Academic Communication Form 5 – Topic 2: Effect Writing
Effect writing has to be clear, accurate and concise. One has to set his/her ideas across in a way that the audience will use less efforts to understand. You should therefore strive to write in a straight way, focus your sentences appropriately and organize sentences logically in paragraphs with appropriate punctuation.
Punctuation
Punctuation refers to using symbols in language to organise or clarify meaning. The symbols used for punctuation include commas, full stops, question marks and quotation marks. In academie writing, correct punctuation can make the difference between a concise, easy-to-read work and a disjointed work that lacks a coherent sequence and is difficult to understand.
Proper use of punctuation marks
In texts, commas, full stops, quotation marks, colons, semi-colons, dashes, question marks and exclamation marks serve several purposes. One must read various sources and practise using punctuation marks correctly in academic writing. Punctuation marks are essential for writers; they can significantly alter how sentences are understood.
Sentence writing
A sentence is a complete idea. In academic writing, it is vital that your ‘complete ideas’ are as clear as possible to the reader. Your writing should also be clear, with appropriate punctuation. Moreover, giving a complete idea in a sentence requires one to correctly use the specific aspect of sentence structure, namely subject-verb agreement. Misusing this aspect affects the sentence structure and makes it difficult for the reader to follow and understand the point. The opposite of this makes the writing more engaging for readers, and the text becomes easier to read.
Egectire wriring
English sentences are commonly built upon the Subject-Verb-Object model, which contains a subject, a verb and an object. A sentence must have a main clause to make sense by itself. For example, ‘I ate fruits.’ is a complete sentence. However, for short sentences, it is advisable to combine them with longer ones using a subordinating clause for consecutive meanings. For example, “I was hungry. I ate some fruits.” can be combined as follows: “I ate some fruits because I was hungry.” This complex sentence with a subordinating element clearly states why the speaker ate fruits.
Other examples of sentences are as follows:
Group 1
(a) My father is a software engineer.
(b) Hard-working students make excellent family and nation builders.
(c) Negative relationships cause one to lose significant connections.
Group 2
(a) We work hard on the weekdays and rest during the weekends.
(b) Alcohol is bad for our health; yet, many people drink excessively.
(c) They spend a lot of time studying to get good grades,
Group 3
(a) Despite her love for her work, she often complains about it.
(b) Before being hired elsewhere, she used her skills as a volunteer teacher at a local school.
(c) Since John aspires to become a diplomat, he studies international relations and diplomacy.
Observations
All sentences have a subject.
1. Group 1 sentences contain just one verb or one main clause, also known as an independent clause. These are called simple sentences. The following are other examples of simple sentences:
.My friend enjoys jogging.
. The news report includes several accounts from bystanders.
. Engineers work with technicians.
2. Group 2 sentences contain just two verbs or two main clauses (i.e., two independent clauses). These are called compound sentences. Other examples of compound sentences:
. She dislikes apples, but she likes bananas.
. You will not be able to have pudding unless you finish your dinner.
. He already has a dog, but he also wants a cat.
3. Group 3 sentences contain a main clause and a subordinate clause joined together with subordinating conjunctions. These are called complex sentences. Subordinating conjunctions are words like although, before, as, if, since, despite, because, until, while, unless and others. Subordinating conjunctions are frequently used in academic writing and are a great way to connect ideas to develop long texts. Other examples of complex sentences are as follows:
. Even though it was freezing outside, she chose not to wear a coat.
. By the time he got to the station, the bus had departed.
. What he said was right, but it wasn’t very useful.