2 BASIC WRITING SKILLS When we write a composition, it is not enough to have good ideas or persuasive arguments.

It is important to express them correctly. Word order: Subject + Verb + bject + !omplements "manner place time# I $ound the boo% easily at the library yesterday Notes: &. 'ime expressions can come at the beginning or at the end o$ a sentence. (. )on*t separate the verb $rom its object. +. ,re-uency adverbs "o$ten, always, never# o$ten come be$ore the main verb. .. I$ a sentence has a direct object and an indirect object, we o$ten place the indirect object $irst: /She wrote him a letter/ " /She wrote a letter to him/, is possible#. 0. 1djectives come be$ore the noun and they have no plural $orm. Subject2verb agreement: 'he subject and the verb must agree in number. ,or example, when the subject is singular, the verb must also be singular: /She sings well/ Some nouns are always $ollowed by a singular verb "everything, news, $urniture, in$ormation ...# Some nouns are $ollowed by a plural verb "people, children, police, trousers ...# 3.3 WRITING A COMPOSITION 'here are several ways to achieve an excellent piece o$ writing: 3 4epeat %ey nouns throughout the composition. 3 5se pronouns to re$er bac% to %ey nouns 3 1rrange the sentences in a logical order and use lin%ing words to indicate the order " $irst, second, then, later, next, since, then, $inally# 1 good composition should have a strong opening which attracts the readers* attention and ma%es them to read more. 1 $ew good ways o$ opening your composition include: 3 1 -uestion 3 1 surprising statistic or $act 3 1 personal address to the reader 3 1 provocative statement "not too provocative6# !ertain words or expressions are o$ten used to indicate the conclusion o$ a piece o$ writing: In conclusion, lastly, $inally, to sum up, in short ... 3.4 CONNECTORS 7elow is a chart o$ words and expressions commonly used to connect ideas or show relationships. &. !ontrast or opposing ideas: although, while, in spite o$, but, however, despite the $act that. (. !omparison: li%e, similarly, both, just, as + adjective + as. +. 4eason, cause and e$$ect: because, since, as, so that, in order that. .. 'ime and se-uence: when, while, $irst o$ all, secondly, $inally. 0. 4esult and conse-uences: there$ore, thus, as a result o$, conse-uently, because o$. 8. 1ddition and example: moreover, in addition, $or instance, such as, $urthermore, as well as, not only....but also. 9. Introduction: to begin with, as an introduction, we can say that, as $ar as this topic is concerned i can say that.... :. !onclusion: in a nutshell, summing up, to sum up, in conclusion, on balance, all in all.