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adjectives We can begin to expand the basic pattern of the sentence by adding adjectives to sentences. An adjective describes a word or, in some way, makes the meaning of the word more definite. Adjectives describe nouns and pronouns. An adjective may: Describe something: blues skies, a delicious meal, civilian aircraft... Show how much or how many: few students, great improvement... Show possession: my car, your house, its nest... Indicate which one: that car, those girls, this book... Note that adjectives usually come before the nouns or pronouns they modify. A serious accident, a beautiful car... Adjectives come after linking verbs and the verb 'to be'. ● ● Notes on writing for bachillerato students. Colegio San José del Parque It turned blue. He's growing old. She is generous. Sometimes a noun is described by more than one adjective. They follow a certain order. (See textbook). We rented a lovely, old wooden house in the country. I have a small, red sports car. 2b. Using adverbs We can expand the basic patterns still further with the use of adverbs. Adverbs may: • Modify verbs: he walked quickly ● Modify adjectives: she is quite beautiful Modify other adverbs: they must work very carefully Modify a whole sentence and express attitude: Basically, I think you are wrong. ● Adverbs answer questions such as when, how long, where, in which direction, how or how much among others. They may be placed in various positions in a sentence. When they describe the verb, they may be placed: Before the subject: Later he apologised to her. After the subject: He later apologised to her. At the end of the sentence: He apologised to her later. Frequency adverbs follow different rules. When they describe adjectives or adverbs, they are placed before them The room was very hot. He left the room so quickly we didn't even see him. 2 · Note that other adverbs such as just and only are often used for emphasis. Be sure to place them correctly since the meaning of the sentence changes according to their position. He just waved as he drove by He waved just as he drove by I will only show it to you. I will show it only to you. 3. Connecting ideas A. Conjunctions. When we write we use words or expressions to connect ideas, for example: And, or, but, either...or, neither...nor, not only...but also, both...and By using these expressions, you can clarify your ideas and improve your style of writing. It is important that you write 'balanced' sentences, that is, you must use similar grammatical forms on either side of the sentence Notes on writing for bachillerato students. Colegio San José del Parque This also helps to reduce the possibility of error in your writing. And / or 3 A good teacher needs patience, tolerance and a sense of humour. Urban development in Africa should be planned so as not to destroy the wildlife or environment. Both...and is used to combine similar things. Both Jack and his brother, Harry, are planning to go into advertising. Either...or is used to link two sentences which describe two or more possibilities. The government will either have to reduce taxes or reduce subsidies. You can have either fish, soup or salad. Neither...nor is used to link two negative ideas together with a affirmative verb. Neither Paul nor Terry speaks French. Not only...but (also) is used to connect two ideas, the second of which is usually more important than the first. ● Exposure to the sun is dangerous not only for fair-skinned people, but also for dark-skinned people. B. Connectors. There are other expressions (often called connectors) which can also be used to link ideas and show the relationship between them. They also maintain the balance' of the sentence because they link main clauses together. Some examples are: In addition, so, and so, for one thing...for another (thing), whereas, yet In addition is used to add further information. It is followed by a comma. There are several good hotels in this town. In addition, there one or two nice guest houses. So /and so is used to show a relationship of cause and result between two ideas. He became violent and so he was arrested by the police. For one thing...for another (thing) is used to give reasons. Both parts are followed by commas Notes on writing for bachillerato students. Colegio San José del Parque We are not going to buy a new car at the moment. For one thing, we can't afford it right now. For another (thing), buses are cheaper. Whereas is used to connect two directly opposite ideas. A comma separates the two clauses. Helen is tall, whereas David is short. Yet connects two contrasting ideas or shows an unexpected result. A comma separates the two clauses. The weather was rather cold, yet we all went for a swim. 4. Subordinate clauses A clause is a group of words containing a subject (implicit or explicit) and a verb. Clauses are used to build sentences or expand existing ones by adding more information. There are two types of clauses: ● 4 Main (independent) clause Subordinate (dependent) clause A main clause contains a subject and a verb and expresses one complete idea. It can stand alone. A subordinate clause does not express a complete idea, but adds information to an existing sentence. It cannot stand alone. Subordinate clauses are introduced by words like that, whether, if, while, since, because, although, and, but, who, where, so, etc. and participles like knowing, taking, etc They can come at the beginning or in the middle of the sentence. ● ● ● ● ● When the letter arrived ... (time) ... who was born in Leningrad ... (relative clause) Although he didn't want to... (concession) Being a good student, he won a scholarship. (describing participle clause) He didn't enjoy the film, so he left early. (result) I couldn't be angry with her because I love her so much. (reason) Note: When the subordinate clause begins the sentence, it is often followed by a comma. 5. Organizing a paragraph A paragraph is a unit of writing in which several related sentences develop a main idea. A paragraph has three main parts. The opening or introduction is the topic which states the main idea of the paragraph. It shouldn't be too long. The body is made up of supporting sentences that develop the main idea by using examples, contrast, reason, statistics, etc. The concluding sentence should summarize the main idea of the paragraph and is often a paraphrase of the opening sentence. Notes on writing for bachillerato students. Colegio San José del Parque A good paragraph should also have unity and coherence. Unity implies that each paragraph should contain one main idea and that the supporting sentences should be directly related to that idea. Irrelevant ideas should be left out. Making an outline of your ideas can help you maintain unity. Coherence can be achieved by repeating nouns and pronouns, by using connector, and by ordering ideas in logical order. This is the basic plan of a paragraph: Opening / Introduction Body Conclusion Smoking is dangerous to your health. Smoking causes lung diseases It also causes defects in the unborn child Your health is at risk when you smoke or are among smokers. 6. Writing descriptions Paragraphs of description usually focus on the description of a person, a place, an object or a process. Such paragraphs may often be written in the present tense and do not necessarily have to be in any chronological order. A. The description of a person may begin with a physical description, continue with details of their life, such as occupation, hobbies or interests. And finally end with a description of the person's character, attitudes or behaviour. In order to give an interesting and accurate picture of a person, you should use lots of descriptive words and avoid the use of to be + adjective very often. He is a good driver: He drives well. Connecting expressions can be used effectively in describing people ● In addition to her volunteer work, Joanna practises aerobics three times a week. B. The description of a place is often written in the present tense and may begin with a geographical location. A visual description of the place may be given, together with historical details and a description of its life and culture. This type of description needs lots of adverbs of place. It can be written from the point of view of the visitor. You can add extra details. 5 C. The description of an object will usually include details of the size, weight, material, age, colour, purpose or origin of the object, among others. Since we are making factual statements about the thing, the present tense is used, both active and passive. Writers usually begin with a physical description and continue with their use or function. Adjectives and adverbs are particularly useful as part of the noun phrases describing objects. D. The description of a process is often written in the passive and should include the three basic stages of any process: the input, the process and the output. For example, Notes on writing for bachillerato students. Colegio San José del Parque in describing how to bake a cake, start with the raw materials, then describe the process (combining the ingredients) and finish with the output (the baked cake). Connectors of result, purpose and sequence are useful in this type of descriptions. Often, more scientific language is used rather than the regular, everyday frm of words. 7. Writing narratives A narrative is a story or a report of past events, written in chronological order. Narratives are written in the past tense and show a particular sequence of events over a period of time, such as how you spent your summer holidays. It is important to tell things in sequence, so that the story or plot of your narrative is easy to follow. Connectors of sequence, such as firstly, the next stage or finally, can be used to indicate the sequence of events, and other connectors may be used to show relationships, such as cause and effect. Expressions of time and place can be used effectively in narratives to show the precise time and location of the events. Often, the opening sentence sets the time of the narrative or in some way shows the time order. Look at the following examples: 6 ● ● ● ● ● ● 8. Argumentative writing An argumentative composition focuses on a certain topic or issue and presents different aspects of it. The presentation should be logical, balanced and well-organized. It should include fac and information which can help present the arguments, the advantages or disadvantages in a more convincing way. When you are presented with topics such as means of transport today, society's treatment of old people or cycling as a sport, it is important to decide the approach you want to take before you start writing. You can: During the last 50 years... I first visited my aunt on the island of Bali twenty years ago... Just before the First World War... When I was only a child of ten... Last summer, during the month of July... After you have decided on your approach, you can use comparison and contrast, for example, to build up your composition. These are often used when we are asked to give arguments for and against something or to show the advantages of one thing over another or the similarities or differences between or among things. Present both sides of the issue equally Take sides and show your preference (give an opinion) Make a general statement and then develop it by giving examples or information Present the arguments first and then draw a logical conclusion at the end or ad your own suggestions Both Britain and France have similar political systems. They are both parliamentary democracies. Not only buses but also underground trains form part of the public transport system in London. Notes on writing for bachillerato students. Colegio San José del Parque On the one hand, I enjoy eating out; on the other, it can be very expensive. ● Certain words and expressions can be effectively used to compare and contrast two or more things: Comparison Similarly, likewise, similar to also, too more / less + adj + than be the same as as + adj /adv + as just as like, just like not only ... but also in comparison to, compared to Contrast On the one hand ... on the other hand In contrast to, contrary to To be different from Unlike Connectors of sequence (first of all, the finally, etc.) can help us present a logical progression of ideas. Each aspect should be produced separately. Connectors for adding information (in addition, furthermore, etc.) can also improve your writing. It is not compulsory to give your opinion or any kind of recommendation at the end of the paragraph. On the contrary, you should try and present an objective evaluation of the two items. 7 9. Expressing opinions In exams we are often asked to express our opinion about a particular topic, which is usually connected to the topic of the text given. Therefore, we can use the ideas in it to help us formulate our answer. Unlike the argumentative composition, we don'al menat have to present the whole picture. We can present one side of the issue giving our point of view. Sometimes we may be asked to imagine or speculate on a specific situation. When you write, you should state your opinion clearly either at the beginning or at the end of the composition. You should be able to defend your opinion, that is, to support it with examples, further detail, relevant information, statistics, etc. Opposing views can be presented in order to point out their flaws and strengthen your point of view. Although you are giving your opinion, you should avoid using phrases like I think too often. Instead you can use: Notes on writing for bachillerato students. Colegio San José del Parque In my opinion From my point of view As far as I am concerned As I see it I strongly believe / I feel certain / sure that It is clear to me that It is obvious that I am in favour of I support I am against / I oppose / I am opposed to 10. Summarizing When we summarize a text, we must give a short account which covers the important points, but not the details. We must not, however, change the original meaning of the text. Summaries will vary slightly according to the type of text being summarized. In a summary of a narrative, for instance, the important points would include what happened, when, where, who was involved and why. When you read the text, certain connector can act as a guide to show you when important points are introduced (firstly, secondly, I'd like to point out that..., in conclusion, etc.). Other connectors can show you when additional information which is not an important point is added (for example, in addition, etc.). In summarizing a text, the following steps will guide you: Read carefully and identify the main idea(s) and the major points which support this. The connectors will often guide you. Write down the main ideas in your words. Review what you have written and omit unimportant details. Write out your summary. Remember to use your own words as far as possible. Use connectors to make your writing flow. Check that you have written the number of words that are required. ● 8 ● Note: When we summarize we usually leave out the examples. We mention them only if they contribute to the main point or to preserve the original meaning of the text.