LEARNING HOW TO WRITE IN ENGLISH CAN BE FUN!!

by Marsha Rickles and Sohee Kim

Get your pencil and paper out and let’s begin to write. To help you on your way, we have developed a basic guide that you can use to improve your writing skills.

1. At the Intermediate Level

ORGANIZATIONAL COMPETENCE

You should be able to express present time or at least one other time frame or aspect consistently and show evidence of control of the syntax of noncomplex sentences and basic inflectional morphology, such as declensions and conjugation.

So, generally speaking, you are able to create with the language in very familiar contexts using simple vocabulary, limited narration and description in present time, and very basic grammatical structures.

In order to move toward the Advanced level, you will need practice in using both past and future time in more extended narration and description. Go to http://www.zianet.com/jkline/isystems.html and do the "Present and Future; also going to" exercise. If you go to http://deil.lang.uiuc.edu/class.pages/Structure1/tenses.html, you will find very well organized information about "Meaning of English Verb Tenses, Forms of the Verb and Auxiliaries." Also, when you go to http://webster.commnet.edu/hp/pages/darling/grammar/sequence.htm, you will see "Sequence of Verb Tenses" as well as "Sequence of Tenses with Infinitives and Participles." For more information about grammar, explore "Grammar Help Pages". You will find "Grammar Points, An Elementary Grammar, Grammar Handbook and Online English Grammar."

PRAGMATIC COMPETENCE

You can create statements and questions well enough to meet practical needs and some limited social demands. Your base of writing can be everyday topics such as Personal biographical information, activities, hobbies, preferences, daily routine, lodging, health matters, travel and transportation, school/work experiences.

You should be able to write short message, paragraphs, notes, letters, and short compositions. In addition, you should know how to take simple notes and to do simple summarizing of biographical data, work and school experiences.

Exercise to use simple description, narration, and simple personalized journal writing can be helpful. For more information: see "The Quick Study- English Composition & Style"

2. At the Advanced Level

ORGANIZATIONAL COMPETENCE

Those of you who are currently writing at the Advanced level in the Second language class are generally able to write reasonably accurate, coherent discourses dealing with both concrete and abstract topics. You are able to narrate events in past, present, and future time. Your style is obviously foreign yet you join sentences in relatively cohesive paragraphs.

Since you still need to work on improving grammatical accuracy, choice of vocabulary and rhetorical skills, check:

To learn more about the composing process itself, concentrating on organization and style, you should practice various types of writing, including description, narration, and exposition, contrast as well as using rhetorical techniques such as definition, classification, comparison and, and argumentation. Here are some URLs that you can apply to your skill:

PRAGMATIC COMPETENCE

You can write more social and more formal correspondence, discourse of several paragraphs, cohesive summaries, resumes with some detail, description and narration of factual matters. Your base of writing would be many familiar and everyday topics, current events, and concrete topics relating to personal interests and simple abstracts.

You should be able to use appropriate tone and style in academic writing, personal correspondence, and creative writing.

3. At the Superior Level

You have good control of a full range of structures, spelling or nonalphabetic symbol production, and wide general vocabulary, which allow you to hypothesize and present arguments or points of view accurately and effectively.

Here are some URLs that can be helpful…

PRAGMATIC COMPETENCE

You should be able to use language effectively for all formal and informal exchanges, write all types of correspondence, short research papers, position papers with hypotheses and arguments presented, and support point of view and defend hypotheses.

BASIC ELEMENTS OF ENGLISH COMPOSITION AND STYLE

Word choice and diction

1. Avoid nonstandard language usage
   Slang is unconventional language
   Colloquial language
   Regional language
   Pretentious language
   Evasiveness
   Euphemisms
2. Technical language – Be careful of AUDIENCE !
3. Avoid biased language
   Avoid use of jargon
   Avoid sexist language
   Avoid using the Generic "he" or "man" in referring to both sexes
   Avoid occupational stereotypes
4. Rearrange sentences to remove singular pronouns

Exactness

1. Pay attention to denotation and connotation
2. Be careful in use of figurative language – metaphors, similes, personification, clichés
3. Use idioms appropriately
4. Use concrete and specific language to express ideas clearly

Conciseness

1. Make every word count
2. Avoid unnecessary expletive constructions
3. Combine sentences to remove unneeded words
4. Repeat words or phrases carefully for clarity and emphasis
5. Use commas and pronouns to reduce unnecessary words

Structure

1. Watch for unity – organizational pattern within paragraphs
2. Balance – sentence structure within paragraph is important
3. Vary sentence length
4. Add quotations from a source text
5. Use cohesion throughout writing

Composing an Essay

1. Establish a purpose
   Narration
   Description
   Explanation
   Argumentation
2. Establish a pattern in essays – include an introduction, the body, and a conclusion
3. Discover a topic – a specific refining of a subject
4. Build paragraphs by using:
   Examples and illustrations
   Definition
   Analogy
   Comparison and contrast
   Cause and effect
   Classification and division
   Process analyses
5. Develop a thesis ( a statement that presents a topic of discussion and opinion about that topic)
6. Generation of material
   Ask questions
   Brainstorm
   Freewriting or journalizing
   Research
7. Prepare an outline
8. Write a first draft
9. Revise
10. Complete final essay
11. Proofread
    - go to http://www.comenius.com/writing/tools/symbols.txt
    - and http://webster.commnet.edu/writing/symbols.htm
    These URLs will help you understand the symbols that most teachers use with their feedback on your composition.

For further information, see The Quick Study English Composition and Style

For glossary, see The Quick Study English Composition and Style, and Webster's English Grammar.