Lecture Communication skill: Chapter 5 - Tracey Bretag, Joanna Crossman, Sarbari Bordia

Chapter 5 - Improving your writing: grammar andself-editing. On completion of this chapter students will know how to: identify ways to improve writing independently, develop a strategic approach to editing written work, understand the basic features of specific grammatical constructions.

Chapter 5

Improving your writing:

grammar and self-editing

Learning objectives

On completion of this chapter students will

know how to:

• identify ways to improve writing

Grammatical constructions addressed in this chapter

• Gerunds and infinitives

• So, neither and nor

Be proactive about learning

how to write well

• Students who adopt an independent and

proactive approach to their language development are likely to make better progress than those who simply hope the problem of language will disappear.

How can you improve your English language skills?

• Investigate any language support services

your university offers, whether as workshops or online In some universities you can make

appointments with trained staff to discuss your written work.

• Invest some money in a self-study grammar

book with answers Ask university staff for advice on useful texts.

• Approach your university librarian for

suggestions on how they can help you to improve your language and the resources and

Activity 1

• Write down the resources available in your university that can help you to improve your English language.

• Discuss the options you have tried and

recommend some to other students.

Common grammatical

errors

• Errors are easy to overlook, particularly

when working within tight deadlines

• Not all errors are detected by computer

grammar checkers so edit your work after you have used the software

Remember: Poor grammar may change

your meaning or make your ideas difficult to understand.

Sentence structure

• There are two kinds of common error in

writing sentences:

– incomplete sentences – ‘run-on’ (or run-together) sentences.

Complete sentences

A complete sentence must contain a subject and a

predicate (The rest of the sentence must contain a

verb.)

Example

Our business partners will arrive tomorrow

Subject Predicate

Complete sentences (cont.)

• In formal writing you must use complete

sentences.

• A group of words without a subject or

predicate is NOT a sentence For example:

– And arrived later No subject – He feeling very happy Incomplete verb

Activity 2

• Complete Activity 2 on p 96 of your

textbook.

Complete sentences (cont.)

• A complete sentence is also called an

independent clause.

• A clause may be independent (able to stand alone—a sentence) or dependent (cannot stand alone—is not a complete sentence).

• A clause is a group of words with a subject and a verb.

Run-on sentences

• If two independent clauses are written

together with

– no punctuation – merely a comma – no joining word

they are called a run-on sentence.

Using conjunctions to fix

run-on sentences

1 Using coordinating conjunctions:

– with a comma and one of the following words:

for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.

Example

– He is a good manager, and all the staff like him.

Using conjunctions to fix run-on sentences (cont.)

2 Using correlative conjunctions:

– use: both…and, not only…but also, either…or

Example

– Not only is he a good manager but also all the

staff like him.

Using conjunctions to fix run-on sentences (cont.)

3 Using a semicolon (;) and a conjunctive

adverb plus a comma (,):

– common conjunctive adverbs: finally, then,

consequently

Example

– He is a good manager; consequently, all the

staff like him.

Using conjunctions to fix run-on sentences (cont.)

4 Using a subordinating conjunction:

– one sentence is less important than the other

Example

– All the staff like her because she is a good

manager.

Using conjunctions to fix run-on sentences (cont.)

5 Join the sentences with a relative

pronoun such as who, which or that:

– He is a good manager he initiated new

business practices (Run-on sentence) – He is a good manager who initiated new

business practices (Correct sentence)

Activity 3

• Complete activity 3 on pp 97–98 of your

textbook.

Subject/verb agreement

(cont.)

Example

Susan and Anna are excellent colleagues.

Susan and Anna are two people

so the subjects are plural.

The verb ‘to be’ must

be plural too.

Singular words take

Singular words take singular verbs (cont.)

• Examples

– Someone needs to oversee the changes.

– Everybody is happy with the changes.

– Everything has been agreed.

– Each manager has granted approval.

Other singular subjects

A single gerund or

gerund phrase Understanding the problem is difficult for

him.

An amount of time,

money or weight; plural

forms are considered as

single concepts

Six months is not a long time to write a proposal Five thousand dollars is

a lot of money.

More than five kilos

Group words

• The following ‘group’ words take a singular

verb if you are thinking of the group as a

whole, but they take a plural verb if you are

thinking of the individuals in the group:

– audience, band, class, family, kind, committee, crowd, dozen, flock, group, heap, herd, jury, lot, number, none, public, team, majority, minority, orchestra, pair, staff

Group words (cont.)

– My family is behind me (group) – The jury is ready (group)

– My family are all scattered (individuals in the group)

Group words (cont.)

• Subject/verb agreement may be confusing if these words are separated by others

Parallel construction

• When using one sentence to express two

ideas, both ideas should have the same type

of construction

• You will also need to use the same

construction when there are two sentences that are joined with conjunctions such as

‘and’ and ‘but’

Parallel construction (cont.)

Why?

(a) Enrolling in a course that is assessed on

coursework is preferable to take one with a final exam.

(b) Enrolling in a course that is assessed on

coursework is preferable to taking one with a final exam.

in the sentence have matching verb forms They both end in ‘ing’.

Parallel construction in verb

phrases (dot points)

• Example

Management aims to:

– introduce new safety measures – coordinate focus groups

– establish a social club – investigate ideas from other companies.

Parallel construction in verb phrases (dot points) (cont.)

• Each dot point begins with the verb in the

same form.

• Note that the verb after the dot point is not

capitalised because it continues the stem sentence It does not begin a new one

Parallel construction in verb phrases (dot points) (cont.)

• Rewrite using parallel construction:

With regard to safety, management aims to:

– to have the building officially inspected by a fire safety officer

– that we should provide three more fire extinguishers on each floor of the building

– instruct the students in fire drill evacuation procedures – always insist that the ‘No Smoking’ rules are observed – the lockers which cover the fire stair must be removed – there should be clearly marked ‘Exit’ signs in the corridors.

Verb tense

• Tense indicates the time that action occurs.

• There are six verb tenses.

• The verb tenses fall into two groups

– simple – perfect

form) and non-progressive/continuous forms.

• You can use the term ‘progressive’ or

‘continuous’ In this presentation ‘continuous’ will be used.

future perfect continuous

I will have been

studying

Simple tenses Perfect tenses

perfect I have studied

perfect I will have studied

Non-continuous tenses

Non-continuous tenses

• The following tenses are not normally used

in the present continuous tense (Murphy 2004):

– like – love – hate – want – need – prefer.

Activity 4

• Complete Activity 5 on p 102 of your

textbook.

Present tense

• A present simple tense verb expresses

action that is habitual, permanent or a general truth It may also be used to express

a scheduled future action

Example

– He works late every night.

– Water boils at 100 degrees centigrade.

– His plane leaves tonight at ten.

Present tense (cont.)

• Present continuous tense verbs are used

to indicate temporary actions happening now and actions in the present time or future.

Example

– John is presenting his idea to the board.

(present or future)

Present perfect tense

• The present perfect links past and present time, and indicates repeated actions that have happened very recently

• It is constructed using the verb ‘to have’ with the past participle.

Present perfect continuous

tense (cont.)

• The present perfect continuous tense is

used to emphasise that an action started in the past is still happening or to indicate how long something has been happening.

Past simple tense

• Past simple tense indicates action that

began and ended in the past.

• Add ‘-ed’ with regular verbs: learn/learned.

• Change the root word with irregular verbs: teach/taught.

• It may also indicate habitual actions in the past: ‘We watched cartoons when we were young.’

Past continuous tense

• This tense is used for actions in progress in the past when another action occurred, or for actions in progress at a specific time in the past.

Past perfect tense

• The past perfect is used for actions that

happened in the past prior to another event

in the past.

Example

– We had just finished the work when the manager arrived.

Past perfect continuous

tense

• This tense is used to emphasise the

duration of an action in progress prior to another past action or to indicate the length

of time of a prior past action.

Example

– The meeting had been going for an hour by the time I arrived.

Simple future tense

• This tense is used to give predictions that

are usual or to make another offer or promise.

Examples

– The bus will come around seven o’clock.

– I will help you with your report.

Future continuous tense

• This tense is used to express an activity that will be happening at a specific future time.

Example

– She will be working on Saturday.

Future perfect tense

• The future perfect is used to indicate an

event that will have happened before another time in the future.

Future perfect continuous

tense

• This tense is used to emphasise the

duration of an activity at a specific future time.

Activity 5

• Complete Activity 6 on p 104 of your

textbook.

Articles

• ‘The’, ‘An’ and ‘A’ are all articles

• ‘The’ is known as a definite article.

• ‘An’ and ‘A’ are called ‘indefinite articles’.

concept The idea that Australian culture is the result of

British traditions does not

take into account the

‘The’ is used when…

‘The’ is used when… (cont.)

proper nouns are used the Amazon, the

United States of America, the Sahara

pluralised names are

used the Netherlands, the Bahamas

public institutions are

‘The’ is used when… (cont.)

referring to newspapers the South China News,

The washing machine

saved hours of work and changed the lives of those working at home nouns are followed by

‘of’ The leader of the gang The president of our

First and subsequent

references

• When referring to something in written text, use an indefinite article (a, an)

Example

– A newspaper has an obligation to seek out and

tell the truth.

• In subsequent references, use the definite article (the)

Example

– There are situations, however, when the

newspaper must determine whether the public’s

safety is jeopardised by knowing the truth.

No article needed

• Several kinds of nouns never use articles:

– languages (‘He speaks Chinese’) – sports (‘I play netball’)

– seasons (‘It is cold in winter’) – meals (‘We had breakfast’) – diseases (‘She has cancer’) – abstract nouns (‘We all fear death’)

Activity 6

• Complete Activity 7 on p 106 of your

textbook.

Correct use of the

apostrophe

• The apostrophe has only two functions:

1 To show when some letters have been left out.

• I’ll (I will), you’re (you are), shouldn’t (should not), it’s (it is), I’d (I would).

Generally, abbreviations are not used in academic writing, except when reporting direct speech.

2 To indicate possession (ownership)

• The report’s findings

• The team’s hard work.

Correct use of the apostrophe (cont.)

• 1980s, NOT 1980’s.

outside the last ‘s’

• The boss’ desk.

Word form

• Words can be used in a variety of forms so they can look similar but their endings are different A word may be used in a verb form, or as a noun, adjective or adverb.

– Abstract nouns: happiness, kindness, respect, love

– Collective nouns: herd, flock, pack

• Adjectives are words used to describe

nouns Thomson & Martinet (1990, p 33) identify six main kinds of adjectives:

– Demonstrative: this, that, these, those – Distributive: each, every, either, neither – Quantitative: some, any, no, little, much – Qualitative: intelligent, exciting, engaging, interesting

– Interrogative: which, what, why, whose – Possessive: my, your, his, its, our

• Adverbs are used to describe verbs According

to Thomson & Martinet (1990, p 47) there are eight different kinds of adverb:

– Manner: bravely, quickly, gladly – Place: up, close, near, there – Time: tomorrow, still, yet, later – Frequency: regularly, usually, never, only – Sentence: certainly, definitely, fortunately – Degree: extremely, quite, fairly, very

– Interrogative: why? where? how?

The dynamic accountant quickly became the firm’s most successful

finance manager.

• Identify any verbs, nouns, adjectives or

adverbs in this sentence.

Activity 7

• Complete activity 8 on p 108 of your

textbook.

Passive tenses

• The passive tense is used when the writer wishes to emphasise what was done rather than who carried out the action In contrast

an active tense focuses on who or what performed an action.

Passive tenses (cont.)

• The passive tense is constructed by using the appropriate form of the verb ‘to be’ (e.g

is, are, was, were, has been, had been) and adding a past participle (e.g studied, raised, criticised, rewritten).

Example

It was understood that Glen resigned because of bullying at work.

Activities 8–10

• Complete Activities 9–11 on pp 109–111 of your textbook.

Gerund (‘-ing’) or infinitive

• A gerund is a verb that takes an ‘-ing’ form

on the ending (e.g processing, developing, explaining).

• Compare it to the infinitive verb, which does not refer to a tense, a person or a subject It

is basically a verb that has had no changes made to it and is sometimes preceded by ‘to’ (e.g ‘to pay’).

Gerund (‘-ing’) or infinitive

(cont.)

• Some verbs are followed by a second verb

in the infinitive and others are followed by a second verb in the gerund form.

Gerund (‘-ing’) or infinitive

(cont.)

• Some examples of verbs and expressions followed by a second verb in the gerund form are:

Gerund (‘-ing’) or infinitive

(cont.)

want intend refuse arrange plan

offer decide tend learn need

• Some examples of verbs and expressions followed by a second verb in the gerund form are:

Gerund (‘ing’) or infinitive

(cont.)

• Some examples of sentences using a

gerund or an infinitive are:

– Gerund

• She avoided talking to her.

• Weng Fai wasn’t keen on going to management meetings.

– Infinitive

• She intended to look for another job.

• He tended to overlook his own errors.

Activities 11 and 12

• Complete Activities 12 and 13 on pp 112–

113 of your textbook.

So, neither and nor

• When expressing agreement, ‘so’ is used in

response to positive statements and ‘neither’ or

‘nor’ are used in response to negative statements.