This document provides guidance on improving writing skills, specifically around grammar and sentence structure. It addresses common errors like subjects without verbs, verbs without objects, and tense inconsistencies. Specific grammar tips are offered, such as using pronouns that clearly relate to nouns and avoiding listing devices that join different parts of speech. Longer sentences are discussed, emphasizing checking for multiple predicates and listing forms. Examples of strong and weak sentences are provided to illustrate effective and ineffective structure. Resources for students to continue practicing include references, response examples, and downloadable exercise books.

1. Clear Writing:
language and grammar
by Dr Jennifer Minter
How to avoid common errors
and
How to write better sentences

2. Jim says:
“I am often marked down in
English because my
teacher says that my
expression is unclear or
clumsy. I thought ideas
were the thing that
mattered.”
Better Essays and Persuasive Techniques: pp. 97-111.

3. Dear Jim
• “This is a very common problem and you
are by no means alone. Your teacher is
drawing your attention to the fact that
there is a link between good expression
and good ideas/clear thought processes.
• If you are consistently losing marks in
English, it is often because you have
awkward phrases/expression. If the
entire essay consists of clumsy, clunky
grammar, it is hard to achieve an A.”
Better Essays and Persuasive Techniques: pp. 97-111.
Clear Writing: language and grammar, pp 5-34; 46-60.

4. Writing Better Sentences
• Sentences are the building
blocks of each of your
paragraphs.
• If words and phrases are put
together in a muddled way, the
sentence, and hence your
message, will be unclear.
Better Essays and Persuasive Techniques: pp. 97-111.
Clear Writing: language and grammar, pp 5-34; 46-60.

5. Sentence elements
Clear Writing: language and grammar, pp 5-34; 46-60.

6. Common errors
• Follow the grammar tips
relating to common grammatical
errors such as:
• The clause lacks a subject.
• The (transitive) verb lacks an object.
• The tenses are incorrect.
• The subject-verb agreements are incorrect.
Better Essays and Persuasive Techniques: pp. 97-111.

7. Spot the error
• Jack writes:
“He believes that war have many
negatives, something which the rest of the
town don’t believe.”
Clear Writing: language and grammar, pp 41-46.

8. A clause must have a subject
• Sally writes: “Hence, showing
the reader that the senator does not
take her profession seriously.”
• This sentence does not have a grammatical
subject.
• Correction: “Hence, the author shows the
reader that the senator does not take her
profession seriously.”
Clear Writing: language and grammar, pp 41-46.

9. The present participle : “.. ing”
form of the verb
• Present participles, “going”, “having”
“showing” do not have a direct subject.
• Sally writes: “Owing to his bad temper, … “
• Sally’s next clause must include a
grammatical subject.
• “… Sam did not want to join in.”
Clear Writing: language and grammar, pp. 15-20.

10. A transitive verb
must have an object
• Sally writes: “Ms Duff condemns
that there are parents who do not
vaccinate their children.
• The verb “condemns” must take a
grammatical object.
• Correction: “Ms Duff condemns the fact that
many parents do not vaccinate their children.
Clear Writing: language and grammar, pp 43-44.

11. Other grammar tips:
use of pronouns
• The pronoun must clearly relate
to a previous noun or pronoun.
It must agree in number and gender.
• The relative pronoun is incorrect.
• Do not use “that” to refer to a person.
Clear Writing: language and grammar, pp 10-13.

12. Stand alone clauses
• An independent clause can
“stand alone”.
• A dependent clause cannot
“stand alone”.
• Jim writes: “Because he was denied access to the
station.” (Because = subordinating conjunction and
the clause cannot stand alone.)
Clear Writing: language and grammar, pp 52-56.

13. Longer (and
sophisticated) sentences
• When writing long sentences, watch out
for listing devices or multiple predicates.
• If sharing a grammatical subject, we
cannot join two different parts of speech
with “and”.
Clear Writing: language and grammar, pp 66-67.

14. Be careful with listing devices
• Kate writes: “In Macbeth, we see Macbeth’s
struggle for power and upholding this power.”
• Kate uses a listing device: in this case two phrases
are joined by “and”. The “struggle for power” is a
noun phrase and “upholding this power” is a verb
phrase.
• If sharing a grammatical subject, we cannot join
two different parts of speech with “and”.
Better Essays and Persuasive Techniques: pp. 97-111.

15. A long sentence
• Jack writes:
“Scott feels guilty about leaving his family and the
townspeople scorn him because of his cowardice.
As a result, Scott is torn between staying with
Elroy, fleeing to Canada or returning home and
going to war.”
• (Notice the effective list based on the “….ing” verb
(present participle).
Better Essays and Persuasive Techniques: pp. 97-111.

16. Spot the error
• The author juxtaposes how dangerous the fireworks can be by
giving examples of Carlos’s death.
• This implies that illegal fireworks should be monitored and
encourages the use of fireworks in celebratory events.
• Evidence such as the reference from the past about a stolen child
and if she had this product we would have found her.
• The author also uses emotive connotations such as “anxiously
searching”.
• Alliteration such as “care and concern”, this focuses on the
attitude of the parents.
• With the comparison of a well known pet, it demonstrates the
unnecessary actions.
See Writing Better Sentences: E-book 5 (plus responses)

17. Resources include:
Clear Writing: language and
grammar
Better Essays and Persuasive
Techniques
Suggested responses
E-books with exercises
(downloadable and writable)
An e-licence (and class sets)