- Parts of Speech
- Subject-verb Agreement
- Pronouns
- Adjectives & Adverbs
- Verbs
- Prepositions
- Clauses, phrases
Questions Tags - Punctuation Marks
- Vocabulary Development
- Idiomatic Expressions
- Comprehension
- Essay Writing
PARTS OF SPEECH
Noun
Pronoun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Preposition
Conjunction
Noun
A noun is the name of any person, animal, place or thing.
A noun can be
- singular or plural as in car and cars
- common e.g. man, city, car
- proper e.g. Tunde, Lagos, Toyota (notice they begin with a capital letter)
- countable e.g. students, cars
- abstract or uncountable e.g. wind
PRONOUN
A pronoun is a word used instead of a noun.
Example: I, he/she, you, we , they.
Some of the types of pronouns include
- personal pronouns (I, you, he/she/it)
- subject pronouns (I, we, who )
- object pronouns (me, her),
- reflexive pronouns (himself, herself), etc
VERB
A verb is an action word or doing word.
Verbs can be
regular (the past tense is formed by adding “-d” or “-ed”, e.g want, look.
Or irregular (if the past tense is a different spelling) e.g. eat, go
Auxiliary verbs: they help the main verb
Example:
I have gone to the market (have is helping the main verb gone).
If The woman is writing a poem (is is helping writing)
It modifies or describes a noun or pronoun.
ADJECTIVE
Adjectives add meaning by telling us which one, what kind, etc.
Example: She is a smart student
Smart is an adjective as it tells us the type of student she is
Other examples of adjectives include foolish, good, bad, intelligent, beautiful, fat, white, black
ADVERB
An adverb modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb.
Adverbs answer the questions how, when where, why or to what extent.
Examples:
She speaks slowly (an adverb modifying the verb speak)
She is a very smart student (an adverb modifying the adjective smart)
She eats extremely slowly (an adverb modifying the adverb slowly)
Other examples of adverbs: She arrived today Let’s go outside
PREPOSITION
A preposition is a word that shows a relationship between two nouns or pronouns
Example: The book is on the table
Other examples include in, beside, under, above, beneath
Prepositions can show direction, motion, manner, reason or possession
CONJUNCTION
A conjunction is a word that links or joins two nouns, pronouns or sentences
Example: Ade and Bisi went to Shoprite
The conjunction and is linking the nouns Ade and BisiOther examples include both, neither, either, or, if, although
INTERJECTION
They are used to show emotions or express surprise.
Example: wow, hurray, alas
Interjections usually end with an exclamation mark (!)
Articles
Articles can be definite or indefinite
Definite article is the
Indefinite article include a, an
Use “a” when the noun starts with a consonant sound. E.g. a book, a car
a university
Use “an” if the noun begins with a vowel sound. An umbrella, an egg
WHAT IS A SUBJECT?
A subject is a noun or pronoun that performs an action
Example: She ate rice
She is the subject of the verb ‘ate’
An object is a noun or pronoun that receives an action. Rice is the object
A predicate is a verb
The simplest sentence in English Language must contain a subject and a predicate (verb) e.g Jesus wept
Rule 1. A singular subject goes with a singular verb and a plural subject goes with a plural verb
Examples:
She bakes a cake everyday
They bake a cake everyday
Rule 2. When two singular subjects are connected with and or both, the verb following must be plural.
Example:
Ade and Simbi are going to Shoprite
3. When two singular subjects are connected with either, or, neither, nor, the verb following is singular.
Examples:
Neither my mother nor father (is/are) coming to pick me from school.
Niyi or Taiwo (is/are) going to teach you mathematics.
4. When a singular and plural subject are connected using either, or, neither, nor, the verb closest to the subject must agree with rule 1.
Example:
Neither the plate nor the spoons (goes/go) on the shelf.
5. If the subject is separated from the verb using words such as besides, along with, as well as, not, just like, together with, ignore them as they are not part of the subject.
Examples:
The politician, along with the news crew, (is/are) expected shortly.
Buhari, not the president of Nigeria, is dead.
Similarly, words in bracket are not part of the
Example: John (and his pet) is coming to the party
6. For sentences beginning with here or there, the true subject comes after the verb.
Examples:
There (is/are) four miles to walk
Here (is/are) my key.
7. Use a singular verb with distance, period of time, sum of money when considered as a unit.
Examples:
Five thousand Naira (is/are) a lot of money.
Five miles is a long distance to walk.
8. When using words that indicate portions such as a lot of, some of, majority of, all of, at the beginning of the sentence, the noun that follows the of should agree with the verb.
Examples:
A lot of the pie has disappeared.
A third of the people are unemployed.
9. If the sentence expresses a wish or is contrary to fact, the verb used is plural.
Example:
If my father were here, you would be sorry.
10. Collective nouns such as flock, jury, herd, government, family, audience, population may take a singular or plural verb depending on the context or writer’s intent
Examples:
All of my family has arrived.
All of my family has arrived.
We should maintain consistency
Examples:
The staff are deciding how they want to vote.
The staff is deciding how it wants to vote.
PRONOUN
Recall that a pronoun is a word which can be used instead of a noun. There are several types of pronouns
1. PERSONAL PRONOUNS: This is a word we use as a simple substitute for the proper name of a person. First person, as in “I’, second person, as in “you”, third person, as in “he, she, it”
2. SUBJECT PRONOUNS e.g. I, he, she, we, they, who, whoever.
They are used if they can rename the subject. They will be followed by ‘to be’ verbs such as is, are, was, were, am, will be, had been.
Examples:
It is we (Tunde and Shayo) who are responsible for the shooting.
It is he (Tunde),
This is she (Tola) speaking.
3. OBJECT PRONOUNS e.g. They include me, him, us, them, himself, themselves. They are used to replace the object of a verb.
Examples:
Simi saw him (Ade).
Give her the book.
Her here can be referred to as an indirect object. These objects have an implied ‘to’ or ‘for’ in front of them. Give (to) her the book.
Examples:
Are you talking to me?
Do me a favour.
When using ‘who’ ‘that’ or ‘which’, the verb following may be singular or plural if the subject is singular or plural.
Examples:
He is the only one of those men who is/are always on time.
He is one of those men who is/are always on time.
(of those men who are always on time, he is one).
Pronouns such as everyone, anyone, anybody, someone, somebody, each, either, neither require singular verbs.
Examples:
Each of the boys sings well.
Either of us is capable of doing the job.
Neither of them is available to speak.
Don’t be misled by the singular or plural nouns or pronouns that follow ‘of’.
However, when ‘each’ comes after a plural noun or pronoun, the verb following should agree with the subject.
Examples:
The women each gave their approval.
When using ‘than’ or ‘as’, mentally complete the sentence.
Examples:
Tunde is as smart as she (is)
Zoe is taller than I (am)
4. POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS are yours, mine, his, hers, its, ours, theirs, whose.
5. REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS are pronouns that end in self or selves. They include myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, themselves, yourselves, oneself. They are used when the subject and object refer to the same person or thing.
Examples: Cindy helped herself
Reflexive pronouns usually come after its corresponding subjective or objective pronoun.
Examples:
My brother and I did the job (NOT: My brother and myself did the job).
You saw me being myself.
He himself finished the job.
When a pronoun is linked with a noun using ‘and’, mentally remove the ‘and + noun phrase’.
Examples:
She and her friend came over.
(‘She came over’ and ‘Her friend came over’ are both valid sentences)
I invited him and his wife.
Bill asked my sister and me.
Pronouns II (Who, that, and which)
Who mainly refers to people.
Sometimes, however, we use that
That and which refer to groups or things.
Examples:
Tunde is the one who rescued the dog
Mbappe is on the team that won the 2016 World Cup.
She belongs to a great school, which specializes in saving students from failure.
That introduces an essential clause. Essential clauses add vital information to the point of the sentence
Which is used to introduce a non-essential clause, that is, a clause that adds more information
Example:
The product claiming ‘all natural ingredients’, which appeared in the Sunday newspaper, is on sale.
If that has already appeared in a sentence, writers sometimes use which to introduce the next clause.
Example:
That which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
Use the he/him method to decide whether who or whom is correct
He = who
Him = whom
Who/whom wrote the letter?
Correct: Who wrote the letter (Explanation: He wrote the letter)
Who/whom should I vote for?
Correct: Whom should I vote for? (Explanation: Vote for him)
We all know who/whom pulled the prank
Correct: We all know who pulled the prank
(Explanation: He pulled the prank)
We wondered who/whom the book was about
Correct: We wondered whom the book was about
(Explanation: the book was about him)
Whoever and Whomever
He = whoever
Him = whomever
The presence of whoever or whomever indicates a dependent clause. Use whoever/whomever to agree with the verb in that dependent clause
Examples:
Give it to whoever/whomever asks for it first
We will hire whoever/whomever you recommend
When whoever/whomever is the subject of the verb that follows the clause, look inside the clause to determine whether to use whoever or whomever
- Whoever/whomever is elected will serve a four-year term
ADJECTIVE AND ADVERB
Recall that an adjective is a word used to modify or describe a noun or pronoun
And an adverb is used to modify an adjective, verb or adverb. Adverbs answer the question how, when, where, why or to what extent (how much or how often)
There are three forms of adjectives and adverbs used to show varying degrees of comparison: the positive, the comparative and the superlative
The positive form shows no direct comparison being made to anything specific, but is used to offer a broad or general comparison
The comparative form is used when two things are being compared with each other
The superlative form is used when more than two things are being compared with one another
The degrees of adverbs, especially the ones ending with ‘ly’, are formed by adding more, most
If an adjective can take ‘ly’, then it forms an adverb and should be appropriately placed (to modify a verb, adjective or another adverb)
Examples:
She thinks quick/quickly
She is a quick/quickly thinker
She thinks fast/fastly
We performed bad/badly
Take care with adverbs that answer the question how. Also, avoid using ‘ly’ with linking verbs such as taste, smell, look, feel, which pertain to senses
Examples:
Roses smell sweet/sweetly
The woman looked angry/angrily to us
The woman looked angry/angrily at the paint marks
She feels bad/badly about the news on Corona virus
The word ‘good’ is an adjective. The adverb equivalent is ‘well’
Examples:
You did a good job
You did the job well
You smell good today
You smell well for someone with a cold
You do not look good/well today
When the adjectives can be interchanged, we put a comma
Order of adjectives summary: This order guides us in the use of adjectives
Examples:
She bought a red, pink and blue dressWe stayed in an expensive summer hotel
Quantity or number
Quality or opinion
Size
Age shape colour
Proper adjectives (nationality, material)
Purpose or qualifier
Examples:
I love that really big old green antique car that always parks at the end of the street
My sister adopted a beautiful big white bulldog
I bought a brown beautiful big shoe
VERBS
AUXILIARY VERBS: has, have, and had
Have and has are in the present tense.
Had is the past tense of have and has
Has is used with the third person singular.
Examples:
She has a great personality
It has a hole near the door
Have is plural while has is singular
Examples:
I have a beautiful car
I have a pen
What do we use these verbs for?
1. We use them to ask Yes/No questions
Examples:
Have you done your homework?
Has he contracted the Corona virus?
2. They are used to show possession
Examples:
He has a house
They have a car
Notice a noun or noun phrase follows
3. They are also used for time keeping function
Examples:
He has eaten
Notice a verb follows
They have gone
Rules for using has/have/had
Has and have can appear in only one clause (one event)
Example:
he has gone
They have gone before I came (incorrect)
When has and have are used, no definite time will be used
Examples:
He has gone yesterday (Incorrect)
He went yesterday (correct)
They have eaten yesterday (incorrect)
If however, has or have must be used in a clause where there is definite time, for and since should be introduced before the definite time
Examples:
He has gone since yesterday
They have gone for one year now
When had is to be used in the sense of time-keeping function, there is a past participle verb in front of had, the statement in which it appears should contain two events
Examples:
(wow, hurray, alas
I had gone to the market before I lost my money
But when had is used to show possession, one event can be found
Example: I had a car last year
Has been (singular) and have been(plural) mean something began in the past and has continued into the present time or is still in progress. It may or may not continue in in the future
The verb tense in this case is referred to as the present perfect tense
The perfect tell us the event occurs or occurred prior to some other relevant reference time.
Examples:
I have been preparing my slides since I woke up
Had been
This tells us something relevant happened in the past, and the thing I am talking about didn’t just happen in the past, it happened before.
This is the past perfect tense
Will have been is the future perfect tense
Example:
I was sacked because I had been late too many times
It means the thing I am talking about occurs before some other relevant thing that will happen in the future , but it doesn’t in matter if it’s before or after now
Modal verbs such as can, could, may, might are auxiliary verbs. This means they are used with a main verb
Can is used to show:
Ability: Michael can swim
permission: Can I come with you?
offers: Can I help you?
Could (past form of can) is used to show
possibility: That story could be true / This plan could really work out
past ability: Charles could swim when he was four years old
permission: Could you please lend me some money?
Will is used
as a future tense: A cylinder of gas will cost ten thousand Naira in December
for invitation or offers: Will you join us for breakfast?
to show desire: I will accept your offer
to express capability: The hall will take three hundred guests
Would is used
to show preference: I would rather go to the office today ( I prefer going to the office)
to express a wish: I would like to have more time
for advice: If I were you, I would study mathematics
Shall is used to
make a suggestion: shall we dance?
for obligation in law or formal situations: You shall obey the rules
Should is used to
give an opinion: You should stay at home if you are feeling tired
ask for an opinion: what should we do now?
May is used to
ask for permission in a formal way: May I come in? May I borrow your dictionary
and to suggest something is possible: It may shower tonight
Might is used to show
possibility in a slight way: We might win the race but I doubt it / You might have lost it
It is the past form of “may” in a reported speech: The president said he might come
Must is used to express something formally required or necessary
Examples:
The building must have a fire alarm
I must complete the project by next week
It is also used to show that something is very likely
Examples:
She must be very tired
You must be a genius
PREPOSITION
A preposition shows the relationship between two things. It usually comes before a noun, pronoun or noun phrase. Prepositions show
1. Direction/motion, e.g. to, in, into, on, onto
Examples:
He drove to the market.
Drop your bags here and walk on the grass.
2. Time e.g. since/for, in, during, in, at
Use since to indicate a point in time and for to indicate a period of time
Examples:
He has been teaching since 2008.
He has been teaching for 13 years.
Use in with parts of the day, months, years and seasons
Examples:
He reads in the evening.
The weather is cold in December.
Use at with the time of day such as noon, night, midnight
Example: I go to school at 8:00
Use on with days
Example: I am off-duty on Fridays.
3. Place/location e.g. at (the general vicinity), in (the point itself), on (the surface), inside (enclosed).
Examples:
They will meet in the boardroom.
She was waiting at the junction
He left his keys on the bed
Place the pen inside the drawer.
| Verbs | Preposition |
| Worries, complained, read | about |
| Occurred, resulted, succeed | in |
| Suffers, differ | from |
| Account, allow, searching | for |
| Approve, consists | of |
| Belong, refer, contribute | to |
| Agree, argue, deal | With (compare ‘deal in’) |
CLAUSES & PHRASES
A clause is a group of words containing a subject and a verb. An independent clause makes a simple sentence and can stand on it own
E.g. she is tired
A dependent clause cannot stand on its own. It often beings with such words like although, if, when, because
Example: although she is hungry, whoever is happy
A phrase is a group of words without a subject-verb component
If it is used to express a single part of speech
Examples
[I have a] best friend Acting as a noun
Needing help
[My mum is] with the blue shirt Acting as an adjective
[He slept] for twenty days Acting as an adverb
Question Tags
They are clauses placed at the end of a statement to turn it into a question
They are basically used to confirm whether something is true or not or encourage a reply from the person we are speaking to
Question tags are formed from the auxiliary verb ‘to have’ or ‘to be’ or modal verb is, are, can, do, should, would, etc
Basic Rules
1.A positive statement is followed by a negative question tag. Tunde is from Nigeria, isn’t he?
2.A negative statement is followed by a positive question tag. They aren’t happy, are they? You shouldn’t say things like that to a lady, should you?
3.When the verb in the main sentence isn’t an auxiliary verb, we form the question tag with ‘do’ and its modifications. They went to the cinema, didn’t they? You play tennis, don’t you?
4.Statements that contain words like never, rarely, hardly are considered negative and thus demand a positive question tag. He hardly ever speaks, does he?
5.When the statement begins with I am, the question tag takes the form ‘aren’t I’. And if it starts with let’s, use the tag shall. Let us go the beach, shall we?
6.Use will or would to form the question when the sentence is in simple present state (imperatives). Don’t stop singing, will you? Open the window, would you?
PUNCTUATION MARKS:
Punctuation marks are important in written English.
They make your writing easier to read and more appealing.
Punctuations can change the meaning of your sentence.
For example:
A woman without her man is nothing
A woman: without her, man is nothing
I am sorry you can’t come with us.
I am sorry. You can’t come with us.
The Period (.)
This is used at the end of a complete sentence.
Examples: Niyi and Tobi went to the market.
The period is also used after many abbreviations
Examples:
His son, Ifeanyi Nriama Jnr. was born on Nov. 6, 2018.
Comma (,)
The comma may be used in three ways
1. To separate items in a series within the structure of a sentence.
Example: Folarin wanted the blue, green and black shoe.
2. In a direct address
Example: Thanks for all your help, Taiwo.
3. Separating two complete sentences
Example: We went to the movies, and then we went out to lunch.
Enclose supplementary information
Examples:
He refused to stop, although inadvertently, when the traffic light turned red.
The politician, along with the news crew, is expected shortly.
Oxford comma
Examples: I love my parents, Mr and Mrs Ajayi.
I love my parents, Lady Gaga and Humpty Dumpty.
Semicolon:
A semicolon is used to connect two independent clauses that are closely related.
Example: David was hurt; he knew she only said it to upset him.
A semicolon is also used to separate items in a list that already contain commas.
Example: The conference had people from Lagos, Nigeria; Accra, Ghana; Istanbul, Turkey; and other places as well.
Colon:
A colon has three main uses.
1. It is used after a word introducing a quotation, an explanation, an example, or a series
Example: He was planning to study four subjects: maths, economics, physics and chemistry.
2. It can be used between independent clauses when the second explains the first
Example: I didn’t have time to get changed: I was already late.
3. It can be used for emphasis
Examples:
You know what you need to do to excel: practice
Mary said: “I would give you a car”.
A colon also has non-grammatical uses in time, ratio, business correspondence and references.
Dash and Hyphen
These two punctuation marks are often confused with each other because they look alike, but they are quite different.
A dash is used to separate words into statements. It is separated from the other words on both sides by spaces.
Examples:
Isaac Newton (1919 – 1975)
CMS – Ajah BRT bus
This is what they call me – boss
An honest politician – if such a creature exists – would never agree to such a plan.
A hyphen is used to join two or more words together into a compound term and is not separated by spaces
Examples:
This rock-hard chocolate is impossible to eat.
It is impossible to eat this cake because it is rock hard.
We looked around for a dog-friendly hotel
Low-income families will suffer most during this lockdown
Other examples of hyphens
Editor-in-chief, ex-president, factory-made, all-powerful, self-made millionaire.
Apostrophe (‘)
An apostrophe has several uses
1. It is used in contractions where some letters of a word may be omitted
Examples:
I’ve seen that movie several times.
I’m going to Shoprite (Am going to Shoprite is very wrong)
I am going to Shoprite but am not carrying cash
Don’t forget to dot all your i’s
2. It is used to show possession
Example: Sara’s dog, Tunde’s car
When the noun ends with s, the punctuation is placed after the s
Example: James’ bag, Charles’ comb
When the plural noun ends with s, add the apostrophe after the s
Example: The boys’ rooms, the planets’ atmospheres
If the plural noun doesn’t end with s, add apostrophe + s
Example: The children’s toys, the teeth’s roots
In a compound noun, the apostrophe is on the last word
Example: My mother-in-law’s bag
If two people jointly own an item, the apostrophe is on the last word
Examples:
This is Tunde and Ade’s car
David, Niyi and Tobi’s parents came to Iprep
When one of the owners is a pronoun, we use the possessive form
Example: This is Tunde and my car
When the ownership is separate, each of the nouns take an apostrophe
Example: Bode’s and Tolani’s homes are both lovely.
Brackets () []
Brackets (AmE: parenthesis) are symbols used to contain words that provides further explanation or are considered as a group.
Writers use them to add qualifying remarks or further thoughts without changing the meaning of the sentence.
Example: The two brothers (Niyi and David) were learning how to play the guitar.
The square brackets [ ] are used in a technical document to show further clarification
Example: Was he [the defendant] there when you arrived?
Quotation Marks (” “)
Examples:
Moses said to the Israelites: “Thus says the Lord: ‘I am your healer’.”
The commercial motorcycle popularly known as “okada” took me to the office.
Ellipsis (…)
Example: She started counting, “one, two, three, …” up to ten and then set out to look for them.
Question Mark
We use the question mark after a direct question
Examples:
Will you marry me?
What will you eat?
I asked her what she would eat.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
IDIOMATIC EXPRESSION
Idiomatic expression, also called idioms, are expressions that have a figurative meaning, which means you can deduce the meaning from the words.
| Idiom | Meaning |
| Your guess is as good as mine | I don’t know |
| Beat around the bush | To avoid talking about the important thing |
| Hit the sack | To sleep |
| Back against the wall | To be stuck in a difficult situation |
| Up in arms | Being angry or grumpy about something |
| Burn your boats/bridges | Doing something that makes it impossible to return to the original state |
| Idiom | Meaning |
| Your guess is as good as mine | I don’t know |
| Beat around the bush | To avoid talking about the important thing |
| Hit the sack | To sleep |
| Back against the wall | To be stuck in a difficult situation |
| Up in arms | Being angry or grumpy about something |
| On cloud nine | Being very happy |
| Blow hot and cold | Alternate between moods and actions |
| Snowball effect | A situation where something increases in size and importance |
| Chip off the old block | Similar in behaviour or actions to parents |
| Every cloud has a silver lining | Bad things eventually lead to good thing |
| Having an ace up your sleeve | Have a secret knowledge or skill that will give you an advantage |
| Burn your boats/bridges | Doing something that makes it impossible to return to the original state |
| Idiom | Meaning |
| Hook, line and sinker | To fall for something (such as a trick) completely |
| Break a leg | Saying good luck to someone |
| Crying wolf | Asking for help when not needed |
| On thin ice | In a risky situation |
| Play devil’s advocate | To argue for the sake of it |
| Throw caution to the wind | Take a risk |
| Penny wise and pound foolish | Careful in trivial matters but extravagant in large matters |
| Bite off more than you can chew | Taking up a task beyond your capabilities |
| Put something on ice | Put something on hold |
| At the 11th hour | At the last moment |
| Bury the hatchet | Make peace |
| To bell the cat | To face a risk |
| To have sticky fingers | thief |
COMPREHENSION
When given a comprehension passage with questions that follow, there are two schools of thought:
1.Many foreign textbooks advise that we should read the questions first
2.Many Nigerians were taught to read the passage first
There is nothing wrong in adopting any of the two approaches, as long as you are able to answer the questions correctly in the time required.
Try practicing using both methods and choose the one that works for you.
However, the following should be noted:
I.Time is the worst enemy in comprehension
II.Whenever you read, read fast. Skim or scan through the passage. Don’t read as if you’ll be required to recite what you read or give a lecture. Read to get the main points such as the main characters and what the paragraph/passage talks about
III.Read the instructions for the questions
IV.In the case of multiple choice questions, ensure your answers are based on evidence in the passage, not common sense
V.Some questions require you to find the meaning of a word or phrase highlighted. It’s important to favour context meaning to literal meaning. For example:
‘…his character stinks’
A. foul odour B. questionable
option B should be selected
VI.When writing your answers, ensure your writing is legible
ESSAY WRITING
An essay has the following basic organizational structure
1.Introduction
2.Body
3.Conclusion
Guidelines in Presentation
1.There are 2 presentation methods or writing style for your essay. You could use the traditional method where the first line of each paragraph is indented (spaced at the beginning) or the modern method where a blank line is left between paragraphs. Don’t mix both methods
2.Ensure your writing is legible.
3.You will be penalized for writing below the number of words required. You can however write above the minimum as long as you have space and time.
4.To know the number of words you have written, do not count each word but count the number of words you have written on any particular line and multiply by the number of lines.
5.If you make a mistake, simply cross out the error error with one line. It is an unnecessary waste of time to write in pencil first before writing in ink.
6.If you can, avoid splitting words. This is better than memorizing the complex rules for splitting words
6.An article requires a title; a formal letter requires 2 addresses; and an informal letter requires only the sender’s address
What is marked
1.Cohesion: How related your writing is to the topic given. This is the most important requirement
2.Spelling and punctuation
3.Sentence structure (using complex sentences instead of simple sentences)
4.Use of common vocabulary words such as ‘livid’ instead of ‘very angry’, ‘impoverished’ instead of ‘poor’. Please note that this is not a strict rule. It is better to use simple words that use a common vocabulary word that is spelt wrongly or out of context.
5.Number of different points. The body of your essay should contain at least 3 different points. It’s okay to take only 2 points if they are detailed.
6.The number of words written. As mentioned earlier, there is no maximum word limit, but there is a limit to the amount of space and time you have.
7.In formal writing, avoid the use of colloquial or slang words such as “ain’t”, “gonna”. Try also to avoid contractions and unpopular abbreviations such as “don’t”, “I’m”. Instead of using “etc”, give 3 examples and punctuate.
Sample Paragraph
A paragraph consists of
•an introductory or topic sentence
•sentences to explain what was written in the topic sentence
•a concluding sentence (optional)
Sample Essay (mini version)
There are several reasons why Nigeria is one of the best countries in the world.
First, Nigeria has an excellent health care system. All Nigerians have access to medical services at a reasonable price.
In addition, Nigeria has a high standard of education. Students are taught by well-trained teachers and are encouraged to continue studying at university.
Finally, Nigeria’s cities are clean and efficiently managed. Nigerian cities have many parks and lots of space for people to live.
As a result, Nigeria is a desirable place to live.
Breaking things down
Introductory paragraph: There are several reasons why Nigeria is one of the best countries in the world.
You could add a statistic report, a survey carried out, opinions from notable people (or yourself) or anything similar to buttress support the introductory paragraph.
Body:
First, Nigeria has an excellent health care system. All Nigerians have ….
In addition, Nigeria has a high standard of education. Students are taught…
Finally, Nigeria’s cities are clean and efficiently managed. Nigerian cities…
Notice the connective word/phrases used at the beginning of each paragraph. Others include
First point: “First of all”, “In the first place”, “To begin with”,
Other supporting points: “Furthermore”, “Moreover”, “Similarly”, “What is more”, “Secondly”
Final point or concluding paragraph: “In conclusion”, “In summary”, “To conclude”, “To sum up”
In some essays, you may be required to write on the other view given. To introduce your paragraph for this contrasting view, you may start with “Conversely”, “On the other hand”, “In contrast to this”, “On the contrary”.
Examples strengthen your essay. If possible, give an example in each point of your body
First, Nigeria has an excellent health care system. All Nigerians have access to medical services at a reasonable price. Each government hospital is equipped with modern equipment such as Magnetic Image Resonance (MRI) scanners, ventilators and other complex machines.
Concluding paragraph: As a result, Nigeria is a desirable place to live.
The concluding paragraph is an opportunity to choose a side as being preferred or better than the other. It gives an overall solution to a problem or argument in the essay