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IMPROVING YOUR WRITING

Bea Querol

Created on November 2, 2020

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Transcript

IMPROVING YOUR WRITING

A guide to communicate your ideas more efficiently

Índice

Guidelines

Before writing

From general to specific

Text types

Resources

Introductions & conclusions

GUIDELINES

Two main ideas

  • Writing is a process
  • Writing takes time

Before writing

  • Brainstorming
  • Organising your ideas

Before writing

Brainstorming

Brainstorming

Lluvia de ideas

  • Images and free association
  • Pictures, things you've read or heard
  • Personal experiences

Some ideas will follow the others. Don't try to order them, you'll do that later.

Before writing

Organizing your ideas

Organizing your ideas (tagging)

  • Put the ideas that are related into groups
  • "Tag" them (it will help you to write good paragraphs)

From general to specific

  • What's in the menu?
  • Topic and supporting sentences
  • Linkers and punctuation
  • Irrelevant sentences

From general to specific

What's in the menu?

Info

Info

From general to specific

Topic and supporting sentences

Topic sentences

A topic sentece is a generalization about something. It is usually the first sentence of a paragraph. The main idea of the paragraph (what a paragraph is about) is given in the topic sentence. It makes you want to know more about the topic.

From general to specific

Topic and supporting sentences

Info

From general to specific

Linkers and punctuation

LINKERS

Info

From general to specific

Linkers and punctuation

English punctuation guide

A detailed explanation of all punctuation marks in English

Punctuation masterclass

This includes exercises with answers!

From general to specific

Irrelevant sentences

Irrelevant sentences

All the sentences that appear in a paragraph must be RELEVANT to the topic sentence, by explaining, expanding (giving more detail), giving facts, and so on. If a sentence in a paragraph does not support the topic sentence, it should not be there. Get rid of it!

Introductions and conclusions

  • Introductions. THESIS STATEMENT
  • Conclusions and rotten strawberries

Introductions and conclusions

Introductions. THESIS STATEMENT

The introductory paragraph

An introduction:

  • Gives the reader some general background information about the subject.
  • Tells the reader very clearly exactly what the topic is and how the essay is going to deal with the topic.

The introduction begins with a general opening statement. It then gives background information, that is, some information that the reader may need to know. The final sentence of the introduction tells the reader exactly what the writer is going to do. This sentence is called the THESIS STATEMENT

Info

Introductions and conclusions

Conclusions and rotten strawberries

Conclusions

Info

An effective conclusion...:

  • ... begins with a concluding marker such as: in conclusion, so then, to conclude, to sum up…
  • ... summarizes the main points of the essay
  • ... may contain either a prediction saying what might happen in the future, based on material in the essay; a possible solution to a problem stated, or your own opinion if it isn’t an opinion essay

Typical faults in conclusions:

  • Too short: just one sentence
  • Only a summary (no prediction or solution) or no summary at all!
  • Repetitive (it uses exactly the same words and expressions that have already been used before)
  • It introduces a new idea (with no time to develop it, support it, or prove it.)

Text types

Text types

A TOPIC / DISCUSSION ESSAY

AN OPINION ESSAY

A NARRATIVE

Resources

01

Checklist before handing in a written assignment

02

Writing reference

03

Writing assessment criteria

04

Writing self-correction key

Hope it's been useful!

Beatriz Querol FernándezDepartamento de Idiomas