Basic Writing Skills

Writing Skills

Writing skills are very important for a professional success as it is an innovative activity of the mind. An effective writing skill allows the sender to express his or her message with ease and comfort without leading to any miscommunication or confusion to the receiver. For this, it is essential to choose the suitable form of written communication from different forms such as letters, memos, circulars, notices, reports etc. available. You can either choose one-to-one communication or one-to-many communication, whichever you feel is appropriate for your receiver to understand. 

Apart from the three important aspects such as : (1) using correct grammar, (2) selecting right word, and (3) forming easy sentence structure, there are four essential elements of effective writing :

1. Solid structure: Every Good writing should incorporate three structural elements -  an introduction, a body and a conclusion. Their structural rule holds true no matter what forms of written communication you choose from -  a paragraph, an essay, a letter, a memo, an email, or a report. 
2. 'Crystal clear' Clarity: It is most important as an ambiguous message that gives mixed or confusing signals to your receiver may lead to confusion and may even lead his or her to ignore the message. 
3. Candidate consistency: Consistency makes your message focused and orderly. Hence, avoid contradicting yourself or changing your viewpoint frequently. 
4. Selection of right medium: The choice of the medium of communication is an important factor. Hence, choose the medium that best communicates your message. 

Sentence

Sentence: A group of words which gives complete meaning of the idea that the sender of the message wants to communicate.

Example : Dogs bark. 

                 It is a good hospital. 

                 This is the theory which throws light on photosynthesis. 

Phrase

Phrase: It is a group of words that just gives some hint of the idea that the sender of the message wants to communicate. Hence, phrase only gives partial meaning but not a complete meaning. Phrases do not have finite verbs. 

Example: They live in this city. 

                He joined the team at the last moment. 

                I could see the lashing waves of the sea. 

                He has written some books. 

There are mainly five kinds of phrases based on different parts of speech:

1. Noun Phrase: A group of word that does the function of a noun in a sentence is called a noun phrase. 

Example: His sudden resignation is a mystery. 

                A fifty year old man was sitting in the garden. 

2. Adjectives Phrase: A group of words that does the function of an adjective is a sentence is called an adjective phrase. 

Example: My neighbour is a man with strange habits. 

                This chain is made of gold. 

3. Adverb Phrase: A group of word that does the function of an adverb in a sentence is called adverb phrase. 

Example: He lived in Saudi Arabia once upon a time. 

                Please place the chemicals in the safe place. 

4. Verbal Phrase: A verbal phrase consists of any of the three non-finites - the participle, gerund or infinitive and its objects or modifiers. 

Example: You must work hard to pass your board examination with good marks. 

                He enjoys playing cricket in the evening. 

                Taking long strides, he soon reached there. 

5. Propositional Phrase: A prepositional phrase consists of preposition, it object and any modifier of the object. These phrases add descriptive details of a kind of sentence. 

Example: The two men danced like playful children. 

                He looked under the table and the chairs. 

                The flower vase is on the table. 

                He cleaned the car after the storm. 

Kinds of sentences 

On the basis of the meaning they convey, sentences are of four kinds - assertive, interrogative, imperative and exclamatory. Apart from the above a sentence, for the purpose of analysis, can also be examined from the point of view of its structure as 

1. Simple Sentence: A simple sentence contains only one main clause. It does not have subordinate clauses. 

Example: My father is a senior manager in this organization. 

                Chandigarh is a planned city. 

                Microbiology is an interesting subject for me. 

2. Compound Sentence: A compound sentence contains at least two main clauses (each having an independent finite verb). It may or may not have coordinate clauses. However, if there are coordinate clauses, they are joined by coordinating conjunctions. 

Example: You may either stay in the hostel or stay with your relatives. 

                The flowers are blooming, the birds are singing and spring was in the air. 

3. Complex Sentence: A complex sentence contains only one main clause and at least one subordinate clause. 

Example: As soon as the meeting began, a member said that he wanted to raise a point of order. 

Parts Of Sentence 

A sentence can be divided into the following two parts:

1. Subject part 

2. Predicate part 

Subject	Predicate
Dogs	bark.
Sudha	is a doctor.
He	teaches information technology.

In terms of parts of a sentence, it is important to understand the following three ways of the sentence formation:

1. Enlargement of the Subject: Sometimes, the subject of a sentence is preceded or followed by a qualifying word or words like a noun or an adjective. It adds meaning to or elaborates the subject. It is called an enlargement or attribute. 

Example: Lazy Ronak failed the examination.

                A desire to win is necessary for success. 

2. Extension of the Predicate: Sometimes, the predicate of a sentence is preceded or followed by a qualifying word or words like a noun or an adjective. It adds meaning to or elaborates the predicate. It is called an extension. 

Example: The rich man donated generously. 

                Ranak failed the annual examination. 

3. Object and Complement of the Predicate: When the verb in the predicate is a transitive, it needs an object to complete its meaning. 

Example: I know her. 

                He helped me in my studies. 

But if the verb in the predicate is intransitive, it does not need any object. It is complete in itself. However, if the speaker wants to further clarify the meaning of the intransitive verbs of the predicate, he may use a complement. Sometimes, even the intransitive verbs of the predicate need additional words to complete their meaning. Such additional verbs are called verb of incomplete predication. 

Example: The rich businessman donated generously. 

                 Ronak is a software engineer. 

Parts of speech 

Words in English language (according to their function in a sentence) can be classified into following eight parts of speech: 

• Noun 
• Pronoun 
• Adjectives 
• Verb 
• Adverb 
• Preposition 
• Conjunction 
• Interjection 

Articles 

Use of Articles: In the English language, there are two types of Articles - indefinite article and definite article. 'A' and 'an' are indefinite article while 'the' is a definite article. Generally, 'an' is used before the word starting with a vowels - A, E, I, O, U and 'a' and 'the' is used before words starting with consonants. 

In order to use these two types of articles correctly, it is important to remember that in the English language the spelling of a word is different from the pronunciation of the word. Of the 44 sounds each is given a symbol from the International Phonetic Alphabet of 26 alphabet in the English language, there are 20 vowels and 24 consonant sounds. 

The indefinite article 'a' is used before:  

(a) a word beginning with the letter having a consonant sound 

Example: a book, a man, a dinner

(b) a word that begins with the letters like O with the sound 'wa'.

Example: a one rupee note, a one-eyed man

(c) a word beginning with 'u' or 'eu' giving the sound of 'yu'. 

Example: a university, a European 

The indefinite article 'an' is used before: 

(a) a word beginning with the letter a, e, i, o, u and having a vowel like sound. 

Example: an apple, an egg, an umbrella, an idiot  

(b) a word beginning with 'h' but the pronunciation starting with a vowel. 

Example: an higher, an hour, an honest man

(c) an abbreviation, the first letter of which is 'M'.

Example: an MLA, an MP, an Mcom 

Construction of a Paragraph 

As you know, paragraph is a group of sentences dealing with a single topic. There may be sentences with different lengths and types - simple, compound and complex - in a single paragraph. In fact, the variations in the length and types of sentences helps in retaining the interest of the reader and does not allow monotony to come in the paragraphs.     

Learning to write good paragraphs will help you in communicating your message effectively in a written format. Paragraphs can contain many different kinds of information - actual, fictional,  documented or fantasy. It might describe a place, character or process; narrate a series of events; compare or contrast two or more things; classify items into categories; or describe causes and effects.