Writing Skills notes

MDCAT English

This chapter develops the skills needed to write clear, correct and well-structured English. It covers faulty sentence structure, spelling and word usage, and proofreading through careful checking of grammar, capitalization and punctuation.

Clear Sentence Structure

A sentence should express a complete thought. It normally contains a subject and a predicate. The subject tells who or what performs an action, while the predicate tells what the subject does or what happens to it.

A well-formed sentence also follows a logical order. In ordinary English, the usual order is subject, verb and object or complement. Changing the order without a grammatical reason can make the sentence unclear or incorrect.

A sentence fragment is an incomplete group of words that does not express a complete thought.
A complete sentence usually contains a subject and a finite verb.
Correct order: We drove right up to Karachi in two days.
Incorrect or unclear order can be corrected by arranging the subject, verb and other parts logically.
Use a capital letter at the beginning of a sentence and a suitable punctuation mark at its end.
A sentence should communicate one clear idea or a group of closely connected ideas.

Run-on Sentences and Comma Splices

A run-on sentence joins two or more complete sentences incorrectly. A comma splice is a particular type of run-on sentence in which two independent clauses are joined only by a comma.

Each independent clause can stand alone as a sentence. The clauses must be separated by a full stop, semicolon, or a suitable coordinating conjunction such as and, but, or, so, yet, for, nor.

I like cats, I hate dogs is a comma splice.
Correct form: I like cats, but I hate dogs.
Another correct form is: I like cats. I hate dogs.
A semicolon may join closely related independent clauses: I like cats; I hate dogs.
A comma alone cannot normally join two complete sentences.
Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction when it joins two independent clauses.

Comparison, Agreement and Parallel Structure

Comparisons must be complete and logical. When two subjects are compared, the sentence should compare the same kind of things. The comparison must not leave out a word that is needed for clear meaning.

Parallel structure means using the same grammatical form for items in a series or for related actions. It makes a sentence balanced and easy to understand.

Incorrect: The climate of Multan is hotter than Lahore.
Correct: The climate of Multan is hotter than the climate of Lahore.
The word than introduces the second part of a comparison.
A comparison should not compare a climate with a city. It should compare the climate of Multan with the climate of Lahore.
Correct parallel series: Nimra picked the package up, unlocked the door, and went into the apartment.
In a series, the same type of grammatical structure should be used for each item.
Coordinate actions should be joined clearly with commas and, where appropriate, a final and.

Correct Use of Words in Context

Many errors occur because words have similar sounds or related meanings but different spellings or uses. The correct word must be selected according to the meaning of the sentence.

Some words are commonly confused, such as site and sight, heir and hair, and explanation and excuse. Reading the whole sentence helps identify the intended meaning.

Site means a place or location: The site chosen for the construction of the building is in the heart of the city.
Ladder means a framework with steps used for climbing: With this ladder I can get to the roof of the house.
An explanation gives a reason for an action or event: The manager accepted the cashier's explanation for coming late.
An heir is a person who inherits property or a title: She made her stepson her heir to her large fortune.
Too hot means excessively hot: It is too hot today.
Too can mean excessively or also, while to is commonly used before a noun, pronoun or verb.
Than is used in comparisons, while then refers to time or sequence.
Taste relates to the sense of flavour, while test means to examine or check something.

Spelling Rules and Commonly Tested Spellings

Correct spelling is essential because a single letter can change a word or make it unacceptable in formal writing. Spelling should be checked carefully, especially in words with silent letters, double consonants, unusual vowel patterns and suffixes.

Some English spellings follow patterns, but many must be learned individually. Pronunciation does not always show the correct spelling. For example, lieutenant contains letters that are not pronounced in the same way as they appear.

Correct spelling: lieutenant.
Correct spelling: commission. It contains double m and double s.
Correct spelling: apprenticeship.
Correct spelling: vaccinate. It contains double c.
Correct spelling: recrudescence.
Correct spelling: benefited. The final consonant is not doubled in this form.
Correct spelling: cemetery.
Correct spelling: metropolitan.
Correct spelling: temporary.
When adding a suffix, check whether the final consonant is doubled or whether a final letter is removed.

Homophones and Easily Confused Words

Homophones are words that sound alike or nearly alike but differ in spelling and meaning. They cannot be selected by sound alone. The meaning of the complete sentence must guide the choice.

Careful writers distinguish between words that are often confused. A dictionary can confirm spelling and meaning, but the context remains the main guide for selecting the correct word.

Site means a location, while sight means the ability to see or something seen.
Heir means a person who inherits property, while hair grows on the body.
Explanation means a statement that makes something clear, while excuse is a reason given to defend or justify an action.
Than is used for comparison: hotter than the climate of Lahore.
Then indicates time or order: First read the sentence, then correct it.
Their shows possession, there refers to a place, and they're is the contraction of they are.
The correct word in a sentence must agree with the intended meaning, not merely with pronunciation.

Capitalization, Punctuation and Contractions

Writing conventions make meaning clear. Capitalization identifies the beginning of sentences and proper nouns. Punctuation shows pauses, relationships between ideas and the limits of sentences.

A contraction combines two words and replaces one or more omitted letters with an apostrophe. Contractions are common in informal writing, but full forms are often preferred in formal academic writing unless the question specifically tests the contraction.

The first word of every sentence begins with a capital letter.
Proper nouns, including names of people and places such as Nimra and Karachi, begin with capital letters.
A full stop ends a statement.
A comma separates items in a series and may separate clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction.
An apostrophe marks omitted letters in a contraction.
How are becomes how're in a contraction.
They're means they are: They're going to submit their reports tomorrow.
Their is possessive and cannot replace they're: Their reports are ready.
E-mail is a correctly written form in the given sentence: E-mail is a relatively new means of communication.
Punctuation can change meaning, so it should be placed according to the grammatical structure.

Tense, Meaning and Logical Sequence

A correct sentence must show a logical relationship between its actions. Tense helps establish which action happened first, which action continued, and which action happened later.

The past perfect tense, formed with had plus the past participle, shows that one past action happened before another past action. The sentence must also make sense in context.

Correct sentence: Christopher could not taste the drink until he had boiled it.
Had boiled is past perfect and shows that boiling happened before tasting.
Until introduces the condition or time before which another action did not occur.
The subject and verb should agree in number and person.
A sentence should not contain a tense shift without a reason.
Logical sequence means that actions are presented in an order the reader can understand.
Words such as first, then, before, after and until help show sequence and time.

Double Negatives and Faulty Modifiers

A double negative occurs when two negative forms are used in a sentence where standard English requires only one. In formal English, a double negative can create confusion or produce an unintended positive meaning.

Modifiers must be placed near the words they describe. A misplaced modifier may make the sentence humorous, confusing or logically incorrect. Editing should check whether every descriptive phrase refers to the intended word.

Correct sentence avoiding a double negative: He didn't say anything about the results.
Didn't is already negative, so anything is used instead of nothing in standard formal English.
The words not, never, no, nobody, nothing and hardly have negative meanings.
Avoid using two negative words to express one negative idea unless the construction is intentionally used for emphasis or a special meaning.
Hardly means almost not: My feet hardly seemed to touch the earth.
Correct spelling and usage: seemed, not seamed, when the meaning is appeared.
Seam is a line where pieces of material are joined, while seem means appear.
Place modifiers close to the word they modify to prevent ambiguity.

Proofreading and Editing Procedure

Proofreading is the final careful reading of a written passage to find and correct errors. Editing is a broader process that may improve sentence structure, word choice, order, clarity and punctuation.

A useful method is to check one type of error at a time. First read for meaning and sentence order, then check grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization and word usage. Reading slowly helps the writer notice errors that are missed during quick reading.

Read every sentence from beginning to end instead of checking isolated words only.
Check that every sentence has a complete thought, a subject and a suitable verb.
Look for comma splices, fragments and run-on sentences.
Check spelling of words with double letters, silent letters and unusual vowel patterns.
Check commonly confused words such as site, heir, their, they're, than and then.
Check subject and verb agreement and consistency of tense.
Check capitalization of sentence beginnings and proper nouns.
Check apostrophes in contractions and possessive forms.
Check commas in lists and between independent clauses joined by conjunctions.
Check that comparisons are logical and grammatically complete.
Final corrected form: They're going to submit their reports tomorrow.
Final corrected form: Nimra picked the package up, unlocked the door, and went into the apartment.

Key terms

Sentence: A group of words that expresses a complete thought and normally contains a subject and a finite verb.
Subject: The person, place, thing or idea that performs the action or is described in a sentence.
Predicate: The part of a sentence that says what the subject does or what happens to it.
Independent clause: A group of words containing a subject and verb that can stand alone as a complete sentence.
Run-on sentence: Two or more complete sentences joined incorrectly without suitable punctuation or a conjunction.
Comma splice: An error caused by joining two independent clauses with only a comma.
Parallel structure: The use of the same grammatical form for related words, phrases or actions.
Homophone: A word that has the same or a similar sound as another word but a different spelling and meaning.
Contraction: A shortened form of two words in which omitted letters are replaced by an apostrophe.
Modifier: A word or group of words that describes, limits or gives more information about another word.
Double negative: The use of two negative expressions where standard English normally requires one.
Proofreading: The careful final checking of written work for errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation and capitalization.
Editing: The process of improving the correctness, order, clarity and style of written material.
Past perfect tense: A tense formed with had and a past participle to show an action completed before another past action.
Punctuation: Marks such as the full stop, comma, semicolon and apostrophe that clarify the structure and meaning of writing.

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English shortcuts

Identifying the type of sentence

Look at the purpose of the sentence. A question is interrogative, a command or request is imperative, a strong feeling is exclamatory, and a statement is declarative.

1. Check the punctuation and meaning.
2. A question usually ends with a question mark.
3. Example: Do you have any pencil? Answer: Interrogative sentence.

Use meaning as well as punctuation because punctuation alone may not show the sentence type.

Choosing a synonym from context

Replace the given word with each option and select the word that keeps the same meaning in the sentence.

1. Identify the basic meaning of the word.
2. Reject options that change the tone or meaning.
3. Example: Grotesque means strange or ugly in a ridiculous way. Answer: Ludicrous.

A synonym may change slightly according to the context, so do not select by sound alone.

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