Writing in Plain English - 7 pages by Department of Arts, Sport, the Environment, Tourism and Territories
Robert D Eagleson, Associate Professor of English, University of Sydney assisted by Gloria Jones and Sue Hassall
Office of Government Information and Advertising
An AGPS Press publication
Australian Government Publishing Service
Canberra 1990
Writing Essay Exams - Taking Essay Exams 2 pages
Taking an essay exam is very different than writing a term paper or take-home report. You’ll have only a limited amount of time to compose your thoughts, organize them, and get them down on paper. This may seem a little intimidating, but there is one very important thing you should realize: your professor does not expect a perfect essay after just one short hour (or whatever your time limit is). What he or she does expect is that you turn in a coherent, intelligent, and readable response that clearly answers the prompt. Here are some tips to help you do just that.
Undergraduate Writing Center, The University of Texas at Austin
UWC website: uwc.fac.utexas.edu
Handout created by Sue Mendelsohn
Last revised by Kristah Miller, June 2006
How to write in plain English 11pages
This guide begins with an introduction called, ‘So what's plain English?’ The guide then looks at the main ways to make writing clearer.
• Keep your sentences short
• Prefer active verbs
• Use 'you' and 'we'
• Use words that are appropriate for the reader
• Don't be afraid to give instructions
• Avoid nominalizations
• Use lists where appropriate
The guide then looks at the difficult subject of apologising, and deals with some of the myths that can get in the way of clear communication. The guide finishes with a summary and a list of words to avoid.
Style Dictionary - 19 pages consists of 3 parts: Writing Styleguide, Dictionary of Plain English and About the author.
Writing Styleguide and Dictionary of Plain English
Abbreviation, acronyms, affect and effect, among and between,
Dictionary of Plain English on 4 pages (15-18). Useful tips how not to complicate in your life with unnecessary fancy terms.
About the author - Duncan Kent
The Principles of Readability by William H. DuBay
In works about technical communication, we are often told how to avoid such problems. For example, JoAnn Hackos and Dawn Stephens in Standards for Online Communication (1997) ask us to “conform to accepted style standards.”
They explain: Many experts, through much research, have compiled golden rules of documentation writing. These rules apply regardless of medium:
• Use short, simple, familiar words
• Avoid jargon.
• Use culture-and-gender-neutral language.
• Use correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
• Use simple sentences, active voice, and present tense.
• Begin instructions in the imperative mode by starting sentences with an action verb.
• Use simple graphic elements such as bulleted lists and numbered steps to make information visually accessible.
What is readability?
Readability is what makes some texts easier to read than others. It is often confused with legibility, which concerns typeface and layout.
George Klare (1963) defines readability as “the ease of understanding or comprehension due to the style of writing.” This definition focuses on writing
style as separate from issues such as content, coherence, and organization. In a similar manner, Gretchen Hargis and her colleagues at IBM (1998) state that readability, the “ease of reading words and sentences,” is an attribute of clarity.
The creator of the SMOG readability formula G. Harry McLaughlin (1969) defines readability as: “the degree to which a given class of people find certain reading matter compelling and comprehensible.” This definition stresses the interaction between the text and a class of readers of known characteristics such as reading skill, prior knowledge, and motivation.
Edgar Dale and Jeanne Chall’s (1949) definition may be the most comprehensive: “The sum total (including all the interactions) of all those elements within a given piece of printed material that affect the success a group of readers have with it. The success is the extent to which they understand it, read it at an optimal speed, and find it interesting.”
Content
Beginning early in the last century in the U.S., studies of the reading ability of adults and the readability of texts developed in tandem. Our subject matter falls under these headings:
The Adult Literacy Studies These studies discovered great differences in the reading skills of adults in the U.S. and their implications for society.
The Classic Readability Studies This section looks at the early readability studies, which started in the late 19th century and concluded in the 1940s, with the publication of the popular Flesch and Dale-
Chall formulas. During this period, publishers, educators, and teachers were concerned with finding practical methods to match texts to the skills of readers, both students and adults.
The New Readability Studies Beginning in the 1950s, new developments transformed the study of readability, including a new test of reading comprehension and the contributions of linguistics and cognitive psychology. Researchers explored how the reader’s interest, motivation, and prior knowledge affect readability. These studies in turn stimulated the creation of new and more accurate formulas.
Copyright © 2004 William H. DuBay
Prepositions 2 pages but fantastically explained. Preposition in a sentence, Common simple prepositions, common phrasal prepositions, idiomatic prepositions
Essay - 4 pages
The Basics
The Learning Centre • http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au
0. What Does a Good Essay Need?
1. Starting Your Essay
2. Researching Your Topic
3. Organising Your Ideas
4. Writing the Essay Drafting
5. Referencing Your Essay
6. Editing Your Essay
7. Handing Your Essay In
References
Cuba, I 1998, A Short Guide to Writing About Social Science, Harper Collins
Oshima, A & Hogue, A 1991, Writing Academic English, Addison-Wesley
University of Toronto Writing Centre, Some General Advice on Academic Essay Writing, University of Toronto, accessed
1999, http://utl1.library.utoronto.ca/www/writing/essay.html
Prepared by The Learning Centre, The University of New South Wales © 2009
963 Essays samples - 632 pages by 963 Essays samples by www.tailieuduhoc.org, 185 topics in 963 essays in 632 pages.
