CHAPTER 1

THE ROLE OF THE STUDENT WRITER

A student of writing is required to engage in the actual writing process and should
not wait to be taught how to write. Instead, he should discipline his mind to learn how to write—
to string together the words that would convey the message he wants to deliver. It will not do to
rely solely on the professor to explain the next procedure. To become a successful student writer,
one must have a sense of adventure coupled with the willingness to explore the learning setting
and a positive approach in learning how to write. In order to cultivate a positive approach, he
must have a desire to learn the language intimately. The language to be used must not be viewed
as inferior to the writer’s own. Ultimately, he must strive towards mastery of the said language.

The student writer needs to develop increasing familiarity with the language to be
used. Specifically, he needs to satisfy the following:
1. The need to develop an understanding of the grammatical structure of the language to be
used by the writer.
2. The need to discern the systematic pattern that exists in the language.
3. The need to develop a vocabulary to express the nuances of the words used.
4. The need to recognize the rhetorical structure of the language.
SPEAKING VERSUS WRITING
Speaking and writing are skills that have similarities. Both require the use of
language symbols to express needs and feelings; they are both governed by the rules of
semantics and syntax. Both are also expected to achieve a communicative purpose—a degree of
understanding, common knowledge and shared expectations.
In speech, we monitor what we say by listening to the revised or connected ideas,
while in writing we monitor what we write by reading and rereading.
Furthermore, the speaker and the writer should be able to determine how simple
or complex and formal or informal the statements should be. But there are differences in
speaking and writing, too. Writing differs from speech in several ways. According to Vygotsky,
e.f. Hughey (1983), composing a written discourse is “a separate linguistic function differing
from oral speech in both structure and mode of functioning. Even its minimal development
requires a high level of abstraction.” Writing significantly different from speaking because
writing requires a more complex and difficult discourse.

CHAPTER 2
THE WORD
The perception of thoughts and ideas by readers depends upon how they
understand the same. It is the main objective of every writer to be understood. Thoughts and
ideas are then represented aptly by word symbols. However, not every word can be accepted to
represent one’s thoughts. Take a look at Alexander Pope’s writings which are composed of
puzzling words. Some of his words have become obsolete. This picture is not surprising. New

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words are added and old words acquire new meanings as they are used in new ways. Some old
words disappear.
On the other hand, Mark Twain said that writing would be easy. Just put down the
words on paper. He further stated that the word is a powerful agent, although for him, there are
“right” words and “almost-right” words.
It is the objective of this chapter to determine the levels of usage of words, their
classification and whether they are appropriate or not.
CLASSIFICATION AND USES OF WORDS
1. Obsolete Words
These are words whose meanings have gone out of use. Examples of obsolete meanings
are the use of coy in the sense of “quite”, curious in “careful”, and nice in “foolish.”
2. Archaic Words
Some words or meanings are no longer used commonly but still applies in special
situations. Examples are thou and thee for “you” and brethren for “brothers.”
3. Neologisms
A writer should use new words with caution and restraint. Newly coined words are called
neologisms. Occasionally, a writer coins an apt and useful word that finds general acceptance.
Examples are vanishment (analogous to banishment) and neglectfulness (analogous to
bashfulness).
4. Dialectal Words
A dialect is a form of the native language spoken by a particular group of persons
(Elsbree et al., 1981). These words that originated from dialects are called localisms or
provincialisms or simply dialectal words.
5. Shop Talk
The technical vocabulary of those doing the same work or having the same way of life is
known shop talk, the language that people use in discussing their line of activity.
6. Illiteracies
Words which are in bad taste, or which break grammatical principles belong to
illiteracies. Some examples are as follows: (a) ain’t for am not, (b) he don’t for he
doesn’t, and (c) higher your hand for raise your hand.
7. Colloquialisms
Colloquialisms (Shaw, 1979) are conversational words or phrases permissible in an
informal style of speaking and writing.
8. Idiomatic Usage
According to Elsbree (1981), an idiom is an expression peculiar to the language, not
explainable by the principles of logic or the ordinary meaning of individual words.

EXACT AND EMPHATIC WORDS

When writing, strive to choose words which are express your ideas and feelings exactly.
If you can make effective use of words you already know, you need to have a huge vocabulary.
Good writing often consists of short familiar words. Their use will help your writing become
more exact and effective. However, as you study them, you will discover that exact diction may
also be unemphatic. On the other hand, forceful diction can be inexact, too.

IMPROPRIETIES
Improprieties, according to Shaw (1979), are standard English words that are misused in
meaning. These include words acceptable as one part of speech but unacceptable as another,
nouns improperly substituted for verbs, verbs for nouns, adjectives for nouns, adjectives for
adverbs, adverbs for adjectives and prepositions for conjunctions. It also includes misuses of
principal parts of verbs. Such improprieties, are what Shaw (1979) called coined grammar.

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Classification of Improprieties
1. Homonyms- are two words that have the same or almost the same pronunciation, but
are different in meaning, in origin and in spelling. For example: hour-our, maid-made.
2. Homographs- are two or more words that have the same spelling, but are different in
meaning, origin and perhaps pronunciation. For example, arms (part of the body) and
arms (weapon).

GENERAL AND SPECIFIC WORDS

1. General Words
A general word (Tanner & Platt, 1941) is one which logistically contains within itself
other words of more limited meanings.
2. Specific Words
To make your speech and writing accurate and picturesque, form the habit of using
specific words.

ABSTRACT AND CONCRETE WORDS

1. Abstract Words
An abstract word (Tanner & Platt, 1941) expresses an idea that is purely intellectual.
2. Concrete Words
Concrete words, on the other hand, are words that stand for definite objects or classes of
objects.

DENOTATION AND CONNOTATION

1. Denotation
The denotation of a word (Ibid, 1968) is the minimum of definition that is needed to
indicate what it means, and this requires specific reference to the physical object, entity
or idea to which the word refers. Thus, the denotation of the word has nothing to do with
any attitude, emotion or association that may come to mind in connection with it.
2. Connotation
In contrast, the connotation of a word includes all the evaluations, reactions and
emotional experiences that anyone may associate with it.

CAUSES OF INEXACTNESS
1. Triteness
Trite (Moore, 1971) means literally “worn out”, hackneyed means available for anybody
and everybody, and cliché means “that which is stereotyped.”
2. Wordiness
Avoid wordiness. Repeat a word or phrase only when it is needed for emphasis or clarity.
3. Needless Repetition
Needless repetition of words or phrases distracts the readers and blurs the meaning of
sentence.

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
It is a complex and powerful means of creating, showing, or limiting a relationship.
1. Simile
It is an expressed comparison between objects of different classes.
2. Metaphor
It is an implied comparison, boldly speaking of one thing in terms that normally belong to
something else (Moore, 1971).
3. Personification

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 It is a figure of speech in which some human characteristic is attributed to an inanimate
thing (Fernando et al., 1973).

4. Synecdoche
It is the use of a part of an object to stand for the whole (Tiempo, 1980).
5. Irony
It is the opposite of what is meant in a tone or manner, that shows what the speaker thinks
(Fernando et al., 1973).
6. Overstatement
It is a figure of speech that expresses exaggeration. It tells more than the truth about the
size, number or degree of something without intending to deceive (Willis, 1964).
7. Understatement
It is deliberate minimizing (Moore, 1971). It is a conscious understatement for emphasis
and is often used to imply modesty or to soften effect.
8. Allusion
It is a reference either by borrowing familiar phrasing to literature, history or
contemporary life to enrich our own writing or by inviting the reader to associate with its
familiar suggestions drawn from outside (Ibid., 1971).

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Name: __________________________ Date: _______________ Score: ______

EXERCISE 1
Observe the language used by your fellow students, friends, acquaintances. Write below
10 idiomatic expressions not listed in the dictionary. Define them, explain their uses and indicate
what (if anything) they reveal about the speaker’s attitude.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

EXERCISE 2
The italicized words in the following sentences are wrong or inexact. Correct the errors
and replace the inexact words with exact ones.

1. Every gardener should have a compost bin.

________________________________________________________________________
2. My father’s curly hair and dimples give him a childish appearance.
________________________________________________________________________
3. Ted flouts his wealth.
________________________________________________________________________
4. They did not do anything about the disjustice.
________________________________________________________________________
5. The lyrics are perfectly adapted to the music.
________________________________________________________________________
6. Perhaps she just missed getting the job by some misfortunate chance.
________________________________________________________________________
7. I didn’t receive any invite to the party.
________________________________________________________________________
8. She did not say it but she intimidated it.
________________________________________________________________________
9. Typhoons are seasonable.
________________________________________________________________________
10. Liquor effects the brain and the nervous system.
________________________________________________________________________

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EXERCISE 3
Replace the italicized general words and phrases with specific ones.
1. I always think of a shopping mall as very big.
________________________________________________________________________
2. A lot of people are threatened by pollution.
________________________________________________________________________
3. The movie was great.
________________________________________________________________________
4. My mother serves the same thing every Sunday.
________________________________________________________________________
5. I explained my overdraft to my parents by telling them I have bought some things I
needed.
________________________________________________________________________
6. Backpacking has numerous advantages.
________________________________________________________________________
7. The dog walked over to his food.
________________________________________________________________________
8. My father looked at my grade in English and said what I least expected to hear.
________________________________________________________________________
9. Various aspects of the television show were criticized in the newspaper.
________________________________________________________________________
10. Cities have their problems.
________________________________________________________________________

EXERCISE 4
React to the following statement found in page 2 of this book: “…exact diction may also
be unemphatic. On the other hand, forceful diction can be inexact, too.”

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

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 CHAPTER 3
THE SENTENCE
We all know that a sentence is a series of spoken or written words which forms
grammatically the spoken complete expressions of a single thought. If we look up the word in
the Oxford English Dictionary, we find that a “sentence” is one of those words that has
contracted over the centuries; it had more meanings in Shakespeare’s time than it has in ours.
Some of these meanings such as “opinion” and “way of thinking” are listed in the dictionary as
obsolete and are no longer popular among contemporary writers. Nevertheless, they point way
back its Latin origin, sentence which is sentire meaning to feel, to be of the opinion, too perceive
or to judge. The word in italics shares the same root as sensation and sense and appropriately so,
for the construction of a sentence, even the simplest two-word kind, requires sensing and
thinking, perceiving and judging.
“A sentence is a group of words having a subject and a verb and expressing a complete
thought.” This is the old grade school definition of a sentence which is considered as inadequate.
Not all sentences have a subject and a verb though most of them do. When someone asks a
question and you answer “Yes”, the answer makes sense. In speech or in writing, it is certainly a
sentence though not a full sentence.
CLASSIFICATION OF SENTENCES
Sentences are usually divided into four types. When used in an actual writing situation,
the user should know the effects of each type and how they are being controlled. Let us consider
the pattern and effect of the sentence according to its purpose, syntax, form and completeness.
Moore (1971) gave the following descriptions for every classification:
Classification According to Purpose
1. Declarative Sentence
A declarative sentence asserts something about a subject.
Example: The man felt ill and called the doctor.
2. Interrogative Sentence
An interrogative sentence asks a question.
Example: When is she coming?
3. Imperative Sentence
An imperative sentence expresses a command or a request.
Example: Call him again.
4. Exclamatory Sentence
An exclamatory sentence expresses a strong or sudden feeling. There may be a
thought, an emotion, or merely a sensation behind it. When a thought is involved,
the sentence indicates evaluation or judgment.
Example: What a fool he was!

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 Classification According to Syntax or Structure
1. Simple Sentence
A simple sentence is one that contains only one independent thought or clause.
The subject, verb and complement may be compounded or modified by either
single words or phrases.
Example: The children are playing.
2. Compound Sentence
A compound sentence contains two or more independent clauses or thoughts.
Example: The students were prepared to go, but the heavy rain prevented them from
leaving.
3. Complex Sentence
A complex sentence contains one independent clause or thought and one or more
subordinate clauses.
Example: Although I have snot studied, I hope to pass the test.
4. Compound-Complex Sentence
A compound-complex sentence contains two or more independent clauses and at
least one dependent clause.
Example: He was surprised when the water rose above his tennis shows, but he went on
writing.
Classification According to Form
1. Periodic Sentence
A periodic sentence is one in which the core idea or main thought is not complete
is not complete until the final word.
Example: At the top of the hill, wind swept and lonely stood the old, haunted house.
2. Loose or Cumulative Sentence
Loose or cumulative sentence is the rhetorical type with which we are most
familiar. In the loose sentence, the subject and the verb are stated early and
whatever modifiers qualifications or exemptions the speaker thinks worth
mentioning are added.
Example: On the other hand, the scientists believe that the literary intellectuals are totally
lacking foresight/peculiarly unconcerned with their brothermen/in a deep sense
anti-intellectual/anxious to restrict both art and thought to the existential
movement. –C.P. Snow
3. Balance Sentence
In a balance sentence, the structure, and the phrasing of the second clause is the
repetition of the first.

Example: One studies in order to learn, but one learns in order to live.

Classification According to Completeness

1. Full Sentence

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 A full sentence is a grammatically complete sentence containing an expressed
subject and a predicate and is not introduced by a subordinating word unless that
subordinating word belongs to a dependent clause.

2. Incomplete Sentence
An incomplete sentence is sometimes called an allowable fragment or an elliptical
or a minor sentence.

EFFECTIVE SENTENCES
Correctness, clearness and conciseness are the characteristics of an effective sentence
(Ramos & Sanchez, 1986).

How To Achieve Correctness

To achieve correctness, one should avoid using a comma splice, a fused sentence, and an
incomplete construction.

COMMA SPLICE
A comma splice is sometimes called a comma fault (Elsbree et al., 1981).

Example: I wonder if he is thinking, he probably would not tell.

How To Correct Comma Splices

1. Subordination of One Main Clause

The comma splice can be corrected by subordinating one of the main clauses. The
most common subordinating conjunctions are because, which, since, where,
when, after, why, if, unless and whether.
2. Coordination of Clauses by Using Coordinating Conjunctions
The comma splice can be corrected by using a coordinating conjunction to join
the two main clauses to give them equal emphasis. The most usual pattern is the
use of coordinating conjunctions (and, but, for, nor, or, however, nevertheless,
neither…nor, or either…or between the two main clauses) preceded by a comma.
3. Coordinating of Clauses by Semicolon
The comma splice can also be corrected by using a semicolon to join the two
main clauses. This method is appropriate when the relationship between the two
statements is to be implied rather than stated explicitly.
4. Separation of Clauses into Sentences
The comma splice can be corrected by converting each main clause into a
sentence. This method is used to emphasize the separation between the two
sentences.
5. Commas with Short Independent Clauses
Commas without conjunctions may be used between short independent clause
related for special effects of emphasis. Short, closely related independent clauses
in a series are occasionally joined only by commas. Such punctuation is used
often in narrative writing but more sparingly in expository writing.
6. Semicolon with Conjunctive Adverbs
Two main clauses linked by a conjunctive adverb require a semicolon or a period
between them. One of the most common forms of the comma splice is the use of
the comma between two main clauses linked by a conjunctive adverb.
Conjunctive adverbs like also, besides, hence, however, instead, moreover, then
and therefore should be preceded by a semicolon or a period when they introduce
a second independent clause.

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FUSED SENTENCE
A fused sentence is one in which two main clauses are joined with no punctuation
between them (Ibid., 1981).

INCOMPLETE CONSTRUCTION
Do not omit words and expressions necessary for grammatical completeness.

Incomplete Verb Forms

When the two parts of a compound construction are in different tenses, the
auxiliary verbs must be fully written so that their meanings will be clear.

Idiomatic Prepositions
English idiom requires that certain prepositions be used with certain adjectives
and verbs; for example, interested in, aware of, or devoted to.

Incomplete And Inexact Comparisons

In comparison, do not omit words necessary to make a complete idiomatic
statement (Ibid., 1981).

THE PASSIVE VOICE OF VERBS

In the active voice, the subject of the sentence is the doer of the action. In the passive
voice, the subject of the sentences receives the action. The doer of the action may be expressed
with a prepositional phrase beginning with by.

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Name: __________________________ Date: _______________ Score: ______

EXERCISE 1
Fill in the blanks with the correct words to complete the second sentence in each number.
1. The man painted the house last month.
The _______________ was painted _______________ last month.
2. The postman delivered the letter an hour ago.
The _______________ was delivered ________________ an hour ago.
3. The people held the fiesta last week.
The _______________ was held ___________________ last week.
4. The workers will pave the street soon.
The _______________ will be paved _________________ soon.
5. The newsman will announce the winners after the contest.
The _______________ will be announced _________________ after the contest.
6. Water flooded the streets after the storm.
The ________________ were flooded __________________ after the storm.
7. The university sent Fr. Saymo abroad.
__________________ was sent ________________ abroad.
8. The boys scrub the floor every day.
The ________________ is scrubbed ________________ every day.
9. Someone stole the pants from the closet.
The __________________ were stolen ___________________________.
10. The emcee will announce the winners after the contest.
The _______________ will be announced _________________ after the contest.

EXERCISE 2
Reconstruct the following sentences using the passive voice:
1. Miss Cruz handled the class well.
________________________________________________________________________
2. The secretary writes all the letters.
________________________________________________________________________
3. The company publishes the books.
________________________________________________________________________
4. The professor corrects our compositions.
________________________________________________________________________
5. Many people attended the meetings.
________________________________________________________________________
6. Everyone hears the quarrels of the couple.

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 ________________________________________________________________________
7. No one in the school likes her.
________________________________________________________________________

8. Everyone always enjoys the President’s speeches.

________________________________________________________________________
9. The maid took the money.
________________________________________________________________________
10. Magellan discovered the Philippines in 1521.
________________________________________________________________________

EXERCISE 3
Reconstruct the following sentences using the passive voice and omit the doer of the
actions.

1. The maid cleans the room every day.

________________________________________________________________________
2. They deliver the mail at 10 o’clock.
________________________________________________________________________
3. She brings the child to school every day.
________________________________________________________________________
4. They print their books in Bulacan.
________________________________________________________________________
5. They have delivered the books.
________________________________________________________________________
6. They will bring everything we need.
________________________________________________________________________
7. They have found the child at last.
________________________________________________________________________
8. He broke the plate on purpose.
________________________________________________________________________
9. They will finish the work tomorrow.
________________________________________________________________________
10. The police may hold him for questioning for several days.
________________________________________________________________________

Reference: Saymo, Apolinario S. et al., Effective Writing, TCS-Publishing House, 2008.

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