UCV / Escuela de Idiomas Modernos / Departamento de Inglés / INGLÉS 1

WRITING BASICS
From the Sentence to the Essay
1.- Sentence structure (Parts of the sentence) ............. 1
2.- Sentences (Functions and kinds of sentences) ….... 2
3.- Paragraph structure ….………………………….. 7
A. What is a paragraph?
B. What are the parts of a paragraph?
C. What are the types of paragraphs?
D. Descriptive paragraphs.
E. Narrative paragraphs.
4.- Essay structure and function …………………… 12
A. What is an essay?
B. What are the parts of an essay?
C. How to format an essay.
D. Practicing what you’ve learned.
5.- Punctuation ………………………………………. 16

Material prepared by Prof. Gustavo Santamaría.

 Sentence Structure
Parts of the sentence.
 The parts of a sentence are the subject, verb, object, complement and adverbial.
 A statement begins with the subject and the verb. There are five main structures which we can
use to make a simple statement.
1. SUBJECT VERB
(a) Something happened. Subjects can be one word (a) or
(b) My arms are aching. many words (b) and (c). Subjects
(c) She and I obeyed. can’t be repeated (d). The first
(d) Peter he is reading. (WRONG) letter of the first word of a sentence
(e) The baby is smiling. must be capitalized (e).

(f) Elephants can’t fly. A sentence must end with a period

(g) Are you driving? (.), question mark (?), or exclamation
(h) The boys shouted! point (!) (f, g, h).

(i) (You) stop! In commands we don’t say or

(j) (You) don’t cry! write a subject. The subject is
understood as “you” (i, j).
2. SUBJECT VERB OBJECT The subject and object can be a
I need a rest. pronoun (e.g. I) or a noun phrase
Five people moved the piano. (e.g. five people, the piano). The
verbs that have objects (e.g. need,
move) are called transitive, and
the ones that don’t have objects
(e.g. laugh, fly, obey, happen) are
called intransitive.

3. SUBJECT VERB COMPLEMENT The complement can be an

This piano is heavy. adjective (e.g. heavy) or a noun
It was a big problem. phrase (e.g. a big problem). The
complement often comes after be,
appear, become, get, feel, look,
seem, stay, sound and others.

4. SUBJECT VERB ADVERBIAL An adverbial can be a prepositional

It is on my foot. phrase (e.g. on my foot) or an
Their house is nearby. adverb (e.g. nearby). We can add
adverbials to all the five main
structures. (e.g. I really need a rest,
I bought her a gift yesterday)
5. SUBJECT VERB OBJECT OBJECT We use two objects after verbs like
He sent me a postcard. give, buy and send.
David bought Melanie a present.

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 Elements , Functions & Kinds of
Sentences

1.- The Sentence

A sentence is a group of words that must have a subject (noun or pronoun), a
predicate (verb or verb phrase), and must express a complete thought or idea.
► The subject includes the noun or pronoun that tells what the subject is about.
► The predicate includes the verb that describes what the subject is or is doing.

SUBJECT PREDICATE
Examples: - You Don’t shout!
- My parents went to China last year.
- The car with the blue stripes was sold yesterday.
- The actress accepted the award

TIPS for recognizing the subject and the predicate of any sentence:
► To find the subject, ask yourself, “what word is the sentence describing?”
► To find an action verb, ask yourself, “What did the subject do?”
► If there’s no action verb, look for a linking verb: be, smell, seem, like, etc.

IMPORTANT:
1. The subject comes before the verb in most cases, however in a question and in
sentences with inverted order, the verb often comes before the subject. Examples:
► Are the students in class? students = subject
► Where will you go in the afternoon? you = subject
► Along the drive to the house were tall trees. trees = subject

2. The subject always comes after the words here or there. These words NEVER
function as the subject of a sentence.
► Here is your notebook. notebook = subject
► There are a lot of people at Fred’s party. people = subject
► There goes Miss Brown, all nicely dressed. Miss Brown = subject

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2.- Elements or Parts of a Sentence
? The sentence has two basic elements: subject and predicate, and many extra or
complementary elements: adjectives, adverbs, prepositional phrases, direct objects,
indirect objects, etc. The following chart summarizes the information about all the
possible elements of a sentence.

1. SUBJECT Examples
Basic elements:
■ Simple subject The plants in the classroom…

■ Complete subject The plants in the classroom…

■ Compound subject English and Spanish…

Extra elements:
■ Adjectives, adverbs The beautiful plants in the classroom…

■ Prepositional phrases The beautiful plants in the classroom…

■ Appositive phrases English and Spanish, two different languages,…

2. PREDICATE Examples
Basic elements:
■ Simple predicate The plants in the classroom need more sunlight

■ Complete predicate The plants in the classroom need more sunlight.

■ Compound predicate Some people speak and write English fluently.

Extra elements:
■ Direct object, indirect object The plants in the classroom need more sunlight. DO

■ Object complement The contest jury elected Sue queen of the carnival.

■ Subject complement English and Spanish are very interesting languages.

■ Adjectives, adverbs, prepositional English and Spanish are very interesting languages
phrases and appositives (the same adverb adjective
extra elements as for the subject)

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3.- Sentence Functions
? Sentences can be classified according to their functions. There are four sentence
functions in English: declarative, exclamatory, interrogative and imperative.
1. Declarative sentences state or express an idea (negative or affirmative). They end
with a period. Examples:
- A beautiful opera house overlooks the harbor of Sydney, Australia.
- Some people don’t like raw fish.

2. Exclamatory sentences show strong emotions. They end with an exclamation

mark (!) Examples:
- I passed the test! What a day this has been!
- I can’t believe what is happening!

3. Interrogative sentences ask a question. They end with a question mark (?).
Examples:
- When were you born?
- Have you ever been to Africa?

4. Imperative sentences give orders, commands or directions, and may end with a
period or an exclamation mark when the writer wants to make a strong command.
Examples:
- Do ten more push-ups. Hurry up!
- Organize your room, please.

4.- Sentence Structure (kinds of sentences)

? Independent and dependent clauses can be used in a number of ways to form the four
basic types of sentences: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex.
►Simple Sentence: this kind of sentence has one independent clause (it stands alone as
a complete sentence). That means it has one subject and one verb -although either or
both can be compound. A simple sentence can also have adjectives and adverbs, but it
can’t have another independent clause or any subordinate clauses.

Examples: - The angry lion growled at its tamer.

one subject, one verb

- Men and women were working side by side on the assembly line.
compound subject, one verb

- The cook chops and seasons the vegetables.

subject compound predicate
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►Compound Sentence: a compound sentence contains two or more independent
clauses (simple sentences). These clauses can be connected in three ways:
 with a coordinating conjunction: for, and, but, nor, yet, or, so
 with a semicolon (;) and a conjunctive adverb: however, therefore, in fact
 with a semicolon (;)

Examples: - Coral rock is made by animals, but its colors come from algae.
simple sentence 1 simple sentence 2

- Tom wore his swim fins, and he walked awkwardly.

simple sentence 1 simple sentence 2

- Some creatures destroy coral; however, the reef is still beautiful.

simple sentence 1 simple sentence 2

- I reasoned with her; she would not accept her fault.

simple sentence 1 simple sentence 2

►Complex Sentence: is a combination of an independent clause and at least one

dependent clause. The independent clause is called the “main clause” and the
dependent clause is sometimes called the “subordinate clause”. These clauses can be
connected in three possible ways:
 with a subordinating conjunction: if, while, after, until, although, as though
 with a relative pronoun: who, that, which, whose, whom
 with a relative adverb: where, wherever, when, whenever, why, how

Examples:
- Many dead animals of the past changed to oil while others preferred to be gas.
independent clause dependent clause

- The bird that is soaring in the sky is a seagull.

dependent clause

- Wherever she goes, she leaves a piece of luggage behind.

dependent clause independent clause

►Compound-Complex Sentences: a compound-complex sentence has two or more

independent clauses and one or more subordinate clauses. So a compound-complex
sentence is a compound sentence with a subordinate clause.
Example:
- Shortly after the first fortress was built, flocks of ravens discovered this new
dependent clause independent clause

source of garbage, and they came from the nearby woods in search of food.
independent clause
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 Exercises
1. Determine whether the underlined groups of words make up a Sentence or a
Phrase.

Day had broken cold and gray, exceedingly cold and gray, when the man turned aside from the

main Yukon trail and climbed the high earth-bank, where a dim and little-travelled trail led eastward

through the fat spruce timberland. It was a steep bank, and he paused for breath at the top, excusing the

act to himself by looking at his watch. It was nine o’clock. There was no sun nor hint of sun, though

there was not a cloud in the sky. It was a clear day, and yet there seemed an intangible pall over the face

of things, a subtle gloom that made the day dark, and that was due to the absence of sun.

2. Write sentences according to their function.

a. Exclamatory: ______________________________________________________________________

b. Declarative affirmative: ______________________________________________________________

c. Imperative negative: _________________________________________________________________

d. Interrogative: ______________________________________________________________________

e. Declarative negative: ________________________________________________________________

f. Imperative affirmative: ______________________________________________________________

3. Write sentences according to their type.

a. Simple: ___________________________________________________________________________

b. Compound: ________________________________________________________________________

c. Complex: _________________________________________________________________________

d. Compound complex: ________________________________________________________________

4. What are the main parts or elements of a sentence?

_________________________________________________________________________________

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 Paragraph Structure

A. What is a paragraph?
 A written text is usually divided into blocks called paragraphs in order to make it easier to read.
The divisions between paragraphs break the material into easily ‘digestible’ sections, providing
places where it is necessary for the reader to pause and think for a moment if necessary. A
paragraph is a group of sentences about a single topic, and the organization and content of a
paragraph are determined by the topic and the controlling idea of that paragraph.

 Together, the sentences of the paragraph explain the writer’s main idea (most important idea)
about the topic. In academic writing, a paragraph is often between five and ten sentences long,
but it can be longer or shorter, depending on the topic.

 A paragraph division is usually shown, by starting the text on a new line and indenting (moving
in some spaces) the first sentence.

…In the past fifty years, more than half of the world’s rain forests have been
destroyed. Today, the forests of the world are being cut down at a rate of fifty acres
every minute! Scientists say that if deforestation continues, the world’s climate
may change, floods may become more common, and animals will die.
One solution to the problem of deforestation is to use less paper. If you use
less paper, fewer trees will be cut for paper making. How can you…

 Another way to divide paragraphs, common in typed letters and documents, is to leave a blank
line without indenting the first sentence.

…African American musicians living in the United States began playing jazz
music in the city of New Orleans, and they used the word jass or jazz to describe
the music and certain kinds of dancing. No one is sure where the word originally
came from, but as jazz music became more and more popular, the word jazz
became a common English word.

The meanings of words sometimes change over time. The word cool is a good
example. Cool has been used in English for a long time to describe…

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B. What are the parts of a paragraph?

A paragraph has three basic parts:

1. The topic sentence. This is the main
idea of the paragraph. It is usually the There are many popular sports
first sentence of the paragraph, and it in my country, but (the most popular
is the most general sentence of the sport is soccer). Many children begin
paragraph. It also includes a controlling learning to play soccer when they
idea, which is the word or phrase that are very young. You often can see
states an idea or attitude about the them playing at school or in the
topic. This controlling idea gives streets around their houses. In high
limits to the topic. school, students may play soccer on
a team and compete in tournaments.
2. The supporting sentences. These are If a player is very good, he might go
sentences that talk about or explain the on to play for a professional team.
topic sentence. They are more detailed People in my country love to watch
ideas that follow the topic sentence. soccer on television and also go to
the games whenever they can. Many
3. The concluding sentence. This may be people have a favorite team or
found as the last sentence of a paragraph. player, and everyone loves to talk
It can finish a paragraph by repeating the about matches and competitions.
main idea or just giving a final Soccer is really like a national
comment about the topic. sport in my country.

C. What are the types of paragraphs?

Type of paragraph Characteristics
1. Narrative It is the paragraph in which the topic sentence is
supported with events and details organized
chronologically.

2. Descriptive and process In a descriptive paragraph the topic sentence is

supported with details organized spatially.
A process paragraph is a description of how to do
something. It explains the steps you need to
follow to complete an activity.

3. Expository: Opinion It is a paragraph in which the topic sentence is

Argument supported with information, explanation, facts or
Comparison/Contrast illustrations. It is a paragraph that explains or
Problem/Solution analyses the topic and requires the use of specific
details and examples to support the controlling
idea in the topic sentence.

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D. Descriptive paragraphs.
 A descriptive paragraph explains how someone or something looks or feels.

 A good description must be organized so that the reader can vividly imagine the scene being
described. The selection and the description of details depend on the describer’s purpose.

 When painting a picture with words, you can begin from left to right, from right to left, from top
to bottom, or from bottom to top. Sometimes, however, the description can focus on some
subject (person, animal, etc.) that dominates the scene or on something that is unusual in the
scene.

 When describing a place:

1. Before making a description of a place, try to answer some of these questions.

 Where is the place?

 How big is it?
 How warm or cold is the place?
 How does the place make you feel? Why?
 What things can you see in this place?
 What colors do you see?

2. Use adjectives to describe how things look, feel, taste, sound, or smell; and to describe how
you feel about something. Here are some common adjectives.

shape and size atmosphere how you feel appearance

large / small cozy amazed colorful
wide / narrow comfortable surprised unforgettable
round warm / cool happy beautiful
rectangular cold / hot nostalgic unattractive

3. Use prepositions to describe how a space is organized. These are some common and useful
prepositions and phrasal prepositions.

in front of / in back of, behind to the right of / to the left of

on top of / on the bottom of in the middle of
next to around
above / below, underneath between

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 When describing a character:
1. Before making a description of a person, try to answer some of the following questions.

 Who is the person?

 What does the person do?
 What does he or she look like?
 How does the person act –how is his or her personality?
 How does he or she make others feel?

2. You can use these common adjectives to describe people.

Personality Physical characteristics

happy, satisfied big, large, tall
relaxed, nervous small, tiny, short, thin
nervous heavy
angry strong, weak
serious, sad, depressed brown-, black-, blond-, red-haired
outgoing light-, dark-skinned

E. Narrative paragraphs.
 A narrative paragraph tells a story or describes a sequence of events. It is important in narrative
writing to show the reader the time relationship between sentences and ideas; clarifying the time
relationship helps to achieve coherence.

 The narration of events could be in the present and in the past.

 When narrating an event:

1. Use transitions or transition words to connect the steps or events in a paragraph. Transition
words and phrases show the relationship between the ideas in a paragraph. Here are some
common transition words and phrases that show time order.

first, second, third, etc. finally

next the last step
then before
after, after that while

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 Activity 1. Describing People
A. Read this description written by a young woman about her grandmother. Circle the
adjectives that describe the grandmother.

I really admire my grandmother for her strength

and kindness. She is not very big. In fact, she is tiny and
very thin. She is strong though. She has fair skin and
short grey hair. She lives by herself and still does a lot of
chores around the house. I see her almost every day, and
she and I talk about everything. She is a very happy
person and she is always smiling and joking, and she
often makes me laugh. My grandmother is also very
patient, and she always listens to all of my problems. She
gives me very good advice whenever I need it. I don’t
have to be afraid to tell her anything, because she never
gets mad at me. She just listens and tries to help. I also
like to spend time with her because she has interesting
stories to tell about her own childhood and life
experiences. My grandmother is my favorite friend.

B. Write a brief description of a person you know well. Use adjectives and include
information about his/her appearance and personality. Write at least 60 words.

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

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 Essay Structure & Function
A. What is an essay?
 An essay is a group of paragraphs written about a single topic and a central main idea (thesis). In
an essay, you develop and support a thesis, which may contain more than one main idea.
 The purpose of an essay is to communicate an attitude or opinion about an issue and to provide
information to support or prove it. In an essay, you can explain or describe something, state an
opinion and support it, show the relationship between two or more things, or use a combination
of all these purposes.
 An essay must have at least three paragraphs, but a five-paragraph essay is a common
assignment for academic writing.

B. What are the parts of an essay?

The three main parts of an essay are:
Title
1. The introduction or introductory
paragraph. This is the first paragraph of
an essay. It explains the topic with general Xxxxxx xx xxxxxxx xxx xxxxx xxxxx xx
ideas. Its purpose is to make the reader xxxxxxx xx xxx xxxxxxxxx. Xxx x xx xxxxx
interested in your topic. It also has a thesis xxxxx xxx x xx xxxxxxxx xxxx xxxxx xxxxx
xxxxx xx xxxxx xx xxxxx x xxx xxxxx.
statement, which is a sentence that gives
the main idea and expresses your topic
as well as your angle, or approach, to the Xxxxxx x xxx xxxx x xx xxxxx xxxxxxxx
topic. It usually comes at or near the end xxxxx xxx xxxxxxx. Xxxx xx x xxx xxxx xx
of the paragraph. xx xxxx xxxxxxx. X xx xxxxx x xxx xxxxxx
xxxxx xxx xx x xxxxxx xxxx xx xxx xxx xxx
2. The body or body paragraphs. xx. Xxxx x xxxxx xxx x xxx xxxxx xxx xxxx
These are the paragraphs that explain xxxxx xxx xx xxxxxxx xxx.
and support the thesis statement and come
Xxxxxx x xxx xxxx x xx xxxxx xxxxxxxx
between the introduction and the conclusion.
xxxxx xxx xxxxxxx. Xxxx xx x xxx xxxxxxx
These paragraphs contain concrete specific xx xxxx xxxxxxx. X xx xxxxx x xxx xxxxxx
details, examples, and facts that illustrate xxxxx xxx xx x xxxxxx xxxx xx xxx xxx xxx
your angle on the topic. They also contain xx. Xxxx x xxxxx xxx x xxx xxxxx xxx xxxx
interpretation or analysis of these examples xxxxxxxxxxxx xx xxx xxxx xx.
in terms of your angle.
Xxxxxx xx xxxxxxx xxx xxxxx xxxxx xx
3. The conclusion or concluding xxxxxxx xx xxx xxxxxxxxx. Xxx x xx xxxx
paragraph. This is the last paragraph of an xxxxx xxx x xx xxxxxxxx xxxx xxxxx xxxx
essay. It summarizes or restates the thesis xxxxx xx xxxxx xx xxxxx x xxx xxxxx.
and the supporting ideas of the essay, and
gives the reader a feeling of completion.

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C. How to format an essay.
1. Use double spacing (leave a blank line between each line of writing).
2. Leave 2.5 centimeters of space on the sides, and the top and bottom of the page. This space is
called the margin.
3. In handwriting, all paragraphs in an essay begin with an indentation. If you write by hand,
indent about 2 centimeters. If you type your essay (word processing), skip a line to start a new
paragraph, or start the first line of each paragraph with five spaces (one tab).
4. Put the title of your essay at the top of the first page in the center.

D. Practicing what you’ve learned.

1. Read the following essay about language. Then, identify and label the three parts of the essay:
introduction (thesis statement), body paragraphs, and conclusion.

Changing English: the African American influence

If you ask average Americans where their language comes from, they will probably say
“England”. However, English vocabulary has also been influenced by other countries and groups
of people. Some words are borrowed from other languages, such as typhoon, which originally
came from the Chinese word, “tai-fung,” meaning “big wind.” Skunk, the name of a small, smelly,
5 black-and-white animal, came to English from a Native American language. African Americans,
too, have both contributed new words to English and changed the meanings of some existing
words.
African Americans, many of whose ancestors were brought to the States as slaves
hundreds of years ago, have introduced a number of words to English from languages that they
10 spoke in their native countries. The common English word OK is used around the world today,
but it was not always part of English vocabulary. One theory is that slaves in America used a
phrase in their own language that sounded like OK to mean “all right.” Americans heard the
phrase and started using it. Today, almost everyone in the world uses OK to mean “all right.”
The meanings of words sometimes change over time. The word cool is a good example.
15 Cool has been used in English for a long time to describe a temperature that is “not warm but

not too cold” or to describe a person who is “calm or unemotional.” However, an additional
meaning was given to the word cool in the past 100 years and even today. This word is
especially used by younger people to mean “good” or “great.”
English owes some of its interesting and colorful vocabulary to African Americans.
20 Existing ethnic groups in the United States as well as new immigrants will surely continue to

bring new words to English and give fresh meanings to existing words. Who knows what the
“cool” words of tomorrow will be?

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 2. With a partner, read the following student essay and do the activities on the next page.

Student Essay: The Nature of a Realistic Person.

Dreams are products of people’s imaginations. They are images or ideas formed in

people’s minds. One characteristic that makes dreams unique from other thoughts is that

dreams are, in general, projections of our inner desires and anxieties. Thus it is possible to

classify an individual’s character by observing his reactions and consequent behavior toward
5 a dream. If a person’s dream becomes an obsession, this person is categorized as either a

dreamer or a neurotic. A neurotic’s dream is a product of his or her fears and anxieties; on

the other hand, a dreamer’s dream is the reflection of his or her wishes and aspirations. On

the contrary, a realistic person differs from a neurotic and a dreamer in that he is not

obsessive about his dreams. The way in which a realistic person achieves this state of mind

10 is by being objective, critical, and highly rational about his or her dreams.

A realistic person does not waste his time with glorious plans that will never work;

instead, he focuses his energy on feasible enterprises. He recognizes when a dream is to

broad or beyond his capabilities. For example, the average realistic citizen, after analyzing

our present society, may imagine that all the critical political issues can be solved by

abolishing the established institutions; such as the Constitution of the United States.
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However, instead of becoming obsessed with this idea, he realizes that it is only a lunatic

dream, impossible for him to carry out.

A realistic person never becomes dominated by the illusion of a dream because he or

she only sets goals that can be logically achieved. In fact, rational individuals discard dreams

20 that cannot be attained with a prudent strategy. For example, a realistic leader never leads

his people into a suicidal battle to try to obtain an irrelevant victory in the name of honor

and justice. Instead, he devises wise plans to utilize his people in the most efficient way

possible.

By now it should be clear why being objective, critical, and rational is what

25 distinguishes the realist from the dreamer and the neurotic. It is also clear that being
realistic is a very desirable trait. Not only that, at this point it can be stated that the

realist is the ideal model of a well-balanced individual.

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2.1. After reading the student essay, identify and label these parts:

 The introductory paragraph

 The thesis statement
 The body paragraphs
 Connecting words and phrases
 The concluding paragraph

2.2. Answer the following questions about the essay.

1. What is the main idea of the essay?

_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________

2. What is the writer’s purpose in writing this essay?

____ to explain something
____ to describe something
____ to state and prove one side of an argument
____ to show a relationship between two things
____ other (explain) ________________________________________
____ a combination of the above

3. Has the writer established and maintained a good relationship with you
as reader? Explain your answer.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

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