English Help‎ > ‎


MORE: Writing

Links open in a new window or tab.

Very simple and good explanation of parts of a paragraph, kinds of paragraphs, and how to write a paragraph.

Animated lesson on writing an essay.
Nice explanation of the parts of a letter with a good illustration.
Good, basic description.
Putting it all together.

When you write, you use everything you know about grammar, vocabulary and idioms. When you write, you use everything you know about life, culture, topics, other people, and yourself.

When you write, you have a purpose. The way you write is different depending on your purpose.

Are you writing a letter to a friend or a letter to your boss? Are you writing an accident report, an essay to get into college, or an entry in your personal, private journal? Are you writing a resume or a paragraph about yourself for a job application?

When you write, you bring it all together.  Let's say you need to write a report for your boss at work. To do this, you need to know
  • vocabulary of words used at work, and the proper spelling of those words
  • general vocabulary
  • how to write a complete sentence with capitals and punctuation and good word order
  • how to use and spell the right verb tense, and spell the irregular forms of verbs
  • what a paragraph is, and how to write one
  • where to put all the information in the report  (in what order?)
Have I forgotten anything? Oh, yes! You need to understand how to write a "formal" report, and how that is different than an "informal" piece of writing, like a letter to a friend.

If you want more information on this topic, and you are one of my students, ask me!