Whole Textbook

Basic Academic Writing by Jay B Larson and Amy Larson

Introduction The goal of this course is to help you, the student, express yourself in written English. Somepeople find this idea frightening, because it seems like such a big job. However, learning to write is reallyseveral smaller tasks. We can make learning to write well in easier for you by looking the tasks carefully.The main ones we will learn about are: organization, style and language skills. Organization simply means the way you put the ideas together on paper. We will learn usefulmethods to help you to have ideas when you are given a topic, and we will help you become familiar withthe common characteristics of organization in college writing. This will help you begin to write in a moreacademic style. To learn more about style in writing, we will use two methods. On some days, your instructor willteach the characteristics of one common style, and then you will write in that style. During other classes,we will look at very specific aspects of style, such as word choice, and work together composing shortessays as a class. It is style that makes your writing skills more than just knowledge of grammar rules andvocabulary. Of course, we cannot ignore your basic language abilities. Therefore, we will continue to improvethese skills by adding to your vocabulary and helping you learn how to use grammar to express yourideas to the reader. By learning these, you have much greater control of the language and can better useit to express your thoughts. You will learn writing over time. Do not expect to be perfect right away. Allow yourself to feelsatisfied and proud of each little bit of improvement that you make. If you remember that writing is simplya set of tools for telling others about your thoughts, you will make progress and learn to enjoy it as a wayto communicate with others in your world.

BASIC CHARACTERISTICS OF ACADEMICWRITING As you know, using language requires more than simply presenting vocabulary and grammar.People express themselves differently in different situations in response to their purpose. Remember, youare writing to an audience, you are probably not writing for people who understand the topic as you do.For this reason, you must learn how to present your ideas to readers in way that is familiar to them andeasy to understand. What are some of the characteristics you should develop in your writing?Direct Expression of IdeasA very direct style is one of the main characteristics of most academic composition. Ideas are usuallyexpressed in a very direct manner and use specific language which clearly describes these ideas to thereader. In some modes of expression, it may be seen as better to write about ideas in a very indirectmanner. In this view, very direct writing is seen as being lacking style and beauty. Therefore, writers oftenimply their main idea rather than tell the reader directly. However, in college level essays, somethingwritten in this fashion seems unclear and confusing. Some readers will even feel that the piece of writingdid not really say anything.Topic sentences and paragraphsThis direct way of writing affects the structure of each part of a paragraph or essay is put together ismeant to present the writer’s thoughts to the reader then explain them as carefully and completely aspossible. It is much like an arrow making a straight line through the air to reach its target.Each part of a composition begins with a clear statement of the main idea. We put this in the introductionto an essay, and it is what we call the “topic sentence” of each individual paragraph. The basic structureof most academic writing is often called an “inverted triangle.” This means that the paragraph or essaybegins with a general statement on what the rest of the writing will be about. Then, it is followed by moredetailed, supporting ideas. We will use this paragraph as our example.

.Think of good topic sentences for the following short paragraphs._______________________________________________________. Since they are incollege, they often stay awake late at night to study. When they are not busy, students mayoften lose sleep because they are trying to have fun with their friends in their free time.Whatever the reasons are, it is a problem for many college students.______________________________________________________. This is becausepeople have developed new ways to use computers in our daily lives. We can use them forour work, as well as for fun and relaxation in our free time. We can even use them tocommunicate with our friends and family.

Parts of the Paragraph Sample paragraph There are numerous advantages to owning a hybrid car. First, they get 20 percent to 35 percent more miles to the gallon than a fuel-efficient gas-powered vehicle. Second, they produce very few emissions during low speed city driving. Because they do not require gas, hybrid cars reduce dependency on fossil fuels, which helps lower prices at the pump. Alex bought a hybrid car two years ago and has been extremely impressed with its performance. “It’s the cheapest car I’ve ever had,” she said. “The running costs are far lower than previous gas-powered vehicles I’ve owned.” Given the low running costs and environmental benefits of owning a hybrid car, it is likely that many more people will follow Alex’s example in the near futureThink about it.What is the topic of the paragraph?What two main points does the writer make about the topic?In which two sentences does the writer say there are two main points?What example does the writer use to support each point?

3 Parts of a ParagraphParagraphs have a topic sentence and supporting sentences, and some paragraphs also have aconcluding sentence. The topic sentence states the main idea of the paragraph. It not only names thetopic of the paragraph, but it also limits the topic to one specific idea that can be discussed completely inthe space of a single paragraph. The part of the topic sentence that announces the specific area to bediscussed is called the controlling idea. Notice how the topic sentence of the sample presents the topicand the controlling idea: There are numerous advantages to owning a hybrid carPurposes of Topic Sentences ● To state the main point of a paragraph ● To give the reader a sense of direction (indicate what information will follow)Supporting sentences develop the topic sentence. That is, they explain or prove the topic sentence bygiving more information about it. Following are some of the supporting sentences that explain the topicsentence. First, they get 20 percent to 35 percent more miles to the gallon than a fuel-efficient gas-powered vehicle. (Supporting sentence 1: statistic) Second, they produce very few emissions during low speed city driving. (Supporting sentence 2: fact) Because they do not require gas, hybrid cars reduce dependency on fossil fuels, which helps lower prices at the pump. (Supporting sentence 3: reason) Alex bought a hybrid car two years ago and has been extremely impressed with its performance. (Supporting sentence 4: example) “It’s the cheapest car I’ve ever had,” she said. “The running costs are far lower than previous gas powered vehicles I’ve owned.” (Supporting sentence 5: quotation)To support a topic sentence, consider some of the possible ways to provide details. This support will alsodevelop the paragraph. Use one or more of these strategies in your paragraph: ● Add examples ● Tell a story that illustrates the point you're making ● Discuss a process ● Compare and contrast ● Use analogies (e.g., \"X is similar to Y because. . . \") ● Discuss cause and effect ● Define your terms

The concluding sentence signals the end of the paragraph and leaves the reader with important pointsto remember: Given the low running costs and environmental benefits of owning a hybrid car, it is likely that many more people will follow Alex’s example in the near future.© 2005-2017, SparkleBox Teacher Resources Limited (www.sparklebox.co.uk)

A Closer Look Topic sentence: There are numerous advantages to owning a hybrid car. Concluding sentence: Given the low running costs and environmental benefits of owning a hybrid car, it is likely that many more people will follow Alex’s example in the near future.Notice the use of the synonyms advantages and benefits. The concluding sentence reiterates the ideathat owning a hybrid is advantageous without using the exact same words. It also summarizes twoexamples of the advantages covered in the supporting sentences: low running costs and environmentalbenefits.You should avoid introducing any new ideas into your concluding sentence. A conclusion is intended toprovide the reader with a sense of completion. Introducing a subject that is not covered in the paragraphwill confuse the reader and weaken your writing.Give your paragraph meaningAfter you have given the reader enough information to see and understand your point, you need toexplain why this information is relevant, meaningful, or interesting.Ask yourself: What does the provided information mean? How does it relate to your overall point, argument, or thesis? Why is this information important/significant/meaningful? How does this information relate to the assignment or course I am taking?Summary ● A good paragraph contains three distinct components: a topic sentence, body, and concluding sentence. ● Good topic sentences contain both a main idea and a controlling idea, are clear and easy to follow, use engaging vocabulary, and provide an accurate indication of what will follow in the rest of the paragraph. ● In most academic essays, the topic sentence is placed at the beginning of a paragraph. However, topic sentences may be placed at the beginning, middle, or end of a paragraph. ● Supporting sentences help explain, prove, or enhance the topic sentence by offering facts, reasons, statistics, quotations, or examples. ● Concluding sentences summarize the key points in a paragraph and reiterate the main idea without repeating it word for word.

Circle the topic and underline the controlling idea.People can avoid plagiarizing by taking certain precautionsThere are several advantages to online educationEffective leadership requires specific qualities that anyone can developEmphasis on Original Work / PlagiarismAcademic writing also emphasizes original thought. Although we may use many quotations to helpexplain our topic more clearly, they are only used as support for our own ideas and original ways ofexpressing them. “Borrowing” from another writer without telling the reader that you are doing it isconsidered to be so wrong in writing that we even have a word for it – plagiarism. Plagiarism means totake another author’s words or original ideas and use them as though they are our own work.You may be familiar with the idea that taking someone’s words is plagiarism, but using other aspects ofother people’s writing is also plagiarism. We have not made it our own work simply by changing some ofthe words. Look at the following example: The traditions of Christmas come from many different countries and cultures. Even as Americans celebrate the holiday, they are following many customs begun in Germany, Sweden and England. In return, the image many Europeans have of Santa Claus in a red suit comes from an American Coca-Cola advertisement of the early 20th century. Christmas traditions began in many different countries. Americans follow many of the customs that started in Germany, Sweden and England. An American Coca-Cola advertisement from the early 20th century gave many Europeans the image of Santa Claus in a red suit.The second one would be considered an example of plagiarism, because it just changed some of thewords and moved them around a bit. It is still the same ideas, information, and order.

Basic Essay StructureEssays have three basic parts; introduction, body, and conclusion. As we saw in the inverted pyramid, theintroduction tells the reader what will be the main idea of the writing. This is called the thesis statement. Itis a clear, brief summary of what the reader can expect to find in the essay. You do not need to telleverything about the essay – that is what you will do in the body.The body is the main part of the essay. It is made of paragraphs, and each paragraph takes one part ofthe main idea expressed in the introduction and explains it greater detail. Remember, each paragraph inthe body will have a topic sentence which expresses the main idea of that individual paragraph.The conclusion ends the essay by helping the reader to understand how all the different parts of the bodyfit together to express the ideas in your thesis statement. Because of this, it is often a good idea to repeatyour thesis statement in a slightly different way than you expressed it in your introduction.To put it simply, each of these three parts has a specific job. The introduction prepares readers for theessay by telling them what to expect. The body gives them the information and ideas in greater detail.The conclusion shows the reader how all the details and information in the body fit together. Someteachers have described it this way: Tell them what you will write about, then write about it, then tell themwhat you wrote about.Preparing to WriteIn every situation, writing is not something that is easily done well with no planning. In an academiccontext, it is even more important to take some time to think of ideas and decide how we wish to organizethem on paper. This will not only make your written work of much better quality, you will also find that it iseasier. Having ideas, organizing them, and then writing are three different tasks. It is always easier to doone job at a time, instead of all at once.One method for getting started is called “brainstorming,” which simply means to think about your topic,and then write down anything that comes into your mind. It does not matter if it is neat, organized or evenclear. The only purpose is to take care of the first task of writing – having ideas. You can organize theminto a nice piece of writing later.Another method, which you can see below, is often called a “bubble diagram.” You start by writing yourgeneral idea inside a large circle. Then make smaller circles with a different aspect of your general ideawritten in each one. Keep doing this with smaller and smaller circles, and you will begin to easily see allthe different things you could discuss about your topic.

Bubble Diagram about Travel

Make a bubble diagram about the topic of studying a foreign language

OutliningAnother very useful method is outlining. This means making a brief, but complete plan for your writing.Outlining is especially useful, because it not only helps us write down our ideas, it also gives us a way toorganize them well. The basic outline structure for a four-paragraph essay about travel might look likethis: I) Introduction A) Main idea – There are many different aspects to travel 1) Different ways to travel 2) Different Reasons to travel II) Body A) Different ways to travel 1) Bus a) Characteristics of bus travel b) Advantages of bus travel c) Disadvantages of bus travel 2) Train a) b) c) 3) Airplane B) Different reasons to travel 1) Tourism 2) Visit family 3) Business III) Conclusion

DESCRIPTIVE WRITINGHave you ever read a book that you loved very much, and later that book was made into a movie? Whenyou saw the movie, were you a bit disappointed how the people and things in the movie looked? This isbecause the author of the book did such a good job of describing. This is the purpose of descriptivewriting – it helps the readers to feel that they have experienced the subject directly. They can create apicture inside their minds using your words. This is what we mean by a vivid description.Good description in writing has other benefits as well. It makes one’s writing much clearer, helping us totell the audience exactly what we want them to know, instead of simply the general idea. It will also helpyour writing to become more individual and not just like everyone else’s. It expresses the way you viewthings and think about them very clearly and in your own way.Methods for Good DescriptionYou should remember to use all of your senses, not just what you can see. We experience the worldthrough sounds, smell and touch also. Therefore, this should be in a description as well. If you want thereader to imagine you mother’s kitchen, describing the wonderful smells in that room will make it muchmore real to them. If you are describing a dirty room that no one has cleaned in a long time, tell thereader about that bad smell to make the room seem dirty in their minds.Compare and contrast is also useful for clear and interesting description. You can tell how two things aresimilar using metaphor and simile. The main difference between these two is that simile uses the wordslike or as to compare two things. Metaphor does not. They both use the characteristics of one thing todescribe another thing. For example, if we were telling about a very busy city street, we might write: Simile: The street was like a jar full of ants with each one busily moving in his own direction. Metaphor: The street was a jar of ants, with each one busily moving in his own direction.Notice that the only difference here is the word like. They both show how the street had the samecharacteristics as a jar with many ants moving about inside.Contrast uses differences, instead of similarities, to describe characteristics. Sometimes we canunderstand a thing clearly by being told what is its opposite. Think of how many times we have heardpeople say, “I am not a child,” when their meaning was, “I am an adult.” They were using contrast todescribe something important about themselves. We could describe the city street in this way: These streets were not at all like the quiet little roads of Tom’s village.By knowing that this street is the opposite of a peaceful village road, we begin to have a clear picture of

an active, crowded place. Sometimes, even the choice of one individual word can make description muchclearer and more interesting. To do this, use vivid language – words which have very specific, clearmeaning. These can be well-chosen nouns, verbs, adjectives or adverbs. General noun: Carl worked on his job until he was tired. Vivid noun: Carl worked on his farm until he was tired. General verb: Carl worked on his farm until he was tired. Vivid verb: Carl labored on his farm until he was tired. General adjective: Carl labored on his farm until he was tired. Vivid adjective: Carl labored on his farm until he was exhausted. General adverb: Carl labored hard on his farm until he was exhausted. Vivid adverb: Carl labored intensely on his farm until he was exhausted.It can also be helpful to change the way we look at a place or thing. This is called our perspective. Yourclassroom looks rather different to you and your teacher, because you are each in different parts of thatroom during most of the class. The teacher is standing at the front looking at a group of students. Thatteacher also sees the back wall of the room most of the time. You see the front wall, probably with achalkboard or whiteboard. You also see the other students in the class all around you. If you tell about athing or place from more than one perspective, it can make your description more detailed andinteresting. Language Focus – Adjectives and Adverbs of ComparisonAs we saw with metaphors and similes, comparison is a useful tool for clear description. Many adjectivesand adverbs simply use –er and –est. There are some basic rules for using these:Adverbs: With –er you must say with who or what the subject is being compared. You use (adjective) +than Danny runs faster than Mike.With –est you do not need to tell with who or what it is compared. Danny runs fastest.Adjectives: When –er is used as an adjective, use the same rule you used for adverbs. Danny is faster than Mike.Because –est means “more than all the others” there can be only one. Therefore, you use the article thewith these adjectives.

Danny is the fastest runner.Some adjectives cannot use –er or –est. With these you must use more, most, less and least. Theseinclude:Compound Words (one word made by putting two words together) more hardworking, more good-looking, most mouth-watering, most well-known actorWords made with suffixes skillful, beautiful, comfortableSome adjectives and adverbs simply have a different word for each meaningSome ➔ More➔ Most Little ➔ Less ➔ LeastGood➔ Better ➔Best Bad ➔Worse➔ Worst

ExercisesI. Metaphors and Similes – Think of five words which you would use to describe a very beautiful day.1. ______________ 2.__________________ 3. ______________4. ______________ 5. _________________Now, use these words to write five sentences describing this classroom.1. ______________________________________________________________________________2. ______________________________________________________________________________3. ______________________________________________________________________________4. ______________________________________________________________________________5. ______________________________________________________________________________

II. Write the correct form of the word in parenthesis to complete the sentence.1. Lisa is the __________________ girl in the class. (smart)2. Those motorcycles are _______________________than the other motorcycles. (expensive)3. Chris has ____________________money than Tina. (some)4. That book is _______________________________ than my new book. (interesting)5. That was ___________________ storm we have had all year. (bad)6. I would like the drink with _________________________ sugar, please. (little)7. My computer is the ______________________ tool I have for doing my work. (useful)8. William runs fast, but Eric runs __________________. (fast)In these two sentences, how would you tell that the two things are the same, or equal?9. Sally was so happy that she felt _____________________________ a cloud. (light)10. The ocean looked ___________________________________ the whole sky. (big)

WORD CHOICE AND CLARITYWord ChoiceIn every kind of writing, it is important to choose the correct for exactly what you wish to say. This is howyou are able to express your complete, specific meaning instead of simply giving the reader a generalimpression. You can use the four questions below to help yourself choose words well.Is the word I am using specific enough?A general word could mean many different things to different people, while a specific word will mean one,or just a few, very clear things. For instance, because the word \"animal\" could mean any of a milliondifferent creatures - from ants to elephants - it is a very general term. However, “fish” is more specific, and“shark” is even more specific.By choosing specific words, you create fewer different ways the readers could understand what you aretelling. This will give them a much clearer understanding of your ideas, and it will help to avoidmisunderstanding.Does this word have connotations that I do not mean?Every word in English has its literal meaning (called denotation), which is the words very basic definition.However, words also have implied meaning (called connotation), which can give the word a positive ornegative feeling. For example the words “silent” and “peaceful” have almost the same literal meaning, butthe connotations are different. “Silent” is not positive or negative, it simply describes a condition of nosound. However, “peaceful” has a very positive connotation. If we call a scene “peaceful” in our writing,we not only describe the way it sounds, but also describe the feeling that goes with it.Learning to use connotation when you are writing helps you control the feeling of what you write and notjust the information. Look at the very different effects of these two sentences whose literal meanings aremostly the same:* She sat in a private area of the park and relaxed.* She sat in a lonely area of the park and did nothing.Either of these could be an effective topic sentence for a descriptive paragraph, but which one we chosewould depend on whether we wanted the reader to feel that it was a pleasant scene or a rather sad one.Will my reader understand this word in the same way I do?We already know that thinking about your audience helps you become a better writer. One way to do thisis to make sure that reader’s understanding of a word is going to be the same as your understanding.This is especially important when someone is writing in a second language, where the writer’sunderstanding of a word may not be the same as the native-speaking reader, such as these two rathercommon examples:

dormitory (dorm) vs. dorm room open/close vs. turn on/turn offPut yourself in the reader's place and look back at what you have written. What words might beunfamiliar? Can you find better ones? If not, should you take a sentence or two to define them? Are anywords ambiguous (could mean more than one thing)?Is this word or phrase used too much?The words and expressions we hear and read most often become part of the way we express ourselves,and many of them find their way into our writing. This is fine, unless a word or expression has been usedtoo often. If your readers have seen a phrase too much, it will start to lose its interest and meaning forthem. This could be a word that you have personally used many times in your writing, or it could be aphrase that is has been used too often by other writers or in daily life. We often call these phrases“clichés.” An example of a cliché would be: The nurse was as gentle as a lamb. (The phrase “gentle as a lamb” has been very common for many, many years.) It may be better to write: The nurse was as gentle as a soft breeze.CC BY-SA 3.0 Nick Youngson

ExercisesI) With each group below, arrange the terms in order from least to most specific.a. ( ) animal ( ) living thing ( ) mammal ( ) leopard ( ) catb. ( ) city ( ) capital ( ) place ( ) Bangkok ( ) Khao San Roadc. ( ) sport ( ) goal ( ) activity ( ) football ( ) team sportd. ( ) virus ( ) situation ( ) problem ( ) internet trouble ( ) computer probleme. ( ) quadrangle ( ) textbook ( ) writing textbook ( ) bookWorksheetII) Discuss the connotations of the italicized words. Then change each one to a word with a similardenotation but a different connotation.a. The crowd was very noisy.b. The fragrance of the cooking food filled the house.c. Mr. Simpson dresses unprofessionally for work.d. Marvin behaves very humorously.e. We had an active weekend.f. The noise from the band could be heard far away.g. They debated about buying a new computer.h. Clifford is quite boastful isn't he?i. Sasha’s closet was filled with dresses.j. Ms. Perry’s inexpensive went past on the street.

Creating ClarityIn addition to word choice, there are other methods that will help you to express your meaning moreclearly. If we understand how different patterns of grammar can make small, but important changes to ourmeaning we can use those patterns to tell the readers exactly what we are thinking. Here are somesimple guidelines that will help you. Be careful about where you put subordinate clauses – This simply means not to break a statement into two parts, and put another idea in the middle. You can see this in the following example: Being overweight, because of people’s less active lifestyle, is becoming common.Notice how in each of the examples below, the two statements are complete and not broken. Being overweight is becoming common because of people’s less active lifestyle. Because of people’s less active lifestyle, being overweight is becoming common. Use active voice – Passive voice is when the subject of a sentence does not perform an action. Sentences in active voice are usually easier to understand because active voice tells the reader who or what did the action. There are times when passive voice is useful, such as some very formal writing, but most of the time active voice makes the most clear and complete statements. Passive Voice - A decision was reached to change the plan. (we don’t know who or how) Active Voice - The committee decided to change the plan. Avoid noun strings – A noun string is a descriptive phrase or title made of three or more nouns put together. They are often difficult to understand and do not give the reader a very active impression, because they lack a verb for action. Notice how this makes the following statement. This report is our education quality improvement project explanation.Did you notice that the last five words in the sentence were all nouns? It is clearer and more pleasant toread if we change some of those nouns to their verbs forms. This report explains our project to improve the quality of education. Avoid multiple negatives – Negatives are words like “no” or “not” and prefixes like “-un” and “- im”. When a writer puts too many of these into one sentence it becomes like a puzzle to figure out the meaning. We did not think that he was not unlikable. We did not find him likable. Avoid unclear pronoun references – When you use a pronoun make sure that it is clear that it refers to a specific noun from that sentence, or the sentence before. With improvement in transportation, tourism and business have become more international. This

has helped the economy of many places in the countryside.In the sentence above, it is not clear what has helped the economy in the countryside. Is it improvedtransportation, tourism, or business? We cannot tell what “this” refers to. Now look at the next sentence: With improvement in transportation, tourism and business have become more international. Tourism has helped the economy of many places in the countryside.You can see the same difference in these next two examples. Larissa worked in a bank last summer, which may be her career choice. Larissa worked in a bank last summer, so finance may be her career choice.

ExercisesCHANGE THE SENTENCES TO CLEARER LANGUAGE1. Our campus beauty cleanliness program gives our school a pleasant appearance.________________________________________________________________________________2. My brother, with his arms full of bags, came home to visit.________________________________________________________________________________3. A sudden change was made in the schedule.________________________________________________________________________________4. Max watched the cups with his eyes as they fell on the floor.________________________________________________________________________________5. Teresa was unable not to refuse his request.________________________________________________________________________________6. Max, after riding on the train all day, was uncomfortable.________________________________________________________________________________7. For my girlfriend’s birthday I got her a cake and a kitten, so we ate it.________________________________________________________________________________8. Faye was unwilling to behave impolitely.________________________________________________________________________________

WRITING TO EXPLAIN HOW: DIRECTIONSYou have probably already had the experience of needing to follow directions written in English. As amatter of fact, you have done that in this book. There are likely other times in the future when you willneed to write directions in English as well. These could be directions telling someone where to go, how touse a machine properly, or how to do their new job well. It is sad to say, though, that directions are oftenamong some of the poorest writing in the world. Bad directions are not just poor writing, they can causethe person using them big problems.Important Elements for You, the WriterThere are three things you should consider before you start to write directions. The first one is your ownunderstanding of the process you are describing. Make sure that your own knowledge is complete. Youmay find that you do not know everything you need to give good directions, so you may have to do a bit ofresearch to do them correctly.A good ability to see the process in your mind is also important. Then you must put it into words that thereader can clearly understand. You want the reader to be able to “see” the process in his mind as clearlyas you see it in yours. This uses many of the skills and methods discussed in the lesson on descriptivewriting.You also must consider your audience – put yourself in the place of the readers. Remember, if they knewvery much about the subject, they would probably not need directions. They are using you directionsbecause they are dealing with something new, unfamiliar or complicated.Terms for DirectionsYou can divide directions into three main parts – steps, tasks, and procedure. A step is one single actionthat the user must do. A group of steps which go together form a task. The tasks go together to make theprocedure, which is the entire process that the directions are describing. To understand more clearly, lookat the examples below. Procedure – Build a birdhouse Task – Nail the roof together, put the roof on the birdhouse, nail the roof onto the birdhouse Step – Nail the two parts of the roof togetherCan you see the way that the whole job of building a birdhouse is actually made of many smaller jobs? Ifyou think of the job that you are describing in your directions, it will be easier for you to make very clear,complete directions that are easy for the user to follow.

Writing the DirectionsAfter you have decided what the steps and tasks are for your directions, you are ready to begin writing.You do not begin with the steps right away, though. There is information that the users will need beforethey can get started. As with most writing, they will need a bit of an introduction to help them be prepared.First, the introduction should tell the user for what job you are giving directions. This allows the person tobe sure they have the correct directions for what they wish to do. Next, you should tell them what thingsthey may need in order to do the procedure, such as tools. It can sometimes be troublesome to stop whatone is doing to go get something. Finally, you would want to tell the user about common problems ordangers in carrying out the directions. If you are aware that many people have made the same mistake inthe past. You can help the user by telling him or her about it first. Then it is easier to avoid that problem.When you are through with the introduction, you are ready to begin describing the steps and tasks. Thereare three common methods for giving directions. The first is called the task method. This is simply whenyou describe the steps and tasks, one by one, in the order that the user will do them. The other is calledthe tools method. These directions show you how to use something, such as a camera or cell phone, andthey often have pictures which help to show the directions, as you can see in the example below. Directions for Taking a PhotoFinally, there is the combined method. This simply means that the directions have characteristics of bothtask and tools methods. These directions usually give the steps and tasks in a certain order, but they alsouse pictures to help the user to visualize the directions.The conclusion of your directions should help the user to know that he or she has followed the directionssuccessfully. Describe how the results should look and work. You tell users this so that they are able tomake sure that they have followed the directions correctly and have gotten the results that they want.

Some helpful tipsUse chronological order – The user will be following your directions as he/she reads them. Steps givenout of order could create real problems.Keep your audience in mind – You cannot assume that everyone knows what you know. If you areexplaining how to put a new program into a computer to a person who has little computer experience, youneed to explain it simply so it can be easily understood.Stick to the point – Do not attempt to be helpful by adding information that does not accomplish theprocedure. When explaining how to change a tire on a car, for example, do not discuss where to buycheap tires or how long new ones should last.Tell the reader how you will organize your directions – Make sure that the reader is prepared for howyou will present the directions. It will make them easier for him/her to understand.

Language Focus: Showing OrderOrdinal Numbers – These are the numbers we use in English to show the order in which things happen.They are numbers like first, second, third, and fourth. Although they can be useful, if you use only ordinalnumbers, it will make your writing seem like a list. This can become rather boring for the reader. Bymixing them with other words and phrases, it will make it more interesting and clear to read.Other Words and Phrases to Show OrderInitially – Means the same thing as “first” To travel to a foreign country, initially you must get a visa.Next / Then – Simply tell what that one thing comes after another. We got our visas. Then we bought our airline tickets.After . . . / Following . . . – These tell the same thing as next and then. The difference is that these wordsrequire you to tell both what happened first and what will happen next. After we got visas, we bought airline tickets. We bought airline tickets after we got visas.The words above come before verb phrases – “got visas” “bought airline tickets.” Following must use anoun phrase. Following our visas, we bought airline tickets.Before . . . / Prior to . . . – Tell the reader that another thing happened before. Before we bought airline tickets, we got visas.Before uses verb phrases, and Following uses noun phrases. Prior to airline tickets, we got visas.Finally / Lastly – Shows that you are giving the reader the last thing or event. Finally, we got on the plane and took our vacation.

Exercises Write a sentence expressing what is shown on the timeline, using the words given.Planting a Seed_______________________________________________________________↓↓↓↓Dig a hole Put the seed in the hole Cover the seed with dirt Water the dirt1. Write a sentence using “initially.” ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________2. Write two sentences. Use “then” in one of them. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________3. Write a sentence using “finally.” ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Use a debit card___________________________________________________________________________↓↓↓↓Swipe the card Enter the pin Accept the total4. Write a sentence using “prior to.” ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________5. Write two sentences. Use “next” in one of them. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________6. Write two sentences using ordinal numbers. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Making Lemonade___________________________________________________________________________↓↓↓Put lemon juice in a glass. Add sugar Fill glass with water7. Write a sentence using “before.” ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________8. Write a sentence using “after.” _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________9. Write two sentences using an ordinal number in the first sentence and “then” in the next sentence.___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

NARRATIVES – Telling a StoryNarrative is simply telling a story – describing events as they happened for a reader. There are manytimes you may want to do this. Sometimes we tell stories about our lives to help others feel they know usbetter. This is also a common part of applying to schools or in making speeches. Even the writing in anewspaper is often a narrative.When you are preparing to write a narrative you should think a bit before writing. Decide what makes thestory important. Why are you telling it to the reader? This will help you to pay more attention to the partsof the story that tell the readers what you wish them to understand. It may also help to make a list of themain events which go together to make the story. This will help you decide how to organize your story.You can see what events are most important and need longer, detailed description. You can also decidewhich events should go together to form one stage of the story. By “stage” we simply mean events whichare closely related. They could be related by an idea, or by happening near to one another in time.Parts of a NarrativeIn a short narrative, it helps to organize the events and other parts of your story into clear parts. In longerstories, like novels, these are much more flexible, because you have more space in which to get yourstory and point across.Of course, the first part is the introduction. The introduction of a narrative has three main purposes. First,it sets the stage. This means we show the reader the situation where the story will take place. This couldbe describing the place it happens (called the “setting”), describing the main characters or other importantaspects. The next job that you have in the introduction is to get the reader interested. You could do thisby showing that the story is about something very unusual, be describing a common feeling that you andyour reader might share, or by telling them something unusual that will make them curious. You may wishto tell the main idea of the story. Here, it would be helpful to remember your answer when you askedyourself, “Why am I telling this story.” Although it is not always necessary, it sometimes can help to keepthe story more focused and prepare the readers for how you wish them to feel about the story.The next part of the narrative is called the “chronology,” which simply means events of the story told inthe order that they happened. In longer novels, writers sometimes create interesting stories by telling theevents out of order. However, this is difficult to do well and it is almost impossible in a very short piece ofwriting. The chronology ends with the climax. This is the word for the important event to which the wholenarrative has been leading.Sometimes writers may end with the climax, but usually the finish by adding a conclusion whichcomments on the story. This could be to tell of the effects that the story had on the characters or to pointout a useful lesson that you feel can be found in your tale. In some ways we could say that a narrativehas “two conclusions” – the climax and the comment on the story.

Tools of a narrativeTo tell a good narrative, you need to use the skills of description which you already practiced in this class.Remember, the goal of narrative is to help the reader feel that he or she has experienced the story. Thismeans you should describe the setting (the place the story happens) and the people in a very clear anddetailed mannerYou should also try to give the reader a feeling of the time that is passing in the story. Using words suchas, “then,” “next,” “after,” and “while” is one very simple method for doing this. You also may simply tellthe reader how much time has passed: Ryan started to work on his project. An hour later, he still felt he had much work to do. Ryan began his project at two o’clock. By three o’clock, he still felt he had much work to do.Finally, think about what tone or feeling you want the story to have. Are you trying to make the readerlaugh at a funny event? Do you want them to feel sorry for the person in the story? The tone could affectyour word choice. For example, if we are telling the story of a young man who has just moved from thecountryside to a large city, we could describe it two different ways: The streets were lively with busy people. The streets were crowded with hurrying people.Do you see how the first example gives the impression of an exciting, active place, while the second onegives the feeling that it might be a stressful place? Although we are describing the same scene in bothsentences, which one we chose would depend on the impression that we want the reader to get from ourstory.

EXAMPLE

Language Focus – “Since,” “From . . . to,” and“For”When trying to explain time to the reader, we usually do one of four things – we tell when somethingbegan, when it ended, or for how long it happened. Often we may use two or three of these at the sametime. In this lesson we will look at some basic words and sentences patterns you may use to correctly andclearly show this.Since is used to tell when something began, that is still happening now.The clock tower has stood in the center for town since 1918.For is used to show how long something happened. It could be something that is still happening, orsomething that has ended.Something that is still happening – The clock tower has stood in the center of town for ninety years.Something that has ended - The clock tower stood in the center of town for ninety years.From . . . to is used to show when something began and when it ended.An older clock tower stood in the same place from 1875 to 1915.EXERCISESWrite answers to the following questions using “Since . . ,” “From . . . to . . ,” and “For.”1. When did you become a student at this university?______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________2. How long did it take you to get to school today? _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________3. When does writing class begin and end? _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________4. When did you begin to study English? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________5. What are the first and last months of this school term? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

DISCOURSE MARKERS and TYPES OFSENTENCESDiscourse Markers and ConjunctionsLike most styles, academic writing uses certain words to put ideas together. These can be conjunctions,which are used to put two ideas together into one sentence. You are already familiar with most of theseconjunctions, such as and, but and or. Discourse markers (also called “sentence connectors) are wordsor phrases that you can use at the beginning of the sentence to show how the ideas in two separatesentences go together. It is important to remember, while it is correct to begin a sentence with adiscourse marker, you should not begin sentences with conjunctions.Different discourse markers show different relationships between the ideas in the two sentences. Below,we have the relationship and the discourse markers which would be used to show that relationshipbetween ideas. Addition – Used for things or ideas that belong together. Discourse markers: also, in addition, additionally, further Riding a bicycle is a good way to save money. Also, it is good exercise. Conjunction: and Riding a bicycle is a good way to save money and to exercise. Opposition – Used when the second idea is different from the first, or shows a change. Discourse markers: however, despite, on the contrary, although Riding a bicycle is a good way to save money. However, it can be dangerous Conjunction: but Riding a bicycle is a good way to save money, but it can be dangerous. Cause and Effect – When one thing makes another thing happen Discourse markers: therefore, as a result, because * A bicycle will make you more active. Therefore, you will be healthier. Conjunction: so A bicycle will make you more active, so you will be healthier.

Comparison – Show how things are the same Discourse markers: similarly, in the same way Thailand has many beaches. Similarly, California has many beaches. Conjunction: like Thailand has many beaches like California. Contrast – Show how two things are different Discourse markers: on the other hand, in contrast, to the contrary Thailand’s beaches are warm all year. In contrast, California’s beaches are sometimes cold. Conjunction: but Thailand’s beaches are warm all year, but California’s beaches are sometimes cold.Condition – (A) can only happen if (B) happens Discourse markers and conjunctions: otherwise, only if, if . . . then If we save enough money, then we will take a vacation. We must save enough money. Otherwise, we cannot take a vacation. * It does not matter if “because” is at the beginning or in the middle of the sentence. However the cause and effect must always be in the same sentence. WRONG: He had to fix his car Because it was not driving well. (effect) (cause). RIGHT: He had to fix his car because it was not driving well (effect) (cause). RIGHT: Because it was not driving well, he had to fix his car. (cause) (effect).

EXERCISES a. they are very heavy. b. I still got a “C” on the test.Connect the sentences with appropriate discourse markers. c. you look for it.1. I had to get up early_____________________________ d. it has no gasoline.2. They can learn how to do it _______________________ e. she takes evening courses.3. She wants to speak Spanish ______________________ f. you teach them4. I studied all night _______________________________ g. a watermelon.5. Max has a big, giant head ________________________ h. I had a meeting this morning6. You won’t find your wallet_________________________7. Those boxes are very large _______________________8. A car cannot go ________________________________Fill in the missing discourse markers and conjunctions1) Rick is older than his brother, David. _____________David is much taller.2) Today, the weather is sunny _____________ hot.3) Bernice likes that hairdresser ___________ she goes there often.4) It would cost little money to stay home for vacation. _________________, a trip would be more fun.5. The beaches in Thailand are great places. ____________, the beaches in California are very nice.6) Those cars look good, ________________ they don’t work very well.7) Going for walks is relaxing. ___________________________ it is good for your health.8) Fred’s family has five people, ______________my family has five people.9) Bernice often goes to that hairdresser ________________________ she likes it.10. You must ask for his phone number. ______________________, you cannot call him.11. The bus had no seats left. _____________________ we could not get on.12. Our clothes dry faster ______________ the sun is shining.13. You cannot call him ___________________ you ask for his phone number.

Types of SentencesBeing able to express your thoughts in a variety of different sentences gives many benefits to yourEnglish writing. It makes your essays and other work more interesting and enjoyable to read, becausereaders become bored if most of the sentences are the same simple type. It also gives you the ability toexpress yourself in the best way. It is like the difference between having only a hammer, or having a largeset of tools. With only a hammer, there are many things you could not fix. With many tools you can domany things. Sentences are your tools in writing. If you can choose from many different types, you canchoose the best way to express each idea. Here we will look at three types of sentences. We will not justlook at the grammar, but will also discuss the different ways you may wish to use each of themSimple Sentence – A simple sentence has one subject and one main verb. It will often have an object aswell. The radio played loudly. (S) (V)Simple sentences are useful when you wish to express a simple thought in a very direct manner. Youmay also use them to add more information or thought to a longer sentence. Hannah tried and tried to do her work, but there was too much noise in the room. The radio played loudly.Compound sentence – Compound sentences have at least two subjects and two main verbs. Thismeans that a compound sentence could be taken apart and made two sentences.The radio played loudly while Hannah wrote a letter.(S) (V) (S) (V)Each set of subjects and verbs makes an independent clause:The radio played loudly while Hanna wrote a letter.12You do not usually want make compound sentences with more than two independent clauses. In somelanguages, it is common to write very long compound sentences with many independent clausesconnected by semicolons ( ; ), but we very rarely do this in English. The direct style of English expressionmeans that each sentence should express one clear thought. You will notice that you see very fewsemicolons in most English writing.Compound sentences are best to use when you want to express two ideas that are closely related to oneanother. These sentences let you show that relationship clearly to the reader. In the example above, weare showing that the two things (the radio playing and Hannah writing a letter) are happening at the sametime.Complex Sentence – A complex sentence has at least one independent clause, and at least onedependent clause. A dependent clause does not have both a subject and a main verb. Because of this, adependent clause can never be a complete sentence.The radio played loudly in the next room.(independent) (dependent)

The first part (The radio played loudly), has a subject and main verb. You can see that there is no verb inthe second part (in the next room). A complex sentence allows you to make a statement then add moreinformation or description.EXERCISEThe following passage is written with only simple sentences. How would you rewrite it to give it a varietyof sentence types? Fast food has become very popular all over the world. There are many different reasons why it is so popular. Some people like it because it is fast and easy. Other people like it for the taste. Fast food has some problems, though. Much fast food has too much fat. Much of it is has few vitamins. People who eat too much fast food become unhealthy. Fast food is not completely bad. It is also not completely good. It is like many things in life. It has positive and negative aspects.

SUMMARIZINGTo write a summary means to take the main ideas of a longer piece of writing and put them into your ownwords briefly and simply. You use summarizing when gathering information from a class or research,writing a book report or at other times when you want the reader to understand the basic ideas in a longerpiece of writing. Learning the skills needed to write a summary will also help your comprehension andability to write very clearly and directly to the point.Steps to Writing a SummaryOf course, first you must carefully read the article that you will summarize. You should read it almostcasually once just to find the main ideas it expresses. Then you should read it more carefully. If you can,you should underline each main idea. If you cannot write on the original article, then write careful notesabout these ideas. If the article is short enough, you may want to underline the topic sentence of eachparagraph. Also, look up any words you are not sure of in the dictionary to make sure that yourunderstanding is complete and correct. Finally, think about how the different ideas you have found relateto each other. Do some of the ideas seem to be very closely related to one another by a common themeor purpose? Does the article seem to have different parts that focus on different aspects of the mainidea?When you are ready to begin outlining your summary, first it is helpful to write one or two sentences thatbriefly explain the main idea of the article. Then do the same for each of the supporting ideas that youfound in the other paragraphs. Remember, some ideas may be so closely related that you can summarizethem in one or two very clear sentences. These sentences will give you something with which to beginoutlining your summary.After you have these ideas organized in your outline, you are ready to begin writing the actual summary.As you write you should remember three important points. First, you should use many of the originalauthor’s “key words.” By this we mean the words that the author uses often to express his main ideas.Also, you should closely follow the organization of the original article, so that you tell the main ideas inbasically the same order as the author. Finally, a good summary will use quotations from the originalarticle as support to help explain and give examples. However, you must not use too many, because thesummary is supposed to be mostly your own work, showing your understanding of the original.

EXAMPLE Read the following article, and then compare it to the summary. Original Each country in Asia has its own special style of food. Sometimes this style is influenced by the culture. It is also influenced by the different animals, fruits and vegetables that grow in various areas. We can see three examples in the foods of Thailand, Japan and China. Thai food is famous for being hot and spicy. The very hot peppers that make this taste grow best in places where it is very warm, like Thailand. Some people also believe it shows the Thai people’s lively personalities. People who enjoy spicy flavor have made Thai restaurants very popular around the world. Seafood is an important part of much Japanese cooking. This is not surprising, since Japan is a country made of islands. The Japanese have depended on fishing for so long that the sea is part of many of their festivals and traditions. Japanese dishes like sushi and sashimi are some of the most popular Japanese food in the West. Chinese pay very careful attention to the way they mix the parts of each dish. This comes from a very old Chinese belief that all things must have balance. Therefore, Chinese cooks want to make sure that there is not too much – or too little – of any taste in each dish. There are probably more Chinese restaurants in the West than any other Asian style of cooking. Each country has created its own kind of original food. One can easily see some characteristics of Thai, Japanese and Chinese culture simply by learning about their special dishes. Also, all of them have created food which has become popular all over world.Summary Thailand, Japan and China each have their own special styles of cooking. This was influenced by both culture and the native animals and plants of each place. Thai food is often hot and spicy from the peppers that grow in its warm weather, and some say it is like the lively Thai people. Japan is an island country, so the sea is an important part of their food and their traditional culture. The Chinese belief in the importance of balance created foods with many flavors mixed together with great care. One thing they each have in common is that they have become popular all around the world.Now you summarize the following passage There are two parts of Bangkok that offer special things for foreign people. One is the area around Khao San Road. The other is to the southwest near the Silom subway station. Each of these areas has its own characteristics, because they offer things for different kinds of people from outside Thailand. The part of the city near Khao San Road serves thousands of foreign tourists every year. Therefore, it has many businesses that help people with their vacations. Travel agencies, hotels, and souvenir shops are easy to find near in this section of the city, so many tourists make the Khao San area their first stop in Thailand. The area near Silom subway station has many things for the foreign people who live and work in Bangkok. called “ex-patriots” or “ex-pats.” They are not on vacation, so they do not need so many businesses dealing with travel. Instead, this part offers things for their daily lives, like supermarkets and restaurants that have a mix of Thai and Western foods. You will also find many services to help foreign business people with their work. This area has things for the people from abroad who call Bangkok their home. Every day, Bangkok is filled with people from all over the world. The areas around both Khao San Road and Silom subway station have both been successful by providing business to serve them. Because all foreign people in Thailand are not the same, though, they have each developed their own unique character.

WRITING LETTERS: DIFFERENT LETTERS FORDIFFERENT PURPOSESEven in today’s world of computers, Internet and e-mail, written letters are still important. Many businessmatters require an original paper document, and it makes a professional impression to see that we tookthe time to write. In addition, even professional e-mails follow a style similar to business letters.There are many different reasons one would have to write a letter, so types of letters differ from oneanother. Are you writing a letter of complaint because you unhappy with a product or service? Perhapsyou need information or help, so you are writing a letter of request. Applying for jobs or schools alsorequires letters. You would have to write a letter of application, or may be asked to write a letter ofrecommendation for the person applying. In this lesson, we will look at two of the most basic types –letters of request and letters of complaint.Your Letter is YouVery often, the person to whom you write a formal letter is someone that you have never met. Therefore itis the only way you have to give the proper impression of yourself to the reader. You could say that, inmany ways, the letter is you. This means that you should carefully consider certain points of writing.You should learn a proper business format, such as where to place addresses and names, as well ashow much white space should be around the edges of the paper (called the margins). We have providedyou with an example in this textbook, but you should often check before writing. Very specific types ofletters have different styles, some companies prefer one style more than another, and styles often changeover time. The important thing to remember is that a proper business format shows the person readingthe letter that you are a professional who cares about the work that you do.Basic Parts of a Business Letter – One Common FormatThere are some common characteristics of business letters which you can see in the example on thefollowing page. Most of the letter is single-spaced, meaning there is one line in between each line ofwriting. The style that we show in this book is called “flush left”, because you can see that everything is ina straight line down the left side of the page. The first item is your own address, and then you skip twolines and write the date. After this, skip two lines and write the name and address of the person to whomyou are sending the letter. Then skip two lines again and write the greeting, or salutation.You should avoid such common salutations as Dear Sir or Madam or To Whom It May Concern. It is bestto use the person’s name because it helps you to make a professional impression by showing that youtook the time and effort to find out. If it is impossible to learn the name of the person, use the job title. Inour example, we could write Dear Manager instead. You should never use Dear Sir if you do not know forcertain that the person is a man. Some women could become offended because they feel this means thatthe person writing the letter believes that only a man could do her job.The body of a business letter should be about three or four paragraphs. As with most matters in Western

business, people at work like things to be simple, direct and quick. The purpose of a formal letter is not togive much complicated and detailed information. It is to give to the reader simple, clear information orquestions.For the closing of a letter, you should leave two spaces after the last paragraph of the body, then leavethree more spaces and type your name. Your handwritten name goes in the space between the closingand your typed name.Now, we will consider the content of the body in two different kinds of business letters.Letters of RequestThe first paragraph of a letter is like an introduction. It is supposed to give the reader a clearunderstanding of everything that will follow. Therefore, in a letter of request the first paragraph should tellthe reader your purpose in writing the letter. Explain what information, help or items you will arerequesting. It also helps to tell why you need these things. Are you requesting these items for your job, anorganization or club, or for your personal interests? This lets the reader know right away whether they arecapable of helping you.In the following paragraphs, your request becomes more specific, telling the reader each individual itemyou are requesting. It is always a good idea to tell the reader that you welcome any more information thathe would like to add. This is helpful, because we may not be aware of everything they could offer us.They may have more knowledge about the subject than we do.In the last paragraph you should always thank them for taking time to read your letter, and thank them inadvance for their response. This is not only polite, but also helps to make your point that you areexpecting a response.After you have received a response, it is always a good idea to send a “thank you” letter to those thathelped you. By doing this, you keep a good relationship with those people who may be helpful to youanother time in the future.Letters of ComplaintA letter of complaint can be difficult to write. On the one hand, one writes such a letter because one isunhappy with a product, service or other matter. On the other hand, the person writing the letter is hopingthat the reader will do something about the problem. For these reasons, it is important to keep a polite,professional tone to your letter.The first thing you should do is start with something positive. This makes the reader more interested inreading your letter, and it also shows that you are a reasonable person who does not have only negativethings to express. For example, if your new cell phone from the Ronin Company broke a week after youbought it, you might begin by writing that you have bought many Ronin products in the past and havealways been quite happy with them. Therefore, you are very disappointed that your new phone had suchproblems.When you describe the problem, tell as many specific details as possible. This will make it easier for the

reader to understand, and for that person to possibly help you fix the problem. They would need to knowexactly the product or service you used. It is also often helpful to tell the reader information like the date.The more they know about your situation, the better they will be able to help you.You should also suggest one possible solution to the problem. Do you want them to fix your brokenphone, replace it with a new one, or simply return your money? You might even suggest some way forthem to avoid the same trouble in the future. The end of the letter is similar to the letter of request. Thankthe reader for taking the time to read your letter, and thank them in advance for helping you to take careof your problem.Sample Letter of Request423 Garden AvenueChicago, Illinois 53700June 28, 2007Ms. Ellen PryorManagerGlobal Hotel427 Park StreetArlington, Virginia 01234Dear Ms. Pryor:As assistant to the president of Maximum Electronics Corporation, I amwriting to request information on your hotel. We will have our annualconvention in Arlington this year, and am interested in holding it in yourhotel. We would appreciate any information you would give us.The convention will be from September 22 to September 23 of this year. Weexpect to have 350 guests for the gathering. During the convention, we willhave a large banquet and several conferences.We would like to know if you have the guest rooms, dining rooms andconference rooms that can be used for these purposes. If you have officeequipment, such as computers and Fax machines, available for use by guests,this would also be quite helpful. Finally, we would like to know if youprovide transportation to and from the airport. Any other information thatyou think is important would also be greatly appreciated.Thank you very much from your time and attention in this matter. We lookforward to receiving your response.Sincerely,Edward BanksEdward BanksAdministrative Assistant

Sample Letter of Complaint827 Folsom StreetMonterey, California 27701August 15, 2007Mr. Ray StilesCustomer Service ManagerRegent Department Store486 Pine StreetSeaside, California 01234Dear Mr. Stiles:I have been a customer at your department stores for many years, and haveusually been very happy with the quality of your products. However, on May 4,I purchased a television at your store in Seaside which stopped working onAugust 10. When I contacted your store about this, they told me that theycould only replace a new item for sixty days. Because I had bought mytelevision three months ago, they said they could not do anything. I was verydisappointed by this.I understand that it may not be possible for you to refund my money at thistime, but I was hoping that you would be able to replace my television withone that is working. If you cannot do this, perhaps someone in your storecould see if it could be fixed. I would honestly appreciate anything youcould do.Thank you very much for taking the time to read this and consider my problem.In the past I have received very good service from your store and I am surethat you will be able to help me. I look forward to your response.Sincerely,Terry MaconTerry Macon

FORMAL AND INFORMAL LANGUAGE Most of us are very familiar with the fact that we do not speak the same in all situations. This could bebecause of the other person’s age or status, such as their job or social position. Also, the situation itselfmay require certain behavior. The differences in all these situations come from formality and informality.Most business and academic writing requires formal English. What are the different purposes andcharacteristics of formal English?Formal language in writing helps us to make a certain kind of impression on the reader. It helps us tocreate a professional image. It is less personal than informal English, so it seems less friendly and casual,but more businesslike. You would use formal language for business letters and reports, research papersand most writing done for academic purposes. Its main characteristics are that it uses almost no idioms orslang, and rarely uses first names of people. It also uses passive voice more often than less formal typesof writing.In some situations, being too formal would not be appropriate. Informal English gives the impression offriendliness or a casual attitude that may suit some writing better. Any kind of personal writing, such asletters and e-mails to friends would be informal. We also use it much creative writing and any time wewant to give our expression a relaxed feeling. With informal English you may use some idioms and slang,as well as people’s first names.Basic Differences Between Formal and Informal EnglishIt may be easiest to understand the differences if we change some phrases from informal to formal. Thiswill allow you to see the characteristics of each more clearly. For example, passive voice is used moreoften in formal English than it is used in informal writing. You will remember from our lesson on clarity thatpassive voice means that the subject of the sentence is not performing any action. This difference showsthe less personal nature of formal writing, because it pays more attention to what action was taken than itpays to the people who do that action. Informal I sent your report to my boss. Formal Your report has been sent to my boss.Many of the things which we do to make writing simpler or faster are not done in formal writing.Contractions, such as don’t, he’s, and they’re, are used very little when we are writing formally. We wouldwrite do not, he is, and they are instead. The only times that contractions will be used in this type ofwriting would be in a quotation. If our friend David said the word didn’t when he told us why he did notcome to work, it is okay to write – Yesterday David did not come to work. “I didn’t feel well,” he said.because the contraction is in quotation marks. However, we could not write - Yesterday David didn’t come to work. “I didn’t feel well,” he said.because the first contraction is not part of a quotation. Actually, contractions are used rarely in any writing

except the very most informal. If you look at an English newspaper, you will see that there are almost nocontractions at all, except in quotations.Abbreviations are another tool we use to make writing faster that is not used often in formal writing. Wewould want to write – Linda walked down the street until she found the store she wanted.instead of - Linda walked down the st. until she found the store she wanted.It is okay to use abbreviations for words that are used as part of someone’s name, such as Mr. for Mister,Mrs. for Misses, or Dr. for Doctor. These words are called “titles.” When these words are not being usedas titles, we should spell them completely. For example: Used as a title: My good friend is Dr. Richards. Not used as a title: I had to go see the doctor because I was sick.When using formal English, you should also avoid replacing noun phrases with object pronouns ( this,these, it. . .) to keep your meaning clear. You can see the difference in these two sentences. Enclosed you will find two reports, a booklet and a memo. Please read them right away. Enclosed you will find two reports, a booklet and a memo. Please read the reports right away. You can see that in the first sentence, it is not very clear which items the writer want to beread right away. By using the noun “reports” instead of the pronoun “them” it becomes muchclearer.Especially in business, native English speakers often like things to be expressed in brief, clearsentences. Therefore, you should change some longer sentences to shorter ones. To do this youmay need to change punctuation and word order. Please read the documents to check for errors before mailing them back to us. Please check the documents for errors. After this, you may mail them back to us.EXAMPLES Below, you can see one letter written in two different styles. The first shows the characteristics of formal writing, the second one is informal. INFORMAL Thanks for your letter. I got it March 2. I sent it to headquarters along with a memo about your financial situation. I’ve set a meeting for April 10, at 11 o’clock to talk about changing your loan payments. Please let us know if you can make it as soon as possible. You may need to give us some information to do with your income and spending before the meeting. Also, we need to get in touch with the G.M. to okay it. Plus, we’ll have to think about your past problems with late payments.

Anyway, in the meantime, you need to complete this business plan. Bring it to themeeting with you.FORMALWe appreciate your letter, which was received on March 2, 2006. Your letter hasbeen sent to company headquarters, in addition to a memorandum concerning yourfinancial situation. A meeting has been scheduled for April 10, 2006 at 11 a.m. todiscuss your request for a change of payment method. Therefore, please inform usof your availability for this meeting at your earliest opportunity.You may be required to provide some information concerning your income andexpenses may be required prior to you loan being given. Furthermore, the GeneralManager needs to be contacted to authorize loans of this nature. Moreover, yourprevious failure to meet payment arrangements will first have to be considered.Nevertheless, in the meantime, you will be required to complete the enclosedbusiness plan, which should be brought to the meeting.Exercise Look at the following informal phrases. Match each one to the more formal phrase with the same meaning.A. contact 1_____ as soon as possibleB. schedule 2 _____ along with. . .C. discuss 3 _____ about . . .D. consider 4 _____ before . . .E. concerning/ regardingF. we appreciate your . . 5 _____ get in touch with . . .G. message was received 6 _____ let us knowH. at your earliest convenience 7 _____ needI. in addition to 8 _____ set (a time)J. prior to 9 _____ talk aboutK. concerning/ regarding 10 _____thanks for . . .L. inform usM. require 11 _____think about . . . 12 _____ to do with . . . 13 _____ we got your message

ADAGES AND IDIOMSYou often hear people using adages and idioms when speaking English, especially in daily conversation.In writing, however, we use them less often. You can learn some basic rules that will you to avoid themwhen you should not use them, and how to use them correctly when it is allowed. First, we shouldunderstand what each one is.We sometimes call an adage a “saying.” It is a phrase, sentence or group of sentences that people havebeen saying for many, many years. People usually believe that express wise thoughts about life. Also,they are almost always metaphors. An example of an adage is: You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.The meaning of this adage is that people do not change their old habits very well. Even though they mayexpress some good ideas, you should use them very, very little when writing for a Western audience.When such a reader sees adages, it can have two effects. First, the reader does not pay attention to whatis being expressed, because it is a phrase that he or she has seen so many times that it has lost much ofits meaning. Also, it gives the impression that the writer has no original thoughts of his own, or no abilityto express ideas. Therefore, the writer uses others people’s words and ideas.What can you do instead of using adages? The easiest method is simply to write the meaning in your ownwords. For example, instead of, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” you could write, “It is difficult tomake people change habits they have had for a long time.” Now you have expressed your idea clearly,but have not made the reader bored with an adage. Look at the adages below. What do you think theyeach mean? How could you express this in your own way? No pain, no gain. _________________________________________________________ When in Rome, do as the Romans do.________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________Idioms are usually much shorter than adages. Many idioms are only one word, but they are similar toadages because their meaning is not literal. It is okay to use some idioms in writing, but you should becareful about two things. First, because their meaning is not always clear, it is easy to use themincorrectly. For example, many students have heard the idiom, “A) Two cautions1) Because they are not literal, it is easy to use them improperly“A friend in need is a friend indeed,” is often used improperly. We view it as a negative saying.There are also many idioms that can only be used in the most informal writing or, or casual conversation.The best way to learn what idioms are acceptable for formal writing is to pay attention to newspapers,magazines and non-fiction books. If you see an idiom used in these, it is probably okay to use in most ofyour own writing.We will briefly look at one type of idiomatic English, phrasal verbs. We are only looking briefly becausephrasal verbs can be rather difficult. Therefore, to teach phrasal verbs well would take a long lesson. Youmay be asking, “What are phrasal verbs?” They are verbs which are made of two words, instead of just

one. One very common phrasal verb which you already know is “turn on,” as in, “It is dark, could youplease turn on the light?” You can see by looking at this example that you often cannot guess themeaning of a phrasal verb the first time that you read it. Just to give you some idea of how different theycan be, here is a list of phrasal verbs that all begin with the word “throw.” throw away – put in the garbage throw out- put in the garbage, or force a person to leave throw up - vomit throw in with - join throw off – get rid of a burden throw on – put on clothes casually or quickly throw around – 1.discuss an idea 2. use something irresponsiblyAlthough they all use the word “throw” you can see that these all have very different meaning, so simplyunderstanding each word often does not help you to understand their meaning when they are in a phrasalverb. They simply must be learned by memory.