Fundamental Writing Skills

Writing with Clarity

This practical short course is designed for those who would like to build strong foundational writing skills for effective research communication. Through engaging exercises, the participants will develop techniques for sentence structure, paragraph flow and logical text organisation.

Session 1: Understanding Sentence Structure

Understanding sentence structure is crucial for effective writing. By understanding the various components and types of sentence structures, one can write clear, concise, and engaging sentences to effectively convey their intended message.

Session 2: Sentence Modifiers, Parallel Construction and Language Use

Ambiguous and confusing sentences can result from misplaced or dangling modifiers, or from a lack of parallel grammatical structure. This session will explain the concept and function of sentence modifiers, and offer strategies to avoid long, run-on and unclear sentences. It will also cover various aspects of grammar and their discourse functions in research writing.

Session 3: Understanding and Improving Cohesion and Coherence

This session aims to help participants understand coherence and cohesion by recognising how ideas in a text are linked to the purpose or aim of a piece of writing, and how they are connected through the choice of words and connectives. It also introduces strategies for achieving coherence in writing.

Session 4: Text Structure and Purpose

This session focuses on text structure, explaining how a paragraph or text can be written with a clear purpose and supported by relevant details. It also introduces text organization strategies to help structure the flow of a text logically for effective communication.