EMAAN IMRAN EXPOSITORY WRITING

247055 PROF. AYESHA AKHTAR

Week 01:
 Technical Writing
Technical writing is a specialized form of writing that focuses on communicating complex
information clearly and concisely. It involves a combination of writing, design, and technical
expertise
 Technical Documents
Technical documents are essential for communicating complex information about products,
processes, or technologies. It involves:
o Instruction Manuals
o Technical Reports
o White papers
o Data Sheets

 Types of Expository Essays

I. Descriptive: The writer is describing something (person, place, event, etc.).The
writer is an expert on the topic
II. Procedure: Teaches the reader how to do something step by step, Example - how
to bake a cake
III. Comparison: The writer compares two different things from the same category.
You can also contrast (find differences)
IV. Cause & Effect: Deals with two things - often events Presents evidence and
describes how one thing led to another
V. Problem/Solution: The writer presents a problem and has to come up with a
solution, Involves creative thinking.

 Business Writing
Business writing refers to any communication produced in a professional setting. It
encompasses a variety of formats, including emails, reports, proposals, and memos. The
primary goal of business writing is to convey information clearly and effectively.
 Brochures: A brochure, also known as a pamphlet, is an informational paper
that is mainly used for advertising. A brochure is a single piece of paper that
can be folded in many different ways (bi-fold, tri-fold, z-fold, leaflets etc.), with
 summary information regarding an organization, company, product, service,
etc., printed on either side of it.

Purpose of Brochures: The main purpose of a brochure is to promote

something, whether this be an organization, company, product, or service, and
inform the reader of the benefits of the item being promoted.

When would Brochures be used?

A brochure would be used when someone wants to release information about a
certain topic in a condensed way that is easy to read and interesting to look at.
A brochure can also be used when a company or organization wants to advertise
a new program or get out information about an old program, or if any business /
organization has, a product/ service that they would like to promote or inform
about.

How to create effective Brochures?

o Command Attention with the Cover...
o Attract Attention With Compelling Text.
o Set the Tone With Color.
o Choose the Right Font and Size.
o Choose an Appropriate Fold.
o Bring the Brochure to Life with Photographs

 Newsletters: A Newsletter is a printed or electronic report that is sent out to

those with specific interest. It contains analysis and news about information and
activities within a certain business, institution, or organization.
Purpose of Newsletter: A Newsletters main purpose is to keeps customers or
employees informed of what is taking place in your community or company.
They also help promote organizations, products, services, and businesses.
When would Newsletters be used?
A newsletter is used to spread awareness of information and activities to its
subscribers.
How to create effective Newsletter?
o Good Tittle.
o Eye-catching Picture
o Quality Content.
o Descriptive
  Posters: A poster is a single piece of paper that is posted all over the community to
draw in the attention of the public while providing information about a particular
topic.
Purpose of posters: Posters give people an opportunity to reach out to the public to
spread awareness to a topic or to bring attention to companies and introduce services
at numerous locations
Types of Posters: There are five different types of posters than can be
featured: Advertising, Informative, Subjective, Affirmation, and Propaganda.
How to create effective Posters?

o Header
o Tittle
o Main Area
o Footer Area
o Background
o Fonts
Week 02:
 Subject and Verb:
Subject: This is the person, place, thing, or idea that the sentence is about—the "who" or
"what" performing or experiencing the action.
Verb: This is the action word or state of being. It shows what the subject does, feels, or is. In
"The cat sleeps," "sleeps" is the verb, telling us what the cat is doing
Auxiliary verbs: verbs that work with the main verb to make up the complete verb in a
sentence; also called helping verbs. Example: The woman is working. (Auxiliary verb: is)
Linking verbs: verbs that help describe a subject by connecting it to another word. Example:
The man is handsome. (Linking verb: is)
Preposition: one of a group of words that precede a noun or pronoun and indicate direction,
position, placement, duration, or another kind of connection to the other words in the sentence.
Examples: about, above, through, under, with.
 A sentence may have more than one verb, more than one subject, or several subjects and
verbs.
o The engine coughed and sputtered.
o Broken glass and empty cans littered the parking lot.
o Marta, Nilsa, and Robert met after class and headed downtown.
  The subject of the sentence never appears within a prepositional phrase.
Examples of subject and verb:

 The group of friends (subject) decided (verb) to go hiking up the mountain early
in the morning to catch the sunrise.
 Scientists around the world (subject) are researching (verb) new ways to combat
climate change and reduce carbon emissions.

 Fragments: Every sentence must have a subject and a verb and must express a complete
thought. A word group that lacks a subject or a verb and fails to express a complete
thought is a fragment.

Example: Whenever I go to school. “Whenever,” a dependent word, cannot introduce a

complete thought, so it cannot stand-alone.

Correct Sentence: Whenever I go to school, I take the bus. The fragment introduces a
complete thought.

 Types of Fragments:

Here are the most common Types of fragments:

I. Dependent-word fragments
II. -ing fragments
III. Added-detail fragments
IV. Missing-subject fragments

I. Dependent-Word Fragments: Some word groups that begin with dependent

words are fragments. When you start a sentence with a dependent word, be careful
not to create a fragment.
 Dependent Words
  Example:
After I cashed my paycheck. I treated myself to dinner.
I won’t leave the house. Until I hear from you.

II. –ing fragment: When an -ing word appears at or near the start of a word group, a
fragment may result.
 Example: Ellen walked all over the neighborhood yesterday. Trying to fi nd
her dog Bo. Several people claimed they had seen him only hours before.
People sometimes write -ing fragments because they think that the subject of one sentence will
work for the next word group as well. Thus, in item 1 the writer thinks that the subject Ellen in
the opening sentence will also serve as the subject for Trying to find her dog Bo. But the subject
must be in the same sentence.

III. Added-detail fragments: Added-detail fragments lack a subject and a verb. They
often begin with one of the following words:

 Example:

1. Before a race, I eat starchy foods. Such as bread and spaghetti. The carbohydrates provide
quick energy.

2. Bob is taking a night course in auto mechanics. Also, one in plumbing. He wants to save
money on household repairs.

 Run-on Sentences: Run-ons are two complete thoughts that are run together with no
adequate sign given to mark the break between them. In this text, the term “run-on” refers
to both comma splices and fused sentences.

Clause: a group of words having a subject and a verb.

Comma splice: a comma incorrectly used to connect (“splice” together) two complete
thoughts. Example:

Comma splice: I go to school, my brother stays home.

 Correct sentences: I go to school. My brother stays home.

Dependent clause: a group of words having a subject and a verb that does not express a
complete thought and is not able to stand-alone; also called a subordinate clause.

Fused sentence: a run-on with no punctuation to mark the break between thoughts.
Example:

Fused sentence: I go to school my brother stays home.

Correct sentences: I go to school. My brother stays home.

Independent clause: a group of words having a subject and a verb that expresses a complete
thought and is able to stand-alone.

 Subject-Verb agreement: Subject-verb agreement means the subject and verb in a

sentence must agree in number (singular or plural).
 Basic Rule:
 Singular subject = Singular verb
 Plural subject = Plural verb

 Rule 1: Subjects and verbs must agree in number.

 Example: She runs every day.

 Example: They run every day.

 Rule 2: Words between subject and verb do not affect agreement.

 Example: The boy, along with his friends, is playing.

 Rule 3: Collective nouns usually take a singular verb.

 Example: The team wins the match.

 Examples:
o The cat runs quickly.
o The cats run quickly
o Mary and John are going to the concert
o He team plays every Saturday.
o Everyone is invited to the party.
  Pronouns Agreement and Reference

Pronouns: Pronouns are words that stand in for nouns. They replace nouns to avoid
repetition.

Indefinite pronouns: a word that refers to people and things that are not named or are not
specific. Many indefinite pronouns (such as one, nobody, nothing, and each) take a singular
verb; others, such as both or few, take plural verbs.

Nouns: words that name persons, places, or things.

Pronoun agreement: correspondence in number between the Pronoun and the noun it
replaces. Example: Students enrolled in the art class must prove that they can paint.

Pronoun reference: the relationship between the pronoun and the noun in the sentence to
which it refers. A sentence may be confusing if a pronoun appears to refer to more than one
noun or does not appear to refer to any specific noun.

Basic rule:

o A pronoun must agree in number with the word or words it replaces.

o A pronoun must refer clearly to the word it replaces.

Example:

 Marie showed me her antique wedding band.

 Students enrolled in the art class must provide their own supplies.

 Indefinite Pronouns: The following words, known as indefinite pronouns, are always
singular.

If a pronoun in a sentence refers to one of these singular words, the pronoun should be
singular. Example:

 Somebody left her shoulder bag on the back of a chair.

 One of the bus boys just called and said he would be an hour late.
  Everyone in the club must pay his dues next week.

 Pronoun Reference: A sentence may be confusing and unclear if a pronoun appears to

refer to more than one word or does not refer to any specific word. Look at this sentence:
Miriam was annoyed when they failed her car for a faulty turn signal.
Who failed her car?
There is no specific word that they refers to. Be clear:
Miriam was annoyed when the inspectors failed her car for a faulty turn signal.

 Types of Pronouns:
• Subject pronouns: pronouns that function as the subjects of verbs. Example: He is
wearing an artificial arm.

• Object pronouns: pronouns that function as the objects of verbs or prepositions.

Example: Tony helped me.

• Possessive pronouns: pronouns that show ownership or possession. Example: The keys
are mine.

• Demonstrative pronouns: pronouns that point to or single out a person or thing. The
four demonstrative pronouns are this, that, these, and those.

 Phrases and Clauses:

Phrase: A phrase is a group of words that does not have a subject-verb combination and
cannot stand alone as a complete sentence.

Noun Phrase: A phrase that functions as a noun.

 Example: The big red ball rolled away.

 "The big red ball" is the noun phrase.

Verb Phrase: A phrase that functions as a verb.

 Example: She has been singing all day.

 "Has been singing" is the verb phrase.

Adjective Phrase: A phrase that describes a noun or pronoun.

 Example: The flowers in the garden are beautiful.

 "In the garden" is the adjective phrase, describing "flowers."

Adverb Phrase: A phrase that modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb.

  Example: He drove with great care.
 "With great care" is the adverb phrase, describing how he drove.

Prepositional Phrase: A phrase that starts with a preposition and describes something in the
sentence.

 Example: The cat is sleeping on the couch.

 "On the couch" is the prepositional phrase.

Clauses: A clause is a group of words with a subject and a verb. Clauses can sometimes stand
alone as sentences, depending on the type. Here are some common types:

 Independent Clause: A clause that has a subject and verb and expresses a complete
thought. It can stand alone as a sentence.
o Example: She enjoys reading.
o "She enjoys reading" is an independent clause and a complete thought.
 Dependent (or subordinate) Clause: A clause that has a subject and verb but does not
express a complete thought. It cannot stand alone as a sentence and usually starts with a
subordinating word, like because, if, when, although, etc.
o Example: Because she enjoys reading
o "Because she enjoys reading" is a dependent clause—it needs more information to
form a complete sentence.

 Misplaced Modifiers: Misplaced modifiers are words that, because of awkward

placement, do not describe what the writer intended them to describe. A misplaced
modifier can make a sentence confusing or unintentionally funny.

Example:

George couldn’t drive to work in his small sports car with a broken leg . (The sports car had
a broken leg?)

Correctly Placed Words

With a broken leg, George couldn’t drive to work in his small sports car. (The words
describing George are now placed next to George .)

 Dangling Modifiers: A modifier that opens a sentence must be followed immediately by

the word it is meant to describe. Otherwise, the modifier is said to be dangling, and the
sentence takes on an unintended meaning. For example, in the sentence
While reading the newspaper, my dog sat with me on the front steps.

The unintended meaning is that the dog was reading the newspaper. The writer should have
said,
 While reading the newspaper, I sat with my dog on the front steps.

Example:

While turning over the bacon, hot grease splashed my arm.

While I was turning over the bacon, hot grease splashed my arm.

Or

While turning over the bacon, I was splashed with hot grease.

Week 03:

 Paragraph Writing:

“A paragraph is often defined as a group of related sentences in which one single, main idea
is developed”.

o Major Components:

There are three major components of a paragraph:

I. Topic sentence: Expresses the main idea of a paragraph, usually the first sentence of
a paragraph, Contains the central idea. EXAMPLES,
 There are three reason why Canada is one of the best countries of the world.
 Hard work is the key to success.

II. Supporting sentence: Develop, explain and support the main idea of the paragraph.
Contains facts, examples and details. EXAMPLE:

First, Canada has an excellent health care system. Second Canada has a high standard of
education. Finally, Canada’s cities are efficiently managed.

III. Concluding sentence: Usually the last sentence of the paragraph. Restates the main
idea. Used to finish the paragraph. EXAMPLE:

As a result, Canada is a desirable place to live. Canada is a great model for other
countries to follow.
 When writing a Paragraph:

Check:

 Content: Develop only one idea. Be coherent. This makes your paragraph easy to
understand. Focus on the main idea.
 Structure: Make sure your paragraph has:
o One topic sentence
o Minimum three supporting sentences
o A concluding sentence
 Form: There are no lines or blank space in between sentences
o Write clear and simple sentences (S+V+O)
o Check your spelling and grammar.

 Sentence Structure:

Sentence:
A sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete thought and contains a subject
and a verb.
Parts of Sentence:
Subject: The subject can be a noun or a pronoun that does the action.
Predicate: The verb is the action performed by the particular subject in the sentence.
Example: The dog barks loudly.
Subject: The dog.
Predicate: barks loudly.

Common sentence structures:

 Compound Sentence: A compound sentence is when a comma and a conjunction
connect two complete sentences. Markus tripped on the steps, and his friends
laughed loudly.

 Complex Sentence: A complex sentence is a sentence that starts with a dependent

clause followed by a comma and a complete sentence. After school, I have to go to
soccer practice.

 Sentence beginning with a Gerund: A gerund is a verb that functions as a noun.

A sentence beginning with a gerund is a statement about an activity in the “-ing”
form. Dancing can be a fun form of exercise for many.

 Sentence beginning with a Participial Phrase: This type of sentence has a

dependent clause that starts with an “-ing” word followed by a comma and a
complete sentence. Walking down the street, she waved at the child.
  Compound Sentence with an Adverbial Conjunction: This is type of sentence is
similar to a regular compound sentence, except it uses an adverbial conjunction
and requires a semicolon and a comma. There was a debate; nevertheless, a
decision was made.

Types of Sentences: Sentences can be categorized into four main types, depending on their
function.

1. DECLARATIVE: A declarative sentence is used to convey information to make a

statement. E.g. This town is dreary.
2. INTERROGATIVE: A declarative sentence is used to ask a question. E.g. Is the town
dreary?
3. EXCLAMATORY: A declarative sentence is used to make an exclamation. E.g. What a
dreary town!
4. IMPERATIVE: A declarative sentence is used to issue an order or give a command.
E.g. Get me out of this dreary town!

Week 04:

 Summary Writing: Summary writing is an essential skill that distills texts into concise
restatements. It allows individuals to convey complex ideas simply and clearly.

Why Summarizing Matters: Summarizing is not just an academic exercise; it’s a powerful
tool for comprehension and information retention. It enables readers to quickly grasp
essential information, making it easier to engage with complex texts.

Key steps: Five key steps can help you to write a summary:

 Read the text

 Break it down into sections
 Identify the key points in each section
 Write the summary
 Check the summary against the article

Every effective summary must include a clear main idea – the central message that drives the
text.

Supporting details bolster this main idea, guiding readers through the arguments presented in
the original work.

Brevity is essential; using clear language while avoiding unnecessary details keeps the summary
focused and effective.

Week 05, 06, 07: Essay Writing.