UNIT •• 4

BA SIC WR ITI NG SKILLS ?Fi&

4 ·1 SENTENCE STRUCTURE :

At the structural level, one can divide sentences into three categories.
(I) Simple
(2) Compound
(3) Complex
(1) SIMPL E SENTE NCE
and a complete thought to
A simple sentence contains the most basic elements like a subject, a verb
make it a sentence.
I I
e.g. : (1) Mary waited for the train.
(2) The Plane was late.
(3) She looked for her brother at the bus station.

(2) COMP OUND SENTE NCE :

main clauses. Coordinating
A compound sentence is one which formed of two or more princip als or
as, or .... else etc. are found.
conjunctions like but, and, either .. .or, neither .... nor, not only . . .. but also, as well
e.g. : (I) Mary waited for the train but the train was late.
(2) They bought a house, sold it and made a profit.
(3) Krish worked hard but he didn't succeed.

(3) COMP LEX SENTE NCE :

. Subord inating conjunctions
A complex sentence includes one main clause and one or more subordinate clauses
h, as if, etc. are found.
like who, what, when, where, how, why, because, that, since, though , althoug
e.g. : (I) AJthough she was wealthy, she was still unhappy.
(2) Because she was ill, she didn't go to school.
(3) If he disturbs her, she will have to punish him.

❖ SELF-PRACTICE

State whether tbe following sentences are simple, compo und or compl ex.
1.
Completing his work for the day, tailor went home.
2. We won the match.
3.
He m~st go or she shall slap him.
4.
When they reached back, it was quite dark.
5. H
e came here to see me.
6. I wanted to kn •
ow who stood first in th st0 .
7. They tried their b b ·e fY tellmg compe tition.
8.
est ut could not ·
She declared he . wu;i the match.
r innocence.

I
Basic Writing S kills 4.2
9. Although there is inflation, the standard of living has gone up.
10. You desire to reap therefore you sow.

4.2 USE OF PHRASES AND CLAUSES IN SENTENCES

PHRASE
' A phrase is a group .of words that stand together as a single unit. typically as a part of a clause or a sentence.'
A phrase does not contain a subject and verb and, consequently, .· annot convey a complete thought. A phrnse
contrasts with a clause. A clause contains a subject and verb, 111d it can convey a complete idea.

Types of Phrase :

1. Noun Phrase :
A noun phrase is a word or group of words which contai1 ; a noun and fonc tioning in the sentence as
subject, object, or prepositional object.

Examples :
He likes to swing the bat hard when he is at the c ease. (An object)
I.
2. Reading novels is a good habit. (A subject)
The probability of happening that match is not m1 ;h. (A subject)
3.

2. Adjective Phrase : · d' ctive in the sentence.

up of an adjective and worJ 3 as a smg1e a ~e ·
An adjective phrase is mad e

Examples :
Milton is a well-behaved man.
l.
Sachin is a man of friendly nature.
2.
She is a woman of gorgeous style.
3.
3. Adverbial _Phrase : an adverb m the sentence.
the verb or the adjective a; d work s as
An .adverbial phrase modifies

Examples :
The Jeopard runs at a good speed.
I.
He ran as fast as possible.
2.
3. She sings very slowly.

4. Prepositional Phrase :
A prepositional phrase always begins with a preposition a d connects nouns.

Examples :
I. The soldier sacrificed his life for the sake of his co ·ntry.
2. In the end, they all have to die.
3. Charley is on the way.

s. ConjunctionaJ Phrase :

A conjunction al phrase works as a conjunction in the sen :-~nee.

 4.3

Exam ples :
I. As soon as you got in, she went out.
2. You have to work hard so that you ..,du w111 rw: !lext 111arci
,.
3. Both Lisa and Twisha were happy to come here.

❖ SELF -PRA CTIC E

Ident ify the phra ses in the follow ing sente nces
and state their kind.
1. Shiva was a man of great wealth.
2. · Mona ran with great speed.
3. We are sorry for her departure.
4. He leads a very interesting life.
5. By working aimlessly, he will not get success.
6. Jay started working early in order that he could finish early.
7. The team hope to win the first prize.
8. The girl in red frock is my sister.
9. In the end, everyone will be fine.
10. She works very slowly.

CLAUSE :
A clause is a group of words that includes a subje
ct and a verb.
A clause is meaningful combination of words which
expresses a complete thought. It can be said that a sentence
consists of at least one clause.·
TYPES OF CLAUSE :
1. Main or Independent Clause :
An Independent Clause can express a complete thoug
ht (and a sentence can ·be standalone).
For example,
Sara ate a cheese roll after she watched the news.
(Sara ate a cheese roll is an independent clause. It work
s ·as a standalone sente nce.)
2. Subordinate or Dependent Clause:
A dependent clause is generally a supporting part of a sente
nce, and it cann ot standalone as a meaningful
idea.
·
For example, (
Sara ate a cheese roll after she watch-ed the news.
(The clause after she watched the news is a dependent claus
e. It does not work as a stand alone sentence.)
Depe nden t clauses have further three types

1. Noun Clause
2. Adje ctive Clause
3. Adve rb Clau se
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 4.5

7. Dash ( - )
8. Bracke ts ( ) [ ]
9. [nve1te d comma s (' ') (" " )
10. Excl amation mark (!)
11. Question ma rk (?)

t. FULL STOP
Use of full stop (.)expresses th For examp le,
end of a sentence.
Viral Kohli is the best be 'sman in IPL T2 0 tournament.
She will start her projec1 work on Friday.
A B.E., pr. Mark Ms. Roy.
Full stops are also used to indi ate an abbrev1•at1on.
· For examp le , US
· · .,

2. COMM A

Use ·of comma (,) indicates a s'1ort pause. It is ~sed:

. . b ks the flow of a sentence
. .
l . It is used to mark out a de , endent clause or add1t10 I detail which rea
na
and it is used to separat e terns from the list:
·
Maya bought banam s, oranges, apples an d mang oes from the marke t.
· gomg
Sweta is at home, a ..- d tomorrow s he 1s · to the school .
2. It is used to separat e pair of words which are connec ted by a nd:
Fast and.fu rious, ri, h and poor.
3. It is used to separate phra es:
Sachin bought his "' fe a gold necklace, kid a doll and me
an iPod.
4. It is used to separat e clam !S in comple x sentenc es:
After she came horn, . she made dinner.
Becaus e the world i:i. getting warme,; p.olar bears are in dange
r of becom ing extinct.
5. It is used in direct speech:
Aakriti replied, 'I lo e this'.
'Sorry, teache r said, 'I never expect ed this from you·.
6. It is used to mark before ,nd after phrases , words or clauses :
This record, in many ways, is incredible.
Kamal s daughter, A, 1rita, is an engineer.
3. SEMIC OLON

A semico lon (;) stands for a lo:.ger pause that falls somew here
. betw
1s most commo nly used to sepa: ate two. clauses in a comple een a comm a and a full stop 1I
x sente . · ·
example,
nee 111 place of a conjun ction. For
Man proposes; God disp, .ses.
Seema works all day in , '1e college; in addition, she takes cl
4. COLO N asses in the evenin gs.

A colon (:) is used to list exam · les and enumer ation and also
betw
before a quotati on, someti mes I- !fore direct speech . For examp
le, een two main clause s, to introduce

C
Basic Writing Skills 4.6

Vacancies are for the followin g areas: Mechanical, Civil and Computer engineering.
The headline says: "Petrol price hike to stay. "
5. APOST ROPHE

An apostrophe (') indicates possession. If the noun is singular, the apostrophe is

followed by an s; if
end in s, as
the noun is plural, the s is followed by the apostrophe, except when the plural does not
in the case of a few irregular nouns, for example, Sachin 's:
Sachin s finest perform ance was in 1998.
The theatre was converte d into a boys' hostel.
6. HYPHE N
to connect
A hyphen (-) is a shorter line than a dash. It is used to connect words or parts of words,
For example,
compound words and to join prefixes to other words and also used to show word breaks.
Sugar-free, Sister-in-law, light-he arted, home-made,
They were looking for a dog-friendly hotel.
7. DASH
a special role,
A dash ( - ) is indicated by a long horizontal line in place of brackets or commas. It has
only allocate
however, to mark a j:,reak or change of direction in a statement. However, most key boards
,
one key for both marks, which are therefore becoming interchangeable. For example
plans.
Disha said, I know a great restaurant we could visit-bu t perhaps you have other
8. BRACK ETS
to the sentence.
Round bracket ( ) is known as parentheses which is used to give additional meaning
other than
Square bracket [ ] has a special usage, enclosing words that have been inserted by som~one
example ,
the original writer in order to make a short extract of text comprehensible. For
Kanche njunga (28209 feet) is the highest mountai n in India.
He [the writer] was very happy to receive the award from his role model.

9. INVERTED COMM AS
other publications.
Inverted commas (' ') (" ") are used. to enclose spoken words, title of books, films and
i can be used.
It helps to draw special attention _to the words. Both single and double inverted comma
within a quotation,
Single is generall y used in UK English and double in US English. If a quotation occurs
double inverted
it is marked by double within single inverted commas (for UK English) and single within
commas (for US English).
He said to me, "I am going to study now".
)
"Shall J read aloud Seamus Heaney' s poem 'Diggin g'?" she asked. (US English
)
"Shall I read aloud S..eamus Heaney 's po~m "Diggin g"?' she asked. (UK English

10. EXCLAMATION MARK

emotion or a wish.
Exclamation mark (!) is used in phrases and sentences that express sudden, strong
For example,
Wow! That's a wonderf ul sight!
"It's paining !" she yelled.
 a%
- - - -- -- E1101•
_4~7~-
• - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
11. QUE STIO N MAR K . It is also used in brackets to show the w .
l'ller
IOn.
A question mark (?) is used at the end of a queSI
is sceptical by a statement. For example, invin cible (?).
This Manc hester United f ootball team seems
Isn ~ it a beautiful day?

❖ SELF-PRACTICE

Punctuate the following :

d 8.5 CGPA .
1. By the end of his second year Vishal had earne
g her principal for a raise
2. Rumi who works for the local school is askin
next month
3. I didn 't know however you can get the book
4. His father an engineer is a workaholic
here she asked
5. Do you remember Rishi asking is anybody
to go back to college
6. Harry is a former soldier He now wants
moSt talented members of
Rahim the singer Joy the guitarist and Shivam the 'drummer were the three
7.
the band
stature almost frail in build soft spoken yet clearly
8. How do.e s one describe Mother Teresa she is of small
a very determined woman of great courage

4.4 CREATING COHERENCE :

expression
h, thought, ideas and reaso ning that make s the
'The word coherence means consistency of speec flow to the
property of written text that prov ide a smooth
clear and easy to understand.' Coherence is the nation and
nces of ideas to one another. AU important infon
writing. Coherence links the meanings and seque :
e four devices may help to attai n coherence
ideas should be presented in sensible order. Thes

Use of Pronouns :
and those
demonstrative pronouns such as this, that, these
Some common pronouns such as they, me, it or of thought.
ng. This helps in maintaining the conti nuity
are used in orde r to achieve coherence in writi
Repetition of key words. or phrases :
tion may
coherence to a parag raph . But using over repeti
Repetition of certain words or phrases also gives
lead to monotony.

Synonyms as connectors :
. . b'ch are
Synonyms are used to show. connectio n in written text They are used m plac e of certa m words w 1
. · . .
including · ty
already used and have certam meanmg. Thus vane , one can avoi d mon oton y.
Sentence linkers :
. pb,
anoth d .
The use of connectors and sentence linkers is er ev1ce whic h h l · paragra
/ 10
,, d e ps to creat e cohe rence ID
resll t,
The conn ector s such as at the end. because oJ, ue to more h .
' .over, owever, therefore, as a
sum up and at last etc. can be used for coherence.
Basic Writing Sk ills 4.8

ES OF
4.5 OR GA NI ZIN G PRINCIPL PARAGRAPH IN DOCUME
NTS
. . are some
To write any document effectively 1·t · needed to learn how to wnte effective documents. Here
-h ' is
of the principles wh ic can be very helpful to organi
ze it.
uction
1. Work Hard on the Introd
can help us to capture
· l
A go od beginning is qu 1·te crucia to wnte any doc
- ument. A goo d, imaginative start
. . . of
. - . · aim and the obJecttve
th tt ton
e a ent of the reader· Intr od uctton ·
compnses the openmg statement, the . .
body. Hence ,
par
.
tic ula r do cum ent A d · oductton
mtr
. . a vehicle
ts
.
to lead the reader mto the mam
a - · goo . . .
fi rst paragraph can- be orgam·zed as an mtroductton of any document
d
2. Ma ke the Ma in Body Look Authentic and Unifie
fied. The Main
s, the ma in bod y is exp ected to look authentic and uni
agr aph and a
While_ writing a couple of par of the m has its ow n introdu cer, a couple of developers,
agraphs, each to the thought,
Bo dy mcludes different par nce in the se par agraphs. In order to credence
ty and coh ere
ter mi nat or. There must be uni ons, statistics etc.
suc h as com par iso n, con tra st, analogy, examples, quotati
writers often use devices
ive
3. Ke ep the Co nc lus ion Short and Effect be undermined.
um ent com es at the end of it, its importance cannot
Th ou gh conclusion of a doc points.
n, keep in mind the following
Wh ile wr itin g the conclusio
be short and effective.
I. Th e conclusion should
a particular point.
sion, do not start to elaborate
2. Wh ile writing a conclu
be added in a conclusion.
3. Ne w ideas should not
with the discussion.
Th e con clu sio n sho uld essentially be in consonance
4.
so do not use
should give their own ideas;
5. In conclusion, writers ents.
s while making final statem
qu ota tio ns from other source

4.6 SELF-PRACTICE :
cture.
1. Write typ es of sentence stru
clauses.
2. Ex pla in typ es of phrases and
3. Ex pla in Pu nct uat ion in detail.
?
4. Wh at is cre ati ve coherence
Documents.
Principles of Paragraph in
5. Write a no te on Organizing

GTU (WINTER 2018)

4. 7 QUESTIONS ASKED IN
writing?
1. · Wh at is coherence in com ma , cap ita l lett ers , exclamation m~ ks and quest
i~n
using full sto ps,
uat e the following sentences
2 • Pu nct
ma rks etc.
to do today varun
A. Wh at are yo u going
r it was
B. Wh at an amazing tou
live in Mumbai
c. My na me is Raj and i
movie
Wh en yo u com e to my home we will go to watch
D.
D