Module 4: Writing

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Whereas reading serves as the basis for students understanding a new language, writing gives them the
opportunity to explore the new language. Now that your students are able to comprehend the English
language as they read it, it is time to put them in charge of using that language to convey their meaning.
Learning to write in a new language can be very challenging because you need to have the same base of
knowledge as you would for reading to comprehend the words, and you also have to be able to create
those words to represent your thoughts and ideas. In this module, we will discuss the basics of writing in
English, including how to craft a sentence, how to make words work together, and how to explore the
language through writing.

Module 4: Writing

4.1 Sentence structure

4.2 Grammar

4.3 Informative and explanatory writing

4.4 Persuasive writing

4.1 Sentence structure

In your studies of reading and comprehension, your students have developed some basic
skills in understanding the language as they come across it. Now that they have a basic
understanding of English sounds and words, it is time to help them learn how to put those
sounds and words together to create sentences that convey meaning. We will start at the
beginning and look at how sentences are structured in the English language.

4.1.1 Basic sentence patterns

There are five basic patterns for sentence structure in English, and they differ in the
elements that are present within the sentence. Any two sentences, however, no matter
how different they are, contain two things: a subject and a verb. For a sentence to work,
there needs to be a person or thing that is doing or being something (subject) and an
action or state of being that they are committing or portraying (verb). Here are the five
basic sentence patterns that your students will encounter in the English language:

 Subject-verb (S-V): This is the simplest sentence pattern in the English language,
only containing the information that needsto be there. Here are a few examples of
sentences that follow the subject-verb pattern:
o Mark ran.
o Maria slept.
o The dog plays.
o Jimmy fell.
  Subject-verb-object (S-V-O): Sentences that follow this pattern are very similar to S-
V sentences except that an object has been added to the sentence. In an English
sentence, the object is what is being acted upon by the subject. In other words, the
noun (subject) is acting (verb) upon another noun (object). Here are a few examples
of sentences that follow the subject-verb-object pattern:
o Mark ran to the store
o Maria slept in bed.
o The dog plays outside.
o Jimmy fell to the floor.

4.1.2 Basic sentence patterns

 Subject-verb-adjective (S-V-Adj): This sentence pattern is similar to S-V-O except that

the object is not a noun; it is an adjective. Since an object must be a noun or an entity
that is being acted upon, when the verb acts as a state of being to set up a description
of the subject, you get an S-V-Adj sentence. Here are a few examples of sentences that
follow the subject-verb-adjective pattern:
o Mark is hungry.
o Maria was tired.
o The dog looks playful.
o Jimmy seems clumsy.

 Subject-verb-adverb (S-V-Adv): To the untrained eye, this sentence pattern is the

same as the previous one, S-V-Adj. The difference between that pattern and this
pattern, however, is that while that structure saw the object turning into an adjective,
this one sees it turning into an adverb. In other words, the verb no longer acts as a
state of being to set up a description of the subject, but rather the words following the
verb act as modifiers to the verb. Here are a few examples of sentences that follow
the subject-verb-adverb pattern:

o Mark ran quickly.

o Maria slept peacefully.
o The dog plays loudly.
o Jimmy fell disastrously.

 Subject-verb-noun (S-V-N): As you already know, the object of a pattern has to be a

noun. Just because there is a noun following the verb, however, does not mean that
it is the object of the sentence. In this sentence structure, the noun is not the object
because, as with S-V-Adj, the words following the verb describe the subject. Here are
a few examples of sentences that follow the subject-verb-noun pattern:
o Mark is the store owner.
o Maria is a doctor.
o The dog was a corgi.
 o Jimmy became a lawyer.
 4.1.3 Clauses
 Looking at the examples in the previous section, you may wonder what happens
when sentences get more complex. That can certainly complicate things, but at its
core a sentence still follows one of the previous patterns (or two of them if it is a
complex sentence). Understanding the typical sentence patterns is helpful, but your
students also need to understand the basic structures that dictate sentences in
English. To understand these basic sentence structures, though, we need to first
discuss clauses.
 Clause: A clause is one of the basic units in English grammar and is a group of
words that contains a subject and a verb. Every sentence has at least one clause in it
(because the requirements for a sentence and a clause are the same). A clause,
however, does not necessarily complete a thought and therefore work alone as a
sentence. There are two types of clauses, and understanding both of them is
important for students who are learning to write in English for the first time.
 Dependent clause (subordinating clause): This is exactly what it sounds like: a
clause (or group of words containing a subject and a verb) that is dependent on other
clauses. In other words, a dependent clause would not work alone as a sentence
because it needs another clause for it to make sense. An example of a dependent
clause is “because the world is ending.” The only thing that makes this clause
dependent is the word “because,” which adds the implication of cause and effect to
the sentence. We see the cause, but we need the effect to complete the sentence.
 Independent clause: An independent clause is a clause (group of words containing a
subject and a verb) that can exist by itself and be a complete thought and therefore
a complete sentence. Every sentence contains an independent clause, and all simple
sentences are made up of one independent clause. An example of an independent
clause is “They went down to the bomb shelter.” The absence of a subordinating word
(“because” in the dependent clause) makes this sentence work as a complete thought.

 If we combine the two clauses, one dependent and one independent, in the
previous example, we get a complex sentence, which looks like this: “Because the
world is ending, they went down to the bomb shelter.” This is a complete sentence,
with a dependent clause (“Because the world is ending”) marked by a subordinating
word (“Because”) presenting a cause and an independent clause (“they went down
to the bomb shelter”) completing the thought with the effect.

4.2 Grammar

Understanding sentence structure is a key aspect of grammar, but there are many other
grammatical rules that are important for your students to know and understand. As you
may already know, grammar is the set of rules for the English language. While we do not
have the time to discuss every grammar rule in this section, we will cover the basics and
make sure that your students have a good basis of knowledge from which to work, and
that they understand how to create sentences that are grammatically correct and convey
the meaning they are intending. We have already discussed the parts of speech in a
previous module, but now we will look at those parts of speech in more detail and discuss
some of the rules regarding how to use them.

4.2.1 Nouns (1 of 3)

As we discussed in an earlier module, a noun is a person, place, thing, or idea. Here are
some different types of nouns:

 Proper nouns: The names of specific places, people, or things.

 Common nouns: General or colloquial names.
 Concrete nouns: People, places, or things that are tangible.
 Abstract nouns: Ideas that are intangible.

Nouns can be tricky because the term encompasses many different types of words. When
using nouns, one of the grammatical rules you need to look out for most is whether or not
you should pluralize a noun and how to do so.

When is a noun pluralized?

Not every noun has a plural form because it does not always make sense for there to be
more than one of something. Count nouns refer to nouns that can be counted, such as
“cup,” “table,” and “monkey.” These nouns represent a specific object that there can be
more than one of. Non-count nouns are nouns that cannot be counted because they
already represent a group of objects or a type of object. For example, “water” is a non-
count noun because you cannot look at the ocean and count the water.

4.2.2 Nouns (2 of 3)

How do I pluralize a noun?

The rules for pluralizing a noun are fairly simple, but since there are many nouns that do
not fit into any of these rules, the task of pluralizing can be taxing. Here is a basic rundown
of the general rules:

 Most nouns are made plural simply by adding an “s.”

o Cup: Cups
o Egg: Eggs
o Joke: Jokes
o Mask: Masks
 Nouns ending in “ch,” “x,” “s,” require the addition of “es” at the end.
 o Bench: Benches
o Box: Boxes
o Class: Classes
 Nouns ending in “f” or “fe” require you to change the “f” or “fe” to a “v,” and add an
“es.”
o Calf: Calves
o Half: Halves
o Knife: Knives
 Some nouns do not follow any rules for pluralizing, and your students will simply have
to learn them.
o Child: Children
o Mouse: Mice
o Woman: Women
 Some count nouns are the same whether they are singular or plural.
o Moose: Moose
o Deer: Deer
o Species: Species

4.2.3 Nouns (3 of 3)

Possessive nouns: Because nouns represent people, places, things, and ideas, they
sometimes need to be possessive to show that the person, place, thing, or idea owns or is
in possession of something. Possession is usually marked by an apostrophe (’) and follows
these rules:

 You can make most nouns possessive simply by adding an apostrophe and then an “s”
at the end of the word.
o Mark: Mark’s
o Dog: dog’s
o Boy – boy’s

 When you come across a plural noun that ends in “s” or a noun that already ends in
“s,” you can make it possessive by simply adding an apostrophe.
o Boys: boys’
o Class: class’
o Dogs: dogs’

 If you have one item, but you would like to express that two different people or
things own it, you would add an apostrophe and an “s” after the last person’s name.
o Bill and Frank’s new house
o Boxer and Spot’s toy
o Sally and Ann’s car.
  If the objects owned by two different people are separate things, then you should
add an apostrophe and an “s” at the end of each name.
o Bobby’s and Mary’s wedding rings are gold.
o Jill’s and Samantha’s jobs are difficult.
o Jean’s and Yancy’s tables are both oak.
 4.2.4 Pronouns and antecedents
 Pronouns are important in writing because they take the place of a noun to make
the writing less repetitive and choppy. To illustrate this idea, take a look at an
example of a written excerpt that does not use pronouns:
 Mike grabbed Mike’s shirt and went to go find Mike’s mom to tell Mike’s mom that Mike’s
mom needed to leave right away because Mike and Mike’s mom were in danger.
 Now, let’s use pronouns:
 Mike grabbed his shirt and went to go find his mom to tell her that they needed to leave
right away because they were in danger.
 Clearly, the second example sounds much better and gets the point across without
reusing the original nouns.
 The major point that your students need to understand about pronouns besides the
different types that exist (which we will discuss in this section) is that every pronoun
needs an antecedent or a noun that it is taking the place of. The only exception is
indefinite pronouns, which replace vague nouns, such as “all” or “some.”
 Look again at the second example above, which contains pronouns. Each of those
pronouns has an antecedent, which you can see in the first example. Let’s rewrite
the second example, but this time we will include the antecedent to each pronoun
in parentheses:
 Mike grabbed his (Mike’s) shirt and went to go find his (Mike’s) mom to tell her (Mike’s
mom) that they (Mike and Mike’s mom) needed to leave right away because they (Mike
and Mike’s mom) were in danger.
 When a pronoun does not have a clear antecedent, the writing becomes very
confusing, and it should distinguish who is doing what. Here is an example of a
sentence with unclear antecedents. Note how difficult it is to understand who the
sentence is truly talking about:
 Mark, John, and Billy went to the mall because he needed a new shirt. When they arrived,
he ran to the clothing store, and he ran after him, trying to keep up, while he hung back
and headed to the food court.
 Because the antecedents are unclear, you could not tell me which boy went to the
store, which boy chased after him, and which boy went to the food court.

4.2.5 Types of pronouns

People often have trouble understanding the different types of pronouns, so your students
may have trouble with it as well. Let’s look at the nine different types of pronouns:
  Personal: A personal pronoun is a pronoun that refers to a person. This is the most
common type of pronoun, and for it to work in a sentence, it needs to have a clear
antecedent that it agrees with (male nouns need male pronouns). Examples: “I,”
“he,” “she,” “me.”
 Possessive: Possessive pronouns are personal pronouns that convey ownership.
These pronouns not only need an antecedent but also need to be followed by a
noun (the thing that is possessed by the pronoun). Examples: “my carrots,”
“his book,” “their time.”
 Indefinite: Indefinite pronouns can be a little complicated because they take the
place of nouns that are not exactly clear. In other words, these pronouns will not
have a clear antecedent. It is important to note, however, that if these types of
pronouns are used to show possession, they are actually adjectives. Examples:
“Everybody wants to go to the mall,” “Somebody took my juice.”
 Reflexive: Reflexive pronouns usually occur at the end of a sentence or clause and
reflect back to the subject of the sentence. Examples: “I am going to get a soda
for myself,” “What do you have to say for yourselves?”

 Reciprocal: A reciprocal is exactly like a reflexive pronoun except that they refer to
two subjects doing something to or for each other. The only two reciprocal pronouns
in the English language are “each other” and “one another.” Examples: “John and Tim
are in the library quizzing each other,” “Maria and Jenny are helping one
another with laundry.”
 Intensive: Intensive pronouns are exactly the same as reflexive pronouns except they
can be removed from a sentence without changing the meaning or rendering the
sentence incomplete. Examples: “He is going to do the work himself.”
 Interrogative: Interrogative pronouns are pronouns that are used in a question.
Examples: “Who took the candy?,” “Which door is it?”
 Relative: A relative pronoun is a pronoun that connects a phrase or a clause to a
pronoun or a noun. Examples: “I am going to get whoever stole my bag,” “I am going
to take whichever door leads to the bathroom.”

 Demonstrative: Demonstrative pronouns take the place of specific nouns and are
typically used when the speaker or narrator is talking about a specific object.
Examples: “This is the Captain’s wine,” “That candy belongs to her.”
 4.2.6 Verbs
 Along with nouns, verbs are part of the two most important parts of a sentence, so
it is important that your students know how to use them and the rules that govern
English verbs. Verbs are extremely complicated because there are so many different
little rules governing how verbs are used, but they can be generally broken down
into three categories: transitive, intransitive, and linking. We will look at each of
these types to help your students have a sense of how verbs work.
 Transitive verbs: A transitive verb is a verb that exists in a sentence with an object.
The subject of the sentence is doing something to something else.
 Brian hit the ball and ran to first.
 Both “hit” and “ran” are transitive in this sentence because they have objects. In the
first clause, it is clear that the ball (object) has been hit (transitive verb). In the
second clause, it is clear that first base (object) is being run to (transitive verb).
 Intransitive verbs: An intransitive verb is a verb that does not take an object and
rather describes an action or state of being that is not acting upon something else.
 Because the food was not free, she left.
 While she is leaving whatever place she is in, the object does not need to be
expressed because the intransitive verb “left” is enough to describe the action.
 Linking verbs: These verbs link the subject to the rest of the sentence when the
verb is not describing something being acted upon.
 These avocados seem like they have not ripened yet.
 The subject of the sentence (these avocados) is not acting upon anything else, so
“seem” is a linking verb, describing their relationship to the rest of the sentence.
 4.3 Informative and explanatory writing
 Now that your students have a decent handle on sentence structure and grammar,
it is time to learn how to write to convey meaning. In the next two sections, we will
explore the most common types of writing they will come across in their lives. First,
we will start with informative and explanatory writing, an extremely helpful tool for
individuals in a number of different professions.
 Informative and explanatory writing involves researching or analyzing a topic that is
already generally accepted to be true. Unlike persuasive writing, there is no
argument but rather an exploration of why or how something is what it is. This is
why informative and explanatory is the most common type of writing that your
students will find in their careers; more careers are focused on explaining and
exploring the nature of things rather than creating an argument. To illustrate this
point, here is a brief list of the different applications for informative and explanatory
writing:
 Definition: In this type of writing, your students will have to define a topic and
explain it in detail. Potential practical application: Your student works in an office,
and the sales team is going to try to land a new client that works with industrial
refrigeration parts. The boss asks your student to provide a report on industrial
refrigeration parts so that the sales team is prepared when they pitch the client.
 Breaking something into parts: In this type of writing, your student will have a
topic that is generally understood but needs to be understood in more detail. To do
this, he or she can break it into parts and/or types to make it more palatable for the
reader. Potential practical application: Your student works for a team that is in
charge of creating new programs and projects for their company. The project team
comes up with an idea they need to pitch to their boss. Your student is tasked with
writing a breakdown of the project, e.g., detailing what each department will be
responsible for, how much it will cost, and how much revenue it will generate.
 Describing behavior or function: In this type of writing, your student will have to
explore how something behaves and/or functions. Potential practical application:
 Your student works for a zoo that is going to receive a new animal in three weeks
that they have never accommodated before. Your student is asked to write a report
on how the animal behaves and what kind of accommodations it will need.

 Explaining why: In this type of writing, your student will have to explore why a
generally held opinion or fact is true. Potential practical application: Your student
works for a museum that is about to have an exhibit on dinosaurs. Your student is
tasked with writing a report for why dinosaurs became extinct so that the museum
can inform its guests.

4.4 Persuasive writing

While persuasive writing is generally less utilized in most careers than informative and
explanatory writing, it is still an extremely important genre that can help your students in
many different aspects of their life. From trying to convince your boss that you deserve a
raise to trying to convince your colleagues that a new idea will work, persuasive writing can
be very powerful. Unlike informative and explanatory writing, persuasive writing explores a
topic or an idea that is not already widely accepted and creates an argument for why it
should be. Rather than discuss the different types of persuasive writing, we will focus this
section on how to craft an argument by focusing on the most important aspects of an
argument.

Thesis: While experts will argue on where a thesis is most effective in a persuasive
argument, they will all agree that a thesis is important. A thesis statement is a short (one or
two sentences) summary of the writer’s position and serves as the main idea for the piece
of writing. A strong thesis statement provides the writing with a focus and gives the writer a
frame of reference for the rest of his or her argument.

Organization: An argument needs to be carefully organized to be as effective as possible.

This means that the writer needs to constantly think about the thesis and how the
argument is connecting back to it. Proper organization helps the argument flow and eases
the reader through the writer’s ideas.

Support: An argument is not complete without strong support. Whether the support
comes in the form of direct textual evidence, facts, or the opinions of respected
professionals, it gives the reader a reason to believe your claims. The support serves as an
assurance to your reader that you are not coming up with this argument off the top of your
head, but rather that there is evidence to support what you are trying to convince the
audience to believe.

Elaboration and Analysis: Your argument needs to explore the topic and why the support
you have provided is worthwhile and relates back to the thesis. Without proper elaboration
and analysis, your support will simply hang there limply and not be effective in convincing
your audience.

Conclusion: Your conclusion should come with a summation of the rest of the argument to
solidify your ideas in the readers’ heads as well as a call to action or a last attempt to
convince the audience to understand and/or believe your argument.

If your students can master these basic components of a strong argument, they will find it
much easier to be convincing whenever they are trying to persuade.