Writing tips Part 1

Title Remember to give your essay a title. Make sure that it is clearly connected to the contents of your text. Try to make it interesting!

Paragraphs Remember to divide your text into paragraphs. WHY? The text becomes easier to read. The structure of the text looks better.

Paragraphs Oliver Twist Treats of the place where Oliver Twist was born, and of the circumstances attending his birth. Among other public buildings in a certain town, which for many reasons it will be prudent to refrain from mentioning, and to which I will assign no fictitious name, there is one anciently common to most towns, great or small: to wit, a workhouse; and in this workhouse was born; on a day and date which I need not trouble myself to repeat, inasmuch as it can be of no possible consequence to the reader, in this stage of the business at all events; the item of mortality whose name is prefixed to the head of this chapter. For a long time after it was ushered into this world of sorrow and trouble, by the parish surgeon, it remained a matter of considerable doubt whether the child would survive to bear any name at all; in which case it is somewhat more than probable that these memoirs would never have appeared; or, if they had, that being comprised within a couple of pages, they would have possessed the inestimable merit of being the most concise and faithful specimen of biography, extant in the literature of any age or country. Although I am not disposed to maintain that the being born in a workhouse, is in itself the most fortunate and enviable circumstance that can possibly befall a human being, I do mean to say that in this particular instance, it was the best thing for Oliver Twist that could by possibility have occurred.

Paragraphs Blocked paragraphs Oliver Twist Treats of the place where Oliver Twist was born, and of the circumstances attending his birth. Among other public buildings in a certain town, which for many reasons it will be prudent to refrain from mentioning, and to which I will assign no fictitious name, there is one anciently common to most towns, great or small: to wit, a workhouse; and in this workhouse was born; on a day and date which I need not trouble myself to repeat, inasmuch as it can be of no possible consequence to the reader, in this stage of the business at all events; the item of mortality whose name is prefixed to the head of this chapter. For a long time after it was ushered into this world of sorrow and trouble, by the parish surgeon, it remained a matter of considerable doubt whether the child would survive to bear any name at all; in which case it is somewhat more than probable that these memoirs would never have appeared; or, if they had, that being comprised within a couple of pages, they would have possessed the inestimable merit of being the most concise and faithful specimen of biography, extant in the literature of any age or country. Although I am not disposed to maintain that the being born in a workhouse, is in itself the most fortunate and enviable circumstance that can possibly befall a human being, I do mean to say that in this particular instance, it was the best thing for Oliver Twist that could by possibility have occurred.

Paragraphs Indented paragraphs Treats of the place where Oliver Twist was born, and of the circumstances attending his birth. Among other public buildings in a certain town, which for many reasons it will be prudent to refrain from mentioning, and to which I will assign no fictitious name, there is one anciently common to most towns, great or small: to wit, a workhouse; and in this workhouse was born; on a day and date which I need not trouble myself to repeat, inasmuch as it can be of no possible consequence to the reader, in this stage of the business at all events; the item of mortality whose name is prefixed to the head of this chapter. For a long time after it was ushered into this world of sorrow and trouble, by the parish surgeon, it remained a matter of considerable doubt whether the child would survive to bear any name at all; in which case it is somewhat more than probable that these memoirs would never have appeared; or, if they had, that being comprised within a couple of pages, they would have possessed the inestimable merit of being the most concise and faithful specimen of biography, extant in the literature of any age or country. Although I am not disposed to maintain that the being born in a workhouse, is in itself the most fortunate and enviable circumstance that can possibly befall a human being, I do mean to say that in this particular instance, it was the best thing for Oliver Twist that could by possibility have occurred.

Vocabulary Some words sound similar in English and Swedish, but have different meanings (=false friends). E.g. fabric – fabrik (tyg) (factory)

Vocabulary Make sure to look up words/expressions that you’re not sure of how to use. Read the essay out loud to yourself or a friend. Does everything make sense?

Homophones etc. Some words with different meanings sound the same (homophones) and are therefore easily misspelt. Other words are similar in spelling and are therefor also easy to misspell. Such words are, for example: hear – here (= höra – här) bear – beer (= björn – öl) buy – by (= köpa – av, vid)

Sentence fragment Sentence fragment = incomplete sentence. Avoid this! It can be effective in dramatic stories, but not normally in formal essays. ”This novel is brilliant! Absolutely love it!” (sentence fragment) ”This novel is brilliant and I absolutely love it!” (complete sentence)

Summary The summary of a text should be kept rather short and without details. For example, when summarising a story you don’t have to mention all the characters. Neither do you need to mention exactly what happens, who said what to whom, where they went and so on. Leave out any unnecessary details and focus on the main issues/events.

The ending Try to end your essay in a smooth way. For example, you can answer a question you asked at the beginning or repeat your strongest argument/opinion/reflection (preferably in other words). Read the essay out loud and listen to the ending. Does it suddenly end or does it end naturally?

Grammar Grammar errors that appear in essays are often about: concord form prepositions the possessive case (=genitiv)

Grammar Concord The verb has to be in balance with the noun or pronoun. ”The boy have a nice hat.” (wrong) ”The boy has a nice hat.” (correct)

Grammar Form Form errors are often about change of tenses. Make sure that you stick to the same tense throughout your essay (apart from when it is necessary to change tenses). Form errors can also be that you have used single form when you’re supposed to use plural form. Example: ”They changed train at eight o’clock.” (wrong) ”They changed trains at eight o’clock.” (correct)

Grammar Prepositions Prepositions are easily mixed up, especially since some of them are different in English and Swedish. A few examples: ”I get up at 6 in the morning” - ”Jag går upp vid 6 på morgonen.” ”He arrived at/in Paris.” - ”Han anlände till Paris.” ”They are waiting for her.” - ”De väntar på henne.”

Grammar The possessive case In English, the possessive case is marked using apostrophe + s (or just an apostrophe if the word already ends with an s). Example: ”Peter’s mother is not at home.” (Peter + apostrophe + s) ”The girls’ mother is not at home.” (the girls + apostrophe) However, use the of-construction when an item ”owns” something. Example: ”The doors of this car are all broken.”