Below are some language areas students should take note of.
Choice of Words
Be specific
Avoid words which carry meanings
which are too general. Words like ‘good’ and ‘bad’ are too general in meaning.
‘Good food’ can be replaced by ‘tasty food’, ‘nutritious food’ or ‘healthy food’.
‘Bad food’ can be replaced by ‘junk food’, ‘moldy food’ or
even ‘contaminated food’.
Similarly,
‘Bad idea’ can be replaced by ‘impractical idea’, ‘unfair
idea’ or even ‘immoral idea’.
‘Good policy’ can be replaced by ‘practical policy’, ‘policy beneficial to the staff /
company’ or ‘fair policy’.
Concise Sentences
Write concise
sentences. Avoid repetition and redundancy.
Avoid repetition of words or phrases.
‘In my opinion, I think…..’can be replaced by just ‘In my opinion….’.
‘Finally, in conclusion…..’ can be replaced by just ‘Finally…’
‘12 midnight’ can be replaced by ‘midnight’.
‘3 am in the morning’ can be replaced by ‘3am’.
‘Person who is honest’ can be replaced by ‘honest person’.
‘A total of 15 birds’ can be replaced by ‘15 birds’.
‘Biography of her life’ can be replaced by ‘her biography’.
‘Many uneducated citizens who have never attended school continue to vote for better schools’ can be replaced by ‘Many uneducated citizens continue to vote for better schools’.
‘Citizens who knew what was going on voted him out of office’ can be replaced by ‘Knowledgeable citizens voted him out of office’.
Subject-Subject Agreement
The
subject of
the sentence must agree
with subjects which follow.
Singular /Plural Subjects
Televisions bring many advantages but it also brings harm. It can
cause addiction.X
Televisions bring many advantages but they also bring harm. They
can cause addiction. ü
Mobile phones are helpful because it allows easy communication. They
are used in emergencies.X
Mobile phones are helpful because they allow easy communication. They are used in emergencies.ü
The parents
object when her children are punished. They are biased.X
The parents
object when their children are punished. They are biased.ü
Subject - Verb Agreement
Verb must agree with subject
Teachers takes responsibility for what happens in
class.X
Teachers take responsibility for what happens in
class.ü
Young people works hard if they want to succeed.X
Young people work hard if they want to succeed.ü
A person who workfor the government will receive a
pension when he retire. X
A person who works for the government will receive a
pension when he retires.ü
Consistency in Tenses
Verb tenses must be consistent.
People
commit suicide because they were unhappy.X
People
commit suicide because they are unhappy.ü
Soccer
was a popular game as many office workers skip work to watch the World Cup matches.X
Soccer is a
popular game as many office workers skip
work to watch the World Cup matches.ü