Skills for writing Part 2

Charles Dube

This is a follow-up to work begun last week on tips for writing compositions. Credit should be given to many teachers of the English language who are doing a good job of equipping students with necessary skills to pass their examinations. While information shared last week could have been general, today we get to specific areas, albeit briefly.

Students are asked to write reports in their examinations. What should they remember? They should always state purpose of report in the first paragraph and authority of compiling that piece. They might also want to provide the general aim of the report. Pieces of information given in the question should be followed with reasonable explanations, comments, suggestions, and situations depending on the nature of the question. At times discourse markers like, firstly, secondly and finally are necessary as they make it easier for the writer to state ideas and for readers to follow the report.

In the first paragraph state the, who, what, where and when. In other paragraphs use the points given in the question and expand them using your knowledge and present them in chronological order. (In the order in which the events occur.) The points might be in the form of a graph or chart. In such cases the advice given is that you should not just repeat the information shown on the graph, but you should show accuracy and deep thinking. Compare and contrast trends given in the graph or chart.

In the last paragraph, depending on the nature of the question, it might be necessary to give a general remark or make a recommendation based on the topic under discussion. In other words, a proper conclusion is a must on report writing as it is on other compositions. Signature is necessary at the end of the report. Make sure the report is properly addressed, make clear the intended recipient. Give a professional title where appropriate. State where it is coming from by stating your full name or title where applicable as well.

Writing speeches
Most students are uncomfortable when asked to write speeches in the examinations. They come out of the examination room confused, not knowing whether they have done the right thing. In most cases they would not have had fair practice on the topic or in extreme cases they would not have heard about it. Speeches are meant to inform, share, support or persuade audiences on the topic set in the examination.

Students are encouraged to write in a conversational style, the same way as they speak. The question usually sets out the audience they are supposed to be facing. They should start and end with quotes, either double “ or single ‘. They can start by greeting their audience. Degree of formality and tone of speech depends on their relationship with the audience and the topic of speech. The common and the one generally used is: “Good morning ladies and gentlemen….”

I assume that students are quite familiar with formal and informal language as these are mostly talked about in class especially when writing letters. Depending on the situation the greeting may be followed by a self-introduction even if you have been formally introduced. Purpose of speech should always be stated. Speeches are written in the way they are spoken which means a lot of verbs are in the –ing form that is using the present participles which suggest the action is happening as we speak.

Another point of note is that good speeches make use of rhetorical questions. What is a rhetorical question? It is a question that you ask without expecting an answer. The question might be one that does not have an answer. It might also be one that has an obvious answer but you have asked the question to make a point, to persuade or for literary effect. End your speech by thanking the audience for their patience and attentiveness. Another proper way to end a speech is to use a quote to call to order by those knowledgeable on such matters.

We now move on to tips on answering comprehension questions. Remember these are not the only ways but suggestions which could be tried together with what your noble teachers say. Read all instructions before answering the questions. There is need to write neatly and legibly as usually stated on the question paper. Remember to write the question numbers. Scan the paper for clues to predict what you will be reading about in the passage.

Clues can be obtained from the title of the passage. At times a brief summary of the passage is given before the passage itself. The writer’s name and the title of the book or story where the passage was taken from could also assist.

Reading the questions before reading the passage gives the reader a rough idea of what he will be reading about. The comprehension has various question types. It has direct questions at the beginning which have direct answers.

Answers for such questions are stated plainly in the passage.

Examples of direct questions: What is the reason? Quote a sentence, or give four consecutive words. Explain how; write down one word or an expression which shows. You get inferential questions. These call for reading between the lines. Answers for such questions cannot be found directly from the passage. Make your deductions. Infer the meaning or answer through given words or phrases from the passage. There is rephrasing of questions — re-write in your own words but keep the meaning. Read the phrase or sentence in its context in the passage so that the explanation is appropriate to the situation.

Rephrasing question examples — Explain the term, phrase or sentence in your own words. Then there are vocabulary questions. Here you are asked to explain words or phrases. A word or phrase is chosen from the passage, usually 8 are chosen and the student is to explain 5 of them as they are used in the passage. He is required to give another word or phrase bearing the same meaning to the word. As stated earlier, these are just tips and are not the end of it all.

Going through them could prove worthwhile. Tips on summary writing to follow later.

For views link up with [email protected] or sms only to 0772113207