SUB
SKILLS NECESSARY FOR WRITING
The student after having learned “writing” must:
1.
Know the orthography and the writing
system of the second language.
2.
Use appropriate word order.
3.
Use good standard grammar.
4.
Know how to express a particular meaning
using different grammatical forms.
5.
Benefit from the use of synonyms,
antonyms and other literary devices.
6.
Use cohesive devices.
7.
Use writing conventions.
8.
Use writing strategies such as writing
drafts or asking for peer correction.
9.
Be able to structure a text into
paragraphs and use devices such as thesis statement.
10.
Be able to write purposefully and
meaningfully.
11.
Be able to produce writing at efficient
rate, especially during examinations.
Identifying
writing techniques
Different techniques will be used in writing.
These are the techniques you should be able to
identify:
1.
Words:
are
they simple or difficult, formal or informal?
2.
Sentence:
are
they short or long?
3.
Paragraphs:
are
they short or long? Are they all the same length, or do some stand out for
emphasis or dramatic effect?
4.
Personal
pronouns: does the text use the personal pronoun ‘you’ or ‘we’ to address the reader? Using
‘we’ is a technique the text could use to create a close personal relationship.
5.
Persuasive
techniques: does the writer use rhetorical questions
(eg “Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a billionaire?”),
groups of three (eg “The good, the bad and the ugly….”) or alliteration (eg
“sizzling sunshine”)? These can all be used to persuade the reader to feel a
certain way about something.
6.
Discourse
markers: does the writer use casual, chatty discourse markers
(eg “anyway, you know what I mean, so”) or more formal ones (eg “nevertheless,
therefore, however”)?
7.
Emotive
vocabulary: are the words colourful (eg “extraordinary,
teeming, resplendent”) or plain (eg “good, full of, organized”).
8.
Exclamations:
does
the writing sound angry and argumentative (eg “This must stop…..” or “We must
think again….”) or is the writing more thoughtful (eg “probably, it might be,
on the other hand”).
9.
Facts
and opinions: does the text use lots of facts and
statistics or are there more opinions? Is the text intended to inform or to
persuade, review and entertain?
Writing
techniques for high school students:
1.
Creative:
Genres of creative writing include poetry, plays, memories and fiction.
In a classroom setting, creative writing can involve responding to prompts and
doing timed creative writing activities such as creating a story using only
one-syllable words or picking a newspaper article and inventing a back story.
Imposing limitations often gives students a starting point, which gets them
writing more quickly. It also forces them to think and react creatively to the
constraints of a rule.
2.
Persuasive:
Whether
students are writing an essay, composing a speech or preparing for a debate,
they will need to employ persuasive writing in their high school careers. This
involves taking a stance on a particular issue, such as gun laws or the death
penalty and persuading their audience through evidence and analysis that their
claim is true. To successfully write a persuasive text, students must have a
clear thesis statement, proper organization, sufficient reflection and specific
examples to prove their point.
3.
Analytical
Analytical essays require students to respond thoughtfully to a film or
literary text and to draw conclusions from their analysis. Key analytical
questions students can answer in their analytical writing include why something
matters, why something happens, who is affected and what the long-term effects
are. A sample analytical prompt can ask how an author conveys his message in a
story or why a character in a film changes over the course of the movie.
4.
Personal:
Journals, free writes and personal narratives are personal and inform
the reader about the writer. High school students also need to write in this
style when writing a personal statement for college. Whether writing about a
memory or applying for a scholarship, students must remember to write honestly
and provide details and insights about themselves. For example, if a student is
writing about her personal goals, she also should examine why she has these
particular ambitions and how achieving them affects her. This reflection and
analysis is key to personal writing.
