Haramaya University
College of Social Sciences and Humanities
Department of English Language and Literature
Basic Writing Skill Assignment
Name _______________________________________________
Id No _______________________________________________
Department_________________________________________
Section_____________________________________________
General Directions:
 Give your answers according to the instructions given.
 Do not forget to write your name and ID on the space provided.
 This assignment covers 50% of the total mark.
 Your writing should be legible and clear.
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Part One: Identifying Phrase Type (5%)
Instruction 1. Identify the kind of the following phrases and write your
answer on the space provided
1. Doing physical exercises made me alert and effective. _________________
2. She always drives with care. ___________________
3. The girl in brown skirt is my sister. ___________________
4. I wanted to buy the house.________________________
5. Meron has scarf with green stripes__________________
Part Two: Identifying Sentence Type (5%)
Read the following sentences and identify whether each of them
is simple, compound, complex, and compound complex.
Then, write the answer on the space provided
Instruction 2
_____________1. My brother, who used to give me money, has been fired out of his work,
and I am in a financial problem now.
_____________2. I bought coca cola, and I drank it at once because I was very thirsty
_____________3. He met a student who left school last year
______________4. Indian food is delicious; however, some people think it is too spicy.
_____________5. If the ozone layer collapses, the global community will suffer
Part 3: Sentence Level Faulty Construction (9%)
Instruction 3
Read the following faulty constructions carefully and
rewrite them correctly in the space provided.
1. The two best things about the party was the food and the music.
Type of error__________________________________
Corrected: _____________________________________________________________
2. The boys snuck home late that night. Then waited for the consequences.
Type of error__________________________________
Corrected: _____________________________________________________________
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3. He ran through the field as fast as he could all the while rain was soaking him to the
bone.
Type of error__________________________________
Corrected: ____________________________________________________________
4. My sisters and I love to go shopping, we then have lunch together when we’re done.
Type of error__________________________________
Corrected: _____________________________________________________________
5. It was a breathe of fresh air to meet someone so genuine.
Type of error__________________________________
Corrected: _____________________________________________________________
6. After finally setting off on the trail, the morning felt more exciting.
Type of error__________________________________
Corrected: _____________________________________________________________
7. The cat was licking it’s tail.
Type of error__________________________________
Corrected: _____________________________________________________________
8. Neither Frank nor Elizabeth are here today.
Type of error__________________________________
Corrected: _____________________________________________________________
9. He likes to listen to music, to watch movies, and going swimming.
Type of error__________________________________
Corrected: _____________________________________________________________
Part 4: Identifying a Topic Sentence (3%)
Instruction 4
Choose the best topic sentence for each group of supporting
sentences.
1. _______________________________________________. For example, a person can
have breakfast in New York, board an airplane, and have dinner in Paris. A businesswoman
in London can instantly place an order with a factory in Hong Kong by sending a fax.
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Furthermore, a schoolboy in Tokyo can turn on a TV and watch a baseball game being played
in Los Angeles.
A. Airplane have changed our lives.
B. Advances in technology have made the world seem smaller.
C. The fax machine was an important invention.
2._______________________________________________. I enjoy summer sports like
water skiing and baseball. The weather is usually sunny and hot, so I can go to the beach
almost every day. Gardening is my hobby and I spend many summer days working in my
garden. Unfortunately, the days pass too quickly in summer.
A. I like to garden in summer.
B. Summer is my favourite season.
C. Summer is too short.
3. ____________________________________________. First of all, we need money to
repair old roads and build new roads. We also need more to pay teachers’ salaries and to pay
for services such as trash collection. Finally, more tax money is needed to give financial help
to the poor citizens of the city. It is clear that the city will have serious problems if taxes are
not raised soon.
A. We should raise city taxes.
B. City taxes are too high.
C. City taxes pay for new roads.
Part 5: Paragraph Coherence (3%)
Instruction 5
Re-arrange the scrambled sentences in each set to form
meaningful paragraphs. Write only the Numbers.
1. (1) Of all the different types, black teas usually contain the most caffeine. (2) There are
many different varieties of tea. (3) So, if you are drinking tea late at night, you might
want to choose a red or herbal tea instead of a black tea if you don’t want to be kept
awake by caffeine. (4) Teas can be grouped into a few major categories: black, green,
white, red, and herbal teas. (5) On the other hand, red teas and herbal teas can be almost
entirely caffeine-free.
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The correct order___________________________
2. (1) In these rural areas 70 percent of the available agricultural land suffers from dryness
and lack of irrigation. (2) As a result, the crops are usually marginal with hardly enough
production to feed the farmer’s family. (3) The first fact to consider is that over 60
percent of the population live in rural communities. (4) In my country, one of the most
urgent problems facing the government today relates to agriculture. (5) And without
irrigation, agricultural production is wholly dependent on the uncertain rainfall. (6) To
understand the nature of this problem one has to look at some of the facts.
The correct order____________________________
3. (1)For days before it starts on a journey, camels do nothing but eat and drink. (2) So the
camel’s hump is a storage place for fat, which the camel’s body will use up during the
journey. (3) When other animals would die for the lack of food and water, the camel gets
along nicely because it carries its food and water with it. (4) The camel is called “The
ship of the desert” and there is good reason for it. (5) It eats so much that a humb of fat
may be weighting as much as 100 pounds rises on its back.
The correct order___________________________
Part 6: Transition Signals (9%)
Instructions; Put the following transitions in the appropriate spacesand answer the
questions that follow them.
Finally
After a while
Most importantly
Adversely
However
Although
At the same time
Bravely
At first
Soon
Later
Wisely
My First Day at University
What important days in your life do you remember? I remember my first day at university
very clearly. I felt excited and happy. 1. ____________ I was very nervous because I didn't
know anyone.2 ____________, my first day at university was memorable.
3 _____________ I was confused and lost. I didn't know where to go. I had to ask a stranger
where the first year students were going to meet. This person was very polite and showed me
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the way. I walked through some big buildings, and when I arrived I saw many students and I
felt scared.
4 _____________ I told myself to be braver. I asked one girl what was happening and we
discovered that we were in the same group. We introduced ourselves. Her name was Mioftu.
We joined in with the activities for “freshie” students. 5 _____________I started feeling
much better. The activities helped me feel part of a team and I was beginning to feel that I
had become a university student.
6 _____________, we began our classes. However, all our classmates were quiet. The
teacher talked for a while and then we introduced ourselves. I met two girls. Their names
were Aster and Ayantu. Soon we became good friends and started chatting and learnt more
about each other. 7 _________ we came from different provinces we had a lot in common.
We spent the rest of the day together until we had to go home.
I am always going to remember that day because I had the opportunity to meet many people.
8 _______ ________,I met the best friends that I have ever had. 9___________, I think that it
is natural that on the first day at university we feel nervous, but often difficult experiences
have happy endings. That's why I say that my first day in the university was very memorable.
Part 7: Paragraph Types and Patterns of Development (5%)
Instruction 7
The following sentences are the topic sentence of various
paragraph types. Write the name of the topic sentences as
descriptive, narrative, expository and argumentative
Narrative
Cause and effect
Argumentative
Descriptive
Comparison
Process
Illustrative
Classification
1. Music can often trigger powerful memories. _______________
2. Smoking is one of the most widespread addictive habits affecting the health of millions
in the world. _______________
3. There are some specific steps involved in writing a good paragraph or essay.
__________
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4. School uniforms should be compulsory for all students for a number of reasons.
________
5. Bahir dar and Hawassa have several things in common. ______________
6. When I was about five years old, I remember doing a lot of exciting things.__________
7. People of various background and ages wear different kinds of tee shirts. Musicians, for
example,wear ragged tee shirts when they perform on stage. _______________
Part 8: Paragraph Analysis (6%)
Instruction8
Read the paragraph below very carefully and write the
required answer on the space provided in each item.(Use
numbers for question number 1,3, 4, and 5)
(1) There are some useful ways to get the grade you want in this class. (2) Before the class,
you must preview the lesson you will listen tomorrow. (3)Previewing is a perfect learning
habit to help you improve your learning efficiency. (4)After previewing, you can know what
the teachers will teach the next day. (5) Then, you can listen to your teachers with the
questions you found the day before. (6) In the class, you have to listen to your teacher
carefully. (7)Your teachers are professional and dedicated, and they can solve all of your
problems about your studies. (8) Listening carefully can also help you to get more
information or details about tests. (9)You can also confirm the knowledge you are not sure
about, and it is an important way to improve your grade. (10) Practicing more after class is
also an important part. (11)More practice for grammar or writing can help you to memorize.
(12) Do not be shy speak more English, and you will improve your speaking and listening.
(13) The more exercise you do, the higher grade you will get. (14) If you want to get the
grade you want in this class, do these things before, in and after class.
1. Topic sentence: _____________________________
2. Topic (subject) _____________________________
3. Controlling idea: ______________________________________________________
4. Major supporting sentences: ____________________________
5. Minor supporting sentences: ___________________________
6. Concluding sentence: _____________________
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Part 9: Paragraph Writing (5%)
Instruction 9
Choose the topic sentence of your interest and write a
paragraph. Your final draft should be written on the given
spaces.
A. I like studying English for three reasons.
B. Water is the back bone of living things.
C. Global should get special attention.
D. Females and males should be treated equally.
E. Making delicious Ethiopian coffee requires you to follow few steps
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