Online Reporter
COMPLEMENT, complement—A complement is something that makes a thing complete. A compliment is an expression of praise or admiration. The CD-ROM is the complement of the textbook. The teacher’s compliment pleased the class.
Compose, comprise — Compose means to form by putting together. Comprise means to contain or embrace. Water is composed of hydrogen and oxygen. SADC comprises 16 states. Continual, continuous — Continual describes repetitive action with pauses. Continuous describes an action that continues with no interruption in space or time.
Their, they’re, there.
“There” is the possessive form of. “There” is the contraction of “they are”. There means “in that place”. There is also sometimes used as an interjection, expressing a sense of completion. Where . . . at. Do not use at after a question with where.
Whereas, while — “whereas and while” can be used as conjunctions meaning although. “Whereas” also means “it being the fact that”. “While” can be used as a conjunction indicating a period of time. I spent the whole afternoon at work, whereas you were at home. Whereas everyone is in agreement, we can adjourn this meeting.
Have you ever heard of a desperate farmer who pen feeds his cattle at the sale pen? The farmer realises that he needs a substantial amount of money and where does he get it from? He has beasts but they are not in prime condition, so as a last resort he has to feed them just before putting them on sale? Does that work, I wonder?
The question comes to me when I go back and remind examination students about different types of writing. Different types of writing such as report writing and discursive writing are characterised by certain features. When you sit for a writing task, you need to identify the type of writing required and to think about the sort of features that are usually included.
Following are some of the main features and techniques used for different types of writing. Not all types of texts will include features from more than one type. For example, a travel guide may present factual information but also give an opinion.
It is also important to remember that one text type may be written in a variety of different styles. For example, again a travel guide could be formal or entertaining. You will need to adapt your use of language depending on the purpose of your text and its audience.
Types of writing. Report has a heading and subheadings. Uses formal language ad has an objective view point. It includes facts, figures and statistics. It has recommendations and/or conclusions at the end. Writing to give instructions — this has to have a clear and factual style. It includes use of imperative verbs, for example, get, put, take and use of subheadings.
Has impersonal tone (avoids using she, he, we or I). Involves use of connectives, for example, first, next, finally, before and many others. Descriptive writing is arranged in paragraphs. This allows the reader to imagine the subject described.
It gives a general picture as well as details. Not the language used, adjectives and adverbs and similes, which appeal to the senses. Review gives reasons why the product, place or experience is good or bad. It gives a conclusion and involves a list of technical language. It also gives an opinion, which is often subjective and sometimes uses comparison.
Discursive writing is often balanced and objective. Gives an argument for and against a topic. It comes to a conclusion after proving the facts. Uses most connectives, for example, however, furthermore, moreover and often uses comparison. Writing to entertain has a lively style. It is informal but always humorous. Often use “you” to address the reader. Includes exaggeration, includes familiar sayings and varied vocabulary.
Structure: beginnings and endings. The beginning of a text is important because it sets the tone or style of your writing and the ending is important because it leaves the reader with a final impression of what you want to say.
Choosing the right tone. To create a successful piece of writing, you need to use an appropriate tone. Here are possible options: assertive, lively, frustrated, light-hearted, sympathetic, angry, business-like, reflective, friendly, sarcastic, brisk, romantic, enthusiastic, humorous and serious.
You can plan your writing task using the following guides. Decide on the purpose of your writing, who is your audience, your layout and what style do you want to use. You can plan your paragraphs using: a spider diagram, a mind-map, headings, bullet points and or numbering. Understand these terms: purpose.
Things to consider under purpose are: why are you writing? Are you writing to entertain, persuade, report, explain, review or something else? Who is your audience? Who are you writing for, a friend, a boss, a child, a teacher, or someone else?
In your layout you consider whether you should write your text in paragraphs? Does it need subheadings or bullet points? Does it need a letter layout? On the style — you consider the tone to write in; lively, light-hearted, serious, thoughtful or something different?
What perspective should you use — first person “I”, second person “you” or third person “he, she or it”?
All this depends on whether you have the knowledge of what you are talking about. Are you familiar with the suggested viewpoints or else you might produce disastrous writing?
Finally, write using a variety of sentence types to suit the task and to achieve an appropriate tone.
