DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH AND LITERATURE

FACULTY OF ARTS
UNIVERSITY OF BENIN, BENIN CITY.
Second Semester, 2023/2024 Academic Session

ENL 102: INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION

Course Lecturers: Prof. Felix N. Ogoanah, Dr. A.I. Egbah, and Dr. D.T. Olatunji

Principles of Good Writing: Basic Pre-writing Activities

Writing goes beyond putting something on paper. It involves the the act of thinking (looking for
subjects and understanding topics), and doing (planning, drafting and revision).

The Act of Thinking

1. Looking for Subjects: Subject is the main focus of a composition. There are different
reasons and purposes for writing. Looking for subjects becomes necessary when there
is the need to engage in personalized writing - expressing our experiences, feelings or
opinions in our writings. In such situations, you become the writer and the content of the
writing. As such, it becomes a daunting exercise because the subject becomes elusive.
Thus, it becomes expedient for you to expose yourself to experience by looking around,
describing what you see and hear, reading other people's works, and keeping a
commonplace book or journal.

A commonplace book is a record of things we have read or heard , and what to always
remember. It includes a proverb, a writers' remark, a witty or wise saying, or even
something silly or foolish.

The stubborn fly will follow the corpse to the grave

The same sun that hardens the clay, melts the clay.

I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me - Noel Coward

Everybody knows how to raise children, except the people who have them - P.J. O'Rourke

To keep a commonplce book, write down whatever you hear or read that strikes you.
Copy it and identify its source. Include your thoughts, and you may accumulate a lot of
entries and develop an index for them according to the subject. With a commonplce
book, you will have a storehouse of topics (which you can write about), will develop a
body of quotations, will have new perceptions, ideas and feelings, and will improve your
prose.

A journal comes from a French word meaning 'daily'. It is a day-to-day record of what you
see, hear, do, think, and feel. It is a collection of your own experiences and thoughts. It
may also include quotations. Journaling should be a habit and it is usually secretive. As
such, it does not obey the intricacies of punctuations. Things to note about journals:
  be honest with your world and the self within you

 capture your daily experiences and feelings in your journal

 pen down your reflections too.

2. Sourcing and Understanding Topics: Topic refers to the specific aspects of the subject.
To systematically analyse the subject, explore different topics by asking questions, or
adopt brainstorming and free writing (writing rapidly and loosely).

 Exploring Topics by Asking Questions: what happened? how? when? why? what
caused it? what were the reasons? how can the subject be defined? what does it
imply or entail? what limits should be set to it? are there examples? what are the
possible advantages and disadvantages? what have others said about it? what is
different? Questions that are raised could be general or specific to the subject.
Whichever questions raised, the selected topics should be restricted - focusing on
major areas, exploring each of these areas using relevant examples, and supporting
each topic with quotations, relevant comparisons, and possible (dis)advantages.
With this strategy, you can collect important information.

 Exploring Topics through Free Writing and Brainstorming: Free writing involves
penning down ideas as fast as possible. It involves letting down ideas in writing
before editing and discarding some topics. The purpose of free writing is to permit
the outpour of feelings and ideas without worrying if the ideas make sense or not.
This writing is however for your personal use. It is usually speculative and hastily
generalised. It is not a seasoned judgements. As such, it is important to look at the
writing closely and without biases. This is the process of brainstorming. It involves
asking the whats and whys. It is aimed at focusing your attention. However,
brainstorming can be wasteful and result in too many directions.

The Act of Doing

1. Making a Plan: Having developed the topics for a subject, then the writing can begin with
drafting a hook, statement of purpose and an outline.

 Statement of Purpose: This covers the focus of the writing, the organisation of the
writing, and the goal of the writing. This is usually subsumed in one or two
paragraphs. The statement of purpose serves as a guide for, and the thematic
preoccupation of the writing. That is, it is the aim of the writing. It is also called a
Thesis statement, and it follows the hook. An example is given below:

Statement of purpose on the topics justice, injustice and equality

Each day, people are faced with injustice, and they contest for justice and equality.
These concepts become interconnected in the legal system, and they have
implications for individuals and society. Justice serves as the bane of fairness and
social harmony. It emphasises that rights are upheld and wrongs are redressed
appropriately. In contrast, injustice permits inequality and disrupts the delicate
balance necessary for a functioning legal society. Thus, subsequent paragraphs
examine the roles of legal system in influencing the realisation or denial of justice,
 injustice and equality in Nigeria. These paragraphs also highlight the importance of
striving for a just legal system while critically examining the barriers to its realisation
in Nigeria.

 Developing an outline: An outline is a means of dividing a subject into major

components, which in turn will be divided into sub-components. In composition,
formal outlines are adopted. Formal outlines follow prescribed rules on the use of
numbers and letters, and the way in which the analysis should proceed. In developing
an outline, ask 'what are the major sections of this composition?' Example:

 Introduction: Definition of key concepts, importance of these concepts and thesis

statement.

 Understanding Justice: Definition and philosophical perspectives (Plato's

concept of justice as fairness, John Rawls' theory of justice as fairness), the role
of justice in society (protecting individuals rights, maintaining law and order), and
examples of justice in practice (legal systems and fair trials, social justice
movements)

 Exploring Injustice: Definitions and forms of injustice (structural injustice such as

systemic racism and gender inequality, and individual acts of injustice), causes
of injustice (power imbalances, prejudices, discrimination), consequences of
injustice (social unrest and conflict, loss of trust in the legal system)

 Equality as an ideal and as a reality: Defining equality, types of equality (social,

economic and political) challenges to realising equality (historical inequalities,
unequal access to opportunities), examples of activities geared towards equality
(civil rights movement, legal reforms)

 Interconnectedness of Justice, Injustice and Equality: How justice promotes

equality, how injustice perpetuates inequality, and the role of social values and
institutions in balancing these forces.

 Case Studies.

 Conclusion: Summary of main points, call to action and final thoughts.

2. Drafting: A draft is an earlier version of a piece of writing. It is the initial efforts of a

writer. The more the drafts, the better the results. A draft is tentative and imperfect. It is
closely related a free writing, but its difference lies in its reined organisation. It is also a
spontaneous and active process. The steps to be considered during drafting are:

 have a rough sketch of your writing, then develop and refine.

 accept imperfections - spelling errors, word loss, mind shift.

 keep track of your main purpose of writing and its goals, while pursuing minor issues.

 stop at every convenient point for editing, corrections and improvements. This is to
relieve the strain of constant writing, and it offers you the opportunity to pause and
contemplate what you have done and what you should do.
  tag your different drafts on the same subject.

3. Revision: The revision process is a thoughtful and critical one. Steps to be considered
while revising the draft:

 When you revise, put yourself in the position of the reader. Think about what the
readers know or believe, and what they do not know or believe. As a writer, you see
your words from the inside. You are aware of what you want to say, and as such, you
tend to overlook lapses of clarity puzzling to your readers.

 Read slowly (one word at a time) and aloud. You are able to hear your words and
detect any awkwardness in your sentence structure. Also, you tend to get others to
listen to or read your work and respond.

 As you revise, use a pencil or pen to mark your paper freely. Strike out imprecise and
ambiguous words, and replace with more exact words. You could also paraphrase
the sentence to enhance clarity. In a situation where such sentences cannot be
rectified, indicate this with a signpost tagged 'clarity'.

 Emphasise important points by expressing them in short or unusual sentences.

Examples are: This changes everything (highlights a pivotal moment), do not forget
(stresses something essential), time was running out (builds urgency), it was not
supposed to happen (adds drama and intrigue), remember this above all (commands
focus on a critical detail), this is the heart of it all (pinpoints the central idea), why?
because it matters (draws attention to significance), etc.

 Position modifiers appropriately such that they interrupt a sentence and throw a
greater weight on important ideas. Examples are: The solution, though simple, was
revolutionary; The journey, despite its hardship, was worth every step; Her argument,
if you truly listened, was irrefutable.

 Refine your diction

 Avoid unnecessary repetitions of the same word. Examples are: The book was
interesting because the story in the book was so unique; He ran to the door, opened
the door, and slammed the door behind it; It was a cold day, and the cold wind made
it even colder (It was a chilly day, and the biting wind made it even worse)

 Pay attention to words with provocative connotations such as exploitation,

devastation, corruption, chaos, desperation, radical, oppression, corruption, etc.

 Adopt appropriate tone.

 Pay attention to errors in grammar, spellings and punctuations

 Guard against mannerisms of style. E.g. Beginning too many sentences with 'and' or
'but', writing long and complicated sentences, using too many 'however' in a
paragraph are not all acceptable in writing

The Writing Stage

An essay is relatively a short composition. It could be speculative, factual, emotional, personal
or objective, serious or humorous. It is structured into three parts, namely the
opening/beginning, the body/middle, and the closing/conclusion.

The Title

It precedes the beginning or opening of an essay. It should clarify the subject, arouse the
reader's interest, be informative and eye-catching, and fit the theme or focus of the writing.

The Opening/Beginning

Beginning an essay implies announcing and limiting the subject, indicating a plan, catching the
reader's attention, and establishing an appropriate tone and point of view. However, these
essential components depend on your purpose and audience. Though the length of the
beginning depends on the length and complexity of what it introduces, most essays have a
single paragraph for their opening.

1. Announcing the Subject: Announcing the subject involves developing the hook of the
essay. This can be one in either of these two ways: explicitly or implicitly, or immediately
or delayed. It is also dependent on your purpose of writing.

 Explicit and Implicit Announcement: Explicit announcement literally states the

subject, while in implicit announcement, the subject is implied. Example: The
purpose of this writing is to consider the forms of injustification which is available
for inequality in Nigeria (Explicit), Inequality in Nigeria has been explained as
different forms of injustification (Implicit).

When writing for colleagues (especially scholars and scientists), explicit

announcement is used. However, in less formal occasions, implicit announcement is
used. Implicit announcement can appear as a rhetorical question, definition, or quote.
However, these forms of implicit announcement should convey originality, and it
should be void of clumsiness.

 Immediate or Delayed Announcement: This involves announcing the subject

immediately or delaying it. Delayed announcement is achieved by beginning broadly
and narrowing the write-up until you arrive at the subject, for instance, using
definitions or giving a general overview of the subject. Also, delayed announcement
can be achieved by opening with a specific detail or example, and broadening to
arrive at the subject. Delayed announcement has its benefits - it spurs the reader's
curiousity; it teases the reader; and it entertains your readers.

2. Limiting the Subject: A limiting sentence or clause mostly follows the announcement of
the subject. This can also be done explicitly or implicitly, and positively or negatively (or
both). Limiting the subject implies stating the boundaries of the writing. It presents the
statement of purpose/thesis statement/topic sentence.

3. Indicating the Plan of the Essay: The writer should clarify how the essay will be
structured or organized. A well-prepared plan eases the reader's task of knowing where
he/she is headed. It also allows for the flow of ideas and easy transitions among
paragraphs.
 4. Spurring the Reader's Interest: Do not take your reader for granted. Try and catch
his/her attention through your writing. This is achieved with the hook. The various
strategies in achieving this are:

 Stress the importance of the Subject

 Arouse curiousity

 Amuse your reader

The Body/Middle

The organisation of the middle of an essay is as salient as its opening and closing. This can be
achieved in two ways - through signposts and interparagraph transitions.

Signposts

These are words, phrases, sentences or short paragraphs that suggest both the topic and the
general plan of the essay. They tell the readers what you have done, what you are doing, what
you will do and possibly what you will not do. Signposts are used to achieve sequence which
can be signalled by numbers or letters usually enclosed in parentheses, as well as words such
as first, second, thirdly, etc. However, numbers and number words should be cautiously used, so
as not to confuse the readers. Signposts require consistency. They can also point to past
events or actions, e.g. as we mentioned in the second paragraph, earlier in the year, etc. Thus,
signposts can be intrinsic (as part of the body) or extrinsic (outside the text e.g. titles,
subsections, subtitles, etc.)

Interparagraph Transitions

Transitions are used to link a paragraph to what immediately precedes it. They can occur at or
near the beginning of a new paragraph because the paragraph suggests a new thought which
should be linked to what has gone before.

Types of Interparagraph Transitions

1. The Repetitive Transition: This involves the repetition of a key word. A repeated word
creates a strong and simple connection. E.g. "We must act now to save our planet. We
must educate our reliance on fossil fuels. We must invest in renewable energy. We must
educate future generations about sustainability. We must do this together if we want to
ensure a better future for all." The adoption of "we must" evokes a strong, persuasive
connection, and emphasises the urgency of the message.

2. The Question-and-Answer Transition: Linking of paragraphs can be achieved by asking

and answering a rhetorical question. Most times, the question is placed at the end of the
preceding paragraph, and the answer at the beginning of the following one. At rare times,
the question appears at the opening of the new paragraph.

3. The Summarising Transition: It begins with a phrase or clause that sums up the
preceding paragraph, and then moves to the main clause which introduces the new topic.
Examples are while/if-clauses, because, pronouns (this, that, these, those, such), to
summarise, in short, in conclusion, to sum up, in all, to wrap up, etc
 4. Logical Transition: It is used to show logical relationship. Examples are therefore,
however, but, consequently, thus, and, so, even so, on the other hand, for instance,
nonetheless, etc. Logical transitions are also known as logical connectives. They
sometimes provide the only link between paragraphs. They work in conjunction with
word repetitions, summaries and pronouns.

Point of View

It relates to how the subject is being presented, and how it unfolds in two forms - personal and
impersonal point of view. In a personal point of view, the role of the writer is openly played using
first person presentation such as 'I', 'me', and 'my'. For impersonal point of view, explicit
reference to the self is avoided and the writer addresses the audience directly (second person
point of view). Through the third person narrative, the writer can tell the thoughts or feelings of
another person; he can appear as knowing everything about a group or an individual; and he can
write on what can only be observed rather than what can be felt. However, the selection of any
point of view is dependent on the topic. In view of this, the situation, reader, and level of
formality should be considered. For instance, an impersonal point of view appears more formal
than a personal one. Whichever point of view that is selected should be made evident in the
opening paragraph. Use 'I' to indicate your intention of writing personally or avoid it if you do not
want to. Also, substitutes for 'I', such as the writer, the reporter, etc, should be avoided because
they are wordy and awkward. Ensure there exists consistency in your use of a point of view. E.g.
I/we, you/anyone/people, etc.

Persona

This implies the writer's presence in writing - the writer's word choices, sentence patterns,
paragraph organisation are suggestive of the writer's personality. Sometimes, the persona may
not be the person who writes, or the same writer can assume different personas on different
occasions. However, the reader presumes that the persona implicit in the writing is the real and
existential fact about the writer. Thus, the questioning of authenticity and appropriateness
becomes expedient when understanding persona. Authenticity implies that the personality
which the readers sense in a writing is the personality the writer wants his/her audience to
perceive. That is, the writer appears in what s/he writes based on how s/he wishes to approach
the writing.

Also, persona must be appropriate - it achieves your ends. Persona is a function of total
composition. It emerges from the meanings of words, abstract and less obvious expressive
sentences and paragraphs, and the essay's overall organisation.

Tone

This is a writer's web of feelings stretched throughout an essay. It is the feelings from which our
sense of the persona emerges. Tone unfolds in three ways - the writer's attitude towards the
subject, reader, and self.

Tone towards the subject: being emotional, objective, angry, amused or discussing it
dispassionately.

Tone towards reader: treating your readers as intellectual inferiors, friends, passive individuals.
Adopting informal, conversational tone.
Tone towards self: writers regarding themselves seriously, ironically or satirically. A writer can
also adopt numerous tones such as a negative presentation of the writer (objective and
impersonal exposition e.g. as ridiculous), avoiding personal references or idiosyncratic
comments, being more self-conscious, being actively involved.

The Closing/Conclusion

This must be proportional to the length and complexity of the essay. The closing should achieve
the following:

1. Termination: This is an obvious form of closing by stating 'The End'. It is achieved

through:

 Terminal words such as in conclusion, concluding, finally, lastly, in closing, etc. They
also include adverbs showing loose consequential relationship such as then, so, thus,
therefore.

 Circular closing: This works on the analogy of a circle as it ends where it began. The
final paragraph reiterates an important word or phrase in the beginning, so that the
reader will always remember (you can hang a sign on this such as 'Remember this').

 Rhythmic variation: The use of varying movements of final sentence(s) in order to

slow down its reading and make its rhythm more regular. It can be realised by
introducing interrupted constructions, repeating similar constructions or closing the
essay with a short, quick sentence.

 Natural point of closing: This entails stopping at a natural point which the writer has
built into the subject. E.g. Ending with the earth scene in a biographical writing.

2. Summary and Conclusion: The closing of an essay can take the form of a summary or
the drawing of conclusions by establishing final inference or judgement. Summaries are
mostly found in long and complicated essays. They are usually marked by phrases such
as in summary, to sum up, summing up, in short, to recapitulate, then, etc. Logical
conclusions or judgements are however necessary in short essays. These judgements
may be suggested or formulated.

Paragraph Development

Thematic Aspects of a Paragraph

1. Unity: One of the essential features of a paragraph is unity. To achieve this, a paragraph
must deal with one central theme. This theme is what will be fully developed through the
other sentences in the paragraph. All the sentences in a paragraph must be related to
the theme that the paragraph is emphasising. Sometimes, writers get carried away with
an aspect of the central theme of a paragraph to the extent that they digress. This
digression may eventually make their write-up or paragraph uncoordinated or disjointed.
One of the sentences in the paragraph must reflect the topic sentence, while the other
sentences must elaborate on the topic sentence.
 2. Coherence: Coherence refers to having the parts of a paragraph in a meaningful order.
The ideas presented in a paragraph must be orderly and understandable. There must
always be a logical sequence of ideas which are achieved through the use of conjuncts
or transitional words such as however, nevertheless, in addition, consequently, indeed,
finally, as a result, in spite of, in contrast to, again etc. Coherence can also be achieved
through the precise use of pronouns to avoid repetition of some nouns. The third way by
which coherence can be achieved is through the repetition of specific ideas, although
not necessarily the same words or phrases. You should try to avoid sentences that start
with ‘This is because---‘. The pronoun ‘this’ could be vague in such sentences.

3. Emphasis: Emphasis is another quality that a paragraph can have in order to give it
paragraph unity. This can be achieved through the use of contrasting sentences, and
repetition of ideas.

Structural Aspects of a Paragraph

1. Topic Sentence: A paragraph deals with one main idea which should be relevant to what
the whole essay is all about. This main idea is contained in the topic sentence, while the
other sentences should be closely connected to the topic sentence. This gives the
paragraph its unity and internal consistency. The topic sentence does not need to be the
very first sentence. The writer may decide to discuss an issue first and then conclude
towards the end by putting the topic sentence last.

2. Paragraph Development: Paragraph development is closely linked with the writer’s

thought processes and concepts. Logical processes are involved in the presentation of
arguments and ideas. The kind of statements the writer select should be determined by
his/her perception of the truth, verifiable facts, objectivity and relevant details of what
s/he hopes to present. A paragraph should not be developed haphazardly and it should
be void of generalisations and fallacies. Paragraphs must be developed based on
substantiated facts. A paragraph can also have evidence of documentation or the
application of some kind. In whatever way any of these parts feature in your work, you
should try to make sure they are well presented. A developed paragraph must have an
opening and a closing.

The Grammar of Paragraphs

1. Conjuncts: Conjuncts serve the primary purpose of indicating a meaning connection

between sentences in a piece of spoken or written language. They are important
connective devices. Conjuncts separate like conjunctions. They may link the
components of a sentence, but can also do more. A conjunct takes off where a
conjunction leaves off. Some commonly occurring conjuncts are however, nevertheless,
moreover, furthermore, what is more, in addition, in fact, in brief, in sum, indeed, all the
same, in other words, by the way, as a result, by contrast, on the other hand, meanwhile,
etc. While writing, you may need to buttress your points by using some specific words
for stylistic effect, and conjuncts can be used to provide such effect. Conjuncts are
mobile (they can be positioned at the beginning, middle or end of the sentence, and they
 can either be phrases or clauses.

2. Disjuncts: Disjuncts are words, phrases or clauses that express opposition of ideas.
They are readily detachable, but serve to make some kind of comment on the ideas
expressed. E.g. frankly, perhaps, obviously, undoubtedly, personally, honestly, to sum up,
with respect, clearly, strangely, in my opinion, fortunately, truthfully, etc.

3. Adjuncts: Adjuncts are words or phrases that are joined or added to an expression but
are not a necessary part of it. They can also be words added to qualify or modify other
words in a sentence. Some are adverbials. The most usual kinds of linking adjuncts are
expressions of space and time.

4. Punctuations

Beyond the Sentence

1. Collocations: Collocations are the acceptable co-occurrence of lexical items in a

sentence. Lexical items co-occur. Items that relate these ways are called collocates. The
units involved depend on each other. There are two types of collocations - free
collocations and fixed collocations. With free collocations, items co-occur naturally.
e.g. dog and bark, fish and swim, insect and fly, butter and rancid, fruit and rotten, etc.
These lexical items are free in the sense that some other structural words can be added
to them to make meaningful sentences with them. e.g. Insects fly very high in the sky;
This butter has gone rancid; The rotten mango fruit was thrown away. With free
collocations, words naturally go along with each other. Fixed collocations are otherwise
known as idiomatic expressions or simply idioms. Examples are a square peg in a round
hole (someone occupying a post not suited for him); a storm in a tea cup (excitement
over a small matter); a dog in a manger (someone holding on to something that is not
useful to him), etc. They are fixed in that you can not insert any word in between these
collocations. The words are used in the order in which they are. Some of these idioms
have however become clichés and have almost gone out of use. An example is - kick the
bucket (which means ‘die’). Another type of fixed collocations in English are phrasal
verbs such as goes out, back out, back off, given up, blow up, break down, call off, etc.

2. Conjunctions: These are coordinating and subordinating conjunctions. They express

renumeration, concession, reinforcement, summation, result, reformulation, contrast,
replacement, etc.

3. Identification: Identification involves the use of certain determiners to point out the
relationship between certain items that have been mentioned earlier in a sentence. It is
used within and across sentences. Examples are determiners and demonstratives.

4. Structural Parallelism: This device is of value in any sentence connection because it

suggests that there is some meaning relationship (contrast or similarity) between
sentences with parallel structures. This device involves giving identical structures or
forms to two or more sentences or parts of the same sentence within the same
sentence (Bola was taught to work, to pray and to hope), across sentences (The villagers
had hoped Jagun would be well. They had prayed he would be willing).
Narrative Essays

A narrative essay is a written story that tells a personal experience from the author's
perspective. The story has a clear beginning, middle and end. Also, the events and details in the
story reveal the purpose. One of the features of narrative essay is originality. The writer is
expected to develop the habit of thinking for him/herself. As such, the essay is original in
thought and expression. It does not have the influence of anybody or any material.

Aspects of a Narrative Essay

1. The Plot: This has to do with the series of incidents forming the presentation of the
action of a story, play or poem. To achieve this, decide on the series of incidents you
want to write about. They could be ten, twenty, fifteen etc. You also have to arrange the
order of the events, that is which one comes first and which one comes last. It must be
ordered in such a way that you will not contradict yourself. For example, you can not say
somebody died on Tuesday and then he was seen driving around town the next Friday. It
is therefore important for you to know how the events occurred and how they are related
to each other.

2. The Setting: Every narrative must have a setting, that is, the place and time the story is
set. References should be made to them in the narrative. Setting can be backdrop (a
vague and simple time and location), temporal or environmental.

3. The Characters: This is another convention of a narrative that should be followed. If

there are no real characters, you can create them and make them say what you want
them to say, and also achieve what you want them to achieve. The characters must have
specified names and functions. They must also be able to interact with one another so
that the theme can be properly understood.

4. The Introduction: There are different ways of introducing a narrative. It can be achieved
by introducing the characters or by presenting the setting so as to properly situate the
narrative. What is important is that it should be done in a way that the narrative will
prompt the reader to be interested in the story. The introduction often gives the
background information which can help the reader to have a better understanding of the
narrative. If the introduction is not interesting or challenging to sustain the interest of the
reader, the book or narrative piece could be abandoned or put aside until an opportuned
time when the reader feels he has enough spare time for such novels.

5. The Body: A short narrative could have about five paragraphs including the introduction
and the conclusion. A long narrative could have as many as possible depending on how
the paragraphs could be divided. A book on narrative story could then be seen not only in
terms of the paragraphs alone but the pages. You should write in such a way that you
would be able to sustain the interest of your reader. Make your narration vivid by using
the appropriate language and connective devices between sentences and paragraphs.
Do not contradict yourself in your narration. Some people are so good at giving attention
to details in narratives that you can almost see the mental picture of the individual or the
situation being described. As a narrator, you should know how to connect events, people
and places in such a way that will sustain the attention of your reader. You should also
 write in such a way that the reader gets the essence of what you are trying to present.

6. The Climax and Ending: There should be a climax and an ending in any narrative. Your
story should not be flat. There should be some elements of suspense which would lead
to a climax and an ending depending on the theme. A narrative could simply be for
entertainment. It depends on the motive of the writer. The intention may also include
taking people’s minds away from the busy frustrations of the day by presenting
something that will make them laugh. At times, however, the writer may want to instruct,
give advice, or help people to be aware of something important in the world around them.
A narrative could also end by presenting a moral lesson which every reader or listener
can learn from. The concluding paragraph is very important because that is the reader’s
last contact with the narrative. That is where the writer brings all the major activities of
the characters to a close.

Narrative Techniques

In narratives, the first person narrative technique (e.g. I, we) is used to draw the reader closer to
share in the discussion. During narration, make the story lively, and vary your style so that you
do not bore your reader. Avoid unnecessary mannerism in speech and writing such as ‘as in’,
shey, shebi, etc The third person singular or plural (e.g. ‘he’ ‘she’ or ‘they’) can also be used in
narratives even though it puts a distance between the narrator and the narrative. Nevertheless, it
enables the reader to identify minimally or maximally with the narrative. In this narrative, the
names of some characters are also mentioned. As a writer, you can introduce your characters in
different ways to get your reader acquainted with them and the situations around them. Building
up the essay in paragraphs will form a unified whole and an interesting piece.

Descriptive Essay

One of the ways in which you can get involved in what you are writing and also get your readers
involved is to vividly describe the people, places, things, experiences and situations in your
writing. The ability to describe is a universal value of good writing. By all means, a detailed
description is better than a general one. Readers mostly prefer the concrete to the abstract.
When a reader is able to visualise what the writer is trying to say through vivid descriptive
devices, the reader understands better and identifies more with the work.

Your ability to describe affects how something looks, sounds, smells, tastes, hears, feels, or
become more of what you want it to be. Description makes your writing memorable and
appealing to whoever is going through it.

Different Aspects of a Descriptive Essay

1. Close observation: For you to be able to describe adequately, you need to engage in
close observation, and be able to identify and name the things that you see, and their
placement or position(s). You can do this by closing your eyes and, with your mind eye,
imagine what you see or what you used to see. Document the result of your mind’s
journey. If possible, then go to the place and see things physically and document them
 again. In this way, you have two lists which will be useful later when you want to write.

2. Close selection: Apart from the fact that you need to observe closely, you also have to
do a close selection of the things you see and the ones you want to name and bring to
focus so that they can match your narrative action. If you ignore this, you may overdo
things. You cannot possibly name everything you see. The reader would have to use their
imagination to fill in the gaps in the world of the story or event being described. There is
a relationship between descriptive detail and narrative action, and they must fit one
another. Fiction writers build a world that is close to the social world in which we live and
the sensory images are the tools they use in building this world. Description of the
scenes and actions are given but the descriptions should not be done in such a way that
they will overpower the action except it is required by the theme. What people do and say
in the imagined world is what sustains our interest.

3. Formulate an impression: Just imagine that you now have the list of things to describe,
decide on a point of view - that is, do you want to imagine yourself doing the action or
someone else? It would either be ‘I’ or he /she etc. Having a point of view or creating one
will make you actively participate in the story or narrative yourself. You must discover
and create an impression. The impression is what you feel about a person, an event or a
situation. You must examine yourself on why you think the way you do through the
impression you have created. Your impression will guide the selection of the details you
include in the narrative. The details must then fit into the plot of the story. For example, if
you believe that something is beautiful, you will create that impression with the way you
describe the details.

4. Practise free writing: Writing is a way of expressing yourself. One of the types of writing
that is common among students is free writing. What is important is for the ideas to
flow and as long as you keep on writing, whatever is wrong in your writing can always be
corrected especially in your draft. During examinations, what takes the place of free
writing is concentrated thought. Description is used to create worlds for creative writing,
literary journals, personal letters, stories and plays, travel accounts, poetry and memoirs.

In descriptive essays, we use words to convey what something, or someone, a situation, an

incident appears to be. Describing a thing is different from evaluating it. Also, description does
not include arguing, interpreting or evaluating (judging). In descriptive essays, there is a lot of
explanation of facts presented on things seen. Essays can be said to be descriptive when they
present facts and ideas with little argument or interpretation. Below is an example from Half of
a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Adichie:

His aunty walked faster, his slippers making slap-slap sounds that echoed in the silent street.
Ugwu wondered if she too could feel the coal tar getting hotter underneath, through her thin
soles. .... He smelt something sweet, as they walked into a compound and was sure it came
from the white flowers clustered on the bushes at the entrance. The bushes were shaped like
slender hills. The lawn glistened, butterflies hovered around.

In the text above, the actions of different characters were described in the first part of the
paragraph, rather than the location. Also, some plants were described in the latter part. The
narrative point of view is basically the third person singular- ‘he’ along with the invisible ‘they’
Describing the lawns further would bring in ‘it’ as a point of view.
The Persuasive/Argumentative Essay

Persuasive or argumentative essays try to convince others to agree with opinions and facts, and
share the writer's values. To be able to convince another person, you need to know your facts
and be able to present them convincingly enough. You have to be sure of the facts by making
sure your sources are correct and verifiable. Unlike narratives and descriptive essays which can
be based on fiction, argumentative writings are hooked on facts, and your reasoning must
sound logical to the human mind and your motive achievable.

Guidelines to be followed when writing persuasive/argumentative essays

1. Research: It is important that you do some fact findings on the topic you have chosen.
Decide on the facts or the points you want to present, their number, and how you want to
arrange them. This is important because your style of presentation matters a lot. Some
people start by giving thought-provoking questions to the audience or readers. For
example, you can have questions such as Ladies and gentlemen, why do you think we
have constant power failure? Why are our roads as bad as they are? Why can we not
feed our families with balanced diets? These are questions that border on people’s
welfare and which are likely to draw the attention of the reader or the listener to the topic.
If the arguments that follow these questions are well managed, the speaker is likely to
convince the audience to his/her side. For you to make convincing statements on a topic
that borders on the questions above, you need to research into some of the causes of
power failure, problems of food production in the country, road management in the
country etc. Some people, on the other hand, start with some allusions while some
others just go straight to the topic by declaring their stand on the issue and give reasons
for their arguments. Some people start with pleasant jokes while some start on a level
ground emotionally and then build up to elicit the interest, concern and compassion of
the audience. You have to think about possible emotions/emotional reactions and use
them in your discussion of the topic.

2. Introduction: Introductions are very important because they give the reader the first
impression of the write up. In writing introductions to argumentative essays, there are
four parts - Introducing the topic, stating why the topic is important, stating the
differences of opinion about the topic, and describing how the assignment will be
structured and what the writer’s stand is. All these should be ordered in an introduction.
You must make sure that as a writer, your introductory sentences are not haphazard.
Write in such a way that the reader will be encouraged to continue reading your work.

3. Paragraph flow: It is important that as you develop your paragraphs, there must be
paragraph flow. This is where you have to make use of transitional words such as
however, in addition, nevertheless etc. You should be able to quote sources of
information to support your argument and establish authority for what you have written.
As much as possible, you should make sure that your arguments are logical and
sensible. Try as much as possible not to contradict yourself or else, the purpose of
writing an argumentative essay will be defeated. There could be as many paragraphs as
you want depending on the purpose for which the essay is written. If it is an essay, it
may not be more than five or six and this includes the introduction and the conclusion.
 But if you are contributing to a newspaper article, it could be more than that.

4. Summary: This is an important aspect of the essay. Whether the essay is written or
presented orally, summarising the major points is important. If a writer has presented a
number of points, the reader may forget some of them. If the major points are not
summarised to remind the reader of the salient points you have advanced to support
your argument, the reader may forget. While writing the summary, you need to refer to
the initial paragraphs and the main points. Your conclusion should restate the main
ideas and emphasise the importance of the arguments.

5. Editing: This is an important aspect of any essay writing not just argumentative essays.
You need to go over your work and make all necessary corrections before you submit.
There could have been omissions - that is, some points or ideas you wanted to include
which you forgot while writing. On the other hand, there could be some points which you
included at a point but which you found unnecessary when you went over again. There
could also be punctuation and spelling mistakes which if uncorrected could mar the
presentation or essay.

6. Conclusion: Conclusions are as important as introductions. The conclusion is aimed at

informing the reader that you have come to the end of your presentation and that you
have covered all the important points. Some writers try to highlight these important
points in the summary/conclusion so as to remind the reader of the writer’s line of
argument. The conclusion must be carefully written because this is the last part of your
essay that the readers will come in contact with, and it will make a lasting impression on
them. In your conclusion, you need to restate your own side of the argument which you
have presented strongly in your essay. You also need to include two or three sentences
which give a general summary of your side of the argument. You can also provide
information on the consequences of not heeding your advice and what humanity stands
to gain if people identify with your stand on the issue. Sentences can also be ordered in
a conclusion to give a logical presentation to the concluding part of the argument. You
should try to order the sentences in your conclusion so that the reader can make up
his/her mind on what decisions to take as regards accepting or rejecting your line of
argument.

Expository Essay

An expository essay is any type of essay or writing that is used to enlighten, explain or inform
the reader on a specific or particular aspect of a topic. This is common in the sciences and the
humanities. The student may be required to give in-depth information or demonstrate in-depth
knowledge of the circumstances surrounding a particular thing or situation. In other words, the
writer is expected to bring to the fore some verifiable facts on the topic to be discussed.

Steps to Writing Expository Essay

1. Choosing a topic: Before you write, you must have a topic in mind. Once you have a topic,
you have to study the topic very well so that you will know if it requires a short response
or a long one. This information is important because your lecturer may be expecting a
long essay from you while you think it is a short one. You may loose marks if you do not
write up to the required length because it would mean you have not fully discussed
 some essential points in the essay. In such situation, you have not met the expectations
of your lecturer. You must be sure of what is expected of you in terms of essay length so
that the topic can be well discussed. Your topic should also not be too narrow as this will
make it difficult for you to get enough facts for the specific length of essay. In your
choice of topic selection, you must make sure you choose a topic that is big enough to
be discussed but narrow enough to be managed. Examples are The disappearance and
reappearance of groundnut pyramids in Northern Nigeria; The need for a reappraisal,
Normal and excessive use of drugs.

2. Developmental pattern writing: In writing an excellent expository essays, a few steps are
highlighted below on the kind of developmental patterns that can be adopted:

 Definition: You may have to define some terms in your attempt to write an expository
essay. This will make your discussion of the topic interesting vivid and realistic. You
may need to give examples of some of the things you mention so that your
illustrations can be clear to the reader.

 Cause and effect: In a developmental pattern, you may need to illustrate the
connection between events or how one event is dependent on another or how one
event is as a result of a previous one. You need to substantiate your points at any
point in time. You must not be found to be giving wrong claims. Remember that if
your writing is made public, someone else can quote you or refer to something you
said later on or some years to come. As such, you would not want to be
misrepresented.

 Classification: You may need to do some classification while writing the essay. For
example, you may have to classify the effect of certain actions taken by the Federal
government during the civil war to be able to determine whether they were positive,
negative, profitable, devastating or necessary. This may involve listing some
observable resultant effects of some decisions taken. However, you have to be
careful about this. Expository essays are revealing, so you must be careful not to run
down individuals. You can use expressions that are not absolutes when you are not
too sure. You can use expressions such as probably, unconfirmed sources, an
eyewitness’ account, etc. However, where you are absolutely sure of your claim and
you have substantiated facts on the issue, you can refer to such while writing.

 Compare and contrast: You may need to do some form of comparative work at times.
As a writer may have to examine the basic differences between the actions taken
and actions not taken at times. You can do some form of comparison or a critical
analysis of the topic or events or situations.

3. Organisation: This has to do with the arrangement of the work as a whole, the number of
paragraphs, the points to discuss, the arrangement of the points etc. You have to decide
on the number of paragraphs you want but this also has to do with how long the essay is.
Most school essays have about five paragraphs whereas some higher institution essays
could be up to seven or eight including the introduction and the summary. If the points
you want to consider are many, you then have one introductory paragraph, a body of
paragraphs and a concluding paragraph. You should discuss each major division of your
work appropriately and clearly in paragraphs so that the reader would be able to
 understand what you are discussing and follow your line of reasoning.

4. Research: Most students start writing essays without trying to find out something about
the topic. You need to research on the topic you want to write about. You may have to
find out about the origin of a word, the meaning of a concept, the usefulness of an object,
idea or concept etc. Researching a topic always enriches your work. Expository essays in
particular are meant to dig out facts about a situation or thing and since you are not an
encyclopaedia, you cannot know everything. You need to consult books, dictionaries,
encyclopaedias, Internet etc as resource materials. The Internet, in particular, is a very
valuable resource material which you can consult on any area of study. However,
remember to acknowledge your source of information. That is the hallmark of a good
academic. If however, you find it difficult to get good reference materials, you have to
take time to think on the topic and go through some local newspapers and magazines
peradventure you will find some useful information on the topic.