THE OPEN UNIVERSITY OF TANZANIA

INSTITUTE OF CONTINUING EDUCATION

OFC 017
COMMUNICATION SKILLS (Including English Grammar)

P.P. Lipembe

OFC 017
COMMUNICATION SKILLS (Including English Grammar)

P.P. Lipembe
Lecturer Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

The Open University of Tanzania

The Open University of Tanzania P. O. Box 23409, DAR ES SALAAM.

Tel: 22-2668992/2668820 Fax: 22-2668759 E-mail: vc@out.ac.tz, dvc-ac@out.ac.tz, dvc-rm@out.ac.tz Website: http://www.out.ac.tz

The Open University of Tanzania Kawawa Road, P. O. Box 23409, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

The Open University of Tanzania, 2008

ISBN 978 9987 00 - 152 - 1

FIRST EDITION, 2008

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means; electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of The Open University of Tanzania.

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CONTENTS
General Introduction vii

Part One: Aspects of Communication

LECTURE 1: MEANING AND ASPECTS OF COMMUNICATION 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Introduction . Meaning of Communication ... Essentials of Communication . Main Categories of Communication .. Communication Skills . 3 4 6 8 10

LECTURE 2: LISTENING 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Introduction . Meaning of Listening . Listening as a Function of Communication Listening Strategies . Types of Listening .. 12 13 14 14 14

LECTURE 3: READING 3.1 3.2 3.3 Introduction . The meaning of the Nature of Reading ... Different Types of Reading 18 18 20

LECTURE 4: WRITING 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Introduction . Writing an Essay . Writing Types of Reports . 31 32 43 44

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4.5 4.6 4.7

What is the Purpose of Writing Reports? ... Essential Elements of a Report ... Qualities of Effective Report Writing .

46 46 49

LECTURE 5: PUNCTUATION AND CONVENTIONS OF USE 5.1 5.2 Introduction . What is Punctuation? .. 51 52

LECTURE 6: THE INTERNET 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 6.9 6.10 6.11 Introduction ... What is the Internet? . Internet as an Aspect of Communication . Who is Using the Internet? Brief History of the Internet .. Basic Internet Services .. Using E-mail . Advantages of E-Mail Search Engines .. Metasearch Engines .. Web Searching 71 71 72 72 73 73 74 75 78 79 80

Part Two: English Language Grammar

LECTURE 7: THE STANDARD PATTERN OF AN ENGLISH SENTENCE 7.1 Introduction ... 7.2 7.3 7.4 What is a Sentence? .. One-Word Sentences . Standard Sentence Elements ..

86 86 87 88

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LECTURE 8: TYPES OS SENTENCES 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 Introduction ... 100

Significance of Sentence Types . 100 Classification of Sentences Sentence Types According to Purpose .. Sentence Types According to Structure 101 101 105

LECTURE 9: FORMAL AGREEMENT IN THE SENTENCE 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 Introduction ... Meaning of Formal Agreement . Agreement of Subject and Verb Agreement of Compound Subjects .. Agreement in Subjects Formed by Collective Nouns ... Agreement in Subjects Formed by Nouns with Summation Plurals. Agreement of a Pronoun and its Antecedent . 110 111 111 116 117 118 119

LECTURE 10: COMMON ERRORS IN ENGLISH 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 10.8 10.9 10.10 Introduction ... Sentence Fragments .. 122 123

Correcting Sentence Fragments . 125 Agreement Faults .. Correcting Agreement Faults 129 130

Run-Together Sentences 133 Faulty Parallelism . Pronoun Reference Errors . Faulty Modification ... Dangling Modifiers ... 135 137 140 144

LECTURE 11: TEXT GRAMMAR: COHESION 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Introduction ... Text and Textuality. .. What is Cohesion? Cohesive Ties 148 148 149 149

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Introduction to the Unit

Dear Student,

This unit aims to introduce you to the principles and skills of effective communication.

During the course of your studies as a university student, you will have to communicate in various manners and with different categories of people. For example, in your small study groups, you will have to communicate with your fellow students in discussions, likewise while reading your study materials and other reference materials you will be communicating with the authors of the publications even though you will not be able to give feedback response the authors.

It is important to emphasize that your ability to communicate effectively is quite essential to your educational attainment, social acceptability, physical and emotional well being, and ultimately your chances for securing employment.

This course consists of 11 lectures totaling 30 contact hours. Each lecture is divided into two parts; Part one deals with various aspects of communication, and part two presents grammar topics relevant to communication. Each lecture begins with a presentation of objectives, an overview and then a treatment of the main aspects of the topic. In addition throughout the unit, end-of-chapter exercises are provided to give you practical, hands-on assignments. You are advised to try to complete all these exercises so that you may harness the full potential of the course.

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Part One
Essentials of Communication
Lecture One: Lecture Two: Lecture Three: Lecture Four: Lecture Five: Lecture Six: Meaning and Aspects of Communication Listening Reading Writing Mechanics of Writing Sources of Information: The Internet

BLANK

LECTURE ONE

MEANING AND THE ESSENTIALS OF COMMUNICATION

1.1 INTRODUCTION

The term is quite familiar to most of us. It refers to an activity that people perform everyday. Actually it is said that as humans we begin to communicate the moment we are born. For example, the cry of a baby draws the attention of its mother thus making the mother to either feed or comfort it. In this case the babys cry communicates a message to its mother. Communication refers to an activity or process that serves to connect people through space and time. All communication involves a person understanding others and having others understanding him/her. In this way it unites person and person, person and group or group and group. Studies have found out however that even through people communicate since their infancy, they are not as affective as they should be, The process of transmitting information from an individual (or group) to another is a very complex process as it involves different stages hence the purpose of this unit of study, to train you on how best to communicate with others.
OBJECTIVES

After studying this unit you should be able to: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) Define communication; Describe the process of communication; Describe essential elements of communication; Explain the importance of communication.

1.2

MEANING OF COMMUNICATION

The word communication derives from the word common which infers to share, exchange, send along, transmit, talk, gesture, write, put in use, relate, etc. Humans communicate in order to share knowledge and experiences. Since time immemorial human beings are known to have communicated in a number of ways. In the tradition African society people used to communicate in different ways. For example in some communities, a certain form of wailing or cry denoted occurrence of a dangerous situation in the society, like an attack by a wild animal or some other calamity. Likewise different forms of drum-beat carried different messages e.g. joy and celebration, sorrow and grief, invitation and reception. In some cases the drum was used to announce the demise of the ruler of the land like the chief or king. In modern times, communication between people and groups has evolved very much especially after the establishment of the print, audio and the visual media. Further more the advent of the internet has, metaphorically speaking, reduced the size of the world by making it possible for people from different places in the world to carry out face-to-face interaction. What is communication

In this unit, the term communication is used to refer to the process by which people are able to transfer meaning between themselves. It is the process that allows people to share information ideas and feelings. Where no meaning is transferred no communication has taken place. Communication is a learnt skill. Most people are born with the physical ability to talk but we must learn to speak well and communicate effectively.

Speaking, listening and our ability to understand verbal and non-verbal meanings are skills we develop in various ways. We learn basic communication skills by observing other people and modeling our behaviours based on what we see.
ACTIVITIES

Discuss with your colleague the forms of communication that traditional people of your ethnic community used.

Communication as an academic discipline embraces a large body of study and knowledge that relate to all the ways we communicate. It focuses on how people use messages to generate meanings within and across various contexts, cultures, channels and media. In all, the field promotes the effective and ethical practice of human communication.
TAKE NOTE

WHY IS COMMUNICATION IMPORTANT? In our daily undertakings, we spend most of the time communicating with one another. It is estimated that 75% of a persons day is spent communicating in some way. Most of our communication time is in spent in listening and speaking, while a minority of that time is spent in reading and writing. These communication actions reflect skills which foster our personal, academic and professional success. The ability to speak clearly and eloquently on one hand and to write effectively on the other, have been recognized as the hallmarks of an educated person. Put in other words, these actions of communication are central in determining a persons ability to succeed or fail in life.

Explore how you interact with others in various kinds of contexts as a university student, an employee or member of society in general. Who do you interact with and what information is exchanged?

1.3 ESSENTIALS OF COMMUNICATION The purpose of communication is to pass on your intended meaning to others. Studies conducted on the way communication takes place have shown that it is a well defined process that comprises a number of components.

The main components of communication are summarized in the following diagram which shows that communication takes place through a staged process of five essential elements shown below:

SENDER

MESSAGE

CHANNEL

RECEIVER

FEEDBACK

Figure 1.1: The communication Process

1.3.1 Sender This is the source where information comes from; it could be an individual speaking, writing, signaling or gesturing.

Message This refers to the ideas, data or feelings that the sender intends to share with others.

1.3.2 Channel This is the route travelled by or used to send the message as it goes from the sender to the receiver. It refers to the form in which the idea, or feeling is delivered across. In spoken communication this could include face-to-face, meetings, telephone or video conferencing. In written communication it includes letters, emails, memos and reports.

1.3.3 Receiver This refers to one or more individuals for whom the message is intended. This is the goal to which the message is targeted.

1.3.4

Feedback

This refers to the verbal or non-verbal reactions from the audience who receive the message. This gauges whether or not the receiver has understood the message.

1.3.5 Noise This is the interference that keeps the message from being understood. Interference to communication may be physical or psychological in nature. Physical interference keeps a message from being heard properly. Psychological interference occurs when the communication receivers are distracted by feelings that disturb the mind of the receiver. This explains for instance, why a hungry person cannot be able to read, listen or write effectively.

1.4

MAIN CATEGORIES OF COMMUNICATION

We send or receive information through a number of ways. These ways can be categorized as verbal-communication and non verbal-communication.

In order to become a successful communicator you should make sure that you understand well the verbal and non-verbal communication strategies of communication. In any organization like a school or workplaces, these types of communication are continually exchanged often times without much planning or even thought that such communications are taking place.

1.4.1 Verbal communication This refers to the various modes of sending and receiving by using words. This includes both spoken and written modes of communication.

1.4.2 Nonverbal Communication This refers to forms of communication which make use of body movements or gestures instead of, or in addition to, sounds, verbal language, or other forms of communication. It includes all manners of interaction that allows us to communicate without using words. Facial expressions, gestures, and eye contact are examples of nonverbal communication. Non-verbal language is important in one-on-one communications, and may be even more important in group communications. In group situations, often only one person at a time is speaking, while non-verbal response is coming from each individual in the group. The larger the group, the more impact body language may have. In social communication we understand spoken remarks within the context of an exchange of ideas between rational and emotional beings in a social situation. We

become aware not only of what one says, but what one does by uttering such a remark, and the effect they might bring about by such a remark.
ACTIVITIES

Pair up with a colleague to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using the following communication mode shown below. Verbal Communication Advantages Disadvantages

. .. . .
Nonverbal Communication

. . . .. .

.. .

There are many reasons to believe that verbal language is not always adequate. Communication experts have conducted studies to try to find out which communication mode is practised more in our daily life? Is it verbal communication or non-verbal communication? One such study revealed that almost 55% of what we emotionally try to communicate in a conversation is communicated through facial expressions and gestures (Mehrabian, 1972). It was shown that the total impact of a message is about 7 percent verbal (words only) and 38 percent vocal (including tone of voice, inflection, and other sounds) and 55 percent non-verbal. Another study also done in the United States showed that 93 percent of a message was transmitted by the speakers tone of voice and facial expressions. Only 7 percent of the persons attitude was conveyed by words. These studies draw us to conclude that apparently, we express our emotions and attitudes more non-verbally than verbally.

EXERCISES

Discuss with a colleague different forms of expressions which fall under 1. Verbal communication 2. Nonverbal communication 1.5 COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Your ability to transfer meaning or information to others and from them to you requires you to master communication skills which include reading, listening, thinking, studying, writing, remembering, speaking and mastery of the grammar of the particular language you communicate in. Hence these aspects form the main body of the subject matter of this course unit.

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REFERENCES

Albert Mehrabian (1972); Nonverbal Communication. Chicago: AldineAtherton, Argyle, M. (1990); Bodily communication (2nd edition). New York: International Universities Press. Livingston, Drs. Sharon and Glen (2004); How to Use Body language. Psy Tech Inc.

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LECTURE TWO

LISTENING
2.1 INTRODUCTION

Somebody once told me that we were given two ears and only one mouth for a purpose. The continued, saying; we can expect to listen twice as much as we speak for this matter therefore one ear would not be able to carry out effectively the task of listening.

Humour aside it remains amply true that listening is a communicative activity that we carry out more often than any other in our daily life.

As explained earlier on, skill in communication demands that one masters a number of specific sub-skills. The first skill we will discuss in this course is the listening skill.

Expressing our needs, feelings, thoughts and opinions clearly and effectively is only part of what is required to complete a communication cycle. The other part is listening and understanding what others communicate to us. Listening is the communication skill most of us use more frequently. This makes listening one of the most important sub skills of communication. Various studies point to the importance of listening as a communication skill. As already said in the previous lecture, in a typical study we are informed that many of us spend 70 to 80 percent of our working hours in some form of communication. Of that time, we spend about 9 percent writing, 16 percent reading, 30 percent speaking and 45 percent listening. This reveals how important the skill of listening is in our daily life. Despite this fact however, studies also confirm that most of us are poor and

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inefficient in the skill of listening. Hence the purpose of this unit is to help you improve your listening skill.
OBJECTIVES

After finishing this unit, you should be able to; (i) Define listening as a function of communication; (ii) Recognise the importance of listening as part of communication; (iii) Apply effective listening strategies to a given situation.

2.2

MEANING OF LISTENING

Communication scholars estimate that listening takes up more working hours than any other activity we deploy for communication. This confirms that listening is an important skill in our daily life. But what does listening mean?
TAKE NOTE

Listening is defined as the physical reality of hearing what another person says and a suspenseful waiting that reflects psychological involvement with that person. It is a process that involves active decoding and interpreting verbal messages.

Most of us tend to mix up the meaning of hearing and listening, we assume that the two are synonymous. There is indeed a big difference. Hearing is the process of capturing the sound waves through ears and sending this data to the brain. Once the data reaches the brain, based on past experiences and learning, the brain will interpret and classify it as word, noise, music etc. Hearing is thus merely the physical component of listening. Listening on the other hand, involves much more than hearing a message. Besides decoding and interpreting the verbal stimulus, listening also involves cognitive attention and processing of information.

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2.3

LISTENING AS A FUNCTION OF COMMUNICATION

Listening is categorized as a receptive communication skill that is one that helps us to acquire ideas, information and other peoples feelings. Effective communication depends very much on our ability to listen well. Listening

provides us with the aural input that serves as a basis for us to acquire information, ideas, attitudes and feelings of the speaker. Listening then involves communication of an oral message between the speaker and the listener. Furthermore, as an aspect of communication, listening involves a dynamic interaction that varies depending on both the internal and external situations of the speaker and the listener involved in the communicative context.

2.4 LISTENING STRATEGIES Listening strategies are techniques or activities that contribute directly to the comprehension and recall of listening input. Listening strategies can be classified by how the listener processes the input.

2.4.1 Background Knowledge This is a listener based strategy. Listening will be much improved if the listener knows the topic of the talk, is aware of the situation or context of the talk and the cultural background of the speaker.

2.4.2 Knowledge of Text The listener will understand the talk better if he/she is familiar with the sounds, words, and grammar that creates meaning used by the speaker

2.5

TYPES OF LISTENING

Listening as an act of hearing and discerning meaning from an audio source can be classified into two broad types.

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2.5.1 Attentive Listening The main goal of the people who listen attentively is to understand and remember what they hear. They have in addition the intention to give a positive impression, advance a relationship or demonstrate care. Communication scholars have identified three listening skill clusters and accompanying behaviours that are used by attentive listeners. As you read the information below try to determine which one of these behaviours you already use in your listening interactions. Following below are three skills you could use to optimize your attentive listening: (a) Attending skills

These have to do with the way the listener positions oneself before the speaker. The position you assume has a lot of influence on your understanding and remembering what you hear. The following are some of the attending skills: (i) A posture of involvement

You should incline your body toward the speaker, face him/her squarely, maintain an open body position and position yourself an appropriate distance from the speaker. (i) Appropriate body motion

Occasionally nod your head, use facial expression to reflect emotions back to the speaker.

(ii)

Eye contact

Maintain a sustained, direct and reflective eye contact with the speaker.

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(b)

Following skills

These are behaviours meant to inform the speaker that you are following the talk - Use of inviting comments to the speaker e.g. whats up - Use of minimal encouragers. These are brief indicators to the speaker that you are with them e.g. mmmhmmm oh I see Right Really? Go on - Use of infrequent questions, open ended, one at a time.

(c)

Reflecting questions

These include paraphrasing and questions reflecting feelings or meaning.

2.5.2 Critical Listening When people listen critically, their goal in addition to understanding and remembering is to evaluate, assess or interpret what they are hearing; whereas attentive listening emphasizes nonverbal skills along with some verbal skills, critical listening emphasizes critical thinking skills. Like attentive listening, critical listening is related to asking questions. Listening attentively enables you to ask good questions of clarification; listening critically provides the basis for good probing questions.

ACTIVITIES

1. Practice blind listening This involves choosing a surrounding which has background noises. Start listening to the noises in the background/surrounding. Distinguish as many noises as possible and label them.

2. Spotlight listening Tune to a TV station which has a lot of chattering. Choose one of the speakers and focus on what that person is telling. Mentally tune out the others. After you are sure you are sure you have actively

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listened to him/her, shift attention to another person and focus. This is like putting on a spot light on one person at a time.

3. Tonality and body language Listen to someone speaking. Focus on the shift of tonality, rate of speech and other vocal changes. Track the pattern and complement it by observing the body language, changes in facial expressions etc.

REFERENCES

Carey,C

(1996); Listening Is A Skill, Hayward Publishing, New

York, N.Y.Goh, C.C.M.(2000); A Cognitive Perspective on Language Learners Listening System, 28,55-75 Mendelson,D.J. (1994); Learning to Listen: A Strategy-based Comprehension Problems.

Approach for the Second Language Learner. San Diego: Dominie Press Underwood M. (1992); Teaching Listening. New York: Longman

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LECTURE THREE

READING
3.1 INTRODUCTION

Reading is going to be an essential element during the course of your university studies. This is not only because reading is a principal means of obtaining

information, expanding your knowledge and understanding of your subjects but also because a large proportion of your time of study will be spent working with written sources of information and because you have to cover a great deal of material in a short amount of time. For these reasons it is essential that you develop a reading capability that is both purposeful and efficient. People generally tend to assume that every one knows how to read, the truth is that not every one does and those who do are often not reading as effectively as they should be. This lecture intends to provide you with guidelines that will turn you into a more effective reader.
OBJECTIVES

After studying this lecture, you should be able to: (i) Define reading; (ii) Note the relation between reading and communication; (iii) Describe main types of reading.

3.2

THE MEANING AND NATURE OF READING

People conceptualise reading in a number of ways. We need not necessarily be tied to one particular definition. It is necessary however to review some of the ideas before we opt for one working definition.

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The Wikipedia definition of reading categorizes it as a way of getting information from something that is written. It is a process that involves recognizing the symbols that make up language. The Michigan language programme on the other hand defines reading as a process of constructing meaning through the dynamic interaction among the readers existing knowledge, the information suggested by the text and the context of the reading situation.

3.2.1 Authors Purpose and Readers Purpose A number of assumptions underlie these definitions. The first assumption is that reading is a component of communication. That the meaning constructed by the reader is dependent to a large extent on the relationship between the authors purpose of writing the text and the readers purpose of reading. Consider for example, the differences in meaning a reader might construct regarding information about a flower as presented by the other of a poem, an encyclopedia entry or a science fiction. A person reading these sources will construct different senses and images of the word flower .

3.2.2 External and Internal Factors The second assumption is that the characteristics of the reader (e.g. psychological social, cultural or linguistic background) interact with the characteristics of the reading task (e.g. purpose for reading assignment, characteristics of the reading material, the setting in which reading occurs, nature of reading instruction) to influence the process. In this sense, reading involves a dynamic interaction that changes depending on both the internal and external factors of the reader, for example, the ability for one to understand the main idea of a text and his/her consequent performance may vary considerably depending on the interaction among factors such as the readers familiarity with the topic.

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Interest in the purpose of reading and the content and structure of the text self. This principle explains the factors that increase or decreased motivation for the reader to read a particular text. Reading together with hearing are the two most common ways of getting information. There is a wide range of information that one could gain through reading. autobiography and academic information. This includes news, entertainment,

3.3

DIFFERENT TYPES OF READING

When we read, we usually do so for a purpose, therefore depending on our purposes of reading different texts, we deploy different methods of reading them. Think of the various items you may have read just today. They might include a newspaper, a lecture hand out, a course material text or a poster. Did you read them all in the same way? at the same speed and in the same detail? Your answer to those questions would probably be No

TAKE NOTE

The way we read different texts differs because we always read for different purposes.

In general, we do not read something without first haring good reason for doing so. We read posters found along the road because they catch our eye and awake our interest. Likewise when we read newspapers we do so for various reasons including finding out the political situation of the day or following up developments in our areas of interest like sports, drama or even continuation of a story.

On the other hand when read for academic purposes we do so because we have to, but we are still doing it for a purpose, like preparing for an examination, writing

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an essay, gaining an insight into different authors opinions, or just trying to understand a subject. The following are some of the major types of reading:

3.3.1 SCANNING This is a fast reading technique. It is a way of reading to look for specific information in a text. When you scan read, you see every item on the page, but you dont necessarily read the pages. You ignore anything you are not looking for. In this way, when you discover the key words being searched for, you will be unable to recall the exact content of the page.

Scanning is a technique you often use when looking up a word in the telephone book or dictionary. You search for key words or ideas. In most cases, you know what youre looking for, so youre concentrating on finding a particular answer. Scanning involves moving your eyes quickly down the page seeking specific words and phrases. Scanning is also used when you first find a resource to determine whether it will answer your questions.

When scanning, look for the authors use of organizers such as numbers, letters, steps, or the words, first, second, or next. Look for words that are bold faced, italics, or in a different font size, style, or colour. Sometimes the author will put key ideas in the margin. Uses of scanning There are many areas where the use of scanning would be of necessary importance. First, reading off a computer screen has become a growing concern. Research shows that people have more difficulty reading off a computer screen than off paper. Although they can read and comprehend at the same rate as on paper, scanning on the computer is much slower than on paper.

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Similarly, scanning skills are valuable for students studying at university level. First, they are an aid in locating new terms, which are introduced in the chapter. Unless you understand the new terms, it is impossible to follow the authors reasoning without a dictionary or glossary. Thus a preliminary scanning of the chapters will alert you to the new terms and their sequence. When you locate a new term, try to find its definition. If you are not able to figure out the meaning, then look it up in the glossary or dictionary.

TAKE NOTE

Usually new terms are defined as they are introduced in academic texts. If your text does not have a glossary, it is a good idea to keep a glossary of your own in the front page of the book. Record the terms and their definition or the page number where the definition is located. This is an excellent aid to refer to when you are reviewing for an examination, as it provides a convenient outline of the course.

Secondly, scanning is useful in locating statements, definitions, formulas, etc. which you must remember completely and precisely. Scan to find the exact and complete statement of a chemical law. The formula of a particular compound in chemistry, or the stages of cell division. Also, scan the charts and figures, for they usually summarize in graphic form the major ideas and facts of the chapter.

Scanning can be used to look up a telephone number, read through the small adverts in a newspaper or for browsing TV or radio programmes, timetables, lists, catalogues or web pages for information. For these tasks, you dont need to read or understand every word. Scanning is also useful when studying or looking to find specific information from a book or article quickly as there is not always time to read every word.

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 Hints and Tips for better scan reading - Dont try to read every word. Instead let your eyes move quickly across the page until you find what you are looking for. - Use clues on the page, such as headings and titles to help you. - In a dictionary or phone book, use the header words to help you scan. You can find these in bold type at the top of each page. - If you are reading for study, start by thinking up or writing down some questions that you want to answer. Doing this can focus your mind and help you find the facts or information that you need more easily. - Many texts use an alphabetical order. These include everyday materials such as the phone book and indexes to books and catalogues. - There are many ways to practise scanning skills. Try looking up a favorite recipe in the index of a cookbook, search for a plumber in your local Yellow Pages, or scan web pages on the Internet to find specific information.

3.3.2 SKIM READING (or Skimming) Skimming is a reading technique that can help you to read more quickly or decide if the text is interesting and whether you should read it in more detail. Skimming is when you browse, or glance randomly through a book. It has great importance in learning and is emphasized as a strategy in speed reading particularly for exam taking.

The purpose of skimming is to get an overview not the specific details of the material. We use it to decide if the book, article or report is worth our time, and has anything new and worthwhile to tell us. Why waste time on an item if it is stuff we already know?
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You use skimming when you want to quickly find the main ideas of a text. When you read a newspaper for example, youre probably not reading it word-by-word, instead youre skimming the text. Skimming is done at a speed three to four times faster than normal reading. People often skim when they have lots of material to read in a limited amount of time. Use skimming when you want to see if an article may be of interest in your assignment or research.

They are many strategies that you may use when skimming. Some people read the first and last paragraphs using headings, summaries and other organizers as they move down the page or screen. You might read the title, subtitles, subheading, and illustrations. Consider reading the first sentence of each paragraph. This technique is useful when youre seeking specific information rather than reading for comprehension. Skimming works well to find dates, names, and places. It might be used to review graphs, tables, and charts.

(a)

How do you skim read?

Dont read the whole text word-for-word. Use as many clues as possible to give you some background information. There might be pictures or images related to the topic, or an eye-catching title. Let your eyes skim over the surface of the text and, whilst thinking about any clues you have found about the subject, look out for key words.

TAKE NOTE

1. Read the title, subtitles and subheading to what the text is about. 2. Look at the illustrations to give you further information about the topic. 3. Read the first and last sentence of each paragraph. 4. Dont read every word or every sentence. Let you eyes skim over the text, taking in key words.

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5. Ski by zooming through the text quickly trying to spot key words. Dont start at the beginning and plod or shuffle through the text. After you have scanned the text and found the bits that you think look relevant and interesting then skim read. Concentrate to keep your keywords and questions in your mind. 6. Continue to think about the meaning of the text.

When reading extensive material, you can first skim over the chapter and section titles to give you an idea of when the material is about. Then quickly scan through the material again to get a better idea of the topic. assignment, but still reading rapidly. Skimming is a step you should always take before you read any article of factual or practical narrative. You will soon be able to detect most important facts, strange vocabulary, and words that are clues to important relationships. Its a good practice to skim everything in mass media after reading the title and first paragraph. You may get all the information you want. This keeps your skimming skills from deteriorating, or will give you the practice you need to develop necessary skills. Skim everything you intend to read before you make a final decision to read, discard, or study the material. Skim all highlighting and develop a read-skim pattern to use for rapid review. And dont overlook this! Reviewing frequently and rapidly is the best way to memorize (or simply remember information) from notes and long text assignments. Finally, you read the

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Some speed reading methods require you first to skim-read the material and then read it over a second time more carefully, but yet still at high speed. In skim reading you often just scan through the material, letting your eyes catch key words that give you the crux of the written material.

Take some reading material and read it as fast as you can for a minute. When reading at this pace you do not have to understand a single word of what you are reading. Then start over for another minute and try to get to a further point that you did the last. Repeat this step over and over trying to beat the place where you got to last. Eventually time yourself for a minute and read for comprehension and you will see how fast you can really read.

Like scanning, skimming requires you to read quickly. When you skim a text, though, you are not looking for specific information, but rather, you are trying to get the main idea or point of the text you are reading. When skimming a reading section, start with the title of the text. Then read the topic sentence of each paragraph. Skimming is a skill that is especially suited for doing research. By skimming a few pages of a reference book or novel, you can generally tell if the novel will be useful for your research.

(b)

How is skimming different to scanning?

The term skimming is often confused with scanning. Remember: Skimming is used to obtain the gist (the overall sense) of a piece of text. e.g. use skimming to get the gist of a page of a textbook to decide whether it is useful and should therefore be read more slowly and in more detail. Scanning is used to locate specific information from a piece of text. e.g. use scanning to find a particular number in a telephone directory.

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Sometimes you can use both reading methods. After you have skimmed a piece of text to decide whether the text is of interest, you may wish to use scanning techniques to locate specific information.

3.3.3 Specific Reading This strategy is usually employed in conjunction with skim reading. It is

especially useful if you are looking for specific information which may be contained in a variety of books, journals or articles. The process is one of search and discovery. It requires you to skim read, locate, mark and then return to close reading. When doing this across a number of texts, you will need to reference the materials as you proceed.

3.3.4 In-depth (or Intensive) Reading This is the most essential of all reading skills. It involves reading a text

thoroughly in order to comprehend the ideas and arguments it contains. In-depth reading is consequently much slower than skim reading, and you may find that you need to read certain sections of a difficult text more than once. When reading in-depth it is useful to: (a) Read the opening paragraphs and conclusion first. This will help you to digest the intention and conclusion of the writer prior to a closer reading of the text. (b) Go back to the beginning, and read through the whole text, marking out and noting: - key words and phrases; - ideas, facts, and data you think are important; - the structure of the argument. make sure you understand the writers main ideas and arguments, and the overall message of the text.

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3.3.5 Critical Reading Critical reading is a further dimension of in-depth reading. Reading a text

critically means that you do not accept what you are reading at face value. This does not necessarily mean that you should find fault with a text, but rather that you should question and judge the merit and worth of the information it contains. A number of inter-related processes are involved in critical reading. They are:

Interpretation, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Whether you use all, or only some of these processes, will depend on both the particular reading situation, and your purpose for reading.

(a)

Interpretation

When we read critically for interpretation, we read to discover meaning in a text, that is, to determine what conclusions can be drawn about the various messages the text contains. Sometimes, there is more than one possible interpretation, and in such cases it is possible that our reading may be directed at the best, or most likely meaning. Interpreting a text will also frequently involve the processes of analysis and synthesis. (b) Analysis

This is the process by which we examine the way the ideas and messages in a text fit together to crate the overall meaning. When analyzing a text we focus on: (i) Identifying assumptions

The hidden values that underlie what a writer is saying e.g. that everyone who cleans their teeth uses toothpaste, or that anyone who loves Africa supported Ghana during the world cup matches. (ii) The structure of the argument

The development and sequence of ideas, the relationship between ides, whether the argument is inductive or deductive.

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(iii)

The relationship between evidence/data and argument

Whether the evidence supports and illustrates the argument, and whether it supports any conclusions that are drawn. Synthesis usually occurs in conjunction with analysis, and involves the drawing together of the results of the analysis into a conclusion on which to base an interpretation or evaluation.
EXERCISES

1.

Discuss with your colleague the reasons that would normally lead you to choose to read one newspaper instead of others.

2.

Identify the reading methods you would use in the following situations; [Note there is often not a single answer, several choices may be possible according to your reading purpose]

(a) A TV guide to world cup matches (b) An English grammar book (c) An article in the Chronicle Magazine the loss of indigenous languages (d) The opinion page in your local newspaper (e) Shoprite commodity advertisement in the local daily newspaper (f) A novel (g) A poem (h) An examination timetable (i) A letter from your best friend (j) A short story by your favorite author

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REFERENCES

Afolayan,A.& H. Newsum (1983); The Use of English: Communication Skills For University Students. Longman, London Harris. (1966); Reading Improvement Exercises For Students of English as a Second Language, Englewood Cliffs. California Hewett,R.P. (1960); Reading and Response. London Hwrrap: London Nuttall,C. (1982); Teaching Reading Skills in A Foreign Language (Practical Teaching No. 9) Heinemann Educational Books Ltd; London

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LECTURE FOUR

WRITING
4.1 INTRODUCTION

Writing for the purpose of making your ideas and intentions known to others is different from writing for the class teacher to read. When you were still in school, you remember being asked by your teacher to write essays in the form of composition. The essays you wrote were intended by your teacher to assist

him/her in identifying and eventually rectifying your errors of language usage and of writing. In real life however, writing is a serious activity which is carried out to accomplish communication. Writing for communication is goal oriented. It does not aim merely at transferring information but delivering information that is purposeful.

This lecture is going to introduce you to the techniques and skills of writing two types of discourse which are of great importance to you not only now as a student but also after you have finished your studies. The two types of discourse are essay and the report.
OBJECTIVES

At the end of this lecture you should be able to: (i) (ii) distinguish between an essay and a report; describe the general techniques of writing an essay and a report respectively; (iii) write a simple essay and a report respectively.

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4.2

WRITING AN ESSAY

4.2.1 What is an Essay? An essay is a prose form which is created by putting together ideas and linguistic expressions to create a larger composite. The large unit so formed must be a unified whole consisting of a paragraph or more.

Depending on the purposes or desired effects of writing, essays may be categorized into three major forms namely description, narration and exposition. These will be explained. The idea is that whatever forms of essay you will engage yourself in, you will require the same skills and techniques to develop it.

4.2.2 Five Steps to Successful Writing of an Essay The reason why many students have difficulty in writing essays is that they do not know that writing is a process and that they need to organize themselves systematically in order to accomplish it well. The best way to ensure that your writing is accomplished successfully is to divide the writing process into five major steps: preparation, research, organization, writing the draft and revision.

(a)

Stage of Preparation

In essay writing the stage of preparation is a pre-writing stage. It requires you to do the following tasks:

(i) Determination of Objectives Even before you set out to commit yourself to writing the first line or your essay, you should ask yourself what exactly do you want your readers to know after they have finished reading your essay. These are your objectives or the ends you want to achieve. Objectives will guide you to focus only on important issues that you have set yourself out to say. What you are supposed to do at this stage is to state in an outline for the ideas you intend to put out.
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(ii)

Determination of Audience

As you jot down ideas you want to write about, you should decide to whom exactly you want to impart the message. This task is understandably not quite applicable to essays you will write as a student because in this case your audience is going to be your lecturer. But it is a task of quite special importance when you are writing a free essay. You need to know exactly who your readers are and to learn key factors about them, such as their educational level, interests and their needs relative to the subject of your essay. Knowledge of these factors will guide you in the choice of style, vocabulary, tone and sophiscation of information to include in your essay. (iii) Determination of Scope It is very essential as well before you start writing to determine the amount and type of message you want to impart. This is called scope; it simply means the extent in breadth and depth to which you cover your subject. The three preparatory tasks we have stated here are all of crucial importance to you as a writer. You can compare them to the process of focusing a camera before taking a picture. The three pre-writing tasks will help you to bring your writing in focus before the actual writing begins. State a topic you wish to write about. Write the objectives, audience and scope of your subject. (b) Stage of Search for Subject Matter

This stage which is also known as research refers to the process of investigating and collecting the content of your essay. It entails the discovery of ideas through investigating, gathering and verifying information which is relevant to the subject of your essay. You will be able to gather a lot of facts by consulting several

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different sources of information. Listed below are some of the major sources of information. (i) Library

You will find the library a very useful and convenient palace for you to collect information on any subject. Libraries are arranged in some systematic ways which make it easy for the reader to retrieve information. Thus it will serve you a lot of time if you learnt how to use the library effectively. (ii) Newspapers

Daily newspapers, weeklies and magazines are similarly useful sources of up to date information which you should consult. However some information gathered from newspapers needs thorough verification. (iii) Special Collections

Some private groups, like missionaries, companies, project firms or nongovernmental organizations quite often have a collection of documented information. You may find it useful to consult such places. (iv) Television, radio, audio/video cassettes and films

These belong to the category of non-printed media. They are becoming increasingly available and increasingly used as sources of information for writers. You should not overlook them, be imaginative about using them. (v) Local Experts

Dont forget that there are many people around you who may have the knowledge and experience of what you intend to write on. Find and talk to knowledgeable

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individuals in your locality who are experts in the field of study which you are investigating on.

(vi)

Personal Observations

You may be able to gather quite a lot of useful information simply by observing phenomena, events or behaviours. Dont depend only on information that others have written or documented.

When conducting an observation, however you must be objective, complete and accurate. Dont let your feelings or sentiments seep into your recording. If possible use a tape recorder or camera for accurate recording.

The main method used to extract information from the various sources mentioned above is note taking. This is the process of selectively noting and recording information that one regards useful for future writing or any other use. Since the subject of note taking forms the topic of last lecture of this course, we are not going to dwell on it at the moment.

(vii) Internet The internet is the richest source of information. Anything you could ever want to know is available online. For students and scholars conducting research, the internet is a fantastic resource for finding out what has been done in your area of specialization.

(c)

Stage of Organisation

Organisation is a process in essay writing whereby points of ideas are arranged in a way that makes it easier for the reader to understand your essay when it is eventually written. The reader can easily understand an essay if he or she can distinguish main ideas from secondary ones.
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Two t tasks are involved in the stage of organization. The first task is to make a list in a form of an outline, of all the ideas you intend to include in your essay. The importance of making such a list is that it makes it possible for you to see all the points you have developed so far. Two ways are commonly used by writers to make on outline; these are the vertical list with headings and indented sub headings or tree diagram. To outline points with a vertical list, first write your topic sentence or theses at the top followed by headings and sub-headings which support An example of vertical listing of points. Example 4.1: The proper way to clean your teeth (i) Obtain a proper toothbrush (ii) Stiff enough to remove food particles from between teeth Soft enough not to injure gums.

Squeeze out enough toothpaste too much will prevent contact of bristles with gums.

(iii) (iv)

Rinse mouth after use Use dental floss remove food particles missed by the toothbrush use back and forth motion to insert floss use up and down motion to clean between teeth

(v)

Way to maintain good oral hygiene brush teeth within an hour after meal if not possible rinses thoroughly.

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A tree diagram outline

Example 4.2: Proper way to clean your teeth

Squeeze out tooth past

enough to cover toothbrush

too much not good

Detam proper touch brush

prevents contact of bristles and gums

Stiff enough to free food particles

Soft enough not to enjure gums brush teeth

use up and down

rinse mouth and use dental

clean floss using back and sp and down motion

clean between teeth using

way to maintain oral health

brush teeth within an hour

if not possible close thoroughly

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The second task in the organization of an essay is to arrange the outline points in a specific order of development. This order should reflect the way ideas will flow in the essay itself, you should select an order you consider to be most appropriate to your audience or the desired effect of the essay. There are many different methods or essay developments available to the writer, the most common ones are the following:

(i)

Sequential Method

This method which is also known as step-by-step method is the simplest and easiest to follow because it presents steps in correspondence with the logical stages of the process or instruction it describes. As the name itself implies, the method presents information according to the natural order of occurrence of activities, it is especially effective in explaining a process or an instruction. An essay developed in sequential method. Example 4.3: Proper way to clean your teeth Proper tooth cleaning begins with the proper equipment. Chooses a brush stiff enough to remove particles from between your teeth, yet soft enough to message your gums without making them bleed. Squeeze out a bead of toothpaste just long enough to cover the bristles of message your brush Too much will prevent sufficient contact between the bristles and your teeth and gums. Brush your teeth in on up and down motion. Rinse your mouth after brushing. Then use dental floss to remove food particles between your teeth that the toothbrush may have missed. Begin by wrapping the floss securely around

forefinger. Using a gentle black-and-forth motion, insert the floss between your teeth and move it up and down.

38

To maintain good oral hygiene, brush your teeth within one hour after each meal. If brushing is not possible after meals, rinse your mouth thoroughly instead. (From: Handbook of Technical Writing)

(ii)

Chronological Order

In this method of organization, points are arranged in such a way that they follow the order of events and time. It is in a way very similar to the sequential method. Their main difference that in the sequential method only the notion of events is given prominence whereas in the chronological order both are considered equally.

Example 4.4: Text organized in a chronological order Attached you will find a timetable describing in detail the specific procedures to be accomplished on each date. Here I would like to give you a general overview of each phase and its implications for the respective staff. As the timetable indicates, phase one for the Marketing Department will commence on April 3. Members of the department will need to occupy temporary quarters until April 12; when both phase one and phase two will be completed. At that time, Mr. Phillips office can be refurbished.

On the morning of April 12, we will assemble the ten cubicles intended for Marketing Research Staff; during the afternoon of the day, we will complete the ten cubicles intended for Marketing Communications. We will plan to spend the remainder of that week eliminating problems and adding features to meet the specific needs of the occupants. (From: Communicating in Business to day).

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(iii) Special Order In this method of organization, objects are explained in relation the space they occupy. You may for example start by explaining objects which are outside then those which are inside a space or starting with those which are above followed by those which are below a point.

(iv) Cause and Effect Order In this method, one point is explained either as a reason or as a result of another. The method is commonly used in academic essays as it makes it possible to establish logical connections between ideas. It is especially relevant when you want to present an argument about why something happened or whey you think it is likely to happen. The method is especially useful in writing about social, economic or political events or problems.

(v) Decreasing-Order-of-Importance In this method of organization, Points are arranged in a decreasing order of importance, beginning with the important point going to the next most important until you end with the least important. One advantage of using this method is that you make a strong initial impression to your reader

(vi)

Increasing-order-of importance method

Similar to the above albeit in the opposite order. The sequencing of points in this method begins with a point of least importance and ends with one that is most important. The advantage of this method is that it ensures that the most important of your several ideas is freshest in your readers mind at the end of his or her reading.

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(d) Stage of writing the draft This stage involves the process of converting ideas into sentences to develop a text. When you have established the objective of your essay, the audience and scope and if you have done adequate search of subject matter, created a good outline and decided on a method of organization; you are in the position to begin writing the draft of your essay. The primary goal in draft writhing is to shape information by presenting it in connected sentence and paragraphs.

When you are writing the draft, you should concentrate on converting the points in your outline into topic sentences and supporting sentences. Make it a free flowing exercise. Present your ideas as if you are speaking to someone across the table. Be concerned only with facts. Keep writing quickly to maintain unit of thought and proportion. Dont be worried about grammatical correctness. Worrying on grammar is of no use at this stage. It will only slow down your thinking process and censor your ideas.

One possible difficulty you will encounter in the writing of the draft is finding a good opening. This is called blank page experience. It should not worry you much. Many experienced writers very often have found themselves in a similar experience of starting a blank page. The important thing is that you should not be concerned with finding the right introduction. Start writing the part you feel most eager to write, the one you understand best and feel most strongly about. To keep the draft flowing skip items that may tend to hold you. If for example you cant find the right word, write it in Kiswahili or your mother tongue or just leave it blank, whichever is more helpful to you.

When the writing of your draft is over, you will have before you a text that is not perfect in many ways; some facts will be underdeveloped, certain ideas will require elaboration or clarification. There will be numerous wrong or incorrect
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phrases, words and sentences, inappropriate punctuation, the tone or style may not be the intended one and many more. All these will require to be corrected and put in the right way. This suggests the need and importance of the last stage of essay writing.

(e)

Stage of Revision The word revision

This is an essential final process of essay development.

literally means re-seeing it is the process of looking a new at ideas, details, and language items of your essay with the aim of evaluating their relationships, arrangement and effectiveness. Many students hold a misconception that revision is synonymous with editing. Strictly speaking the two are different though related. Editing simply means refining the manner of expression to improve clarity or style or to correct errors, it is only part of the revision process. In editing you deal with the superficial surface structure. To the contrary in revision you examine the underlying meaning and structure of the essay. Revision entails rethinking over all the aspects of the essay, retesting your assumptions, modifying your arguments if necessary, ensuring that you have proved your assertions and making certain that your essay has achieved the proper emphasis and proportion.

(f)

Check The Draft Against Your Outline

This is important for two reasons: First, it tells you whether you have presented your facts according to the Plan. Second, it informs you whether you have

exhausted all points. Then examine your facts to see if they are accurate and the presentation bears the tone you intended.

Relating to the manner of development of your essay, examine your introduction to see it presents the objective clearly enough. This is particularly important because if your objective is not made clear, it will not enable the reader to see the framework of your essay. After examining the introduction, look at your mode of
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transition; see if the sentences, paragraphs and any other linguistic items are logically linked together. Finally check your conclusion to see if it presents the chasing emphasis to the theme you have developed throughout the Essay.

4.3

WRITING OF THE REPORT

4.3.1 What is a report? A report is a type of a discourse that is widely used in most professional settings. It is used in education, business, and government, in hospitals and the like; however it is a term which cannot be simply or easily defined. Some people tend to define report as any presentation of information. This meaning includes both the extremely formal and the highly informal presentations. Others tend to be more specific and look at the report as a formalized presentation of information. These variations in the meaning are understandably a result of the wide range of situations and purposes for which the report is used. In this course, however, we will adopt a moderately less general meaning that will help to set off a number of other reports like forms of presentations.
TAKE NOTE

A report is an orderly and objective communication of factual information which serves an institutional purpose.

In order to understand this definition, lets us note its key words.

4.3.1

Orderly Communication

A report is distinguished from other means of information presentation from the way it is prepared. The preparation of a report is done with some care compared to the casual routine exchanges of information. What this means is that in the preparation of a report some ordered steps have to be followed and shown in the presentation.
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(a)

Objective

A major feature of a report is that it is not biased in its presentation of facts. The report seeks to present truth regardless of its outcomes. (b) Communication

Means that a report is a means of transmitting message from one source to another. (c) Factual Information A report does not present opinions, sentiments or subjective assumptions. When these are included they are presented as part of data and should either be clearly labeled as such or be supported by facts. As stated earlier on, this definition is not specific enough but is broad enough to apply in the numerous variations to be found in reports. 4.4 TYPES OF REPORTS

Reports are of various types depending on the criterion one uses to classify them. Following below are some of the criteria which are commonly used to label reports. 4.4.1 Subject Matter

Depending on the subject of the report, it can be an Education report, economic report, health report, military report, business report etc.

4.4.2 Time Interval Basing on the time interval when the report is written, it can be a daily report, weekly report, monthly report, mid year report, biannual report, special report etc.

44

4.4.3 Status of Authorship In this regard a report can be labeled as public report, private report or independent report.

4.4.4 Degree of Formality A report can be said to be formal or informal.

4.4.5 Other Some other not quite specific criteria give us: progress reports, Improvements report etc.

4.4.6 Functional Classification A criterion that is suitable for the purpose of our course is a functional classification. In your study you may be required to prepare as a requirement in your course, reports of this nature. Functional classification gives three types of reports.

(a)

Informational

As the term implies, this is a type of report that presents only facts on the subject without giving an analysis of them and no conclusions.

(b)

The analytical (or problem solving report)

This presents not only facts but also analyses and recommends. It is the most complete of all the types of reports. It begins with an orientation and description of the problem and presents the information gathered analysis and examines the information. From the analysis and examinations the report derives a solution in a form of a recommendation.

45

Part of the reason why this classification has been given to you is to show you how wide the subject of reports is. This suggests that various ways are required to study it properly. 4.5 WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF WRITING REPORTS?

You have certainly seen reports before. Have you asked yourself why at all they are written? Again depending on the nature of the reports, they are written to achieve one or more of the following objectives. 4.5.1 To Record Information This is done as routine for the purpose of keeping records of the institution or the discipline. 4.5.2 To Solve a Problem Owing to its mature of factual objectivity, the report more than any other discourse type is mot suitable in providing information that is unbiased and reliable. 4.5.3 To Enable the Institution Function Properly The success of any institution depends on the amount and type of information that its decision makers are able to obtain. Reports ensure that such information is obtained regularly.

?
4.6

Can you think of any other reason why a report should be written?

ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF A REPORT

Most of the reports youre likely going to write are short and informal reports. Such reports will tend to be brief and personal and will deal with issues which are of limited size. Typically the goal of a report is to handle a problem and develop a specific conclusion or to recommend a particular course of action. In this kind of
46

reports the conclusion or recommendation is the most significant part that it often overshadows other elements of the report.

4.6.1

Presentation of the Problem

It is a good idea to clearly show this at the beginning of the report. There are a number of ways of doing this. The problem may be presented simply as a subject line or heading on top of the report. The subject line is an announcement of what the report is about.

Example 4.5: Reasons for mass student failures in the English Examination Another way of presenting the problem is by writing a problem statement. The statement may be written either as an infinitive phrase, a question or a declarative clause. As an infinitive phrase Example 4.6 To account for mass student failures in the English Examination. As a question. Example 4.7 What are the reasons for mass student failures in the English Examination? Or as a declarative statement

Example 4.8 The ministry of education wants to know the reasons for mass student failures in English.

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This third form of presentation is not popularly used.

It sounds rather

cumbersome to some readers. Whichever form of presentation you select, statement of the problem is an essential element as it helps the author not to stray away from the goal. It also helps the reader to get the framework of the report even before one goes into the details.

4.6.2 Presentation of Findings Findings are the ideas and facts which are related to the problem. After you have collected your information, arrange the findings in an order appropriate for presentation. You may present your findings in one of the following two ways.

(a)

Indirect approach

This method is also called the logical or inductive approach. It is a method of presenting facts beginning with the general to the specific or as others would say moving from the known to the unknown.

If you decide to use the indirect approach, begin with an introductory passage to orient your reader to the problem. Then proceed to present findings and their analyses. From the facts and analysis, youve your conclusion or summary

statements. You may be required to write a recommendation to some of the problems.

(b)

Direct Approach

This method is referred also as a psychological or deductive method. You have to begin with presenting the conclusions, summaries or recommendations followed by facts and analyses from which the former are drawn.

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4.7

QUALITIES OF EFFECTIVE REPORT WRITING

As we have said elsewhere before, the report is a type of discourse which is largely used for decision making. If it is to meet that objective, your report ought to be effective. For you to write an effective report, you have to observe the following simple but essential qualities. 4.7.1 Readability This is a critical factor in determining the effectiveness of a report. Readability is the easiness of reading a material. It is achieved by the way your results are presented in the report. You must present your results objectively by placing them logically and consistently in time so they tell a flowing complete story. 4.7.2 Objectivity An effective report is factual, neutral and fair. It does not reflect the prejudice and bias of the writer about the problem. Objectivity is the basis for our report being believed. You must present your results a development of a complete, balanced research and logical analysis. At every stage of your report writing; keep in mind that objectivity will be the basis for believability of your report. 4.7.3 Language Write your report in a language that is clear and straight forward. Avoid as much as possible the use of passive voice. It is dull and can make your report sound awkward.

Example 4.9 Passive: The problem of scarcity of study materials has been solved Active: The management has solved the problem of study materials scarcity

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How the report is connected is also something to observe. You can improve the connecting network of your report by using a number of appropriate cohesive ties and transitional words. These were mentioned earlier when discussing essay writing and will be explained in much detail later.
ACTIVITIES

Write a report on any one of the following topics. 1. Minazi Mikinda Co. is a large company in your locale; recently however it has acquired negative publicity. The companys

patrons have asked you to write a report on the possible causes and remedy of the problem. Write the report. 2. The director of Tikisa Enterprise has begun to worry about the rising incidences of office romances. You have been

approached to write a report on what should be the companys policy on the phenomenon. 3. A number of youths are becoming very rich as a result of their involvement in mineral prospecting. You have been asked by the social welfare department to write a report on the behavioural and psychological effects of juvenile affluence to these youths.

REFERENCES

Newman, R.G. (1987). Communicating in Business Today. D.C. Heath Co. Massachusetts, Lesikar, R. and M.P. Lyons (1986). Report Writing for Business. Irwin-Homewood. Illinois, Troyka, L.Q. Handbook for writers. (1987). Prentice-Hall inc. Englewood Cliffs. New Jersey Pichaske, E.R. Writing Sense. (1975), The Free Press. New York Brusaw, C.T. et. al. (1982). Handbook of Technical Writing St. Martins. Press. New York.

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LECTURE FIVE PUNCTUATION AND CONVENTIONS OF USE

5.1

INTRODUCTION

Expression in writing is different from spoken expression. In speech you can communicate in many different ways. You can for example raise or lower the pitch or volume of your voice to emphasize a point. You can grin, frown, wink or shrug. You can use your hands to shape out a meaning when you miss the required words for it or you can even just keep silent and make it mean something. To the contrary, in writing you have to communicate without facial expressions, gestures or body language of any kind. Your means of expressing yourself is only with words and punctuation.

In this lecture we are going to study about using punctuation in writing. We are going to do so with the assumption that punctuation is an important means that facilitates communication in written language. It is a means which substitutes for the writers facial expression and voice modulation. A misuse of punctuation can thus cause great misunderstanding between yourself and your reader.

OBJECTIVES

At the end of this lecture you should be able to: (i) Give a simple definition of punctuation;

(ii) Identify various punctuation marks in written text; (iii) Tell the functions of various punctuation marks; (iv) Use punctuation marks correctly.

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5.2

WHAT IS PUNCTUATION?

For our purpose in this lecture it will suffice to define punctuation as a system of symbols that helps the writer to express oneself effectively and assist the reader to understand the structural relationship within the sentence and the intention of a sentence. Punctuation marks can link, separate, enclose, indicate omissions, and terminate or classify items in sentences.

Punctuation is used in relation to grammatical requirements and the writers intention. The following is information on the use of some commonly used marks of punctuation.

5.2.1 Period (.) A period, also called full stop or end stop plays a number of functions in writing.

(a)

You can use a period to mark the end of a declarative sentence (a sentence that makes a statement), polite command or indirect question.

Example 5.1: I like watching western films. (statement) Please send me the report. (command) The host asked us what we wanted to eat. (indirect question)

(b)

To indicate abbreviations

When worlds are used in abbreviated forms, a full stop is used. Example 5.2: Mr. and Mrs. Kidonga. Dr. Batuli of K.C.M.C. Hospital.

52

Note that a period is not used in acronyms (words formed from initials of a multiword title).

Example 5.3: NATO for North Atlantic Treaty Organisation RADAR for Radio Detecting and Ranging COBOL for Common Business Oriented Language.

(c) To mark letters or numerals used in vertical list When you list items using letters or numerals, place a period between the letter or numeral and the item being listed.

Example 5.4: The police are concerned with three kinds of crime 1. drug trafficking 2. cross border smuggling 3. poaching

If you give information in a sentence, enclose the letters or numbers within brackets and omit the periods.

Example 5.5: The police are concerned with three kinds of crime 1. drug trafficking 2. cross border smuggling 3. poaching

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5.2.2 The Comma (,) The comma has a wide variety of uses in writing. It can link, enclose, separate or show omissions to a clause. Effective use of the comma depends upon the writers own understanding of how ideas fit together. When used properly the comma can add clarity and emphasis to written text. In addition to that the comma can prevent ambiguity by separating sentence elements that might otherwise be misunderstood.

Uses of the comma (a) To Link by coordinating

Use the comma to link long independent clauses that are joined conjunction (and, but, or, nor, so, yet). conjunction.

The comma usually precedes the

Example 5.6: The whistle blew, and the big game started. Julius never attends military parades, for he hates war.

When the clauses to be linked are short and closely related, many writers

tend to

omit the comma. A transitional word or phrase like moreover or furthermore is usually followed by a comma.

Example 5.7: Moreover, the villagers wanted to know how their money was used. In addition, they asked to be given the bank statement.

(b)

To Enclose

Use the comma to enclose non-restrictive adjective clauses. A non-restrictive adjective clause is one that does not identify the antecedent but simply gives information about it.
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Example 5.8: Our new history teacher, who began teaching last month, had invited us. We can, of course, expected the lawyer or the police to summon us.

(c)

Direct Address

Example 5.9: Your will note, Elizabeth, that you do not qualify for this job. That comment was not meant for you, Janet.

Phrases in apposition Example 5.10: Our company, the Makuti Co. Limited, has done very well this year.

(d)

Participial Phrases

Example 5.11: The fullback, sensing danger, kicked the ball outside the field.

(e)

To Separate

Use the comma to separate introductory elements from the rest of the sentence, to separate items in a series, to separate subordinate clauses from main clauses.

(i)

Separating introductory elements It is generally a good rule to put a comma after an introductory clause or phrase unless it is very short.

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Example 5.12: Since many students fail English examinations, it is wise to start teaching them English in standard One. The tests completed, students in each class organized a picnic. Yes, I will make sure you get your salary Indeed, I will send you further information soon. Use comas to separate more than two words in a series Example 5.13: At the market Ruth got all she had wanted textiles, foods, utensils and furniture. A big, old, dilapidated house stood on the corner. Note that a comma precedes the and that links the final item to the others.

(ii)

Separating subordinate clauses

Use a comma between the main clause and a subordinate clause when the subordinate clause comes first.

Example 5.14: When you were reading the book, we managed to sneak to the sea shore. Separating two contrasting thoughts or ideas: Example 5.15: The project was finished in time, but not within the budge Separating direct quotation from its introduction: Example 5.16: The country mouse said, I am going to the village tomorrow.

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(f)

To Show Omissions

A comma sometimes replaces words in certain elliptical constructions. Use a comma when you want to omit a verb you have already used in a clause.

Example 5.17: Some members were punctual: others, late.

(g)

Setting off dates, addresses, greetings and large numbers Use a comma to set off items of a date or address.

Example 5.18: Kiletu was born on the morning of July 1, 1961. The address she gave us was Makongo Farm, P.O. Box 32727, Dar es Salaam. Use a comma after a greeting expression in a friendly or informal written exchange also after the closing remark. Example 5.19: My dear Agnes, I hope youre OK Dear Aunt Majuto, Yours sincerely, Anthony Faithfully your customer, Ally Use commas to separate digits in large numbers beginning from one Example 5.20: 3,000 shillings 130,000 people Misuse of the Comma

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A number of writers make writing errors by placing the comma where it does not belong. These errors often occur because writers assume that a pause in a

sentence should be indicated by a comma. It is true that commas usually signal pauses but not every pause should be indicated by a comma.

Some of the common mistakes of using the comma are the following:

(i)

Separating subject and predicate

Do not place a comma between a subject and verb or between a verb and its object The big black hawk, ate all our chicken. (wrong) The big black hawk ate all our chicken. (right)

(ii)

Separating elements of a compound subject or compound predicate

Neither the chairman, nor his secretary came to the meeting. (wrong) Neither the chairman nor his secretary came to the meeting. (right)

(iii)

Placing a comma after a coordination conjunction

Do not place a comma after a conjunction such as, and, or, but. The chairman was reported to be sick but, members doubted about it. (wrong) The chairman was reported to be sick but members doubted about it. (right)

(iv)

Placing a comma in a list of items

Do not place a comma before the first item or after the last item of a series It was a, fast, clean, comfortable, train. (wrong) It was a fast, clean, comfortable train. (right)

Along the corridor were placed, bags, shelves and stools. (wrong) Along the corridor were placed bags, shelves and stools. (right)

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SUMMARY

The following is the summary of the principles of comma usage. 1. Use a comma to link two independent clauses joined by and, for, but, for. so, or, nor, yet 2. Use a comma to separate introductory phrases, clauses and words from the rest of the sentence. 3. Use a comma to separate items presented in a series and adjectives that modify the same noun. 4. Use a comma to set off phrases or clauses which interrupt the sentence. 5. Use a comma to set off phrases and clauses that are not essential to the basic meaning of the sentence. 6. Use commas to set off names, titles, addresses, dates and quotations.

5.2.3 Semi-Colon (;) The semi-colon is used to link independent clauses or other sentence elements of equal grammatical rank or status. The semi-colon indicates a greater pause

between clauses than a comma would, but not so great a pause as a period would.

(a)

Linking clauses of a compound sentence Use a semi-colon to join two or more closely related independent clause which are not joined by a coordinating conjunction.

Example 5.21: In the first week there was constant rain; in the second week it was constant sunshine. No one applied for the job; the job was too difficult.

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(b)

In Complex sentences with strong connectives Use a semi-colon before transitional words or phrases (that is for example, namely) that introduce examples or further explanation.

Example 5.22: The aid was for the underprivileged; namely the children from poor families.

(c)

In complex sentences with conjunctive adverbs

Conjunctive adverbs are words which specify a relation between one clause and another. They indicate relations as listed here.

(i) To indicate addition Use a semi colon before words like besides, furthermore, moreover or in addition.

Example 5.23: The president inspected an official parade; furthermore, he promoted a number of soldiers.

(ii)

To indicate likeness/similarity

Use a semi-colon before words like likewise, similarly or in the same way.

Example 5.24: Young Tanzanians condemned Idd Amins invasion of their country; likewise they condemned the massacre of innocent people in Rwanda.

(iii) To indicate contrast Use a semi-colon before words like however nevertheless, still, nonetheless, conversely, otherwise, instead, in contrast or on the other hand.

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Example 5.25: Darwins theory was rejected in the beginning; however, many of his ideas have now been confirmed.

(iv)

To indicate cause and effect

Use a semi-colon before words like accordingly, consequently, hence therefore, as a result, for this reason. Example 5.26: The window was not well made; consequently it fell off during the strong wind.

(v) To indicate a means-and-end relation Use a semi-colon before words like thus, thereby, this means or in this manner. Example 5.27: Amos passed well the first degree course; thereby clearing his way for a brighter future.

(vi) To indicate reinforcement Use a semi-colon before words like for example, for instance, in fact, in particular or indeed. Example 5.28: Transport will be improved in the rural areas; in particular railway transport to the southern parts.

(vii)

To indicate time

Use a semi-colon before words which express time like meanwhile, then, consequently, afterward, earlier, and later.

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Example 5.29: First chop the onions in small slices; then fry them for sometime.

Please note, when a conjunctive adverb is used at the beginning of a clause no punctuation is used on either side of it. Such conjunctive adverbs include, then in fact, still, otherwise and hence.

EXERCISES

Join the following sets of clauses by using a semi-colon and a conjunctive adverb to form a single sentence. 1. Schooling may give one a well-paying job. It cannot guarantee success in life. 2. Many children do not learn English at home. They must do so at school. 3 Every month I make plans how to spend my salary. I have never managed to keep any of them. 4 You can travel to Tabora for three days by train. You can reach there in two hours by train. 5 The discovery of gold in Maganzo created the gold rush. The discovery of ruby in Ulanga created a ruby rush. Use full stops and commas in correct places in the following sentences. 1. Please forward my letters to Mrs. Magida of Tanganyika Blankets P O Box 1771 Songea 2. The crowd gathered along Nyerere road to greet President N. Mandela 3. A total of 15500 cattle perished in the floods. 4. On 8th March 1996 a comet Harleys was sighted 5. The delegation reached Machakos Kenya on 3 April 1951

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5.2.4 Question Mark (?) This is one of the punctual marks which are usually used to end sentences. The question mark is used in the following situations.

(a)

To mark the end of a direct question

Example 5.30: Why did you ignore the early warning? To what extent are the poor assisted?

(b)

To indicate that one is not certain about a word within a statement.

Example 5.31: On reaching the house someone (a watchman?) appeared from behind the hedges.

Misuse of the Question Mark A common mistake on the use of the question mark is using it in an indirect question, Do not use a question mark at the end of an indirect question. Example 5.32: Dont say: Jose wanted to know who wrote the book? Say: Jose wanted to know who wrote the book.

The question mark is commonly used with the idea of asking for information. It has the following distinct uses: Use the question mark at the end of a sentence that is a direct question. Example 5.33: When are you presenting the report?

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 Use the question mark at the end of a statement that is declarative in form but ask a question. Example 5.34: Is the president coming today? When you want to cite a title that has a question mark retain the question mark. Example 5.35: Her first novel was Why Are We Blessed? When used with quotation marks, the question mark may indicate whether it is the writer who is doing the quoting or the person being quoted asks the question. The question mark is placed outside the quotation marks when it is the writer who asks the question.

Example 5.36: Did you say, She wont come today?

On the other hand if the quotation itself is a question, then the mark is placed inside the quotation marks.

Example 5.37: She asked him, Can you help me? When an interrogative sentence has separate items all items will carry a question mark.

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Example 5.38: Can you tell us more about the house? Its size? Surroundings? Whether it is occupied? Never use a question mark at the end of on indirect quotation. Example 5.39: Wrong: Surrah asked me whether I had seen her husband? Correct: Surrah asked me whether I had seen her husband.

EXERCISES

Punctuate the following sentences using the correct marks. 1. 2. We are prepared wrote Surrah to help all those who will call us The history of life on earth wrote Nyerere has been a history of struggle between the haves and the have nots 3. Did Matano Juma define a fool as a person who does not know something but 4. thinks that he knows it

Shaaban Roberts best poems are utenzi wa Adili and Amina Umejitenga

5.

Shaaban Robert once wrote skin colour is but Gods decoration

5.2.5 Quotation Marks (

Quotation marks are used to enclose spoken or written words which are directly repeated. You may enclose in quotation marks only words which are quoted word for word (direct quotation) from spoken or written text. Example 5.40: She said clearly, I am not happy with you.

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 Do not enclose in quotation marks speech which is indirectly quoted. An indirect quotation is usually introduced by that, it represents a paraphrase of a speakers words or ideas. Example 5.41: She said clearly that she was not happy with us. When you quote from written text, use quotation marks in the same way: place words you wish to quote in quotation marks. Example 5.42: Direct: The report sums up, If the environment is not cared for the earth is going to become extinct. Indirect: The report concludes that if the environment is not cared for, the earth is going to become extinct. When the quoted text exceeds four lines, it is normally indented and lines are single spaced. When presented in this way you should not use quotation marks. When you want to present a quotation within a quoted text, use single quotation marks (similar to apostrophe) to enclose the quotation that appears within the main quotation.

Example 5.43: Alex said, I heard her calling out, thief, thief.

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 Use quotation marks to enclose titles of short stories, articles, speeches, radio or TV Programmes. Example 5.44: Have you read Mandelas Rivonia speech, History will Absolve me? Titles of books and periodicals are underlined or printed in italics. Example 5.45: I find David Manguis The Common Man a fascinating book. Quotation marks may also be used to represent the words, same as above. When a word is written directly below a similar one in vertical listing. Example 5.46: Kitepo was represented by the village Chairman. Sinza Secretary Council member.

Bukongo

5.2.6

Apostrophe ( )

The apostrophe is used to indicate possession, to mark the omission of letters in a word. Use an apostrophe before an s to show singular possession in some nouns. Example 5.47: Both Juliatas and Ashas school are closed. Dar es Salaam citys residents have had no water for two days now. In plural possession, the apostrophe is placed at the end of the noun following the s. Example 5.48:

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The girls dormitory is being repaired. The headteachers meeting ended in the evening. When the noun to which possession is to be indicated ends in an s, place on apostrophe after the s. Example 5.49: Moses story frightened his listeners. The neighbors helped Tans capture The apostrophe is not used with possessive pronouns. Example 5.50: Theirs, yours, its, his, ours, whose. You may use an apostrophe to mark the omission of letters in a word or date. Example 5.51: Cant, Im, III The peasant revolts of the early 60s

EXERCISES

Punctuate the following passage. Everyone is talking about Kisa Katopes novel its plot is based on Incidents which occurred to him in Uganda during the war it is Frightening to read about senseless killings of people even though youve not seen them one character is portrayed as being keen in stealing soldiers uniforms. Hes finally caught and ends up in the citys Famous makindye prison

5.2.7 Exclamation mark ( ! )

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The exclamation mark is used in writing to indicate an expression of strong feeling. It can be surprise, fear, indignation or excitement. It is a punctuation mark more commonly used in fiction and social written communication than in academic or technical discourse. Uses of exclamation mark The exclamation mark is most commonly used after a word, phrase, clause or sentences to indicate surprise, pain, and jubilation. Example 5.52: Ouch! You have hurt me. Wow! What a wonderful dress. Too many exclamation marks in a sentence will make text dull, do not overuse them. when you use the exclamation mark together with quotation marks, the former goes inside unless what is quoted is an exclamation.

Example 5.53: Salima called out, Watch out! Hearing this, Peter jumped like a hare.

EXERCISE

Put correct punctuation marks to the following letter ngoheranga mission p.o. box 321 malinyi dear mr an mrs salanga I am sorry I have to worry you with my troubles but when I have explained I am sure you will understand I regret to say that grandmother is seriously ill, I asked a doctor from lugala hospital to

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come and examine her today he said that her condition is critical he advised us to observe absolute quiet for her to recover it all began recently when she started having bad nights and could not get enough sleep. the purpose of writing this letter is to ask you to spare a weekend preferably this coming one so that you could come here and spend time with us looking after grandma has really lowered our nerves we will brighten up again when you come pass my best regards to your children yours sincerely peter

REFERENCES

Heffernan, J.A.W and J.E. Lincoln. (1986) Writing: A college Handbook W.W. Norton and Company. New York 1986. Troyka, L.Q, (1987) Handbook for Writers, Prentice-Hall Inc. Englewood Cliffs New Jersey.

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LECTURE SIX

THE INTERNET
6.1 INTRODUCTION

The Internet is one of the major technological inventions of this century. People of all walks of life the world over talk about it and use it. Never before has mankind witnessed an invention that has enabled people to do so many things that are strategically important to life in the information society like the internet. It is a technology that has been integrated and has provided people with new important capabilities over a wide range of sectors including telecommunication, home shopping, government services, academics, military, medicine, and entertainment. Use of the Internet has become such an important skill that understanding it and knowing how to communicate over it has become modern literacy.

This lecture is about Internet literacy. It is intended to provide you with the conceptual background and basic Internet skills to become Internet literate.
OBJECTIVES

After studying this lecture, you should be able to: (i) Define the internet; (ii) Use internet search engines; (iii) Use multi media on internet; (iv) Communicate over the internet.

6.2

WHAT IS THE INTERNET?

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The internet refers to a worldwide connection of millions of computers and networks that follow the internet protocol (IP). The internet protocol is a standard or linkage among computers that allows for its centers to continue sending and receiving data packages in case one or more of the network nodes fall in disuse. In which case information could still get rerouted automatically and reach its address. This linkage therefore allows for any user on the Internet to communicate with a million of users regardless of their location.

6.3

INTERNET AS AN ASPECT OF COMMUNICATION

The Internet is a relevant aspect of communication because it plays two roles. The first is that it is a source of information. You can use the Internet to obtain information you might require to tell other people or to write something for other people to read. In fact it is said that the Internet is the richest source of

information on the planet. It can offer about anything that one could ever want to know. For this reason the Internet is a valuable tool for you as a university student because it can help you to search for and locate relevant information you may need for conducting research or writing your academic papers. It is important to say here that a wide range of database exist across curriculum.

The second role is that of medium of communication. In this role the Internet functions as mode or medium through which one can receive or deliver information to an intended target. The target could be an individual person or group of people whom you may want your message to reach. For this reason, the Internet is known as an information superhighway.

6.4

WHO IS USING THE INTERNET?

Use of the Internet is extensive, and the growth in number of users has been phenomenal. Internet users include people from all works of life. Academicians, business people, government officials, politicians, teachers, doctors, researchers
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students, kids, the elderly, parents, musicians, police, motel workers, the military, pilots, social workers, disco-jockeys, movie stars - about everyone who wishes to participate and succeed in the information society has a place in using the internet. 6.5 BRIEF HISTROY OF THE INTERNET

The Internet originated in 1969 in the USA. It began as a project of the US Department of Defense whose goal was to support military research about how to build a network that would continue to function when and if one of the networks data storage facility were destroyed by an enemy bomb. The intention was to give the responsibility for delivery of information to the computers on the networks instead of the network itself. The computers shared equally in the responsibility for ensuring that communication was accomplished in the event one of the computers along the way stopped functioning such as in bomb attack. The

information packets would automatically find an alternate route to their destinations. Thus every computer on the internet was regarded as being equal to all other computers in the network. Actually this remains a fact even today, no computer on the Internet is more important than any other and no one computer is in charge of the others.

6.6

BASIC INTERNET SERVICES

There are many possible things that people can do on the Internet. These possibilities are organized according to services defined by protocols that specify how information moves across the network. Following below are some of the most important services available on the Internet.

ELECTRONIC MAIL (E-Mail): The Internet allows you to send and receive mail (called e-mail) to and from anyone connected to the Network. The e-mail is a highly efficient and convenient mode of global interaction and communication. It is convenient because it is fast and you can respond to it at your convenience. Furthermore, electronic mail has improved the way people communicate when
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they cant talk in person. Nowadays people dont have to wait for traditional postal mail delivery which has come to be known as snail mail due to its slowness in delivering mail. 6.7 USING E-MAIL

Each person using e-mail has a unique address also known as an account; an account enables you to log on the computer that hosts your e-mail service. The computer that hosts your account is known as your e-mail host computer. On the host computer, your account consists of a file space where your e-mail is kept for you to read. You get your account from your Internet Service Provider (ISP)

The Internet address or account has several parts to it.

For example santa@hotmail.com is made up as follows Santa.. is the e-mail user name @ is found at hotmail..is the name of the host computer com.. stands for commercial site

Besides having an account, when using an e-mail, you have to have a password. This is a number or word known only to yourself, which you must enter each time you log on to your account. The password prevents other users of the Internet from logging on under your name and gaining access to your mail. You must always remember to keep your password secret because if it is known to others, some malicious people might use it to sign under your name and send offensive mail that could cause problems to you.

The electronic mail service has a facility for helping you to keep note of regularly used e-mail addresses. This saves you rekeying addresses and avoids making

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typographic errors. When you wrongly type an address, it will result in your mail being returned to you.

6.8 (i) (ii)

ADVANTAGES OF E-MAIL Delivery is than traditional mail and replies can be quicker. It is much cheaper than the telephone or fax; the cost is not dependant on the distance the message has traveled.

(iii)

It overcomes time zone differences and inconveniences as the recipients do not have to be there to receive it.

(iv)

It allows for one-to-many messaging which is simple, cheap and enables you to exchange information with people unknown to you.

6.8.1 File Transfer This service also known as file transfer protocol (FTP) is a standard method for transferring files over the Internet from one computer to another. It allows you to search the millions of computers on the network for the information you need by using convenient search engines and directories. This service can let you download pictures, files and software that you can in turn copy into your personal computer. There are millions of files on the Internet that you can view on your computer. Many of these files are web pages that you can find with the web based search engines. One such search engine is ARCHIE. Archie is capable of searching for you the archives consisting of millions of files that are available on anonymous FTP sites. 6.8.2 Internet Relay Chat (IRC) This is a protocol that allows Internet users to conduct real-time communication on the computer. It enables people to converse with one another over the Internet. Internet relay chats are organized into channels. To benefit from this service you
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have to join one or more communication channels and converse with others who are subscribed to the same channel. Conversations may be public, allowing everyone in a channel to see what you type, or private between only two people who may or may not be on the same channel. To join IRC-and there are hundreds of open IRC hosts worldwide, you may obtain information from the web site www.irchelp.org/irchelp/networks. 6.8.3 Mailing List Popularly known as listserv is modelled on the e-mail protocol. It works like and electronic mailing list, it allows you to send e-mail messages to people whose names are on the list. This makes it simple for members of a group to

communicate with one another through e-mail. As a social being, you would want to communicate with other groups of people using the computer. You might be working on a research project, for example and you like to send a message to all people working on that project with you. Instead of having to enter each persons e-mail address each time you want to send the group a message, you can use your address book to crate mailing lists consisting of as many users as you like. There are thousands of listservs that you may be able to join. Almost every subject imaginable has a listserv already set up for people to receive and exchange information about that topic. When someone sends a message containing new information on the listserv, everyone on the list receives a copy of the message. 6.8.4 Joining a Listserv To join a listserv, you have to send an e-mail message to its host computer saying that you want to subscribe. Do not expect to get an instant reply; normally it takes a while for a new subscription to be processed.

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When you join a listserv, you will be instructed on how to address a new message that you want to send to the listserv. You will be given an address to which to send your e-mail message, just as if you were sending mail to an individual user. Keep in mind however, that when you send a message to a listserv, your message will be sent to a lot of people so you have to be very careful. 6.8.5 Usenet Newsgroups This service makes it possible for Internet users to join discussion group hold discussions, ask questions/answer questions or become a part of a special interest groups. The resource was Usenet newsgroups are based on the concept of computer conferencing. It has the advantage that anyone can participate in any discussion at anytime from any place where there is an Internet connection. This is a useful service to students as it enables them to converse and share experience with colleagues and fellows with similar academic interests. 6.8.6 World-Wide WEB This is a networked hypertext system that allows documents to be shared. It provides access to millions of the hypertext (a text that has been linked) When one views a hypertext and clicks a word that has been linked, the computer will launch the object of that link. Links are pathways that interconnect the documents and resources on the web, without links there would be no Web. You can activate a link by triggering it. There are two types of triggers; hypertext and hyper picture.

6.8.7 Hypertext Links These are words or sometime phrases that you click to trigger the events that are linked to the text. They are also known as hot words because they make things happen when you click them. It is easy to identify hypertext links on the Internet as they are usually underlined and presented in different colour than the rest of the text.
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Hyperpicture links: These are pictorial hot spots that you click to trigger events linked to images on the screen. The images are normally presented as little icons or larger graphics. 6.9 SEARCH ENGINES

For one to benefit from the research potential of the Internet he or she has to know how to use the search engines. Search engines provide for an Internet user to search the web by entering keywords. There are a number of search engines available. Following below are some of the search engines that are of particular relevance for academic and research work. GOOGLE This is a comprehensive full-text search. It is very useful when one is searching for obscure Information. It is located at www.google.com. EXCITE Is a search engine that can offer in-depth subject arrangement. It can also be used in concept searching (it automatically searches related terms) and indexes internet sites and Usenet. Excite is located at www.exite.com ALTA VISTA Is a widely used full-text search engine. It is said to be accessed over 10 million times daily. It is located at www.altavista.com LYCOS This is a subject oriented search engine. It limits returns by title, pictures, sounds, URL, language. Further more results are returned with good organization by relevance. Lycos can be located at www.lycos.com YAHOO This is subject directory to selected resources; it is not a full-text search engine. Is suitable for browsing for subject categories or overviews of topics. Its returns are not organized by relevance. Yahoo can be located at www.yahoo.com

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MAGELLAN Is a search engine that simultaneously presents original editorial content, a directory of rated and reviewed internet sites. It can help you find what you are looking for. Magellan sites show ratings on a scale from 1-10, that indicated how good the viewers think the resources are. You may locate this at http://www.megellan.com ERIC: This belongs to the so-called scholarly search engines. The term Eric stands for Educational Resources Information Centre. It searches education

journals and other scholarly documents, including books, conference proceedings, symposia, studies and tests. This is found on the Web at

http://www.aspensys.com/eric.

6.10

METASEARCH ENGINES

These are search engines which can search a multiple engines at once. They provide an alternative to trying many individual search engines to find the information you look for. These are types of search engines that can invoke other search engines to automatically conduct different kinds of searches, collate the results into one list of results and report them back. metasearch engines; Following are some

DOGPILE This is a metasearch engine that can send queries to a multiple other search engines at once. When you open Dogpile it automatically opens you up to other search engines such as Yahoo, Lycos, Excite, World Wide Web, Worm, Yellow pages, Webcrawler, Infoseek, Opentext, AltaVista Hotbot, Looksmart that the Mining co. Dogpile is located at www.dogpile.com

METACRAWLER This mega search engine can conduct searches by sending queries to several web search engines simultaneously. The search engines linked to metacrawler include Lycos, Excite, AltaVista, Yahoo, Hotbot and Galaxy. Metacrawler is found at http:// www.metacrawler.com.
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REFDESK.COM This is a very thorough and well organized search engine. Its links include facts search desk, current news and features, links to a host of online information databases and much more. Refdesk is found on the web at www.refdesk.com STATUS OF WEB SOURCES Websites are usually created differently. It is therefore important that, when using web resources, you should be careful to examine all potential resources, print and non-print for relevance, bias, accuracy and so forth. Furthermore, resources found on the Internet should be carefully scrutinized this is necessary for the simple reason that anyone who possesses a computer and an Internet access provider can post his or her own web page without minding to check for facts or to edit information.

6.11 WEB SEARCHING 6.11.1 Surfing the Web Surfing the web simply means searching for information on the Net. It enables you to navigate the system of interconnected information, discover new sites you didnt know existed, and download things that interest you. By mastering the art of navigating the Net, you can be able to get where you want quickly and locate the information you want more easily. In order for you to locate relevant information on the Internet you have to understand how information is organized in the Internet.

Documents are stored on the websites, these are locations on the web where persons, institutions and organizations store their collections of web pages, images, audio files, videos and any other files used in conjunction with their Web pages. This section intends to give you basic notions that would help you to locate information, send mail or participate in a discussion via the internet.
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6.11.2 Web Address a URL Every site you wish to go to on the web has an address known as a URL.You will probably recognize these, as they are now becoming common place, signalled regularly in magazines and the press. URL is a short form for Uniform resource locator. The resources referred here are hypertext documents, but they can also be application softwares, animations, pictures, sounds or even movies. URLs can also bring up search engines, newsgroups, chartrooms or real time audio and video streams (i.e. music and movies).

6.11.3 Elements of a URL A URL is made up of two main parts, protocol and server name which always appear in the same order.

(a)

Protocol

Refers to the hypertext transfer protocol; it forms the beginning of every web page of the URL.

(b)

Server Name

This is the identity of the computer or file server on which a particular resource is located. The server name is subcategorized in three component parts; host name, sub domain and top-level domain. The host name refers to the computer or server that hosts the resource while the sub domain names the network to which the computer is connected. The top-lever domain indicates the institutional

affiliations of the website or the country from which a particular web site originates. Following below are examples of common top-level domains. .edu educational institutions site

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.com .org .gov .mil .net .au .tz .za .uk

commercial site non-profit organization government site military site large computer network Australia Tanzania South Africa United kingdom

Basing on this description, the URL for The Open University of Tanzania (OUT) Website has the following elements. http://www.out.ac.tz PROTOCAL http HOST www SERVER NAME out Subdomain ac. tz topleveldomains

The brief description of the site provided by your search engine should contribute to your decision about whether the site deserves a much closer scrutiny.
EXERCISES

1. Get your web browser on and go to URL http://www.catalog.com/vivian/interest-group-search.html 2. Explore the higher levels of that URL by stripping off items from the end of it. For example what do you find when you strip off interest-group-search from the URL. See what you get when you take away Vivian 3. Find out the domain name of the computer network at your

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institution or place of work. If you have an e-mail address on that network, the domain name will be the part of your e-mail address after the @ sign. For example, if your e-mail address is SantaClaus@toymakers.northpole.com, the domain name is toymakers.northpole.com.

4.

Match the Internet services on the left with the description of what they enable you to do.

______ e-mail

A. Participate in an online conference about a particular topic.

______ listserv

B. Transfer a file from one computer to another.

______ USENET newsgroups C. A global hypertext system.

______ chat

D. Send a message to a list full of people. E. Send a message to an individual.

______ telnet

F. Converse with one or more people in real times over the Internet. G. log on remotely to another computer on the Internet.

______ World Wide Web

H. A hierarchically organized menuing

REFERENCES

Norton, B. and Cathy Smith,(1998) The Internet in Business. Hodder &Stoughton. United Kingdom. Computer Training Manuals: http://www.ckls.org/%crippel/computerlab/tutorials.

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Wiredgrid:

http://www.wiredgrid.com/index.html.

Learn the Internet: http:// www.learnthenet.com/english/index.html AARP Learn the Internet: http://www.ivpl.org/Basic-internet.html. About the Web: http://www.about-the-web.com.

BLANK

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Part Two
English Language Grammar
Lecture Seven: Lecture Eight: Lecture Nine: Lecture Ten: Lecture Eleven: Standard Pattern of the English Sentence Types of Sentence Formal Agreement in the Sentence Common Errors in English Text Cohesion

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LECTURE SEVEN

THE STANDARD PATTERN OF AN ENGLISH SENTENCE

7.1 INTRODUCTION

When we communicate with other people in speech or writing we always do so by using one or more units of information. The most basic of these units contains a complete utterance and is formed according to a certain definite pattern. The unit we are referring to is the sentence.

OBJECTIVES

At the end of this lecture you should be able to: (i) (ii) Define the sentence; Identify a sentence in spoken and written discourse;

(iii) Describe the elements of a standard written English sentence; (iv) Write accurate sentences following the standard pattern of English sentence.

7.2

WHAT IS A SENTENCE

In writing, the acceptable convention stipulates that a sentence is a group words which make sense and which are marked off by a capital letter at the beginning and a period, a question mark or an exclamation point at the end. While in spoken language, the boundaries of a sentence are described in Gardeners definition (Theory of Speech and Language p. 98). A sentence is a word or a set of
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words followed by a pause and revealing an intelligible purpose. In the following sections of this lecture we will focus our attention more on the definition of a written sentence.

According to the description above, a sentence may be made up of one or more words. One-word sentences despite being less commonly used are a very significant phenomenon in normal communication. It is important therefore that we also examine the types and uses of these one-word sentences. 7.3 ONE-WORD SENTENCES

The commonly used one-word sentences are of the following types: 7.3.1 Exclamations These are remarks used to signal strong emotion. fear, joy, gratitude, like. What! Danger! Thanks! 7.3.2 Imperatives These are remarks that express commands, requests and are used to give orders or directions. Example, Stop, Look, Quickly, Steady. They express surprise, anger,

7.3.3 Vocatives These are remarks that refer to particular persons as sentence they are used to draw someones attention like: Mother!. Teacher! Agnes!

7.3.4 Others These include single word remarks intended to express a variety of intentions like questions (What? Where? Why? Who? ) Question (Yes! OK!. Sure! True! Certainly Disagreement (no., impossible., never.)

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As you may have correctly figured from the examples shown above, the meanings of these sentences can only be intelligible in connection with a particular situation shared by the speakers or with a statement made, or a question asked in another sentence. 7.4 STANDARD SENTENCE ELEMENTS

A common phenomenon in normal communication are sentences which consist of more than one word.

7.4.1 What is the Standard Pattern of an English Sentence Let us now look at the form of such sentences. A Standard English sentence consisting more than one word by the rule, is comprised of two nuclei or main parts. One indicating the person or thing about whom or which the sentence is made or a question is asked and the other containing the statement or the question being made. The two nuclei constitute the two main parts of a sentence. The part containing words indicating the thing or person referred to is called the subject of the sentence: Whereas the other part that contains the statement or the question of the sentence is called the predicate.

Example 7.1 Subject Benson My uncle France Fadhilis car The old doctor My sister (you) She Predicate has arrived from the USA is allergic to cigarette smoke may win the 2006 world cup was stolen last night treated the ailing woman married young bring me the report chased away the wizards

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Who

chased the wizards?

In the sentences above we can clearly see the two parts of the sentence. It should not, however, mean that in every sentence, the subject part must always come before the predicates as the following examples show the subject of the sentence does not have a definite place in a sentence. It can occur in the beginning, the middle or as in the case of question sentences, the subject can appear in the end of the sentence. Examples 7.2: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. In the middle of the night the thief was arrested. There was little water in the pot. Where is the supermarket? Since when has Katembo been captain? Did the prime minister attend the conference in Venezuela? (You) Collect all rubbish from the garden

EXERCISES

Some of the groups of words listed below are sentences while others are not. Distinguish sentences from mere groups of words. Discuss your decisions with your colleague. 1. Small children with big stomachs. 2. Walking along the hedges of the compound and admiring goldfish in the pond. 3. The smoke in the kitchen made me choke. 4. The most respected student in our school. 5. A terrible headache the morning after the party. 6. The young children in our school. 7. David Maillu wrote five books before he was thirty

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8. The game of pool is becoming popular in Tanzania. 9. Ghana lost a decisive world cup match to Brazil. 10. Dived in deep sea water and survived.

In writing, a sentence is marked off by a capital letter at the beginning and a question mark, a fullstop or an exclamation mark at the end. Within these two boundaries, every sentence ought to contain a subject and a predicate that fit together to make a statement, ask a question or give a command.

7.4.2 The Subject The subject is that part of the sentence which has as its headword a nominal that is either a noun, pronoun, a noun phrase or noun clause. In some cases the subject is realized as a verbial which acts as a noun, especially the gerund.

Example 7.3: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Ahmed asked many questions. (noun) She asked to see her children. (pronoun) The beautiful bride walked gracefully. (noun phrase) Why we intend to see the minister is well explained. (noun clause) Writing stories has been Berthas hobby since her school days. (gerund)

TAKE NOTE

The noun clause is not the same as a noun phrase.

The two are

different. The noun clause is a dependent clause which is used like a noun, as a subject or object of the sentence.

Example 7.4:

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That John became our leader is a known fact NOUN CLAUSE

The noun phrase on the other hand is a group of related words in which the noun is a head word but unlike the clause lacks a subject predicate combination.

Example 7.5: I saw the slim girl over the wall NOUN PHRASE

The subject as you may have noted in the examples above may appear as a single word or as a group of words. When the subject is group of words it is called a complete subject that is, it is a combination of the headword which is the main focus of the sentence and modifiers that qualify the head word. The headword of the subject alone is called the simple subject.

Example 7.6: The two old men who killed the buffalo were praised. Complete subject: The two old men who killed the buffalo Simple subject: men

In the following sentences the complete subject is shown in italics, the simple subject is shown in bold.

Example 7.7: 1. The two bathrooms at the end of the corridor were quite filthy.

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2. 3. 4. 5.

My aunt Kylie Atuku is a wonderful woman The three hundred shillings I borrowed were for my fees He new Japanese-made car is broken again The village of Makowa is five miles away

Sometimes you also have a compound subject. This is the subject of a sentence that is made up by joining together more than one element.

Example 7.8: 1. 2. 3. 4. Fruits, Vegetables and other foodstuffs were cheap this morning. Biscuits, sweets and chocolates are not good for children. Nether History nor Geography was taught in my school. Either Joan or her brother Nesta will be sent to bring the letter.

7.4.3 The Predicate The predicate, as we have seen earlier, makes a statement about the subject. The headword of the predicate may be any of the various types of the verb. (We will study them in detail in the next lecture). These may be a finite verb, a linking verb or a combination of a finite with a helping verb.

Example 7.9: 1. 2. 3. She failed to keep her appointment. (finite) The guy you see over there is a thief. (linking) The order to vacate has been given today. (finite with helping verbs)

Like in the case of the subject, the predicate may also be either complete, simple or compound. The complete predicate is made up of the verb together with all the

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words that help it to make a statement about the subject. The verb alone in the predicate constitutes the simple predicate of the sentence.

In the following sentences the complete predicate is shown in italic and the simple predicate is in bold face.

Example 7.10: 1. 2. 3. 4. Sarah repairs old diesel automobiles. She quickly closed the door behind her. The book has been very carefully printed. The headache drove Marina nearly mad.

On the other hand the compound predicate is made of two or more verbs when they are joined together by a conjunction. compound predicate is shown in italics. Example 7.11: 1. 2. 3. The villagers caught the thief and beat him up thoroughly Her car was burnt and completely destroyed The tsunami came in the morning and swept our entire village In the following examples the

More on compound subject and compound predicate will be discussed when we come to the topic of grammatical agreement in sentences. In the following sentences identify the subject and the predicate. Then distinguish between simple and complete subject and between simple and complete predicate.
EXERCISES

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1. The village in which I was born is called Mwala. 2. Teresita gave me an old coat of hers. 3. The brave captain was shot through the heart. 4. He bit his lips but said nothing. 5. In his right hand she carried a green bottle. 6. The dog at once knew his masters voice. 7. Mastura loved to read magazines and newspapers.

8. Will you decide what men shall live, what men shall die? 9. In a short time he rose to the rank of Colonel. 11. Men, women and children, in a word, the whole population of the township had turned out to welcome the new president. 12. Write five sentences. Draw a dividing line between the complete subject and complete predicate. Then draw a line under the simple subject and two lines under the simple predicate. Example An unidentified flying object, appeared suddenly in the eastern sky.

OTHER PREDICATE ELEMENTS We have said elsewhere that the verb is the most important word in the predicate. This is because one has to have the verb in order to make a statement about a subject. Without the verb there can be no statement. In a very simple sentence a verb can stand alone as a predicate. But in most cases sentence predicates consist of more words than the verb alone. It may also include other parts like objects, complements and other words called modifiers whose work is to help describe other elements. 7.4.4 The Object (0)

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In some sentences we observe that the verb is followed by nouns or noun substitutes that denote agents who are affected by the action of the verb, directly or indirectly. Such nominal words are collectively called objects of the sentence. Examples 7.12: Carlos wrote a long letter. Carlos wrote my mother a long letter.

In the sentences above a long letter is the element that is directly affected by the action denoted by the verb. Whereas my mother is not that much affected. In these examples a long letter is the direct object of the sentence and my mother is the indirect object. 7.4.5 Direct Object (Od) The direct object is the element in the sentence that tells us who or what directly receives the action done by the subject and expressed by the verb. Examples 7.13: 1. She bought an apple for twenty cents. Verb 2. Od

My father built a big house in Mafia. Verb Od

3.

He wrote the book last year. Verb Od

The direct object is usually represented by a noun or a noun substitute such as a pronoun, a gerund or a noun clause. It answers the question who, what about the verb. Examples 7.14:

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1.

I met President Kabila in Kisangani Od (The direct object is a noun Kabila; it answers the question WHO?)

2.

In met him last year. Od (The direct object is a pronoun him; it answers the question WHO?)

3.

Allan enjoys swimming at Koko beach. Od (The direct object is a gerund swimming. It answers the question What)

4.

I heard all what you said last night. Od (The direct object is a noun clause what you said. It answers the question

WHAT?

7.4.6 Indirect Object (Oil) Sometimes, as we said earlier, the verb may have two objects, one which directly receives the action of the verb and the second one which denotes to whom or for whom the action is done. Examples 7.15: We bought Margareta a kilo of meat Od In this sentence meat is actually what was bought. It is the element that receives the direct action of the verb hence is the direct object. But note that the meat was

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bought for Margareta. This element is the indirect recipient of the verb action. It is the indirect object. Examples 7.16: 1. The children sang us their national anthem. Oi Od (The indirect object answers the question FOR WHOM? 2. Jafaar sent Amina a golden ring. Oi Od (The indirect object answers the question TO WHOM?
EXERCISES

Identify the subject, direct object and indirect object in the following sentences. Discuss your decisions with your colleague. 1. Give me an hour and you will have the results. 2. The wind swept the smell of freshly roasted meat to our huts. 3. You must tell Katiza what your views are. 4. They bought the old man a new walking stick. 5. The retreating battalion sold us their weapons. 6. Domina showed them the secrets of the caves 7. Ask the Prime Minister your questions. 8. Aminata told Chama all her secrets 9. Heroes Day celebration gives us pride of our past 10. Madina cooked aunt Cecilia a delicious meal. 11. Madina cooked aunt Cecilia a delicious meal.

7.4.7 Complement Not all predicates denote action some predicates denote existence of something (like is, are) or indicate appearances or state of being (like look, seem, appear, feel).

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In predicates that denote existence, appearance or state of being, the nominal words that follow the verb function to complete the descriptions of the subject or the objects. complement. In this way we have the subject complements and the object

(a)

Subject Complements

These are words which add the description of the subject but are located on the other side of the verb. The verb that joins a subject and its complement is called a linking verb. Its function is to link or join a subject to some further description of itself that is not included in the subject.

Examples 7.17: John is a member of parliament. (Here member of parliament describes the subject John.) After lunch the children fell ill. (In this sentence ill describes a state of being of the subject children.) The soup tastes bitter. (The complement bitter describes a feeling emanating from drinking the soup.)

(b)

Object Complements

These are always nouns or adjective words which come immediately after direct objects and help complete the description of the direct object.

Examples 7.18: Zarina called her dog Domingo. (The word Domingo qualifies the object dog) Jose always liked his shorts dyed blue.

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(dyed blue compliments the object shorts.) Hamdani liked to keep his hair short. (short describes the object hair.)

EXERCISES

Identify subject complements and object complements in the sentences below: 1. In the evenings the compound was quiet and frightening. 2. We found Lobas commodities cheap 3. I was often late to the evening classes. 4. In the morning I like my tea warm. 5. He fastened the ropes tight. Write three sentences which have subject complements and three sentences with object complements. Discuss your answer with your colleague

SUMMARY

A sentence is a group of words which makes sense. It is able to make sense because it is patterned in two parts of information. There is a part which names the thing that is talked about, called the subject and the part that makes a statement about the thing named called the predicate. In writing, the sentence is marked off by a capital letter at the beginning and a period, a question mark or an exclamation point

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at the end. The subject and the object of the sentence can either be simple, complete or compound. Other elements of the sentence are the object which can be either direct or indirect and the complement which may also be complement of the subject or complement of the object.

LECTURE EIGHT

TYPES OF SENTENCES

8.1

INTRODUCTION

The main focus of this lecture is the understanding that the many sentences that we hear or use everyday in our speech or writing differ in many ways and can be classified accordingly. In this lecture we are going to learn the main criteria for classifying sentences and identify the different types of sentences.
OBJECTIVES

At the end of this lecture you should be able to: (i) Identify the main criteria for classifying sentences: (ii) Classify sentences according to different categories of classification: (iii) Identify different types of sentences from written discourses: (iv) Construct sentences of different type

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8.2

SIGNIFICANCE OF SENTENCE TYPES

Knowledge of the types of sentences is important in improving your skill of communication. It would make you be aware of the structure of sentences of different varieties of texts you will be required to read and the ones you will be required to write. Awareness of sentence types will thus increase your scope of styles of sentences you may use in writing your academic essays and research papers.

8.3

CLASSIFICATION OF SENTENCES

8.3.1 Criteria for Classifying Sentences There are different bases upon which one may classify sentences. For the purpose of this lecture we will examine two important criteria of classifying sentences. These are the criterion of purpose of the sentence and the criterion of structure of sentence. By purpose we mean what the sentence purports to say and by structure we mean how it is constructed.

When we examine sentences from the criterion of purpose we can identify four types of them: declarative, interrogative, imperative and exclamatory sentences. And if we categorize sentences on the basis of their structure we come up with simple, compound, complex and compound-complex sentences.

8.4

SENTENCE TYPES ACCORDING TO PURPOSE

Let us now examine one by one, types of sentences on this category.

8.4.1 Declarative Sentences These are sentences that make statements. They are used to give information by expressing facts, opinions or propositions. The statements in so doing may be affirmative or negative that is they may state a fact or negate it.
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Example 8.1 Sarah came yesterday. (affirmative) Sarah did not (didnt) come yesterday. (negative)

Negative sentences are characterized by a negative word, usually not.

Example 8.2 Rosana drove me home. (affirmative) Rosana did note (didnt) drive me home. (negative) I will go home alone. (Affirmative) I will not (wont) go home alone. (negative) In conclusion, one may say that declarative sentences are simply statements. In writing they end with a full stop.

8.4.2 Interrogative Sentences These sentences ask questions. They are used to seek information or request permission. In writing they end with a question mark (?)

Example 8.3: What is the most popular film? Did the car cost you much? Can I visit aunt Lisa this week? How much did the car cost you?

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As you can notice from the examples above, of all the questions that we ask there have only two forms of asking. The first form is represented by the sentence.

Did the car cost you much? In this form of interrogative question the answer elicited will be Yes/No. This type of sentences is called polar interrogative

sentence. It is referred to as polar because the answer it seeks to obtain is of extreme nature, either yes or no other examples of polar interrogative sentences are:

Example 8.4: Do you like tea in the morning? Can you do me a favour? Should we visit aunt Lisa today?

Polar interrogative sentences usually begin with an auxiliary verb (can, should, do, is, would)

The second type of interrogative sentences are called WH-Interrogative sentences. These usually open with an interrogative pronoun (where, when, how, why, who) and the answers expected are always a piece of information.

Example 8.5: How did you come here? When will we go to visit aunt Lisa? Who spoke to the general manager of this office? Why did you shoot him down?

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Sometimes a question may take the form of a statement, especially when an affirmative answer is expected: (You have come alone?) (You asked to see my ID?)

8.4.3 Imperative Sentences These are sentences that express commands or requests. They are used to give orders or directions. When a request is intended and not a command usually the word please is added. Example 8.6: Put your books on the shelf. (command) Show your identity card, please .(request) Come in everyday. (command) You all take your seats, please. (request)

8.4.4 Exclamatory Sentences These are sentences that connote strong feelings or emotions. They are used to express anger, fear, shock, surprise joy and some other emotions. Exclamatory questions always end with an exclamation mark (!)

Example 8.7: Watch out, the roof is falling! The lion has come out of its cage! I dont want to see you!

EXERCISES

Identify the type of the each of the following sentences.

For

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interrogative sentences state whether they are polar interrogatives or wh-interrogatives. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Dont speak to me like that again! You didnt see him in Tanga. Didnt you see him in Tanga? The tea she served me was stale. The mango trees are in full bloom? From Dar es Salaam we drove south east to Utete Would you show me your passport please? Dont fool with mother nature. Nothing will ever change my mind now.

10. When did you arrive?

8.5

SENTENCE TYPES ACCORDING TO STRUCTURE

As stated in the beginning of this lecture the classification of sentences according to structure identifies the following types:

8.5.1 Simple Sentence (S) A simple sentence is a construction that contains only one clause which is independent; i.e. able to stand alone grammatically.

Example 8.8: The Prime Minister met with his cabinet for hours.

The term simple does not refer to shortness of the construction or simplicity of structure; since a simple sentence may consist of several phrases. It may even have compound subject and compound verb. The simplicity is based on the number of clauses it contains. Such a construction can have a single clause

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containing a subject and one main verb that together form a complete and clear message.

Example 8.9: The lion roared. The principal secretary of the Ministry of Finance decided to prosecute all defaulters of the newly introduced tax, VAT. The naughty nursery school kids wanted toys from the missionary nuns.

These sentences are simple as they each contain only one independent clause and no appended clauses. 8.5.2 Compound Sentences (Cd) This is construction that consists of two or more independent clauses usually joined together by a coordinating conjunction like and, but no, or for, yet, so. Sometimes the clauses of the compound sentences are joined by a comma (,) a colon (:) or a semicolon (;).

Example 8.10: 1. 2. 3. The sun burnt the earth but some crops thrived. My father came home early and entered the house quietly. The couple were in a hurry, she looked up the papers for advertisements, he drove around inquiring and they finally located a house that suited them.

8.5.3 Complex Sentence (Cx) This is the sentence that is composed of an independent clause and one or more dependent clauses. An independent clause is one which can stand by itself as a complete sentence. While a dependent clause cannot stand by itself to make sense. A dependent clause is introduced by subordinating conjunction. In the examples below the dependent clauses are shown in italic.
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Example 8.11: 1. 2. 3. He came to see us because he wanted to borrow some money from us. Halima asked us if we approved of what she had said. Although Alinze was reputed to be the best wrestler of the land, he was shamefully dethroned by an amateur athlete.

8.5.4 Compound-Complex (Cc) This is a sentence that combines together the features of the compound sentence and those of the complex sentence. The compound-complex sentence thus is made up of two or more independent clauses and a least one dependent clause. In the examples below, dependent clauses are shown in italics.

Example 8.12:

1.

The soldiers came to our house, forced the door open and took whatever document they saw.

2.

After Musa had arrived home, the rain started to fall and it went on raining until past midnight.

3.

Salima met Twaha in town but she did not tell him what had happed back home.

EXERCISES

Classify the following sentences as simple (s), complex (Cx), compound (Cd) or compound-complex (Cc). 1. The bride herself remained cheerful throughout the party. 2. The morning went by quickly with the temperature rising to 95 degrees. 3. Hamza claimed that by staying awake at night, he could prepare himself better for the examinations.

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4. What we heard was not the sound of a big lorry but the noise of an elephant pulling down a hut. 5. After we had talked for about an hour Celina began to fall asleep. 6. Roxanne had a choice between majoring in history or English. 7. The president will address the nation tonight because tomorrow is a public holiday. 8. Have you ever imagined what you would do if you won a ten million shillings lottery? 9. It is upsetting to see so many women, who could work, begging for food for their children. 10. The street children represent a burden on the country and whoever finds a solution to this problem deserves our praise. 11. Write two sentences of your own for each of the following sentence types: declaratives, interrogative, imperative,

exclamatory, simple compound, complex and compoundcomplex.

SUMMARY

Knowledge of the types of sentences is important in improving your skill of communication. When you are aware of the structure and purpose of sentence types, you will increase your scope of styles of sentences you may use in writing your academic essays and research papers. Sentences can be classified along two criteria. On the criterion of sentence purpose we identify the declarative, interrogative, imperative and exclamatory sentences, while on the criterion of sentence structure we identify the simple, compound, complex and compound - complex sentences.

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REFERENCES

Day, Susan, (1989), Reading and the writing Process. Macmillan Publishing Company. New York. Fennell, Francis, (1987), Collegiate English Handbook. Irwin Homewoods. Illinois Gere, A.R. (1988), Writing and Learning. Company. New York. Howell, J. and D. Memering, (1986), Brief Handbook for Writers Prentice-Hall Englewood Cliffs New Jersey Macmillan Publishing

Lannon, John, (1988); The writing Process. Scott, Company. Boston.

Foresman

and

Stoddard, TD et al, (1985), Effective Writing: A Practical Grammar Review. Zandvoort, R.W., (1962), A Handbook of English Grammar. Longmans Green and Co. Limited London.

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LECTURE NINE

FORMAL AGREEMENT IN THE SENTENCE

9.1

INTRODUCTION

The words that combine to form sentences that we write or speak everyday do so by following definite conventions. This lecture intends to guide your into looking at the principles which relate words-one to another, to produce intelligible sentences. A number of such relationships exist in sentences hence a single lecture like this one cannot exhaustively examine all the grammatical relations. However, for the purpose of this lecture, we are going to examine only three kinds of formal agreement principles which we consider to be of relevance toward enhancing communication ability. The three types are: agreement of subject and verb; agreement of pronoun (or possessive adjective) and its antecedent, and the agreement of demonstrative adjectives, and the nouns that they correspond with. agreement of demonstrative adjectives and the nouns that they correspond with.

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OBJECTIVES

At the end of this lecture you should be able to: (i) Define formal agreement; (ii) Formulate sentences with correct formal agreement of subject and verb; (iii) Construct sentences with appropriate formal agreement of pronoun and its antecedent; (iv) Write sentences with appropriate formal agreement of demonstrative adjectives and the nouns they represent. 9.2 MEANING OF FORMAL AGREEMENT

The term formal agreement is used to refer to the grammatical relationship that ought to exist between one word or phrase and another word or phrase that is closely connected to it in a sentence. Such could be the relationship that exists between a subject and a verb or a pronoun and its antecedent. Formal agreement also referred to as concordial agreement, states the rules by which different elements of the sentence are grammatically related one to another. 9.3 AGREEMENT OF SUBJECT AND VERB

The subject-verb agreement specifies the kind of relationship that should exist between the subject of the sentence and its verb. It states how number and person of the subject should be matched with that of the verb. By number we mean whether the subject is singular or plural and by person we mean whether the subject is in first, second or third person. 9.3.1 Agreement of Person and Number

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In order to see how the verb agrees in person and number with its subject it is helpful first to carefully study the following table showing different persons and number. FIRST PERSON CASE Singular SUBJECTIVE I OBJECTIVE Me Plural We Us SECOND PERSON Singular You You Plural You You THIRD PERSON Singular Plural She/He/It They Her Him It POSSESSIVE My Our Your Your Her His It Their Them

Table 1:1 Possessive and Subjective Case Pronouns

In this table only the person in the subjective and possessive cases are relevant to our present discussion.

The main principle guiding how the subject and verb ought to match may be summarized as follows: when the subject is plural its verb must be plural. When the subject is in first, second or third person, the verb must match it. Following below is an elaboration of this general principle. The suffix s (or es) on the subject noun generally denotes that the noun is plural. The absence of the suffix s (or es) on the subject noun generally denotes that the noun is singular. Example 9.1: Singular Verb kicks (-s) breaks (-s) tries (-es) Plural Verb kick break try

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does (es)

do

Likewise the suffix s (or es) on the verb in the present tense usually signifies that the verb is singular. The absence of the suffix s (or es) on the verb usually tells that the verb is in plural.

Example 9.2: Singular Noun lesson valley mango glass (+s) (+s) (+es) (+es) Plural Noun lessons valleys mangoes glasses

Principle 1: In the present tense singular subject nouns which usually do not end in s must accompany singular verbs which usually do end in s Example 9.3: The hunter kills wild pig

Singular subject has no s ending The shed needs repair. The bus passes very early. The soldier walks many miles every day

Singular verb has es ending

The absence of the suffix s (or es) after the nouns shade, bus and soldier denotes that all these subject nouns are singular. The suffix s on needs, walks and then suffix es on passes show that all these verbs in the third person are singular.
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Principle 2: Plural subject nouns which usually do end in s (or es) must be accompanied by plural verbs which usually do not end in s (or es).

Example 9.4 The hunters kill wild pigs

Plural subject has s ending

Plural verb has no -s ending

The shades need painting The buses pass very early The soldiers walk many miles everyday

The -es in shades, buses and -s in soldiers indicate that these subject nouns are all plural. Similarly, the absence of the -s (or -es) on the verbs need, pass and walk shows that they are all in plural.

TAKE NOTE

When singular subject nouns are followed by such expressions as well as, with, accompanied by, together with they will take singular verbs. This is because the phrases introduced by such expressions are not part of the subject. They are simply elements which are introduced between the subject and the verb. Example 9.5: WRONG: The teacher, as well as the pupils were trapped in the cave CORRECT: The teacher, as well as the pupils was trapped in the cave. WRONG: Salma, accompanied by Dora were seen entering the night

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club. CORRECT: Salma accompanied by Dora was seen entering the night club. Note that some nouns do not use the suffix s to form plural forms. No matter what the form is, a plural subject must require a plural verb. Following below are some of the nouns which are not pluralized by adding the suffix s. Example 9.6: People speak freely. Children dream a lot. Men come to see her daily Oxen pull ploughs

EXERCISES

1.

For each of the following sentences, identify the subject and tell its person and number. (a) (b) The pollution of water resources is preceding rapidly. Some students question whether literature has any relevance to them. (c) A female student called out at night saying there was a thief in the compound. (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i) (j) A dog and a cat are seldom friends. Alina walked into the meeting hall late. When I am tired I go to sleep early. You seem to understand the trick well. They sang together the whole night. There song that moved us most was I salute you. My sister along with her friends danced throughout the night.

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2. Choose the verb that matches well with the subject of each sentence in the following passage. People (says, say) that Domina, accompanied by Bertha (were, was) seen walking quickly towards Kalima forest. The two girls are now reported missing. The police are questioning Albert on the disappearance of the girls. But Albert, with his two children (do, does) not know why he is held responsible for this incidence. The common belief is that Albert, as well as his children (were, was) in position to note the unusual behaviours of the two girls. However, so far neither the police nor Albert himself (are, is) willing to talk about the incidence.

9.4

AGREEMENT OF COMPOUND SUBJECTS

A compound subject, as noted in lecture one, is a subject that is formed by joining together more than one element. The common way of forming compound subject is by joining two or more nouns, pronouns or normal phrases. Here we are going to look at how different forms of compound subjects pattern with verbs to form grammatically accurate sentences.

9.4.1 Compound Subjects Formed by Conjuctions, and, both Principle 3: When and and both are used, consider these subjects as plural even when the elements forming it are all in singulars use a plural verb.

Example 9.7: Sakina and Sebba are coming tonight. Both her car and van have been stolen. Karachi and Dar es Salaam are the worlds dirtiest cities.

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9.4.2 Compound Subjects Formed By Conjuction or Principle 4: When the conjunction or is used to form the subject, it implies a choice of either one of the elements as a separate entity. This being the case, when the separate entities are in singular form, considers the subject as singular. Use a singular verb.

Example 9.8: Adam or Aden is called in by the principal. A poet or a singer was entertaining the guests. A car or a house shows that one in rich. Asha or Lisa does better work.

Principle 5: However, when the compound subject uses or and each of the entities is in plural form, consider it a plural subject; use a plural verb.

Example 9.9: Wives or husbands are wanted by the counselor. Trains or buses were appropriate means of transport. Cars or houses show that one is rich.

9.4.3 Compound Subjects Formed By either.. or and neither .. nor In this type of compound subjects, the verb patterns with the person and number of the element which is nearest to it. This order of forming agreement is called the rule of proximity which states in general that, the subject part nearest to the predicate verb determines the person and number of the subject.

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Example 9.10: Either the sisters or John is coming home tonight. Either John or the Sisters are coming tonight. Neither the sisters nor John is coming home tonight. Neither John nor the Sisters are coming home tonight. Either Agata nor the boys sing in the chair. Either the boys or Agata sings in the chair.

9.5

AGREEMENT IN SUBJECTS FORMED BY COLLECTIVE NOUNS

When the subject is a collective noun, agreement patterning depends on the intention of the speaker. If the noun is considered as one unit, use a singular verb. If the noun is considered as a group of individuals acting separately, use a plural verb.

Example 9.11: The committee was meeting in the directors office. The committee were not able to reach a consensus. Our team was defeated last night. The team were playing a disorganized game. The audience was shocked by the play. The audience were shocked by the play.

9.6

AGREEMENT IN SUBJECTS FORMED BY NOUNS WITH SUMMATION PLURALS

Nouns with summation plurals denote entities or things consisting of two parts of the same size or which look similar. Such nouns are always expressed as plurals.

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For example; spectacles, trousers, jeans, wages, goods, scales, pajamas, binoculars, archives, scales, pants, bowels. These subject nouns always require plural verbs. Example 9.12: My trousers are torn

Note this sentence is different from my pair of trousers is torn. The difference is that in the second sentence the subject is a pair which is third person singular. It thus necessitates the use of the singular verb is. Example 9.13: Our wages are ridiculously low. The goods in the warehouse were spoilt by the rain. The bowels were to be emptied immediately. 9.7 AGREEMENT OF PRONOUN AND ITS ANTECEDENT

A pronoun used in the sentence has to relate to the noun it represents. When pronouns are used ambiguously they bring about a distortion or even complete loss of meaning. 1. In matching the relationship between the pronoun and its antecedent observe that person and number of the pronoun does not differ from that of the antecedent.

Example 9.14: The football player put his boots in a blue bag. ANTECEDENT Third person, singular PRONOUN Third person, singular

The children lost their way in the forest.

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ANTECEDENT

PRONOUN

Third person plural Third person plural

John and I began our journey early. ANTECEDENT First person plural PRONOUN First person plural

2.

When two or more antecedents are joined by and use a plural pronoun to refer to them.

Example 9.15: Emma and Rauna have sold their houses. Mr. Erick and I have registered our names.

3.

If two or more antecedents are joined by or or nor use a singular pronoun to refer to them.

Example 9.16: Neither Madina nor Nesta has finished her work. Either Teddy or Halima has paid her rent.

4.

If none of the antecedents joined by or or nor is singular and the other is plural, make the pronoun agree with the antecedent nearest to the verb.

Example 9.17: Neither John nor the two girls have given their evidence. Neither the two girls nor John has given his evidence

EXERCISES

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In the following sentences identify any errors in agreement in accordance with formal usage and make appropriate corrections. Discuss answers with your colleagues. 1. A thousand shillings are more than my family can afford to pay as rent. 2. Among my favourite novels are King Solomons mines by Athol Fuggard. 3. Either the mayor or his counsellors was ill-informed about the Kitopeni project. 4. The burden of VAT have fallen on the shoulders of the consumers. 5. The source of our problem are overpopulation and unemployment. 6. Each of the visitors have a special request to make. 7. There is a good many reasons for the tension between the Congo and Rwanda. 8. The people to be addressed is the villagers themselves. 9. Neither the children nor their teacher are to be blamed.

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LECTURE TEN

COMMON ERRORS IN ENGLISH

10.1 INTRODUCTION

The term English error refers to the mistakes of language grammar that speakers or writers of English make. Very few people if there are any, can claim that they can speak or write in any language without making grammatical errors. However, for discourse to be able to make sense, it must be grammatically correct. Your written work will be judged on the level how it is perceived to be correct. A state of grammatical correctness is therefore the standard which all language users strive to achieve in our speech or writing. Readers expect us to write discourses whose sentences are complete and accurate.

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The grammatical errors that speakers and writers of English make are as vast as the language itself. The errors belong to different categories of grammar. In this lecture we are going to examine just some of these categories and see how errors are made in them. The errors which many English language users or have a high incidence of occurrence in speech and written discourses.
OBJECTIVES

At the end of this lecturer, you should be able to: (i) Identify and correct fragmented and confused sentences;

(ii) Identify and correct sentences with agreement faults; (iii) Identify and correct sentences with pronoun errors; (iv) Identify and correct sentences with faulty modification.

10.2 SENTENCE FRAGMENTS A complete sentence as we saw in lecture one has to have a subject and a predicate. A sentence fragment is an incomplete construction. It is structurally simply a part of a sentence that is made to look like a whole one. Example 10.1: (i) To avoid children hurting themselves. (ii) Showing an ability to escape danger. (iii) The water boiling in the pot. (iv) Can neither read nor write well Each of the fragments above looks like a sentence as each begins with a capital letter and ends with a full-stop; and each gives information. But none of them is a sentence. The first two fragments invite the question what about it implying that the information they contain is incomplete. In the structure of the sentence they
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can function only as qualifiers of the subject. The third construction can function only as subject or object of a sentence. The fourth fragment invites the question who as it mentions a performance (negatively) without identifying the actor.

What are the causes of sentence fragments?

Sentence fragments often are caused by wrong use of punctuation marks. Example 10.2: Fragmented: The minister spoke forcefully. To convince his audience of the need for VAT. Corrected: The minister spoke forcefully to convince his audience of the need for VAT The wrongly placed full-stop in the first construction cuts off the second part into a fragment which makes the construction look disorganized. Another cause of fragmented sentence is overloading of information making the construction too long. In a long sentence it is possible for the writer to omit a word that is strategic to the structure of the sentence. The following example shows this. Fragmented: One of the big names in African history, Professor B. Ogot who developed a profound interest in African pre-history, especially in the conditions which precipitated the communal mode of life. This construction is incomplete because it lacks a predicate, the part that makes a statement about the person that is mentioned. The whole construction is simply a nominal phrase.
EXERCISES

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From the following list of word groups distinguish sentences from fragments. 1. The bank manager stood behind the car which was parked at the entrance of the bank. 2. Decided to put more stamps on the envelope. 3. But the revels rejected the proposals made by the Kabila government. 4. To seek the views of the public about the white paper. 5. The people who want to join our club. 6. Sarah had no time to go to see her brother. 7. After spending six hours in the military prisons. 8. Behind the window of the backyard room. 9. That can play for several hours. 10. Whenever I see fatty meat hanging on the butchery windows. 10.3 CORRECTING SENTENCE FRAGMENTS

Before you are able to correct a sentence fragment you must be able to determine the structure of the fragment. The most important question to ask yourself is: does the sentence have a subject and predicate? If one aspect is missing be sure the construction is a fragment and you have to supply the missing part to complete the construction.

How can we correct sentence fragments?

As there are several kinds of fragments, there is no one uniform method of correcting them. Each type of fragment is thus treated differently, as it will be shown in the following examples.

10.3.1 Prepositional Phrase Fragments

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Avoid punctuating off a prepositional phrase from the words they modify. Example 10.3 Wrong: We waited patiently. In the empty hall Prepositional phrase

In the empty hall is a sentence fragment that can be corrected by removing the full stop mark that sets it off from the rest of the sentence. The correct sentence should read. We waited patiently in the empty hall. Example 10.4: Wrong: This is a fact. According to Karl Marx. Correct: This is a fact according to Karl Marx.

Wrong: The gun exploded. In front of the spectators. Correct: The gun exploded in front of the spectators. 10.3.2 Dependent Clause Fragments Do not separate a dependent clause from its independent counterpart. The two work together to complete the sense of the sentence. Example 10.5: Wrong: An incident occurred this morning. After the bridge had collapsed CLAUSE DEPENDENT

Correct: An incidence occurred this morning after the bridge had collapsed Wrong: We are certain the children had caused fire. Because they were playing with matches. Correct: We are certain the children had caused fire because they were playing

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with matches. It is also possible to correct this fragment by turning the dependent clause into a second independent clause as follows. Example 10.6: Correct: We are certain the children had caused fire. We had seen them playing with matches. (INDEPENDENT CLAUSES) Wrong: Uncle Malinga had been a wealthy man. Although he died poor.

Also correct: Although uncle Malinga had been a wealthy man he died poor.

10.3.3 Verbal Phrase Fragments Verbal phrases of all kinds (infinitives, gerunds and participle phrases) should not be set off from the words they modify. Example 10.7: Wrong: The UNITA rebels are fighting. To remove the government of Angola. (INFINITIVEPHRASE)

Correct: The UNITA rebels are fighting to remove the government of Angola.

Wrong: Correct: Wrong:

Peering through the window. I saw Jack running (GERUND). Peering through the window, I saw Jack running. Twice elected to the Presidency. Wakil wanted a third term. ( PARTICIPLE)

Correct:

Twice elected to the Presidency Wakil wanted a third term.

Also correct: Having been elected twice to the Presidency, Wakil wanted a third term.

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10.3.4 Absolute Construction Fragments Avoid setting off absolute constructions from the clauses they modify. Use a comma to join them.

Example 10.8: Wrong: Her hands in red gloves. The first lady waved to the people. (ABSOLUTE CONSTRUCTION) Correct: Her hands in red gloves, the first lady waved to the people.

Wrong: His second attempt failing. Dr. Katima left the country quietly. Correct: His second attempt failing, Dr. Katima left the country quietly.

Also correct: Having failed in his second attempt, Dr. Katima left the country quietly.

Wrong: Correct:

Her face looking tired. Jasmine went for a walk. Her face looking tired, Jasmine went for a walk.

Also correct: Jasmine went for a walk with her face looking tired.

10.3.5 Compound Predicate Fragments A compound predicate is a predicate that is made up of more than one verb. Avoid punctuating off the verbs of the sentence. Use a coordinating conjunction to join them together.

Example 10.9: Wrong: The boy picked up a stone. And threw it to the advancing Policemen. Correct: The boy picked up a stone and threw it to the advancing policemen.

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Wrong: The magician created many illusions. And astounded his audience. Correct: The magician created many illusions and astounded his audience. Wrong: The clothes were bought. Donated to the war victims. Correct: The clothes were bought and donated to the war victims.

Identify fragments in the following sentences. State what type of fragment it is, then correct the segment by attaching it to the main sentence.
EXERCISES

Identify fragments in the following sentences. State what type of fragment it is, then correct the segment by attaching it to the main sentence. 1. Although the air conditioner was working. Jane still felt sweaty in the room. She wondered if she had a fever.

2. When Marina got into her bedroom. She discovered that she had left the window open. The beddings and carpet were

soaked. Since it had rained all afternoon. 3. After playing in rain water all morning. The boy looked like a toy. His mother gave him a hot, perfumed bath. 4. Sadiki chopped off the grass. That hanged over the windows. When a green snake slid out of the grass. He dropped the cutter and ran away. 5. Because he had eaten and drunk too much at the picnic. He had to go home early. His stomach felt like a volcano that was about to erupt. 6. The dog eyed me with suspicion. Not knowing whether its master was at home. I hesitated to open the door.

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7. Glistering with sweat. The dancers heaved and jumped up and down. We immensely employed the shows. 8. Agatha is pleased with the new medicine she is taking. Claiming that it calms her pain quickly. 9. I have worked at many jobs in the past. policeman, but driver and kitchen hand. Vernon walked quickly to the bank. To have his check cashed. Otherwise, he would have no money for the weekend. Among them,

10.4

AGREEMENT FAULTS

Having seen the sentence fragment in rather a detailed way, let us now look at the area of grammatical agreement to see what common errors people make there.

What is Agreement Faulty?

An agreement fault is any one of a wide range of grammatical errors which violets the logical relationship between parts of speech in a sentence or one which fails to show correspondence in the form of one word with another to indicate number, person or gender. Agreement fault refers also to the inconsistency observed

among the various components of a sentence; such as the verb not agreeing with the subject or a pronoun not agreeing with its antecedent.

10.5

CORRECTING AGREEMENT FAULTS

We can conveniently specify the methods of correcting errors of agreement by looking at the various different types of agreement faults that commonly occur in sentences. The following are some of them.

10.5.1 Incorrect Subject-Verb Agreement

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In faults of this kind, the form of a subject and the form of the verb in a sentence do not agree. Such constructions do not follow the principle that singular subjects must take singular verbs, and plural subjects must take plural verbs. Below are situations that can lead to difficulties with subject-verb agreement.

(a)

Singular subjects and present tense verbs

In the present tense, singular subjects except for I and Your require an -s or -es ending on regular verbs.

Example 10.10: Wrong: Correct: Wrong: Correct: Our child play on the field. Our child plays on the field. The rain usually fall in the morning. The rain usually falls in the morning.

TAKE NOTE

This rule does not apply to irregular verbs. These have special verb forms that do not use the s and es endings. Like have, is,

(b)

Compound Subjects

When the subject of a sentence is a combination of singular words thus the subject is plural and requires a plural verb.

Example 10.11: Lina sings well. (Singular) Lina and Stella sing well. (Plural) However, when singular subjects are joined with or they take a singular verb. EXAMPLES

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Lina or Stella sings well (Singular). A policeman or a judge comes home (singular).

(c)

False Subjects

These occur when the writer mistakes or forgets the actual subject of a sentence and makes the verb agree with a wrong word, usually one that is closer to the verb.

Example 10.12: Wrong: One of the shops in our street close late. Correct: One of the shops in our street closes late. The faulty in the first sentence is that it mistakes the subject to be shops (plural) instead of one of the shops (singular).

Wrong: The smell of the mangoes are refreshing. Correct: The smell of the mangoes is refreshing. Note: The first sentence perceives the subject to be mangoes instead of smell. (d) Postponed Subjects

These are sentence subjects which occur following the verb. As in the normal cases, the postponed subject should determine the form of the verb. Example 10.13: Entering the hall is the military general. Verb Subject

Entering the hall are the military generals.

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Verb

Subject

About to sing now is Nana Moskouri. Verb Subject

About to sing now are Nana and Georges. Verb Subject

Also sentences which begin with the words there or here are a similar phenomenon of postponed subject constructions.

Example 10.14: Here is hiding a big python. Verb Subject

Here are hiding huge pythons. Verb Subject

There is a policeman across the road. Verb Subject

There are policemen across the road. Verb Subject

EXERCISES

Change the infinitives shown in brackets into the correct forms of the present tense verb. 1. The head teacher in each of the schools (to report) directly the District Education Officer. 2. The colour of the chemicals (to change) frequently.

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3. Each of the players (to have) a pair of stockings. 4. Behind the door (to stand) the statue of the king. 5. Each man and woman in the room (to need) fresh air. 6. Elina is the only one of the board members who (to give) consideration to our needs. 7. A trouser and a shirt (to be) all you need. 8. The branches of the mango tree (to shake) in the wind.

10.6 RUN-TOGETHER SENTENCES Run-together sentences are the reverse of sentence fragments which were discussed earlier on. The difference between them is that, whereas sentence

fragments contain too little, run-together sentences contain too much. A runtogether sentence carries two or more sentences in a form meant to express one sentence. The sentences below are run-together constructions.

Example 10.15: The vehicle had broken down the journey was aborted. People were listening to the minister was addressing the really. 10.6.1 Correcting Run-Together Sentences Run-together sentences can be corrected by using anyone of the following methods. 10.6.2 Combine the Run-Together Sentence by using Subordinating Words Example 10.16 After the vehicle had broken down, the journey was aborted. People were listening to the minister as he was addressing the rally.

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10.6.3 Divide the Run-Together Sentence by Using a Full Stop (Period) EXAMPLE 10.17: The vehicle had broken down. The journey was aborted. People were listening to the minister. He was addressing the rally.

10.6.4 Divide the Run-Together Sentence by Using a Semicolon Example 10.18: The vehicle had broken down; the journey was aborted. The minister was addressing the rally; people were listening to him.

10.6.5 Divide the Run-Together Sentence by Using a Coordinating Word

Example 10.19: The vehicle had broken down and the journey was aborted. The minister was addressing the rally and people were listening to him.
EXERCISES

Correct each of the following run-together sentences by using all of the four methods discussed above. 1. The Chairman closed the meeting we went home. 2. Gossiping was the only way of passing time in our school we gossiped a lot. 3. I am sure the children burnt the house I sow them playing with matches.

10.7

FAULTY PARALLELISM

A non-parallel sentence is one that contains a pair or a series of items that do not fit with the main part of the sentence. In a non-parallel sentence, the structure is
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not balanced as the items in a pair or a series are not expressed in parallel. Nonparallel sentences are confusing to readers because they cannot help readers to predict and follow meaning clearly. The following are examples of non-parallel constructions:

Example 10.20: Salima likes to read, singing and to dance (Two infinitives and a gerund) In the afternoon she locks her door, goes out and jogged on the sea shore. (Two habitual condition verbs, one past tense verb)

10.7.1

Correcting Non-Parallel Sentences

Non-parallel sentences can be corrected by changing the items in the series so that they all are expressed in the same form.

Example 10.21: Salima likes to read, to sing and to dance. (All infinitives) or Salima likes reading, singing and dancing.(All gerunds) In the afternoon she locked her door, went out and jogged on the sea shore. (All past tense verbs). or In the afternoon she locks her door, goes out and jogs on the sea shore. (All habitual condition verbs).
EXERCISES

1. Revise the following sentences so that all items in a series are expressed in the same form

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(i)

The children spent their holidays traveling, camping and at the beach.

(ii)

Power, good health and having lots of money were Mustafas primary ambitions.

(iii)

Allan liked visiting her neighbours more than writing his assignments or to his laboratory experiments.

(iv)

Every time you buy a new electric appliances, remember to check its voltage, to assess its power resistance and noting its year of manufacture.

(v)

Reaching the main entrance, Dick turned back, saw Marina and greets her.

2. The following paragraph has mixed up tenses. Select the tense you find more suitable and rewrite the paragraph. Hyena, one of a large family of dog-like animals is a native of the savannah plains of Africa. It resembled a dog and has sports like

a leopard. The hyena liked to hide in dark isolated places during the day. At night it comes out to look for food. The hyena fed on small animals and left out bones. Nowadays the hyena is also found in the subcontinent of India and the plains of Central America.

10.8

PRONOUN REFERENCE ERRORS

Following below are rules of correcting some of the common errors of pronoun use.

10.8.1 Use a Singular Pronoun to an Indefinite Singular Pronoun Indefinite pronouns refer to words such as; one, anyone, everyone, anybody, each, neither, either.
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Example 10.22: Each bridge has its own design. Neither of the boys came in with his parents Either of the boxes had its top smashed in.

10.8.2 Use a Plural Pronoun to Refer to Antecedents Joined by the Word And Example 10.23: You and I will take our leave in September Johnson and his wife have taken their luggage.

10.8.3 Use a singular pronoun to refer to singular antecedents joined by or or nor Example 10.24: It is Juma or Sadiki who lost his money Sakina or Rebecca is coming with her singers.

However, the situation changes when or or nor joins a singular antecedent to another that is plural. The pronoun should agree with the antecedent closer to it.

Example 10.25: Neither Albert nor his sister had their letters replied. Neither the sisters nor Albert had his letter replied.

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10.8.4 Ambiguous Pronouns When a pronoun seems to refer to more than one antecedent, it is ambiguous. Avoid using pronouns ambiguously.

Example 10.24: Sheila put a cat in a basket but it fell down. (it could be referring to a basket or a cat) Carrie went in to see her mother but she came out immediately.

(She may be referring to Carrie or her mother). These two sentences could be revised as follows: Sheila put a cat in a basket but the cat fell down. As soon as she went in to see her mother, Carrie came out. or Carries mother came out immediately after Carrie had gone in to see her. 10.8.5 Vague Pronouns A vague pronoun does not refer to a specific antecedent. Example 10.25: The teacher wants us to eat samolina with guests something I find very difficult. (Does something meant to refer to eating samolina or eating with the guests. (The antecedent is unclear).

House rent was raised without notice, which surprised all of us. (The pronoun which does not refer to anything that is stated in the sentence. It is vague reference. These errors could be corrected by revising sentences in the following ways.

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The teacher wants us to eat samolina with the guests but we find eating semolina difficult. or The teacher wants us to eat samolina with the guests but we are not used to eating with guests. or House rent was raised without notice. We found thing surprising. House rent was raised without notice, a fact which surprised everybody.

10.9

Overuse of Pronouns

Using too many pronouns in one sentence makes the sentence sound repetitious and may result into producing an immature.

Example 10.26: Robert knew that he should tell the truth, he believed he should do so to clear himself but he kept quiet for he was unsure what would happen to him. This could be revised as follows: Robert knew and believed that he should tell the truth to clear himself but he kept quiet because he was unsure what would happen to him.

10.9 FAULTY MODIFICATION A modifier is a single word, phrase or clause that limits, describes or defines some elements of a sentence. The common modifying words are adjectives and adverbs. When modifiers are used appropriately they can add power, interest and precision to your writing. However, there are some problems in the use of modifiers. Discussed below are some of common errors related to modification. 10.9.1 Misplaced Modifiers

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These are modifiers which are not placed close enough to the words they are meant to modify. All modifiers should be placed immediately before the words they modify. Do not allow modifiers to stay too far away from the words they are meant to modify as this may produce confusing (and sometimes unintentionally amusing) sentences. Example 10 27: Wrong: A young group of girls was called in. Correct: A group of young girls was called in. Wrong: The baby is being attended by Mr. Amos who was born this morning. Correct: The baby who was born this morning is being attended by Mr. Amos.

TAKE NOTE

Always make sure that adverbs such as nearly, merely, hardly, almost, scarcely, refer clearly and logically to the words they modify.

Consider the following uses and misuses of adverbs. We saw only the teacher in the class room. (FORMAL) We only saw the teacher in the classroom. (INFORMAL) Salma nearly chocked until she fainted. (ILLOGICAL) Salma chocked until she nearly fainted. (CLEAR) We almost recited the whole alphabet chart. (MISPLACED) We recited almost the whole alphabet chart. (CLEA
EXERCISES

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Change the following sentences by placing adverbs nearer the words they modify. 1. Adam almost seemed annoyed. 2. Mv. Ujamaa just docked here last week. 3. She merely refused my invitation because she wanted to go out. 4. The patient needed the nurse to bandage his wounds badly. 5. You will only will receive your reports after the examinations are marked and recorded. 6. For a year I almost did not know that Juma was sick. 7. We scarcely planted any crops last year. 8. The bandits nearly terrorized the villagers for two hour.

TAKE NOTE

Make sure that modifying phrases refer clearly to the words they modify. Consider the following uses and misuses of modifying clauses. That woman gave me chocolates in blue dress. (ILLOGICAL) That woman in blue dress gave me chocolates. (CLEAR) That poison attracts rats with the smell of cheese. (ILLOGICAL)

That poison with the smell of cheese attracts rats. (CLEAR) Consider the following uses and misuses of modifying clauses. Felicia bought an egg from her neighbour that was rotten. (ILLOGICAL) Felicia bought an egg that was rotten from her neighbour. (CLEAR) A dog is a good company that is trained well. (ILLOGICAL) A dog that is trained well is a good company well. (CLEAR)

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There is a sparrow in the cage that sings well. (ILLOGICAL) In the cage there is a sparrow that sings well. (LOGICAL)

EXERCISES

In the following sentences place the modifying phrases nearer the words they modify. 1. The football fans stormed the stadium with their club colours up. 2. The bulb exploded after the children has left the room with a loud Burst. 3. The audience watched the women dancers with admiring eyes. 4. Thomas was rescued after the nearly drowned by the his mother. 5. The astronauts looked forward to landing on the moon for several Years. 6. The president announced that he would confer with his cabinet at His press conference last night. 7. Stella dropped out of school after those years attendance last Friday. 8. She gave me the book to mend with a torn cover. 9. We watched the match on TV that our team lost. 10. Karina bought a car from a dealer that had been painted blue. 11. She uses hair colouring on her hair which she bought in Paris.

12. I took a bus at Kigogo that was traveling upcountry. 13. Rigobert secured a job after he graduated from the University which lasted Twenty years. 14. The new house was next to the creek with three bedrooms. 10.9.2 Squinting Modifiers

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A squinting modifier is one that appears to modify either the preceding word or the following word. It squints so to say, at the words on its right and left and leaves the reader puzzled or confused. Example 10.28: Squinting: His doctor tells him everyday to do some exercises. Correct: Correct: His doctor everyday tells him to do some exercises. His doctor tells him to do some exercises everyday.

Squinting: The probe team which was studying the matter yesterday submitted its findings. Correct: The probe teach which was studying the matter submitted its findings yesterday. Correct: The probe team which spent yesterday studying the matter submitted its findings.

EXERCISES

Recast the following sentences to eliminate squinting modifiers. Discuss your answers with a colleagues. 1. 2. 3. The motorcycle he was riding happily lost control. The president said today taxes would be cut. I promised Sitna I would meet her at the corner with the story book. 4. The soldiers who were beating at the wall widely began shooting. 5. The wax sculpture she was making slowly began to melt at midday.

10.10 DANGLING MODIFIERS

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These are modifiers which are not clearly attached to anything in a sentence. A dangling construction may be a phrase, or clause that either modifies nothing in the sentence or that appears to modify a word to which it is not logically related.

There are several types of dangling constructions. If not avoided these may affect your writing by producing ineffective or even misleading sentences.

10.10.1 Correcting Dangling Modifiers (a) Avoid dangling participles

A dangling participle very often obscures the proper subject of the sentence which it intends to modify.

Example 10.29: Wrong: Walking down the road, beautiful flowers can be seen.

In this sentence the subject is not mentioned. Who walks down the road; not the beautiful flowers of course: Correct: Walking down the road, we could see beautiful flowers.

Wrong: Correct:

Taking a bath in the river, a crocodile jumped in. Taking a bath in the river, I saw a crocodile jump in.

You can correct a dangling participial phrase by making clear the noun it intends to modify.
EXERCISES

Revise the following sentences by eliminating the dangling participial phrases. Discuss your answers with a colleague.

1. Kilimanjaro mountain is impressive, viewing it from the Place. 2. Knowing little about Asian customs, our tour there was a flop.

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3. Hiding in backyard, the police arrested the fugitive. 4. The movie was boring showing only red Indians being Killed. 5. Driving at high speed, suddenly the road took an Unexpected turn to the left.

10.10.2 Provide a Subject to a Dangling Gerund A gerund is a verb form which ends with an -ing and is used as a noun. You must identify the actor clearly in the main clause in order to avoid producing confused or meaningless sentences. Example 10. 30: Dangling: After scoring a goal the crowd roared. Correct: After scoring a goal I heard the crowd roar.

Dangling: Before leaving the house, the door was fastened. Correct: Before leaving the house I fastened the door.

Dangling: While viewing the parade, planes flew overhead. Correct: While viewing the parade we saw planes flying over head.

EXERCISES

Revise the following sentences by providing an actor to the dangling gerund phrases. Discuss your answers with a colleague. 1. On hearing the news, tears of joy filled his eyes.

2. While parking the bag, a pillow was forgotten.

3. Upon opening the door, the dog jumped out. 4. By eating hard foodstuffs, the doctor recommended an operation for him. By visiting many villages, many traditional medicines were

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discovered.

10.10.3

Avoid Dangling Infinitives

An infinitive is a verb form that is usually preceded by to and used as a noun, adjective or adverb. Like in the other verbials discussed previously, dangling infinitive phrases must be provided with a subject in its main clause.

Example 10.31: Dangling: To swim well, practice is necessary. Correct: To swim well, one needs to practice.

Dangling: To mend a punctured tyre, The wheel must be removed. Correct: If you wish to mend a punctuated wheel, you must remove the wheel.

EXERCISES

Revise the following sentences by providing the actor to eliminate dangling infinitive phrases. Discuss your answers with a colleague. 1. To become a professional boxer, many hours of training are required. 2. To eliminate poverty, cash crops have to be grown extensively. 3. To find vaccination for malaria, many researches have to be conducted. 4. To impress a prospective customer, use of polite language is necessary. 5. To guarantee safety from burglars, the front door lock had to be changed.

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REFERENCES

Day, Susan, (1989), Reading and the Writing Process Macmillan Publishing Company. New York. Fennell, Francis, (1987), Collegiate English Handbook. Gere, A.R. (1988), Writing and Learning Macmillan Publishing Company. New York. Howell, J. and D. Memering, (1986), Brief Handbook for Writers Prentice-Hall Englewood Cliffs New Jersey. Foresman and

Lannon, John, (1988), The Writing Process. Scott, Company. Boston.

Stoddard, TD et al, (1985), Effective Writing: A Practical Grammar Review. Zandvoort, R.W., (1962), A Handbook of English Grammar. Longmans Green and Co. Limited London.

LECTURE ELEVEN

TEXT GRAMMAR: COHESION

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11.1 INTRODUCTION When people communicate using language they usually do so by using a string of sentences. To use the language effectively both in speaking and writing, we must ensure that our language "holds together" into a coherent, and thereby intelligible whole. Coherence itself is product of many different factors, which combine to make every paragraph, every sentence, and every phrase contribute to the meaning of the whole piece. Coherence in writing is much more difficult to sustain than coherent speech simply because writers have no nonverbal clues to inform them if their message is clear or not. Therefore, writers must make their patterns of coherence much more explicit and much more carefully planned.

OBJECTIVES

At the end of this lecture, you should be able to; (i) Describe text cohesion; (ii) Mention types of interclausal cohesive ties; (iii) Identify cohesive ties used in authentic text materials

11.2 TEXT AND TEXTUALITY For the words to convey sensible message, they have to be joined together into a unified whole. A passage of meaningfully linked words is what we refer to as text. When we speak of a text therefore, we refer to any passage, spoken or written, of whatever length that forms a meaningful unified whole. The question that is put first is: what are the features that distinguish text from a collection of unrelated sentences? According to the famous linguist Michael Halliday, every text has to have a texture. A text derives its texture from the fact that it functions as a unit with respect to its environment. The concept of Texture is entirely appropriate to express the property of 'being a text. A text has texture, and this is what distinguishes it from being something that is not a text. There are certain

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linguistic features that contribute to textual unity. The unity of text is described by the concept of cohesion. Cohesion is a semantic concept which refers to relations of meaning that exist within the text and that define it as text. Cohesion occurs where the interpretation of some element in the discourse is dependent on that of another element. Formulated in other words, cohesion implies semantic resources for linking a sentence with that has gone before it. Cohesion helps to create text by making it possible for discourse to unfold .

This unit aims at surveying the text phenomenon cohesion by describing it using a number of authentic language texts.

11.3 WHAT IS COHESION? As described in the previous section, the term cohesion refers to relations of meaning that exist within a text and that define it as text. Text as we know is made up of a series of ideas realized as a collection of unrelated sentences. For these unrelated ideas to form unified meaning, they have to be linked together into a unified whole. This is the concept of cohesion. It explains how the different parts and units of a text are able to be semantically linked. Text cohesion is facilitated by the use of content text-structuring words commonly known as cohesive ties (also cohesive devices).

11.4 COHESIVE TIES Cohesive ties or devices are text elements that are used to tie pieces of text together in specific ways. One of the earliest accounts concerning the role of interclausal cohesive ties was proposed and described the linguists Michael Halliday and Rukaya Hassan. According to Halliday and Hasan (1976), cohesion is displayed in the ties that exist within text between a presupposed item and a presupposing item. For example, in the sentences Rukia makes good meals. Last night she cooked matoke. The pronoun she in the second sentence is the
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presupposing item. And Rukia in the first sentence is the presupposed item. Halliday and Hasan claim that text derives texture, i.e., coherence, from these cohesive ties. Hence they suggest that: The concept of ties makes it possible to analyze a text in terms of its cohesive properties and give a systematic account of its patterns of texture.

Halliday and Hasan present a taxonomy of various types of cohesive ties or relations in five main groups: (a) Reference including antecedent anaphor relations, the definite article the, and demonstrative pronouns; (b) Substitution including such various pronoun-like forms as one, do, so, etc, (c) Conjunction

Involving words like and, but, yet, etc., and (d) Lexical Cohesion

Which has to do with repeated occurrences of the same or related lexical items, and (e) Ellipsis Which involves the omission of items like words or phrases in a clause.

Specifically Halliday and Hassan (1976) have identified and described five major types of grammatical cohesive ties for English language.

11.4.1 Ties of Reference Reference elements establish a semantic relationship between them, in which one of the elements provide the other with the meaning. There are two basic types of

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reference. The first is reference to the shared world outside of the text. This is called exophoric reference. The second one is reference to elements in the text. This is called endophoric reference. Only the second one is purely cohesive, although both of them are important to create texture. Within endophoric references there are two types: if they refer to preceding elements they are called anaphoric; if they refer to following elements they are called cataphoric. Below are presented some of the several linguistic items which can create reference; (a) Personal Reference

Personal pronouns (subject and object), possessive determiners and pronouns. We can use pronouns in a way that ties them to certain nouns in the text. This occurs when a pronoun refers across a clause boundary to the referent noun. There are two ways of using pronouns for grammatical reference. Anaphoric pronoun. The anaphoric pronoun ties that point back to a previously established referent noun. Example 11.1: I could tell that my mother was upset by the look she had on her face. In the sentence above we can see that she refers back to my mother which is mentioned earlier on the sentence. Cataphoric pronoun. This pronoun ties portions of text by referring forward to the referent noun rather than back to noun. EXAMPLE. When she called me, Amina had not yet seen the examination results.
Table 2: Personal and Possessive Pronouns

FIRST PERSON

SECOND

THIRD PERSON

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CASE Singular Plural SUBJECTIVE I OBJECTIVE Me We Us

PERSON Singular Plural You You You You Singular Plural

She/He/It They Her Him It Them

POSSESSIVE My

Our

Your

Your

Her His It

Their

(b)

Demonstrative Reference

Demonstrative pronouns are words which point to the thing they modify, specifying its position in space or time. These can also function as interclausal cohesive ties by making reference to an item that is described earlier on the text. These include this and these which specify closer position; that and those specify more remote position.

EXAMPLE. The pupils came to the school rather late, this really upset Mrs. Udomo. Demonstrative determiners include location adverbs (here, now, there, then).

(c)

Comparative Reference

A comparative can provide a tie to a referent and most of them are used for anaphoric reference. These include adjectives in comparative degree and certain adjectives and adverbs (same, identical, equal, similar, additional, other, different, else, identically, similarly, likewise, so, such, differently, otherwise).

Comparative reference also includes transition words. These are words or phrases that introduce a sentence and indicate its relationship to the previous sentence.
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Example 11.2: The opportunity cost of producing an additional tape is the number of bottles of cola we must forgo. Similarly, the opportunity cost of producing an additional bottle of cola is the quantity of tapes we must forgo. There are many different transition signals. There are transition signals to indicate sequence; logical divisions of an idea; time; example; comparison; contrast; addition; opposition and conclusion. 11.4.2 Ties of Substitution Substitution refers to a class of items. Substitution can be seen as tying the marker and group together and this forms a more cohesive text. Substitutions can be made for nominal, verbs, and clauses. Example 11.3: You do what you can to ease your pain. I know how you feel, your friends dont: In this sentence dont substitutes know how I feel.

(a) Ellipsis Ellipsis is the omission of elements normally required by the grammar which the speaker/writer assumes are obvious from the context and therefore need not be raised. Hence we can think of ellipsis as a zero tie because it is not actually said in the text. We can use it to create ties to nouns, verbs and clauses. There are basically three types of ellipsis: nominal, verbal and clausal. (i) Nominal ellipsis means the omission of a noun head.

Example 11.4: He bought a red car, but I liked the blue.

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The word car is ellipsed. (ii) Verbal ellipsis involves the omission of the verb head while the auxiliary element remains explicit. A: Will you come to the party? B: Yes, I will. (come to the party)

(iii) Clausal ellipsis represents the omission of a part of the clause. For instance, the subject-pronoun element is frequently omitted, especially in spoken texts. (b) Substitution

Is a half way point between reference and ellipsis. It involves nouns, verbs and clause elements, as for ellipsis, but instead of omitting them, they are substituted by a pro-form: one(s), do, so/not, same. Example 11.5: He bought a red car, but I liked the blue one. The word car is substituted by one

11.4.3 Conjunction The fourth type of creating cohesion is through conjunction. Conjunctions reflect the writers positioning of one point in relation to another in creating a text, thus they are used to signal a relationship between segments of the discourse which is the specific function of conjunctions. We have to note however that conjunctions have not been defined as away of simply joining sentences. Their role in the text is wider than that, because they provide the listener/reader with information for the interpretation of the utterance; that is why some linguists prefer to describe them as discourse markers. Conjunctions can be categorized according to the meaning they express in relating clauses. Although language allows for limitless means of relating ideas, we will

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normally encounter four different kinds of logical relations that conjunctions can express. Some of these cannot cross more than one clause, but others can. The following are some common types. (a) Additive

This is by far the most common of the logical relationships; it involves the simple addition of information similar to what has already been mentioned. At their most basic, additive conjunctions link two or more parallel parts of speech (b) Adversative

These are conjunctive logical relations that expresses the opposition of their meanings. (c) Causal

These relations are used to express a cause or a reason for what is said in the main clause. Where the relation between the subordinate clause and the main clause is one of cause and effect. For example, Therefore, and because (d) Temporal These are conjunctive links that show time or transition in the clauses. Example 11.6: My sister, four years younger than I, comes down from her bedroom, asks frantically what that smell is, then goes past and outside. Then shes back,

Proper use of conjunctions is important to writers as they help the writers to signal the links between ideas.

11.4.4 Lexical Ties

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There are several types of lexical ties. They can cross short or large pieces of discourse.

(a)

Repetition

The repetition of the same lexical item stem strengthens the text cohesion. See how the words poems and dismissing are used in the following text.

Seventeen years ago I sent my first manuscript book of poems to a university Press for review. They were family poems, mostly, the book itself a pale version of Joyces portrait of the Artist as a Young man. Months later the word came back in effect dismissing not only the poems, butwhat to me was unforgivable dismissing the very existence of the world Id written about

(b)

Collocation

Collocation can tie the lexical items together. That is, when we think of a war, we also think of the soldiers, the wounded, and the death. Note the cohesion created by collocation in the following paragraph.

But then I remember that I left my blue-collar world long ago. Sure, I still mow my lawn, weed the garden, paint the house. But I have my card fixed, my house cleaned, my kitchen rebuilt by carpenters, my washing machine repaired, my antenna removed, all by members of the working class, all jobs my father and two of my three brothers still do for themselves .

SUMMARY

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A text is any piece of language, spoken or written, of whatever length, which forms a unified whole. A speaker of a language can easily distinguish between a text and a collection of sentences. This is because texts have texture, that is, the quality of functioning as a unity. For a text to have texture it must include ties that bind it together. These ties are called cohesive ties and, given that cohesion is expressed partly through the grammar and partly through the vocabulary, there are different types of cohesive ties, such as: reference, substitution, ellipsis, conjunctionand lexical cohesion. These ties produce cohesion. Cohesion refers to relations of meaning that exist within the text, and that define it as a text. (Halliday & Hasan, 1976:4). There is cohesion when the interpretation of an element in the text is dependent on that of another, that is, cohesion is a semantic relation between an element in the text and some other element that is crucial to the interpretation of it.
EXERCISES

Read the following text and then answer the questions that follow after it. At around one pound for a large fruit, the pineapple is no longer the special-occasion fruit it was in my childhood. (If there is a pineapple in the fruit bowl, then it must be Christmas.) More recently, in the lush, tropical heat of Zanzibar, the fruit became a daily ritual during a beachbum holiday. Armed with a plump pineapple, chosen for its ripeness and stripped of its inedible skin by the stallholders fearsome machete, we would wander far along the deserted beach to make the most of the fruit and its sticky juice.

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Six months later, in the frost-covered gardens of Versailles, the statues and urns wrapped up for the winter, such a fruit seemed even more welcome, cheering us up as our teeth chattered and we dripped juice into the snow as we walked. It is this fruits impeccable timing, turning up sweet and gold in the depths of winter, that probably makes it so popular. 1. Identify the antecedents which the highlighted pronouns represent 2. What type of cohesive ties do the underlined phrases belong to?
REFERENCES

Hatch, Evelyn. (1994); Discourse and Language Education. New York: Cambridge University Press. Mariani, Paul. (1994); Class. In Robert Park and Jay Parini (Eds.), American Identities: Contemporary Multicultural Voices. (pp 139150). Hanover: Middlebury College Press. Carrell,Patricia (1982); Cohesion Is Not Coherence TESO QUARTERLY 16 (479-488) Halliday, M.A.K & Hassan, R. (1976) Cohesion in English. Longman. London Hassan, R. (1984) Coherence and Cohesive Harmony. In J. Flood (Ed) Understanding Reading Comprehension. International Reading Association. Campbell, Kim (1995); Coherence, Continuity and Cohesion: Theoretical Foundations for Document Design. Hillsdale. Erlbaum Connor, Ulla (1984); A Study of Cohesion and Coherence in English as Second Language. Papers In Linguistics 17: (301-316) Blass, Regina (1986); Cohesion, Coherence and Relevance. Notes on Linguistics 34. (41-64)

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