ENG001 Official Handouts

Virtual University of Pakistan

Elementary English Eng. 001

Lecture no.

Topic

Page no.

Lesson 1 · Lesson 2 · Lesson 3 · Lesson 4

Qualities of good writing………………………………..

Lesson 5

Qualities of good writing II…………………………….

Lesson 6

The process of writing………………………………….

Lesson 7

The process of writing II……………………………….

Lesson 8

All about words………………………………………...

Lesson 9

Dictionary-A Writer’s Language Tool………………….

Lesson 10

Parts of speech…………………………………………..

Lesson 11

Basic clause patterns…………………………………….

Lesson 12

Active and passive voice………………………………..

Lesson 13

Modifiers and sentence types……………………………

Lesson 14

Reported speech ………………………………………..

Lesson 15

Grammatical sentence – issues……………………….....

Lesson 16

Grammatical sentence – issues II………………………..

Lesson 17

Effective Sentence……………………………………...

Lesson 18

Style: Guideline And Pitfalls I………………………….

Lesson 19

Style: Guideline And Pitfalls II…………………………..

Lesson 20

Paragraph Writing: Types And Techniques………………………………………………..

Lesson 21

Paragraph Writing: Types And Techniques…………..….

Lesson 22

Essay Writing……………………………………….……

Lesson 23

Signal Words …………………………………………….

Lesson 24

Expository writing ……………………………………….

Lesson 25

The Writing Styles: Report And Narrative Writing………

Lesson 26

The Writing Styles: Descriptive And Persuasive Writings…………………………………………………..

Lesson 27

Research Writing and Documenting Sources…………………………………………………....

Lesson 28

Summary and Précis Writing…………………………..…

Lesson 29

Punctuation…………………………………………….…

Lesson 30

Mechanics…………………………………………..…….

LECTURE 1

“The invention of writing is probably the most important tool for human advancement, making it possible for each new generation to build upon the work of the previous, to transmit knowledge from person to person, across cultures and time.“ Donald Norman – Stanford University

You must be ready to learn from the first day of school. Don’t you want to?

Do well in your studies

Enjoy self-expression

Become more self-reliant

You know how important writing will be to you and in your life. It will be important from firstgrade through college and throughout adulthood.

Writing is:

Practical

Most of us make lists, jot down reminders, and write notes and instructions at least occasionally.

Job-Related

Professional and white-collar workers write frequently--preparing memos, letters, briefing papers, sales reports, articles, research reports, proposals, and the like. Most workers do "some" writing on the job.

Stimulating

Writing helps to provoke thoughts and to organize them logically and concisely.

Social

Most of us write thank-you notes and letters to friends at least now and then.

Therapeutic

It can be helpful to express feelings in writing that cannot be expressed so easily by speaking.

Unfortunately, many schools are unable to give children sufficient instruction in writing. There are various reasons: teachers aren't trained to teach writing skills, writing classes may be too large, it's often difficult to measure writing skills, etc. Research shows that student’ writing lacks clarity, coherence, and organization. Only a few students can write persuasive essays or competent business letters. As many as one out of four has serious writing difficulties, and students say they like writing less and less as they go through school.

THINGS TO KNOW

Writing is more than putting words on paper. It's a final stage in the complex process of communication that begins with "thinking." Writing is an especially important stage in communication, the intent being to leave no room for doubt. Writing well requires:

Clear thinking. Sometimes you need to have your memory refreshed about a past event

in order to write about it.

Sufficient time. You may have `stories in your heads' but need time to think them

through and write them down.

Reading. Reading can stimulate you to write about your own family or school life. If

you read good books, you will be a better writer.

A Meaningful Task. You need meaningful, not artificial writing tasks. You'll find

suggestions for such tasks in the section, " Things To Do."

Interest. The time in the world won't help if there is nothing to write, nothing to say.

Some of the reasons for writing include: sending messages, keeping records, expressing

feelings, or relaying information.

Practice. More practice.

Revising. Students need experience in revising their work-- i.e., seeing what they can

do to make it clearer, more descriptive, more concise, etc.

POINTERS FOR YOU

Remember that your goal is to make your writing easier and more enjoyable. Make it real: You need to do real writing. It's more important for the child to write a letter to a relative than it is to write an one-line note on a greeting card.

Suggest note-taking: Take notes on trips or outings and describe what you saw. This could include a description of natural walks, a boat ride, a car trip, or other events that lend you to note-taking.

Brainstorm: Do it as much as possible about your impressions and describe people and events to you.

Encourage keeping a journal: This is an excellent writing practice as well as a good outlet for venting feelings. Write about things that happen at home and school, about people you like or dislike and why, things to remember or things you want to do, especially write about personal feelings--pleasures as well as disappointments.

Use games: There are numerous games and puzzles that help you to increase vocabulary and make you more fluent in speaking and writing. Remember, building a vocabulary builds confidence. Try crossword puzzles, word games, anagrams and cryptograms designed especially for this purpose. Flash cards are good, too, and they're easy to make at home.

Suggest making lists: Making lists is good practice and helps to become more organized. You might make lists of your records, tapes, baseball cards, dolls, furniture in a room, etc. You could include items you want. It's also good practice to make lists of things to do, schoolwork, dates for tests, social events, and other reminders.