Today is the last day of English Writing Entensive Course. I will begin my blog with some notes I have learned during the last four days.
1. Paragraph
A paragraph is a series of sentences about a single idea. It often begins with a topic sentence which shows what the whole of the paragraph is about. Then more detailed information follows, and finally it finishes with some type of conclusion or summary.
2. Things to put into mind:
- Varying sentence rhythms
- Varying sentence openers
- Varying sentence length
An average sentence should be no more than 20 words long.
Short centences are often used for conclusion to emphasize.
- Varying sentence structure
3. Precision:
- Precise content
- Precise words
Notes:
+ affect vs. effect
+ continual vs. continuous
+ principle vs. principal
Be careful when use synonyms. "The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between 'ligtning' and 'ligtning bug'" - Mark Twain
- Connotation: check the context and nuance
- Choosing the right level of detail --> consider who you are writing for.
4. Technical paper: CD-ROM
* Writing figures: write in letters. However, there are the following exceptions
- Big number: 46,000,000 → 46 million
- Date: March 2, 2006 (don't put nd after 2)
- Percentage: 55% or 55 per cent
- Unit of measurement: 12 m/s, 5kg
- Money: $3 billion (or $3 bn)
Here is a piece I wrote to guide my hometown (revised by Roger Prior)
Have you ever experienced four seasons in a day? Visit Dalat and enjoy the change of the climate. You will start with an early Spring morning, then enjoy lunch in Summer, have a romantic Autumn with your partner and finally have a hot coffee in Winter.
You start your tour with a french breakfast at Cap Treo restaurant, which is located in the highest hill of the city. You will have a nice view of the city waking up in Spring. Then take the cable car to Truc Lam pagoda. You will be able to see many kinds of plants below. From Truc Lam pagoda, take a walk down to Tuyen Lam lake and get on a boat to visit the small islands there. You will find it a little hot as Summer begins.
You should be back in time for lunch at a nice restaurant in the city center. You can try Vietnamese dishes that use fresh vegetables from Dalat. Do not forget to try the passion fruit juice, which is a speciality here. After lunch, you will take a carriage around Xuan Huong lake to be refreshed by the pine trees there. Then you will visit the Botanical Garden. You will be surprised to see a variety of temperate-zone flowers in a tropical country. It is because Dalat is in the highlands, 1500 meters above the sea level. You can also ride a horse here.
Then, we head for the Valley of Love, a very romantic place especially in the late afternoon, Dalat Autumn. You can ride a pedal boat in Da Thien lake with your partner and enjoy the cool weather. On the way back to the city center, you will drop in to see an exhibition of embroided paintings, which are made by hand by Dalat girls. You can buy some as souvenirs if you are interested in them.
In the evening, the weather changes into winter. It is time to put on some warm clothes. If you do not bring them with you, you can find some in the market. Then it is time for dinner. You will be eating dinner at a floating restaurant in Xuan Huong lake with a view of Dalat by night.
Finally, back to the hotel for a sound sleep.
1. Paragraph
A paragraph is a series of sentences about a single idea. It often begins with a topic sentence which shows what the whole of the paragraph is about. Then more detailed information follows, and finally it finishes with some type of conclusion or summary.
2. Things to put into mind:
- Varying sentence rhythms
- Varying sentence openers
- Varying sentence length
An average sentence should be no more than 20 words long.
Short centences are often used for conclusion to emphasize.
- Varying sentence structure
3. Precision:
- Precise content
- Precise words
Notes:
+ affect vs. effect
+ continual vs. continuous
+ principle vs. principal
Be careful when use synonyms. "The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between 'ligtning' and 'ligtning bug'" - Mark Twain
- Connotation: check the context and nuance
- Choosing the right level of detail --> consider who you are writing for.
4. Technical paper: CD-ROM
* Writing figures: write in letters. However, there are the following exceptions
- Big number: 46,000,000 → 46 million
- Date: March 2, 2006 (don't put nd after 2)
- Percentage: 55% or 55 per cent
- Unit of measurement: 12 m/s, 5kg
- Money: $3 billion (or $3 bn)
Here is a piece I wrote to guide my hometown (revised by Roger Prior)
Have you ever experienced four seasons in a day? Visit Dalat and enjoy the change of the climate. You will start with an early Spring morning, then enjoy lunch in Summer, have a romantic Autumn with your partner and finally have a hot coffee in Winter.
You start your tour with a french breakfast at Cap Treo restaurant, which is located in the highest hill of the city. You will have a nice view of the city waking up in Spring. Then take the cable car to Truc Lam pagoda. You will be able to see many kinds of plants below. From Truc Lam pagoda, take a walk down to Tuyen Lam lake and get on a boat to visit the small islands there. You will find it a little hot as Summer begins.
You should be back in time for lunch at a nice restaurant in the city center. You can try Vietnamese dishes that use fresh vegetables from Dalat. Do not forget to try the passion fruit juice, which is a speciality here. After lunch, you will take a carriage around Xuan Huong lake to be refreshed by the pine trees there. Then you will visit the Botanical Garden. You will be surprised to see a variety of temperate-zone flowers in a tropical country. It is because Dalat is in the highlands, 1500 meters above the sea level. You can also ride a horse here.
Then, we head for the Valley of Love, a very romantic place especially in the late afternoon, Dalat Autumn. You can ride a pedal boat in Da Thien lake with your partner and enjoy the cool weather. On the way back to the city center, you will drop in to see an exhibition of embroided paintings, which are made by hand by Dalat girls. You can buy some as souvenirs if you are interested in them.
In the evening, the weather changes into winter. It is time to put on some warm clothes. If you do not bring them with you, you can find some in the market. Then it is time for dinner. You will be eating dinner at a floating restaurant in Xuan Huong lake with a view of Dalat by night.
Finally, back to the hotel for a sound sleep.