essay writingEnglish language course 1122/1

Free composition

SECTION A

Aspects to be covered ;

1.Choice of essay topics –

.narrative,descriptive,factual,discursive/argumentantive

2.Strategies of essay writing

3.Gross errors

4.How to enrich one’s language

5.Assessment of compostions

NARRATIVE COMPOSITION

-the candidate is expected to tell a story based on a given topic.

-though the essence of the narrative composition is to tell a story (narrate) the use of descriptive
language will be an added advantage.

ASPECTS TO BE CONSIDERED IN THE WRITING AND ASSESSMENT OF A NARRATIVE COMPOSITION

.Consistence with topic (relevance)

.Linguistic ability-(i)grammatical accuracy (i)richness of language (iii)register (formality and informality)

.Orignality

.Realism

.Interest value

.Characterization

.Pace

.Atmosphere

.Coherence

.Paragraphing and punctuation

.Length requirements
GROSS ERRORS

(indicated by a double underlining or a double caret)

The following are fatal errors which the candidate should avoid at all costs;

1.Spelling error

2.Error of agreement e.g He have a big house

3.Misuse of simple words e.gTheir is no food left.

4.Omission of basic words

5.Misuse of prepositions ,pronouns and articles

6.Error of punctuation ,especially one that affects sentence boundaries

7.Ridiculous idiom(Direct translation of proverbs,idioms,adages,et cetera from any other language into
English)

The following sentences have gross errors .Re-write the sentences ,getting rid of all the errors.

-All his parents died when he was only two.

-Raise up your hand if you know the answer.

-We persuaded him to go but he didn’t.

-They bought the meat irregardless of it’s prize.

-The master of ceremony was late for the event.

-Chipo got in hot soup for coming home in the middle of the night.

-The doctor operated the old woman at midnight.

-The police accussed him for overspeeding and overloading.

-Try by all means to get there in time.

-If it was you I would not not have listened to such nonsense.

-Educating a boy is better than a girl.

-He was always number one in class.

STRATEGIES FOR WRITING A GOOD NARRATIVE

-Construct sentences of varying length and structure (simple,compound,complex…)

-Garnish your language through the use of proverbs ,idiomatic expressions,phrasal verbs ,imagery etc

-Use appropriate discourse markers to enhance coherence e.g secondly,

-Give appetizing and relevant introduction.Do not begin in a common-or-garden ,conventional way such
as “it was…….” Or “Once upon a time….” Note that a superfluous description of weather that does not
offer the reader a glimpse of what the story is about cannot constitute a good introduction.

-The use of direct speech can be impressive .However,it is advisable to use it sparingly to avoid
problems of punctuation .

-Avoid too long (rambling ) sentences ,as these may not sustain intended sense.

-Use rhetorical questions (one or two maybe enough) where necessary.

-Avoid experimenting with new words in the final examination.

-Avoid essay topics that contain words or phrases that you do not understand.There are always a trap
and it will be unwise to dice with death.

-Try to write neatly and always shape your letters legibly.Candidates who write neatly are more likely to
impress examiners than those who are careless about their handwriting,other things being equal.

-Train yourself to come out with an essay of required length without having to count the words
physically.Essays that are too brief will be penalized for inadequacy of content .Avoid too long esays as
the number of errors increase in step with length.

-Always make a brief plan before you plunge into writing .This will help you to organize your ideas
logically and also ,save your time.If there are any special expressions , proverbs,or any other stylistic
devices that you intend to incorporate into your composition ,you can write them down on your plan so
that you may not forget them due to exam pressure or the unforeseen circumstances.

-All numerical values,except for dates , must be expressed in other words rather than in figures.

-Try to come up with a highly and dramatic and fascinating story.Interesting stories will earn higher
marks than dull ones.

-Avoid too many characters to avoid confusion especially where pronouns(he,she etc) are used in place
of proper nouns.
HOW TO ENRICH ONE’S LANGUAGE

-credit is given to essays that display candidates ‘ s mastery of the language.In particular,the candidate
should be able to garnish his /her language through employing a wide range of stylistic devices .Essays
written in plain English are unlikely to impress examiners.The following techniques may help.

1.The use of English proverbs to capture complex ideas.Proverbs are a condensed and wise way of
expressing ideas.Each language has its own set of proverbs,so avoid direct translation of proverbs from
vernacular into English.Two or three proverbs will make a difference if properly used.

.beggars must not be choosers

.cut your coat according to your cloth

.when in Rome do as the Romans do

.there is no smoke without fire

.birds of a feather flock together

.all that glitters is not gold

-make hay while the sun shines

-every dark cloud has a silver lining ec cetera

THE USE OF IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS

Like in the case of proverbs ,every language has its own set of idiomatic expressions that capture ideas
in elevated and effective way.The candidate is expected to display a familiarity with idiomatic
expressions by incorporating them in their compositions.However,the use of expressions drawn from
vernacular must be avoided at all cost.

.to lead to the alter—to marry

.a bolt from the blue—a sudden and unexpected event

.a bone of contention—a cause of conflict

.to bury the hatchet—to become friends again after quarrelling

.to be at loggerheads—to be enemies

.to flog a dead horse

.to be beaten blue –black

.to kill two birds with one stone

.cupboard love

.to shed crocodile tears

.a hard nut to crack

.to skate on thin ice

.in a nutshell

.a storm in a teacup

.a wild-goose chase

.to built castles in the air

.to take a bull by its horns

.to move heaven and earth

.a black sheep

3.USE OF COMPLEX PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES. Examples

.On account of =because of

.On condition that = if.eg.l will come on condition that you provide the bus fare.

.On no account = for reason

4.USE OF DISCOURSE MARKERS.These are words are phrases whose grammatical function is to link
ideas,so they enhance the smooth flow of ideas or a story line in a piece of writing.In narrative
composition discourse markers show clearly the order factual and descriptive essays they help to
separate or dermacate ideas .Examples;

FOR NARRATIVE COMPOSITIONS;

Meanwhile

Afterwards At long last

All of a sudden Subsequently

Suddenly As a result

Eventually Consequently
For factual and discursive compositions

To start with Apart from that

To begin with Into the bargan

Firstly Besides that

First and foresmost However

Secondly Nevertheless

Furthermore Lastly

Moreover Last but not least

In addition In conclusion

In a nutshell In contrast

Compared with A cross section

obviously Serious difficulty

In particular On the other hand

Appreciate Clearly

While Affected drastically

NB. A discourse marker must be used once for all in a composition.Never use one discourse marker
more than once in the same composition.A Comma follows a discourse marker.

PHRASAL VERBS

Check out – Be too afraid to do something

Chuck out - Dispose of something you no longer want or need

Crop up - Appear unexpectedly

Go out with – Have a relationship with

Jazz up – Make something more interesting or attractive

Juice up – Make something more exciting or perform better

Mess about with – Have a sexual relationship outside marriage or a permanent relationship

-try to improve something ,usually making things

Mill around – Walk around without going anywhere

Monkey around – Not be serious

Opt for—choose

Own up—confess

Wade through –get to the end of something with difficulty

Walk out on—leave somebody angrily

Weed out –remove ,get rid of

Zero in on—direct or focus attention on

Zip up –keep quiet

Zoom in on—focus more closely

7.USE OF SIMILES to create vivid mental pictures .eg

.as poor as churchmouse

.as slow as a tortoise

.as fast as lightining

.as useful as a cow

.as scarce as a hen’s teeth

.as simple as ABC

.as loud as thunder

.as soft as a wool

.as dark as midnight

.as cold as ice

.as cool as a cucumber

8.USE OF METAPHORS

-a metaphor is a direct comparison between two things that are seemingly unrelated e.g

.John is a slow coach.

.You are a baboon.

.The way he eats,he is a real pig.

.The man is a lion. …She is an angel.

9.USE OF RHETORICAL QUESTIONS

-In order to convince the reader to view something from your point standpoint.

10.USE OF APT VOCABULARY

-Candidates will be rewarded for using words,especially those that are not commonly used,where they
are most suitable e.g

.assassination (instead of murder)when referring to the killing of an important political figure.

.fugitive ,when referring to someone who is running away from prison or police custody.

.accomplice,when referring to someone who helps another to commit a crime

.traffic din,when referring to sound produced by many vehicles in motion

In many cases candidates fail into the trap of using words which area closely related to,but not
necessarily interchangeable with the ones which are appropriate.The fact that certain words can be
synonymous scarcely means that they can automatically fit in each other’s position like a
jigsaw.Consider the following sets of words and try to distinguish them by using them in sentences.

Speaking/talking/saying/announcing

Centre/middle

Continuos/continual

Further/farther

Basketful/basket full

Altogether/all together

Kill/murder/assassinate/slaughter /massacre/destroy/

Product/production/produce

Made of/made from/made in

Wear/put on

Money/cash/finance/capital

Lady/woman/maid

Student/pupil

Clock/watch
Illness/sickness

Valuable/invaluable

Uninterested/disinterested/interested

Property/assets/belongings

Wise/clever/intelligent/cunning/intellectual/bright

Home/house/residence

Person/human being

FACTUAL COMPOSITION

As suggested by the word ‘‘factual,’’this type of composition demands that the candidate give
information or details about something that are certainly known to be true.In other words,facts and not
opinions are required.

Factual compositions topics are often broad and open ended and demanding.

Give as much information as possible, most candidates are unlikely to score high marks because of a
tendency to focus narrowrly on the topic.A topic such as ‘LAND” is so open ended that it will be unwise
to limit one ‘s focus at the Zimbabwean context.There is land too in other countries.

It is therefore unwise to plunge into writing before one has obtained a clear understanding of the
demands of the topic. It is advisable to draft a brief plan before one begins to write the final piece.

THE FOLLOWING ARE EXAMPLES FACTUAL TOPICS TAKEN FORM PAST EXAMINATION PAPERS

Water Time

Computer Flowers

Electricity Advices

Books

Teenagers

It is advisable to avoid writing on a factual composition if your knowledge to that topic is made up of
bits and pieces .Remember,also that, one’s limitation of the human mind is that you cannot tell how you
do not know about something. You may falsely think that you know everything about a topic when in
fact you know virtually nothing.

DISCURSIVE/ARGUMENTATIVE COMPOSITION

This is a two-sided composition and the candidate has to carefully consider and weight each side of the
topic against the other. At the end candidate must be able to come down with a convincing view point
.This is a fairly challenging task that call an ability to argue persuasively and meaningfully on both sides
of a topic .Factual information is also called for in this type of writing just like the case of factual
composition, if your knowledge about the topic in question is no more than fragmenting, it is highly
recommended that you choose other topics.

The language of a discursive essay is largely technical and formal.

EXAMPLES OF DISCURSIVE COMPOSITION TOPICS

-Modern technology has brought more harm than good.Do you agree?

-The death penalty must be abolished.What are your views.

-The paying of lobola must be abolished.Discuss.

-Women are more responsible for the spread of HIV/AIDS than men.Do you agree?

-Should children choose what they want to learn at school.

SECTION B –GUIDED COMPOSITION

-as the term suggests ,guided composition writing involves interpreting and expanding provided
guidelinses.In that way ,it is different from free composition.Unlike the free composition there is no
stipulated length,it is determined by your ability or mobility to expand the given ideas.

TYPES OF GUIDED COMPOSITION

-formal/informal letter

-report

-speech

-pictorial

-newspaper /magazine article

ASPECTS TO BE CONSIDERED IN WRITING AND ASSESSMENT OF GUIDED COMPOSITIONS

(i)structure—each type of guided composition has its outlook or structural aspects that make it different
from other types.You should be familiar with the structural features of each composition type.

(ii)linguistic ability—guided compositions differ in terms of degree formality or informality,so they

should be well-versed in the linguistic requirements of each composition type.In all cases grammatical
accuracy is a requirement and nothing can compensate for poor grammar.

(iii)amplification/expansion of ideas—each given idea must be developed into a paragraph.Generate as

much detail as possible about each idea ,giving examples and specific information such as names of
people,places,roads,days,dates,rivers,statistical data,amounts etc
(iv)paragraphing and punctuation—paragraphing should be done logically and in accordance with the
flow of ideas.Ideas must be clearly separated and you must not put two or more ideas in one
paragraph.Observe all rules of punctuation.

(v)coherence—ideas should flow smoothly throughout the composition.This is enhanced by the use of
linking devices such as discourse markers.

(vi)addition of one’s own ideas to the ones that are given.The added ideas should be logically linked to
the ones given

INFORMAL LETTER WRITING

-this is the kind of letter that you write to friends ,relatives and all other people who are close to
you.The language is not restrained and the use of mild slang and colloquial forms(dad,mom,guy,kid etc)
is allowed.Contracted forms such as can’t,don’t,didn’t can be used.The tone can be serious,gentle or
light –heartened,depending on the subject matter at hand.

-at times the question comes in form of a letter that you will be asked to reply to.In that case you read
the given letter so as to give a meaningful response.You also need to adopt the name and the address
that appear on the given letter.

STRUCTURAL ASPECTS:

-one address,aligned to the left margin.

-a date,to be wriiten in full,e.g12 April 2010

-salutation,e.gDear mom,Hi Chipo,Beloved,Uncle Jim etc.The choice here depends on the level of
intimacy between you and the person to whom you are writing e.g

Gifford High School

P O Box 1

Bulawayo

14 May 2015
Beloved Norah

First paragraph; highlight the purpose of the letter.

e.g I ‘ve written this letter in response to your letter that I received three days ago and ,also,to update
you on the developments that have taken place here in Bulawayo.

NB.do not greet anyone in this paragraph.

Second paragraph;introduce and develop the first given idea.Use an appropriate discourse marker ,e.g
To begin with…

Third paragraph;introduce and develop second given idea

Develop all other ideas in the succeeding paragraphs,making appropriate use of discourse markers
where necessary

FORMAL LETTER WRITING

-date(in full),after the first address

-salutation,Dear Sir /Madam, if it is an ‘office’ rather than an individual who should attend to the
letter,or Dear Prof/Mr/Mrs/Miss/Dr….,if you are writing in response to a formal letter to you by
someone whose name is specified.

-RE-a statement summarizing the purpose of the letter.Do not mistake RE with Ref.

Gifford High School

P O Box 4

Bulawayo

21 June 2014

The Manager

CBZ Bank

P O Box 66
Bulawayo

Dear Sir/ Madam

RE:APPLICATION FOR THE POST OF A BANK TELLER

First paragraph: highlight the purpose of the letter

-I have written in response to your advertisement published in the Sunday Mail of June 5 2014.I am a
boy aged twenty and would very much like to be considered for a post of the post of bank teller.

-second paragraph-introduce and develop first given idea

-third paragraph-introduce and develop second given idea

Develop all other ideas in the succeeding paragraphs, making appropriate use of discourse markers
where necessary.

-ending of the letter-make a concluding statement such as ‘I am looking forward to your response.’’’I
thank you in advance’

-skip a line

-Yours faithfully,(if your letter has salutation Dear Sir/Madam)or Yours sincerely (if the addressee is
mentioned by name)

-skip a line

-signature

-skip a line

-your name in full e.g Chando Kupisa

REPORT WRITING

To report is to give an account of what happened. Reports can be written on a variety of situations such
as bus disaster, fire outbreaks violence at a soccer match, etc. A good candidate should be able to write
on any situation. The language of a report should be straight forward and formal.

Structural Aspects

Give a heading, preferably beginning with REPORT ON…

E.g MATCH PLAYED OVER WEEKEND. REPORT ON THE BASKETBALL

Skip a line after the heading

-first paragraph:give an introduction,giving specific information about the day,place,date,time etc when
the event took place.

-second paragraph:introduce and explain the first given idea.

NB Develop the rest of the composition in the same way

Report compiled by

CHANDO KUPISA (Senior Prefect)