Skills Builders. Adding detail by using adjectives TIP DE V E L OPI NG G OOD. shoes

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1 Using connectives Practise using and, but or because to link the phrases in these sentences. Turn up the heating b it s snowing outside. c not for too long. Ronesco the footballer d it shows. e he s not scoring any goals. f he s still scoring goals. This T-shirt is worn out g writers use a range of connectives, including when and if. let s stay indoors. This is a difficult time for writers generally use and, but and because to link ideas in sentences. insight : Writing Skills Student Book a I still like it. h I ve had it so long. i I now wish I d bought two of them. Replace the connective and with an alternative. a Miley left school early and she shouldn t have. b Henry tried to win the race and 3 he fell over. writers often use the connective and far too often. Try to use other connectives. Join the beginning of each sentence to its end by using and, but or because. a Our car is not running very well b The engine sounds all right it needs repairing. c This car has a flat battery d Ahmed has bought a new game e Sari saw the new game f he wanted one. James didn t ask for the new game g The letters didn t arrive yesterday h Granny and Grandad won t visit us next week i they came today. The builders promised to repair the wall 8 SkillsBuilders_WritingSkills_Book_3pp.indd 8 8/03/4 :04 PM

2 When you are describing things, you need adjectives to make them clearer and tell the reader more about them. Write down as many words as you can to describe the things in the picture. Advertisements use lots of positive adjectives. If you are selling something, you need to say how good your item is so that people will buy it. Choose an adjective from the box below to improve these descriptions. windmoon / Shutterstock.com Adding detail by using adjectives writers add detail with simple adjectives. writers add detail with interesting adjectives. real dark brand-new insight : Writing Skills Student Book For example: clever useful coloured top-quality cold shoes travel guide watch Stylish pair of knee-high boots, unworn. a Avoid usin g simple w ords such as go o d, b ad or nice. Take time to think o fa precise, in teresting word to help th e re what you a ader imagine re describ ing. SkillsBuilders_WritingSkills_Book_3pp.indd skateboarding shoes. Light b suede. Size 8. guide to Turkey. c One watch. Modern style 3 face. Write advertisements for three things that you might want to sell. 8/03/4 :06 PM

3 Using adverbs and adverbial phrases writers use some simple adverbs. Adverbs are used to describe verbs, adjectives or adverbs. They are used to add detail about: Joe carefully picked up the injured cat. when something happens Afterwards, they went home. where something happens They waited outside. Just as a sailor needs help to find a way across the sea, so a reader needs help to find a way through a piece of writing. writers use simple adverbs to add detail and clarity. insight : Writing Skills Student Book how things happen p e r fe c t ly ge n qu ic k ly tly Underline the adverbs in each sentence and tick the correct box to show whether they are when or how adverbs (or both). Highlight the adverbs When Adverbs will give clarity and extra detail to your writing. How a The soldiers were waiting patiently in the trenches. b Major Holme suddenly ordered the attack. c The cup smashed onto the floor noisily. d Nina muttered angrily to herself. e First, Qiu carefully cut off her sister s ponytail while she lay sleeping. f Next, she gently drew a moustache in pen on her face. g Mrs Blake marched furiously up to the principal. h My Johnno will soon be leaving here, she announced loudly. 6 SkillsBuilders_WritingSkills_Book_3pp.indd 6 8/03/4 :06 PM

4 Improving the organisation of ideas A topic sentence summarises the main idea in a paragraph. Usually it is the first sentence of the paragraph. A topic sentence can help you to organise a paragraph more effectively. writers sometimes use paragraphs, but these need more organisation. insight : Writing Skills Student Book writers organise their ideas around a main, or topic, sentence in a paragraph. Draw lines to link the topic sentences to the rest of the paragraphs. Opening sentence containing the topic The first sentence of the paragraph tells the reader what the rest of the paragraph will be about. Ideas that develop the topic There s too much footy on television. I knew he was sick because he wasn t eating his food. I thought I had better find out what the problem was. I had to take my dog to the vet last week. Our work is finished and we go on excursions. It s great because we know that the summer holidays are about to start. My camping holiday was terrible. It gets boring after a while. I think different sports should be shown. More tennis would be a good idea because lots of people like it. The last week of school is always the best. It rained all the time and was really cold. One day our tent was blown down because it was so windy. Write topic sentences for these paragraphs. a Using mobile phones Lots of people say that teenagers spend too much time texting their friends, but that s how we communicate these days. Years ago people wrote letters and no one criticised them. We just use mobile phones instead. It shouldn t be a problem. b Riding a bike It gets you from one place to another without harming the environment. It keeps you fit and helps you get to know your local area. c Learning to cook If you can cook, you re not always dependent on others to provide good, nutritious food for you. You ll need to know how to do it when you leave home. Whipping up a delicious meal is also a good way to impress your friends. 4 SkillsBuilders_WritingSkills_Book_3pp.indd 4 8/03/4 :06 PM

5 Improving the organisation of ideas A topic sentence summarises the main idea in a paragraph. Usually it is the first sentence of the paragraph. A topic sentence can help you to organise a paragraph more effectively. writers sometimes use paragraphs, but these need more organisation. insight : Writing Skills Student Book writers organise their ideas around a main, or topic, sentence in a paragraph. Draw lines to link the topic sentences to the rest of the paragraphs. Opening sentence containing the topic The first sentence of the paragraph tells the reader what the rest of the paragraph will be about. Ideas that develop the topic There s too much footy on television. I knew he was sick because he wasn t eating his food. I thought I had better find out what the problem was. I had to take my dog to the vet last week. Our work is finished and we go on excursions. It s great because we know that the summer holidays are about to start. My camping holiday was terrible. It gets boring after a while. I think different sports should be shown. More tennis would be a good idea because lots of people like it. The last week of school is always the best. It rained all the time and was really cold. One day our tent was blown down because it was so windy. Write topic sentences for these paragraphs. a Using mobile phones Lots of people say that teenagers spend too much time texting their friends, but that s how we communicate these days. Years ago people wrote letters and no one criticised them. We just use mobile phones instead. It shouldn t be a problem. b Riding a bike It gets you from one place to another without harming the environment. It keeps you fit and helps you get to know your local area. c Learning to cook If you can cook, you re not always dependent on others to provide good, nutritious food for you. You ll need to know how to do it when you leave home. Whipping up a delicious meal is also a good way to impress your friends. 4 SkillsBuilders_WritingSkills_Book_3pp.indd 4 8/03/4 :06 PM

6 In persuasive writing, language that appeals to the emotions of your reader works well. It is known as emotive language. a Sort these words into two groups: positive and negative. Emotive language gets a reaction from your reader. It can sometimes sound slightly exaggerated but, used carefully, it can be effective. lively terrible energetic dreadful harmful dangerous wonderful poisoning healthy enjoyable G OOD BE T T E R Improving your persuasive writing b Write a speech to parents at your local primary school, air pollution works for kids walking works for you walking works for all Facts About 50 per cent of children don t walk to school regularly. More and more students are being driven to school in a car. It helps if you have statistics and quotations to support your argument. But you can also use relevant personal experience as evidence. speech. If you have three or more of these ingredients, you are a better writer. Ingredients an opening that gets the reader s attention a conclusion that leaves the reader with a powerful impression of your ideas questions to engage the reader repetition to emphasise a key point linking sentences to help the reader to follow your ideas SkillsBuilders_WritingSkills_Book_3pp.indd 39 reduced physical activity c Tick which of these ingredients you have included in your emotive language to get an emotional response from the reader increased childhood obesity Yes No traffic jams walkin g insight : Writing Skills Student Book persuading them that more children should walk to school. If you have a useful phrase, use it twice or even three times to hammer home your message. Use the ideas below to get you started and add any of your own. 39 8/03/4 :07 PM