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Writing Skills
The topic sentence - Every good paragraph has a topic sentence.
- It indicates the main idea of a paragraph.
- It is a helpful guide to both the writer and the reader.
Writing Skills
Two parts of a topic sentence
1. the topic: the subject or the main idea
2. the controlling idea: a specific comment about the topic
Writing Skills
Cautions1. Avoid topic sentences that are too
general or too specific.
2. Do not include too many unrelated ideas in your topic sentences.
Writing Skills
Facts vs. opinions- Facts are objective statements of truths.
- Opinions are subjective statements based on a person’s beliefs or attitudes
Writing Skills
Giving support to your opinions- examples
- statistics
- statement by authorities
Writing Skills
The concluding sentence - It signals the end of the paragraph.
- It summarizes the main point of the paragraph or gives a final
comment on the topic.
Writing Skills
End-of-paragraph signals:
A. followed by a comma
Finally, As a result,
In conclusion Indeed,
In summery In brief
Therefore, In short
Thus,
Writing Skills
A. not followed by a comma
We can see that …
It is clear that …
These examples show that …
There can be no doubt that …
The evidence suggests that …
Writing a Report
Four major parts of a report:- reference
- analysis
- conclusion
- recommendation
Writing a report - reference
• In the half-yearly estimates of…
• (Six Asian countries) are reviewed in…
• The chart compares / shows…
Writing a report - Analysis
• The comparison reveals a steady rise in …
• A has…, while B has grown rapidly
• The graph shows A as second only to B.
Writing a report - Conclusions
• The last (ten yeas) have seen (an improvement) in…
• It is clear that A has (risen) steadily as B has…
• The figures suggest / show that A’s situation is (serious).
Writing a report - Recommendation
• (The Government) needs to…
• As a first step, we should…
• In view of this, we recommend…
Describing Trends
The price increased
The population rose
The rate went up
grew
soared
Describing Trends
The price decreased
The population fell
The rate declined
dropped
went down
plummeted
Describing Trends
The price fluctuated
The population were erratic
The rate
Describing Trends
The price remained steady
The population stayed constant
The rate stable
stabilized
Describing Trends
increased significantly / substantially
decreased considerably
dramatically
swiftly / rapidly
slightly / somewhat
gradually / steadily
quickly / slowly
Describing Trends
There was a …in …
There was a slow/gradual/significant/substantial increase/decrease/rise/fall
in price of home products.
To describe increase
an increase to increase
an expansion to expand
a rise to rise
a growth to grow
a climb to climb
a leap to leap
To describe decrease
a decrease to decrease
a fall to fall
a drop to drop
a decline to decline
a collapse to collapse
a plunge to plunge
a dip to dip
To describe irregular changes
to go up and down
to fluctuate
to be erratic
fluctuations
To describe absence of change
to stabilize
to level out
to become steady
to remain stable
stability
no change
Adjectives and adverbs
to describe short, fast or sudden changes
dramatic/ally sharp/ly
sudden/ly abruptly
to describe important , large changes
substantial/ly steep/ly
to describe important but not very large changes
significant/ly marked/ly
Adjectives and adverbs
to describe small changesslight/ly slow/lynoticeable/noticeably
to describe changes that are slow and longgradual/ly steady/steadilysustained general/ly
to describe changes that last a short timeshort-lived brief/ly
Other useful expressions
recovery to recover
a peak to reach a peak
to show an upward/downward trend
erratic movements
to move erratically
the main trend
Showing contrasts
while: contrasting two related points
While 1998 saw sales grow substantially,
there was little growth during the previous year.
Showing contrasts
although: showing a stronger contrastThe dramatic increase in 1999 was
welcome, although it was short-lived.
Although less than half of households had a car ten years ago, more than three quarters own one now.
Showing contrasts
even though: showing a still stronger contrast
Even though many households still lack central heating, it is clear that living standards ate rising.
2001 saw an overall rise in sales, even though they were extremely erratic for most of the time.
Writing cause and effect
due toPopulation ageing is mainly due to a
decline in fertility.
We regret to announce that the football match has had to be postponed due to poor weather
Writing cause and effect
because of
Elderly women outnumbered elderly men because of gains in female longevity
as a result
The government raised tax on alcohol. As a result, sales declined by 20%.
Writing cause and effect
be attributed to
The fall in the number of people smoking can be attributed to education programs.
We attribute our success to being in the right place at the right time.
Writing cause and effect
be a direct consequence ofas a consequence of
The high number of visa over-stayers is a direct consequence of economic conditions.
As a consequence of his laziness, he was fired.
Writing cause and effect
lead to
It has been clearly demonstrated that smoking leads to heart disease and cancer.
The accident led to many lawsuits.
Writing cause and effect
contribute to
Immigration after the Second World War contributed to population growth.
Air pollution contributes to respiratory diseases.
Giving Comments
Overall comments
effective
well organized
well developed
generally well organized
adequately organized
Giving Comments
Overall comments
inadequate organization or development
serious disorganization or under-development
ineffective
undeveloped
Giving Comments
Overall comments
uses appropriate details to support a thesis
uses appropriate details to illustrate ideas
uses some details to support a thesis
Giving Comments
Overall comments
inappropriate or insufficient details to support generalizations
little or no detail to support ideas
incoherent
Giving Comments
Overall commentsdisplays (consistent) facility in the
use of languagedemonstrates adequate but
possibly inconsistent facility with syntax and usage
a noticeably inappropriate choice of words
Giving Comments
Overall comments
serious and frequent errors in sentence structure or us
age
severe and persistent writing errors
Giving Comments
To be positive and encouragingI was pleased to notice…
You are right in stating …
You’ve given strong support to …
I was gratified to see the improvements you have been making in …
Giving Comments
To be positive and encouraging- I am sure you could have done better
by giving more examples.
- You could have done better by …
- You’ve made a good point. However, you may need to give it more
concrete support.
Avoid Plagiarism
What is plagiarism?
Plagiarism is the use of words, facts, figures, ideas, graphics, etc. obtained from the work of others in such a way as to convey the impression that the material originated with you.
Avoid Plagiarism
Serious consequences of plagiarism
- loss of jobs and reputations
- serious academic penalties at school
Avoid Plagiarism
Documentation Documentation is the use of an agreed format to show which material came from sources other than the report writer and also to show where that material came from.
Avoid Plagiarism
You document for the following reasons:
1. Honesty and courtesy:
to give credit to the person who wrote the words you are quoting or developed the ideas, information or graphics, etc. that you are using.
Avoid Plagiarism
2. Reliability:
to enable readers to check your accuracy by comparing your material to the source that provided the material, and to enable readers to judge whether your sources themselves are reliable and up-to-date.
Avoid Plagiarism
3. Utility:
to allow your readers to find your sources for themselves if they would like more information.
Avoid Plagiarism
Whether plagiarism occurs accidentally or deliberately makes no difference to the way your work is judged, since the effect is the same — credit has not been given for the words or information used.
Avoid Plagiarism
Some examples of acceptable documentation:
1. Quotation:
"However, our graduates also need to be effective communicators in their personal and social lives. Good communications skills enable people to understand better and to express their opinions, dissent, agreement, concern and knowledge in an effective and useful way" (Smith 23).
Avoid Plagiarism
2. Paraphrase plus quotation:
Smith believes that college graduates need communications skills outside the classroom and the workplace, where they must be able to express "opinions, dissent, agreement, concern and knowledge" effectively (23).
Avoid Plagiarism
3. Summary:
Smith says college graduates need to be able to communicate effectively in a variety of personal and social situations (23).