1. The document provides information about writing, capital letters, signs and symbols, punctuation marks, and sentence variety. 2. It defines writing as using symbols like letters and punctuation to communicate ideas in a readable form. Various rules for using capital letters, signs, symbols, and punctuation are explained. 3. The importance of sentence variety is discussed, with examples of changing sentence structure, type, length, and pattern to make writing more engaging. Common abbreviations are also defined.

1. MODULE 4
I. What is writing
II. Capital Letters
III. Signs and Symbols
IV. Punctuation Marks
V. Sentence Variety
At the end of this module the students are expected to:,
1. Understand the importance of writing in a child’s life
2. Identify the different rules of writing such as using the punctuation
marks, capital letters, signs and symbols sentence variety and
abbreviation.
WHAT IS WRITING
Writing" is the process of using symbols (letters of the alphabet, punctuation
and spaces) to communicate thoughts and ideas in a readable form.
Writing is the fourth of the four language skills, which are:
Listening
Speaking
Reading
Writing
In our own language, writing is usually the fourth language skill that we learn.
To write clearly it is essential to understand the basic system of a
language. In English this includes knowledge of grammar, punctuation
and sentence structure. Vocabulary is also necessary, as is correct
spelling and formatting.
A writer may write for personal enjoyment or use, or for an audience of one
person or more. The audience may be known (targeted) or unknown. Taking
notes for study purposes is an example of writing for one's self. Blogging
publicly is an example of writing for an unknown audience. A letter to a friend
is an example of writing for a targeted audience. As with speaking, it is
important to consider your audience when writing. There are many different
styles of writing, from informal to formal.
Using Capital Letters
We can write each letter of the English alphabet as a small letter (abc...) or as a
large or capital letter (ABC...). Here is a full list of capital letters.
COURSE TITLE TEACHING ENGLISH IN THE ELEMENTARY GRADES
( LANGUAGE ARTS)
COURSE UNIT: 3 units
INSTRUCTOR MS. KAREN S. YBIERNAS

2. In English, we do NOT use capital letters very much. We use them mainly for
the first letter of sentences, names, days and months as well as for some
abbreviations. We always write the first person pronoun as a capital I.
It is not usual to write whole sentences in capitals. A sentence or paragraph
written in capitals is very difficult to read. Did you ever see a book written in
capital letters? Of course not! We cannot easily read lots of text in capital
letters. Lawyers, for example, know that capitals are difficult to read and that is
why they often write contracts in capital letters!
When do we Use Capital Letters?
1. Use a capital letter for the personal pronoun 'I':
What can I say?
2. Use a capital letter to begin a sentence or to begin speech:
 The man arrived. He sat down.
Suddenly Mary asked, "Do you love me?"
3. Use capital letters for many abbreviations and acronyms:
 G.M.T. or GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)
 N.A.T.O. or NATO or Nato (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
4. Use a capital letter for days of the week, months of the year, holidays:
 Monday, Tuesday
 January, February
 Christmas
 Armistice Day
5. Use a capital letter for countries, languages & nationalities, religions:
 China, France
 Japanese, English
 Christianity, Buddhism
6. Use a capital letter for people's names and titles:
 Anthony, Ram, William Shakespeare
 Professor Jones, Dr Smith
 Captain Kirk, King Henry VIII
7. Use a capital letter for trade-marks and names of companies and other
organizations:
 Pepsi Cola, Walkman
 Microsoft Corporation, Toyota
 the United Nations, the Red Cross
8. Use a capital letter for places and monuments:
 London, Paris, the Latin Quarter
 the Eiffel Tower, St Paul's Cathedral
 Buckingham Palace, the White House
 Oxford Street, Fifth Avenue
 Jupiter, Mars, Sirius
 Asia, the Middle East, the North Pole
9. Use a capital letter for names of vehicles like ships, trains and spacecraft:
 the Titanic
 the Orient Express, the Flying Scotsman
 Challenger 2, the Enterprise
10. Use a capital letter for titles of books, poems, songs, plays, films etc:
 War And Peace
 If, Futility
 Like a Virgin
 The Taming of the Shrew
 The Lion King, Gone With The Wind
11. Use capital letters (sometimes!) for headings, titles of articles, books etc,
and newspaper headlines:
HOW TO WIN AT POKER
Chapter 2: CLINTON'S EARLY LIFE
LIFE FOUND ON MARS!
MAN BITES DOG

3. PUNCTUATION MARK

4. SIGNS AND SYMBOLS
sign Name and usage Examples
&
ampersand
The ampersand is short-hand for the
word "and". It is typically seen in
company names and various
abbreviations.
companies: Marks & Spencer,
Dolce & Gabbana, Johnson &
Johnson, and Tiffany & Co.
abbreviations: P&L (profit
and loss), R&D (research and
development), and B&B (bed
and breakfast)
*
asterisk
We use the asterisk to point to an
annotation or footnote.
It can also be used as a substitute for
letters in a swear word ("Oh f***!") or
to make a name anonymous (Mr
M***).
We will refund* your payment
in full in the case of loss
during transit.
*provided such loss is
reported within 7 days
@
at sign
Originally an accounting shorthand
meaning "at the rate of".
Today the at sign is most commonly
seen in email addresses and social
media handles.
accounting: 2 pens @ $3 = $6
email: bob@tefl.net
social media: @englishclub
•
bullet
We use bullets to introduce items in
a list.
Shopping list:
 milk
 eggs
 bread
¢
cent sign
The cent symbol is used in many
national currencies to represent one-
hundredth (1/100) of the basic
monetary unit. For example, in the
USA a cent is 1/100th of the dollar. It
is typically written after the number.
Coffee: 99¢
© copyright symbol
The letter c or C in a circle indicates
the presence of copyright on a work
such as a book, film, website etc.
© Oxford University Press
2019
COPYRIGHT © MMXIX SONY
PICTURES
† dagger
We use the symbol † to point to a
footnote if an asterisk has already
been used. If a third reference is
needed the double dagger ‡ may be
used.
The symbol † is also called
an obelus when it is used to indicate
that a person is deceased.
We will refund* your payment
in full† in the case of loss
during transit.
*provided such loss is
reported within 7 days
†subject to our terms and
conditio

5. ° degree sign
Indicates a measurement such as
temperature, angle,
longitude/latitude and alcoholic
content.
Water boils at 100°C (212°F).
Horizontal and vertical are at
a 90° angle. The roof slopes
at an angle of 30° to the
hoizontal.
The latitude of the earth's
equator is 0° (by definition).
The tropics are roughly
between 23° south and 23°
north. Melbourne, Australia,
lies on a latitude of 38° south
and a longitude of 145° east.
" ditto mark
The ditto mark indicates that the
words above it should be repeated.
(Not to be confused with
double quotation mark.)
09:00 French
10:00 History
11:00 "
12:00 Maths
$ dollar sign
The dollar sign is a letter S crossed
by a single or double vertical line. It
represents the dollar, which is the
basic monetary unit of various
countries (USA, Canada, Australia
and others), and is usually written
before the amount. It may be
combined with the letters "US" to
signify American dollar (and other
Lunch $9.99
For Sale US$77,430
AUD$250.00
CAN$
NZ$
letters for other countries such as
Australia, Canada, New Zealand).
#
number sign, pound sign, pound
key, hash
The symbol # is commonly used with
numbers, especially in American
English.
It is also used on standard phone
keyboards.
Since 2007 it has been used to
create social media hashtags.
numbers: Please go to
Question #7.
phone: To see current
charges please dial #567#.
hashtags: #englishclub, #tefl
%
percent sign
We use the symbol % to indicate a
percentage (that is, an amount in
100).
NB: In formal writing (except for
scientific or technical works), you
should really write the word out in
full, that is "percent".
tea: $10.00
7% tax: $ .70
--------------
total: $10.70
There's a 50% chance of
good weather tomorrow
′ prime symbol
The prime symbol is most commonly
used in measurements to indicate
feet (1 foot = 12 inches). It comes
after the number. (Not to be
He is 6' tall.
Danger! LOW BRIDGE 14'

6. confused with apostrophe or
single quotation mark.)
″
double prime symbol
The double prime symbol is most
commonly used in measurements to
indicate inches (12 inches = 1 foot).
It comes after the number. (Not to
be confused with double quotation
mark.)
You should bring a 6" ruler.
®
registered trademark symbol
The capital letter R in a circle
indicates that the preceding word or
symbol is a legally registered
trademark.
MacDonald's®
Coca-Cola®
∴
therefore sign
Although the three-dot symbol ∴ is
really a maths symbol (x + 1 = 6, ∴ x
= 5), it is sometimes used as
shorthand in informal writing to
mean "therefore" or "for that
reason".
Had an injury, ∴ can't play
next week.
˜
tilde
While the tilde has specific meanings
in mathematics, programming and
Spanish/Portuguese, in English its
common use is to mean
"approximately", usually before a
born ~455 AD
Let's meet ~15 mins before
the start
number.
The tilde is also sometimes used as a
fancy dash or hyphen, but this is not
standard use.
™
trademark symbol
The capital letters TM indicate that
the preceding word or symbol is a
trademark
WORD UP™ Home Edition
SENTENCE VARIETY
sentence (noun): a group of words that expresses a thought and is complete
in itself (starting with a capital letter and ending with a full stop or
question/exclamation mark)
variety (noun): the quality of being different; not having uniformity or
sameness
Do you read your sentences out loud after you write them? It is a good idea
to do this. Writing that reads easily and sounds conversational is easier to
understand. When we talk, we vary the length of our sentences. Some of our
sentences are long and exciting and seem to go on forever until it is time for
us to finally stop and take a breath. Some are short and sweet. A wise English
poet once said, "Variety is the spice of life." Remember this advice as you
write your stories, essays and letters.
How to add Sentence Variety

7. There are a number of ways to add variety to your writing. Imagine yourself
cutting up a sentence into individual words and placing them in a paper bag.
Now shake it up! Did you do a little dance? Great. Now lay out your sentence
and experiment. Can you make two sentences out of one? Can you put your
sentence back to front? Try turning your sentence into a question. Or, if you
think your sentence is too short, you may want to add another sentence to it.
If you have a really important point, perhaps a famous person has said
something similar. In other words, there may be a quote you can use to
strengthen your writing.
Sentence Types
Before we look at sentence variety, let's review the 4 main types of simple
sentences. Simple sentences contain one clause.:
Declarative sentence (most common): The sky is blue.
Interrogative sentence: Why is the sky blue?
Exclamatory sentence: How blue the sky is!
Imperative sentence: Don't go outside! (It's pouring rain.)
More advanced types of sentences are "compound" (combining two
sentences with a conjunction) and "complex" (using at least one dependent
clause and one independent clause). To create these sentences you need to
know how to use conjunctions, adverbial phrases, prepositional phrases,
conditionals and noun phrases.
Simple sentences: The boy wanted to go outside. He had to eat his pizza first.
Compound: The boy wanted to go outside but he had to eat his pizza first.
Complex: Although the boy wanted to go outside, he had to eat his pizza first.
Sentence Patterns
The most common sentence pattern that writers use is subject-verb-object
(SVO). This is how beginners write. For example:
The boy ate pizza.
I play soccer.
Homework is boring.
There are many ways to rewrite SVO sentences. Let's play with this sentence:
The boy ate pizza.
Turn it into a question:
Do you know what the boy ate? Pizza.
Turn it into a passive sentence:
The pizza was devoured by the boy. (You could use "eaten" but here
"devoured" gives a better reason for placing the pizza first.)
Turn it into an exclamatory sentence:
How the boy ate his pizza!
Combine it with your next sentence:
The boy wolfed down the pizza and then ran outside to play.

8. Use a transitional phrase:
Even though the boy ate the pizza, you could tell that he wanted to be
outside playing.
Start with a participle:
Eating the pizza, the boy watched his friends playing outside.
Place modifiers in different places:
The pizza, which was a huge pepperoni slice, was devoured by the boy.
Wolfing down his pizza, the boy barely noticed the pepperoni on it.
The boy ate the large pepperoni pizza as quickly as possible.
Although he wanted to keep playing, the boy rushed in and wolfed down his
pizza lunch.
As fast as he could, the boy ate the pizza.
Sentence Length
Avoid using sentences that are all the same length. Short sentences are
powerful. Combine short sentences with long sentences to make your writing
flow more naturally. Your most important sentences should be clear and
concise. Keep them short. Descriptive sentences can have more length, but
you should read them out loud to make sure that they flow naturally.

9. ABBREVIATION
abbreviate (verb): make shorter; shorten (a word or words)
abbreviation (noun): a short form of a word or words
An abbreviation is a short form of a word or phrase. All of the short forms that
you see below ↓ are abbreviations.
There arefour maintypes of abbreviation,andthe waythat we write,punctuate
and pronounce any abbreviation depends largely on its type:
shortening
continued → cont.
contraction
Doctor → Dr
initialism
British Broadcasting Corporation → BBC
acronym
subscriber identification module → sim

10. Note that some shortenings (the last five here, for example) have entered the
language as words or informal words, that is, some people may be unaware
that they are abbreviations of something longer. Notice too that for such
shortenings there may sometimes be a slight change of spelling (bike, wellies).
Punctuation
How do we punctuate shortenings? Do we put a full stop/period at the end?
For abbreviations that we use like words (the last five above, for example), we
do not use a full stop at the end.
For the rest (the first fivein the tableabove,for example),thisis to some extent
a question of style. Some writers and publishers prefer the modern approach
and use no full stop. Others prefer a more traditional approach and use a full
stop (which indicates that the rest of the word is missing). You can use either
style, but the important thing is to be consistent.

11. If the full form starts with a capital letter, then the shortening must start with a
capital letter (Monday → Mon., approximately → approx.)
Punctuation
Some people put a full stop at the end (govt., Revd.) but strictly speaking there
is no need becausethe last letterof the contractionis the same as the lastletter
of the full form (govt, Revd).
In contractions of more than one word, the missing letters are replaced by an
apostrophe (can't, she'd've).
I. Identification
_________________1. It is short-hand for the word "and". It is typically seen in
company names and various abbreviations.
_________________2.We use this symbol to point to a footnoteif an asterisk has
already been used.
_________________3. It Indicates a measurement such as temperature, angle,
longitude/latitude and alcoholic content.
_________________4. The________ sign is a letter S crossed by a single or double
vertical line.
_________________5.The letter ______ in a circle indicates the presence of
copyright on a work such as a book, film, website etc.
_________________6.We use the ____ to point to an annotation or footnote.
_________________7.Originally an accounting shorthand meaning "at the rate
of
_________________8. We use this symbol to indicate a percentage (that is, an
amount in 100).
_________________9.We use ____ to introduce items in a list.
_________________10. It is used in many national currencies to represent one-
hundredth (1/100) of the basic monetary unit
_________________11.The ________ mark indicates that the words above it
should be repeated. (Not to be confused with double quotation mark.)

12. _________________12.The ___________symbol is most commonly used in
measurements to indicate feet (1 foot = 12 inches). It comes after the
number.
_________________13.The __________ symbol is most commonly used in
measurements to indicate inches (12 inches = 1 foot).
_________________14. The capital letters __indicate that the preceding word or
symbol is a trademark.
_________________15.The _____ is also sometimes used as a
fancy dash or hyphen, but this is not standard use.
II. Write the corresponding symbol below.
1. comma
2. semi- colon
3. colon
4.full stop or period
5.hyphen
6. dash
7. question mark
8. backlash
9. double quotation
10. underscore
11. round bracket
12. square bracket
13. ellipsis mark
14. slash forward slash or oblique
III. Explore your learnings by answering the following questions.
1. When do we use punctuation?
2. When do we use capital letters?