Classwork Series and Exercise (English – JSS3): Effective Writing Rules

English Language 

Contents:

Grammar: Active and Passive Verbs

Effective Writing Rules

Grammar: Active and Passive Verbs

Verbs

A verb is a word or more than one word that is used to express an action or a state of being. Every sentence must have a verb. This makes the verb the most important word as far as the construction of a sentence is concerned. In a sentence, a verb connects the subject to the object. There are two different objects: direct object and indirect object.

Verbs have two voices: an active voice and a passive voice. Voice as the form of a verb shows whether the subject of the verb does the action (the active voice) or whether the action is done to it (the passive voice). Accordingly, we can write a sentence in either of the two different ways.

The verb is in the active voice when the subject,which can be a person or thing performs the action

• Tony ate the rice. (Subject: Tony; verb: ate: object: rice)

The doer of the action is the Tony. The verb ate is in the active voice and is followed by the object.)

The verb is in the passive voice when the action is done to the subject.

• The rice was eaten by Tony. (Verb: eaten; subject: rice)

In this passive sentence, the subject is the rice. The subject in the active voice Tony now becomes the object of the verb eaten

As can be seen, changing the active sentence into a passive voice causes the subject to become the object, and the object become the subject. The verb phrase used in the passive sentence is the verb to be followed by the past participle of the verb. The passive verb follows the tense of the active verb. For example, if the active verb is in the simple present tense, the passive verb too is in the simple present tense.

Only verbs that take on an object (transitive verb) can be a passive verb.

• He runs away.
• The sun shines brightly.
• The boss feels tired today.

Each of the above three sentences does not have an object, so it’s not possible to convert them into passive sentences.

In the passive sentence, we use the preposition by to be followed by the object. We use it to show who or what does or has done the action. We can omit byand in most cases, it does not affect the clarity of the meaning of the sentence. We use it when we think it is necessary.

The use of a tense in a passive sentence must be the same as that in the active voice.

• Active: The big gorilla scratches the small monkey.
• Passive: The small monkey is scratched by the big gorilla.

• Active: Their dog is chasing the rabbit.
• Passive: The rabbit is being chased by their dog.

• Active: The hunter had shot two elephants.
• Passive: Two elephants  had been shot by the hunter.

Passive and Two Objects

A verb can have two possible passive voices when it takes two objects: a direct object and an indirect object. Normally, it is the indirect object (the first object that appears first in an active sentence) which becomes the subject of the passive sentence. We can however also use the direct object as the subject.

Using the Passive

‘A problem shared is a problem halved.’ This is the short way of saying – ‘ A problem that is shared is a problem that is halved.’ 

This sentence contains two examples of the passive. Why is it used? Because we don’t know who has the problem – or who is sharing it!

When do we use the passive?

Sometimes it is used when we do not know who performed the action. For example:

My bag has been stolen

– By whom? We do not know

Sometimes we use it when we wish to avoid saying who performed the action:

‘The problem of AIDS will be dealt with in due course’, said the Ministry Spokewoman.

– Dealth with by whom? We do not know

– and maybe by the Ministry Spokewoman doesn’t know, either!!

The passive can be used in different sentences:

1. The problem will be dealt wit
2. Many cases have been reported
3. Information leaflets were distributed last term

Sometimes we may wish to add ‘the agent’ – the person doing the action – as a detail:

The Counsellor has been consulted by several students

The leaflets were distributed by the school doctor

We use the passive voice for the following reasons:

when we do no know who performs the action.

• The book was stolen last night. 

when it is important to know who performs an action.

• This beautiful car was bought by my sister.

when it is not important to know who did the action.

• All these household wares were imported from China.

when the action itself is more important than the doer.

• The two siblings were killed in an autocrash.

when we are interested only in what happened rather than who or what did it.

• The 24-foot anaconda was caught in that village.

when we wish to emphasize the person or thing acted on rather than the one who did it.

• Busola was presented with a bravery award yesterday.

when we choose not to name the one who performed the action to cover up a fault.

• The food was poorly cooked.

when it is felt necessary to evade responsibility by some people or organization.

• The family matter is being dealt with by someone.

Test

Choose the right option to complete each of the following sentences:

1. It ___ that one in 20 people are infected with HIV in the district of Columbia in USA
a. were reported
b. was recently reported
c. reports
d. reported
e. is reported

2. Much disease ___ poor sanitation and cramped living conditions
a. are caused by
b. is caused by
c. cause
d. caused by

e. is cause by

3. Guinea worm ___ in Nigria
a. has been eradicated
b. been eraadicated almos
c. almost has been eradicated
d. has almost been eradicated
e. been almost eradicated

4. Counterfeit medicines are a common problem in Nigeria and ___ in local markets
a. is sold
b. are sold
c. sell
d. sold
e. be sold

Writing Skills – Effective Writing Rules

Writing is an essential requirement for module assessments. This short guide includes some basic rules for effective writing and some tips that can improve your writing skills. A good scholar also communicates ideas effectively through the written word and this includes the accurate use of the basic rules of good writing, including grammar, syntax, spelling and punctuation.

Rule 1. Use concrete rather than vague language.

Vague: The weather was of an extreme nature on the West Coast.
This sentence raises frustrating questions: When did this extreme weather occur? What does “of an extreme nature” mean? Where on the West Coast did this take place?

Concrete: California had unusually cold weather last week.

Rule 2. Use active voice whenever possible. Active voice means the subject is performing the verb. Passive voice means the subject receives the action.

Active: Barry hit the ball.

Passive: The ball was hit.

Notice that the party responsible for the action—in the previous example, whoever hit the ball—may not even appear when using passive voice. So passive voice is a useful option when the responsible party is not known.

Example: My watch was stolen.

NOTE

The passive voice has often been criticized as something employed by people in power to avoid responsibility:

Example: Mistakes were made.

Translation: I made mistakes.

Rule 3. Avoid overusing there is, there are, it is, it was, etc.

Example: There is a case of meningitis that was reported in the newspaper.

Revision: A case of meningitis was reported in the newspaper.

Even better: The newspaper reported a case of meningitis. (Active voice)

Example: It is important to signal before making a left turn.

Revision:
Signaling before making a left turn is important.
OR
Signaling before a left turn is important.
OR
You should signal before making a left turn.

Example: There are some revisions that must be made.

Revision: Some revisions must be made. (Passive voice)

Even better: Please make some revisions. (Active voice)

Rule 4. To avoid confusion (and pompousness), don’t use two negatives to make a positive without good reason.

Unnecessary: He is not unwilling to help.

Better: He is willing to help.

Sometimes a not un- construction may be desirable, perhaps even necessary:

Example: The book is uneven but not uninteresting.

However, the novelist-essayist George Orwell warned of its abuse with this deliberately silly sentence: “A not unblack dog was chasing a not unsmall rabbit across a not ungreen field.”

Rule 5. Use consistent grammatical form when offering several ideas. This is called parallel construction.

Correct: I admire people who are honest, reliable, and sincere.
Note that are applies to and makes sense with each of the three adjectives at the end.

Incorrect: I admire people who are honest, reliable, and have sincerity.
In this version, are does not make sense with have sincerity, and have sincerity doesn’t belong with the two adjectives honest and reliable.

Correct: You should check your spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
Note that check your applies to and makes sense with each of the three nouns at the end.

Incorrect: You should check your spelling, grammar, and punctuate properly.
Here, check your does not make sense with punctuate properly, and punctuate properly doesn’t belong with the two nouns spelling and grammar. The result is a jarringly inept sentence.

Rule 6. Word order can make or ruin a sentence. If you start a sentence with an incomplete phrase or clause, such as While crossing the street or Forgotten by history, it must be followed closely by the person or thing it describes. Furthermore, that person or thing is always the main subject of the sentence. Breaking this rule results in the dreaded, all-too-common dangling modifier, or dangler.

Dangler: Forgotten by history, his autograph was worthless.
The problem: his autograph shouldn’t come right after history, because he was forgotten, not his autograph.

Correct: He was forgotten by history, and his autograph was worthless.

Dangler: Born in Chicago, my first book was about the 1871 fire.
The problem: the sentence wants to say I was born in Chicago, but to a careful reader, it says that my first book was born there.

Correct: I was born in Chicago, and my first book was about the 1871 fire.

Adding -ing to a verb (as in crossing in the example that follows) results in a versatile word called a participle, which can be a noun, adjective, or adverb. Rule 6 applies to all sentences with a participle in the beginning. Participles require placing the actor immediately after the opening phrase or clause.

Dangler: While crossing the street, the bus hit her. (Wrong: the bus was not crossing.)

Correct:
While crossing the street, she was hit by a bus.
OR
She was hit by a bus while crossing the street.

Rule 7. Place descriptive words and phrases as close as is practical to the words they modify.

Ill-advised: I have a cake that Mollie baked in my lunch bag.
Cake is too far from lunch bag, making the sentence ambiguous and silly.

Better: In my lunch bag is a cake that Mollie baked.

Rule 8. A sentence fragment is usually an oversight, or a bad idea. It occurs when you have only a phrase or dependent clause but is missing an independent clause.

Sentence fragment: After the show ended.

Full sentence: After the show ended, we had coffee.

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