Fundamentals of Good Writing (Structure, Grammar, Spelling, Punctuation)

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Fundamentals of Good Writing(Structure, Grammar,
Spelling, Punctuation)
waggies Australian Gifts
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Introduction/Body/Conclusion
Introduction
Body
Conclusion

• Say why you are writing
• Say (briefly) what you are going to say
• Say what is in it for the reader (the hook)

• List the main points
• Consider the order
• For each paragraph, write a topic (first) sentence

• Say why you have written
• Summarise the main points
• Make it clear what you want the reader to do

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The Writing StructureMain Divisions
Letters/Memos/Faxes
Long Documents

Report Sections Book Chapters
Sentences
Paragraphs
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Paragraphs
Paragraphs Are units of writing that assist structure guide reader from one main idea to the next Each should contain ONE significant point contribute to the overall whole The main point should be in the first (topic) sentence

• Problems can occur when
• There is no main idea
• Meaningless or confusing
• sentence relationships
• Out of sequence

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Identify the Topic Sentence - (main idea)
Jenny graduated from TAFE in 2007 with both
Certificate III and Certificate IV in Business
Administration. She achieved very high grades
which was due to many hours of study. Her
favorite subjects were the computing modules.
The following year Jenny obtained her first job
as an Administrative Assistant at Qantas. She
commenced in the Human Resources department but
eventually worked her way up to a senior position
in Corporate Services.
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Sentences
Sentences Should express a complete thought (ie. subject predicate (object) Short sentences are effective (ie. 20 words or less) Sentences can be joined by conjunctions which enable writing to flow
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Subject Predicate
Subject
Predicate (object)

• What the sentence is about
• Simple subject contains a noun or pronoun (eg.
  he, she, dog, house)

• What the subject is or does
• Simple predicate containsa verb (eg. sit,
  was dancing)

The medical expert referred to his notes before
replying.
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Construct a simple sentence with both a subject
and predicate
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Conjunctions (are used to connect sentences and
make text flow)
Conjunctions and yet because where neither/nor but
Connectives (adverbs) otherwise therefore accordingly although however
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Rewrite this passage using conjunctions and
connectives
Television was invented by John Logie Baird.
When he was young he built an aeroplane. He
tried to fly in it. It crashed. Baird was
fortunate not to be killed. It did not
discourage him. When he was older he tried to
make diamonds from coal. There was an enormous
explosion. He was not injured. He became a
business man. His business failed. He thought
of working at television. His family advised him
not to. He did not listen to them. He rented an
attic. He bought the materials he needed. He
started working. He worked for a long time He
was not successful. One day he saw a picture on
his screen. He rushed out to get someone he
could televise. He found an office boy. He
took him back to his room. No image of the boy
appeared on his screen. The boy, terrified, had
put his head down. He put it up again. His
picture appeared on the screen. Television had
been discovered.
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Does this match your work?
Television was invented by John Logie Baird.
When he was young, he built an aeroplane and
tried to fly in it. It crashed. Baird was
fortunate not to be killed, but It did not
discourage him. When he was older he tried to
make diamonds from coal. There was an enormous
explosion but again he was not injured. He then
became a business man but his business failed.
Next, he thought of working at television
although his family advised him not to, he did
not listen to them. He rented an attic and
bought the materials he needed. He started
working and worked for a long time without
success. One day he saw a picture on his screen.
He rushed out to get someone he could
televise. He found an office boy and took him
back to his room. However, no image of the boy
appeared on his screen the reason was that the
terrified boy had put his head down. When he put
it up again, his picture appeared on the screen.
Television had been discovered.
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Write a sentence with 1 conjunction
Write a sentence with 2 conjunctions
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Assist flow/sequencing with common signposts
To introduce an additional idea Furthermore Moreover In addition Again
To introduce an opposite idea On the other hand However In contrast Conversely Nonetheless
To introduce a choice or alternative Otherwise Alternatively Also Similarly
The girl was enrolled into a day Certificate III
in Business Administration course. In addition
she was doing a Banking course at night.
John was going to study Medicine at
Sydney University. However, because of the
length of the course, he decided instead to do
accounting.
Nancy and her friends think they might go to Bali
for their school reunion. Alternatively, they
might go to Hawaii. Also Fiji could be an option.
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Grammatical parts
Noun
Place, person, thing (you can see touch them)
Verb
Doing words (go, run, stop, chase)
Pronoun
I, me, you, her, him
Adjective
Descriptive of the noun
Adverb
Descriptive of the verb
Participle
Past, present (she went, he is going)
Preposition
Gives direction of where something is (up,
down, over, near, on)
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Identify the parts of this sentence
Common noun
Preposition
Verb
Proper noun

• John, the new courier, is going to deliver it
  urgently on Monday.

Adverb
Participle
Proper noun
Adjective
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Write a sentence with 8 word parts
Common noun
Preposition
Verb
Participle
Proper noun
Adjective
Adverb
Adjective
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Spelling is important What is wrong with this
statement?

• Too bee oar knot two bee.

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Be aware of Homophones

• This is the current/currant book version

We will not be effected/affected by the strike.
The school principal/principle is a nice man.
The hotel is licenced/licensed to sell alcohol.
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More Homophones

• There/their/theyre are plenty of places for them
  to go on there/their/theyre next holiday but
  there/their/theyre probably going to go to
  there/their/theyre holiday house.

• It will be two/too/to expensive for the company
  two/too/to update to a completely new system.
  That will be at least two/too/to years away.

• If you want my advice/advise, you should go.

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Plurals

• If there is more than one mostly you add an S
  or IES

One computer Two computers
One keyboard Five keyboards
One lady Two ladies
One try Three tries
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Plurals Sometimes there are also irregular
plurals
One child Two children
One criterion Two criteria
One tooth Two teeth
One person Three people
One nucleus Two nuclei
One fish Two fish
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Punctuation
FULL STOPS
When to Use When not to use
End of sentence Abbreviations in CAPITALS, eg. PTO BA
Abbreviation ending in a letter which is NOT the last letter, eg Aust. Co. Abbreviation ending in a letter which is the last letter, eg. Pty Ltd
Acronyms, eg. ANZAC, UNESCO, USA
NB In direct speech, put full stop inside final quotation marks, eg. John said abruptly, I want to see you.
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Punctuation
CAPITALS
When to Use
Titles Novels Plays Poems Stories Books
Start of sentences
3 Proper nouns, eg. John, Washington, Eiffel Tower
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Punctuation
COMMAS
When to Use
To separate main statement from additional material To separate items in a list To introduce direct speech To separate the name or phrase referring to the person addressed from the rest of the sentence. After direct speech To mark continuation of a sentence after being interrupted by an explanatory phrase
Diane drove with caution, although there wasnt a
lot of traffic. Tom ordered furniture,
computers, air conditioning, stationery,
carpet and a new telephone system for his new
office. The Judge turned to the Prosecutor, Mr
Roberts, and said, I am mindful of the
complexities of this matter, particularly those
relating to the criminal record of the accused,
but please try to stick to the facts of this
case.
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Punctuation
APOSTROPHES
When to Use When NOT to use
To show ownership (remember singular plural) eg.dogs bowl (one dog)teachers resource room(more than one teacher) Dont use in simple plurals, eg. cats, chickens, ideasDont use in dates, eg. 1960s
In contractions, eg. dont, isnt, whos, theres, 04 Dont use in plural numbers, eg. Zoe cannot write her 9s properly.
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Punctuation
APOSTROPHES
DONT CONFUSE Its (possessive) Its (contraction) Whose (possessive) Whos (contraction) Theirs (possessive) Theres (contraction)
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Punctuation
EXCLAMATION MARKS EXCLAMATION MARKS
When to Use
Used for interjections, eg. Ah! Oh! Used with exclamatory sentences beginning with what or how, eg. How lucky she is! What a ride!
Used to express emotion, eg. Curse you! Hes gorgeous!
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Punctuation
DASHES
When to Use
Used to sum up, to comment on a group, subject or object, eg. I visited Tom, Mary and Deidre they were all very pleased to see me. To attach a comment to a complete sentence, eg. My cousin should study much harder but wont.
To add an aside, eg. While I was waiting for Louise I had been there some forty minutes the weather changed dramatically. To show an abrupt change of thought, eg. I should sell you some more books but no, Im not going to.
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Punctuation
HYPHENS
When to Use
In compound verb/nouns, eg. sewing-circle, boxing-match To join a prefix and a word,eg. pro-Liberal, anti-nuclear, quasi-scientific.
To separate double-vowels, eg. re-examine, re-edit To join words of equal importance, eg. history-geography, Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race.
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Use Plain English

• Be clear
• Use straightforward expression
• Use only as many words as are necessary
• Never use a long word when a short word will do
• Use Active voice rather than Passive

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Could you rewrite this passage using Plain
English?
Direction for work to cease When a health and
safety representative is confronted with a
situation where, in the opinion of the health and
safety representative, there appears to be an
immediate threat to the health and safety of a
person, then if the nature of the threat and the
degree of risk are such that the threat is
immediate, then the appropriate Head(s) of
Budgetary Unit(s) and the health and safety
representative of the designated work group in
relation to which the issue has arisen, may
after consultation, jointly direct or, if the
consultation does not lead to agreement between
them, either of them may direct that the work
shall cease.
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Direction for work to cease When a health and
safety representative believes there is an
immediate threat to the health and safety of a
person, they should consult with the appropriate
Budgetary Unit heads, after which time they can
jointly or individually direct that work shall
cease.
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Active vs Passive Voice

• More personal
• More lively
• More explicit
• Easier to understand

• ACTIVE VOICE
• We have extended the period of payment.
• PASSIVE VOICE
• The period of payment has been extended.

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Active vs Passive Voice
ACTIVE VOICE PASSIVE VOICE
The parliamentary committee discussed the draft bill and then debated the crucial issues until late afternoon. The draft bill was discussed and then crucial issues were debated until late afternoon.
? Who discussed and debated the draft bill?
In the PASSIVE example Is it clear who
discussed? Is it clear who debated? Was it the
same group?