future is bright; most children in Australia today are exposed to cultural difference from an
early age. Or
However, the future is bright, and most children in Australia today are exposed to cultural difference from
an early age.
7. Comma splice
It is the interpretation by the author of his or her imagination that we see in print; whether this is the truth or
a deception is left to our interpretation.
8. Run-on
Australia was then seen to be highly successful and diligent in economic growth. This could have been a
contribution from the high levels of immigration into the nation. Or
Australia was then seen to be highly successful and diligent in economic growth; this could have been a
contribution from the high levels of immigration into the nation.
Australia was then seen to be highly successful and diligent in economic growth, and this could have been a
contribution from the high levels of immigration into the nation. Or
9. Comma splice
The financial analysts denounced the oversubscription of Qantas shares to international investors;
nonetheless they avoided reporting the criterion, displaying their control and the ruling power of the media.
10. Run-on
Major risk factors such as high blood cholesterol, obesity, diabetes, lack of exercise, stress, smoking and
alcohol and high blood pressure may be controlled by changing our dietary and exercise habits and even our
personality traits (Eysenck 1989). However it is
not easy.
Check your progress 30
1. People may not find changing culture easy as they will more than likely have to change a lifetime of
eating habits. So too may the person who is tackling obesity.
2. Some more discoveries on the free radical theory defenses against oxidation and damage. Finally, it
affects the environment and the body and aging.
3. She is excluded from conversation, as she is not able to speak on the phone to her sons, or to answer
questions asked by doctors and nursing staff.
4. An overuse of descriptive words to give the impression of power is like a simple cup of tea and the ability
of a "morsel of cake" to revive and regenerate a weary body.

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5. Nurses must try to relieve their embarrassment. This could be tackled by giving them support by assuring
them that there is nothing wrong with their intelligence.
6. On examination, the term multiculturalism, along with the history and formation of Australia's
multicultural policy was asked.
7. There are a number of diseases that the students need to know in their study. One of the major diseases
that the students focus on is a life threatening disease, acute pancreatitis wherein multiple organs are
affected.
8. Also the effective manager has certain personal qualities, ability to work well under stress, being able to
have and recognise new ideas, responses and approaches are the most important ones.
9. Going as far as saying that the lack of tolerance and understanding of the diverse cultures throughout
Australia weakens social cohesion is completely wrong.
10. Characters would be given a different interpretation, depending on how deeply a reader wants to analyse
the use of language.
Check your progress 31
1. Dying with dignity could be seen as a respected right, giving back self-esteem to the aged, when people
empowered with control over their own destiny and allowed the freedom to choose.

2. If the written material is portrayed skillfully, the reader is held in suspense waiting for what will happen
next.
3. Career choices were limited for girls after they leave school.
4. Information about the car is being processed in parallel by only looking at a car.
5. The findings on second grade children showed that body build preferences and character influenced
attraction ratings, and that character had the strongest effect.
6. Since Australia consists of a multicultural society, the Australian calendar is peppered with ethnic
festivals.
7. The accident occurred whilst driving the car and listening to the radio, an accident witnessed then
focus is given to the feature of the accident.
8. If a patient does not know what to expect and lacks ability to cope with a particular situation, stress may
affect the patient.
9. The gap between cultures must be bridged by the health professional in order to be effective in providing
the best treatment.
10. L. acidophilus, the experiment that has been designed to test the effects of pH as a preservative factor for
the survival and control of the organism, was identified as a relevant spoiling agent.

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Unit 3: A PARAGRAPH
3.0. Objectives
3.1. Introduction
3.2. What is a paragraph
3.3. Parts of a paragraph
3.4. Elements of an effective paragraph
3.5. Types of paragraph
3.6. The writing stage of a paragraph
3.7. Paragraph development through cause- effect
3.8. Arranging paragraphs into an essay
3.9. Paragraph unity and continuity
3.10. Let us sum up

3.0. Objectives

Dear Distance Learners, Upon successful completion of this section, you will be able to:
 define a paragraph;
 identify the different types of a paragraph
 write a meaningful collection of sentences; and
 explain why some groups of sentences do not make a paragraph.

3.1. Introduction

Dear Distance Learners, The purpose of this unit is to give some basic instruction and advice regarding the
creation of understandable and coherent paragraphs. This unit also deals with the definition of a paragraph.
Like most definitions, the definition of an ideal paragraph has some expressions. There would be other
definitions as well. It does not mean that others are wrong, and this one is correct. They may also be correct
if they serve the function of a paragraph.Thus, based on your understanding, try to define a paragraph and
check the appropriateness of your definition with the discussions made in this section. Please do not try to
see the definitions before you attempt to define it by yourself.

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3.2. W hat is a paragraph?

A paragraph is a series of sentences that develop a single idea or topic. You can write a paragraph for any of
several purposes and through various methods (the methods that we discussed in the previous units), but all
paragraphs have one thing in common: each sentence in a paragraph relates to the same topic. A group of
unrelated sentences is not a paragraph.
When do we say any group of sentences is not a paragraph?
______________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

3.3. Parts of a Paragraph

Like the essay as a whole, each paragraph has a three-part structure. The first sentence of a paragraph is its
introduction, the bulk of the sentence is its body, and the final sentence is the conclusion.
Paragraph Focus

Before getting into the structure, it is important to realize that paragraphs aren't simply a way of dividing a
long piece of writing into manageable chunks (though they do that, too). Paragraphs give the whole essay its
structure by organizing the information in a logical manner. To help do this, each paragraph focuses on one
topic or idea. Occasionally, related ideas may be grouped into a single paragraph if they each take only a
sentence or two to explain. In general, though, one idea/topic = one paragraph.

For example, in my hypothetical essay on the symbolism of The Tempest, I wanted to look at three
examples: Ariel, Caliban and Prospero's magic books. Each of these three would be discussed in a separate
paragraph, so the structure of the essay's body might look like this in diagram form:

 Paragraph 1: Ariel as symbolic of the angelic aspects of Prospero's magic

 Paragraph 2: Caliban as symbolic of the demonic aspects of Prospero's magic
 Paragraph 3: the books as symbolic of Prospero's magic as a whole

Each of these idea/paragraphs is then arranged relative to each other so they occur in a logical order. As
discussed in Part 5, the order of paragraphs/ideas follows the order you mentioned them in your thesis
statement. (Careful readers may have noticed that the order above does not match the order I used in
examples in Parts 3 and 4 of this guide; this was deliberate and you'll see why in Part 9.) Occasionally, a
single idea may need more than one paragraph to explain. Try to avoid this by making your descriptions and
explanations concise and exact. If you need to carry an idea over into another paragraph (if, for example, the
paragraph is longer than one typed, double-spaced page), make sure to divide the information at a logical
point, and give each of the paragraphs the complete three-part structure.

3.3.1. A topic sentence

What is the topic sentence?

The topic sentence is the first sentence in a paragraph.

What does it do?

It introduces the main idea of the paragraph.

How do I write one?

Summarize the main idea of your paragraph. Indicate to the reader what your paragraph will be about.

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Example:

There are three reasons why Canada is one of the best countries in the world. First, Canada has an
excellent health care system. All Canadians have access to medical services at a reasonable price. Second,
Canada has a high standard of education. Students are taught by well-trained teachers and are encouraged to
continue studying at university. Finally, Canada's cities are clean and efficiently managed. Canadian cities
have many parks and lots of space for people to live. As a result, Canada is a desirable place to
live.Therefore, the introduction of an essay introduces and outlines the topic of the whole essay, the
introductory sentence (or topic sentence) of a paragraph introduces the topic of the paragraph. It can be a
simple statement, like this: "The fairy Ariel is one of the central symbolic images of The Tempest." That's all
you'd need. The reasons why Ariel is a central symbolic image are then covered in the body of the
paragraph. The introductory sentence may also contain a transition from the previous paragraph--see
"Transitions," below, for more about that.

3.3.2. The supporting sentences

The supporting sentences explain or develop what is sated in the topic sentence. Each supporting sentence
should provide information that is related to the main idea.

The part of the paragraph that is not introduction or conclusion contains the bulk of your information--this is
the meat of the essay (where, for example, you would explain why Ariel is a central symbolic image in The
Tempest). Make each paragraph as long or as short as you need to present all the necessary information. In
"Paragraph Focus," above, I mentioned breaking up paragraphs longer than one typed, double-spaced page.
This is only a guideline, so don't feel you must break up long paragraphs. Sometimes, an idea simply needs
more room to explore, but can't be divided into smaller parts. If that is the case, leave the paragraph long.
Other times, you may read over a long paragraph and find a natural break where you can divide it into two
separate parts. If you find this, then go ahead and divide. It's usually a good idea to see how the information
arranges itself naturally before imposing too strict a structure on it. But, just as the essay is arranged with
paragraphs in some sort of logical order or progression, so should a paragraph be arranged with sentences in
a logical order or progression.

Body or support paragraphs should specifically support the thesis or main point of the paper.  Support
paragraphs should not vaguely or loosely discuss the topic of the paper.  Each body paragraph should be
unified, meaning that nothing in the paragraph strays off the main point of the paragraph.

Good body paragraphs contain:

  A Topic Sentence.

 Discussion, Support, or Elaboration of the Point Made in the Topic Sentence.

 Concrete Examples, Statistics, or Facts.
 A Concluding Sentence which Restates the Main Point of the Paragraph.

Topic Sentence.
A topic sentence in a body or support paragraph should:

1.  Clearly state the topic of the paragraph.

2.  Clearly link the topic of the paragraph back to the thesis statement.
3.  Make a smooth transition between the previous paragraph and the present paragraph.

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  Discussion, Support, or Elaboration of the Point Made in the Topic Sentence.
Some of the weakness found in English 101 and English 102 papers occur in the development of body or
support paragraphs.  Usually students do not explain or discuss their topic sentence in enough detail within a
body paragraph for the reader to really understand the significance of the issue.  Discussion and explanation
are crucial to a well-developed body paragraph.

Concrete Examples, Statistics, or Facts.

Good writers always include concrete evidence to support the topic sentence and the explanation and
development.  They follow any generalization with a concrete, specific example.
 A Concluding Sentence Which Restates the Main Point of the Paragraph.
It is very easy to concentrate on a topic in a paragraph, and a concluding statement which restates the topic
or point of the paragraph and this keeps the reader focused on your argument or discussion.

3.3.3. A concluding sentence

A concluding sentence we usually summarize the supporting sentences, states a conclusion related to the
main idea, or otherwise brings the paragraph to a close. In some paragraphs a concluding sentence is not
needed.In other words, concluding the Paragraph like the conclusion sums up the essay, so the concluding sentence of a
paragraph sums up the paragraph. Use this sentence to summarize the information in the paragraph (but don't simply restate the
introductory sentence), or to tie together the information provided so far. Suppose I'd written a paragraph describing the imagery
associated with Caliban in The Tempest. I might write a concluding sentence like this: "With all the earthy, animalistic, brutal
images I've described above, it's easy to see Caliban as a demonic figure, especially when compared to Ariel's beautiful, airy,
angelic characteristics."

The concluding sentence may also contain a transition to the next paragraph; for more on that, see
"Transitions," below.

Example 1:

Study the following paragraph.

My father was a master storyteller. He could tell a fine old story that made me hold my sides with
rolling laughter and sent happy tears down my cheeks. He could tell a story of stark reality that made
me shiver and be grateful for my own warm, secure surroundings. He could tell stories at beauty and
grace, stories of gentle dreams, and paint them as vividly as any picture with splashes of character and
dialogue. Is memory detailed every event of ten or forty years or more before, just as if it had happed
yesterday.This is a well-organized, well-written paragraph. In the first sentence, the writer states, “My
father was a master story teller”. In the remaining sentences, Samra, the writer, support that idea, by
describing the major stories that her father told.

3.4. Elements of an effective paragraph

A paragraph is a collection of related sentences dealing with a single topic. To be as effective as possible, a
paragraph should contain each of the following: Unity, Coherence, A Topic Sentence, and Adequate
Development. As you will see, all of these traits overlap. Using and adapting them to your individual
purposes will help you construct effective paragraphs.

- A paragraph is a group of sentences dealing with a single topic.

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 Communicative Skills II
- The topic sentence of a paragraph is a general statement of what the paragraph
will be about.
- All of the sentences in a paragraph develop the topic sentence, relate logically
to each other and give details.
- Paragraphs can be developed with sensory details, facts, examples and
incidents.
- All paragraphs should be based on the basis of the three main principles:
Unity, coherence and completeness.

1. Unity:

The entire paragraph should concern itself with a single focus. If it begins with a one focus or major point of
discussion, it should not end with another or wander within different ideas.

Writing unified Paragraphs

Each paragraph should have one main idea. After you have written a paragraph, reread it and ask yourself,
“Do I have only one main idea?” If you have more than one idea, you need more paragraphs.

Usually, the main idea of a paragraph is expressed in the first sentence—the topic sentence. This is the
preferred position because readers expect the main idea to be in the first sentence. You may find, however,
that the topic sentence is the second sentence or even the last sentence in the paragraph.All sentences in a
paragraph must support its main idea in a way that makes the paragraph flow, paragraphs can be developed
with examples, descriptive information, or facts. The methods used to support a main idea should make
readers feel they are one with the writer as they follow the writer’s thoughts.As you write a sentence in a
paragraph, mentally ask yourself, “How am I going to get to the next sentence and connect it with this
sentence? The next paragraph with this paragraph?” this mental exercise will soon become automatic and
make your sentences and paragraphs flow, saving you rewriting time.

2. Coherence:

Coherence is the trait that makes the paragraph easily understandable to a reader. You can help create
coherence in your paragraphs by creating logical bridges and verbal bridges.

logical bridges:

 The same idea of a topic is carried over from sentence to sentence

 Successive sentences can be constructed in parallel form

verbal bridges:

 Key words can be repeated in several sentences

 Synonymous words can be repeated in several sentences
 Pronouns can refer to nouns in previous sentences
 Transition words can be used to link ideas from different sentences

Coherence, meaning, “holding together,” is an essential quality of a good theme because without coherence
no clear communication of thoughts passes from a writer to the reader. The thoughtful writer remembers
that he is attempting to transfer ideas to the reader, to show him or her clearly that the whole theme has

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 Communicative Skills II
made orderly progress form beginning to end. In a coherent theme each sentence must grow out of the
preceding one. A paragraph is coherent, therefore, which its parts have been so carefully woven together
that the reader is never confused about the relationships of ideas.
What is coherency?
Coherence is the logical or sequential arrangements of ideas.
Therefore, a paragraph is coherent when its sentences are related to each other, not only in content but also
in grammatical structures and choice of words.
The techniques of coherence are transitional expressions, pronouns, repetition of key words, and parallel
structures.Transitional expressions- Words or phrases that signal connections among ideas can help you
achieve coherence in your writing. Here are the most commonly used transitional expressions.
Spatial words are those that help the reader follow an extended physical description. Examples include on
the left, on the right, above, below, connected to, father, extending along the perimeter, next, etc.
Time-order words are those that help that reader follow a chronological description.These include first,
second, soon, then, afterwards, later, etc.Transitional devices to accomplish bridging between sentences and
paragraphs are the following: (You should note that this classification is not rigid but merely suggestive to
show some of the kinds of relationships.) Dear Colleague, is the term coherence clear to you now? If it is
clear; well and good. Try to do the exercises in this Section. If it is not clear, start from the very beginning.

Try to Achieve Coherence Through:

a. checking your topic sentence and supporting ideas for orderly arrangement. A series of steps
unrelated or arranged in a puzzling order confuses your reader. Test the arrangement of each
sentence. Does each element lead logically and clearly to the element the follows? Make sure that
you have not only order in the paragraph but that you also reveal this order to the reader.
b. not leaving any missing links in thought. In writing a paragraph, remember that your reader cannot
read your mind. The omission of ideas that are clear to you will leave him/her confused; you must
include ideas.
In addition, you could also attain coherence by the use of transition.
Applied to writing, transition means showing evidence of the links or bridges between related units. This
evidence--- a word, phrase, clause, sentence, or group of sentences—may link parts of a sentence or two
sentences, it may also link paragraphs. When we say that a theme should be coherent, we mean in part that
the sentences should be properly tied together. If the order of the sentences within the paragraph is clear and
fully logical, then the secret of coherence lies in the uses of transitional devices between the sentences.
Organizing sentences to create a Coherent paragraph
Check your progress 2
Rearrange the sentences in each set to create a coherent paragraph. Write the letters of the sentences in their
new order on the lines given. One has been done as an example.
Here are some details about Cocoa farming activities in Ghana. They describe the five important steps from
harvesting the Cocoa pods to delivering the beans for export. But the five steps described here are not in the
correct order. Arrange the steps in the correct order and write the letters of the correct order in the space
provided.The beans are carried back to the village and are spread on wooden racks to dry in the sun.The
sacks are weighed and graded by the Cocoa Marketing Board. The farmer is paid and the cocoa is
transported to a port for export by ship.Ripe cocoa pods are cut down from the tree. The pods are split, and
the soft purple beans are cropped out.When they are dry; the beans are put in sacks, which are collected by
lorry and taken to the local agent for the Cocoa Marketing Board, which is run by the Government.The
beans are wrapped in banana leaves and left for a few days to ferment and turn brown.

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The correct order: c,e,a,d,b

Explanation: - In order to do such kind of activities, you have to use every hint given in the instruction and
in the body as well. Here, in the instruction, the writer tells us that process begins from harvesting the cocoa
pods to delivering the beans for export. For this hint we can understand that the first sentence must be “C”.
Towards, the end of this sentence, we have beans. So the next sentence should tell us about “beans”. Which
one of the sentences begins with the beans? Sentence “e” and “a” talk about “the beans”. From these two,
we have to choose “e”, as sentence “a” talks about the taking of the beans back to the village. After sentence
“e” comes sentence “a”. Towards the end of sentence “a”, we have a phrase “ to dry in the sun”. Therefore,
the next sentence should tell us something about “the drying process of the beans” which one is it? It is “d”.
After sentence “d” comes “b” which is the concluding sentence.
1. a. Second, compare fees for special services, such as stopping cheers.
b. Always compare several banks before you open a checking account.
c. First, find out the monthly fee each bank charges.
d. Next, see if you will be earning interest on your account.
The correct order:
2. a. Early humans imitated these “natural bridges” by chopping down tall trees and placing them
across water.
b. It was built of many logs tied together with ropes.
c. the first bridges were simply trees that had, by chance, fallen across streams.
d. the bridge over the Euphrates River lasted for decades.
e. The first genuine bridge was laid across the Euphrates River at Babylon
about 700 B.C
The correct order:
3. a. The flods were welcomed by the people.
b. This allowed the people to produce good harvest year after year.
c. The Nile has always been an important provider for the people of Egypt
d. Each year the river floods the land along its banks.
e. When the floods went down, the left behind a fresh covering of fertile soil.
f. It has been a reliable source of water and a convenient means of travel for thousand of years.
The correct orders is :
4. a. Eventually, with the discovery of their role in the spread of malaria and yellow fever, has
become a major focus of scientific study.
b. Many years ago mosquitoes were regarded as insects with a nasty bite but of no more
significance.
c. As a result, yellow fever has been eradicated and it is no longer a threat to human life.
d. Because of this, they were given very little attention by scientists and no attempt was made to
control them.
The correct order is :
5. a. Others perhaps in greater number than the unqualified, are indifferent and make an effort to
remain in training; they entered on their supervisor’s urging, and they leave gladly.
b. Some trainees, in spite of having qualification for admission, simply do not have the native
aptitude for doing the course work.
c. Trainees drop out, willingly or unwillingly, for a number of reasons.
d. By far the greatest group to leave are reasonably well qualified and interested
in improving themselves, but they have never learned to study efficiently or used their
intelligence to the full, and they are dropped before they do learn.
e .Still others are unable to meet the demands for out of class study and practice.

The correct order:

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3. A topic sentence:

A topic sentence is a sentence that indicates in a general way what idea or thesis the paragraph is going to
deal with.

4. Adequate development

The topic (which is introduced by the topic sentence) should be discussed fully and adequately.

Some methods to make sure your paragraph is well-developed:

 Use examples and illustrations

 Cite data (facts, statistics, evidence, details, and others)
 Examine testimony (what other people say such as quotes and paraphrases)
 Use an anecdote or story
 Define terms in the paragraph
 Compare and contrast
 Evaluate causes and reasons
 Examine effects and consequences
 Analyze the topic
 Describe the topic
 Offer a chronology of an event (time segments)

5. Paragraphing (length consistency)

Paragraphs are units of thought with one idea developed adequately. Listed here are some rules of thumb to
use when paragraphing. As your writing improves, you'll be able to break these "rules" to meet your own
needs. Until then, these suggestions can be helpful:

 Put only one main idea per paragraph.

 Aim for three to five or more sentences per paragraph.
 Include on each page about two handwritten or three typed paragraphs.
 Make your paragraphs proportional to your paper. Since paragraphs do less work in short papers,
have short paragraphs for short papers and longer paragraphs for longer papers.
 If you have a few very short paragraphs, think about whether they are really parts of a larger
paragraph--and can be combined--or whether you can add details to support each point and thus
make each into a more fully developed paragraph.

  6. Transitional Devices (Connecting Words)

Transitional devices are like bridges between parts of your paper. They are cues that help the reader to
interpret ideas in the way that you, as a writer, want them to understand. Transitional devices help you carry
over a thought from one sentence to another, from one idea to another, or from one paragraph to another
with words or phrases. And finally, transitional devices link your sentences and paragraphs together
smoothly so that there are no abrupt jumps or breaks between ideas. There are several types of transitional
devices, and each category leads your reader to make certain connections or assumptions about the areas
you are connecting. Some lead your reader forward and imply the "building" of an idea or thought, while
others make your reader compare ideas or draw conclusions from the preceding thoughts.Here is a list of
some common transitional devices that can be used to cue your reader in a given way.

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 Communicative Skills II
To Add:

and, again, and then, besides, equally important, further, furthermore, nor, too, also, next, what's more,
moreover, in addition, first (second, etc.),

To Compare:

whereas, but, yet, on the other hand, however, nevertheless, on the other hand, on the contrary, by
comparison, where, compared to, up against, balanced against, vis a vis, but, although, conversely,
meanwhile, after all, in contrast, although this may be true

To Prove:

because, for, since, for the same reason, obviously, evidently, furthermore, moreover, besides, indeed, in
fact, in addition, in any case, that is

To Show Exception:

yet, still, however, nevertheless, in spite of, despite, of course, once in a while, sometimes

To Show Time:

immediately, thereafter, soon, after a few hours, finally, then, later, previously, formerly, first (second, etc.),
next, and then

To Repeat:

in brief, as I have said, as I have noted, as has been noted,

To Emphasize:

definitely, extremely, obviously, in fact, indeed, in any case, absolutely, positively, naturally, surprisingly,
always, forever, perennially, eternally, never, emphatically, unquestionably, without a doubt, certainly,
undeniably, without reservation

To Show Sequence:

first, second, third, and so forth. A, B, C, and so forth. next, then, following this, at this time, now, at this
point, after, afterward, subsequently, consequently, previously, before this, simultaneously, concurrently,
thus, therefore, hence, next, and then, soon

To Give an Example:

for example, for instance, in this case, in another case, on this occasion, in this situation, take the case of, to
demonstrate, to illustrate, as an illustration

To Summarize or Conclude:

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 Communicative Skills II
In brief, on the whole, summing up, to conclude, in conclusion, as I have shown, as I have said, hence,
therefore, accordingly, thus, as a result, consequently, on the whole.

There are a number of devices that help us to put ideas together.

1. A primary device used to give cohesiveness to a paragraph involves Grammar. Determine

what the device is and then underscore each instance of its use. (Remember that we are not concerned
there with the construction of individual sentences but with the relationships between and among
sentences.)
Society is commonly too cheap. We meet at very short intervals not having had time to acquire any new
value for each other, We meet at meals three times a day, and give each other a new taste of that old
murky cheese that we have had to agree on a certain set of rules called etiquette and politeness, to make
such frequent meetings tolerable and that we need not come to open war. We meet at the post office, and
take care not to stumble over one another, and I think that we thus lose some respect for one another.
The device is ?
What has been repeated ?
This paragraph shows why society is commonly too cheap.” We see each other too much and at short
intervals. A series of examples and explanations follows.
In the above paragraph, the device used to give coherence is pronoun. The following pronouns were used:
we, we, we, and it.

2. Below is illustrated a second device which gives coherence to writing. It is not so

mechanical as a series of consecutive numbers 1,2,3; etc. yet carries with it something of the same logical
effect. Identify the device and underscore each instance of its use.
English is only one of some three thousand languages, which are spoken today. They differ greatly from on
another, and these very differences, great as they are, are merely differences in detail – the kind of sounds
used and the ways of putting the sounds together. For in their broad outlines and basic principles; they have
a great deal in common. Therefore it is possible to make observations about languages in general which
will give us a better understanding of our own tongue. In short, to study languages is to learn English.
The device is ?
What has been repeated ?
The device is using transitional ideas or connectives.
The connectives (transitions) are: yet, for, therefore and in short.
This kind of coherence can also be achieved using pronouns, connectives or repetition.
a. Using pronoun
Example: The man to get to know is Abrahm Woldu, who knows more about this school than anyone else.
He is the unofficial historian of the place.
b. Using connectives
Example: This poem, whch Tsegay G/Medhin wrote when he was just beginning to be interested in poetry,
is not one for which he is remembered. No one reads it today.
3. Another device for giving coherence to writing is illustrated in the following paragraph.
Name it and underline each instance of its use.
Type is to the printer what soil is to the farmer the foundation from which every process starts. Type has
an elemental quality. It is primal and fundamental, printing is the bringing together of type ink, and paper,
in order to transmit thought at a distance in time or space. The ink and the paper are mere tools; type is the
essence of printing itself.
The device is
What has been repeated?

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7. Definition Paragraph

When writing a definition paragraph, you take a thing or an idea and explain what it is.

Example: Write a paragraph giving the definition of a pest.

The following words can help you to write a good definition paragraph:

1. "is defined as"

Example: A pest is defined as any animal or plant that damages crops, forests, or property.

2. "is a kind of"

Example: A pest is a kind of animal or plant that damages crops, forests, or property.

3.5.7. Description Paragraph

In a description paragraph, you are writing about what a person, place, or thing is like. Sometimes, you may
describe where a place is located.
Examples: Write a paragraph describing what a polar bear looks like.
Describe where Canada's industry is located.

8. The writing stages of a paragraph

Three Writing Steps:

1. The Prewriting Stage

what is the prewriting stage?

The prewriting stage is when you think carefully and organize your ideas for your paragraph before you
begin writing.

Six Prewriting Steps:

1. Think carefully about what you are going to write. Ask yourself: What question am I going to answer
in this paragraph or essay? How can I best answer this question? What is the most important part of my
answer? How can I make an introductory sentence (or thesis statement) from the most important part of my
answer? What facts or ideas can I use to support my introductory sentence? How can I make this paragraph
or essay interesting? Do I need more facts on this topic? Where can I find more facts on this topic?

2. Open your notebook. Write out your answers to the above questions. You do not need to spend a lot of
time doing this; just write enough to help you remember why and how you are going to write your
paragraph or essay.

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3. Collect facts related to your paragraph or essay topic. Look for and write down facts that will help
you to answer your question. Timesaving hint: make sure the facts you are writing are related to the exact
question you are going to answer in your paragraph or essay.

4. Write down your own ideas. Ask yourself: What else do I want to say about this topic? Why should
people be interested in this topic? Why is this topic important?

5. Find the main idea of your paragraph or essay. Choose the most important point you are going to
present. If you cannot decide which point is the most important, just choose one point and stick to it
throughout your paragraph or essay.

6. Organize your facts and ideas in a way that develops your main idea. Once you have chosen the most
important point of your paragraph or essay, you must find the best way to tell your reader about it. Look at
the facts you have written. Look at your own ideas on the topic. Decide which facts and ideas will best
support the main idea of your paragraph. Once you have chosen the facts and ideas you plan to use, ask
yourself which order to put them in the paragraph. Write down your own note set that you can use to guide
yourself as you write your paragraph or essay.

2. The writing stage

The writing stage is when you turn your ideas into sentences.

1. Open your notebook.

2. Write the topic sentence, supporting sentences, and closing sentence.
3. Write clear and simple sentences to express your meaning.
4. Focus on the main idea of your paragraph.
5. Use the dictionary to help you find additional words to express your ideas.
The Editing stage
What is the editing stage?
The editing stage is when you check your paragraph for mistakes and correct them.

Grammar and Spelling

1. Check your spelling.

2. Check your grammar.
3. Read your essay again.
4. Make sure each sentence has a subject.
5. See if your subjects and verbs agree with each other.
6. Check the verb tenses of each sentence.
7. Make sure that each sentence makes sense.

Style and Organization

1. Make sure your paragraph has a topic sentence.

2. Make sure your supporting sentences focus on the main idea.
3. Make sure you have a closing sentence.
4. Check that all your sentences focus on the main idea.
5. See if your paragraph is interesting.

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Check your progress 3

The part of the sentences below has been mixed up. Join the 6 parts on the left with the correct parts from
the 9 on the right.

1. There is acid in that bottle; a. the road was icy.

2. The effect of the fluctuation in temperature… b. he was unsuccessful.
3. Bad labor relation caused…. c. prolonged illness
4. The accident occurred because …. d. it must be handled very carefully
5. He passed his examination because….. e. careful storage.
6. Delayed treatment often results in….. f. the muddy road conditions.
g. the strike
h. he worked hard.
i. was to kill the laboratory specimens

Check your progress 4

Read each pair of sentences. Determine which the cause is and which the effect is. Label them C (cause) and
E (effect). Then write a combined sentence using because, since, or there fore.
1. Ayele got up late.
He missed his bus.
_______________________________________________
2. He was hungry.
He stopped at me for break fast.
_____________________________________________

3. He’ll get fat.

He always eats junk food.
4. It’s easy for him to gain weight.
He likes to eat.
_____________________________________________
5. There are always new foods to try.
Eating has become an enjoyable hobby for him.

6. The fast-food chains like McDonald’s and Pizzeria are doing a booming business.
Many people eat several meals a week at those two places.
_______________________________________________
7. We often grab any food in easy reach.
We are always in a hurry.
_______________________________________________
8. The fast food restaurants prepare so much food so quickly.
Sometimes there are problems with the cleanliness of the food.
_______________________________________________
9. One consumer was astonished.
The consumer found a dead cockroach in his bottle of coke.
_______________________________________________________

Check your progress 5

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 Communicative Skills II

In the space provided below, list topics that might call for a cause paragraph. Then list the
causes you would include if you were developing this topic into a cause paragraph.
Remember that when you list a cause you are answering the question, what is the cause
of my topic?

Example:

Topic: The good performance of our women national team.

Cause: Interest and commitment of the players.
(1) Your topic: __________________________________________
Cause(s):___________________________________________
(2) Your topic: __________________________________________
Cause (s): ___________________________________________
(3) Your topic: __________________________________________
Cause (s): ___________________________________________
(4) Your topic:__________________________________________
Cause (s): ___________________________________________

Check your progress 6

Planning for the Effect Paragraph

In the space provided below, list topics that might call for an effect Paragraph. Then list
the effects you would write about if you were developing these topics nto paragraphs.
Remember that in giving an effect, you are answering the question: What is the effect or
result of my topic statement? What will or could happen because of it?
Example:
Topic: the good performance of our woman national team.
Effect: Two consecutive victories.
(1) Your topic ___________________________________
Effect(s) _____________________________________
(2) Your topic ____________________________________
Effect (s) ______________________________________
(3) Your topic _____________________________________
Effects(s) ______________________________________
(4) Your topic _____________________________________
Effect(s) _______________________________________

Check your progress 7

A.

In the sentences below, write the appropriate cause-effect connector

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 Communicative Skills II

in the blanks.

1. Some students fail in college ____________________________ their

academic back-ground is weak.
2. For example, one student might not have had an adequate mathematics course;
_______________________________ he fails his university maths class.
3. another student may not attend classes regularly ______________he has
never learned the importance of attendance. _____________________ he may
not be able to pass the test in class ________________ he does not know the
answers.
4. ________________________________ financial problems, other students
may fail university classes. For example, students who have to take jobs don’t
have as much time to study.
5. Finally, there are students who fail
___________________________ their energies are not directed
toward their classes.

B.
1. Look at the sentences below. They form a logical paragraph. The sentences are in the wrong
order. Can you rearrange the paragraph and put the sentences in the correct order and show by
writing the letters in the space provided. Then give the paragraph a title and write the sequence
markers.
A) This is because insects as we know them adapt more easily than any other form of life to such
extremes as are found on that planet.
B) Furthermore the small amount of oxygen and moisture on mars would support the more complex
forms of animal life.
C) Animal life on Mars, if it exists at all, probably exists in insect form.
D) We find them in deserts and on high plateaus, in warm and in cold climates.
E) It is likely, however, that the small gravitational pull of the planet would permit the existence of
insects much larger than those we have on earth.

Order ………………………………………………………………..
Title…………………………………………………………………
Sequence Markers ………………………………………………….

2. The sentences in the following two paragraphs are not arranged correctly. Reorder them, logically and
show the correct arrangement using the letters. Also list the sequence markers in your exercise book and
write their titles.
a) Others write in their revisions between the lines, in the margins, or in the blank spaces at the
top or bottom of the page.
b) Different writers use different methods when they revise their work.
c) And yet others staple their insertions to the sheets containing their carlier
versions.
d) Some careful writers retype their work completely every time they revise it.
e) Going even further, others are out-and paste experts; they physically cut out unwanted material
and paste in little pieces of paper with new material
Order ……………………………………………………………..
Title ………………………………………………………………

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 Communicative Skills II
Sequence Markers ………………………………………………
3. a) Perhaps someday he will have an electronic device that automatically types out
what he says, when he says it.
b) Today man may write with a regular pencil, a mechanical pencil, a fountain pen,
a ball point pen, or a typewriter.
c) Throughout history man has used a wide variety of instruments for writing.
d) Medieval Monks often employed a quill to draw inked lines on parchment, a
Specially processed leather made from sheepskin.
e) Some ancient peoples used a snarp pointed stylus to cut lines on layers of wet
Clay, which later dried into bricklike tablets.
Order ………………………………………………………..
Title …………………………………………………………
Sequence Markers …………………………………………..
………………………………………

9. Arranging Paragraphs into an Essay

An important part of writing good paragraphs within an essay is knowing how to divide your
essay into separate paragraphs. A paragraph should be frequently centered around one main idea.

3.8.1. Sentence linking activities

Our goal through this type of activity is to begin to familiarize you with the cohesive
devices which are used in composing a text. You can then begin to combine
structures which they have learned orally to form an acceptable sequence in writing.
For this purpose, it will be necessary to introduce a selected number of linking
devices and to practice these through writing. A basic kit at this stage might consist of
the following:

Co-ordinators and, but, or, so

Conjunctions although, when, until, so that (etc.)
Sequencers then, after that, meanwhile, first, next, finally
Linkers moreover, however, therefore, as a result, in fact, of course,
on the other hand, etc.

complete a short text, using suitable linking words or phrases from a given list.
For example:
Complete the letter below. Use suitable words or phrases from this box:
Although and by the way so that
Also because however that
And but so that

North Road
Bloxiey
October 7 19..
Dear tom,
I am sending you my new address, …
you can write to me. Of course I…
kope.. you will come…. Stay with us
soon.

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 Communicative Skills II
I like our new house, .. it is very
noisy…it is near a main roud. .., my
bedroom is at the back of the house,
… I don’t hear any noise at night ….
My sisters room is at the front ….. she
seuds you her best wishes write soon.
I am. Looking forward to hearing
from you. All the best.
Yours.
Alan

Writing short reports

The students may also be given a guided introduction to writing reports. For this, guidance should focus
chiefly on the organization and orderly presentation of ideas.
(a) As a preliminary step, the students complete forms similar to this one.

Pen friend Service

A pen friend Reg. Office: 29 Bolsover Street, London W.1.
Agency has sent Please write legibly. Items 1-6 should be completed in capital
You this form. letters.
Complete it with 1. Name
Details about
2. Age
Yourself.

3. Sex
4. Nationality
5. Religion
6. Occupation
7. Education ________________________________________
_________________________________________
8. How long have you been learning English? ______________
______________________________
9. Where did you learn it? ______________________________
______________________________
10. Have you ever visited England?_______________________
______________________________
11 if so, give details __________________________________
__________________________________
12 Brief statement of interests and hobbies _______________
___________________________________
13. Reason (s) for wanting a pen friend ___________________

14. Details of types of pen friend required _________________

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 Communicative Skills II

(b) The students are given a model text, together with cues for writing parallel versions.
Read this short report:
Alan is very practical, but he is also rather untidy. For example, he is very good at repairing
things, such as bikes, but he never puts his tools away afterwards.
Now write similar reports, using these adjectives or others of your own choice.
Careless hard working lazy rude
Clever kind nice silly
The students may also be given outlines and asked to write reports on other students in the
class. For example:
…..(NAME) is very…. and as a rule (he) is also…. For example,… On the other hand, (he) can
be… and sometimes ( he is also…….
The information for reports may also be derived from completed forms, similar to the one in (a).
Sentence linking and sequencing activities
It has been suggested that this component of the writing programme should be extended and strengthened by
varying the formats for practice to include formal letters (for this the students must be given appropriate
models) and reports, and by expanding the basic kit of linking devices. This may be done by drawing
systematically on the items in the Appendix. Suggestions for activities are given below.

(a) You complete a short text by using suitable linking words or phrases.

This type of exercise can be used for various purposes. First, to familiarize you with a wider range of
linking devices from the expanded basic kit. After this, you may be asked to select from a list which is more
extensive than the number of items omitted from the text. Finally, you may be asked to supply your own
liking devices. An example from the second stage (i.e. choosing from a more extensive list) is given below.
Check your progress 8
(a) Use suitable linking devices from the box to complete the text below:
Also but incidentally not only
Although but also in particular on the other hand
And for in this way since
And for the moment instead therefore
Because however mean while too
Janet West’s sister is an air hostess for a famous international airline.
… Janet want to become one ……. She is still to young: the minimum age for an air hostess
is twenty …….. Janet is only just over sixteen.
……she has taken a job in an office ….she …attends evening classes … she wants to
improve her French and Spanish…. Foreign languages are an essential qualification for an air
hostess.

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 Communicative Skills II
..Janet is gaining experience through her present job….. the office where she works is a
travel agency …… she is learning how to deal with people…… quite a lot about the places
she one day hopes to visit.
At this stage incomplete texts may also be used to get you consider other semantic links
through grammar and lexis. For example, the first paragraph of the text above might be
presented with the following items omitted.
All the items omitted- airline, one, she , the minimum age, Janet, which would appear as part
of a much longer list, are ones which contribute to the grammatical and lexical cohesion of
the text.
(b) You combine sentences so that you form an acceptable sequence. The linking
devices to be used may either be provided or the students may be asked to supply their own.
Join these sentences in any suitable way so that they form a sequence. Use ‘she’ in place of ‘Janet’ where
appropriate.
1. Janet is gaining experience through here present job.
2. Janet works in a travel agency.
3. Janet is learning how to deal with people.
4. Janet is learning quite a lot about the places she one day hopes to visit.
(c) You rewrite texts within the framework of a related outline.
For example:
Read this text. Then complete the text below so that the same ideas are expressed in a different way:
There are two sides to the work of stuntment. They actually do most of the things you
see on the screen. For example. They jump from high buildings. However. They do
not fall onto hard ground but onto empty cardboard boxes covered with a mattress.
The work of stuntment…. To it . They actually do almost .. which you see them….
Such as… But instead of … they ..onto cardboard boxes which…
CLOSING PARAGRAPHS
Save a clinching statement for you closing paragraph.
Remember that the final position within any structure-sentence, paragraph, or whole essay-is naturally
emphatic. To take advantage of that fact, delays writing your conclusion until you have found materials that
bears reemphasizing or expanding. Look especially for a striking quotation or story that might drive your
point home.
Try recalling your opening paragraph in your closing one.
Look for ways of making your concluding paragraph show some evident, preferably dramatic, relation
to your introductory one. If you already have a sound in the first paragraph and are grouping for a last
one, reread that opener and see whether it contains some hint that you can now develop more amply.
Here, for instance, the concluding paragraph of an essay begins by asking whether Mahatma Gandhi
was nothing more than a fanatic:Gandhi's arguments reveal an underlying shrewdness. Far from
betraying the dogmas of a fanatic, they are at once moral and cunningly practical. His genius, it seems,
consisted in an unparalleled knack for doing right-and, what isn't quite the same, for doing the right
thing. It is hard to come up with another figure in history who so brilliantly combined an instinct for
politics with the marks of what we call, for lack of a better name, holiness.
Note how the writer has put his opening question into storage until it can be answered decisively, with a
pleasing finally, in his closing lines.
Avoid the deadly conclusion.
Readers want to feel, at the end of a piece of writing, which it has truly finished and not just stopped like
some toy soldier that needs rewinding. Further, they like to anticipate the end through a revealing change in
tone or intensity or generality of reference. If you end by sounding bored or distracted or untrustworthy or
even hesitant, you are encouraging your reader to discount everything you have worked so hard to establish.

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 Communicative Skills II
Though you may not always come up with a punchy conclusion, you can avoid certain lame device that
would undermine your reader's confidence. Check your draft endings against these cautions:
1. Do not merely repeat your thesis.
2. Thought you can look beyond your thesis (10k), do not embark on a completely new topic.
3. Do not pretend to have proven more than you have.
4. Do not apologize or bring your thesis into doubt. If you find anything that requires an apology, fix it!
5. Avoid starting your final paragraph with a formulaic phase like In conclusion. Finally fresher way to
signal completion.
Check your progress 9
Read each paragraph. Indicate the sentence that does not belong to the paragraph in the space provided.
1. Marry is one of my classmates. She is from Greece and speaks English. Athens is the capital of
Greece. Marry is short and plump. She smiles a lot and is an excellent student.
Answer: ________________________________________________
2. My mother is a house wife. Every day she cooks breakfast to her family and then goes to work. She
has brown eyes and curly brown hair. She works in her office all morning and then usually has lunch
at home. She works until 5:00 in the afternoon and then comes home. She is happy to be at home at
the end of a busy day.
Answer: __________________________________________________
3. My composition class is in an old building. The classroom walls are white and the desks and chairs
are brown. There are large windows in one wall. The chalkboard is in the front of the room near the
door. My composition class is difficult and I do not like to write compositions. The room is cool in
warm weather and warm in winter. I like my classroom.
Answer: __________________________________________________
4. On weekdays I am unusually busy. I get up at 7:00 in the morning, take a shower, and have
breakfast. Then I brush my teeth. My house has two bathrooms. I spend the morning at the
University. There are 20,000 students at my University. After my last class I go home and have
lunch. I relaxed for an hour and then I do my homework. In the evening I usually study some more
and watch television. I go to bed at 11:30 because I have to getup early the next day.
Answer: _________________________________________________

5. On weekends I enforce both my parents work on Saturday. I go shopping or spend some time at a
friend’s house. Her house has two bedrooms. On Saturday night I go out for a walk or go to a movie.
Sometimes I go out for a dinner. Sometimes I stay home all day Sunday and watch television or
read. Then I am ready to start studying again on Monday. I am a student at a private college.
Answer: ________________________________________________
Check your progress 10
The following are the topic sentences, each accompanied by a set of statements. Some of the statements are
relevant to the topic, one is not, indicated the irrelevant one in the space provided.
1. Given my choice, I would be in the Air Force than any other service branch.
a. I am more interested in flying than in any other military occupation.
b. Opportunities for advancement are greater in the Air Force.
c. Wages in certain brackets of the Air Force are higher than in other branches.
d. The Navy gives travel opportunities.
e. There are many opportunities to travel.
Answer: ___________
2. We owe some of our notations of radar to scientific observation of bats.
a. Scientists noticed that bats rarely collided with anything in their erratic flight.
b. Keen eyesight could not be the reason for their flying the way they do, since bats are blind.

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 Communicative Skills II
c. Women especially are afraid of them, since they have been told that bats are likely to get into their
hair.
d. It was found out bats keep making noises in audible to people and that they hear the echoes of those
noises.
e. This principle that they safely fly was found to be similar to the main principle of radar.
Answer: ________________
3. Radical discrimination has existed in the United States for many years.

a. Discrimination began when the first white settler decided that the Indians were an inferior breed.
b. It was given additional support by the arrival of the first European settlers.
c. Although it is condemned by some, it is supported by many writers.
d. A civil war was fought largely because the spokesman of the North, Abraham Lincoln, believed, that
all men are created equal.
e. It is surprising to see such discrimination in a country, which claims to be the mother and cradle of
democracy.
Answer: ____________
4. In the year following World War II, there was much discussion on the question of lowering the
minimum voting age to eighteen.
a) Among those people who believed that the age limit should be lowered, the favorite statement was:
“If a boy is old enough to die for his country, he’s old enough to vote in it.”
b) The argument has now been settled.
c) At this age, many youngsters can be relatively matured.
d) Those who wanted the age limit to remain at twenty-one thought eighteen- year-olds would be
unduly influenced by dishonesty politicians.
e) These groups of people can be strong and influential partners for the development of a country.
Answer: _____________
Check your progress 11
The topic sentences have been omitted from the paragraphs below. Read each paragraph carefully. Then, try
to discover what questions the specific sentence is answering. Next, in the space provided, write the missing
topic sentences that would connect all of the specific sentences.

1. _____________________________________________________________.
A lucky prisoner might have a room with windows and wooden floor and a small garden outside.
Such a prisoner might also have a bed, stool and some cooking Pots in the room. Most prisoners
slept on blankets or straw on dirt floor in a bare, windowless cell.
Topic sentences: - ________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________________.
Some of the funs said they went to games because the felt it would help their team to win the series.
Others considered going to all games is more exciting than watching them on TV. A few felt that
purchasing tickets to football games would ensure the financial success of the game and, thus, its
continuance. And a very small number explained that going to football games was strictly a social
occasion.
Topic sentences: - _______________________________________________
3.10. Let us sum up
Although each sentence conveys meaning, an essay is not a sequence of sentences but the development of
one central point through a series of steps. Those steps are, or ought to be, paragraphs. And just as
paragraphs work together to develop a thesis, the sentence within an effective paragraph support and extend
one another to develop a single idea. In key respects, then, you can think of a paragraph as a mini-essay.
Like a full essay, atypical paragraph:

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 Communicative Skills II
- presents a main idea that is usually, but not always, stated near the beginning;
- supports or illustrates that idea;
- arranges ideas and supporting material in an orderly pattern; and
- uses logical associations and transitions to link one idea to the next.
All readers sense that a new paragraph signals a shift: a new subject, a new idea, a change in emphasis, a
new speaker, a different time or place, or a change in the level of generality. By observing such natural
breaks and by signaling in one paragraph how it logically follows from the preceding one, you can turn the
paragraph into a powerful means of communication.
Possible answers to check your progress
Check your progress 2
1. The correct order: bcad

2. The correct order: eabcd

3. The correct order is: cfdaeb

4. The correct order is: bdca

5. The correct order: cbaed

Check your progress 3

1. d
2. i
3. g
4. a
5. b
6. c

Check your progress 4

1. Ayele got up late.(C)

He missed his bus. (E)
Ayele got up late; therefore, He missed his bus.
2. He was hungry. (C)
He stopped at me for break fast. (E)
Since he was hungry, he stopped at me for break fast.
3. He’ll get fat. (E)
He always eats junk food. (C)
He’ll get fat because he always eats junk food.
4.It’s easy for him to gain weight. (E)
He likes to eat. (C)
He likes to eat; therefore, it’s easy for him to gain weight.
5. There are always new foods to try. (C)
Eating has become an enjoyable hobby for him. (E)
Since there are always new foods to try, eating has become an enjoyable hobby
for him.
6.The fast-food chains like McDonald’s and Pizzeria are doing a booming business. (C)
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 Communicative Skills II
Many people eat several meals a week at those two places. (E)
The fast-food chains like McDonald’s and Pizzeria are doing a booming business; therefore, many
people eat several meals a week at those two places.
7.We often grab any food in easy reach. (E)
We are always in a hurry. (C)
We are always in a hurry; therefore, we often grab any food in easy reach.
8.The fast food restaurants prepare so much food so quickly. (C)
Sometimes there are problems with the cleanliness of the food. (E)
Since the fast food restaurants prepare so much food so quickly, sometimes
there are problems with the cleanliness of the food
9. One consumer was astonished. (E)
The consumer found a dead cockroach in his bottle of coke. (C)
One consumer was astonished because the consumer found a dead cockroach in his bottle of coke.
Check your progress 5
Example:
Topic: The good performance of our women national team.
Cause: Interest and commitment of the players.
1.Your topic: __________________________________________
The road accident occurs regularly
Cause(s):___________________________________________
There are lots of ups and downs in the road.
Try yourself the rest.
Check your progress 6
Example:
Topic: The good performance of our woman national team.
Effect: Two consecutive victories.
1.Your topic: __________________________________________
The road accident occurs regularly
Effect (s):___________________________________________
People always get injured
Try yourself the rest.

Check your progress 7

A.
1. Some students fail in college ______________because______________ their
academic back-ground is weak.
2. For example, one student might not have had an adequate mathematics course;
_____________therefore__________________ he fails his university math class.
3. Another student may not attend classes regularly ____since__________he has
never learned the importance of attendance. _________As a
result,____________ he may
not be able to pass the test in class ____because____________ he does not
know the answers.
4. ______Because of__________________________ financial problems, other
students may fail university classes. For example, students who have to take jobs
don’t have as much time to study.
5. Finally, there are students who fail
_________because__________________ their energies are not directed

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toward their classes.

B.
1. Order……CAEBD…………………………………………………
Title………The life of insects……………………………………...
Sequence Markers …This is because, however, furthermore………

2. Order ……BDACE………………………………………………….
Title ………………Different methods used by different writers……
Sequence Markers ……And yet, going even further…………………
3. Order …………CEDBA……………………………………
Title ……………Different instruments used by man at different times…
Sequence Markers …Perhaps………………………………………..
Check your progress 8
And, however, but, incidentally, mean while, and, because
And, therefore, and
Check your progress 9
1. Answer: __________ Athens is the capital of Greece._______________
2. Answer: _____________ She has brown eyes and curly brown hair. _______
3. Answer: _________________ My composition class is difficult and I do not like to write
compositions.____________________________
4. Answer: _____________________ My house has two bathrooms. __________
5. Answer: ________________ Her house has two bedrooms. I am a student at a private college.
Check your progress 10
1. e
2. c
3. c
4. e
Check your progress 11
1. Topic sentences: - There are unequal degrees of living in a prison.
2. Topic sentences: - Different views on the excitement gained through football games.
UNIT 4: ESSAY WRITING
4.0. Objectives
4.1. Introduction
4.2. What is an Essay?
4.3. Salient features of the essay
4.4. Types of essay writing
4.5. The pattern of organization or the Techniques of Idea Development
4.6. The process of writing or writing as a process
4.7. Composing Essays
4.8. Qualities of an effective essay
4.9. Let us sum up
4.0. Objectives

At the end of this unit you will be able to:

 define an essay;
 identify the different types of the essay
 write a meaningful collection of sentences; and
Develop a descriptive text
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4.1. Introduction
So far we’ve been re-viewing the fundamentals of effective writing. We’ve progressed from words to
sentences and over to paragraphs. Now it’s time to go further. The next logical step in our development is to
learn how to organize an essay, a lengthier piece of writing which we’re likely to be called on to use time
and again during our academic and business careers.
As soon as we increase the length of a piece of writing we need to have a pattern of organization. Since the
time of Aristotle, for about 2400 years the rule has been that all good writing contains a beginning, a middle
and an end.
4.2. What is an Essay?
An Essay is to be seen as an enlarged paragraph. A convenient way of thinking about an essay is to view it
as a larger version of the paragraph. Just as a paragraph has a topic sentence which states the main idea an
essay needs an introductory paragraph containing a thesis statement. The supporting sentences of the
paragraph expand to the middle or supporting paragraphs of the essay. Finally the concluding sentence of a
paragraph parallels the concluding paragraph of the essay.
Look at the following diagram:
Paragraph ………………………… expands to ……………………. An Essay.
Topic Sentence …………………. Expands to …………..Introductory Paragraph with a thesis statement.
Supporting Sentence …… expands to …………………. Concluding paragraph.
Look at the way a paragraph is developed into an essay. More detail is provided in the essay and more
information is included as each sentence of the paragraph is expanded to a paragraph of its own.
Violence in Television Programming (Paragraph)
Violence in TV Programming is as much as part of television as commercials are. Stories of assault, rape
and murder bring brutality into the living rooms of otherwise peaceful people. What such subject matter
cannot help doing is affect both the attitudes and actions of viewers. Most shocking is the effect of TV
violence on children and emotionally disturbed people, sometimes suggesting simple destructive solutions
for complex problems. Although network executive programmed producers and advertisers determine the
content of television programming, we viewers can and must demonstrate our disapproval of the needless
brutality and gore of television fare.

As you will see, the major differences between the above paragraph and the essay that follows are length
and the extent to which ideas are developed. More details is provided in the essay and more information is
included as each sentence of the paragraph is expanded to a paragraph of its own.
Violence in Television programming (Essay)
Shots are heard, bullets fly and bodies fall as the television drama opens. For the next hour the mortality rate
climes to include more victims variously disposed of knifed, hanged or beaten often for reasons that remain
vague to the audience. So accustomed to such action are viewers that they watch horrors unmoved immune
to the cries of pain and violence issuing from the screen like commercials violence seems to be inherent part
of television.Otherwise peaceful people sit watching unspeakable crimes and atrocities with either great
excitement or passive detachment. Assaul, rape and mutilation are as a commonplace on any evening show
as white lies and fatherly chats were several decades ago.Can such regular television-fare affect our minds
and behavior? Are not the criminals presented as courageous and non-conformists battling authority and the
odds against them? Americans have always championed the underdog from Jesse James to Al Capone. By
romanticizing such figures and giving them a legitimacy and glamour they never possessed in life television
does indeed affect both the attitudes and actions of viewers negatively.The problem increases when one
considers the effect of such violence on the young uninformed or unstable mind. By exposing children or
conditionally disturbed people to violence as a simple solution to alleviate frustrations and complex
problems we offer them no constructive ways of responding. Taking thins over is regarded as weak or
feminine while taking immediate and usually brutal action becomes the measure of a man and his daring

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and courage. Exposed to such programming the innocent or disturbed imitates. These romantic poses of
being lough making their own rules defying the law beating the ‘enemy’ at his own game; in short, being
their own man by settling scores, teal or imagined in the cruel ways glamorized on the screen. Their
problems they conclude can be resolved by ‘blowing away’ the opposition what such programming content
can develop the young or unstable is a new species of moral monster.What can we do about this outpouring
of crime and violence on our most popular medium? Producers and advertisers determine the content of
television programming we viewers can and must demonstrate our individual disapproval of the needless
cruelty and gore of television fare. We can write to network presidents and advertisers or simply refuse to
watch empty sensational dramas. We can argue that since brutality is lonely one aspect of reality, we
viewers deserve a more balanced picture of life. Our children need new hemes besides the gangster and
revived values like love and integrity to replace the gun and the bribe-without falling into the syrupy of
“Father know best.” Finally we are what we choose to view. Our choices shape our character and values.
4.3. Salient Features of the Essay
Just as a paragraph needs to have unity and coherence so does an essay because the possibility of losing the
same increases as we move on from paragraph writing to essay writing.
4.3.1. Unity
To preserve unity in an essay is to make sure that all the paragraphs relate to the thesis statement in the
Introductory paragraph, In Particular the middle or supporting paragraph should either state points of
support for the thesis statement or explain it in greater detail.
In order to check for unity in the essay the writer should ask the following questions:
(i) Does each paragraph state support or provide example for the thesis statement?
(ii) Does any paragraph contain ideas that the thesis statement did not prepare the reader to expect?
Eliminate or alter any paragraph that answers ‘no’ to question (i) and ‘yes’ to question (ii) as a final check
of unity in the essay decides whether or not the concluding paragraph gives a sense of wholeness or
completeness to the essay.
4.3.2. Coherence
The ideal way to preserve coherence in the essay is to stick and blend the paragraphs so that they follow
smoothly and logically after one another. Connect the paragraphs with links that make the relationship
between ideas clear and give the essay the essence of a harmonious whole. The various techniques that help
coherence are:
- repeat major ideas that create links of continuity with earlier paragraphs.
- Be consistent with the use of tenses and pronouns.
- Arrange paragraphs in a sequence that makes the most sense.
- Use transitional words or phrases to connect paragraphs.
Clarity is one of the prime objectives and coherence is vital to clarity.
4.4. Types of Essay Writing
Different types of writing achieve different purposes. The traditional division is:
Narrative, descriptive, argumentative and expository.
4.4.1. Narrative Writing
If the guiding principle of your writing is to tell a story or to tell merely what happened then resort
to narrative writing. It arranges its material in time as in a stage-play of film.
4.4.2. Descriptive Writing
If it is to tell how something looks or to recreate the thing in words then use the descriptive mode. It
arranges its material in space as in a painting or in a verbal photography.Description is in a sense
painting a picture with words. This is obvious when you think about describing a physical object like
a tree or a building, but it applies even to descriptions of abstract things. As with pictures
themselves, space is the essential dimension for most descriptions. As you write, think spatially.
Follow some sort of order: from high to low, left to right, front to back, most easily seen to smallest

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detail, light to shadows, etc. Not all orders are equally good; think about which one might make the
most sense given your argument, or which might be easiest for your reader to follow. In describing
abstract things the idea of finding some sort of quasi-spatial order holds: go from big to little,
obvious to not-so-obvious, ideal to actual, formal to informal, general to specific, positive to
negative, and so on. Often the abstract thing you're describing will give suggest its own ordering
principle. A description of the American Constitution, for instance, would probably work best by
respecting the document's own organization. The Constitution's first clause discusses the Congress;
the second clause discusses the presidency; and the third clause discusses the judiciary. Following
this order in a description, rather than jumping around, will likely make the description easier to
follow by giving its abstract content a more concrete, spatial quality.Good ordering principles help
turn descriptions from static records to engines of further thinking. Consider that possible
description of the U.S. Constitution. Attuned to the document's own organization, we might start to
muse on the significance of the order: Does the fact that the Congress is discussed before the
presidency imply something about the founders' view of the balance of power in the federal
government? Does it say something about their attitude toward representation and democracy? Does
being sensitive to this ordering principle help us understand the document and its ideas better? (Yes,
yes, yes.)One suggestion about descriptions of abstract concepts and things: human beings crave the
concrete. No matter how abstract the thing you're describing, try not to go too far (no more than two
or three sentences) without anchoring the description to some vivid image or example. If you're
writing about the nature of male friendship in Hemingway, for instance, don't stray too far from
examples from the text.
4.4.3. Argumentative or persuasive Writing
If the writer intends to convince the reader to have an opinion the writer has on a subject then he should
resort to argumentative writing.Many arguments combine one or more of the methods just described. This is
especially true as one proceeds down the list: Comparing and contrasting two things, for instance, requires
that each of them be well defined; making an informed judgment about American foreign policy in the
Middle East would require a narrative summary of key events and decisions leading to the moment being
studied.Or suppose you're writing an essay on how American cities changed over the course of the 20th
century. You're likely to find it useful to combine definition, analysis and narration. Analysis would allow
you to break the complex concept "city" into several categories to be considered separately (for instance,
demographics, economy, architecture, infrastructure, politics, and the environment). Each of these
categories would require definition, of course. A narrative order would then allow you to treat each of the
categories in a natural progression, showing changes over time. You would still have to decide how to fit
these methods of development into a single essay, of course. Should each category be presented separately,
or should the argument follow a mainly chronological organization with each category treated serially, for
instance decade by decade or era by era? It's easy to see that these definitions would come first—but all
together at the very beginning, or each definition coming when that category is discussed? There's no
automatically right answer to these questions, but this kind of high-level thinking (how to organize analysis,
definition, and narration) will produce a much better essay than simply wading into a discussion with no
particular method in mind.We've looked at some basics of how arguments work. A last word of advice
before we move on: The essence of good college thinking is not partisanship but rationality. As you
construct arguments, don't just try to "win," but to carry yourself as a fair-minded and reasonable thinker.
Realize that not all of your readers will agree with you—in fact, those are the readers you're really writing
for. Look for objections to your argument, consider them reasonably, and do a fair job of presenting them.
4.4.4. Expository Writing
Means that which explain people, things, ideas or a combination of these. Expository is most
significant to students because much of what he reads and most of what he writes s expository in
nature. It arranges material not in time or space but by logic. For example, the expository writer

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always thinks, interprets, informs and persuades. It is less like a stage-play, film or painting and is
more like a lecture, discourse or debate.
The expository writing begins in the writer’s head. He asks the following questions:
- what special point do I intend to make?
- Is it worth making?
- For whom am I writing?
- How best can I convey my points to my audience?
One has to bear in mind that deciding upon the purpose of wring and the reader is half way through
the tasks of writing
4.5. The Pattern of Organization or the Techniques of Idea Development
A writer is like a sculptor. In his efforts to carve out an attractive piece he will use a variety of
tools depending on the type of sculpture he intends to create. A writer does much the same thing.
Depending on the kind of writing he will consciously choose the appropriate technique of idea
development to suit his purpose. To be able to do this he needs to know when to use a particular
technique. What follows is a discussion on some of the most frequently used ways of developing
ideas. There are a quite a few more. But just as the apprentice-sculptor must first master the hammer
and chisel so too the amateur-writer must first master the basic techniques before moving on the
more difficult ways of developing ideas.
4.5.1. Narration
The narrative technique, in its simple sense, means to tell a story. A more formal definition of a
narration would describe it as the relating of a sequence of events that happened within a definite
span of time. Don’t you enjoy listening to people who tell stories more so than others. Of course you
do. The same is true about writing.A narrative essay requires a careful selection of details. Certain
moments within any time order are more important than others and such crucial moments will be
emphasized and developed fully by a good writer. Other moments, significant but less important
than the main moments will take up less space while important items will be eliminated entirely.
In other words, narration describes not a single event or idea, but a sequence over time. Time is the
critical factor in narration, and chronological order is the natural way to organize a narrative. You
need not slavishly follow chronological order, though; playing a bit with flashback and reordering
may be a good way to emphasize key concepts. For instance, a paper on the rise and fall of the Aztec
Empire need not begin with the earliest historical records, but at some critical moment chosen to
illustrate a major theme or themes in the argument. Nor do you need to cover the whole chronology:
feel free to cut and compress the flow of time to give the argument maximum impact (in practice this
tends to mean focusing more on change than on continuity).

4.5.2. Classification

Seeing how things fit into categories is second nature to most of us. We do it all the time and when
we do so or when separate something into parts we are using classification. It is a ncat device which
puts order into the way we understand our world the same device is an important tool of the writer.
The technique of classification requires that you sub-divide your topic into its parts or sub-
components before you develop the topic. Once the sub-division is accomplished you develop each
part separately thereby developing the whole. Now read the following passage
4.6. The Process of Writing or Writing as a Process
One of the most common characteristics of unskilled and inexperienced student-writers is that they often
consider writing to be an activity that occurs in one stage. Too often such students skip or neglect one or
more of the stages in the writing process that skilled and experienced writers know and practice. This is a
problem if you have ignored or given short attention to in the process of real writing. At least begin now to
learn that writing is a process that consists of three separate stages: Pre-writing, writing and Re-writing.

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All the three stages are essential for flawless and quality writing. Omitting either the prewriting or the re-
writing stage or both will invariably result in something less than your best effort. If you follow the three
stages of writing meticulously you can be certain that your writing will show significant overall
improvement.
4.6.1. Pre-writing: Preparation and organization is essential to accomplishing the most challenging tasks in
life. Whether it is selecting a college, setting up a budget, applying for a job, planning a wedding, or
building a house preparation is inevitable for success. Writing is no different. The preparatory sage in
writing is pre-writing.
4.6.1.1. Getting Started:
As mentioned earlier the first things to do in pre-writing are to decide the purpose of your writing and the
audience for whom you are writing. The writer must absolutely be clear as to why he is writing:
- is it to provide information to the audience?
- is it to argue a point or to persuade the audience?
- is it to describe something to allow the audience to visualize a scene?
- is it to tell a story or to relate a series of events?

You must develop a writing process, a way to write papers that gives you the opportunity to demonstrate
that ability in all your academic writing.
       As a college student, you are likely to encounter certain types of writing assignments and writing
situations in your various courses, from reaction papers to lab reports, to formal research papers and in-
class essay examinations. You may need to learn specialized formats and vocabulary for writing in
particular disciplines, and you will need to master one or more styles of documentation for citing sources
in your writing. As a student of the City University of New York, there are also several important standard
writing assessment tests that you may be required to take during the course of your academic career at
CUNY. And as a Hunter student you will take English 120, Hunter's Freshman composition course, which
will introduce you to the college-level academic essay, help you develop your writing process, and give you
an opportunity to practice important writing skills. If you need help with a writing assignment in any class,
you may use Hunter College's Writing Center, which offers a variety of resources for students, including
tutoring, workshops, handouts, and a web page with information, interactive exercises and links to other
writing resources.

4.6.2. The Writing Process

When working on a writing assignment, many students focus on the end product: the final draft, the finished
essay, the grade. They are likely to do a better job, however, if they re-focus on the process by which they
will create the product. Every student's individual writing process is different, but in general the set of tasks
that are necessary to successfully write an academic paper is identifiable and stable.
       Almost all academic writing assignments call for a response to a reading, either a text assigned in the

course syllabus or a source found by research. Therefore, reading is usually the first step of the writing
process. It is important to be an active reader, using note-taking techniques and summarizing. The principle
of analytical, critical reading should also be applied to the assignment itself to make sure your paper
responds appropriately and satisfies the assigned requirements.
You need to explain to the reader how you arrived at that point and what evidence you have to support it.
      

That explanation needs to be focused, coherent, developed, logical, the product of critical thinking.
Organize your thoughts, using an outline or rough draft to order your ideas and evidence. At some point in
your academic writing you will be required to write a formal outline, and it is difficult to write a long
research essay (15-20 pages) without using an informal one, a list of notes to yourself about how you are
going to order your ideas and evidence. So it is a good idea to practice using outlines early in your academic
studies.

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Then write the paper. Notice that while writing can be employed in every step-summarizing, free writing,
      

outlining-the act of writing the paper itself usually takes place in the middle of the process.    

4.6.3. The Re-writing process   

Every paper can be improved with revision. Revising does not mean correcting errors; it means, literally, to
see again: reading your work over with a critical eye and considering what improvements can be made in
the argument and organization, as well as the expression. It may mean re-reading the research, re-thinking
your point, re-ordering the outline, re-stating the evidence. The writing process is recursive in that you give
yourself the best chance to write the best paper you can if you go back over the steps and write more than
one draft.   And everyone knows you should proofread your papers before you hand them in. Many student
writers proofread too fast and miss errors they could have corrected. Leave yourself time for this step so you
can slow down, take care, and listen carefully to your writing. Give yourself the best chance to find and fix
your mistakes, to apply your language skills as thoroughly as you can. Read actively, think critically,
organize logically, write clearly, revise as necessary, proofread carefully-practice the writing
process.Good writers differ greatly in their preferred methods of organizing. If, like
some, you find it difficult to work from a fixed pattern, you should nevertheless be
prepared to construct an outline once you have finished a draft. There is no better
way of spotting redundancies and inconsistencies that need fixing.

Find the most effective organization for you ideas

One way to arrive at a sound essay structure is to put yourself in your reader's place. Beginning in
ignorance, the reader wants to know certain things that fall into a natural order:
1. What is your topic?
2. What is your point about that topic?
3. What objections to your point deserve to met?
4. What evidence can you give to make your point convincing?
As a diagram, then, a basic essay structure would look like this:
Introducer the Topic

Would a reader think of State the Thesis Yes

objections to this thesis? No Meet objectives
Support the Thesis

While various organizational patterns are possible for any given essay, most of them fall within the broad
guidelines of this common.

4.8. Qualities of an Effective Essay

An effective essay is: focused, unified, coherent, organized, clear, detailed, concrete, logical.

Focused

Thesis:

Communicates your essay’s main assertion and purpose

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Although intelligence tests are widely used for placement in many elementary schools, they
are not always the best measure of a student’s academic performance.

Is more than a general statement

Intelligence tests measure a student’s ability to perform.

Is not merely a statement of fact

Intelligence tests are used in elementary schools to predict students’ performance.

Is not an announcement

The following paragraph will show that intelligence tests may be inaccurate.

In conclusion, intelligence texts do not accurately predict students’ performance.

May serve as a guide that predicts the scope and shape of your essay (cause/effect)

Although intelligence tests are said to successfully predict academic performance, such tests
may cause teacher bias toward students who score below the norm, which in turn may lead
to inhibited student performance.

Two thesis types:

Explicit—Stated directly in opening, middle, or end of the essay

Implicit—Indirect, but apparent through the details

Unified

The essay develops one main idea; the thesis is your main unifying device.

Paragraphs express ideas relevant to the thesis in a topic sentence.

All supporting ideas develop and support the main idea.

One of the first problems students have is learning to use a computer. Most classes require
students to access course materials or assignments online, so students who do not know how
to use a computer may find completing course requirements difficult. My computer is a
laptop that has a 5 GB hard drive and a fast processor. When I started school I had to
quickly become computer literate just so I could complete assignments in my classes.

Irrelevant information should be deleted.

Coherent

All ideas connect, or stick together on three levels: global, paragraph, sentence.

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Global—from introduction to conclusion, all supporting ideas and paragraphs relate to and support
the thesis

Thesis

Although Sam is an expert stunt car driver, his stunt shows have a negative effect on young drivers
who want to imitate him, who in turn cause many community safety issues.

Support

1.      Sam is a stunt car driver whom many young drivers look up to, so as a role model his example
influences the attitudes young drivers have toward driving. (reasoning)

2.      Recently, several after-school incidents have occurred in which young drivers tried
unsuccessfully to imitate Sam’s stunts on community streets. (exemplification)

3.      Several fatal accidents involving these young drivers have occurred which are a direct result
of stunt show maneuvers gone awry. (facts)

4.      During the investigation of one fatal accident, one young driver said, “if I don’t immitate Sam
my friends will think I’m not cool.” (quote)

Paragraph—supporting and related ideas are collected into discrete groups, which relate to and
support the topic sentence

Topic Sentence: Sam is a stunt car driver whom many young drivers look up to, so as a role model
his example influences the attitudes young drivers have toward driving.

Support: For instance, after seeing one of Sam’s shows one young driver said “to be a good driver
you have to know how to do a 180 turn.”

Sentence—grammatical units that use conventional syntax relate to and support the sentence topic

Topic Support

Sam is an expert stunt car driver.

Organized

Ideas are arranged in a clear pattern [can be easily outlined]

Spatial order (descriptive)

Chronological order (narrative)

Emphatic order (leads up to / begins with most important details)

Analytical patterns

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Process Comparison / Contrast

Cause & Effect Classification & Division

Definition

Argumentative patterns

Inductive Deductive

(Use transitional words and phrases to clarify and signal relationships between ideas )

Check your progress 1

Complete each of the following to form the introductory paragraph of your composition:

a. From the light that filtered into the room, I could make out the figure of a
man…………………………………
b. My friend Lusi is the most interesting person
……………………………………………………….
c.
Write an introductory paragraph for each of the following, using one of the methods described:

d. Your favorite radio sports personality

e. Yourself in twenty years time

Check your progress 2

When you describe an object, it helps your reader recognize and visualize (create mental picture)
the particular object by considering the following points:
a. appearance (size, shape, colour)
b. material it is made of
c. texture
d. sound (eg. A toy-the particular sound it makes)
e. smell (e.g. a very old book- what kind of smell does it emit?)
f. taste (e.g. a fruit- does it taste sweet, bitter, sour?)
Describe anything you like using the points above.

Check your progress 3

1. Choose a type of food that is popular in your area or one of your favorite dishes. Write a
recipe for cooking this food.

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Check your progress 4

Write a description on one of the following:

a. About myself
b. A famous person
c. A construction worker
d. Your teacher
e. One of your parents when he/she is in a bad mood
f. The view from the window of your house/flat
g. The market near your house
h. A quiet evening at your village
i. A house on fire
j. You are waiting for a friend in a restaurant/coffee-house: Describe what you see around
you and your impressions of the place.

Check your progress 5

Make an outline of the following. Show clearly the main heading of each paragraph and its supporting
details.
a. My teacher
b. A nursery
c. A visit to a place of interest
d. An interesting character I know
4.9. Let us sum up
The best essay is largely the product of work done in the final stage of the process of writing. It is the
revision that your ideas will achieve their best and most succinct expression. Work through your rough draft
several times, concentrating on only one or two of the following aspects of revision during each reading.
- Revise for content
- Revise for unity
- Revise for coherence
- Check for consistent tone, mood, and point of view
- Revise for wording
 
  The purpose statement of an essay should give the essay
focus, unity, and direction.
     By focus I mean that the point of the essay is limited enough to be adequately handled in the time and
space allotted and that its boundaries are clearly defined.
          By unity I mean that all the parts of the essay deal with some aspect of that main point. In other
words, the essay stays on topic rather than chasing after other topics that, though they may be related, do not
fall within the boundaries of the main point's focus.
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          And by direction I mean that it is always clear that the essay is going somewhere and that the author
knows how to get us there. A directed essay doesn't ramble or wander, and when it gets to where it's going--
a natural, satisfying stopping point--it clicks closed.
Possible answer check your progress
Check your progress 1
f. From the light that filtered into the room, I could make out the figure of a
man, who is training in the field.
g. My friend Lusi is the most interesting person I have ever met in my life.
Check your progress 2
Title: concrete
Content: its texture
material it is made of
Its uses
Concrete
Concrete is a useful building material. It is strong, long-lasting, fairly cheap to produce, and easy to use. It is
not harmed by fire, water, weather or heavy pressure. Concrete is used in the construction of buildings,
dams, bridges and roads. Concrete is made from cement, water, sand and gravel (crashed stone). The
materials are measured and mixed together. After it has been mixed, concrete can be given any shape that is
wanted by pouring it into moulds.
Check your progress 3
How to cook perfect rice
Ingredients
1 cupful of rice
2 cupfuls of boiling water
1 dessertspoon of cooking oil or 10g butter
2 teaspoons of salt
Utensils
A small saucepan with a lid
A wooden spoon
A shallow serving dish
A fork
Method
First heat the oil or butter gently in the saucepan, just to the melting stage. Then add the rice and, using the
wooden spoon, stir the grains until they are thoroughly coated. Next add the boiling water and salt. Stir just
once as the liquid begins to simmer and reduce the heat so that the liquid continues to simmer gently. Cover
the saucepan with a lid. Do not take the lid off and do not stir.Meanwhile warm the serving dish either by
immersing it in hot water or by putting it into a warm oven.
After the rice has been simmering for 15 minutes, lift the lid and remove a few grains with the wooden
spoon. Allow to cool and then test the rice by pressing the grains between n your thumb and index finger. If
the grains are soft and no trace of liquid is left, the rice is cooked. If not, let the rice simmer for a few more
minutes and test again. Finally, tip the rice into the warmed serving dish. Lightly fluff the grains with a fork.
Serve immediately.

Check your progress 4

About myself
I am a school teacher in my early fifties. I am quite tall and rather overweight because I don’t take enough
exercise.
My hair was once and now it is turning grey. I have brown eyes and because I am short-sighted I usually
wear glasses. My wife says that they make me look intelligent. My face is long and thin.

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I don’t have any expensive clothes, but when I go out I always try to be smartly-dressed, especially when I
am teaching. At home I usually wear a pair of jeans and a tee-shirt.
I am a fairly quiet person so I don’t like talking to other people very much. Like all teachers I am very hard-
working.

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