BASIC WRITING SKILLS

1.1 SENTENCE STRUCTURES AND PROPER PUNCTUATION

Sentence structures are at the heart of being able to write well. A very common problem for
students is that they will start a sentence and, in trying to impress, end up making the sentence so
long that they ultimately lose control of it. This is not the only mistake in terms of sentence
structure. Incorrect placement of phrases and clauses, incorrect punctuation and incoherent
writing also irritate examiners and teachers immensely.

The biggest issue with the structure of a sentence is fragmentation. A fragmented sentence is one
where there is one of the following missing:

a. The subject
b. A verb
c. The result of a condition

Let’s start with the subject. A subject is the noun or pronoun around which the sentence
revolves: basically, the thing or agent which the sentence is about. If this is missing in a
sentence, it becomes a fragment. Consider the following:

Mohan is a fast runner.

Should consider participating in competitions.

The first sentence clearly explains that Mohan – the subject – is a fast runner. The second one,
however, does not mention a subject. We don’t know whether it is also about Mohan or
somebody else.

The verb is an action word in the sentence. Without the action word the sentence will not be able
to explain what is happening. If there is no perceivable action in the sentence, it is considered a
fragment.

People, especially young people, enjoy going to the movies.

People enjoy going to the movies. Especially young people.

The first sentence says that people in general like going to the movies. Young people form a
subset of that superset. In the second example, the first sentence is fine and stands on its own.
The second one is an isolated clause. It does not seem to say anything about ‘young people’.
There is a subject but without a verb it does not make much sense.

Now, coming to the final point, you need to be cautious about using certain words. These words
usually introduce a thought that requires a follow-up. But if that follow-up is missing, e.g. the
statement of a condition, then that sentence also becomes a fragment.
For example, a sentence that begins “If the sun shines today…” must have an ending that is
logically appropriate to this opening condition.

If the sun shines today, we will have a picnic.

Notice that the condition and the statement are separated by a comma. If you placed a full stop
after “today” the sentence would have become a condition without a statement – hence, a
fragment.

This brings us on to the next big issue with sentence structures – the run-on sentence.

A run-on sentence is one where a sentence contains two or more thoughts but they are not
properly punctuated. The best thing to do to avoid this is to really just have one thought per
sentence. However, it need not always be possible. It may also seem very simplistic. Consider
the following:

John enjoys playing football, he wants to make a career out of it.

Carey loves singing, she will join a course very soon.

In both of the above examples, the sentence is trying to express two clear thoughts. Putting the
comma in between those two thoughts may seem fine when you say it out loud, but written
down, that is incorrect syntax. The correct versions will be:

John enjoys playing football. He wants to make a career out of it.

Carey loves singing. She will join a course very soon.

If you do not want to split those thoughts into two separate sentences, consider using the semi-
colon. As in:

John enjoys playing football; he wants to make a career out of it.

Carey loves singing; she will join a course very soon.

Now, often in an attempt to sound impressive, students attempt to merge two thoughts together.
This may lead to another mistake apart from the ones already mentioned above. This mistake is
what is called a lack of parallel structure. Parallel structure is defined as similarity in form
among different parts of a sentence. Consider:

The new teacher is smart, approachable and a nice person.

Note that “smart” and “approachable” are in the same form, but the form of “a nice person” does
not match with the first two. This is because the first two are single adjectives whereas the third
one has become an adjective phrase.
The correct version would be:

The new teacher is smart, approachable and nice.

Another such example:

Yesterday, I woke up late and the bus was missed.

Here, “I woke up late” is in active voice and “the bus was missed” is in passive voice. You
should have the same voice throughout the sentence.

Yesterday, I woke up late and missed the bus.

When we are speaking or writing, we do not simply intend to convey information, we also intend
to convey emotions. There are various words that we use in order to do so.

For happiness:

Ecstatic, overjoyed, satisfied, merry, cheerful, joyful, wonderful, jubilant, glad, thrilled, elated,
etc.

For sadness:

Depressed, despondent, upset, miserable, cheerless, heartbreaking, unhappy, somber, dismal, etc.

For anger:

Annoyed, irritated, resentful, incensed, infuriated, furious, enraged, etc.

Although these words do a good job in expressing emotion in an assertive tone, whenever strong
emotion is to be expressed, we go into an exclamatory tone. For such a tone, an exclamation
mark becomes necessary. Often, we may write an exclamatory sentence but forget to place an
exclamation mark at the end of it. This will in turn not convey the necessary tone. Indeed, the
sentence will become incorrect. For example:

What a wonderful sunrise.

What a wonderful sunrise!

Both the above sentences convey that the sunrise was “wonderful”. However, the first one,
ending with a full stop, has weak ending. Hence, it fails to convey the tone of the sentence. It
simply conveys the fact that the sunrise was “wonderful”. The second one, ending with an
exclamation mark, has a much fuller ending. As soon as you see an exclamation mark, you want
to say the sentence louder and with greater emotion. This immediately conveys the fact that the
sunrise was “wonderful” as well as its effect on the viewer. Managing to convey the fact as well
as the effect will allow you to immediately connect with your reader at the emotional level.
Contrary to popular belief, using a number of exclamation marks does not make your sentence
more impressive. It makes your sentence grammatically incorrect.

Yes!!! India has won the match!

While this is fine on social media or texting, it is an absolute no-no in any kind of academic or
formal writing. Do NOT do this.

Indeed, use of a combination of question marks and exclamation marks is also not done. As in:

How could you forget the plane tickets?!?!?!

Again, this is perfectly fine in informal settings and even for fiction writing, but it is not to be
used in academic and formal writing.

This brings us to the question mark. Every question MUST end with a question mark. It is a very
common mistake to overlook the question at the end of question. A question is any sentence that
asks for information by using what, which, where, when, why or how. Consider:

Where should I send the letter.

Where should I send the letter?

Notice that the first sentence doesn’t convey anything in particular with a full stop at the end. It
seems to be a fragment that is expecting another part of the sentence to give it complete meaning.
The second sentence, with the question mark at the end, gives it finality. We know that the
sentence has ended and it is asking for information. Without the question mark, we do not know
what to do with the sentence.

1.2 CORRECT USAGE OF PHRASES AND CLAUSES

A clause is a group of words that has a subject and a verb. An independent clause is one that can
stand on its own. A dependent clause needs an independent clause to support it.

Examples of independent clauses:

She is tired.

I feel happy.

Examples of dependent clauses:

Although she is tired…

…therefore I feel happy.

Let’s make some sentences out of these.

Although she is tired, she still wants to go to the meeting.

I managed to meet my deadline today therefore I feel happy.

A phrase is a group of words that does not have a subject and a verb and does not make much
sense on its own. It is usually used as a single part of speech, i.e. in place of a noun, adjective,
etc.

Some examples of phrases:

In the blue jeans

For eleven years

Close friend

Wearing a kurta

All of the above phrases make no real sense standing alone. However, if we put them together
with a clause, we’ve got ourselves a sentence! (Clauses are underlined phrases are in bold.)

For eleven years, we have lived in this house.

Dinesh went to the party wearing a kurta.

We can also try something more complicated.

The boy in the blue jeans is a close friend of mine.

The dog is sleeping in its bed.

My friend is waiting for me at the bus stop.

A clause can also be a simple sentence. Like:

Dad is sleeping.

Mike likes pasta.

My gamepad broke.

The above three examples are all sentences. At the same time, they are also clauses.

Thus, the main thing to be kept in mind is that a phrase cannot stand on its own. It makes no
meaningful sense. A clause can stand on its own but only if it is an independent clause. Both
phrases and dependent clauses need other clauses to help them make sense. It is, however,
possible to make sentences with two or even three clauses as demonstrated in the examples
below:
I slept well but I do not feel rested. (This is a simple use of the conjunction to connect two simple
sentences into a compound one.)

I prefer tea but my mother prefers coffee while my father doesn’t drink either tea or coffee. (In
this case, conjunctions are used to form a complex sentence with three simple sentences, all of
which are clauses.)

1.3 CREATING COHERENCE

First of all let us define coherence. Coherence is the logical connection formed between words,
sentences and paragraphs. Quite simply, coherence is created by writing in such a manner that a
reader can smoothly go through paragraph after paragraph clearly understanding what you have
to say.

Usually, in trying to impress or by simply not knowing what to write where, a piece of writing
can become extremely incoherent. This would make it very difficult for the reader to easily read
through the text. The ideas you are trying to get across may be difficult for the reader to grasp if
your writing is incoherent.

A lot of the things already mentioned in this chapter will be of use in creating coherence. The
most important thing in bringing coherence to your writing is to maintain a constant theme, idea
or point of view. If you keep shifting your focus from one idea to another or fluctuate between
points of view (and yes that’s how you write the plural), your writing will not follow a straight
path. This could make it difficult for the reader to fully grasp what you have to say.

To create and maintain coherence between words, parallelism or parallel structure is very
important. We have already discussed parallel structure above. Just to recap: parallel structure is
the maintenance of form throughout the sentence. That is to say, the tense should be maintained
throughout. If you write the sentence in past tense, you should maintain it throughout.

I woke up in the morning and I go to the station.

Correct version:

I woke up in the morning and I went to the station.

Similarly, if write one verb in the gerund form, you need to write every other verb in the same
form.

My friend likes jumping, skipping and to skate.

Correct version:

My friend likes jumping, skipping and skating.

Coherence between sentences can be created by repeating words and using transitional tools. If
you repeat words across sentences, it helps to maintain the same idea between sentences. This
can be done by repeating words at the ends and beginnings of sentences.

The best way to create coherence in writing is by repeating certain words. These words will be
representative of the ideas expressed in the writing. The ideas thus expressed should be central
to what you are trying to say.

Making good use of transitional words is a great way of connecting two sentences together
coherently. Transitional words like ‘Then’, ‘Finally’, ‘First’, etc. can facilitate easy movement
from one sentence to the next. Coherence between paragraphs will require something similar.
Transition words like ‘However’, ‘Therefore’, ‘Additionally’, ‘Contrarily’, etc. will all set the
tone for the beginning of each paragraph. This will help maintain the coherence of the writing.

1.4 ORGANISING PRINCIPLES OF PARAGRAPHS IN DOCUMENTS

Organizing your paragraphs properly is crucial in making sure your point is clearly understood.
Always try to maintain a logical sequence of thought in your documents. Do not digress from the
topic more than necessary. Most importantly, do not repeat information. Try to ensure that each
paragraph has a different set of facts or thoughts. You can definitely refer to information you
have mentioned before. But there is no need to explain it all over again. Once is enough. Have
faith in your reader’s memory.

The first paragraph of any document should always be an introduction. In it you introduce the
document with just enough information for the reader to understand what the document is about.
You should also mention the main idea or thought behind your document. What are you about to
tell the reader? What should he or she expect from the rest of the document? A good introduction
goes a long way towards impressing a reader.

The last paragraph should obviously be the conclusion. In the conclusion you will recapitulate all
that you have said – very briefly. This is also where your final opinion should be placed. What
do you want the reader to take away from the document? What is it that you believe the reader
should do now that you have given him or her this information? There should also be some
suggestions to that effect.

Now, the paragraphs in between can be quite tricky. You may chose to write one or more body
paragraphs depending on the amount of information you have to share. However, the best thing
to do is divide the body into three paragraphs. The first paragraph will delve into the question or
statement that you have posed in your introduction. You discuss this statement or question; talk
about why you have chosen this particular statement or question; and explain why and how it is
relevant – to you, to society or specifically to the reader.
The second paragraph can then discuss the pros and cons of the matter. You may take one side
and express your opinion on the topic. You may also look to tear into the matter at hand and try
to get its crux. This paragraph will basically be an analytical representation of the information
that you have with you.

The third paragraph can be an exploration of views that are opposed to yours. This will give the
impression that you have taken an impartial view of the subject matter. It will encourage the
reader to accept your ideas and suggestions more readily.

Overall, try to write for all kinds of readers. Each paragraph should have something for a
different kind of reader. Place facts and information for the analytical reader. Make good use of
imagery and examples for the curious reader. Finally, be as impartial as possible so that readers
with different opinions can find something for themselves in your document.

1.5 TECHNIQUES FOR WRITING PRECISELY

Writing precisely means getting to the point as fast as possible. In essence, you need to get your
ideas across as efficiently as possible. This can be achieved through some techniques to improve
our writing language.

1. Use active voice as much as possible

This will give a tone of urgency and assertion to your document. Passive voice would suggest a
certain lack of confidence on your part to the reader. The reader may think that you are not quite
sure about what you are saying.

The lack of effort was thought to be deliberate.

Better version: We thought the lack of effort was deliberate.

2. Use specific words, no need for their definitions

Avoid explanations wherever possible. Using one word in place of such explanations will make
your writing much more crisp and concise.

Write neatly so that your writing is can be clearly read.

Better version: Write neatly so that your writing is legible.

3. Explain only technical terms

Only explain technical terms that you think the reader may not understand.

The data will only be available in exchange for cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency is a digital asset
that can be used as a medium of exchange. It uses strong cryptography to secure financial
transactions.
 4. Convert Nouns to Verbs

Try to avoid using words ending in –tion. Whenever you need to use such a word, convert it into
its verb form. This will also lend more urgency to your writing.

The MOU signed between the two universities will make for easier collaboration between faculty
members.

Better version: The MOU signed by the two universities will make it easier for faculty members
to collaborate.

5. Use verbs, not verb phrases

Try and remove unnecessary phrases where a single verb can be used.

The morning sky is indicative of a rainy day ahead.

Better version: The morning sky indicates a rainy day ahead.

6. Make sure your sentences aren’t wordy

Do not write sentences that seem to go on and on. Try and maintain the rule of one thought per
sentence.

We went to the hill station which was located just outside of Darjeeling and it was full of orange
trees which were in full bloom and it was very beautiful.

Better version: We went to the hill station located just outside of Darjeeling. It was full of orange
trees in full bloom. It was very beautiful.

7. Avoid vague nouns

Michael’s idea was something along the lines of genius.

Better version: Michael’s idea was genius.

8. Use simpler words

It may seem like a good idea to use complex words to impress the reader. However, it is
important to note that if these words are not used correctly, they may seem entirely out of place.

Use an envelope that encapsulates the documents completely.

Better version: Use an envelope that will cover the documents completely.