WRITING. Writing Book 1 PREVIEW. by Gary Ireland Mick Short Max Woollerton ISBN :

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1 by Gary Ireland Mick Short Max Woollerton Writing Book 1 PREVIEW ISBN : All contents Copyright 2007 K.K. The English Company WRITING

2 The English Course Writing Book 1 Units Unit 1 Getting started Unit 2 Recognising common errors Unit 3 Writing better sentences Unit 4 Writing good paragraphs Unit 5 Brainstorming Unit 6 Writing reports Unit 7 Writing reviews Unit 8 Writing about the past Unit 9 Writing about the future Unit 10 Writing narratives Unit 11 Writing correspondence Unit 12 Writing an essay Students will learn: The basic rules for laying out writing What a paragraph should look like How to write simple sentences To understand grammar terms To recognise parts of a sentence To recognise common errors What conjunctions are To write compound sentences To write complex sentences What a paragraph is To write topic sentences To write supporting sentences To recognise irrelevant sentences To organise ideas and make a plan To create clusters and lists To create spider-graphs & extended lists To do research and find information To conduct a survey To organise information and write reports The difference between facts and opinions To express opinions To write an opinionative review To write a factual review To use the simple past and past continuous tense To use time sequence words To write a biography To write about an experience To use future tenses To express probability To write about plans and ambitions To write predictions To write fictional stories To organise information by time To organise several paragraphs About Block Style letter writing To write formal correspondence To write informal correspondence What an essay is Pre-writing skills Rewriting skills The importance of peer editing

3 1 The basic rules for laying out your writing What a paragraph should look like How to write simple sentences UNIT Getting Started In this unit, you will learn: 1

4 Unit 1 Getting Started Layout and Writing Rules Remember the following rules whenever your teacher asks you to write. 1 Give your writing a title Use a 2.0 or 2.5cm margin at left and right Indent the first word of each paragraph Begin each new sentence with a capital letter End each sentence with a period (.) Exclamation mark (!) or Question mark (?) Write to the end of each line Use lined paper and leave one-line spaces between your writing Read what you have written carefully before handing it to your teacher Write only in English My best ever vacation My best ever vacation was in Egypt two years ago. I went there with my family for two weeks 4 in the spring. We spent the first three days in Cairo and, from there, we visited the Pyramids and the Sphinx. The Pyramids were amazing. After that, we flew to Luxor in the South of Egypt. That was my favourite place. We saw the wonderful temples and the tomb of Tutankamen there. Then we took ok a boat ride on the river Nile for two days. It was a fantastic vacation The English Course - Writing Book 1

5 Exercise 1 Find the mistakes. Using the rules you have just learned, look at the paragraph below and circle all of the errors. My hometown is Marbella,Spain. I really love living there for many different reasons. firstly, the weather is always great? It is warm and sunny almost all year round, and there is very little rain It is also a beautiful town. The old part of town has many houses that are hundreds of years old.we also have beautiful beaches, and many visitors come in summer. The thing I love most though is the food. We have so many excellent restaurants, and the seafood is especially good. i really miss my hometown when I travel abroad Exercise 2 First writing. Now it is your chance to write a paragraph. The topic is My high school The English Course - Writing Book 1 3

6 Unit 1 Getting Started Writing Good Sentences Simple sentences A sentence is a group of words that states a complete thought. A sentence is also called an independent clause. Even the simplest sentence must always have a SUBJECT and a VERB. The SUBJECT is a noun or pronoun. Look at the examples. SUBJECT Gary We The snow VERB teaches. study. is falling. However, most sentences will also have a COMPLEMENT after the verb. The COMPLEMENT completes the sentence. This could be a noun, a pronoun, an adjective, an adverb or a phrase. Look at the examples. Gary bought a book. Mr. Smith didn t call me. Egypt is wonderful. She dances beautifully. His sister lives in a house in New York. (noun) (pronoun) (adjective) (adverb) (phrase) Exercise 1 Try it yourself Write 3 simple sentences. 1) 2) 3) Note: A simple sentence may also contain: A) A compound subject (extra subjects): John and Steven work at the restaurant. B) A compound verb (extra verbs): Mary worked hard and passed the test. C) Both a compound subject and a compound verb Mary and Karen worked hard and passed the test. Exercise 2 Recognising good sentences Look at the sentences below and decide if they are correct sentences or not. Put a ( ) for correct sentences and a ( ) for incorrect sentences in the first column. 1) The mountain is very high. 2) Enjoyed playing golf last week. 3) Living in Japan People. 4 The English Course - Writing Book 1

7 4) My father works in a bank in Vancouver. 5) I often go to the beach at weekends. 6) But we didn t buy a new car. 7) It is very tired today. 8) Maria at the top of the stairs. 9) The teacher gave us a lot of homework. 10) At the house on the corner. When you finish, check your answers with your teacher. Understanding structure mistakes Do you understand why some of the sentences above are wrong? The most common mistakes made in sentence structure are as follows: ÿ No subject in the sentence (NS) ÿ No verb in the sentence (NV) ÿ No subject or verb in the sentence (NS or V) ÿ Wrong subject in the sentence (WS) ÿ Subject and verb are in the wrong order (SV order) ÿ Sentence starts with a conjunction (Con) Ask your teacher to explain anything you don t understand. Exercise 3 Identify the errors Look at the sentences again and decide why they are wrong. Write the code letters above in the second column. Screen test Teacher note If you are not able to use the DVD, you can download the quiz questions from the teacher s area of the web site. Quiz 1 Look at Quiz 1 on the DVD. You must decide which of the 3 sentences is incorrect. Quiz 2 Look at Quiz 2 on the DVD. You must now decide why the sentences are incorrect. The English Course - Writing Book 1 5

8 Finale Teacher note This exercise can be done in class, as a homework assignment on paper, or as an online writing assignment. Your teacher will show you a slideshow, of vacation photographs. You can make notes. After you have seen the slideshow write a paragraph about the vacation. Remember what you have learned about layout and writing good sentences. Take it away Now go to the web site and complete the exercises for unit 1. 6 The English Course - Writing Book 1

9 2 UNIT Recognising Common Errors In this unit, you will learn: To understand grammar terms To recognise parts of a sentence To recognise common errors 7

10 Unit 2 Recognising Common Errors Understanding Grammar Terms To help you understand this textbook and your teacher s advice, you need to understand basic grammar terms in English. These are the most important for you to learn at this time: Sentence A group of words that states a complete thought. Every sentence has a subject and a verb in it. Paragraph A group of sentences about one main idea. Noun (n) The name of things, places or people. For example, book, bag, London, etc. Pronoun (pr) A word used to replace a noun. I, you, we, them, ours, myself, anybody, etc. Verb (v) A word used to describe an action. For example, play, eat, sleep, etc. Adjective (adj) A word that gives more information about a noun or pronoun. For example, green, happy, large, etc. Adverb (adv) A word that changes a verb, an adjective or another adverb. For example, happily, honestly, etc. Preposition Words that are usually used before nouns. For example, in, on, at, by, etc. 8 The English Course - Writing Book 1

11 Clause A group of words within a sentence. Every clause has a subject and a verb in it. Phrase A group of words that does not contain a subject and a verb. A phrase is not a complete thought (there is information missing). Conjunction A word used to link sentences clauses and phrases. For example, but, so, and, etc. Punctuation Symbols used in writing to separate the parts of a piece of writing and which helps people understand what the words mean. For example, period (.), comma (,), etc. Verb tense The way a verb changes because of time. For example, past, present or future. Singular Means only one. For example, an apple, a book, one teacher, etc. Plural Means two or more. For example, I have three brothers. First person When you talk or write about yourself. You use the pronouns I or we in your sentences. Second person - When you talk or write about the person you are talking or writing to. You use the pronoun you in your sentences. Third person When you talk or write about someone that is not you or the person you are talking or writing to. You use the pronouns he, she, it, one, or they in your sentences. The English Course - Writing Book 1 9

12 Subject Usually the person or thing doing the action in a sentence. For example, John hit him. Object Usually a noun in a sentence that a verb has some effect on. For example, John hit him. Countable Nouns that can be counted by using a number, For example, an apple, two apples, etc. Uncountable Nouns that cannot be counted unless you talk about what they are in, or a unit of measure. For example, a glass of milk, a bowl of rice, a kilogramme of beef, etc. Article The words a, an, and the. These are placed before nouns to give extra information about the nouns. Exercise 1 Recognising words in sentences Read the following paragraph carefully. Underline all of the nouns, circle all the adjectives in red ink and put an asterisk (*) above all of the verbs. My family I am lucky because I have a wonderful family. I love everyone in my family very much. My mum is very kind and looks after all of the family. She is a great cook, too. Her Beef stew is fantastic. My dad works in a bank. He works hard, but he always makes time to have fun with me and my younger brother, Paul. My dad helps mum with the housework, too. I get on great with Paul. We often play computer games or go to the mall together in our free-time. We never fight. I guess I am lucky to have such a wonderful family. Check your answers on page (link1) 10 The English Course - Writing Book 1

13 Recognising Common Errors Unit 2 Recognising Common Errors The best way to improve your writing is to understand the most common mistakes that students make and try not to make them. Whenever you finish your writing, you should always check it for these kinds of mistakes. 1. Articles a, an & the Be careful not to forget these in your sentences. He is a teacher. Never: He is teacher. Be careful to choose the correct article. It is an interesting class. Not: It is a interesting class. Example sentences He is a teacher. He is the writing class teacher. It is an interesting class. Learn more about articles on page (link2) in the Language focus section at the back of the book. 2. Plural/singular nouns Be careful not to miss the (s) off of plural nouns. I have two cats. Never: I have two cat. Be careful with countable and uncountable nouns. There is some rice in the bowl. Not: There are some rices in the bowl. Example sentences We have two cars. I have many books in my house. It s ten kilometres to Tokyo. Learn more about plural/singular nouns on page (link3) in the Language focus section at the back of the book. 3. Subject/verb agreement Be careful that the verb form you use matches the subject of your sentence. He plays golf every Sunday. Never: He play golf every Sunday. They study English. Never: They studies English. Example sentences I play tennis twice a week. She goes to school in London. They live in a big house. Learn more about subject/verb agreement on page (link4) in the Language focus section at the back of the book. Learn more about plural/singular nouns on page (link3b) in the Language focus section at the back of the book. The English Course - Writing Book 1 11

14 4. Verb tense consistency Be careful not to use the wrong verb tense in your sentences. I went to Egypt last summer vacation. Not: I go to Egypt last summer vacation. Be careful not to mix verb tenses in your sentences. I like watching movies and reading books. Not: I like watching movies and read books. Example sentences I am going to America next week. I played football when I was in high school. Learn more about verb tense consistency on page(link5) in the Language focus section at the back of the book. 5. Pronoun agreement For example, I, me, my, mine, etc. Be careful not to forget pronouns in front of nouns. Mr. Smith is my English teacher. Not: Mr. Smith is English teacher. Be careful not to use the wrong pronouns. That book is mine. Please pass it to me. Not: That book is my. Please pass it to mine. Example sentences Our house is in the country. My grandparents live near us. They have their own boat. Learn more about pronoun agreement on page (link6) in the Language focus section at the back of the book. 6. Prepositions For example, in, on, at, by, for, etc. Be careful not to forget prepositions in your sentences. (Prepositions are usually placed in front of nouns and pronouns.) I work in a supermarket. Not: I work a supermarket. Be careful to use the correct preposition. Let s meet on Sunday at five o clock. Not: Let s meet in Sunday on five o clock Example sentence I sometimes come to school by bicycle and sometimes on the bus. Learn more about prepositions on page (link6b) in the Language focus section at the back of the book. 12 The English Course - Writing Book 1

15 Exercise 1 Find the mistakes Find and correct the mistakes in the following sentences. There are two mistakes in each sentence. 1) My hobbies is singing karaoke and watch movies. 2) He is teacher in the my high school. 3) I like a cat, but I don t like dog. 4) My sister work a restaurant in weekends. 5) I stayed 3 week in Hawaii with friend. 6) My grandparent loved they present. 7) The meeting are in January 22 nd. 8) He went to Hawaii and see the dolphin. 9) I was member of volleyball club on high school. 10) I worked hard yesterday. It is very tired. 11) I was member of volleyball club on high school. 12) She make a cake yesterday for sister s birthday. 13) My brother go to famous university. 14) Its take 30 minutes from my house to school. 15) I working part-time in bookshop. Exercise 2 Rewrite the paragraph Now find the mistakes in this paragraph and correct them. My free time I never really have any free time because I has so many hobby. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, I going to swimming club after school. I always swim for a hour each day. Then i n Thursday and Friday, I went to football training. A football ground is near me house, so I going there with bicycle if is dry the weather. AT a weekend, play football Saturday and Sunday afternoon. After football at Saturday, I sometimes meeting girlfriend and our go out from dinner in evening. On Sunday evening, I just rested because it is so tired. I like my hobby, but I need to resting, too. Ask your teacher to check your answers. The English Course - Writing Book 1 13

16 Screen test Teacher note If you are not able to use the DVD, you can download the quiz questions from the teacher s area of the web site. Quiz 1 Look at Quiz 1 on the DVD. You must decide what kind of word each one is. Quiz 2 Look at Quiz 2 on the DVD. You must decide which of the 3 sentences is incorrect. Finale Teacher note This exercise can be done in class, as a homework assignment on paper, or as an online writing assignment. Your teacher will show you a slide show of an interview with a man. You can make notes. After you have seen the slide show, write a paragraph about the man. Remember what you have learned about common errors and check your writing when you finish. Take it away Now go to the web site and complete the exercises for Unit The English Course - Writing Book 1

17 The English Course Writing Book 1 Units Unit 1 Getting started Unit 2 Recognising common errors Unit 3 Writing better sentences Unit 4 Writing good paragraphs Unit 5 Brainstorming Unit 6 Writing reports Unit 7 Writing reviews Unit 8 Writing about the past Unit 9 Writing about the future Unit 10 Writing narratives Unit 11 Writing correspondence Unit 12 Writing an essay Students will learn: The basic rules for laying out writing What a paragraph should look like How to write simple sentences To understand grammar terms To recognise parts of a sentence To recognise common errors What conjunctions are To write compound sentences To write complex sentences What a paragraph is To write topic sentences To write supporting sentences To recognise irrelevant sentences To organise ideas and make a plan To create clusters and lists To create spider-graphs & extended lists To do research and find information To conduct a survey To organise information and write reports The difference between facts and opinions To express opinions To write an opinionative review To write a factual review To use the simple past and past continuous tense To use time sequence words To write a biography To write about an experience To use future tenses To express probability To write about plans and ambitions To write predictions To write fictional stories To organise information by time To organise several paragraphs About Block Style letter writing To write formal correspondence To write informal correspondence What an essay is Pre-writing skills Rewriting skills The importance of peer editing The English Course - Writing Book 1 15