Review of

Writing Skills

Parts of a Speech
Nouns: Names of persons, places, things, ideas or qualities
Ex- India, River, Table, Happiness, etc
Pronoun: Usually a substitute for nouns and functions as noun
Ex- I, you, she, it, we, they, myself, this, that, who, etc
Verbs: Express actions, occurrences or states of being
Ex- run, burn, inflate, become, be, etc
Adjectives: Describe or modify nouns or pronouns
Ex- gentle, small, helpful, etc

Parts of a Speech (Continued)

Adverbs: Describe or modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, or
whole groups of words
Ex- gently, helpfully, almost, really, someday, etc
Prepositions: Relate nouns or pronouns to other words in a sentence
Ex- about, at, down, for, of, with ,etc
Conjunctions: Link words, phrases and clauses. The types are:
Coordinating conjunctions and correlative conjunctions: Link
words phrases or clauses of equal importance
Ex- and, but, or, not, both.and, not only.but also, eitheror, etc
Subordinating conjunctions: Introduce subordinate clauses and link
them to main clauses
Ex- because, if, whenever, etc
Interjections: Express feeling or command attention, either alone or in
a sentence
Ex- hey, oh, wow, etc

Sentence Structure
A sentence can be broadly divided into two parts namely
Subject: It names things
Predicate: It makes an assertion(declaration) about or describes
an action involving the subject
Example 1 : The sun shines
Subject: The sun; Predicate: shines
Example 2: The fire destroyed the house
Subject: The fire; Predicate: destroyed the house

Declarative and Imperative Sentences

Declarative (Assertive) Sentence: It is a sentence that makes a
statement or assertion
Ex- Little boy sat in a corner

Imperative Sentence: It is a sentence that expresses a command

or an entreaty( request)
Ex- Be quiet, Have mercy upon us

Participle, Phrase and Clause

Participle: It is that form of verb which partly takes the nature of a Verb and
partly an adjective
Ex- Hearing the noise, the boy woke up
Phrase: A group of words, which makes sense, but not complete sense is called
a Phrase
Ex- The sun rises in the east
Participial phrase: It is a word group consisting of a present participle (also
known as an -ing form) or past participle (also known as an -en form), plus
any modifiers, objects, and complements. A participial phrase commonly
functions as an adjective
Ex- Quickly checking over his answers, Amit handed his answer booklet just
before time ran out
Clause: A group of words which forms part of a sentence and contains a
Subject and a Predicate is called a Clause
Ex- I think that you have made a mistake

Clauses with Compound and Complex Sentences

Main/Independent Clause: A clause that can form a complete
sentence standing alone, having a subject and a predicate. A
sentence made up of this clause is called a Compound
Sentence
Ex- I cant cook very well but I make quite good cakes
Subordinate/Dependent Clause: A clause, typically introduced by
a conjunction, that forms part of and is dependent on a main
clause. A sentence made up of this clause is called as Complex
sentence
Ex- I will get you some postal stamps if I go to town
Coordinate Clause: A coordinate clause is a clause belonging to a
series of two or more clauses which are not syntactically
dependent one on another and are joined by means of a
coordinating conjunction
Ex-I will go home and he will go to work

Complement
Complement is a word, phrase or clause that is necessary to
complete the meaning of a given expression
It is a noun and verb. It also has a matching adjective,
complementary
It completes the meaning of a predicate
It refers to something that completes or goes well with something
The whole town was shocked by the extent of the devastation.

Sentence framing guidelines

1. Make sure that you state the subject of each sentence, unless it is an
imperative sentence
Ex- Will not attend the party ( Incorrect)
2. Keep to the normal subject-verb-complement sequence as far as
possible
Ex- We opposed the move for three reasons
3. Do not put unrelated ideas in the same sentence
Ex- My dog needs a haircut and the old lady living next door wears
false teeth
4. Pronouns, adverbs, phrases and clauses should always be placed
near the words they modify
Ex- I came to enjoy flying over time
(Space-time framework is incorrect)

Sentence framing guidelines(Continued)

5. While expressing related ideas, use similar grammatical form
or parallel construction
Ex- The personnel manager is concerned with selecting the right
worker, appropriate orientation and the workers
progress(Incorrect)
6. Avoid platitudes(Direct statement of an idea that almost
anyone would know already)
Ex- Employees like to be well paid and should cooperate with
each other
7. Always use active voice, unless you feel that the passive voice
is more appropriate
Ex- Sarita wrote the book

Modifiers
A modifier is an optional element that changes the meaning of
another element in the structure on which it is dependent
A modifier functions as an adjective or an adverb to describe a
word to make its meaning more effective. The types are:
Misplaced Modifier
Limiting Modifier
Squinting Modifier
Dangling Modifier

Misplaced Modifiers
Misplaced modifiers are those that appear to modify the wrong
referent
According to the police records, many dogs are killed by
automobiles and trucks roaming unleashed(Incorrect)
According to the police records, many dogs roaming unleashed
are killed by automobiles and trucks

Limiting modifiers
Limiting modifiers are those modifiers, who, completely
change the meaning of the sentence, if their position is
changed
I only eat rice
I eat only rice
Only I eat rice

Limiting modifiers(Continued)
I only eat rice
I only eat rice and I dont play basketball with it

I eat only rice

I eat only rice and nothing else

Only I eat rice

Only I eat rice and nobody else does

Squinting modifiers
A modifier that seems confusingly to refer to either of the two
words is known as squinting modifier
We decided immediately to buy the car
We immediately decided to buy the car
We decided to buy the car immediately

Squinting modifiers(Continued)
We decided immediately to buy the car (Incorrect)
(immediately squints)
We immediately decided to buy the car
( immediately is modifying decided)
We decided to buy the car immediately
(immediately is modifying the phrase to buy the car)

Dangling Modifiers
Certain sentences are burdened with modifiers that do not
sensibly modify anything in the sentences. Such modifiers are
called as dangling modifiers
Ex- Passing the building, the vandalism was clearly visible
(Incorrect- passing the building is modifying vandalism)
As we passed the building, the vandalism was clearly visible

Active Voice and Passive Voice

Voice: Voice is that form of a verb which shows whether what is

denoted by the Subject does something or has something done
to it
Active Voice: A verb is in the Active Voice when its form shows
that the person or thing denoted by the Subject does something
or is the doer of the action. The person denoted by the Subject
acts (Subject-Verb-Object)
Ex- Rama helps Hari
Passive Voice: A Verb is in Passive Voice when its form shows
that something is done to the person or thing denoted by the
Subject. The person or thing denoted by the Subject receives
or suffers some action (Object [in Active Voice]- VerbSubject[in Active Voice])
Ex- Hari is helped by Rama

Usage of Passive Voice

Passive Voice is generally used in the following situations in
business writing
To emphasize the object of action more than the doer
Ex- Dinner is being served
To avoid an accusing tone
Ex- Three errors have been made on this page
To avoid revealing names
Ex- The new scheme has been criticized

Gerund
A Gerund is that form of the verb which ends in ing and has the
force of Noun and a Verb
It may be used as subject of a verb and hence may do the work of
a Noun
Reading is his favorite pastime
I heard of his having gained a prize

Punctuation
Punctuation are marks used in writing separate sentences and their
elements to clarify meaning i.e right use of putting in points or stops in
writing. They are:
Apostrophe
Parentheses
Comma
Colon
Semicolon
Period
Quotation Marks
Dash

Apostrophe

An apostrophe is used:
To form possessive singular: Birds eye, Lawyers file
To form possessive plural: Writers need, Girls group
To form the possessive of a proper noun in which the last letter is not
an s: Ashoks companion , Hemas School
To form the possessive singular when the last letter in a proper noun
having one syllable is an s: Dass house, Vyass Car
To form the possessive singular when the last letter in a proper noun
having more than one syllable is an s or an s sound: Haridas,
Gonzalvez
Indicate expression of ownership: Last years schemes
Present time or distance in a possessive manner: An hours wait, a
miles journey
When a noun precedes a gerund- Mr. Prasads receiving the promotion
caused
Indicate joint and separate ownership: Suresh and Ajays room
overlooked the sea; Sureshs and Ajays room overlooked the sea
Not to form possessive of a pronoun: Yours(Incorrect)

Parentheses(Double Dashes or Brackets)

Parentheses are used to separate from the main part of the sentence a
phrase or clause which does not grammatically belong to it

He finally answered (after taking five minutes to think) that he

did not understand the question

John (accompanied by his trusty friend) was always welcome

Comma (Shortest pause)

A Comma is used:
Between coordinate clauses joined by: and, but, for and other
coordinate conjunctions
Ex- She wanted to twist her little sisters arm, but was afraid her
mother would clobber her
After participial phrases or dependent clauses
Ex- Believing that his luck would continue to hold out, the trickster
sought to cheat more people
In sentences that begin with prepositions or such words as if, as and
when almost always need a comma
Ex- If you can come to the office, please plan to be here at 11 a.m
To separate words in a series
Ex- She wore earrings, a nose ring, a necklace and anklets
Between two separate adjectives that modify the same noun
Ex- We want a good looking, well educated and a cultured bride
To separate a clause that is not essential to the basic meaning of the
sentence, from the rest of the sentence
Ex-Mr. Amit Sharma, who is a successful businessman, is arriving
tomorrow

Comma (Continued)
To separate parenthetical expressions from the rest of the sentence
Ex- Asha, hiding her sense of dismay, greeted her mother-in-law
cordially
Before and after the year in the month-day- year format
Ex- On August 2, 1999, Mr. Patil made the last payment
After a direct address
Ex- Manohar, I want you to listen to me
After the words No and Yes when they introduce a statement
Ex- Yes, you can come with me to the conference
Before a question that seeks a confirmatory answer
Ex- Its a beautiful place, isnt it?
After an adverbial conjunction that modifies the second clause
Ex- The cheque was for the right amount; however, it was not signed

Colon (Complete pause)

Colon is used
To suggest that a list will follow a statement that appears in complete-sentence
form
Ex- We have decided to move to a new location for two reasons:(1) We need a
bigger market. (2) We need an inexpensive source of raw materials
When the verb that completes the sentence is sufficiently understood and
therefore omitted
Ex- The team lost the game. The reasons are: (1) no team spirit and (2) no
practice
To stress a noun that renames the preceding noun at the end of a sentence
Ex- Her heart was set on one thing: the blue dress with white roses
Between hours and minutes to express time in figures
Ex- 5:45 p.m.

Semicolon (Pause of greater importance)

A semicolon is used
When a conjunction is omitted
Ex- This year the company hasnt declared a bonus; the workers are
very unhappy about it
In a compound-complex sentence
Ex- As indicated earlier, wed appreciate it if you reach here on
Friday; but Saturday morning would also be acceptable
Before an adverbial conjunction (that modifies the second clause)
Ex- There is little fear of a second attack; nevertheless, it would be
wise to be on ones guard
In a series that contains commas
Ex- Most of the batsman scored well in the match: Virat,102; Yuvraj,
86 and Dhoni,68
Before illustrative words
Ex- We have plans for expansion; for example we intend to set up a
new plant at Baroda

Period (Full stop- Greatest pause and separation)

A period is used:
After imperative and declarative sentences
Ex- Shut the door.(Period)
After a courteous request
Ex- I request you to sanction my leave application.(Period)
After an abbreviation
Ex- Dr., M.D., Mrs., Ms.

Quotation Marks
Quotation marks are used:
To enclose quoted material
Ex- The manager said, "You are a bunch of donkeys.
To define terms
Ex- As used in this report, syntax means "the branch of grammar
that has to do with sentence structure.
To enclose slang expressions
Ex- Theres only one word to describe the attacks against our
policies: hogwash.(non-sense)

Dash
A dash is used
To set off parenthetical elements that represent a break in the flow of
thought
Ex- The rapid spread of the disease- at least hundred new cases were
reported each day- had the doctors alarmed.
To set off parenthetical elements that require internal commas
Ex- The qualities Monet painted- sunlight, rich shadows, deep colorsabounded near the rivers and gardens he used as subjects
Before a summarizing appositive( i.e a relationship between two or
more words or phrases in which the units are grammatically parallel
and have the same referent)
Ex- Computer chips, integrated circuits, bits and bytes- these new
terms baffled yet intrigued.

Paragraphs and Essays

A paragraph is a number of sentences grouped together and
relating to one topic or a group of related sentences that
develop a single point

An essay is a written composition giving expression to ones

own personal ideas or opinions on some topic. It is made up of
many paragraphs containing an introduction, body and
conclusion

Paragraph-Unity and Coherence

Anita went out for a walk in the countryside. She had a maid
who was always breaking things. Her daughter needed a
haircut. Anita was very fond of her aunt

Do these sentences make a paragraph? What is wrong here?

What is Wrong in the paragraph?

The paragraph has no unity
It does not adhere to any one idea
It has no coherence
The sentences do not relate to each other

Paragraphs
A proper paragraph must have unity and coherence
It must be based on one central underlying idea that draws
together all the sentences in the paragraph
Topic Sentence: The topic sentence introduces the main idea
The topic sentence limits the topic of the paragraph
The topic sentence often suggests how the paragraph will be
developed
The paragraph must be developed in a logical order
Writers use logical connectors or transition words to indicate
relationship between the ideas
The concluding sentence of the paragraph usually restates the
main idea in the form of a summary

Steps in Essay Writing

Limiting a topic: India-Telangana-Hyderabad-Languages spoken in

Hyderabad-Telugu Language
Clarify the purpose: How to deal with topic?, Why you are writing?
and What you want to tell?
Write the thesis statement: Main idea
Write the introduction: Capture attention, Present thesis statement,
giving idea of following material and hint of organizing the
material
Plan and write the body: Supporting Idea 1( Detail-1, Detail 2,etc) ,
Supporting Idea 2( Detail-1, Detail 2,etc) and Supporting Idea
3( Detail-1, Detail 2,etc) and so on till required
Write the conclusion: Direct attention to main points(Quotations,
Questions, anecdotes, etc)