USING PARTITION IN THE ESSAY.
Partition is one of the easiest method in writing an essay. As the word signifies, it simiply means dividiing the topic
into parts. Only singular topics can be developed into its parts. This essay also makes use of description in its
development.
Example of topics that can use Partition are:
1. The Human Body
2 A House
3 A Company
4 An Airplane
5 A Car
Example:
THE HUMAN HEART
The human heart is a pear-shaped structure about the size of a fist. It lies obliquely within the chest cavity just left
of center, with the apex pointing downward.
The heart is constructed of a special kind of muscle called myocardium or cardiac muscle, and is enclosed in a double-layered, membranous sac known as the pericardium. A wall
of muscle divides the heart into two cavities: the left cavity pumps blood throughout the body, while the right cavity pumps
blood only through the lungs. Each cavity is in turn divided into two chambers, the upper ones called atria, the lower ones
ventricles.
Venous blood from the body, containing large amounts of carbon dioxide, returns to the right atrium. It enters
the right ventricle, which contracts, pumping blood through the pulmonary artery to the lungs. Oxygenated blood returns from
the lungs to the left atrium and enters the left ventricle, which contracts, forcing the blood into the aorta , from which it is distributed throughout the body.
In addition, the heart employs a separate vascular system to obtain blood for its own nourishment. Two major coronary
arteries regulate this blood supply.
Assignment:
Make a 5 paragraph essay that uses partition. Choose your own topic.
USING FIGURES OF SPEECH IN THE ESSAY
Good writing uses metaphor. Metaphor "transfers"
or "carries across" ideas. Metaphor is used when we notice how something resembles another thing. If we notice and make a
comparison we are using metaphor. If we use metaphors well, our writing will carry more meaning and emotion.
Language that adheres to fact is called literal
language. But when writers want to express their personal reactions, they often must go beyond literal meanings. They do so
by using figurative language- language that uses imaginative comparisons called figures of speech. The writer who wanted
to express his or her reaction upon seeing the moon could say:
The moon was big and beautiful.
or
The moon rose quickly and hung in the sky like
a papier mache ball.
Figurative language is not just for literary
writing; it has its place in journalism, in academic writing, and even in scientific and technical writing. Although you should
not overuse figurative language, do not be afraid to use it when you think it will help you to communicate to the reader.
Three Kinds of Metaphor
Metaphor: The moon in the sky is a big pizza
pie. No, not actually, but the comparison is understandable as a pizza is round and so is the moon.
Simile: My love is like a red red rose. In simile,
the comparison uses the words "like" or "as." Simile is a special kind of metaphor that more directly compares two things.
Personification: The clouds cry. The angry sun.
In these examples, the "clouds" and "sun" have taken on human emotions. This is called personification.
Assignment:
Think about the past two years. Describe this
period as being like travelling on a road. Where did the road take you? When did you start? Use three metaphors in a short
paragraph about this period in your life. (try to use one metaphor, one simile, and one personification if you can)
Example: The road I have taken since September 11 is full of hidden dangers.
General Format
When you write a business letter, you will follow a general format. However,
your instructor or your company may have specific requirements that you must use. For instance, a company might have a particular
way of presenting a salutation or may even use a specific type of letterhead.
Because a business letter is an effective way to communicate a message, its format should allow readers to quickly grasp
information. Information should stand out to readers as they scan the document. Remember, a business letter reflects your
professionalism.

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Types of Business Letters
The following are the six most common types of bussiness letters. Keep in
mind that the purpose and audience of your business letter effects which form you choose. If you are unsure about how to format
your business letter, ask your instructor or review business letters your co-workers have written.
Effective Writing
Even though no one formula exists for a perfect business
letter, some basic guidelines will help you, regardless of the form, purpose, and audience of the document.
Many executives still prefer a written document over other forms of communication, because the document can serve as a
contract, the facts will be on record in writing, and executives do not have to rely on memory.
This is why it is important to write a good business Letter, and the principles below will help you do so.
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Example Order Letter
Dept. of English Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO 80523
May 23, 1999
Ms. Dawn Snyder, Professor ICU Technical College Portland, ME 04101
Dear Ms. Snyder:
Would you please send me the following articles via COD? According to your Web site, all articles are in your possession
and all is needed is the article name, date, and number of pages.
Article |
Date |
Pages |
"Role of Maine in the fishing strike of 1867" |
1987 |
47 |
"Effect of Maine geography on the War of 1812" |
1969 |
121 |
"World War II: From Androscoggin to York" |
1997 |
4 |
Thank you very much,
(signature here)
I.B. Writing, Professor, CSU
Example Inquiry Letter
Dept. of English Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO 80523
May 23, 1999
Ms. Dawn Snyder, Professor ICU Technical College Portland, ME 04101
Dear Ms. Snyder:
I am a professor in English at Colorado State University organizing a seminar on concept mapping for a colloquium coming
up in December. Based on your experience in this area, I was wondering if you would be interested in attending.
The deadline for admission is August 13. It would be a great honor to have you in attendance. Enclosed is an admissions
form and more information on the colloquium.
Thank you for your time,
(signature here)
I.B. Writing, Professor, CSU
Example Response to an Inquiry Letter
Dawn Snyder, Professor ICU Technical College Portland, ME 04101
May 27, 1999
Professor I.B. Writing, Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO 80523
Dear Mr. Writing:
I would be honored to attend your colloquium on concept mapping in December. I think you know how strongly I feel about
that paradigm and the role the great state of Maine has played in its development.
I am enclosing the admissions sheet sent to me, as well as the articles you requested that I have recently published on
the subject. Good luck on organizing the event- I cannot wait to be there!
Sincerely,
(signature here)
I.B. Writing, Professor, CSU
DS/ls
Enclosure(114) c: Scott McRae, Dean of Department of Journalism
Example Sales Letter
CLOSET CARE 1248 SE Lancaster Blvd Tigard, OR 97225
July 7, 1999
Professor I.B. Writing, Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO 80523
Dear Mr. Writing:
Are you having trouble organizing your clothes into your existing closets? If you are like most Americans, you have trouble
finding your favorite shirt when you really need it. This is why it is important to have an organized closet system.
At CLOSET CARE, we have the skills and experience to come in and help you with your closet needs. May we stop by and offer
you a FREE estimate at how much it would cost you to rebuild your closet? If so, give us a call at 555-1212 and set up and
appointment with one of your friendly operators.
Sincerely,
(signature here)
Kent Lenoir President
KL/jt
Example Claim Letter
WJ&M Construction Company 2383 NW Turner Blvd Tigard, OR 97225
July 10, 1999
Kent Lenoir, President Closet Care Tigard, OR 97225
Dear Mr. Lenoir:
As someone who has worked with you for over 12 years, we were very disappointed to see the work that you did on one of
the houses we subcontracted to you in the Camas development.
As our oral agreement stipulated, we expected 5 black armoire units to be installed in the master bedroom, but instead,
we found that 3 white particle-board desks were put in. I think you will agree that a communication problem exists.
We would like you to send out a crew to take out the white desks and put the black armoire units in immediately, or provide
us with a refund.
Yours truly,
(signature here)
WJ Billings, President
WJ/mm
Example Adjustment Letter
CLOSET CARE 1248 SE Lancaster Blvd Tigard, OR 97225
July 17, 1999
WJ Billings, President WJ&M Construction Company 2383 NW Turner Blvd Tigard, OR 97225
Dear Ms. Billings:
I was very disappointed to read your letter of July 10th dealing with the issue of wrong product installed in one of your
homes. As someone who values your business, I have already put a plan in motion to fix the problem.
My warehouse manager and a crew will be at the site July 19th to take out the white desks and replace them with the black
armoire units, free of charge. Also, we will deduct another 10 percent of the bill for the misunderstanding. Thank you for
your patience.
Sincerely,
(signature here)
Kent Lenoir President
KL/jt
source: http://writing.colostate.edu/references/documents/bletter/pop2f.cfm 
Making Reports
Plan the sections and subsections you need.
With technical writing you must present your information so readers can:
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use the report for the purpose for which it was requested;
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extract the main points without necessarily reading the whole;
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easily find the information that interests them;
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and quickly absorb the crucial information they need to know.
Keep information specific rather than general.
Have you seen readers going through documents, using a highlight pen to find the key
words, facts and figures. They do not highlight phrases such as: As you will be aware, the purpose of this document
is to... in the order of... Readers want to take specific information from technical documents. For example:
General |
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Specific |
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- heavy precipitation during the period
- excessive heat
- select the appropriate key
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- four inches of rain in 48 hours
- 120 degrees Fahrenheit
- click Alt-B
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As long as you guard against going into excessive detail, replacing
general information with specific information will improve your technical documents. For example, if a manager want to know
why production stopped for an hour on the assembly line, the author has to decide just how specific to make the message.
Too General |
Problems arose in a number of areas of the stock transportation
device that required intervention by an appropriately qualified member of staff so remedial action could be taken. |
Specific |
As the temperature rose to 120 degrees Fahrenheit, the
coolant for the metal rollers overheated causing the conveyor belt to jam. To keep the belt working, a mechanical engineer
had to reset the timer and rollers on the conveyor belt, replace the coolant and slow the belt by 25% to 200 feet an hour. |
Write in plain English.
Good writing, whether technical or general, presents relevant information in a clear
style. Technical writing has such a poor reputationask users what they think of computer manualsbecause writers fail to use
the clear, plain English style.
Plain English is a simple style that anyone can understand.
You have to control sentence length, use active verbs, cut down on unnecessary jargon, make your writing specific and tight.
This is not the way we learn to write at college or in the workplace. The culture of academic writing and business and scientific
writing is the dull, long-winded, passive style. Take the following example; then compare the draft in plain English.
Original |
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Redraft in Plain English |
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From any page of a site, links can be found which point to
other pages in the same site or to other sites, wherever they may be. Specifically, these links are addresses which are called
URLs. However, what is interesting for the visitor is not the address itself, but what can be found there, and so generally
the address is not displayed. Instead, what you find there is highlighted in the text (by underlining it and displaying it
in another color, often blue). |
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You can link any page to other pages on the same site or different
sites. These URL addresses, usually hidden from view, guide the user to the right page. The user can then click on any underlined
text, often shown in blue, and more information pops up. |
Use active verbs rather than passive verbs.
Using active verbs is the first rule of good writing. All authorities on good writing,
including scientific and technical bodies, recommend active verbs rather than passive verbs. Why? Passive verbs are longwinded,
ambiguous and dull. Active verbs make your writing simpler, less awkward, clearer and more precise. Here's an example:
Passive Verbs |
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Active Verbs |
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The QMS Magicolor 2 Printer is equipped
with two interfaces, one is known as the parallel interface, the other
is known as the Ethernet interface. Whatever interface connection is needed,
you will find that MS Windows 98 has already been preinstalled and your software applications
are based on this platform.
(50 words) |
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The QMS Magicolor 2 Printer has Parallel and Ethernet interfaces.
Whatever interface you need, you will find your software applications will work on the preinstalled MS Windows 98.
(28 words) |
Technical writing is full of passive verbs because most people
learn to in the third person because it is supposedly more objective. This is a false notion. In the next example, the passive
and active are both objectivebut the active sentences sounds more natural and are 29 words shorter.
Keep your average sentence between 10 to
20 words.
Long sentences make any document hard to read. In technical
documents keep your average sentence between 10 to 20. You may go down as low as 10 or 11 words if you're writing instructions
with many short, sharp sentences telling the user what to do. However, if you get below 10 words, you're probably overdoing
the technique of short sentences.
Compare these examples:
Long Sentence |
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Shorter Sentences |
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A highlight of the web site is the development of two types
of electronic advisory systemsExpert and Technical where both of the systems inform the user about standards by either asking
a series of questions which determine whether, how, and which specific parts of the standard apply to the user's activities,
or addressing complex standards by placing in one location a large amount of information about the standard.
(One Sentence70 words) |
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The web site offers both expert and technical advice sections.
These explain standards by asking questions to find out if and how the standards apply to the user. They also address complex
standards by placing all the relevant information in one place.
(Three sentencesTotal 42 words |
Use simple words rather than complex ones.
Many writers have difficulty keeping their message simple and clear. Instead of using
everyday words they use complex or unfamiliar words. Simple, everyday words will help you get your message across. Too often
technical writers use words such as additional, indicate, initiate and proliferate instead of the simpler extra,
show, start and spread.
Complex Words |
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Simple Words |
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As we noted in the preceding
section, if you purchased additional printer options,
such as a second printer tray, it is a requirement you verify
its correct installation. |
Use examples and illustrations.
When you write up your technical information, remember to use examples, illustrations
and analogies to explain difficult information or new ideas. For example:
- The operating system of your computer is like the bridge a ship, the
control center for everything that happens on your machine.
A simple example or illustration can go a long way to making
technical writing understandable.
Use diagrams, flowcharts and graphs.
The cliché a picture is worth a thousand words is true.
A good diagram, flowchart or graph can present information quickly that would take ten sentences to explain. Click here to see a diagram showing the a car's clutch. Such a diagram makes any explanation or technical description far easier to
understand.
source: Nancy Halligan http://www.technical-writing-course.com/ 
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