Contemporary English language 1 – Writing Course
Lesson 1
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I semester course (15 weeks)
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2x45 (once a week)
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2 mid-terms tests (6th and 12th week)
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Attendance
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Grading/scoring
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Consultations:
Monday12-13h (Danijelova 32, teachers’ roomPFB 2nd floor)
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email: [email protected]
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course page: http://predmet.singidunum.ac.rs/
Is writing difficult? Why?Why not?
What’s writing all about
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Register
Writer’s style
Writing style
Punctuation symbols
Spelling
Sentence Structure
Vocabulary
Register – three working categories
Register is the degree of formality of language.
Formal (business letters, letters of complaint, some emails, reports,
announcements)
“Would you mind passing the salt?” v “Pass me the salt ”.
Informal (personal emails, phone texts, friendly letters, blogs)
Neutral (reviews, articles, some letters, essays)
Formal register
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Avoid contractions (isn’t, can’t – is not, cannot etc.)
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Spell out numbers (six instead of 6, thirty-five instead of 35)
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Avoid using 1st person singular (We have decided to rent the
premises to…)
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Avoid slang, idioms, clichés, exaggeration, colloquialisms (cool, as
keen as mustard, time heals everything, awesome)
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Abbreviations and acronyms (Dr. Doctor – U.S. United States;
OPEC – Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, ASAP – as
soon as possible)
Write in complete sentences, longer and more complex
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Informal register
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Slang and clichés, figurative language, symbols and abbreviations,
acronyms
Incomplete sentences, Short sentences
First person, second person, and third person
Paragraphs or no paragraphs
Personal opinions
Extra punctuation (Hi John!!!!!!!)
Passive and active voice
Neutral register
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We use the neutral language register with non-emotional topics and
information.
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Not necessarily formal or informal.
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It is not usually positive or negative. A neutral register is used to
deliver facts.
Writer’s style
What sets writing apart and makes it unique
1.Word choice
2.Sentence fluency (sentence structure)
3.Writer’s voice (author’s personality – chatty, taciturn, personal,
impersonal, reflective, funny etc)
There isn’t such a thing as right or wrong style as long as it fits the
purpose and is appropriate for the setting and audience.
Writing style
• Expository (the purpose is to explain)
textbook writing/ how-to-articles/ recipes/news stories
• Descriptive (describes a character/event)
Poetry/ journals/fiction
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Persuasive (to convince the reader that the writer’s opinion is
correct)
Advertisements, letters of complaint, recommendation cover letters
• Narrative (tells a story)
Novels, short stories, poetry, anecdotes etc.
Punctuation marks
There are 14 punctuation marks commonly used in the English
language:
Period (.) question mark (?), exclamation point (!) , comma (,),
semicolon (;) , colon (:), dash (–), hyphen (-), parentheses (), brackets
[], braces {}, apostrophe(‘), quotation marks(”), and ellipses (…)
Comma (,) separates ideas within the structure of a sentence.
Semicolon (;) connects independent clauses. Shows closer link
between the sentence than a period would.
Dash v hyphen
She sang the song terribly – and thought she was brilliant! (dash)
A two-year old was playing with a cat.
Spelling
Lots of inconsistencies in the English language
Use of a dictionary /spell-check/ peer review/learn proper
pronunciation/write a lot/read a lot/ watch subtitled TV
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/spelling/common-misspellings
Which words are spelt correctly?
Receive Believe
Accessable Irritable Ocassional
Judgment Judgement
Acknowledgment Acknowledgements
Separate Separete Practice Practise
The College Principal The College Principle
Useful websites
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/spelling.htm
https://howtospell.co.uk/top-ten-spelling-rules
http://www.davidappleyard.com/english/spelling.htm
Sentence structure
Simple/Compound/Complex
Simple: Contains only one clause. (usually S+Vp)
He invited us to a party.
Compound: Contains two independent clauses joined by coordinating
conjunctions. (but, or, and so)
He invited us to a party, and I don’t want to go.
Complex: Contains an independent clause and at least one dependent
clause (which begin with subordinating conjunction: that, because,
while, although, where, if)
Although he invited us to a party, I don’t want to go.
Word order
In English, the subject (S) usually comes before the verb (V) and the
object (O).
1.
S+V+O (majority of sentences conform to this order)
A boy likes to read books, magazines and comics.
2. S+V+Prep.Phr.
Sweet little girl is playing in the garden.
3. Linker+S+V+Prep.Phr.
However, her brother is playing in the living room.
Vocabulary
Always:
Learn and write down news words/collocations
Learn new words in context not out of context
Make sure that the choice of words used is suitable for the piece of
writing. Beware that it also separates good from bad writing.
Use a dictionary to check the words whose meaning you are unsure of.
Subject-verb agreement
A Sg subject takes a Sg verb and vice versa!
A boy wears shorts. Boys wear shorts
If subjects are joined by ‘and’ they are considered plural!
The teacher and the student are having a conversation.
Reading and writing are my favourite activities.
However, note this:
Eating and drinking IS not allowed in lecture theatres.
Indefinite pronouns are considered Sg and need a SG verb.
Nobody dances so well as Jane.
Exercise
Practice: Cinqain poem (a five-line stanza)
One noun
Two adjectives
Three gerunds
A short sentence (related)
A one word summary
Dog
Furry Funny
Playing, Eating, Running
Sleeping in my bed.
Friend