Write it Right: Writing Tips for Beginners

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 2

Write it Right

Writing Tips

Learning Objective

At the end of the lesson, you understand the basics of English writing, including capitalization, punctuation, and word order.

What are writing rules you already know?

Capitalization

Always use a capital letter for the pronoun 'I' (ik)

Het maakt niet uit waar in de zin 'I' staat, het is altijd een hoofdletter.

Starting Sentences

Begin sentences with a capital letter and end them with appropriate punctuation.

Een zin begint altijd met een hoofdletter en eindigt met een punt. Een vraagzin eindigt op een vraagteken. En soms, heel soms, moet je komma's gebruiken om het leesbaar te maken.

Word Order

Understand the correct word order in English sentences.

Onderwerp + ww + rest van de zin --> meest belangrijke.

Bijwoord, + onderwerp + ww + rest van de zin.

Soms kan het bijwoord tussen het hulpww + hoofdww staan.

Present Tense

When writing about something in the present, you have to use the:

• Present Simple
• Present Continuous.

Dit kan soms wel in combinatie met een past of future tense.

Past Tense

When writing about something in the past, you have to use the:

• Past Simple
• Past Continuous
• Present Perfect

Future Tense

When writing about the future, you have to use:

• Will/Shall (voor beloftes, voorspelling en voorwaarden(
• To be going to (voor plannen in de toekomst zonder afspraak)
• Present simple (voor schema's)
• Present Continuous (voor afspraken die gemaakt zijn in de toekomst)

Form and Style

• Diary
• Interview
• Report
•  Speech
• Script

Examples

Dear diary, I'm Forrest Gump. The psychiatrist Jenny went to before she passed away told me if I ever had a hard time, I should try writing it down in a diary. So, here I am.

May 25th, 1982

I have just come back from Jenny's grave with my son, little Forrest. The whole way there and back he was crying and yelling he misses his mommy. I find it hard to deal with emotions, so I just don’t know how to comfort him and deal with my own grief at the same time. I love the kid so much and he looks more like his mother every day. I think it's amazing he looks so much like his mother, but it does remind me how much I miss her and how much easier my life would've been if she was still here. She was the most wonderful woman I had ever met. From the moment I met her when we were just kids, I had fallen in love with her. She was the light in my life. I miss her with all my heart and soul. She gave me the most incredible thing in my life. A bright and shining star, my dearest son Forrest. Don’t worry Jenny, I will give him the best life that a kid could wish for.

Examples

Write down 3 things you learned in this lesson.

Have students enter three things they learned in this lesson. With this they can indicate their own learning efficiency of this lesson.

Write down 2 things you want to know more about.

Here, students enter two things they would like to know more about. This not only increases involvement, but also gives them more ownership.

Ask 1 question about something you haven't quite understood yet.

The students indicate here (in question form) with which part of the material they still have difficulty. For the teacher, this not only provides insight into the extent to which the students understand/master the material, but also a good starting point for the next lesson.