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Introduction to Writing Skills

Owais Riaz

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What is writing skills?

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Writing skills is a combination of the words andimages you choose, and the types of sentences you

write.

Or

 A formal tone, use of the third-person rather than

first-person perspective, clear focus on the issue or 

topic rather than the author¶s opinion, and precise

word choice

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Why does writing matter ?�it is a fundamental skill of communication

�it is often the main method by which you will

be assessed

�your work is lost to the world until it ispublished

�the reader needs to understand what youmean

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Cont..

� poor writing is a waste of time and effort forboth writer and reader

� bullet points are easy - writing well is a skill

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Criteria of Good Writing

` Gowers (1986) suggests that writers should criticallyconsider their work and ask themselves whether it meets

certain criteria.

` clear

` simple

` brief 

` accurate

`

complete

` correct

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Features of good writing

` Short rather than long(words and sentences)

` Plain language preferred to jargon

` Clarity preferred to ambiguity

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 Types of writing

` Narrative writing

` Expository writing

` Persuasive writing

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` Narrative Writing tells a personal or fictional experienceor tells a story based on a real or imagined event

` Expository writing is writing that is designed to convey

inf ormation or explain what is difficult to understand

` Persuasive writing attempts to convince the reader to 

accept a particular point of view or to take a specific

action

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It is a learnt skill and,

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`Writersemploying the

f ormal

academic styleavoid jargon,

slang, and

abbreviations

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Examples

Informal writing :

I think he·s a loser

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Formal writing : 

Macbeth·s horrific choices cause him to lose

ever y thing he holds dear: children, wife,

friends, crown and king

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The first statement is informal. The writer speaks in the first

 person, using the word ³I´, and states an opinion.T

heslang term ³loser´, is used, which is inappropriate in aformal context. They also uses the contraction ³he¶s´. If 

this were in the middle of a paragraph, it may be easier tounderstand to whom the author is referring.

Taken as a simple statement, however, it¶s

impossible to know whether the writer thinks his best friend, his dog, or arock star is a loser!

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The second example uses an academic, formal

style. Written in the third-person, the sentence

omits references to the writer and focuses on

the issue. Strong, specific adjectives like³horrific´ convey the author¶s view clearly

without resorting to slang. The use of the colon

creates a strong, formal feel when properly

used here to introduce a list.

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What is plagiarism

Copying of 

passages/text/work/

ideas without proper

acknowledgement

of the author. This

includes otherstudents work.

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Getting started

` Find your time

` Find your space

` Brain storming, clustering, mind mapping

` Free writing

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Beginning

` A quotation ² is it relevant

` A question

` An opinion

` An interesting fact

` An irony or paradox

` An analogy

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Bod y 

`Your paragraphs should flow

naturally into one an

other andconnections should be made

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Paragraphs

` 7-8 sentences` Each should be topic specific, preferably with an

introductory sentence

` Each sentence state the content/context and then some

supporting example which is where the references comein.

` The last sentence concludes the paragraph and moves to 

the next.

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Conclusions

` Don·t introduce anything new

` Draw in the introduction

` Demonstrate a conclusion

` Give the essay a sense of completeness

` Leave a final impression

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Thank You