ENGL 157 Communication Skills Combined PDF

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, Kumasi, Ghana ENGL 157: COMMUNICATION SKILLS I Lecture 1: Introduction and overview of the course  CLASS AGREEMENTS & CONTACT DETAILS Attendance/Punctuality Usin...

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, Kumasi, Ghana ENGL 157: COMMUNICATION SKILLS I Lecture 1: Introduction and overview of the course  CLASS AGREEMENTS & CONTACT DETAILS Attendance/Punctuality Using of mobile phones Integrity/assessment Peer counselling Office hours (Generally based on appointment) Lecturer: Dr. Elvis ResCue Teaching Assistant: Sandra Oduro ANDOH BUABENG COLLINS (ABC) www.knust.edu.gh  AIM OF THE COURSE This is a remedial course aimed at correcting common grammatical errors in the students’ use of English. The course takes all first year students through a review of English grammar, and is a required course. The objective is to revise grammatical usage in preparation towards effective speaking and writing. The emphasis here is on usage of grammatical and lexical items. Topics such as spelling, parts of speech, punctuation, subject-verb agreement, misrelated and ambiguous constructions, sentence fragments and skills such as reading, comprehension, summary and paragraph writing will be taught. www.knust.edu.gh  COURSE CONTENT 1/1 LECTURE TOPIC 1 Overview of the course and Diagnostic text 2-3 Parts of Speech – Usage, Identification and Functions  Nouns; Verbs; Adjectives; Adverbs; Adjectives; Adverbs; Prepositions; Pronouns; Conjunctions; Determiners; Interjections 4-5 Sentence Types  Structural - Simple sentence - Compound sentence - Complex sentence  Functional - Declarative sentence/Statement - Interrogative sentence/Question - Imperative sentence/Command - Exclamative sentence/Exclamation www.knust.edu.gh  COURSE CONTENT 1/2 LECTURE TOPIC 6 Errors on sentences - Sentence fragments - Comma splice - Run-on sentences - Parallel Structures 7-8  Ambiguities  Dangling and misrelated constructions 9-10 Mechanics in language use  Concord  Punctuation  Spelling (An overview) www.knust.edu.gh  COURSE CONTENT 1/3 LECTURE TOPIC 11-12 Paragraph writing  What is a paragraph?  Qualities of a good paragraph  Paragraph development  Paragraph Analysis  Different types of paragraph - Expository - Descriptive - Narrative - Argumentative 13 Text Comprehension and Summary Writing 14 Revision 15 End-of-semester Examination www.knust.edu.gh  DIAGNOSTIC TEXT 1. He is a friendly sort of man. 2. He is friendly with everyone. 3. Don’t stand near. 4. The sea is very near. 5. He was presented with an award. 6. University education is important in achieving one’s career goals. 7. The student comprehends the sign language. 8. They are among the best candidates for the scholarship. 9. Some are born great. 10.He would listen to us. www.knust.edu.gh  DIAGNOSTIC TEXT (Answers) 1. He is a friendly sort of man. (adjective) 2. He is friendly with everyone. (adverb) 3. Don’t stand near. (adverb) 4. The sea is very near. (adjective) 5. He was presented with a award. (preposition) 6. University education is important in achieving one’s career goals. (adjective) 7. The student comprehends the sign language. (verb) 8. They are among the best candidates for the scholarship. (pronoun) 9. Some are born great. (pronoun) 10.He would listen to us. (verb) www.knust.edu.gh  Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, Kumasi, Ghana ENGL 157: Communication Skills I Lecture 2-3: Parts of Speech ANDOH BUABENG COLLINS (ABC)  Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, Kumasi, Ghana OBJECTIVES By the end of the lesson, the student will be able to : 1. Identify the various parts of speech in the English language 2. Explain the form, positions and functions of the various parts of speech in English sentences 3. Use these parts of speech to form correct sentences in English  PARTS OF SPEECH  Nine main parts of speech are going to be discussed in this lesson.  They are: Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs, Prepositions, Pronouns, Conjunctions, Determiners and Interjections.  They have been categorized into lexical items and non-lexical items. www.knust.edu.gh  LEXICAL & NON-LEXICAL ITEMS The lexical items are going to be discussed before the non-lexical items. The lexical items are those that carry semantic content. This means they have meaning in them even when they stand alone. They are also called open class items, meaning that, they accept new members. The lexical items are: Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives and Adverbs. www.knust.edu.gh  LEXICAL & NON-LEXICAL ITEMS CON’T  Each lexical item can be defined based on its form, its positions in sentences, and its functions.  By form, we mean the shape that it can take, how it is built up and the changes that it can undergo.  By position, we mean the kind of words that it occurs with in sentences.  By function, we mean its usage or its role in a sentence. www.knust.edu.gh  NOUNS  Traditionally, nouns have been identified as words that name people, places or things. Identification of nouns according to form/structure  Nouns and some suffixes: Generally these suffixes are associated with nouns and so words that end with these suffixes are identified as nouns: -er..............teacher, preacher, player, writer -ion..............nation, consultation, meditation -or................doctor, pastor, mentor, actor -ness.............Fitness, dryness, foolishness, etc. -hood...........womanhood, childhood, neighbourhood, etc. www.knust.edu.gh  Nouns and number: Nouns can also be identified based on how they are built up according to number. Number refers to the distinction between singular and the plural. Most count nouns form their plural by adding ‘s’. E.g. Book-books, pen-pens, dog-dogs, etc. Nouns which end in ‘y’ that follow a consonant form their plural by dropping ‘y’ and adding ‘ies’. E.g. Lady-ladies, country-countries, baby-babies, pantry- pantries, etc. www.knust.edu.gh  Nouns ending in ‘o’, ‘ss’, ‘sh’, ‘ch’, or ‘x’ form their plural by the addition of ‘es’. E.g. Mango-mangoes, kiss- kisses, brush-brushes, church-churches, box-boxes, etc. There are however some exceptions such as photos, pianos, etc. Some non-count nouns retain their form whether singular or plural. E.g. news, luggage, knowledge, etc. Nouns and possession: Nouns can also be identified based on the inflection they take to indicate possession. A noun which indicates possession shows that it is the owner of thing(s) or person(s). www.knust.edu.gh  Singular nouns which end in ‘s’ or not indicate possession with an apostrophe sign and an ‘s’. For example: John’s bag, James’s bag, etc. Plural nouns which end in ‘s’ indicate possession with the addition of only an apostrophe sign. For example: The players’ ball Plural nouns which do not end in ‘s’ indicate possession with the addition of an apostrophe sign and an ‘s’. For example: The children’s ball NB: Read on Types of Nouns and other ways by which certain nouns form their plurals. (Afreh 2006) www.knust.edu.gh  Identification of nouns based on their positions in sentences Nouns can be identified based on their positions in sentences. In sentences, nouns come after determiners (a, an, the, his, hers, etc.) Proper nouns do not take determiners unless in certain instances where they are accompanied by dependent clauses. E.g. She is the Ama I met yesterday. www.knust.edu.gh  Identification of nouns based on their functions in sentences There are four main functions of nouns in sentences. A noun can function as a subject, object, complement or appositive. A noun as a subject According to its position in a sentence, a noun functions as a subject when it comes before the main verb of the sentence. E.g. Kwame goes to school S V www.knust.edu.gh  Based on the meaning it conveys, a noun functions as a subject of a sentence when: - It is the performer of an action. E.g. Esi writes slowly. - It is the possessor or recipient of an action. E.g. Kwasi has a car. - It designates places. E.g. Rooms are always stuffy. - It indicates time. E.g. Yesterday was Tuesday. - It indicates events. E.g. Parties are always lovely. www.knust.edu.gh  Other items can also function as the subject of a sentence. These are: Noun phrases: e.g. The woman in white is my mother. Noun clauses: e.g. The woman that came here is my mother. Pronouns: e.g. She is my mother. Grammatically, the subject of a sentence agrees in number and person with the main verb of the sentence. NB: Subject-verb-agreement will be treated in detail in another lesson. www.knust.edu.gh Nouns as objects of sentences Based on their positions, nouns can function as objects of sentences when they occur after action verbs. E.g. Kofi eats rice. Based on the meaning they convey, nouns function as objects of sentences when: - They are the entities that are affected by the action of the verb. E.g. The man beats his wife. - They indicate location. E.g. Kofi climbed the mountain. - They are results of the activity indicated by the verb. E.g. Mummy prepares rice. www.knust.edu.gh  There are two main types of objects. These are the direct and indirect objects. Both can be used in a sentence and when both are used, the indirect object is preceded by a preposition in certain kinds of sentences. E.g. Kofi gave the book to Mary. DO P IO In other instances, the indirect object comes before the direct object. E.g. Kofi gave Mary the book. IO DO www.knust.edu.gh  A NOUN AS A COMPLEMENT Nouns as well as other items such as noun phrases, noun clauses, adjectives or adjective phrases can function as complements in sentences. These items are called subject complements when they follow a copular or linking verb and describe the subject of a clause. E.g. My father is a farmer. They are also called object complements when they directly follow and modify the direct objects of sentences. E.g. They consider their puppy their baby. www.knust.edu.gh A NOUN AS AN APPOSITIVE A noun, a pronoun, a noun phrase or a noun clause set beside another noun or pronoun to rename, explain or identify it is termed as an appositive. E.g. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the President of Ghana, is a brave man. There are other instances where the appositive precedes the word that it renames, explains or identifies. E.g. The president of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, is a brave man. www.knust.edu.gh  VERBS  Traditionally, verbs have been identified as action words or doing words. Identification of verbs according to form/structure and their functions Verbs can also be identified based on their form or the structural changes they undergo usually to indicate tense. Tense can be said to be the shape a verb takes to indicate distinctions in time. There are instances where the verb does not undergo any structural change and this is referred to as the verb in its bare form. This form of the verb is used with the first person singular or plural and the third person plural as subjects of sentences. E.g. The woman and her son / they eat. www.knust.edu.gh  Verbs also form their simple present tense with the addition of –s, -es or –ies. This depends on the type of verb and it is used with the third person singular subjects. e.g. Esi / she carries the bag. The simple present tense is used to express present events, habitual events, universal truths, actions simultaneous with the present moment, future time and past time. www.knust.edu.gh  Regular verbs form their simple past tense with the addition of –d or –ed depending on the type of verb. Irregular verbs form their simple past tense by going through other structural changes. E.g. Come – came, sit – sat, run – ran, etc. Verbs also add –ing, -d or –ed to together with a helping indicate the aspect. this is used to show whether an action that takes place at a particular time is progressive or completed. E.g. She is going to school. she has gone to school. www.knust.edu.gh  Verbs are used to indicate future time. It does this with the auxiliaries ‘will’ and ‘shall’ and the bare form of the verb. E.g. She will go to school. Identification of verbs based on their positions Verbs usually come after the subject of sentences and begin the predicate of that sentence. (It happens only in active sentences which will be treated in another lesson) In this instance, even if an item looks like a different word class, it can still be considered a verb. E.g. The chairman tabled the motion before the house. www.knust.edu.gh Identification of verbs based on their functions in sentences Verbs can express three main functions in sentences and these are states, actions and processes Verbs as expressing states Some verbs in English express the states or conditions of people or things. Such verbs include the forms of the verb to be(is, are, was, were, etc.), seem, taste, appear, look, etc. Eg. He is a good man. The woman looks beautiful. www.knust.edu.gh Verbs as expressing actions Some verbs express actions and are therefore referred to as action words. Examples are talk, eat, dance, jump, etc. E.g. She sweeps the compound everyday. Verbs as expressing processes Some verbs express processes. These are series of changes, especially the ones that happen naturally or unconsciously. Examples are grow and digest E.g. Babies grow NB: Read on other types of verbs www.knust.edu.gh  ADJECTIVES Traditionally, they are identified as words that describe a noun or a pronoun in a sentence. Identification based on form Many adjectives can be identified by their suffixes. Some adjective forming suffixes are: -ic – romantic -ful – faithful -al – logical -ous – famous -ive – attractive www.knust.edu.gh Many adjectives use the suffix –er and –est to mark comparative and superlative degrees, respectively. The comparative is used when two items are being compared. E.g. Esi is bigger than Ama. The superlative is used when three or more items are being compared. E.g. Esi is the biggest of them all. www.knust.edu.gh Identification based on position to indicate function Based on position, adjectives can occur attributively. This means that they can appear inside a noun phrase and modify that noun phrase. E.g. A hardworking player was on their team. Adjectives can also occur predicatively. This means they can appear outside the noun phrase that they modify. Here, they usually follow a linking verb. E.g. He is hardworking. www.knust.edu.gh  ADVERBS Traditionally, adverbs have been defined as words that modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs and answer the questions how, where, why or when an action takes place. Identification based on form Just like adjectives, some adverbs also use the suffixes – er and –est to indicate comparative and superlative degrees respectively. E.g. He is faster than you. He is the fastest of them all. Some adverbs are also identified with the suffix –ly. www.knust.edu.gh  In terms of their positions in sentences, adverbs have the property of mobility and can therefore begin the sentence, end the sentence or in some instances, come immediately after the subject of the sentence as indicated in the examples below. E.g. Usually, we go on holidays. We go on holidays usually. We usually go on holidays. However, when adverbs are not properly placed, they can cause ambiguity. When it happens like that, it is advisable to place the adverb next to the headword it is intended to modify. www.knust.edu.gh IDENTIFICATION BASED ON FUNCTION It must be indicated that adverb phrases can also perform all these functions. Again, these functions that adverbs perform are what lead to the types of adverbs. 1. Adverbs are used to indicate time. E.g. The alarm went off yesterday. www.knust.edu.gh 2. They are used to indicate manner. E.g. Present your case carefully. 3. They are used to indicate place E.g. Here, the situation is different. 4. They are used to indicate frequency. E.g. She comes here often. 5. They are used to indicate reason. E.g. As it’s Friday, you can stay up another hour. 6. They are used to indicate degree. E.g. She is not as poor as she could have been. www.knust.edu.gh  Now, let us turn our attention to the non-lexical items The non-lexical items do not carry semantic content. This means that, they do not make meaning on their own. They get their meaning mainly from the lexical words in context. They are also called closed class items, meaning that they do not accept new members. The non-lexical items are: prepositions, pronouns, conjunctions, determiners and interjections. www.knust.edu.gh Form of Closed word Classes NB: It must be noted that the closed word classes do not have a specific form. This means there are no specific suffixes or affixes that can be used to identify them. www.knust.edu.gh PREPOSITIONS Prepositions are words that link nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence. A word or phrase that a preposition introduces is called the object of the preposition. For example in the sentence, “The book is leaning on the table”, “the table” is the object of the preposition “on”. www.knust.edu.gh THE POSITIONS OF PREPOSITIONS Prepositions normally precede their objects. Sometimes, the preposition is separated from its complement as in: The man whom we gave the book to – instead of The man to whom we gave the book. NB: The word complement is being used here in a literal sense to refer to whatever completes or comes after the preposition. www.knust.edu.gh Prepositional phrases tend to be built the same: a preposition followed by a complement. This is usually referred to as the object of the preposition. The complement may be a pronoun, noun phrase or a gerund (a verb in its –ing form). Some examples are: I bought a bag for him (prep + pronoun). The cat is under the table (prep + noun phrase). www.knust.edu.gh FUNCTIONS OF SOME PREPOSITIONS Prepositions fall into different types. These types have different uses in phrases or clauses. Some of the types and their uses are presented in the following slides. www.knust.edu.gh Prepositions of Time: At, On, and In We use at to designate specific times. E.g. The will leave at 4:00am tomorrow. We use on to designate days and dates. E.g. My father is coming on Monday. We use in for non-specific times during the day, month, season, or year. E.g. He started the job in 1982. www.knust.edu.gh Prepositions of Place: At, On, and In We use at for specific addresses. E.g. The ceremony will be held at Bomso L/A Primary. We use on to designate names of streets, avenues, etc. E.g. Her house is on Ridge Road. We use in for the names of land-areas (towns, countries, states, and continents). E.g. She lives in Kumasi. www.knust.edu.gh Prepositions of Movement: to and No Preposition We use to in order to express movement towards a place. E.g. They were walking to school together. Toward and towards are also helpful prepositions to express movement. www.knust.edu.gh PRONOUNS Pronouns are anaphoric elements used to replace nouns. E.g. The lady opened the refrigerator. She opened it. (The pronoun she replaces ‘the lady’, and the pronoun it replaces ‘the refrigerator’) Position of Pronouns Pronouns can occur as subjects or as objects. - Example of a pronoun as a subject: She is happy - Example of a pronoun as an object Kofi gave the book to me. www.knust.edu.gh Functions of Pronouns They are used to identify nouns, they show possession, they designate places, etc. It must be noted that there are many other functions of pronouns which are all linked to the types of pronouns. The types of pronouns have therefore been discussed below. Types of Pronouns Pronouns have been grouped into several types. These are: personal pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, relative pronouns, interrogative pronoun, indefinite pronouns , reflexive pronouns and intensive pronouns. www.knust.edu.gh Personal Pronouns Personal pronouns refer to specific people or things and change their forms to indicate person, number, gender, and case. Person English indicates three types of persons – first person ,second person and third person. “I” and “We” are the first person pronouns in English. “I” is the singular first person pronoun and “They” is the plural first person pronoun. E. g. I am happy. www.knust.edu.gh “You” is the second person pronoun in English. It can either be used as singular or plural. E.g. You are my friend. “He”, “She”, “It” and “They” are the third person pronouns in English. “He”, “She” and “It” are the singular third person pronouns in English whilst “They” is the plural third person pronoun in English. E.g. She is a lecturer. They were writing. www.knust.edu.gh Demonstrative Pronouns A demonstrative pronoun points to, and identifies a noun or a pronoun. The demonstrative pronouns are this, that, these and those. Examples are: This tastes good. That phone is mine. Those are my friends. These cakes are delicious. www.knust.edu.gh Interrogative Pronouns The interrogative pronouns introduce questions. The interrogative pronouns are the wh-words. These are: what, which, who, whom, when and whose. Whereas “who” and “whom” are used to refer to people, “which” and “what” are used to refer to things or to animals. www.knust.edu.gh Examples of interrogative pronouns used in sentences: What did he say to you? Who asked the question? What is that? Who will buy me a pen? Which do you prefer? Reading Assignment Read on relative pronouns, indefinite pronouns, reflexive pronouns and intensive pronouns. www.knust.edu.gh DETERMINERS Determiners “are those little words that precede and modify nouns.” (Afreh 2006: 149). Examples are: the, a, that, a bit of, etc. Position Determiners precede nouns and noun phrases. As a result of the position they take in a noun phrase, determiners are said to mark nouns. That is, determiners are always followed by nouns. www.knust.edu.gh Functions of Determiners 1. They specify nouns E.g. The cat is mine. 2. They show possession. E.g. That was her. 3. They show quantity. How many books are they? www.knust.edu.gh CONJUNCTIONS Conjunctions are words that are used to join similar grammatical units like words and words, clauses and clauses or phrases and phrases. Some examples of conjunctions are but, or, while, before, or, yet, and, so. www.knust.edu.gh Functions 1. Conjunctions are used to join words, phrases and clauses. Examples of such conjunctions are but, and, or, so, yet and, for Examples: The boy and the girl.( phrase and noun ) The girl is good but the boy is naughty. (clause and clause) 2. Conjunctions show contrast between two grammatical units. Examples of such conjunctions are but and yet www.knust.edu.gh 3. Conjunctions are used to indicate subordination in clauses. Examples of such conjunctions include because, while, if and since. www.knust.edu.gh INTERJECTIONS Interjections are words used to express strong emotions or excitement. An interjection can be just one word or a group of words. Because they express strong emotions, they are identified in sentences with exclamations. Examples of interjections include ouch!, hey!, shhh! Position Like adverbs, interjections are very mobile. Their positions in sentences can change. www.knust.edu.gh Functions They are used to demand or request something, usually in a forceful manner. They are used to express emotions like disgust. They are used in greetings tings. E.g. Hello! They mark hesitation. E.g. Errm! They express surprise. E.g. Wow! www.knust.edu.gh  The actual part of speech of a word is realised when that word is in context. Therefore, for example, for a word to be identified as a verb in a sentence, it has to take the form that a verb should take, it has to take the position that a verb should take. It has to also function as a verb. This explains why we can have a sentence like: They chair the occasion. www.knust.edu.gh Assignment Identify the parts of speech of “up” in the following sentences 1. He looked up and saw the stars. 2. The time is up. 3. The list is full of some ups and downs. 4. He has just been upped to the position of a president. www.knust.edu.gh  Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, Kumasi, Ghana Communication Skills ENGL 157 SENTENCE Structural  OBJECTIVES By the end of this lesson, the students will be able to: 1. explain what a sentence is about. 2. describe the four traditional sentence types and their structural distinctions. 3. distinguish between simple, compound and complex sentences. www.knust.edu.gh  Introduction Every language has rules that govern its make up and usage and the English language is no exception. The rank scale of English, also known as the Units of Grammar is a structure that defines the various levels or composition of the language. Sentence clause phrase word morpheme The sentence is the highest unit of grammar while the morpheme is the smallest. In order to communicate, we use words in an acceptable and meaningful order. These groups of words are called sentence. We make sentences by putting words together in a certain order. Every grammatically correct sentence has two main parts – the subject and the predicate. The predicate part of the sentence has a verb which says what the subject is, has, does, etc. The subject part of the sentence has a noun or a pronoun (with or without others words going with it.) www.knust.edu.gh  What is a sentence? A sentence is a group of words which expresses a complete thought. A sentence has three main components: Subject Verb Meaning www.knust.edu.gh  Types of Sentence 1- Structure Sentences are grouped into four main types according to their structures. - Simple sentence - Compound sentence - Complex sentence - Compound complex compound www.knust.edu.gh  Simple Sentence A simple sentence consists of a single independent clause and no subordinate or dependent clause. It is a sentence that has only one subject and a finite verb. The students always go to church. The director of the company walked into the office. In the above sentences, the subjects of the verb are underlined and the verbs are written in boldface. A simple sentence may have a compound subject as exemplified in the following sentences. The houses and the cars were damaged. The teacher or his student pays for the book. www.knust.edu.gh Activity 1 Working with a partner or a group, identify the subjects in the following sentences. 1. The house and the garden need attention. 2. Johnson and Mary are bargain hunters. 3. Not only the waiters but also the restaurant manager was pleased with the new policy. www.knust.edu.gh Compare your answers with this: 1. The house and the garden need attention. 2. Johnson and Mary are bargain hunters. 3. Not only the waiters but also the restaurant manager was pleased with the new policy. www.knust.edu.gh  Compound Sentence A compound sentence is a sentence that consists of two or more independent clauses joined by a comma and a coordinating conjunction such as: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so (FANBOYS) 1. John bought the book and (he) paid for it. 2. Kofi played the drum but Ama didn’t dance 3. Tom arrived at midnight and we met him at the airport. 4. We woke up early and slept late, but all of us enjoyed our camping. www.knust.edu.gh In the first sentence, the two independent clauses are 1. John bought the book. 2. John paid for it. The two clauses are joined by the conjunction ‘and’. In the second sentence the conjunction ‘but’ is used to join the two independent clauses. Note: You can avoid short and jerky sentences in your writings by using compound sentences. www.knust.edu.gh  Activity Use an appropriate coordination conjunction to join the following clauses together. We didn’t understand the assignment. We asked Michael to explain the assignment to us. Martin found that his house had been broken into. Martin returned home. The students studied well for the examination. The students wrote the examination well. The students did not pass the examination well. www.knust.edu.gh  Complex Sentence A complex sentence has one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses. The dependent clauses usually begin with a relative pronoun such as when, who, where or a subordinating conjunction such as until, so that, because, while. Such a clause might tell when something happens, which person was involved, or where the event took place. For example: www.knust.edu.gh  Complex Sentence 1. When we visited Major Owusu, // he shared his memories of working in the army during World War II. 2. When I heard her stories,// I enjoyed them // because they are true to life. 3. Even though John worked hard,// he lost the election. In the above sentences, the subordinate clauses are introduced by the subordinate conjunctions- when, because, and even though. www.knust.edu.gh Activity Make one of the sentences a subordinate(dependent) clause. 1. English is not our mother tongue. English has gradually become the most important language in Ghana. 2. The students are very serious this year. The students will pass the exams. 3. The students are very serious this year. They can not pass the exams www.knust.edu.gh  Compound-complex Sentence A compound-complex sentence as the name suggests, contains two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses. Consider the following: 1. Kofi played his best drum this morning but Ama didn’t dance because Charles was not there. 2. When our school celebrated its Founder’s Day, we signed up for environmental projects, which were targeted at cleaning the environment, and we try to complete them all in one day. 3. Students have cleaned up the beaches, and they have planted flowers in the parks so that the shores look inviting to visitors. www.knust.edu.gh  Activity Read the text carefully and identify (if any) the following: simple sentences, compound sentences , complex sentences and compound complex sentences. She wore a dark striped dress reaching down to her shoe tops, and an equally long apron of bleached sugar sacks with a full packet: all neat and tidy, but every time she took a step, she might have fallen over her shoe lace, which dragged from unlaced shoe. She looks straight ahead. Her eyes were blue with age. Her skin had a pattern, all her own, of numberless branching wrinkles and as though a whole little tree stood in the middle of her forehead, but a golden colour ran underneath, and the two knobs of her cheeks were illumined by a yellow burning under the dark. Under the red hair came down on her neck in the frailest of ringlets, still black, and with an odor like copper. www.knust.edu.gh THANK YOU www.knust.edu.gh  Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, Kumasi, Ghana Communication Skills ENGL 157 SENTENCE: Functional  Activity Read the text carefully and identify (if any) the following: simple sentences, compound sentences , complex sentences and compound complex sentences. She wore a dark striped dress reaching down to her shoe tops, and an equally long apron of bleached sugar sacks with a full packet: all neat and tidy, but every time she took a step, she might have fallen over her shoe lace, which dragged from unlaced shoe. She looks straight ahead. Her eyes were blue with age. Her skin had a pattern, all her own, of numberless branching wrinkles and as though a whole little tree stood in the middle of her forehead, but a golden colour ran underneath, and the two knobs of her cheeks were illumined by a yellow burning under the dark. Under the red hair came down on her neck in the frailest of ringlets, still black, and with an odor like copper. www.knust.edu.gh TYPES OF SENTENCE II- FUNCTIONAL OBJECTIVES By the end of the lesson, the students will be able to: 1. distinguish among declarative, interrogative, imperative and exclamatory sentences in terms of function and structure 2. use appropriate sentence forms to convey different communicative functions. www.knust.edu.gh TYPES OF SENTENCE II- FUNCTIONAL Four main types of sentences can be identified according to their functions. Declarative Interrogative Imperative Exclamatory www.knust.edu.gh  Declarative Sentence Declarative sentence is a sentence that makes a statement or declaration. That is a proposition that expresses opinion, fact, or judgment. A statement may be true or false, positive or negative. Consider the following examples: 1. Mondays follow Sundays. (True) 2. Two and two are sometimes three. (False) 3. Kwame will marry Alice. (Positive) 4. Alice will not marry Kwame. (Negative) www.knust.edu.gh Structure of Declarative Sentence 1. Declarative sentences have subjects followed by verbs [ SV (O)(C)(A)] Example: The boy snores noisily.(SVA) The girl is clever. (SVC) 2. Declarative sentences may have no subject. - Good to see you. (It’s good to see you.) - Serves you right. (It serves you right.) - John bought the car and (he) paid for it. www.knust.edu.gh Declarative con’t… 3. A verb may precede the subject in front shifted adverbials. Some adverbs that bear negative meanings may be moved to the position before subject. Auxiliary ‘do’ may be inserted to make the sentence grammatical. I scarcely visit my hometown these days. Scarcely do I visit my hometown these days. * Scarcely I visit my hometown these days. www.knust.edu.gh I can hardly imagine what to say. Hardly can I imagine what to say. When the adverbs are placed before the subjects in declarative sentences, they trigger subject-verb inversion. Let students invert the sentences below: 1. He barely entered his car when the robbers attacked. 2. My brothers rarely quarrel. 3. My sister seldom accommodates visitors www.knust.edu.gh Other functions of declarative sentences Declarative sentences can perform the following other functions: - To ask questions: You have paid your fees? - To make a request: I would love a cup of tea. - To give a command : You will leave the room now! - To express prohibition: You can’t go out now. - To express emotion: God saves the king! - To make a suggestion: You could be cooking while I do the washing. - To give a warning: That dog is dangerous. www.knust.edu.gh Interrogative Sentence Interrogative sentences ask questions. They are sentences that may demand answers. Example: How old are you? When did you arrive? Have you eaten? Has your father come? www.knust.edu.gh  The structure of interrogatives Interrogative sentences in English have the structure VS (V)(O)(C)(A). The verbs that are placed before the subjects are always auxiliary verbs. For example: - Interrogative sentences always end in question marks in writing. - In speech, interrogatives end in rising intonation for yes/no question whereas wh-questions end in falling intonation. www.knust.edu.gh Types of Interrogatives Interrogative sentences are divided into two main types. - Yes/No questions - Wh-questions There are other types of questions but they are formed from either yes/no questions or wh-questions. For instance, Tag questions - First part (positive): She is a student, isn’t she? - First part (negative): She is not a student, is she? www.knust.edu.gh  Yes/ No Questions Yes/no questions are questions that demand yes or no for an answer. Example: Are you tired? Yes or no questions are formed from statements by placing the auxiliary before the subject. Example: You have eaten. (statement) Have you eaten? (question) www.knust.edu.gh Where there is no auxiliary verb in the statement, the auxiliary ‘do’ is introduced to match up the inflected form of the verb before inversion or movement is done. For example: Ama sells rice. – statement *Ama do sell rice. – Introduction of “dummy do” Ama does sell rice – “ do” matching the singular form of main verb. Does Ama sell rice? – Question www.knust.edu.gh Ama sold rice. – statement *Ama do sold rice. – Introduction of “dummy do” Ama did sell rice – “ do” matching the past tense form of main verb. Did Ama sell rice? – Question Let students form yes/no questions from the following statements. 1. The student attended lectures last week. 2. Monday comes before Tuesday. www.knust.edu.gh  Wh-Questions Wh-question are formed with any of the wh-words: who, what, which, whose, when, where, why, and how Wh-questions are question that demand a piece of information as an answer. Examples: Who won the prize? What is your name? When did you come? How old are you? www.knust.edu.gh Other types of interrogative sentences - Rhetorical Questions - Direct Questions - Indirect Questions - Alternative Questions - Declarative Questions - Echo Questions - Exclamatory Questions - Tag Questions www.knust.edu.gh  Other functions of interrogative sentences - To make assertion: Isn’t it Abu who is praising me? - To give a command: What are you looking at on your phone? (while teaching and somebody is playing with the phone) - To give invitation: Won’t you have a glass of water? - To insult: Can’t you think? - To make a request: Would you read through the script for me, please? -To express emotion: Isn’t Ellen beautiful? www.knust.edu.gh  Imperative sentences Imperative sentences are sentences that give command. Imperative sentences are used in the following situations: - when giving a direct command - directions - instructions - orders Example: Stand up. Sit down. Go straight. www.knust.edu.gh  The structure of imperative sentences The imperative sentences have the structure V(O)(C)(A) For example: Sit down (VA) Close the door (VO) Be a man (VC) Close the door immediately. (VOA) The imperative marks no tense, number or person. It is the base form of the verb which may be followed by an object, complement and/or adjunct. www.knust.edu.gh  Types of Imperative Sentence: Second person imperative Two main types of imperative sentences can be identified. - Second person imperative - First and Third persons imperative. In the second person imperatives, there is no overt subject. The imperative verbs begin the sentences. The subject “you” is implied in the imperative verb when giving second person command. Example: Keep off the grass. (You) keep off the grass. www.knust.edu.gh First and Third Person Command The first and third persons imperatives are introduced by the word “ let” before the subject. Examples: Let us keep off the grass. (first person) Let me rest for today. (first person) Let them pay their dues. (third person) Let them come. (third person) www.knust.edu.gh Other functions of imperative sentences - To make a wish: Have a nice weekend. - To give invitation: Let’s share a cup of tea. - To give warning: Mind your language. - To make a threat: Laugh again and I you / Don’t laugh again or I punish you. - To make prohibition: Don’t go out in that dress. www.knust.edu.gh  Exclamatory Sentences Exclamatory sentences are sentences that express exclamation. When we exclaim at something or at something that someone has done, we are expressing surprise, emotion, or feeling. Exclamatory sentences end in exclamation mark. Example: What a fantastic goal! Aren’t these students hardworking! You are fantastic! That’s a great goal! www.knust.edu.gh Activity Identify the mood (declarative, interrogative, etc.) of the following sentences: 1. The man was arrested last week. 2. Shut the door! 3. Can you repair my car? 4. He cried. www.knust.edu.gh THANK YOU www.knust.edu.gh  Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, Kumasi, Ghana Communication Skills ENGL 157 SENTENCE: Error in Sentences OBJECTIVES By the end of the lesson, the students will be able to: 1. Identify fragment sentences in English. 2. recognize comma splice, run-on, and parallel structures in a text. 3. write to avoid fragment sentences, comma splice, parallelism (shift), and run-on sentences. www.knust.edu.gh  Sentence Fragment: What is it? 1. A Sentence fragment is a word group that lacks a subject or a verb and /or one that does not express a complete thought. 2. Sentence fragment is an error that occurs when incomplete sentences are punctuated as though they were complete sentence. 3. A sentence fragment is a group of words, a phrase or a dependent clause that is punctuated like a sentence. It, however, does not express a complete thought or idea www.knust.edu.gh  Sentence Fragment Cont… Every sentence must have a subject and a verb, and must express a complete thought. A word group that lacks a subject or a verb and fails to express a complete thought is a fragment. Let us look at these examples. 1. When I was going home. 2. By the coconut tree. www.knust.edu.gh  Activity Working with a partner or group, correct the following fragments: 1. Whenever I am waiting for an important phone call. 2. If I can finish writing my paper tonight. I can go to the gym with you tomorrow. 3. When I want to brighten up my day, I buy a bunch of colourful flowers. Such as carnations or daisies. 4. At the end of the movie, when the battle began. 5. Although I had never played soccer before. 6. In addition, the job is part-time. www.knust.edu.gh The above examples may seem to be complete sentences since they end with a full stop, but as stated earlier, they do not express a complete thought or idea. Therefore, we need to revise them by adding a main or independent clause for the sentence to give the required information. www.knust.edu.gh  Sentence Fragment Cont… Let us consider the revised versions below: (a). When I was going home. (Fragment) (b). When I was going home, I met the doctor. (revised) Example (a) is a fragment and example (b) is a complete sentence where the fragment has been joined to a main clause, which has been underlined to give it a complete thought. www.knust.edu.gh Let us also consider the second fragment I gave as an example early on. By the coconut tree. ( fragment ) I hid the money by the coconut tree. (revised) www.knust.edu.gh  Sentence Fragment Cont… You may have noted that the main clause is placed first before attaching the sentence fragment. On the whole, the revised sentence provides something meaningful, which expresses a complete thought. It is expected that your essays or your writings should be free of sentence fragments since sentence fragments do not make a complete meaning. www.knust.edu.gh  Consider the following Examples : 1. The apartment building with the mural on the side. The apartment building with the mural on the side burned down. (Revised) 2. The police officer looking for the robbery suspects. The police officer is looking for the robbery suspects. (Revised) The police officer looked for the robbery suspects. (Revised) 3. Whenever I go to school. Whenever I go to school, I take the bus. (Revised) www.knust.edu.gh  Types of Sentence Fragment Here are the most common types of sentence fragments - Dependent-word fragment - ing fragment - Added-details fragment - Missing-subject fragment www.knust.edu.gh  Dependent-word fragment Some word group that begin with dependent words are fragments. When you start a sentence with a dependent word, be careful not to create a fragment. Examples: After I cashed my paycheck. I treated myself to dinner. (Fragment) After I cashed my paycheck, I treated myself to dinner. (Revised) I won’t leave the house. Until I hear from you. (Fragment) I won’t leave the house until I hear from you. (Revised) Until I hear from you, I won’t leave the house. (Revised) www.knust.edu.gh  Ing fragment When an –ing word appears at or near the start of a word group, a fragment may result. Such fragments often lack a subject and part of the verb. Boatemaa walked all over the neibourhood yesterday. Trying to find her dog. Many people claimed they had seen it only hours before. (Fragment) Boatemaa walked all over the neibourhood yesterday trying to find her dog. Many people claimed they had seen it only hours before. (Revised) www.knust.edu.gh  Added-details fragment Added-details fragment lacks a subject and verb. They often begin with one of the following words: also, especially, like, including, except, for example, such as, etc. Before a race, I eat starchy foods. Such as bread and spaghetti. The carbohydrates provide quick energy. (Fragment) Before a race, I eat starchy foods such as bread and spaghetti. The carbohydrates provide quick energy. (Revised) www.knust.edu.gh  Missing-subject fragment In each of the following sentences, underline the word group in which the subject is missing. - Akosua loved getting wedding presents. But hated writing thank-you notes. (Fragment) - Akosua loved getting wedding presents but hated writing thank-you notes (Revised) - Akosua loved getting wedding presents but, she hated writing thank-you notes. (Revised) www.knust.edu.gh - Tom has orange soda and potato chips for breakfast. Then eats more junk food, like root beer and cookies, for lunch. - Tom has orange soda and potato chips for breakfast. Then he eats more junk food, like root beer and cookies, for lunch. www.knust.edu.gh  Correction of fragment sentences To correct fragment sentences, consider the following: 1. Check for a subject and a verb. The dog in the pet store window. (Fragment) The dog in the pet store window has eaten. (Revised) The dog is in the pet store window. (Revised) 2. –ing verb by itself cannot be the main verb in a sentence. Your sister having all the skills required of a good salesperson. Your sister is having all the skills required of a good salesperson. Your sister has all the skills required of a good salesperson. www.knust.edu.gh  Correction cont… 3. An infinitive to plus a verb cannot be the verb in a sentence. The manager of the store to attend the meeting of regional managers next month in Accra. (Fragment) The manager of the store is to attend the meeting of regional managers next month in Accra. (Revised) 4. Group of words beginning with words like also, especially, expect, for example, in addition, moreover, furthermore etc. need subject and verb to make a sentence. Especially the youngest member of the group. (Fragment) For example, a person without a university degree. (Fragment) The group is vibrant especially the youngest member of the group. (Revised) www.knust.edu.gh  Correction cont. 5. When a phrase is left to stand alone, it is phrase fragment. will soon be sleeping. inside the house. To correct phrase fragments, you need to supply the missing elements. The baby will soon be sleeping The missing necklace was found inside the house. 6. When a subordinate clause is left to stand alone, it is subordinate clause fragment. After the candidates arrive. After the candidates arrive, the inter halls debate will begin. The candidates arrive by limousine. www.knust.edu.gh  Run-on sentences Read the following group of sentences and give your comments on them. 1a. The bus stopped suddenly I found myself in an old man’s lap. 1b. The bus stopped suddenly, I found myself in an old man’s lap. 1c. The bus stopped suddenly. I found myself in an old man’s lap. 2 a. We heard the noise in the garage two birds had flown in through the open window. 2 b. We heard the noise in the garage. Two birds had flown in through the open window. 3a. Esther cleans her kitchen every week she shines every pot and pan. 3b. Esther cleans her kitchen every week; she shines every pot and pan. 4a. I studied for the test all weekend I am well prepared for it. 4b. I studied for the test all weekend, so I am well prepared for it. www.knust.edu.gh  Run-on sentences: Definition A run-on sentence occurs when two or more independent clauses are joined without the appropriate punctuation or the use of the correct conjunction. Run-on sentences consist of two complete thoughts run together without adequate punctuation to signal the break between them. 1a. The bus stopped suddenly I found myself in an old man’s lap. 2a. We heard the noise in the garage two birds had flown in through the open window. 3a. Esther cleans her kitchen every week she shines every pot and pan. 4a. I studied for the test all weekend I am well prepared for it. www.knust.edu.gh  Types of Run-on sentences Two types of Run-on sentences have been identified: 1. Fused sentence 2. Comma splices Fused sentences have no punctuation to mark the break between the two independent clauses whereas Comma splices are errors that occur when you punctuate with a comma instead of a period/full stop or a semicolon. www.knust.edu.gh  Correcting Run-on sentences Here are the four common ways of correcting Run-on sentences are: 1. Use a period and a capital letter to separate sentences. The bus stopped suddenly. I found myself in an old man’s lap. 2. Use a comma and a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS) The bus stopped suddenly, and I found myself in an old man’s lap. 3. Use a semicolon to connect the two thoughts. The bus stopped suddenly; I found myself in an old man’s lap. 4. Use subordinating conjunction to join the two thoughts. When the bus stopped suddenly, I found myself in an old man’s lap. www.knust.edu.gh  Activity Read the following sentences and correct all run-on errors. 1. The flower is the most important part of a plant it contains the seeds that enable the plant to reproduce. 2. Since I got my smart phone, I spent too much time texting my friends I hardly ever send e-mail anymore. 3. Charles peered into the microscope he saw only his own eyelashes. 4. Our science class is working on a weather project with students from Russia we communicate by computer almost every day. www.knust.edu.gh  Activity Edit the following paragraph for run-on and comma splices. Choosing a career is difficult I an torn between two fields. My best grades have been in math classes and my father wants me to be an accountant. Accountants make good salary in addition, they are always in demand. My uncle is an accountant and has found good jobs in four exciting cities. I would like the security and opportunity of such employment on the other hand, I dream of a different career. I have been working at a restaurant for four years as a result, I have learned about inner workings of the restaurant business. The job is tough nevertheless, I would love to have my own restaurant. Everyone warns me about the huge financial risks and long hours yet these challenges can be exciting. Someday I will have to choose between a risky venture in the restaurant business and a safe, well-paying career in accounting. www.knust.edu.gh  PARALLELISM Parallelism is phenomenon which means that items in a series must be parallel or balanced. That’s items arranged in series must be of the same grammatical category; noun, verb, etc., same grammatical form in terms of number; singular and plural, aspect; progressive and perfective, voice; active and passive, etc. and must perform the same grammatical function. For example: 1. Dancing, singing and writing are my hobbies. 2. To dance, to sing and to write are my hobbies. From these examples, you can see that parallelism involves matching the structures of parts of sentences. www.knust.edu.gh  FAULTY PARALLELISM Faulty parallelism arises when the items arranged in series are different grammatical forms and functions. For example: 1. Of all the sports I’ve played, I prefer tennis, handball, and playing golf. 2. He is a good choice for manager because he works hard, he keeps calm and well-liked. www.knust.edu.gh  Shift constructions A shift construction is example of faulty parallelism. A shift is a sudden, unexpected change in point of view, verb tense, voice, or level of diction that may confuse your readers. Consider this text. A bank commonly owes more to its customers that is held in reserve. They kept enough assets to meet reasonable withdrawals, but panicked customers may demand all their deposits. Then demand will exceed supplies, and banks failed. These days, a person’s losses are not likely to be great because the government insures your deposits. www.knust.edu.gh Now, upon first reading, you may think that there is everything right with the short paragraph above but there are a lot of inconsistencies in the area of verb tense, person, and voice. Consider the revised paragraph A bank commonly owes more to its customers that it holds in reserve. It keeps enough assets to meet reasonable withdrawals, but panicked customers may demand all their deposits. Then demands will exceed supplies, and the bank will fail. These days, the losses of customers are not likely to be great because the government insures their deposits. www.knust.edu.gh  Shifts in Person Person in grammar refers to the distinction among the person talking (first person), the person spoken to (second person), and the person, object, or concept being talked about (third person). Most shifts in person occur because we can refer to people in general, including our readers, either in the third person (a person, one, people, they) or in the second person (you). Person shows the writer’s point of view. The following examples that share the same meaning but written from different points of view. www.knust.edu.gh People should not drive when they have been drinking. One should not drive when he or she has been drinking You should not drive when you have been drinking. Although any of the possibilities is acceptable in an appropriate context, a mixture of them is inconsistent: Shift: If a person works hard, you can gain recognition. Revised: If you work hard, you can gain recognition. Revised: If a person works hard, he or she can gain recognition. Better: If people work hard, they can gain recognition. The first sentence is a bad one because there is a shift in person. The three revised ones are good but the third revised one is better than all of them. www.knust.edu.gh  Shifts in Number Number refers to the distinction between one (singular) and more than one (plural). Inconsistency in numbers occurs most often between a pronoun and its antecedent. For example: 1. If a student does not understand a lesson, they should consult the instructor. (shift) 2. If students do not understand a lesson, they should consult the instructor. (revised) 3. A student who does not understand a lesson should consult the instructor. (revised) www.knust.edu.gh  Shift in tense Maintain consistency in verb tense throughout a paragraph or an essay, unless the meaning requires you to change tenses. Changes that are not required by meaning distract readers. For example: The virus mutated so quickly that it develops a resistance to most vaccines. (inconsistent) The virus mutates so quickly that it develops a resistance to most vaccines. (revised) The city’s crime rate continues to decrease, but experts disagreed on the reasons. (inconsistent) The city’s crime rate continues to decrease, but experts disagree on the reasons. (revised) www.knust.edu.gh  Shift in Voice When a verb is in the active voice, the subject is the actor of the activity described by the verb and when a verb is in the passive voice, the subject is acted upon. Unnecessary shifts between the active voice and passive voice can disorient your readers and create confusion. Look at the following shifts. Internet newsgroups cover an enormous range of topics for discussion. Forums for meeting people with like interests are provided in these groups. (inconsistent) Internet newsgroups cover an enormous range of topics for discussion. And provide forums for meeting people with like interests. (revised) www.knust.edu.gh Drought and windstorms made farming impossible and many families were forced to leave Okom village due to starvation. (inconsistent) Drought and windstorms made farming impossible, and starvation forced many families to leave Okom village. (revised) In the sentences above, the inconsistent ones have shift in voice from the active voice to passive. Avoid such shifts in your sentences. www.knust.edu.gh  Shift in Mood Mood indicates whether the sentence states a fact or asks a question (indicative mood), gives a command or direction (imperative mood), or expresses a condition or a suggestion (subjunctive mood). Shifts in the mood of verbs occur most frequently in directions when the writer moves between imperative mood and the indicative mood. For example: 1. Cook the mixture slowly, and you should stir it until the sugar is dissolved. (inconsistent) 2. Cook the mixture slowly and stir it until the sugar is dissolved. (revised) www.knust.edu.gh  Activity Correct the shifts in person, verb tense, voice and mood in the following paragraph. Driving on a muddy road need not be dangerous if you practice a few rules. First, one should avoid fast starts, which prevent the wheels from gaining traction and may result in the car’s getting stuck. Second, drive slowly than usual, and you should pay attention to the feel of the car: if the steering feels unusually loose or the wheels did not seem to be grabbing the road, slow down. Third, avoid fast stops, which lead to skids. One should be alert for other cars and intersections that may necessitate that the brakes be applied suddenly. If you need to slow down, the car’s momentum can be reduced by downshifting as well as by applying the brakes. When braking, press the pedal to the floor only if you have antilock brakes; otherwise, the pedal should be pumped in short bursts. When you feel the car skidding, the brakes should be release and the wheel should be turned into the direction of the skid, and then the brakes should be pressed or pumped again. If one repeated this motions, the skid would be stopped and the speed of the car would be reduced. www.knust.edu.gh  Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, Kumasi, Ghana COMMUNICATION SKILLS I (ENGL 157) DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH ERRORS IN SENTENCES AMBIGUITY MISRELATED/DANGLING MODIFICATION AMBIGUITY Ambiguity is a language situation where a sentence or a part of it has more than one meaning or can reasonably be given more than one interpretation. Eg. I met Mr. Anane at the court. The possible interpretations to this sentence emanate from the possible uses of “Court”. www.knust.edu.gh AMBIGUITY cont’d Possible uses of “court” A place where legal cases are addressed. A space for games (volley, tennis etc.) The official residence of an overlord Or even, any space in a house From the sentence, it can be said that the speaker/writer met Mr. Anane at any of these places. www.knust.edu.gh AMBIGUITY cont’d Please note: Intended Vs. Unintended Ambiguity Intended Ambiguity: This is where a speaker/writer deliberately uses ambiguity for specific purpose/effect. Eg. In literature, politics, music etc. Consider this, “The law is not an empty barrel but the House of Lords (HoLs)”. Meaning 1: The law is not an empty barrel but the law is the HoLs. Meaning 2: The law is not an empty barrel, but the HoLs is an empty barrel. www.knust.edu.gh  AMBIGUITY cont’d The speaker can refer to M1 to avoid the charge of Contempt of Parliament though he/she may have intended to abuse the HoLs with M2. Unintended Ambiguity: This is where a speaker/writer is not aware that what he/she said or wrote is ambiguous. Our concern, on the subject of ambiguity, principally lies on the ambiguous statement which is not intended because it is a feature of bad writing/speech and must be avoided for effective communication. www.knust.edu.gh  TYPES OF AMBIGUITY Ambiguity may be considered lexical, categorical, conceptual and structural (Afreh 2006). Lexical Ambiguity: This is where a word can be assigned more than one meaning. Eg. I met Mr. Anane at the court. (as explained on slide 3) Categorical Ambiguity: This occurs when a word is used to function differently in different contexts. Eg1. Go round the table (adverb) Eg.2. I have a round table (adjective) Eg.3. I forfeited the final round of the competition (noun). www.knust.edu.gh  TYPES OF AMBIGUITY cont’d Conceptual Ambiguity: This occurs when a word is used to refer to different concepts Eg1. The battery was fully charged (electricity) Eg2. He was charged with contempt (legal) Eg3. The Registrar was charged with students’ affairs (responsibility) www.knust.edu.gh  TYPES OF AMBIGUITY cont’d Structural Ambiguity: This occurs as a result of how words are put together as structures. It occurs from many sources. Some of these are: 1. Unclear Modification 2. Wrong placement of adverbs of frequency 3. Making clauses nominal 4. Wrong placement of pronoun www.knust.edu.gh  TYPES OF AMBIGUITY cont’d Unclear Modification: Eg1. Visiting family members can be dangerous (family members who visit or the act of visiting family members?) M1: Family members who visit can be dangerous. M2: To visit family members can be dangerous. www.knust.edu.gh  TYPES OF AMBIGUITY cont’d Wrong placement of adverbs of frequency: Eg2. The lecturers who watched the movie frequently commended it. (frequently watched or commended it frequently?) M1. The lecturers who frequently watched the movie commended it. M2. The lecturers who watched the movie commended it frequently. www.knust.edu.gh  TYPES OF AMBIGUITY cont’d Making Clauses Nominal Eg3. The killing of the director incited the staff to riot. (did the director do the killing or someone else did?) M1. The killing (done) by the director incited the staff to riot. M2. The CEO’s killing of the director incited the staff to riot. www.knust.edu.gh  TYPES OF AMBIGUITY cont’d Wrong placement or use of pronoun Eg4. Pick the box from the bed and sit on it. (sit on the bed or box?) M1. Pick the box from the bed and sit on the box. M2. Pick the box from the bed and sit on the bed. www.knust.edu.gh Exercise Instruction: Each of the following sentences is ambiguous. Rewrite each sentence twice to show two acceptable meanings: 1. An advertising agent who had entered the conference hall briskly delivered a talk on laptop computers. 2. The Asafo Company spotted the missing child with a basket of fruit that was going mould. 3. At that party I spotted a guest with a smile that quickly captivated me. 4. We were introduced to the manager with a lovely face that we found agreeable. (Opoku-Agyemang 1998:87-88) www.knust.edu.gh Misrelated/Dangling Modification It is an absence of clarity normally attributed to the misplacement of the sentence modifier. (Opoku-Agyemang 1998) This occurs as a result of the construction of sentences in a way that modifiers are attached or attributed to the wrong subject or to a subject which cannot be identified in the sentence. (Sekyi-Baidoo 2003) It is the attachment of modifiers to constructions which they (modifiers) are not to modify or qualify. (Afreh 2006) www.knust.edu.gh Misrelated/Dangling Modification Cont’d Eg1: Having finished the assignment, the TV was turned on. (who finished the assignment?) Grammar requires that, in most cases, an introductory phrase, such as the highlighted, must relate to the first noun or pronoun or other noun equivalents that follow (the principle of proximity). CEg1: Having finished the assignment, Kwame turned on the TV (Kwame finished the assignment) www.knust.edu.gh  Causes of Misrelated/Dangling Modification Misplacement of Subject: This is where the subject that is to be modified is wrongly placed or positioned in the sentence. Eg1: Moving towards the hall of residence, the goat hit the car. Eg2: As a student, the Principal advised George to study hard. Correction: Place or position the subject in the right position. CEg1: Moving towards the hall of residence, the car hit the goat. CEg2: As a student, George was advised by the Principal to study hard. www.knust.edu.gh Causes of Misrelated/Dangling Modification Cont’d Omission of Subject: This is where the subject that is to be modified is omitted from the sentence. Eg1: While watching TV, the lights went off. Eg2: Running into the room, her wedding date was announced. Correction: Introduce the missing subject. CEg1: While we were watching TV, the lights went off. CEg2: Running into the room, she announced her wedding date. www.knust.edu.gh Causes of Misrelated/Dangling Modification Cont’d Modifiers modifying others: This is where modifiers are not attached to their subjects but to other modifiers. Eg1: Singing a song, Andy’s hands began to shake. Eg2: Moving at top speed, the taxi’s number plate fell. Correction: Identify and introduce the subject. CEg1: Andy’s hands began to shake when he was singing a song. CEg2: The taxi’s number plate fell as it was moving at top speed. www.knust.edu.gh Reading Assignment Read on the following and make your personal notes on them: Forms of Misrelated/Dangling Modification (Afreh 2006; Sekyi-Baidoo 2003) Exceptions to the prohibition on misrelated/dangling modification (Afreh 2006) or Acceptable Misrelated/Dangling Modification (Sekyi-Baidoo 2003) www.knust.edu.gh Exercise Instruction: Each of the following sentences has misrelated/dangling modification. Rewrite each into an acceptable form: 1. Having arrived late for practice, a written excuse was needed. 2. Without knowing his name, it was difficult to introduce him. 3. To improve his results, the experiment was done again. 4. After reading the original study, the article remains unconvincing. 5. The experiment was a failure, not having studied the lab manual carefully. www.knust.edu.gh References Afreh, E. S. (2006). Grammar and usage for tertiary students. Kumasi. Opoku-Agyemang, N. J. (1998). A handbook for writing skills. Accra: Ghana Universities Press. Sekyi-Baidoo, Y. (2003). Learning and communicating (Second Edition). Accra: Infinity Graphics Ltd. www.knust.edu.gh  Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, Kumasi, Ghana Punctuation Marks in English  Outline Definition of punctuation Discussions on punctuations Exemplification of punctuations www.knust.edu.gh  Punctuation defined Punctuations are non-alphabetical symbols used in writing for the purposes of clarity and comprehension. Not all symbols are punctuation marks Capitalization is therefore not a part of punctuation.  PUNCTUATIONKwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, Kumasi, Ghana THE MOST IMPORTANT MARKS OF PUNCTUATION ARE:. PERIOD (FULL STOP) , COMMA ? QUESTION MARK ; SEMICOLON ! EXCLAMATION MARK : COLON -- DASH “” QUOTATION MARKS - HYPHEN () PARENTHESES ‘ APOSTROPHE [] BRACKETS UNDERLINING End Marks  What is an end mark? An end mark comes at the end of a sentence. It lets you know when to stop. They are: 1. Full Stop 2. Question Mark 3. Exclamation Mark  Periods (.) 1. At the end of a sentence e.g. I love my country. 2. After an initial (e.g. Alfred L. Owusu-Ansah) 3. As a decimal (e.g. $2.50) 4. After abbreviations (Mrs.)  Question Mark 1. After a direct question e.g. Do you know the motto of KNUST? 2. To show doubt e.g. The Gold Coast was renamed Ghana on a Thursday (?)  Exclamation Mark 1. To express strong feeling E.g. What a shock! 2. After some imperative sentences e.g. Come here! Never use multiple exclamation marks in school writing assignments or in business letters. E.g. I need my money now!!! MID-LECTURE QUIZ  Which change in end marks should be made to the sentence below? Did you feed your dog this morning. A. The end mark should be a comma. B. The end mark should be an exclamation point. C. The end mark should be a colon. D. The end mark should be a question mark.  Which change in end marks should be made to the sentence below? Did you feed your dog this morning. A. The end mark should be a comma. B. The end mark should be an exclamation point. C. The end mark should be a colon. D. The end mark should be a question mark.  Which sentence has the correct end punctuation? A. Where did you find that cute puppy. B. What a great big grin he has on his face! C. Roll over, you good girl? D. Why can’t we keep her. Non-Sentence End Punctuation Marks  Comma 1. Between items in a series e.g. I know someone who likes orange, pineapple, and banana. 2. In dates and addresses (e.g. June 24, 2010) 3. To keep numbers clear (e.g. 1,000, 000) 4. To set off adverbials at the beginning of sentences (e.g. Yesterday, we visited the library.) 5. To set off dialogue (e.g. The Hen replied, “My axe is sick.”)  Comma 5. Between two independent clauses (e.g. Aquarium workers love animals, so they rescue hurt ones.) 6. In letter writing (Dear Uncle Jim,) 7. To separate adjectives (I like the feel of cold, salty water when I go wading.)  Comma 8. To set off interjections (e.g. Wow, look at that sunrise!) 9. To set off appositives (e.g. My father, a great cook, makes the best fried rice in town.) 10. To set off introductory phrases and clauses (e.g. After checking my knee pads, I started off.)  UNNECESSARY COMMAS DO NOT USE A COMMA 1)BEFORE THE FIRST AND AFTER THE LAST MEMBER OF A SERIES: e.g. The tea was a cold, sweet, refreshing, drink. 2) TO SEPARATE A SUBJECT FROM ITS PREDICATE: e.g. We requested that the road be resurfaced. 3) BEFORE INDIRECT QUOTATION: e.g. The candidate stated that, he was against taxation. 4) BETWEEN TWO INDEPENDENT CLAUSES WHERE A STRONGER MARK OF PUNCTUATION IS REQUIRED “COMMA SPLICE”: e.g. The foreman told me to be there early, I told him I couldn’t. www.knust.edu.gh  UNNECESSARY COMMAS (cont.) 6) Indiscriminately to replace the word omitted: e.g. Frank said, he would come to see me. (the comma is incorrectly used for “that”) 7) IN ANY SITUATION UNLESS IT ADDS TO CLARITY AND UNDERSTANDING: e.g. Naturally, the first thing you should do, after reporting for work, is to see your supervisor. After the play, Martha and I went home, by taxicab, because we wanted, at all cost, to avoid subway crowds. www.knust.edu.gh  Where should a comma be placed in the sentence below? Please place a pencil, a pair of scissors and two sheets of paper on your desk. A. after the word paper B. after the word scissors C. before the word of D. after the word sheets  Where should a comma be placed in the sentence below? Please place a pencil, a pair of scissors and two sheets of paper on your desk. A. after the word paper B. after the word scissors C. before the word of D. after the word sheets  Where should commas be placed in the sentence below? You must bring your ticket lunch and spending money. A. after You and must B. after ticket and lunch C. after bring and lunch D. after your and ticket and lunch  Where should commas be placed in the sentence below? You must bring your ticket lunch and spending money. A. after You and must B. after ticket and lunch C. after bring and lunch D. after your and ticket and lunch  Colon To introduce a list After a salutation in a business letter (Dear Chairperson: ) Between numbers in time (2:25)  THE COLON The colon is a mark of expectation or addition. It’s primary function is to signal the reader to “watch for what’s coming.” USE THE COLON: 1) TO INTRODUCE A WORD, A PHRASE, OR CLAUSE, OR AFTER AN INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT: e.g. This is my problem: what do I do now? 2) TO SEPARATE INTRODUCTORY WORDS FROM A LONG OR FORMAL QUOTATION WHICH FOLLOWS: e.g. Jefferson concluded his First Inaugural Address as follows: “And may that Infinite Power which rules the destines of the universe…” 3) AS A SEPARATING MARK IN SPECIAL SITUATIONS: A) IN BUSINESS LETTERS: e.g. Dear Mr. James: B) TITLES AND SUBTITLES OF BOOKS: e.g. The English Novel: A Panorama C) HOUR AND MINUTE FIGURES: e.g. 10:15 a.m. D) CHAPTERS AND VERSES OF THE BIBLE: e.g. Exodus, 12:31 E) VOLUMES AND PAGE REFERENCES: e.g. War and Peace, II:122 www.knust.edu.gh  THE COLON (cont.) DO NOT OVERUSE THE COLON DO NOT PLACE A COLON BETWEEN A PREPOSITION AND OBJECT: e.g. I am fond of: New Orleans, Seattle, Denver. DO NOT PLACE A COLON BETWEEN A VERB AND ITS OBJECT: e.g. He liked to see: TV plays, movies, and sitcoms. She likes a number of activities, such as: swimming, dancing, and cooking. www.knust.edu.gh  THE SEMICOLON The semicolon is a stronger mark of punctuation than the comma; it signifies a greater break or a longer pause between sentence elements. REMEMBER: THE SMICOLON IS USED ONLY BETWEEN ELEMENTS OF EQUAL RANK; IT IS ENTIRELY A MARK OF COORDINATION. USE THE SEMICOLON: 1) TO SEPARATE INDEPENDENT CLAUSES NOT JOINED BY A SIMPLE CONJUNCTION: e.g. “If you make people think they’re thinking, they’ll love you; if you really make them think, they’ll hate you.” – Marquis 2) TO SEPARATE INDEPENDENT CLAUSES JOINED BY A CONJUNCTIVE ADVERB (ALSO, ANYHOW, BESIDES, CONSEQUENTLY, FURTHERMORE, HOWEVER, MOREOVER, OTHERWISE, THEREFORE, THUS, ETC.): e.g. This job is not simple; however, it’s exciting and rewarding. www.knust.edu.gh  THE SEMICOLON (cont.) 3) BETWEEN INDEPENDENT CLAUSES WHICH ARE LENGTHY OR CONTAIN INTERNAL PUNCTUATION: e.g. “As long as war is regarded as wicked, it will have its fascination; when it is looked upon as vulgar, it will cease to be popular.” – Wilde DO NOT OVERUSE SEMICOLON ORDINARILY, THE SEMICOLON HAS THE SAME FUCTION AS A PERIOD: IT INDICATES A COMPLETE BREAK, THE END OF ONE THOUGHT AND THE BEGINNING OF ANOTHER. ONE FAIRLY SAFE GUIDE IS: NO PERIOD, NO SEMICOLON: e.g. Inasmuch as Joe has a fiery temper; we have to be careful what we say to him. (a comma should be used instead of the semicolon) DO NOT USE IT AS A MARK OF INTRODUCTION: e.g. Dear Sir; DO NOT USE IT AS A SUMMARIZING MARK: e.g. Answering the phone, typing, filing; these were my duties last summer. www.knust.edu.gh  THE DASH THE DASH IS A MARK OF PUNCTUATION USED TO DENOTE A SUDDEN BREAK OR SHIFT IN THOUGHT. “THE INTERRUPTION, THE MARK OF ABRUPTNESS, THE SOB, THE STAMMER, THE MARK OF IGNORANCE.” IT IS THE ONLY MARK OF PUNCTUATION WHICH IS NOT ON THE STANDARD KEYBOARD. TO TYPE A DASH, USE TWO HYPHENS; NO SPACE PRECEDES OR FOLLOW THE HYPHENS. USE THE DASH: 1) TO INDICATE A BREAK OR SHIFT IN THOUGHT: e.g. Do we—can we—dare we ask for more money? 2) TO INTRODUCE A WORD OR GROUP OF WORDS WHICH YOU WISH TO EMPHASIZE: e.g. What he needed most he never got—love. 3) TO SET OFF STRONGLY DISTINGUISHED PARENTHETICAL MATERIAL: e.g. I think—no, I am positive—that you should go. 4) TO INDICATE OMISSION OF LETTERS AND WORDS: e.g. Senator S– was from my hometown. June—October 1990  THE HYPHEN MARK OF SEPARATION USED BETWEEN PARTS OF A WORD. USE A HYPHEN: 1) TO SEPARATE (JOIN) THE PARTS OF COMPOUND WORDS: e.g. fast-moving; sister-in-law; half-asleep; X-ray; know-it-all; forty-seven; three- fourths 2) TO INDICATE THE DIVISION OF A WORD BROKEN AT THE END OF A LINE: e.g. knowl-edge, ste-nog-ra-pher a) Never divide a monosyllable: e.g. strength, laughed b) Do not divide on a syllable with a silent vowel: e.g. climbed, yelled c) Do not divide a word with only 4 letters: e.g. also, only, open d) Divide two consonants standing between vowels: e.g. struc-ture, alter- native, exis-ten-tialism e) Do not divide sums of money f) Do not divide initials in a name or in proper names g) Do not divide units of time  Hyphen To divide a word when you run out of room at the end of the line (divide only at the syllables, never divide one syllable words or contractions) Between numbers in fractions  Apostrophe In contractions (can’t) To form plurals (A’s) In place of omitted numbers or letters (class of 91’ or fixin’ to go) To form singular possessives (sister’s) To form plural possessives (girls’) To form shared possessives ( Jim, Jeb, and Jerry’s fish)  Which word BEST fills in the blank in the sentence below? My unusual parrot ___________ eat a single cracker. A. won’t B. wasn’t C. isn’t D. don’t  Which word BEST fills in the blank in the sentence below? My unusual parrot ___________ eat a single cracker. A. won’t B. wasn’t C. isn’t D. don’t  Underlining For titles of plays, books, newspapers, magazines, television programs, movies, and CD’s The Wiz (play) Exploring an Ocean Tide Pool (book) Pinky and the Brain (television program) The Prince of Egypt (movie)  Quotation Marks To set off a direct quotation Placement of punctuation (put other marks inside of the quotation mark) To punctuate titles (songs, poems, short stories, essays, and chapters of books, articles in newspapers, magazines, encyclopedia, or electronic sources) “America the Beautiful” (song) “McBroom Tells the Truth” (short story) “Water, Water Everywhere” (chapter)  Ellipsis USE THREE SPACED PERIODS TO INDICATE OMISSION e.g. Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah said: “Our independence is meaningless…” To mean ‘and so on’ (e.g. There are 16 regions in Ghana: Oti, Ashanti, Bono, Central, Nothern…  Capitalization Proper nouns and proper adjectives Names of People Words used as names (Mother, Father, Aunt, Uncle … when used as a name) Ask Mother what we’re having for lunch. Ask my mother what we’re having for lunch. The first sentence mother is used as a name, in the second sentence it describes someone.  Capitalization Geographic names (Earth) Titles used with names (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) Historical events (Boston Tea Party) Abbreviations (M.D.) Organizations (Girl Scouts of America) Titles ( Beauty and the Beast) First words in a sentence  Capitalization Days and months(June, Saturday) Names of religions, nationalities, languages (Christianity, Chinese, Spanish) Official names (Smile toothpaste)  Which change in capitalization should be made to this sentence? the weather is cold today. A. capitalize the t in the B. capitalize the w in weather C. capitalize the t in today D. capitalize the c in cold  Which change in capitalization should be made to this sentence? the weather is cold today. A. capitalize the t in the B. capitalize the w in weather C. capitalize the t in today D. capitalize the c in cold  Which change in capitalization should be made to this sentence? Marcy rode to soccer practice with edward. A. capitalize the r in rode B. use a small m in Marcy C. capitalize the s in soccer D. capitalize the e in Edward  Which change in capitalization should be made to this sentence? Marcy rode to soccer practice with edward. A. capitalize the r in rode B. use a small m in Marcy C. capitalize the s in soccer D. capitalize the e in Edward  Which sentence uses correct capitalization? A. Have you seen “star wars”? B. One of the main characters is Princess leia. C. My favorite character is Yoda. D. I would like to have a ship like the millennium falcon.  Which sentence uses correct capitalization? A. Have you seen “star wars”? B. One of the main characters is Princess leia. C. My favorite character is Yoda. D. I would like to have a ship like the millennium falcon.  Mission Accomplished!! References www.knust.edu.gh  Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, Kumasi, Ghana TURNITIN Plagiarism Prevention Software PREMPEH II LIBRARY  OUTLINE Overview of Turnitin Steps for Using: creating a class creating an assignment enrolling students submitting papers www.knust.edu.gh  Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, Kumasi, Ghana SPELLING IN ENGLISH  OUTLINE  Definition and Origin  BASIC RULES IN SPELLING  MISSPELLING  Types  Causes  Solutions  Effects  COMMON MISSPELLED WORDS  Spelling defined Spelling is the combination of alphabetical letters to form a written word.  RULES Taking note of silent letters. Silent letters are letters that are written but are not pronounced. E.g. Knife, Listen Combination of letters E.g. Tough(f), Stomach(k) Making use of syllable(s) Syllable is a unit of speech sound. E.g. Wa-ter, Ex-tra-ord-in-ary  RULES Effects of letters in a word The use of certain letters in a word makes the vowels or consonants of the word short or long E.g. Man + e = Mane, Pin + e = Pine Exception: live, give, come, etc.  A double consonant keeps a vowel short. This occurs in words that area formed by adding a suffix to the original word E.g. Fog-Foggy, win-winning, will-willing  RULES  F, l, s, z are often doubled at the end of one- syllable words that have a short vowel. E.g. cliff, toss, hull, jazz Exceptions: chef, was, pal  RULES  CK serves as a double consonant at the end of one-syllable words with a short vowel E.g. clock, tick, slack, kick, etc.  C is not required before K when another consonant follows a single vowel. E.g. walk, silk, brisk, etc.  RULES  D is used before a soft g to keep a vowel short. E.g. fudge, bridge, lodge Exceptions: tragedy, rigid, etc.  RULES The ‘ie’ and ‘ei’ in words They often produce the sound /i:/ When the sound /i:/ is pronounced, ‘i’ comes before ‘e’ in the word. E.g. belief, siege, yield, etc. Exception: seize, weird, protein(short but ‘e’ appears before ‘i’  RULES  When the sound /i:/,e always comes before i. E.g. reign, neigh, vein  We can use ‘Alice’ to remember these rules  If there is an ‘i’ and ‘e’ after the consonant ‘L’, the ‘i’ comes first followed by the ‘e’. Alice  RULES Doubling of A consonant when A suffix is added to A word The final consonant of a word is doubled when adding -ed, -ing, -er or -est. This for words that ends in b, d, g, l, m, n, p, r, and t. E.g. running, swimming, sobbed, bigger  RULES  The final letter is doubled when adding er in the following pattern: ‘consonant-vowel- consonant’ occurs at the end of a word. E.g. travel  traveller  Words of more than one syllable have their consonants doubled only when the final syllable is stressed. E.g. BeginBeginning o However OpenOpening  RULES  When words have more than one syllable and end in ‘l’, British English always double the ‘l’, even in the case of unstressed syllables. E.g. British English  Fuelled In American English, on the other hand, the ‘l’ is not doubled in the case of unstressed syllables. E.g. Fueled  RULES HOW SPELLINGS AFFECTS VERBS IN OTHER TENSES  Verbs ending in ‘c’ take a ‘k’ before ‘ing’ and ‘ed’. Example :PicnicPicnicking PanicPanicked  The silent ‘e’ which occurs at the end of the words is dropped off in the following cases. Example: RhymeRhyming RealiseRealising  The final letter ‘e’ is not dropped for the words that end in ‘ee’. Example: SeeSeeing FleeFleeing  RULES Words ending in silent ‘e’ , ‘ie’ or with another vowel before ‘e’ take the suffix ‘d’. E.g. clotheclothed Tip-toeTip- toed SaveSaved For words that ends in “y”, change the “y” to “I” when adding “ed”. E.g. CryCried, SpySpied  RULES If there’s a vowel before “y” it’s retained before “ed” E.g. PrayPrayed, SurveySurveyed Exceptions: PayPaid, SaySaid The final letter “y” does not change to “I” when adding “ing”. E.g. FryFrying, SpySpying  MISSPELLING Errors made in spelling are referred to as misspelling. TYPES Incorrectly repeated consonants Wrong vowel Wrong consonant Reversed order of double vowels Extra letters Missing letters  Causes of Misspelling Mispronunciation  Homophones  Typing Errors  Different versions of spelling of words  Lack of knowledge of correct spellings  Effects of Misspelling Miscommunication Affects text comprehension  MISSPELLING  Solutions Vocabulary Syllables Mnemonics Sounds of words Intonation Dictionary Ignore spelling of words by pronunciation  MISSPELLING Common misspelled words Correct Wrong Achieve Acheive Argument Arguement Colleague Collegue Committee Commitee  VERSIONS OF SPELLINGS BRITISH AMERICAN Analyse Analyze Defence Defense Neighbour Neighbor Travelled Traveled Centre Center Humour Humor Litre Liter  Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, Kumasi, Ghana Mission Accomplished!!! www.knust.edu.gh  Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, Kumasi, Ghana THE PARAGRAPH Department of English KNUST, KUMASI  Objectives Students should Have a better idea about when to paragraph Learn strategies for writing a unified paragraph Better understand what makes a coherent paragraph Learn methods for organizing paragraphs Learn about how transitions contribute to a better paragraph www.knust.edu.gh  Students’ activity Write a-one paragraph essay on any topic of your choice. www.knust.edu.gh  WHAT IS A PARAGRAPH? From Greek word, “paragraphos.” Means a line showing a break in sense or a change of speakers in a dialogue A paragraph is a group of related sentences that develops one main idea. It’s a self-contained unit of a discourse in writing dealing with a particular point or idea It’s a miniature essay. www.knust.edu.gh Structural Features of Paragraph Indentation Block www.knust.edu.gh  When to paragraph Whenever you move from one major point to another. Whenever you move your readers from one time period or location to another Whenever you introduce a new step in a process or sequence