Guidelines in Writing

 

 

Some points to remember



Writing is a skill that people all walks of like must 

perform



Good writing requires :
1. Good Grammar 
2. Good Organization



To write effectively,



1. Learn some strategies
2. Practice them



Writing is a process



Overcome writer’s block by understanding the steps 

in the process.

 

 

Steps in the writing process (1)



Prewriting:



1. Know what to write (text type/genre)

who reads it (style), and why you write it 
(mode and tone).



Chose and narrow a topic.



Generate ideas (listing, clustering, asking 
questions, brainstorming, free writing). 



Collect data.

 

 

Steps in the writing process (2)



Outlining/Planning:



1. Group ideas : put similar ideas into a group,  
delete double ideas, and more ideas coming up 
during the grouping. 



2. Make the ideas into an outline. (Simple 
paragraph and essay outlines).
Outlining improve organization, speed and 
grammar.

 

Draft→revising/editing →Final draft

 

 

PARAGRAPH



A Paragraph is a basic unit of organization in which 

a group of related sentences develops one main 

idea. 



A good paragraph consists of: 
1. topic sentence
2. supporting sentences
3. concluding sentence(s) 

●  An effective paragraph must be:

1. unified
2. coherent
3. adequately developed

 

 

Unity



To make a paragraph unified, we should have 
only one main idea. 



Other supporting ideas must relate to and 
directly explain the main idea.



The main idea is expressed in the topic 
sentence. 



The position of the topic sentence in the 
paragraph: beginning, end, beginning and 
end, middle, and implied.

 

 

Writing a topic sentence (1)



A topic sentence is a sentence.



It has a topic and a controlling idea.
● A boss has good reasons for not answering 
the phone directly.
 ● An average American teenager consumes 
enormous quantities of junk food.

 

 

Writing a topic sentence (2)



It is not too broad and not too specific. 
▪ Padang food is delicious. (too broad)
▪ Padang food is has strong taste and greasy   

     because the Minangkabau use too many spicies  
    and because everything is in oil . (too specific)
●  It has too many ideas:

Jakarta  is famous for its hot climate, heavy traffic, 
narrow streets and less friendly people.
(too many ideas)

 

 

Coherence



For a paragraph to be coherent, the sentence 
should be arranged logically and flow 
smoothly from one to the next.



Ways to achieve coherence:

1. Arranged sentences in specific order.

a. Time order
b. Space order
c. Order of climax
d. General to particular
e. Particular to general

 

 

Coherence (2)

Ways to achieve coherence:

2.  Make the relationship among   

sentences clear. 

a. Maintain consistency in point of view. 

    (Eliminate shifts in person, number and 

    tense)
b. Use a parallel construction
c. Repeat the key word
d. Use transitional markers.

 

 

 

Note on Cohesion



For a paragraph to be cohesive, use grammar 

devices to make sentences flow smoothly.



The house is surrounded by a large garden. There 

are many trees such as mango, guava and star fruit 

trees in the garden. Bamboo benches lie under the 

trees, purposely made to while away time in the cool 

shades…



The house is surrounded by a large garden. In the 

garden there are many trees such as mango, guava 

and star fruit trees. Under the trees lie bamboo 

benches purposely made to while away time in the 

cool shades. 

 

 

ADEQUATE DEVELOPMENT 
(1)



How much detail has to be provided to 
support the main idea?



Is the detail sufficient/adequate?



The length of the paragraph depends on:



1. The type of the audience



2. The complexity of the subject matter



3. The construction of the topic sentence



4. The purpose of the paragraph

 

 

ADEQUATE DEVELOPMENT 
(2)



Methods of paragraph development: 
1. Detail
2. Example
3. Illustration
4. Comparison and contrast
5. Analogy
6. Cause and effect
7. Analysis
8. Classification
9. Definition

 

 

Points to remember (1)



Information should be:



1. Relevant : Air pollution in Jakarta.



2. Truthful   : She is very popular.



3. Accurate : He won many gold medals.

                         Elvys Presley.

 

 

Points to remember (2)



Arguments should be:



Be logically sound.



Be supported with facts/data/evidence from a 

reliable resource. 



Fallacies (hasty generalization)



Distortion in language (negative: eg. radical, 

permissive, cover-up)



False issues (misleading information)



Discrediting to proponents (attacking a 

person’s character)