Facts, Opinions and Transitional Devices

• English study notes made by the Elites Batch '30 Association (Kenneth & Liam)

Facts and Opinions

Facts

• A fact is a true statement.
• Facts can be tested and proven.
• Things to consider include the date/time, source, and numbers.

Opinions

• An opinion is a belief, feeling, or judgment about something.
• Opinions cannot be proven.
• Opinions can be expressed as "In my opinion," "In my perspective," "I think," or "I believe."
• Things to consider when forming opinions include tone, language/jargon, age of receiver, educational level, and situation/context.

Transitional Devices

Transitional Words

• Transitional words are words or phrases that organize and connect ideas.
• Cause and Effect shows cause and effect, e.g., "I spilled coffee on my shirt, and as a result, I changed my shirt."
• Chronology relates to events based on when they occur, e.g., "First, I went to the store, then I worked out, and lastly I had dinner."
• Contrast shows two opposing ideas, e.g., "I love ice cream, but I'm lactose intolerant."
• Addition of Similar Ideas adds two similar ideas, e.g., "I love ice cream, furthermore, I love cake."
• Emphasis shows emphasis, e.g., "He is a great basketball player."
• Summary and Conclusion shows conclusions, e.g., "In conclusion, it's great to eat fruits for your body."
• Clarification shows clarifications/explanations, e.g., "He is in the top 10 basketball players, in other words, one of the best."
• Example and Illustration shows examples, e.g., "Many football players have won the World Cup, for example, Messi."
• Roles of transitional words include improving readability and comprehension, organizing thoughts and paragraphs, clarifying and emphasizing, coherence and cohesion, and connecting ideas.

Sentence Structure

Types of Sentences

• Simple sentence: one independent clause (IC). Example: I cried yesterday.
• Compound sentence: two independent clauses. Example: He wrote the book, but he did not publish it.
• Complex sentence: one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses. Ms. Tess is late because she comes from a far place.
• Compound-Complex sentence: two independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses. Example: We were sad to leave LSGH since we studied here for 10 years but we have to move on as college students.

Errors in a Sentence

• Sentence Run-ons lack punctuation marks.
• Comma Splices use a comma instead of a proper punctuation mark.
• Misplaced modifiers are too far from the word they modify.
• Dangling Modifiers contain a modifier, but the subject it modifies is wrong or not present.
• Faulty Coordination (Compound Sentence) involves mistakes in using a compound sentence, with errors in Logic, Missing Comma, and Unneeded Comma.
• Faulty Subordination involves mistakes in using a complex sentence, with errors in Logic, Comma, and sometimes restrictive clauses.

Letters

Structure of a Letter

• Full-block Style (for formal letters)
• Header includes the author's name and address.
• Proper Dateline shows the full date and cannot be shortened.
• Inside Address contains information about the receiver.
• Salutation/Opening contains the start of the letter.
• Content (Opening, Body, Closing) is the message of the letter.
• Complimentary Close gives the closing message by the author at the end.
• Full Name & Signature contains the author's name.
• Semi-block Style (for informal letters)
• The dateline shows the date and can be shortened.
• Salutation/Opening contains the start of the letter.
• Content (Opening, Body, Closing) gives the message of the letter.
• Complimentary Close provides a closing message by the author at the end.
• Name contains the author's name, and can also include a nickname.

Types of Letters

• Formal Letter is for professional/business purposes, uses correct and formal language, and usually has no emotion.
• Informal Letter is for personal use, uses slang/informal language, and has more emotion.

Different Types of Letters

• Letter of Inquiry asks for information.
• Letter of Request requests a service.
• Letter of Information provides an informative information.
• Letter of Order requests to buy a product.
• Letter of Sales advertises/sells a product.
• Invitation Letter invites someone.

Writing an Expository Essay

Research

• An expository essay is a collection, documentation, and analysis of data.
• Consists of an Introduction, Review of Related Literature, Discussion, Methodology, and Conclusion.
• Fact-checking should verify info using reliable sources to prevent misinformation.
• Plagiarism is taking someone's work without permission/giving credit.
• Use of reliable sources to provide accurate information and made by verified authors.

Quoting

• Quoting repeats someone's words while crediting them.
• Direct quotes are exactly what someone said, while indirect quotes paraphrase what someone said.
• When directly quoting: "According to [Author's last name]”, the date, & information

Paraphrasing and Summarizing

• Paraphrasing rewrites (changing words) someone else's work.
• Summarizing shortens and includes only necessary information.

Kinds of Definitions

• Technical definitions refers to the meaning from the dictionary and often contains no emotion.
• Operational definitions refers to a more specific meaning and has emotion.

Expository Essay

• An expository essay explains a topic using facts or evidence.
• Structure includes an introduction with a hook and thesis statement, a body containing evidence, and a conclusion with a summary.
• The thesis statement defines the main topic/argument of the essay.
• Descriptive/Definition essays gives an explanation of the topic with evidence.
• Sequential essays the writer explains something in order.
• Comparative essays explains differences & similarities between 2+ ideas.
• Cause and Effect essays explains the cause of something and its effect.
• Problem and Solution essays explains a problem and provides a solution.
• Classification essays categorized to help the readers understand.
• Multimodal Expository Essay uses multiple communication modes like text, graphics, video, etc.

C-E-R (Claim-Evidence-Reasoning)

• Claim explains the main idea/topic and is not a direct opinion, though it can be proven.
• Evidence includes supporting details/proof of the claim.
• Reasoning explains how the evidence supports the claim.