THE PROF

What is writing? This is the purpose of using symbols i.e letters of the alphabets, punctuations
and spaces to communicate thoughts and ideas in a readable form. So generally, we can write
using a pen or pencil or with a keyboard (typing), when you write using a pen, you use a paper
but when you write with a keyboard, you use a typewriter and also you can use voice recognition
for ease.

The language skills that you must require are:

1. Listening; This is the ability to understand and reproduce without having the benefit of a
replay.

2. Speaking; You will be tested on how you can speak well and be able to command the
language in a way that the listeners of a language can check whether you make sense; whether
you are speaking logically.

3. Reading; This is the ability to read and understand or make sense of what you have read. An
example of this can be reading a comprehension passage.

4. Writing; This is the ability to use symbols to communicate thoughts and ideas in a readable
form. So for you to write well, you need to further understand the system of the target language.
So the basic systems are; knowledge of grammar, punctuation and sentence structure. It is also
good to have great knowledge of vocabulary.

- You must be able to know your synonyms and antonyms.

- You must be able to distinguish between homophones.

- You must be able to format your writing.

- You need to read and acquire these skills with time.

As a writer you may write for these reasons which are;

1. Personal enjoyment

2. Specific use; this requires jargon of different fields.

And when you write, note that you are writing for an audience. Your audience may be targeted
and another time, they may be unknown. But when you write, note that you are writing for a
specific purpose and audience and this will determine the style of your writing, choice of your
words; diction. And you must be able to choose your most appropriate word in every scenario;
you must have a chest of vocabulary so you can able to choose the words at will.
The different styles of writing vary from formal to informal writing. Types of formal writing are;

How do you write a formal letter? The first thing to note is the

1. Topic. This should contain the issues faced. The instructions on what to do and complaint
must be issued in the title of the letter if it is about a complaint.

Stages of writing;

The general

1. Discovery/investigation; You have to be observant, you have to take keen interest in your
environment. And the ones you can't observe, you investigate.

2. Prewriting; You begin to look at the data and be able to analyse it. You begin to sift through
the ideas and be able to pick the ones that you feel confident are the ones you should talk about.

3. Drafting; This is where you begin the writing. At this point, you determine the style of writing
that you must employ. This is where you eliminate all the errors. First do a first draft to be able
to achieve this.

4. Revising.

5. Editing & Proofreading.

The writing process is the procedure that no two people will do the same way.

And one other thing to note is that there is no right or wrong way to write. As long as your
grammar, punctuation is appropriate, you are on the right track.

PARAGRAPH

This is a collection of sentences that deals with one topic or idea. When a new paragraph
begins, it signals to the reader that the focus shifts to a new idea or thought. At the same time,
all paragraphs should connect to the same topic. Paragraphs consist of sentences. Each
paragraph should have a topic sentence that presents th main point or theme of the paragraph.
This topic sentence is most often near the beginning of the paragraph. All other sentences in
the paragraph are supporting sentences that connect back to the topic sentence. These
sentences develop the idea that is expressed in the topic sentence.

The supporting sentences give a deeper analysis or contrast or illustrative example. The last
sentence of every paragraph is the concluding sentence or the transitional sentence. The last
sentence in the paragraph sums up the content of the paragraph and leads the reader to the
following paragraph. Now it is important to transition smoothly from one paragraph to the next.
Otherwise, the impression you will be creating will be that the paragraphs are piled on one
another rather than constituting one coherent text.

Now the length of each paragraph depends on its content. This means that the length of
paragraphs may vary. So there is no rule that stipulates the number of sentences you can have
in a paragraph. There is no rule either that says that because a paragraph is not long enough
that you have to start a new one or add something to eat. But if it is too short, you may need to
develop it rather than leave it like that. If a paragraph is too long, it gives the impression that it
contains more than one central idea.

You may also need to read about signposting. When you use language that guides the reader
through the text you are using, signposting. This is mostly used in expository essay.

How do you develop the paragraphs? Paragraphs can be structured in many ways. The internal
structure of each paragraph often depends on the idea that is treated in that specific paragraph
and its relationship to the surrounding paragraphs as well as to the text as a whole.

Your topic and purpose of the paragraph should determine its organization. For example; if the
purpose is to illustrate the differences between two theories, your topic sentence should tell the
reader that you're about to contrast two theories. You may then go ahead to describe one theory
and then the other and then contrast the two.