Mechanics of Writing

By : Nurul Hidayah Bt Mohamad Radzi . PK3

Mechanics of Writing
         

Capitalization Transitions Spelling Rules Hyphenation Transcribing Numbers Abbreviations Paragraphs Prefixes and Suffixes Word Division Punctuation

Capitalization


The function of capitalization is to emphasize words or to show their importance.

When to use capitals..

      

The first word Letter Part Noun plus Number Position Title Proper Noun Quotation Title

Transitions


Use of Transitions in written work

Use of Transitions in Oral Presentation

Transition


Is a word or a phrase that serves as a special connective between two things. By using this the writer presents the idea clearly and effectively. Helps the reader to go through the material smoothly from one idea to another idea.

Uses of Transitions
 

Within a sentence : The entire staff worked overtime; nevertheless, we were unable to process all the black orders. This passage is full of redundancy; therefore, we decided to revise it.

Spelling Rules
 

Features of Spellings in English Language 1. Chaotic character of its spellings and the frequently lack of correlation between spelling and pronunciation. 2. Complicated in nature as many letters are used to pronounce same words. 3. Large number of words in English in which certain letters are silent.

Hyphenation
Are used primarily to aid the reader and to avoid ambiguity.

Abbreviations


Abbreviations are short form of words or phrases. They are commonly used in business communication and technical writing. Points to be noted: 1. The abbreviations are capitalized only when the terms they are used for, and also capitalized.

 

Transcribing Numbers


 

An idea, a symbol or a word indicating a quantity of units. Numbers can be spelled, written as figures or written in a combination of a figure and a part of a word. Numeral : a symbol representing a number. Arabic Numerals/Roman Numerals

Hyphenation (-)


  

Hyphens are used primarily to aid the reader and to avoid ambiguity. Compound consists of two or more separate words and/or phrases that are used as a single word. Two categories: 1.Compound words with hyphens 2.Compound words without hyphens

PUNCTUATION


Guide to the reader in the natural pauses in writing. Punctuating your sentence need only involve: colon, semicolon, full stop, question mark dash, apostrophe, comma, quotation marks, brackets.

Colon (:) is most often used to introduce a quotation or a list. Full Stop (.) Use full stops more than you expect to. When in doubt, your instinct should always plump for a full stop. Question mark (?) Use a question mark every time there is a genuine direct question. Dashes (-) Single dash to mark a break in the sentence, a pair of dashes in the place of brackets.

Semicolon(;) Represents a pause longer than a comma but shorter than a full stop. It is used in clauses when the second clause expands or explains the first. It is used to mark off a series of phrases or clauses which themselves contain commas. Apostrophes () If something belongs to someone you write someones. Apostrophes are also shown where letters are missed out cant , wont.

Comma (,) like buses. They are needed are not optional. Quotation marks () Unless the length of the quotation is more than three lines of your text, in which case it is indented and no quotation marks are necessary

Brackets ( ) Parenthesis The use of brackets should be kept minimum. Brackets are always used in pairs. They are used to indicate a supplementary remark, or a qualification of some sort. Grammatically they work like commas, but the remarks inside the brackets tend to be less important than those inside commas.

Paragraph


A paragraph is a self-contained unit of a discourse in writing or dealing with a particular point or idea. A paragraph can be as short as one word or run the length of multiple pages, and may consist of one or many sentences.

Structure
   

Topic sentence Supporting sentences Transitional sentences Concluding sentences

5-STEP PROCESS
    

1.Controlling idea and topic sentence 2.Explanation of controlling idea 3.Example 4.Explanation (of example) 5.Completion of paragraphs idea or transition into next paragraph