Improve Your Written English PDF
Preview Improve Your Written English
Improve your Written English Visit our How To website at www.howto.co.uk At www.howto.co.uk you can engage in conversation with our authors – all of whom have ‘been there and done that’ in their specialist fields. You can get access to special offers and additional content but most importantly you will be able to engage with, and become a part of, a wide and growing community of people just like yourself. At www.howto.co.uk you’ll be able to talk and share tips with people who have similar interests and are facing similar challenges in their lives. People who, just like you, have the desire to change their lives for the better – be it through moving to a new country, starting a new business, growing your own vegetables, or writing a novel. At www.howto.co.uk you’ll find the support and encouragement you need to help make your aspirations a reality. For more information on punctuation and grammar visit www.improveyourpunctuationandgrammar.co.uk How To Books strives to present authentic, inspiring, practical information in their books. Now, when you buy a title from How To Books, you get even more than just words on a page. Improve your Written English Master the essentials of grammar, punctuation and spelling and write with greater confidence M A R I O N F I E L D Published by How To Content, A division of How To Books Ltd, Spring Hill House, Spring Hill Road, Begbroke, Oxford OX5 1RX, United Kingdom. Tel: (01865) 375794. Fax: (01865) 379162. [email protected] www.howtobooks.co.uk How To Books greatly reduce the carbon footprint of their books by sourcing their typesetting and printing in the UK. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or stored in an information retrieval system (other than for purposes of review) without the express permission of the publisher in writing. The right of Marion Field to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. © 2009 Marion Field Second edition 1998 Reprinted with amendments 1999 Third edition 2001 Fourth edition 2003 Reprinted 2005 (twice) Reprinted 2006 Reprinted 2007 Fifth edition 2009 First published in electronic form 2009 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN: 978 1 84803 330 6 Produced for How To Books by Deer Park Productions, Tavistock Typeset by Kestrel Data, Exeter NOTE: The material contained in this book is set out in good faith for general guidance and no liability can be accepted for loss or expense incurred as a result of relying in particular circumstances on statements made in the book. Laws and regulations are complex and liable to change, and readers should check the current position with the relevant authorities before making personal arrangements. Contents Listofillustrations ix Preface xi PARTONE:THEBASICS 1 DiscoveringGrammar 3 Identifyingnouns 3 Usingcapitalletters 5 Replacingnounswithpronouns 7 Knowingthearticles 10 Understandingverbs 10 Revisingthepoints 17 Practisingwhatyou’velearnt 17 2 ExpandingyourKnowledge 19 Makingwords‘agree’ 19 Introducingclauses 21 Handlingphrases 25 Usingadjectivestocolouryourwriting 25 Employingadverbs 27 Usingprepositions 28 Revisingthepoints 29 Practisingwhatyou’velearnt 30 3 PolishingupyourPunctuation 32 Knowingwhentostop 32 Usingcommascorrectly 33 Makinguseofthesemi-colon,thecolonand thedash 37 v vi / IMPROVE YOUR WRITTEN ENGLISH Rememberingthequestionmarkandthe exclamationmark 39 Revisingthepoints 40 Practisingwhatyou’velearnt 41 4 ParagraphingyourWork 43 Structuringaparagraph 43 Settingoutdirectspeech 46 Changingtoindirectspeech 49 Writingaplay 50 Revisingthepoints 50 Practisingwhatyou’velearnt 51 5 CheckingyourSpelling 53 Establishingthegroundrules 53 Avoidingcommonmistakes 57 Usingthedictionary 63 Makinguseofthethesaurus 65 Revisingthepoints 66 Practisingwhatyou’velearnt 66 6 LookingatApostrophesandAbbreviations 68 Showingpossession 68 Abbreviatingwords 70 Handlingcontractions 72 Usinginitialletters 73 Lookingatacronyms 73 Revisingthepoints 74 Practisingwhatyou’velearnt 74 7 ImprovingyourStyle 76 Recognisingcommonmistakes 76 Avoidingunnecessaryrepetition 83 Makingcomparisons 84 Eliminatingjargon 86 Stimulatingyourimagination 87 Checkingyourwork 92 Usingthechecklist 95 Practisingwhatyou’velearnt 95 CONTENTS / vii PARTTWO:ENGLISHINACTION 8 WritinganEssayandaShortStory 99 Researchingyouressay 99 Structuringyouressay 103 Writingtheessay 104 Plottingtheshortstory 105 Editingyourwork 106 Practisingwhatyou’velearnt 108 9 SummarisingandReporting 109 Writingasummary 109 Compilingareport 111 Checkingyoursummary 115 Checkingyourreport 115 Practisingwhatyou’velearnt 115 10 FillinginForms 117 Workingonline 117 Providingthebasicinformation 117 Copingwithavarietyofforms 119 Writinglegibly 130 Askingforhelp 131 Witnessingthesignature 131 Checkingforerrors 131 Practisingwhatyou’velearnt 132 11 WritingLetters 133 Usinge-mail 133 Writingapersonalletter 135 Writingaformalletter 136 Endingtheletter 137 Draftingyourletter 137 Producingavarietyofletters 140 Checkingyourwork 146 Practisingwhatyou’velearnt 147 12 MakingApplications 148 Applyingtouniversity 148 Applyingforajob 148 viii / IMPROVE YOUR WRITTEN ENGLISH PreparingaCurriculumVitae(CV) 149 Fillingintheapplicationform 155 Writingacoveringletter 157 Acquiringreferees 157 Checkingforerrors 159 Practisingwhatyou’velearnt 159 Suggestedanswers 161 Glossary 167 Furtherreading 171 Index 173 List of Illustrations 1 Essayplan 102 2 Titlepageofreport 112 3 Introductiontoreport 112 4 Summaryofreport 113 5 Recommendationsfromreport 114 6 Exampleofmarketresearchform 118 7 Personaldetailsonanyform 118 8 Formforopeningabankaccount 120 9 Formforopeningamortgageaccount 121 10 Standingorderform 122 11 Patientregistrationform 123 12 Applicationforadepartmentstorechargecard 124 13 Departmentstore weddinggiftlist 124 14 Carinsuranceform 126 15 Handwrittenpersonalletter 134 16 Formalletter 138 17 Addressedenvelope 140 18 Handwrittenletterofsympathy 141 19 Letterrequestingaphotograph 143 20 Handwrittenlettertoalocalnewspaper 144 21 Letterofcomplaint 145 22 CV:personaldetails 150 23 CV:careerhistory 153 24 ExampleofaCV 154 25 Applicationform 156 26 Coveringletter 158
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