LESSON PLAN

Noreen B. Malabato

I.Objectives:

1. Distinguishes between and among the basic mechanics in writing.

2. Apply the basic mechanics in writing in real life situations.

II. Subject Matter: Basic Mechanics in Writing

III. Materials: PowerPoint Presentation

IV. Motivation

ACROSTIC- give words or phrases that may define or is related to the word MECHANICS that starts with
letters:

M
E
C
H
A
N
I
C
S

V. Lesson Proper

What are writing mechanics?

- Mechanics are to writing what grammar is to speech. In other words, writing mechanics is the
set of rules and principles that make writing clear and easy to understand.
- Effective writing requires that language is not just grammatically correct, but that it’s also
written in the correct way. That’s where mechanics comes in.

Importance:

- Clarity - Proper writing mechanics helps your sentences communicate clearly and correctly, so
the reader understands your intent and can follow your train of thought.
- Focus- Spelling and grammatical mistakes draw focus away from your subject, detracting from
what you intend to communicate.
- Professionalism- Correct mechanics is essential for professionalism.

BASIC MECHANICS IN WRITING

1. Parts of Speech

The parts of speech are the basic categories that words belong to, and they govern how the words
relate to each other. Writers need to understand nouns and pronouns, verbs and adverbs, and how
to correctly use prepositions and conjunctions.

2. Sentence Structure

A complete sentence contains at least a subject and a verb. A typical English sentence uses the word
order subject+verb+object (“the boy bounced the ball”), but there are a huge range of correct ways
to put together a sentence.

The basic building blocks of sentences are:

A. A clause. A clause contains a subject and verb, and can be a complete sentence.
When joined correctly with conjunctions and/or punctuation, multiple clauses can
be used to make compound sentences.
B. A phrase. A phrase is a collection of words without a subject or verb, used to modify
the other parts of a sentence. “Underneath the table” or “despite the opposition” or
“with a big smile” are all examples of phrases.
3. Spelling
English spelling is difficult, but needs to be correct. Use a spellcheck, use a dictionary, use a
proofreader, but make sure you get it right.
4. Capitalization
Capitalization is tricky, because it has overlapping rules with grammar, writing mechanics, and
also writing conventions and style guides. Check your writing conventions for rules on
capitalization in titles and headers, but here are the most frequently used rules of capitalization:
A. Capitalize the first word of a document, the first word of a sentence, and the first word of a
direct quote within quotation marks
B. Capitalize proper nouns, including the names of people, places, and companies, and
capitalize their initials or acronyms
C. Capitalize the days of the week, months of the year, and historical eras (“the Great
Depression”)
D. Capitalize nicknames, and also kinship names when they are used in place of a personal
name (“he loved Mom’s cooking”)
5. Punctuation
Punctuation marks are signposts used by writers to give directions to their readers about which
way a sentence is going. Using punctuation properly is one of the most crucial elements in
making the meaning of the sentence absolutely clear. Take our favorite example: “Let’s eat
Grandma!” becomes considerably less worrisome when a single comma is added … “Let’s eat,
Grandma!”
6. Abbreviations
- Modern language is full of TLAs (Three Letter Abbreviations), and writers should not assume that
readers know the abbreviation or acronym in question. Always introduce an abbreviation or
acronym the first time you use it in a piece of writing.
- The most common method is to first write out the abbreviation or acronym, capitalizing each
letter, and introducing the acronym you will use going forward. For example, “the Food and
Drug Association (FDA)” or “English as a Second Language (ESL)”.

VI. Assessment

- Create a dialogue applying the basic mechanics in writing. Submit your dialogues in our chat box
and present it to the class.

VII. Review and research on the principles of paragraph writing.