Writing Skills

In this unit, you will be exposed to the strategies for

developing effective writing skills.
As a writer, you must first of all be definite about the goal of
your writing assignment
and the type of writing you want to embark upon. Thus, you
need to plan, choose a
topic, narrow the topic and prepare a dominant thesis or
thesis statement.
Stages in writing
Planning: Planning is vital to writing a project. Failure to
plan your writing before the actual writing exercise results in
poor presentation of materials. Such writing is prone to poor
organisation as it does not adhere to basic principles of
unity, coherence and mechanical accuracy. Therefore, as a
writer, you must choose a topic based on your goal and, like
a builder, you have to determine its length, breadth and
component parts. It is also pertinent that you must bear in
mind your audience and addressee(s) and your relationship
with them. The following are some other crucial steps to
take while writing:
Preparing a Dominant Thesis - A dominant thesis or thesis
statement is the sentence that summarises the contents of
your writing. This is a very crucial statement around which
all other sentences in the text revolve. The thesis statement
sums up the central idea or theme of your message. A
writer must ensure that all assertions, claims and
illustrations are, as much as possible, in agreement with the
thesis statement.
Preparing an Outline- An outline is a statement of points
that are relevant to the topic. It must be prepared before
your actual writing is done. It is wise to jot down the points,
ideas and thoughts that you could develop to meet the
goals of your writing exercise. Ideas and points come
through thinking and deep reflection. The ideas you have
jotted should then be arranged in order, following a logical
pattern. The logical arrangement of points, which presents
the main themes and the sub-themes, provides you with a
working guide in the writing assignment.
There are peculiarities for different types of outline but the
general rules of preparing an
outline apply to all. Some of these rules include:
Logical arrangement of main topics and sub-topics which
should contain the main ideas and their parts;
consistent numbering of all the major headings and
subheadings. This means if you use the roman figure for
the first main heading, it should be used for all the other
main headings;
avoidance of single topics under main topics;
use of parallel grammatical forms and
avoidance of vagueness.
iv. Paragraph Development- A paragraph is a number of
related sentences containing one central idea. As you
generate ideas, each major idea with its supporting details
is built up into a paragraph. Thus, paragraphing is a way of
showing the division of thoughts in writing. The most
important sentence in a paragraph is the topic sentence.
This is the sentence that expresses the central idea of the
paragraph. It is the sentence around which all other
sentences, assertions and illustrations revolve. The topic
sentence, in most cases, comes first in a paragraph, but it
could also appear in the middle or at the end of the
paragraph, depending on your style and goal.
A good paragraph is expected to be characterised by unity,
coherence and adequacy of development. You must clearly
show the relationship among the various sentences in a
paragraph and the relevance of the supporting details to the
topic sentence. There should be a logical and sequential
arrangement of the thoughts conveyed by the various
sentences that form the paragraph. The following is an
example of an introductory paragraph on the topic, "The
menace of cultism in our tertiary institutions":
One of the greatest threats to peace and security in our
tertiary institutions is cultism. Many lives have been lost
through the operations of secret cult members, leading to
untold anguish and sorrow on the part of the affected
families. Often, innocent students, who refuse to yield to the
pressure of the cultists, as well as uncompromising
lecturers, who are very strict in enforcing existing rules and
regulations on the conduct of examinations, are targets of
attack by cult members. Also, at times, a conflict between
members of rival cults could precipitate into a bloody clash,
leading to loss of lives.
Four Cardinal Rules of Writing
There are basic regulations that guide your writing. To be a
successful writer, you must
adhere to four cardinal rules. These are discussed below:
Unity;
coherence;
originality of ideas and
mechanical accuracy.
Unity: This implies oneness of the subject matter of a piece
of writing. This requires the agreement of all your ideas and
points. Contradictions to the central message and sub-
themes must be avoided. Sub-themes must be in
agreement with the main theme.
Coherence: This requires you to ensure that all ideas,
thoughts and points expressed in your writing are arranged
logically in sequential order. This makes your write-up to be
connected and to make sense. To achieve this, you need
the use of linking expressions or connectives such as and,
but, or, whenever, wherever, whoever, etc. You also need
sequence markers such as first, next, and firstly, secondly,
thirdly, fourthly, finally, etc
Originality of Ideas: The content of your text shows how
creative you are. In other words, you must not simply
reproduce the work of another writer. When you use
extracts of other authors' works or ideas, you must give
them the credit by making reference to them. This makes
your readers able to distinguish between the ideas of other
writers and your original ideas.
Mechanical Accuracy: This is a very crucial aspect of your
writing and it must be given good attention. The accurate
use of the mechanics of language such as tenses, concord,
spelling and punctuation marks makes your writing
beautiful. Thus, to be successful in writing, you need proper
mastery and accurate use of the mechanics of language as
errors of spelling, punctuation, tenses, concord and others
discourage readers.

Types of Writing
Writing could be classified into several types. As a writer,
you may simply want to tell a story or give a description of a
scene, an object, a place, etc. You may also want to
enlighten readers on an issue or postulate an argument
with a view to taking a position on a controversial subject.
You will be learning about the four major essay types,
which are: narrative, descriptive, expository and
argumentative.
Narrative Writing
A narration is when you give an account of an event.
Therefore, narrative writing is a type of writing that involves
the description of events. It involves giving a report of what
has happened with a view to leaving an impression on your
reader. It could either be a fiction or a non-fiction. While a
non-fiction is a true story of what actually happened (in real
life), a fiction is simply your imagination expressed in
writing.
The hallmark of a narrative essay is a sense of direction or
focus. You must be able to express, in clear terms, what led
to what, and in what circumstances. You must clearly state
the principal actors (characters) in the narration and their
respective roles.
Descriptive Writing
In a descriptive writing, you aim at presenting a vivid picture
of a person, an object, a scene etc, to the mind of your
reader in such a way that your reader has a good idea of
that person, object or scene. With your power of
description, your reader becomes capable of properly
appraising whatever you have described. Descriptive
writing is rather difficult to separate from other forms of
writing as there are elements of description in, for instance,
a narration, exposition and an argumentation. There are
two main types of description. These are objective
description and subjective description. In objective
description, you are concerned with actual details without
your sentiment or emotion attached to the writing. You also
present facts without bias. Subjective description, however,
reflects your emotional attachment. For instance "the man
was killed" is not as emotive as "the man was murdered".
Expository Writing
This is a kind of writing in which you explain a concept, an
idea, a process or a procedure. You encounter the
phenomenon of exposition in your day-to-day use of
language through what you say to or hear from people,
through newspapers or the electronic media, on church
pulpits and in mosques, etc. Your expository writing is
aimed mainly at educating and informing your reader as
well as offering them explanation and definition of things
that are probably not clear to them. Here are possible topics
on expository writing for you to consider:
How to Construct a Bridge;
A Look into Heavens;
A Dictator;
Dividends of Democracy and
Factors Responsible for Nigeria's Economic Depression.
Argumentative Writing
In this kind of writing, you engage in a reasoned discussion
aimed at securing your reader's acceptance of your opinion
on an issue. You sometimes engage in reasoned
discussions on topics that appear controversial with a view
to persuading your addressees to agree with you. An
argument therefore has to do with reasoning and drawing a
conclusion from one or more premises. There are two types
of reasoning. These are:
a) inductive reasoning and
b) deductive reasoning.
In inductive reasoning, you make a generalisation based on
the evidence you present. You can arrive at a conclusion
based on a number of instances. If for instance, it is
discovered that in a particular community, policemen have
colluded with armed robbers to unleash terror on
transporters and passengers on many occasions and it
happens that another robbery incident occurs, one can
conclude, by inductive reasoning, that policemen must
have colluded with armed robbers in that particular robbery
incident as they have always done. A single instance of
robbery operation with the involvement of the police is,
however, not sufficient to make a generalisation that
policemen have always colluded with armed robbers in that
community.
Possible Topics for Argumentative Writing
Developing Countries are not ripe for Democracy.
Co-educational Institutions are better than Non-co-
educational Institutions.
Second Term in Office should be Discouraged in the Polity.
Capital Punishment should be Abolished.

Grammatical Units
This module introduces you to the grammatical units in
English, with a view to confirming that language is a
structured phenomenon and that in order to achieve
meaning in communication through language, you must
understand how the elements or units of language should
be ordered.
Hierarchical Elements of Language
Language is a structured phenomenon. In order to achieve
meaning in communication through language, you must
understand how the elements or units of language should
be ordered. A hierarchical relationship exists among these
elements of language. As users of the English language,
you need a proper understanding of such units or elements
as morpheme, word, group (phrase), clause and sentence.

You can look at the relationship up-down. If you look at it

up-down, you will see that the units on top comprises the
one below it from sentence to morpheme, such that the
sentence is made up of clauses; clause is made up of
groups; group is made up of words, and words comprise
morphemes. Thus, the lowest level is the morpheme and
the highest level is the sentence.
i.The Morpheme
The morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit of grammar
of a language. In other words, it cannot be broken down into
any other meaningful unit. It is the minimal unit used in
building words in a language.
Morpheme Types
You should know that morphemes are described based on
meaning and structure. Based on meaning, there are two
classes of morphemes. These are:
Free morphemes: These morphemes can easily stand
alone without being joined to any other morphemes. They
are also known as root morphemes or simple words.
Examples of free morphemes include boy, slow, right,
vehicle, church, etc. However, bound morphemes need
free morphemes to stand.and
Bound morphemes- also called additive morphemes
because they need to be added to free morphemes.
Examples of bound morphemes are -ness, il-, -hood, -y, -
ward, -ation, -s, -ies, etc. Moreover, bound morphemes are
classified into two:
i.derivational and
ii. inflectional morphemes.
Derivational bound morphemes change the class of words.
They fall under affixes such as prefix, infix and suffix.
Prefixes are derivational morphemes attached to root, free
or base morphemes at the start of words. Examples
include: im-possible, illegal, un-happy, a-political, mis-
understand, ds-loyal, en-code, co-worker, etc. For suffixes,
they are added to words at the end. For instance, teach-er,
faith -ful, harm -less, new-ness, inducement, fame-ous, etc.
are examples for you. Then, the second group of bound
morphemes is inflectional morphemes. They are sub-
divided into plural markers and tense markers. Plural
markers are italicized in these examples boy-s, tomato-es,
lorr--ies, liv-es, etc. while tense markers are also italicized
in the following examples: doing, love-s, want-ed, bake-d,
etc.
You should also realize that there are replacive morphemes
and zero morphemes. These morpheme types are closely
related to inflectional morphemes. Replacive morphemes
occur when one or two letters of words are replaced with
others when marking plurality or tense. For examples, they
are italicized here man-man; tooth-teeth; see-saw; weep-
wept; sing-sang, etc. For zero morphemes, it occurs when
tense and plurality are marked in words, but their
morphemes cannot show physically. Examples are
explained in the following words: sheep, hit, hurt, deer, cast,
etc.

Breaking Down Words into Morphemes

It is not enough for you to know only morphemes; you need
to know how you can identify these morphemes in words.
You should be able to break down words into
morphemes. Already, you have learnt that morphemes are
units in a word. For instance, let us look at how these words
are broken down in the following table.
Table 3.1 Morphemes
Word
Root morpheme
Bound Morpheme

dis-respect-ful
respect
dis-, -ful

un-prepare -d -ness
prepare
un-, -d, -ness

classi-fi-cation -s
class
-y, -ation, -s

un-expect-ed-ly
expect
un-, -ed, -ly

hurt
hurt
*-ed (this morpheme is zero in this word)

feet
foot
*-s (this morpheme is not realized in this word. It is realized
by replacing oo with ee

2.The Word
In speech, a word can be defined as sound or combination
of vocal sounds to express meaning. In writing, it can be
defined as a single group of letters that are used together
with a particular meaning. Words such as crash, bang, hiss,
buzz, mew, etc. are linguistic rendition of actual sounds.
There are so many words that have no correspondence
between their sounds and their meanings, e.g. man, to, for,
house, book and keg. As an independent unit of grammar
of a language, the word is a meaningful unit. In written
language, it is easily identifiable in that it has spaces on
either side. In spoken language, however, you should know
that it is difficult at times to demarcate word boundary.
Examples are the following:
fight her / fighter
forever/ for ever
Types of Words Based on Meaning
Using the criterion of meaning, you can identify two types of
words, which include, content word and grammatical word.
Content Word: This is otherwise known as lexical word or
full word. This type of word relates to actions, things, people
and states in the world. Content words include nouns,
verbs, adjectives and adverbs. This class is open-ended,
that is, the members of the class are limitless. They form
the largest group in the vocabulary of any language.
Examples include: take, associate, sure, Bola, Funke, man,
ready, assurance, joy, came, broken, education, lovely, etc.
Grammatical Word: This type is also referred to as form
word, function word, or structure word. This type of word
performs mainly a syntactic function, hence the name
grammatical word. Grammatical words include articles,
conjunctions and prepositions. They are close-ended, that
is, they are limited in number. Change in membership of
this class does not usually happen. If a change occurs at
all, it is not easily noticeable. Examples include: to, for, by,
in, the, a, an, at, with, between, etc. At this juncture, it has
to be stressed that the claim by some scholars that
grammatical words do not express meaning is not tenable.
For instance, you should consider these pairs of
expressions.
B1. (a) The boy is around.
(b) A boy is around.
Obviously, (B1.a) and (B1.b) are different. The differences
are predicated on the different articles. While (B1.a)
suggests that there has been a discussion of a particular
boy being referred to, such a suggestion is not made in
(B1.b).
B2.(a) The book is on the table.
(b) The book is under the table
The prepositions on and under in (B2.a) and (B2b),
respectively mean different things. The positions of the
book relative to the table in each case are different.
Therefore, you should know that what could be said to be
the major difference between lexical and grammatical word
is that the kind of meaning expressed by the latter depends,
to a large extent, on the meaning of the former.

Types of Words Based on Structure

i. Simple Word: A simple word is a free morpheme. It is
possible to add an affix to it which will change the word from
being simple. But when an affix is added, the base and the
affix must be separable, if the word is to be classified as
simple. The words below are examples of simple words:
girlshowchurchLoveLifesweet
sunThebalance Alorrybuild
Compound Word: A compound word is one which has two
bases. In other words, it has two free morphemes.
Orthographically, compound words can be formed by
combining two or more free morphemes together.
Examples include the following:
heartlandwetlandteaspoonfulstillborn
taskmasterteacupshakedowntaxman
lovesickhandbillhandshakeevildoer
You can also form some compound words by using hyphen,
(-) to separate two or more free morphemes. You can find
some examples below.
cutting-room father-in-law sound-track counting-house Di
rector-General
heart-throb heat-stroke stumbling-block poverty-stricken
jaw-bone
Lastly, you can form other compound words by using a
space between two free morphemes. Examples are the
following:
latent periodpower politicsworld power
index fingertravel agencygrass roots
high tablepoverty linelive birth Aso Rock White House
chewing stick
Complex Word: A complex word contains one free
morpheme and one or more bound morpheme. You should
note that the morphemes in a complex word may or may
not be easily separated. Also, complex words are derived
from plural forms of irregular nouns and the past tense and
past participle form of irregular/strong verbs. Examples are
given below:
teethchildren splitliceoxenmen
feetputborndugweresunk
geesespreadmicefoughtsoughtknelt
3.The Phrase/Group
A Phrase is a group of related words without a subject-verb
relationship. In other words, a phrase is an expression
consisting of one or more words forming a grammatical part
of a sentence. For your purpose, the technical terms
'phrase' and 'group' are used interchangeably. Phrase
naturally forms a unit in bigger units such as clause and
sentence. In order to properly understand what a phrase is,
it is important for you to know what a subject and a finite
verb are. A subject is the performer of the action indicated
by the verb or the entity being talked about in the sentence.
A finite verb is a verb that agrees with the subject in person
and in number. However, you should know
that a phrase does not have a subject and a finite verb.
Instead, a phrase can have a non-finite verb. Non-finite
verbs include to infinitives, gerunds and participles.
Examples of phrase include:
An African goat;
In the morning;
Extremely clever;
Has been sent and
Rather fast.
Phrase Types
i. Noun Phrase
Noun phrase is a phrase that is headed by a noun or a
pronoun. The lexical items found before and after the
headword in noun phrases are called modifiers. Those
before the head are called pre-modifiers while those after
the head are called post- modifiers/qualifiers. Therefore,
you should know that noun phrase can be formed by the
combination of these modifiers and nouns. Noun phrases
can be formed using this formula:(m), where m stands for
modifiers, h represents the headwords, and while (q)
represents the qualifiers. The brackets around m and q
indicate they are optional elements. In order words, they
are not always to realize a noun phrase or nominal group.
Examples of noun phrase are the following:
(i)
Girls

(ii)
The girl

(iii)
The beautiful girl
(iv)
The man in the house

(v)
The problems of the youth

(vi)
The lady that I told you about

(vii)
A woman who needs help

You should not be surprised that examples (vi) and (vii) are
called noun phrases though they contain relative clauses -
that I told you about, and who needs help, respectively.
What we have in (iv) and (v) are instances of embedding.
This is a situation in which a unit higher in hierarchy is found
within a lower unit. Embedding may also involve a unit
being found in a unit of its own rank. The relative clauses in
(vi) and (vii) are functioning as post-modifiers of the nouns
lady and woman respectively.
ii. Verb Phrase
Verb phrase is formed by the combination of lexical (main)
verb and auxiliary verb(s). You need to be aware that verb
phrase is different from phrasal verbs. Phrasal verb too is
formed by the combination of a main verb with an adverbial
particle or a preposition. You should know again that verb
phrase consists of only the verbal elements, not the whole
of the predicate.
Examples of verb phrase are underlined in the sentences
below:
Bolade will go there.
Oghomwen should have gone now.
Osaru will have been eating that food by now.
Chika is reading a novel.
Tinuade and Kudirat were not seen at the occasion.
They are being insincere.
You should notice that in (v) not is an adverb, but because it
occurs in between the phrase, it is taken to be part of the
verb phrase.
However, you need to know that the expressions
underlined below are examples of phrasal verbs.
He has disposed of the shirts.
That country is heading for anomy.
You don't have to answer back all your critics.
I want to carve out a name for myself in music.
Lastly, you should know that both verb phrase and phrasal
verb may function as predicators in the sentences.
Iii Adjectival Phrase
An adjectival phrase is a group of related words headed by
an adjective.
You should know that adjectival phrases essentially modify
nouns and pronouns. They are also formed by combining
intensive adverbs such as very, quite, much, so, rather,
rarely, etc.
Examples:
He is very wicked.
They were not all that surprised.
She was almost correct.
The students were so lackadaisical about their studies.
The lady with the big hat is my wife.

Adverbial Phrase
You should know that an adverbial phrase is a group of
words that is headed by an adverb. It can be formed by the
combination of intensive adverbs and other types of
adverbs. As characteristic of adverbs, an adverbial phrase
modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.
Examples:
The assignment was very neatly written. Modifies the verb
'was'
She spoke so fluently that everybody gave her a standing
ovation. Modifies the verb 'spoke'
We would very much want a detailed analysis of the
confession. Modifies the verb phrase 'would want'
She is not so much into prostitution. Modifies the verb
phrase 'is not'

v. Prepositional Phrase
A prepositional phrase is a group of words that is headed by
a preposition. There are two obligatory elements in a
prepositional phrase: a preposition and a nominal entity.
Such phrases can function as adjectival, adverbial,
complement of a verb, subject complement and adjunct.
The underlined expressions below are prepositional
phrases:
(i) The boy on the field is my grandson.
As adjective modifying the noun phrase 'The boy'
. (ii) They eat without meat.
As adverb modifying the verb 'eat'.
We love the boy in that department.
As adjective modifying the noun phrase 'the boy'.
In my opinion, Tope is the best student in my class. As
adjunct in a sentence.
The best time to eat breakfast is between 8am and 10am.
As subject complement.

vi. Appositive Phrase

This is a phrase that gives more information about a noun,
pronoun, or a noun phrase. You should not confuse it with
an adjectival phrase which modifies a noun. Rather than
modify a noun, an appositive phrase, which can either be a
noun phrase, a gerundive phrase or infinitival phrase,
presents the subject in the sentence in a different way.
Another important difference you should note between an
appositive phrase and an adjectival phrase is that the
former can be used in place of subjects that are nouns,
pronouns, or noun phrases, whereas the latter cannot be
interchanged with the noun. Appositive phrases are marked
off by commas at the beginning and at the end, when used
in a sentence.
Examples include:
Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the President of Nigeria, will be
at the wedding ceremony.
Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe's first novel, is a classic.
Wole Soyinka, the first African Nobel laureate, is a genius.
University of Ibadan, Nigeria's premier university, remains
the first and best.
Success, a many-faceted concept, is not in the curriculum
vitae of an indolent man.
o Identify the grammatical functions of these underlined
expressions.
Yourbrother, the newly elected governor, is traveling today.
Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, one of the Yoruba leaders, is to
be honoured very soon.
• Feedback
It is an appositive element.
It is an appositive element.
vii. Gerundive Phrase
You should know that another name for a gerund is verbal
noun. Also, gerund is the '- ing' form of a verb (present
participle form) used as a noun. Examples include:
Dancing is not ungodly.
He needs spanking.
Theyare accused of spying.
Writingis an art.
Meanwhile, a gerundive phrase is a group of words that is
headed by a gerund. You should also know that gerundive
phrase can function as subject of a verb, object of a verb,
appositive to subject, adjective modifying nouns, pronouns
and noun phrase, adverb modifying verbs. The structures
underlined below are examples of gerundive phrase:
Smoking in public places is against the law.
Subject of the verb 'is'
Eating well lengthens life.
Subject of the verb 'lengthens'.
They were flabbergasted by his supporting their family foe.
Complement of the preposition "by"
He likes travelling with celebrities.
Object of a verb 'likes'
o Identify the grammatical functions of these underlined
expressions.
Sleeping in class attracts heavy penalty.
They should stop referring to him as a moron.
The lady walking across the road is my fiancee. Feedback
It functions as the subject of the verb 'attracts'.
It functions as the object of the verb phrase 'should stop'.
It functions as an adjective modifying 'the lady'.
viii. Participial Phrase
This is group of words that is headed by the participle form
of a verb. You should know that there are two participle
forms of a verb: present participle and past participle. The
former is the progressive form of a verb, i.e., the '-ing' form.
You should not confuse it with the gerund. A gerund is used
as a noun, but the present participle is used as a verb. The
past participle is the form of a verb that takes the suffix '-en'.
This '-en' may be realised in different forms: '-t', '-ed', '-d',
etc. In other words, you should also know that the past
participle form of a verb is the form that can be used
sometimes after the auxiliary verb, has, have, and had.
Also, you should note that participial phrase functions as an
adjective. This means that participial phrase is used to
modify nouns, pronouns, and noun phrases in the
sentences.
Examples of participial phrase are:
(i) Driven by his promise to do his parents proud, he read
thoroughly for the examination.
Modifies the pronoun 'he'
Extremely scandalised by the write-up, the lecturer decided
to change the course outline.
Modifies the noun phrase 'the lecturer'
Shocked by outright cancellation of her work, Mary could
not eat for two days.
Modifies the noun 'Mary'
Going by his disposition to humanity, we can expect more
days of enjoyment.
Modifies the pronoun 'we'
Having apologized, they can now present their case.
Modifies the pronoun 'they'

ix. Infinitival Phrase

This is a group of words that is headed by an infinitive verb.
You can say that infinitival phrase is a group of words that is
headed by a 'to'. Infinitival phrase can function as a noun
standing as subject of a verb, object of a verb, subject
complement, object complement, adjective modifying
nouns, an adverb modifying verbs, or an appositive in a
sentence. Examples include:
(i) To stand out among my equals is my aim in life. Subject
of the verb 'is'
We intend to celebrate our birthday in style.
Object of the verb 'intend'
To control a woman is difficult.
Subject of the verb 'is'
My biggest dream, to own a house, will be achieved this
year. Appositive element
Every parent's prayer is to eat the fruit of their labour.
Subject complement
They expect us to contribute our quota. Object complement
Note also that the underlined parts of the sentences above
are equally referred to as-to infinitive non-finite clauses.

4.The Clause
A clause is a group of words having a subject and a finite
verb which makes meaning. It is essential that you know
the functions and types of clauses. You need to know that
not all clauses can stand alone. Those that express
complete thoughts and as such can stand on their own are
called independent/main clauses. When a sentence is
comprised of an independent clause/main clause alone, it is
called a simple sentence. Those clauses that cannot stand
on their own, in that they do not express complete thoughts,
are called dependent/subordinate clauses. Dependent
clauses are usually introduced by subordinating
conjunctions such as if, unless, that, because, while, when,
etc. For a subordinate clause to express complete thought,
it needs a main clause.
In the examples below, the underlined expressions are
main clauses:
Omogie is serious because she has a purpose.
They came when we did not expect.
We love one another as our God enjoins us.
She believes in herself since she has good education.
However you do it, we will still appreciate your effort.
The underlined expressions below are subordinate clauses
just as those not underlined above):
Omogie is serious because she has a purpose.
They came when we did not expect.
We love one another as our God enjoins us.
She believes in herself since she has good education.
However you do it, we will still appreciate your effort.
Apart from using the criterion of meaning to classify
clauses, in which case we have main/independent clause
and subordinate/dependent clause, you can also classify
clause using function as a criterion. In this respect, you can
still remember subordinate/dependent clauses. So, you
should know that there are three types of
subordinate/dependent clause. The types include noun
clause, adjectival clause, and adverbial clause. We now
discuss them one after the other.
Noun Clause
Noun clause is a subordinate clause used as a noun. You
can identify it in a sentence by the headwords such as that,
what, whatever, when, and how. Noun clause can function
as subject of a verb or verb phrase, object of a verb or verb
phrase, subject complement and object complement.
Below are examples of functions of noun phrase:
That we greet you always does not mean that we are
sycophants.
Subject of the verb phrase 'does not mean'
Don't let out what I want to do.
Object of the verb phrase 'don't let out'
A famous musician is what Sade wants to become.
Subject complement
The main problem now is when the members should meet
again.
Subject of the verb "is"
They made the man who he is.
object complement
o Instruction: identify the grammatical functions of these
underlined expressions.
Give them what you owe their parents.
When the prophet will arrive is not known by anybody.
Adjectival Clause
Adjectival clause is a subordinate clause used as an
adjective. In other words, an adjectival clause is a relative
clause. You should know that adjectival clause modifies
nouns, pronouns and noun phrases in sentences. The
underlined expressions below are adjectival clauses.
Those who respect me are many. Modifies the pronoun
'Those'
One of the ladies that are brilliant in our class is proud.
Modifies the noun phrase 'One of the ladies'
Those whom he invited did not come.
Modifies the pronoun 'Those'
The house which I built is the best around.
Modifies the noun phrase 'The house'
The place where I am going is known only to me.
Modifies the noun phrase 'The place'
Adverbial Clause
Adverbial clause is a subordinate clause used as an
adverb. Besides, you should know that adverbial clause
modifies only verbs or verb phrases that are in the main
clause. This is the only function it performs. Adverbial
clauses are of different types. The types and what they
modify will be considered below.
Adverbial Clause of Time
This answers the question "when"? You should know that
adverbial clause of time usually begins with when, after,
before, while etc.
He was provoked when the man asked for a bribe.
Modifies the verb phrase 'was provoked'
When I saw him, I was perplexed. Modifies the verb phrase
'was perplexed'
Before we responded, they had run away. Modifies the verb
phrase 'had run'
As at the time I was an undergraduate, she was not yet
born. Modifies the verb phrase 'was not'
ial Clause of Place
This answers the question "where" You can identify
adverbial clause of place usually with where and wherever.
Nobody knows where Nigeria is heading to.
Modifies the verb 'knows'
I am ready to sleep wherever you give me.
Modifies the verb phrase 'am ready to sleep'
Where I will be tomorrow nobody can tell. Modifies the verb
phrase 'can tell'
He stays where the gods meet.
Modifies the verb 'stays'
dverbial Clause of Reason
An adverbial clause of reason answers the question "why"?
You can identify adverbial clause of reason usually with
why, because, etc.
Because I did well they were happy. Modifies the verb
'were'
She cried because she was jilted. Modifies the verb 'cried'
Never leave an idea because nobody believes in it.
Modifies the verb 'leave'
I will make it because God is on my side.
Modifies the verb phrase 'will make'
Adverbial Clause of Concession
This adverbial clause shows contrast between the main
clause and the subordinate clause. The markers of this
clause include although, though, even though, etc.
However, you should note that but does not co-occur in a
construction where these markers occur. Examples include:
Although he prepared, he did not do well in the test.
Modifies the verb phrase 'did not do'
Even though I know it, I won't tell you Modifies the verb
phrase 'won't tell'
Adverbial Clause of Manner
This answers the question "how"? You should be aware that
adverbial clause of manner can be identified with such
words as how, as, as if, etc.
He talks as if he knows everything.
Modifies the verb 'talks'
She dances as an insect does.
Modifies the verb 'dances'
(iii) They prayed as if only prayer could solve their problem.
Modifies the verb 'prayed'
(v) Constance thinks the way her father wants.
Modifies the verb 'thinks'
(f) Adverbial Clause of Condition
This gives the condition under which something or event
will happen. You should know here too that adverbial
clause of condition can be identified with words such as
unless, if, except, unless, until, etc.
Unless you are rightly connected, you may not make
headway. Modifies the verb phrase 'may not make'
If you think you are the wisest person, you are the king of
the fools. Modifies the verb 'are'
Except the masses voice out, the government may do
nothing about their plight. Modifies the verb phrase 'may do'
Until we believe in the sanctity of human life, this society
may not witness peace. Modifies the verb phrase 'may not
witness'
Provided you know him, you can consult him. Modifies the
verb phrase 'can consult'
Verbless Clause
It is good for you to know that it is possible to delete the
verb be and its other forms, as well as the subject in some
subordinate clauses and the expression will still be
meaningful. When this happens, it usually results in a
verbless clause. In other words, a verbless clause can be
conceived as an elliptical form of a subordinate clause with
the verb be (or its other forms) omitted.
Examples include these:
If possible, see me at noon.
(If it is possible, see me at noon).
React when necessary. (React when it is necessary)
Whether rough or smooth, I must get to my destination.
(Whether the road is rough or smooth, I must get to my
destination).
This proposal will yield great dividends if fully implemented.
(This proposal will yield great dividends, if it is fully
implemented).

5.The Sentence
The sentence can be looked at from different perspectives.
For instance, some scholars see it as a group of words
beginning with a capital letter and ending with a full stop.
Some others have looked at it as a group of words having a
subject and a predicate. Here, the view we want to take is
that a sentence is a group of related words that express
complete thought.
Types of Sentences
The sentence does not usually form a part of any
grammatical unit. However, we can talk about such
discourse units as the paragraph and the text which are
above the
sentence. Also, you should know that there are two major
parameters for classifying sentences: form/structure and
function. We are going to first look at sentence typology
from the perspective of form/structure. In this view, we look
at the number of verbs and the number and types of
clauses contained in the sentence. Therefore, you can
identify the following sentence types: simple, compound,
complex and compound-complex.
a. Sentence Based on Structure
Let us look at the classification of sentences based on their
structures.
i. Simple Sentence
Simple sentence expresses a single complete thought. It
has only one main verb. Examples include:
Shefiyat is wise.
He laughed.
Esosa brought that book.
On that matter, I have crossed the Rubicon.
Thinking about the loss everyday has weighed her down.
I will win many awards.
ii. Compound Sentence
This is a combination of at least two simple sentences. You
should know that in forming compound sentence, you will
need to employ coordination conjunction such as and or but
You also know that compound sentence can actually be
broken down into simple sentences.
Examples are:
Eat well but don't over eat.
Eat well.
Don't over eat.
Come and dance.
Come.
Dance.
Leave now and never come again.
Leave now.
Never come again.
We went to the manager, begged him, but he did not listen
to us.
We went to the manager.
We begged him.
He did not listen to us.
He goes to the stream every evening but he doesn't swim.
He goes to the stream every evening.
He doesn't swim.
iii. Complex Sentence
You should know that complex sentence contains a main
clause and at least a subordinate clause. While
coordinating conjunctions are used for compound
sentences, subordinating conjunctions such as when, if,
after, where, who, which, because, etc. are used when
joining main and subordinate clauses to form a complex
sentence.
Examples are:
The day which I will never forget has not come.
The day has not come. (main clause) -which I will never
forget (subordinate clause)
Because he is a genius, they hate him no matter how nice
he tries to be.
They hate him. (main clause)
because he is a genius(subordinate clause)
no matter how nice he tries to be (subordinate clause)
A man needs a wife, if he can find one.
A man needs a wife. (main clause)
If he can find one. (subordinate clause)
They laughed when I entered.
They laughed.(main clause)
when I entered(subordinate clause)
Some ladies appreciate you only when you are rich.
Some ladies appreciate you. (main clause)
only when you are rich(subordinate clause)
iv. Compound-Complex Sentence
This is a combination of compound and complex
sentences. Essentially, it consists of at least, two main
clauses and at least one subordinate clause. Examples
include:
They came and left immediately when they saw the woman.
They came.(main clause)
They left immediately. (main clause)
when they saw the woman (subordinate clause)
Whenever you are disappointed, see the disappointment as
a blessing in disguise and press on so that you can get to
your haven.
See the disappointment as a blessing in disguise. (main
clause)
Press on. (main clause)
whenever you are disappointed (subordinate clause)
so that you can get to your haven (subordinate clause)
When you are criticised, examine yourself but don't reply
your detractors so that they don't feel important.
- Examine yourself.(main clause)
Don't reply your detractors.(main clause)
when you are criticised(subordinate clause)
so that they don't feel important (subordinate clause)
4. We sleep and wake up because God still needs us in the
world.
We sleep.(main clause)
We wake up.(main clause)
because God still needs us in the world (subordinate
clause)
You should note that it is not how long or how short a
sentence is that determines the name we give it; rather, it is
the parts of it that indicate its name.
b) Sentence Based on Function
We now want to consider sentence types based on
function. You should be aware that there are four types of
such sentences: declarative, imperative, interrogative and
exclamatory.
Declarative/Statement
This is a sentence that makes a statement of fact. The
statement may be true or false. It may also be in the
affirmative or in the negative.
Examples include:
Times are hard for many Nigerians.
They are not trustworthy.
There is no sane rapist.
Some ladies are shameless.
At times, the best man for a position is a woman.

Imperative/Command
An imperative sentence is one that makes a command or
an entreaty. The subject is usually you but it is often deleted
because it is understood.
Examples include:
Keep quiet.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Don't go out at night.
Love your neighbour as yourself.
Blame them for my shortcomings.
See me tomorrow.
iii) Interrogative/Question
An interrogative sentence is one that asks a direct question.
The question may be polar (Yes/No) question or a Wh-type
question. You should be aware that an interrogative
sentence ends with a question mark.
Examples:
Have you studied him enough?
How promiscuous is he?
What is wrong with that dog?
Can we go now?
Did he read the letter?
In addition, you should note that not all sentences that end
with a question mark are interrogative in function. You
should consider the sentences below:
Will you keep quiet?
Shall we pray?
Could you send me the parcel?
Will you get out of my presence?
These sentences are commands that are hidden as
requests and requests that are hidden as questions. They
are attempts not to make the imperatives bold. They are
mild imperatives. The sentences are used for politeness to
the addressee(s).
iv) Exclamations
This is a sentence that is used to express sudden feelings
or emotions. It ends with an exclamatory mark. At times, it
looks like a question but it is not. It merely expresses
outburst of strong feelings or emotions.
Examples:
1.
Can this be my Constance!

2.
What a nice gift!

3.
You are a rare gem!

4.
Why are we so favoured!
5.
Can I believe this!

Reading Skills
This unit is on reading, an important skill you need to be
proficient in as a student. It is basic to learning, and it is one
of the most important skills required to be functional in a
literate society. Reading provides the key to all kinds of
information.
The Importance of Reading
Reading is the act of getting meaning from printed or written
words. It is basic to learning, and it is one of the most
important skills in a literate society. Reading provides the
key to all kinds of information. It enables us to learn how to
solve problems, build or fix things, enjoy stories, discover
what other people believe, exercise our imagination,
broaden our interests and develop ideas and beliefs of our
own. In the simplest sense, reading means recognising
letters and groups of letters as symbols which stand for
particular sounds. The sounds in turn form words that
express ideas in written or printed form. It involves how well
the reader remembers, uses and reacts to the material. The
ability to read and write is called literacy, and a person who
can read is said to be literate. A person who cannot read is
illiterate. Reading plays an essential role in the daily lives of
most people. To survive in the literate world today, you
need to be able to read road signs, maps, labels on
medicine bottles, directions for operating new appliances,
etc. The ability to perform all such useful activities is
sometimes called functional reading or functional literacy.
A special kind of functional literacy is learner literacy. This is
very important to students. University students must read to
gain an understanding of a wide variety of topics. Learner
literacy also requires the ability to read special kinds of
materials, including charts, graphs, maps and tables.
People learn throughout their lives, and so such reading
skills remain very useful even after a person has completed
school. Another kind of functional literacy is workplace
literacy. This involves the ability to read written materials
necessary for doing a job. This is one way that a person's
ability to read directly influences job success.
Types of Reading
Intensive Reading
This involves a close examination of the text to get the full
meaning. This type of reading is that which one does for
detail and analysis when one is aware that the material will
have to be later recalled, recast, discussed and evaluated.
It is often necessary to read and re-read the passage and
pause to check up the meaning of some words or concepts.
Comprehension is highly paramount for this kind of reading.
Extensive Reading
In extensive reading, the reader develops the habit of
reading for pleasure which involves the ability to read
quickly. This is often enjoyable since the reader does not
have to struggle through the material. This rapid silent
reading is also essential for assignments which involve
reference work.

Methods of Reading
Some students tend to read slowly and laboriously because
of uncertainty of what they are expected to learn from their
reading assignments. Their uncertainty is increased when
they are given tests which require accurate recall of minute
details. You need to develop the ability to locate main ideas
if you are to read with better comprehension. The two
components of reading efficiency are the ability to read fast
and the ability to comprehend the message. The speed at
which you read a particular material depends on the level of
difficulty of the material being read as well as your ability
and background knowledge.
Types of reading speed are listed below:
Study Reading Speed: This is the slowest reading speed,
and it is used for difficult materials.
Average Reading Speed: This is what students do most of
the time. Average reading speed is useful for extensive
reading. Extensive reading involves reading rapidly for
information as fast as possible and reading as many books
or materials within the shortest time.
Skimming and Scanning: These techniques require very
fast reading rate and differ significantly from regular or rapid
reading in that not all the contents of the material is actually
read. Skim whenever you want to get a general idea of a
book's content. For example, a reader should skim to
decide whether a book might be a useful reference source.
Scanning involves moving your eyes quickly across a line
or down a page to locate particular information. Look for
key words or phrases that indicate you are close to the
information you need. When you locate such a word, stop
scanning and read slowly.

Bad Reading Habits and How to Eliminate Them

Some of the bad reading habits can be eliminated fairly
easily when identified.
Head Movement: This involves moving the head as the
reader follows the words from the left side to the right side
of the page. Such movement slows down the reading
speed. Therefore, while reading, avoid moving your head
from left to right.
Pointing at Words: Do not point to words with your fingers, a
ruler, pencil or pen as you read. Besides slowing down your
reading speed, it may cause you to focus your attention on
the wrong information. By pointing to individual words, you
are prevented from taking in whole phrases and sentences,
which inhibit your understanding of the writer's thoughts
and ideas.
Vocalisation: This refers to the act of whispering while
reading. It is another common fault in reading. Do not
pronounce aloud each word as it is read. Vocalisation tends
to tie reading speed to speaking speed. This adversely
affects reading rate and therefore, comprehension. This is
very undesirable in mature readers.
Sub-vocalisation: Sub-vocalization differs from vocalisation
in that the reader does not actually move any part of the
vocal apparatus, but he pronounces the words to himself in
his mind. Excessively slow reading speed is often a clue to
some type of vocalisation. Therefore, train yourself to
speed up your reading by avoiding concentrating on the
pronunciation of individual words.
Regression: Regression refers to glancing back and re-
reading words, phrases and sentences that one has
already read. It is a bad habit which often results from lack
of concentration. All readers make some regressions.
However, while good readers make very few, bad readers
make many.
Rhythmic Eye Movement: This refers to the way in which
the eyes move across the lines of prints. When the eyes are
reading a line of print, they make a series of short
movements along the line, stopping after every one or two
words for a very brief pause. Each time the eye stops, it
sees a certain span of material and this span is called the
"span of recognition". Poor readers have a small
recognition span in that they can only recognise one or two
words at one glance. You should train yourself to have
wider span of recognition so as to be able to take several
words per eye fixation.
Physical Disability: Inadequate brain development, vision or
hearing defects can cause reading deficiencies. However,
they account for only a small
percentage of all reading problems. This might be beyond a
reader to correct. In this case, professional attention should
be sought.
Language Skills
Listening Skills
In all spheres of life, listening is a very useful skill for
effective communication. This is because effective
communication requires both the ability to produce well-
articulated speeches as well as the ability to receive
messages adequately. This module will therefore take you
through the techniques and strategies for effective listening.
Listening and Hearing
International Listening Association defines listening as the
process of receiving, constructing meaning from and
responding to spoken and/or non-verbal messages. It is
also a conscious process by which we seek to understand
and retain aural stimuli for a future use. In the definition
above, there are three key points you should note. These
are:
process of receiving,
constructing meaning from spoken/non-verbal messages,
and
responding to spoken/non-verbal messages.
These three points present listening as involving several
actions, interactions and reactions, moving from the point of
hearing, through interpretation, through attention, through
retention to recall. In addition, listening helps you to make
sense out of a message before communicating it to
someone else. A good listener must be able to accurately
receive and interpret messages in a communication
process. As a good listener, you should be able to give
feedback to someone else on the content you have listened
to. Therefore, listening is a key skill to all effective
communication. When you do not listen effectively,
messages are easily misunderstood, resulting in
communication breakdown. This may even make the
sender of the message easily frustrated or irritated.
It is important for you to be able to differentiate between
hearing and listening because they are terms that cannot
be used interchangeably. The differences are:
Hearing is a natural and passive process which requires
little or no conscious effort while listening is an active,
deliberate and conscious process.
Hearing is not a mental process while listening is an active
mental process.
Hearing requires less energy than listening.
While hearing is superficial, listening is profound.
Three Basic Steps in Listening
You need to know that listening is a linear process. The
three basic steps in listening are
hearing, understanding and judging as discussed below.
Hearing: means knowing that a sound is being made using
your ear. It is the first step in listening. You cannot listen
without the ability to hear.
Understanding: is the step that deals with your ability to
comprehend what the speaker said. As a listener, you
should understand what is said in your own way which must
not be in conflict with the speaker's intention.
Judging: is when you evaluate what has been said. After
you are sure you have comprehended what the speaker
said, you need to think about whether it makes sense to you
or not.
Three Goals to Set in Listening
There are three goals you should often set in listening. Your
listening goals should state what you personally would like
to gain during and after receiving a particular message.
These goals are:
Listening to understand ideas: When you listen to
understand ideas, you listen to main ideas or central
concepts. You then identify key words and phrases that will
help you to accurately summarise the concepts being
discussed.
Listening to retain information: This involves focusing your
attention on messages and then learning how to make sure
that what you heard is retained. To retain information, you
need certain tools. These are:
Repetition: reproducing verbatim what you have listened to;
Paraphrase: restating what someone has said in your own
words and
Visualisation: forming a picture about what you have heard
in your mind.
Listening to analyse and evaluate conflicts: Your ability to
analyse and evaluate what you have listened to calls for a
greater skill than retention. When you listen to analyse and
evaluate conflicts effectively, you become skillful at
identifying fallacies or falsehood in the arguments and
statements you encounter in communication.
Types of Listening
Listening can be broadly categorised into two types. These
are:
Active listening
Passive listening
a. Active Listening
When you engage in active listening, you are listening with
a purpose. In other words, you engage all your senses,
attitudes, thoughts, feelings and intentions in the
communication process. It is important for you to know that
all successful communicators and learners generally
require active listening because it is employed to
comprehend, extract information and evaluate facts and
opinions. Purposive active listening is:
serious,
critical,
discriminative, and
social (appreciative, conversational etc.
Serious Listening- is a form of active, purposeful and goal-
directed listening. Here, you give rapt attention to what is
being said. By its very nature, serious listening requires a
lot of concentration, attention, selectivity and mental
processing.
Critical Listening - is when you listen to speeches in order to
distinguish between facts and opinions or logical and
emotional arguments. This type of listening involves
evaluating as well as analysing the ideas being listened to.
Discriminative Listening - entails listening to draw out the
main purpose of a text in order to remember essential parts
of the message. To achieve this, you need sound
knowledge of word discrimination and association. This
helps you to use context clues to find meanings of words as
well as relate details of the message to the main points.
Social listening - Social listening is appreciative and
conversational in nature. It is when you give total attention
to the communicative process. Therefore, social listening is
employed in dialogues, chit-chats, conversations, friendly
arguments/discussions, gossips and others.
Passive Listening
you engage in passive listening, you have little or no
personal involvement in the communication process. This is
the type of listening which you engage in when you are
present in a discussion in which you are not really involved.
For example, an apprentice technician who joins the
audience in an inaugural lecture will listen passively. He will
just manage to listen to the sounds; he will not be able to
identify meaningfully the spoken signals, least of all
correctly interpret what is being said.
You must note that passive listening is a negative listening
behaviour. It is, however, unavoidable and beyond the
listener's control in some instances. For example, a student
who is engaged in serious private study may have to listen
passively to music playing nearby.
Bad Listening Habits and How to Avoid Them
You should know that different individuals exhibit certain
attitudes that negatively affect listening. These are
behaviours which have the tendency to create
misinterpretation or total loss of information that could be
important to you.
You can train yourself to lose your bad listening habits and
enhance the good ones. The following are the bad listening
habits. You should identify some that you have and make
conscious effort to correct them.
Calling the subject matter uninteresting
Many listeners conclude that the speech is uninteresting
even before listening to it. When you have convinced
yourself that the topic is uninteresting, you will be
discouraged from making sense out of what is being said. A
good listener will take time to listen to a topic even if it
sounds uninteresting. You may discover that the topic,
though uninteresting to you, may surprisingly turn out to be
useful.
Criticizing the Speaker's delivery or appearance
There is always a tendency for one to mentally criticize the
speaker's manner of presentation or appearance. For
example, you claim the voice is too soft, loud or that the
dressing is inappropriate, etc. These criticisms make it
difficult for you as a listener to absorb what is being said.
Therefore, you need to concentrate on what the speaker is
saying so as to get the message. Always remember that the
form in which a message is presented is not as important as
the content of the message.
Becoming too stimulated
Sometimes, we disagree with what a speaker has said and
rather than keep listening to them, we get carried away,
building our counter argument and formulating questions in
our mind to ask the speaker after the delivery. We therefore
miss the additional comments and lose other important
points. This drops our listening efficacy to nearly zero
because of over-stimulation. You must always listen to the
complete presentation of a speaker before drawing
conclusion about it.
Listening only for facts
It is ideal to identify the facts in what you listen to. However,
in the course of doing this, you must not miss the primary
ideas being passed across by the speaker. Therefore, while
listening, do not isolate the facts because they are only
meaningful within the primary ideas.
Outlining ideas in a disorderly manner
Some listeners, especially at lectures and talks, outline all
that is said. You must develop different styles of outlining
for different speakers. Some speakers are logical in their
presentation while some are not. It is good for you to
identify the speaker's method for your benefit.
Faking attention
Many listeners fake attention by nodding or staring at the
speaker while delivering their message. Their eyes are on
them but their minds are miles away. This is probably one
of the most common bad listening habits. As a listener, you
need to identify your faking habit and eliminate it.
Tolerating or creating distractions
When you whisper or listen to someone whispering to you
in an audience of listeners, you are creating distraction or
tolerating distraction. You should avoid falling into this
category of listeners because doing so will distract you as
well as other listeners in the audience.
Evading the difficult
Most listeners have a tendency to listen only to things that
are easy to comprehend, avoiding things that are more
difficult. You should always concentrate on all aspects of a
communication process without selectively giving more
attention to what is simpler and easier to comprehend.
Submitting to emotional words
Some words have emotional impact on some listeners. For
instance, a child who has no parents may be emotional
when the word "orphan" is mentioned in a discussion. You
should not allow emotional words distract your attention in
the course of listening.
In conclusion, making conscious effort to identify these bad
habits and avoid them would enhance your listening skill.
Speaking Skills
Human beings differ basically from animals because they
can speak. The possession and use of language to
communicate is exclusive to human beings. This module
therefore introduces you to the sounds of English, stress
and intonation, as well as skills of effective speaking, with a
view to enabling the learner speak intelligible English.