Basic Writing Skills English Dipendra Gautam 9751020156 A

Basic Writing Skills (English) Dipendra Gautam 9751020156

A Writer Writes for Readers. .

Adaption is the key to effective writing. (Principle of Adaptation)

Adaptation? • Adaptation means use of words and concepts that our readers understand. Adaptation involves first visualizing the readers; determine who they are, what they know about the subject, what are their educational levels, and how they think. Then, keep this information in mind, and tailor the writing to fit these readers.

A. ADAPTATION IN WRITING INCLUDES: CARE IN WORD CHOICE: (Sample) • A huge throng of people gathered at twelve noon on Easter Sunday to debate the controversial issue. or People gathered at noon on Easter to debate the issue.

1. Write Simply and Write Simplifying, a large part of adaptation, is essential for three reasons: • Many write at too difficult level • Writer knows the subject better than readers • Results of research support simplification

2. Use Familiar Words Unfamiliar Words Familiar Words • The antiquated mechanisms • The old machines were used were utilized for the test. experimentation. (Exercise) • Company operations for the • The company lost much preceding accounting period money(amount) last year. terminated with a substantial deficit.

Some examples Unfamiliar words Familiar words • • • • ascertain contradict dissimilar erroneous evince Encounter glutinous Gradient find out Deny Unlike Wrong Show Meet Sticky slope

3. Use Technical Words with Caution If readers do not belong to your field, technical words must either be replaced by common words or supported by nontechnical description. Technical words Nontechnical words • Cerebral vascular accident Stroke • liabilities How much the company owes

4. Use Attractive Words (Care words’ personality) • Tycoon • Supreme • Absolute • Eminently successful businessperson • Top ranked • Cent percent or hundred percent • Focus verbs because they are the strongest part of speech, closely followed by nouns. Example: He told his opinion freely in meeting. He kept his opinion boldly in meeting.

5. Use the Concrete Words: • It arises interest in readers • Concrete words are specific words • Abstract words have general meaning (e. g. , administration, management, etc. ) • Concrete words give exactness (e. g. , 99. 44 percent pure) Abstract Concrete • The majority • 62 percent • In the near future • On coming Sunday What can be corrected? • Ram lost a fortune in New York.

6. Favor Active over Passive Verbs • Use the active voice, but do not completely avoid passive voice. • Active voice is stronger and shorter • Passive is better when doer of the action is not important and writer prefers not name the doer. Passive • NASC will be inspected soon by the Minister. • This policy has been supported by the NASC’s Staff members Active • Minister will inspect NASC soon. • NASC’s Staff members have supported this policy. But: • New mode of advertisement is criticized for its effect on culture. • Two complaints have been made about you.

Why to Avoid Passive Voice • Obscures the subject • Increases the length of a sentence • Shifts the emphasis from your subject Note: Avoid using passive voice unless you are deliberately emphasizing the predicate or obscuring the subject. 13

6. Avoid Overuse of Camouflaged Verbs • Changing action verb into noun is camouflaged Where We have to add action words unnecessarily. Camouflaged Verb Clear Verb Form • Application of the mixture was accomplished. • They applied the mixture. • We must bring about a reconciliation of • We must reconcile our differences.

7. Avoid Sexist words Sexist Nonsexist • When a customer needs service, it is his right to ask for it. Make the reference Plural When customers need service, it is their right to ask for it. • Manmade • Businessman • Cameraman • When a customer needs service, it is the customer’s right to ask for it. • Manufactured • Businessperson • Camera operator (person)

Now Compare: • On the occasion, Hon’ble Minister, congratulating all Minister congratulated all the new government officers for their recent success of becoming civil servants, becoming civil servants. He highlighted the need to be clear about their services to nation and said that training nation. Finally, he was given to them so they concluded that training was would gain necessary skills given to them so they would required in their real work gain necessary skills setting. required in their real work setting.

B. Emphasize Short Sentences (Brevity of Words) Merits of Short Sentences: • Short sentences create readability. • It is clear and understandable. • It gives good impression.

Some Techniques to Make Sentences Short • Limit Sentence Content • Avoid Redundancy: Soothing tranquillizer Is in need of needs Could hold practice could practice

Practice asking yourself, “can I say this in less words? ” How would you shorten this: • • • other matters that were recommended two separate buildings In my opinion I think the plan is sound. We should plan in advance for future. It is the committee’s assumption that the evidence has been gathered.

Lets Begin an Exercise. 1. Correct Answer: B 2. Correct Answer: A 3. Correct Answer: A 4. Correct Answer: B 5. Correct Answer: A 6. Correct Answer: A 7. Correct Answer: B 8. Correct Answer: B 9. Correct Answer: A 10. Correct Answer: B 11. Correct Answer: B 12. Correct Answer: A 13. Correct Answer: B 14. Correct Answer: A 15. Correct Answer: A

Some questions writers need to think before they begin • (Purpose) why are you choosing the topic you have selected? Does it have a personal meaning for you? • (Sources) What are you going to use? Where are you going to turn for material? • (Plan) How are you going to proceed? How are going to focus and organize your material? What is going to be your major point? • (Audience) Who would be the ideal reader for your paper? What do you expect of your audience, and what do you expect to do for them?

• Lets have a look on some grammatical rules.

Capitalization Rule 1. Capitalize the first word of a quoted sentence. Examples: He said, "Treat her as you would your own daughter. ""Look out!" she screamed. "You almost ran into my child. “ Rule 2. Capitalize a person's title when it precedes the name. Do not capitalize when the title is acting as a description following the name. Examples: Chairperson Petrov Ms. Petrov, the chairperson of the company, will address us at noon. Rule 3. Capitalize the titles of high-ranking government officials when used before their names. Do not capitalize the civil title if it is used instead of the name. Examples: The president will address Congress. The governors, lieutenant governors, and attorneys general called for a special task force. Governor Fortinbrass, Lieutenant Governor Poppins, Attorney General Dalloway, and Senators James and Twain will attend.

Capitalization Continued Rule 4. Always capitalize the first and last words of titles of publications regardless of their parts of speech. Capitalize other words within titles, including the short verb forms Is, Are, and Be. Exception: Do not capitalize little words within titles such as a, an, the, but, as, if, and, or, nor, or prepositions, regardless of their length. Examples: The Day of the Jackal , What Color Is Your Parachute? , A Tale of Two Cities Rule 5. After a sentence ending with a colon, do not capitalize the first word if it begins a list. Example: These are my favorite foods: chocolate cake, spaghetti, and artichokes.

Quotations within Quotations Rule: Use single quotation marks inside double quotation marks when you have a quotation within a quotation. • Example: Bobbi said, “Delia said, ‘This will never work. ’” Notice that what Delia said was enclosed in single quotes. Notice also that the period was placed inside both the single and the double quotation marks. • The American rule is that periods always go inside all quotation marks.

Lets have an exercise

Using Commas, Semicolons, and Colons within Sentences • Punctuation within sentences can be tricky; however, if you know just a few of the following rules, you will be well on your way to becoming a polished writer and proofreader.

Rule: Use a comma between two long, independent clauses when conjunctions such as and, or, but, for, nor connect them. • Example: I have painted the entire house, but she is still working on sanding the floors. Rule: If the clauses are both short, omit the comma. • Example: I painted and he sanded. Rule: If you have only one clause (one subject and verb pair), do not use a comma in front of the conjunction. • Example: I have painted the house but still need to sand the floors. This sentence has two verbs but only one subject, so it has only one clause. Rule: Use the semicolon if you have two independent clauses connected without a conjunction. • Example: I have painted the house; I still need to sand the floors.

Rule: Also use the semicolon when you already have commas within a sentence for smaller separations, and you need the semicolon to show bigger separations. • Example: We had a reunion with family from Salt Lake City, Utah; Los Angeles, California; and Albany, New York. Rule: A colon is used to introduce a second sentence that clarifies the first sentence. • Example: We have set this restriction: do your homework before watching television. Rule: Use a colon to introduce a list when no introductory words like namely, for instance, i. e. , e. g. precede the list. • Example: I need four paint colors: blue, gray, green, and red.

Hyphens with Common Prefixes Generally, with common prefixes, you do not need to use a hyphen. However, there are exceptions: Examples: uninviting , uninterested, noncompetitive , preexisting , etc. Exception 1: When adding the common prefix will create a double i or double a, use a hyphen. Examples: ultra-ambitious semi-invalid Exception 2: When common prefixes are attached to hyphenated compounds, they take hyphens too. Example: non-iron-bearing sulphides

Hyphen continues… Exception 3: Hyphenate all words beginning with self except for selfish and selfless. Examples: self-assured, self-respect Exception 4: Use a hyphen with the prefix ex. Example: His ex-wife sued for nonsupport. Exception 5: Hyphenate prefixes when they come before proper nouns. Examples: un-American, non-English speaker

Writing numbers Rule 1: Spell out single-digit whole numbers. Use numerals for numbers greater than nine. Examples: I want five copies. I want 10 copies. Rule 2: Always spell out simple fractions and use hyphens with them. Examples: One-half of the pies have been eaten. A two-thirds majority is required for that bill to pass in Congress. Rule 3: The simplest way to express large numbers is best. Round numbers are usually spelled out. Be careful to be consistent within a sentence. Correct: You can earn from one million to five million dollars. Incorrect: You can earn from one million to $5, 000. Rule 4: Use the word and where the decimal point appears in the figure format. Example: $15, 768. 13: Fifteen thousand, seven hundred sixty-eight dollars and thirteen cents. $1054. 21: One thousand fifty-four dollars and twenty-one cents Rule 5: Hyphenate all compound numbers from twenty-one through ninetynine. Examples: Forty-three persons were injured in the train wreck. Twenty-three of them were hospitalized.

Dangling Phrases and Clauses Example: While walking across the street, the bus hit her. Did the bus really walk across the street? Correction: While she was walking across the street, the bus hit her. OR The bus hit her while she was walking across the street. Example: I have some pound cake that Mollie baked in my lunch bag. Did Mollie actually bake the pound cake in my lunch bag? Correction: In my lunch bag, I have some pound

Hyphens with Common Prefixes The current trend is to do away with unnecessary hyphens with common prefixes. Examples: noncompliance, copayment, semiconscious unending However, there are exceptions: Exception 1: Hyphenate all words beginning with self except for selfish and selfless. Examples: self-assured, self-respect, self-addressed Exception 2: Use a hyphen with the prefix ex. Example: His ex-wife sued for nonsupport. Exception 3: Hyphenate prefixes when they come before proper nouns. • Examples: un-American, non-English speaker

“All good things come to those WRITERS who write while they wait. ” Questions? ? ? ? Thank You.

Rewrite, Rewrite! • • Writing will require rewriting Here the aspect of pruning comes in Hold every word accountable Lay your manuscript aside for a few days then try to read it as though someone else had written it

Self-Editing • • • Is it to long? Where can I eliminate? Is it too short? Are there redundant words or phrases? Did I slip in any clichés? Are there too many of those passive, lazy words? • Will my work be more effective if I moved parts around? • “If I were the editor, would I buy this? ”

More Self-Editing • Will what I have written here reach out to the reader’s needs and interests? • Is the context clear in all points? • If quotes are used, are they correct? • Is there a reason for everything that is there? • Check each paragraph for flow and linkage to its neighbour

More Self-Editing (cont. ) • Check your grammar • Make sure you have no spelling or punctuation problems • Look at each individual word • Be ruthless with your editing pencil!

Some Effective Writing Rules Rule 1. Avoid overusing there is, there are, it is, it was, and so on. Example: There is a case of meningitis that was reported in the paper. Correction: A case of meningitis was reported in the newspaper. Even Better: The newspaper reported a case of meningitis.

• Rule 4. To avoid confusion, don't use two negatives to make a positive. Incorrect: He is not unwilling to help. Correct: He is willing to help. Rule 5. Use similar grammatical form when offering several ideas. This is called parallel construction. Correct: You should check your spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Incorrect: You should check your spelling, grammar, and punctuating. Rule 6. If you start a sentence with an action, place the actor immediately after or you will have created the infamous dangling modifier. Incorrect: While walking across the street, the bus hit her. Correct: While walking across the street, she was hit by a bus. OR She was hit by a bus while walking across the street. Rule 7. Place modifiers near the words they modify. Incorrect: I have some pound cake Mollie baked in my lunch bag. Correct: In my lunch bag, I have some pound cake that Mollie baked.