Improve Your Written English

193 Pages·2009·0.63 MB·English

by  Field, Marion.

Improve
your
Written English
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Improve
your
Written English
Master the essentials of grammar,
punctuation and spelling and write
with greater confidence
M A R I O N F I E L D
Published by How To Content,
A division of How To Books Ltd,
Spring Hill House, Spring Hill Road, Begbroke,
Oxford OX5 1RX, United Kingdom.
Tel: [phone]. Fax: [phone].
[email protected]
www.howtobooks.co.uk

How To Books greatly reduce the carbon footprint of their
books by sourcing their typesetting and printing in the UK.
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced
or stored in an information retrieval system (other than for
purposes of review) without the express permission of the
publisher in writing.

The right of Marion Field to be identified as author of this
work has been asserted by her in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

© 2009 Marion Field

Second edition 1998
Reprinted with amendments 1999
Third edition 2001
Fourth edition 2003
Reprinted 2005 (twice)
Reprinted 2006
Reprinted 2007
Fifth edition 2009
First published in electronic form 2009

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.
A catalogue record for this book is available from
the British Library.

ISBN: 978 1 84803 330 6

Produced for How To Books by Deer Park Productions, Tavistock
Typeset by Kestrel Data, Exeter

NOTE: The material contained in this book is set out in good
faith for general guidance and no liability can be accepted
for loss or expense incurred as a result of relying in particular
circumstances on statements made in the book. Laws and
regulations are complex and liable to change, and readers should
check the current position with the relevant authorities before
making personal arrangements.
Contents
Listofillustrations ix
Preface xi
PARTONE:THEBASICS
1 DiscoveringGrammar 3
Identifyingnouns 3
Usingcapitalletters 5
Replacingnounswithpronouns 7
Knowingthearticles 10
Understandingverbs 10
Revisingthepoints 17
Practisingwhatyou’velearnt 17
2 ExpandingyourKnowledge 19
Makingwords‘agree’ 19
Introducingclauses 21
Handlingphrases 25
Usingadjectivestocolouryourwriting 25
Employingadverbs 27
Usingprepositions 28
Revisingthepoints 29
Practisingwhatyou’velearnt 30
3 PolishingupyourPunctuation 32
Knowingwhentostop 32
Usingcommascorrectly 33
Makinguseofthesemi-colon,thecolonand
thedash 37
v
vi / IMPROVE YOUR WRITTEN ENGLISH
Rememberingthequestionmarkandthe
exclamationmark 39
Revisingthepoints 40
Practisingwhatyou’velearnt 41
4 ParagraphingyourWork 43
Structuringaparagraph 43
Settingoutdirectspeech 46
Changingtoindirectspeech 49
Writingaplay 50
Revisingthepoints 50
Practisingwhatyou’velearnt 51
5 CheckingyourSpelling 53
Establishingthegroundrules 53
Avoidingcommonmistakes 57
Usingthedictionary 63
Makinguseofthethesaurus 65
Revisingthepoints 66
Practisingwhatyou’velearnt 66
6 LookingatApostrophesandAbbreviations 68
Showingpossession 68
Abbreviatingwords 70
Handlingcontractions 72
Usinginitialletters 73
Lookingatacronyms 73
Revisingthepoints 74
Practisingwhatyou’velearnt 74
7 ImprovingyourStyle 76
Recognisingcommonmistakes 76
Avoidingunnecessaryrepetition 83
Makingcomparisons 84
Eliminatingjargon 86
Stimulatingyourimagination 87
Checkingyourwork 92
Usingthechecklist 95
Practisingwhatyou’velearnt 95
CONTENTS / vii
PARTTWO:ENGLISHINACTION
8 WritinganEssayandaShortStory 99
Researchingyouressay 99
Structuringyouressay 103
Writingtheessay 104
Plottingtheshortstory 105
Editingyourwork 106
Practisingwhatyou’velearnt 108
9 SummarisingandReporting 109
Writingasummary 109
Compilingareport 111
Checkingyoursummary 115
Checkingyourreport 115
Practisingwhatyou’velearnt 115
10 FillinginForms 117
Workingonline 117
Providingthebasicinformation 117
Copingwithavarietyofforms 119
Writinglegibly 130
Askingforhelp 131
Witnessingthesignature 131
Checkingforerrors 131
Practisingwhatyou’velearnt 132
11 WritingLetters 133
Usinge-mail 133
Writingapersonalletter 135
Writingaformalletter 136
Endingtheletter 137
Draftingyourletter 137
Producingavarietyofletters 140
Checkingyourwork 146
Practisingwhatyou’velearnt 147
12 MakingApplications 148
Applyingtouniversity 148
Applyingforajob 148
viii / IMPROVE YOUR WRITTEN ENGLISH
PreparingaCurriculumVitae(CV) 149
Fillingintheapplicationform 155
Writingacoveringletter 157
Acquiringreferees 157
Checkingforerrors 159
Practisingwhatyou’velearnt 159
Suggestedanswers 161
Glossary 167
Furtherreading 171
Index 173
List of Illustrations
1 Essayplan 102
2 Titlepageofreport 112
3 Introductiontoreport 112
4 Summaryofreport 113
5 Recommendationsfromreport 114
6 Exampleofmarketresearchform 118
7 Personaldetailsonanyform 118
8 Formforopeningabankaccount 120
9 Formforopeningamortgageaccount 121
10 Standingorderform 122
11 Patientregistrationform 123
12 Applicationforadepartmentstorechargecard 124
13 Departmentstore weddinggiftlist 124
14 Carinsuranceform 126
15 Handwrittenpersonalletter 134
16 Formalletter 138
17 Addressedenvelope 140
18 Handwrittenletterofsympathy 141
19 Letterrequestingaphotograph 143
20 Handwrittenlettertoalocalnewspaper 144
21 Letterofcomplaint 145
22 CV:personaldetails 150
23 CV:careerhistory 153
24 ExampleofaCV 154
25 Applicationform 156
26 Coveringletter 158