WRITING SKILLS STUDY NOTES
Specific Objectives
By the end of the module unit, the trainee should be able to:
1. Determine how to use punctuation marks in a written document.
2. Explain the importance of courtesy in writing
3. Develop well constructed paragraphs
4. Explain how to write different types of essays
5. Determine how to write different functional writing.
Business letters
Memorandum
Notices
Agenda
Minutes
Advertisements
E-mail
Facsimile messages
Press release
Summary
Reports
Minutes
6. Applications of writing in
o Meetings
o Mail handling
o Listening
INTRODUCTION TO WRITING SKILLS
PUNCTUATION MARKS
Punctuation is the system of signs or symbols given to a reader to show how a sentence is constructed and how
it should be read.
Sentences are the building blocks used to construct written accounts. They are complete statements.
Punctuation shows how the sentence should be read and makes the meaning clear.
Every sentence should include, at least, a capital letter at the start, a full stop, exclamation mark or question
mark at the end. This basic system indicates that the sentence is complete.
The Comma (,)
The comma is useful in a sentence when the writer wishes to:
pause before proceeding
add a phrase that does not contain any new subject
separate items on a list
use more than one adjective (a describing word, like beautiful)
For example, in the following sentence the phrase or clause between the commas gives us more information
behind the actions of the boy, the subject of the sentence:
The boy, who knew that his mother was about to arrive, ran quickly towards the opening door.
Note that if the phrase or clause were to be removed, the sentence would still make sense although there would
be a loss of information. Alternatively, two sentences could be used:
The boy ran quickly towards the opening door. He knew that his mother was about to arrive.
Writing Skills Study Notes Prepared by Mr. Antony Ambia Page 1
,Commas are also used to separate items in a list.
For example:
The shopping trolley was loaded high with bottles of beer, fruit, vegetables, toilet rolls, cereals and cartons of
milk.
Note that in a list, the final two items are linked by the word ‘and’ rather than by a comma.
Commas are used to separate adjectives.
For example:
The boy was happy, eager and full of anticipation at the start of his summer holiday.
As commas represent a pause, it is good practice to read your writing out loud and listen to where you make
natural pauses as you read it. More often than not, you will indicate where a comma should be placed by a
natural pause. Although, the ‘rules’ of where a comma needs to be placed should also be followed.
For example:
However, it has been suggested that some bees prefer tree pollen.
Full Stop (.)
A full stop should always be used to end a sentence. The full stop indicates that a point has been made and that
you are about to move on to further explanations or a related point.
Less frequently, a series of three full stops (an ellipsis) can be used to indicate where a section of a quotation has
been omitted when it is not relevant to the text, for example:
“The boy was happy… at the start of his summer holiday.”
A single full stop may also be used to indicate the abbreviation of commonly used words as in the following
examples:
Telephone Number = Tel. No.
September = Sept.
Pages = pp.
Exclamation Mark (!)
An exclamation mark indicates strong feeling within a sentence, such as fear, anger or love. It is also used to
accentuate feeling within the written spoken word.
For example:
“Help! I love you!”
In this way, it can also be used to indicate a sharp instruction
“Stop! Police!”
or to indicate humour
“Ha! Ha! Ha!”
The exclamation mark at the end of a sentence means that you do not need a full stop.
Exclamation marks are a poor way of emphasising what you think are important points in your written
assignments; the importance of the point will emphasise itself without a sequence of !!! in the text. An
exclamation mark should only be used when absolutely essential, or when taken from a direct quote.
The exclamation mark should be used sparingly in formal and semi-formal writing.
Question Mark (?)
The question mark simply indicates that a sentence is asking a question. It always comes at the end of a
sentence:
For example:
Are we at the end?
Note that the question mark also serves as a full stop.
Writing Skills Study Notes Prepared by Mr. Antony Ambia Page 2
,Semi-colon (;)
The semi-colon is perhaps the most difficult sign of punctuation to use accurately. If in doubt, avoid using it
and convert the added material into a new sentence.
As a general rule, the semi-colon is used in the following ways:
When joining two connected sentences.
For example:
We set out at dawn; the weather looked promising.
The semi-colon can also be used to assemble detailed lists.
For example:
The conference was attended by delegates from Paris, France; Paris, Texas; London, UK; Stockholm, Sweden;
Colombo, Sri Lanka; and Mumbai, India.
Colon (:)
The colon within a sentence makes a very pointed pause between two phrases. There are two main uses of the
colon:
It is most commonly used when listing.
For example:
She placed the following items into the trolley: beer, fruit, vegetables, toilet rolls, cereals and cartons of milk.
Or it can be used within a heading, or descriptive title.
For example:
Human Resource Management: Guidelines for Telephone Advisers
A colon may introduce direct speech
E.g. The counselor said: “Abstain from premarital sex.”
A colon separates hours from minutes
E.g. 11:30am
A colon introduces an example or an explanation of something already mentioned
E.g. The miser had one wish: to keep all his money.
Apostrophe (’)
The apostrophe, sometimes called an inverted comma has two main uses.
The apostrophe indicates possession or ownership.
For example:
The girl's hat was green, (girl is in the singular).
This shows the reader that the hat belongs to the girl.
The girls' hats were green, (girls in this instance are plural, i.e. more than one girl, more than one hat).
This indicates that the hats belong to the girls.
Another use of the apostrophe is to indicate where a letter is omitted:
For example:
We're going to do this course. (We are going to do this course.)
Isn’t this a fine example of punctuation? (Is not this a fine example of punctuation?)
The time is now 7 o’ clock. (The time is now 7 of the clock)
Note that a common mistake is to confuse its with it’s.
It’s indicates to the reader that a letter has been omitted.
For example:
It’s a lovely day is an abbreviated way of saying: It is a lovely day.
Note that in most formal writing, the practice of using abbreviated words is inappropriate.
Writing Skills Study Notes Prepared by Mr. Antony Ambia Page 3
, Quotation or Speech Marks (“….”)
Quotation or speech marks are used when quoting someone else's speech or writing.
For example:
My grandpa said, "Share your chocolates with your friends."
Hyphen (-)
The hyphen is used to link words together.
For example:
sub-part
eighteenth-century people
week-end
second-class post
gender-neutral
non-verbal
The hyphen is also used when a word is split between two lines. The hyphen should be placed between
syllables at the end of the upper line and indicates to the reader that the word will be completed on the next
line.
Computer applications such as Word Processors can be set to automatically hyphenate words for you, although
it is more common to use extra spacing to avoid hyphenation.
Brackets ( )
Brackets always come in pairs ( ) and are used to make an aside, or a point which is not part of the main flow of
a sentence. If you remove the words between the brackets, the sentence should still make sense.
For example:
“The strategy (or strategies) chosen to meet the objectives may need to change as the intervention continues.”
Brackets are also used in text citations. E.g. According to Jane (2014) climate change is to blame for the
disrupted rainfall patterns in Kenya,
Slash (/)
Many people use the slash instead of or, and etc. There is, however, a modern convention in gender-neutral
writing to use ‘she/ he’.
COURTESY IN WRITING
Communicating in a business environment involves communicating with individuals. In both written and oral
communication, it is possible to be courteous while being direct and business-oriented. The writer should be
aware of the reader’s feelings. Most people respond more readily to a positive interaction, according to a study
conducted by the University of North Carolina that found 52 percent of those interviewed said they “lost work
time worrying about incidents of rudeness.”
Strategies used:
Proper salutations
Everyone appreciates having the correct salutation attached to their name. If a person is a doctor or if a woman
is married, they expect to have the correct salutation in a business letter. E.g. Mr., Mrs., Miss, Dr, Hon e.t.c.
Proper greetings
The standard and most widely accepted way that a greeting is used to open a letter is “Dear,” followed by the
proper salutation, and the person’s last name. If you write a letter without using this standard opening, it may
immediately alienate your reader. Also, the greeting of “To Whom it May Concern,” often comes off as cold or
distant.
Proper tone
Writing Skills Study Notes Prepared by Mr. Antony Ambia Page 4
Specific Objectives
By the end of the module unit, the trainee should be able to:
1. Determine how to use punctuation marks in a written document.
2. Explain the importance of courtesy in writing
3. Develop well constructed paragraphs
4. Explain how to write different types of essays
5. Determine how to write different functional writing.
Business letters
Memorandum
Notices
Agenda
Minutes
Advertisements
Facsimile messages
Press release
Summary
Reports
Minutes
6. Applications of writing in
o Meetings
o Mail handling
o Listening
INTRODUCTION TO WRITING SKILLS
PUNCTUATION MARKS
Punctuation is the system of signs or symbols given to a reader to show how a sentence is constructed and how
it should be read.
Sentences are the building blocks used to construct written accounts. They are complete statements.
Punctuation shows how the sentence should be read and makes the meaning clear.
Every sentence should include, at least, a capital letter at the start, a full stop, exclamation mark or question
mark at the end. This basic system indicates that the sentence is complete.
The Comma (,)
The comma is useful in a sentence when the writer wishes to:
pause before proceeding
add a phrase that does not contain any new subject
separate items on a list
use more than one adjective (a describing word, like beautiful)
For example, in the following sentence the phrase or clause between the commas gives us more information
behind the actions of the boy, the subject of the sentence:
The boy, who knew that his mother was about to arrive, ran quickly towards the opening door.
Note that if the phrase or clause were to be removed, the sentence would still make sense although there would
be a loss of information. Alternatively, two sentences could be used:
The boy ran quickly towards the opening door. He knew that his mother was about to arrive.
Writing Skills Study Notes Prepared by Mr. Antony Ambia Page 1
,Commas are also used to separate items in a list.
For example:
The shopping trolley was loaded high with bottles of beer, fruit, vegetables, toilet rolls, cereals and cartons of
milk.
Note that in a list, the final two items are linked by the word ‘and’ rather than by a comma.
Commas are used to separate adjectives.
For example:
The boy was happy, eager and full of anticipation at the start of his summer holiday.
As commas represent a pause, it is good practice to read your writing out loud and listen to where you make
natural pauses as you read it. More often than not, you will indicate where a comma should be placed by a
natural pause. Although, the ‘rules’ of where a comma needs to be placed should also be followed.
For example:
However, it has been suggested that some bees prefer tree pollen.
Full Stop (.)
A full stop should always be used to end a sentence. The full stop indicates that a point has been made and that
you are about to move on to further explanations or a related point.
Less frequently, a series of three full stops (an ellipsis) can be used to indicate where a section of a quotation has
been omitted when it is not relevant to the text, for example:
“The boy was happy… at the start of his summer holiday.”
A single full stop may also be used to indicate the abbreviation of commonly used words as in the following
examples:
Telephone Number = Tel. No.
September = Sept.
Pages = pp.
Exclamation Mark (!)
An exclamation mark indicates strong feeling within a sentence, such as fear, anger or love. It is also used to
accentuate feeling within the written spoken word.
For example:
“Help! I love you!”
In this way, it can also be used to indicate a sharp instruction
“Stop! Police!”
or to indicate humour
“Ha! Ha! Ha!”
The exclamation mark at the end of a sentence means that you do not need a full stop.
Exclamation marks are a poor way of emphasising what you think are important points in your written
assignments; the importance of the point will emphasise itself without a sequence of !!! in the text. An
exclamation mark should only be used when absolutely essential, or when taken from a direct quote.
The exclamation mark should be used sparingly in formal and semi-formal writing.
Question Mark (?)
The question mark simply indicates that a sentence is asking a question. It always comes at the end of a
sentence:
For example:
Are we at the end?
Note that the question mark also serves as a full stop.
Writing Skills Study Notes Prepared by Mr. Antony Ambia Page 2
,Semi-colon (;)
The semi-colon is perhaps the most difficult sign of punctuation to use accurately. If in doubt, avoid using it
and convert the added material into a new sentence.
As a general rule, the semi-colon is used in the following ways:
When joining two connected sentences.
For example:
We set out at dawn; the weather looked promising.
The semi-colon can also be used to assemble detailed lists.
For example:
The conference was attended by delegates from Paris, France; Paris, Texas; London, UK; Stockholm, Sweden;
Colombo, Sri Lanka; and Mumbai, India.
Colon (:)
The colon within a sentence makes a very pointed pause between two phrases. There are two main uses of the
colon:
It is most commonly used when listing.
For example:
She placed the following items into the trolley: beer, fruit, vegetables, toilet rolls, cereals and cartons of milk.
Or it can be used within a heading, or descriptive title.
For example:
Human Resource Management: Guidelines for Telephone Advisers
A colon may introduce direct speech
E.g. The counselor said: “Abstain from premarital sex.”
A colon separates hours from minutes
E.g. 11:30am
A colon introduces an example or an explanation of something already mentioned
E.g. The miser had one wish: to keep all his money.
Apostrophe (’)
The apostrophe, sometimes called an inverted comma has two main uses.
The apostrophe indicates possession or ownership.
For example:
The girl's hat was green, (girl is in the singular).
This shows the reader that the hat belongs to the girl.
The girls' hats were green, (girls in this instance are plural, i.e. more than one girl, more than one hat).
This indicates that the hats belong to the girls.
Another use of the apostrophe is to indicate where a letter is omitted:
For example:
We're going to do this course. (We are going to do this course.)
Isn’t this a fine example of punctuation? (Is not this a fine example of punctuation?)
The time is now 7 o’ clock. (The time is now 7 of the clock)
Note that a common mistake is to confuse its with it’s.
It’s indicates to the reader that a letter has been omitted.
For example:
It’s a lovely day is an abbreviated way of saying: It is a lovely day.
Note that in most formal writing, the practice of using abbreviated words is inappropriate.
Writing Skills Study Notes Prepared by Mr. Antony Ambia Page 3
, Quotation or Speech Marks (“….”)
Quotation or speech marks are used when quoting someone else's speech or writing.
For example:
My grandpa said, "Share your chocolates with your friends."
Hyphen (-)
The hyphen is used to link words together.
For example:
sub-part
eighteenth-century people
week-end
second-class post
gender-neutral
non-verbal
The hyphen is also used when a word is split between two lines. The hyphen should be placed between
syllables at the end of the upper line and indicates to the reader that the word will be completed on the next
line.
Computer applications such as Word Processors can be set to automatically hyphenate words for you, although
it is more common to use extra spacing to avoid hyphenation.
Brackets ( )
Brackets always come in pairs ( ) and are used to make an aside, or a point which is not part of the main flow of
a sentence. If you remove the words between the brackets, the sentence should still make sense.
For example:
“The strategy (or strategies) chosen to meet the objectives may need to change as the intervention continues.”
Brackets are also used in text citations. E.g. According to Jane (2014) climate change is to blame for the
disrupted rainfall patterns in Kenya,
Slash (/)
Many people use the slash instead of or, and etc. There is, however, a modern convention in gender-neutral
writing to use ‘she/ he’.
COURTESY IN WRITING
Communicating in a business environment involves communicating with individuals. In both written and oral
communication, it is possible to be courteous while being direct and business-oriented. The writer should be
aware of the reader’s feelings. Most people respond more readily to a positive interaction, according to a study
conducted by the University of North Carolina that found 52 percent of those interviewed said they “lost work
time worrying about incidents of rudeness.”
Strategies used:
Proper salutations
Everyone appreciates having the correct salutation attached to their name. If a person is a doctor or if a woman
is married, they expect to have the correct salutation in a business letter. E.g. Mr., Mrs., Miss, Dr, Hon e.t.c.
Proper greetings
The standard and most widely accepted way that a greeting is used to open a letter is “Dear,” followed by the
proper salutation, and the person’s last name. If you write a letter without using this standard opening, it may
immediately alienate your reader. Also, the greeting of “To Whom it May Concern,” often comes off as cold or
distant.
Proper tone
Writing Skills Study Notes Prepared by Mr. Antony Ambia Page 4
