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Purposeful Expression: Understanding and Using Your Language Effectively

by Art Foster

339 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #02-1293; ISBN 1-55395-577-3; US$27.00, C$32.95, EUR22.50, £14.95

Learn the practical uses, the pleasure and the power of your language in PURPOSEFUL EXPRESSION.

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about the book      about the author      table of contents and sample excerpt      catalogue info

About the Book Language is practical, language is pleasure (or pain), and language is power can adequately describe the three parts of PURPOSEFUL EXPRESSION. The way you use your language can define your personality and determine your achievements in every aspect of life. This book gives easy-to-understand guidance for understanding and effective language use for success. The understanding and purposeful, effective use of language is for everyone, whether in the classroom, at work, or in social circles. This text gives easy to understand explanations, aided by graphics, of the sentence, paragraph, and composition design. It also provides step-by-step guidance in summary, report, letter, and story writing, argument presentation, and how to use persuasive techniques and the power of persuasion to achieve desired outcomes in pursuit of your goals. Exercises are provided throughout the text to review required knowledge and skills, and to develop new ones. Also, a reference section gives explanations for questions of usage, words often confused, spelling, and punctuation, as an aid for better language use.

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About the Author The author comes from Guyana, the only English speaking country in South America. He spent most of his life there and his education includes teacher training at the Government Teacher Training College and studies at the University of Guyana. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and Art. He taught for several years, both at the primary (elementary) and secondary levels. He now lives in the Caribbean island, Grenada. There he teaches, with great success, English to senior secondary school students preparing for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate examination. He also teaches English to adults for the local college, serves as Head of Department (English) at the school in which he teaches, and as Assistant Examiner for literature (English B) with the Caribbean Examinations Council based in Barbados, West Indies. The author is also an artist, graphic designer, and photographer who enjoys nature.

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Table of Contents and Sample Excerpt

Appreciation
References
Extracts Used [Acknowledgement of Sources]
Preface
Contents
Using this Book
Extracts and Questions
List of Exercises
English a Living Language

PART ONE: Understanding and Presenting Information

A. Understanding Information
Introduction
1.1 Reviewing the Building Blocks
The sentence
Sentence structure, Patterns in sentences
Sentence development and analysis
Clauses and Phrases
complex, compound, complex - compound
1.2 A Sense of Time
1.3 Patterns of Thought
Main idea in a sentence
Relationships between ideas
co-ordinate ideas
main and subordinate ideas
1.4 The Paragraph
Structure and development
Structure
Signal words
1.5 The Longer Composition
B. Presenting Information
1.6 General advice
Organized information
1.7 Presenting information in Summary
Summary Writing skills
Summary of the sentence
Summary of the paragraph
Steps to writing a good summary
1.8 Presenting Information in Reports
Fact and opinion
Biased and neutral language
Presenting reports
Stages in preparing a report
Organizing a report
1.9 Presenting Information in a Letter
The friendly letter
The business letter
Setting out the letter correctly
Some business letters
The letter of application
Resume and cover letter
1.10 Some Practice Questions

PART TWO: Understanding and Using Literary Expression

A. Understanding Literary Expression
Introduction
2.1 Literary Expression
Prose, Poetry
2.2 Elements of Literary Expression
Setting, Point of view
Plot, Characters, Diction
2.3 Literary Devices
Sound, Rhythm
2.4 Literary Language
Some Figures of speech
Some Practice Questions
B. Using Language to Share Experiences
2.5 Writing to Share Experiences
Narrative writing
Descriptive writing
Dialogue 183, The senses
2.6 Elements of the Story
What makes a good story?
Theme, Plot, Point of view, Setting, Characters
2.7 Reviewing Agreement in Sentences
Sentence structure
Subject and verb agreement
Pronoun and antecedent agreement
2.8 Writing the Story
Writing a Plan for the story, The Story
Writing your story
2.9 Some Points to Remember
Checklist for your Story
2.10. Reference Section
Usage, Words often confused
Spelling, Plurals of nouns
Punctuation
2.11 Stories by Students
Some Topics for Practice

PART THREE: Understanding and Using Exposition

A. Understanding Exposition
Introduction
3.1 What is Exposition
3.2 Understanding Arguments
What is said?
How is it presented?
Some common fallacies
3.3 How Arguments may be Organized
Two patterns in argument
Rhetorical devices
3.4. Understanding Persuasion
Persuasive techniques
Emotional language
Emotional appeal
Some Practice Questions
B. Using Language for Exposition
3.5 Exposition
Using language to explain
3.6 Using Language to Convince - Argument
The argument
Writing an argument
3.7 Using Language to Convince 2 - Persuasion
Persuasion
Persuasive techniques
Using emotional appeal
Using the power of persuasion
3.8 Public Speaking
Preparing to speak
Delivering the speech
Suggested Guideline for judging a Speech
Common errors in language use
3.9 Some Elementary Rules of Expression
3.10. Samples of Expository Writing
Some Topics For Practice
Index

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Catalogue Information

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