Composition Writing

Composition can mean two things. It can mean a piece of writing, or it can mean the art and
process of writing. Composition isn’t a specific type of writing like an essay or a blog post.
Instead, it’s a broad term that can refer to any written work and how a piece is written. A
composition is not the same as an essay. Here’s one area where the definition of composition
writing can be confusing—an essay is a kind of composition, but the terms aren’t
interchangeable. Every essay is a composition, but not every composition is an essay. A
composition can also be a book report, a presentation or a research paper. 

One of the best ways to take possession of knowledge is to write about what you have heard. At
times you listen to a lecture and you think you already know what the writer is saying but by the
time you attempt to write it out using your own words that is when you will discover that you do
not know as much as you think you do. You might have been thinking that you know how to
argue well only to discover when you start writing that you do not know how to put your points
together. That is why it is important to practice writing different kinds of essays so that you can
be proficient in almost all kinds of writing. Composition writing is also designed to test a
candidate’s ability to use English as an effective means of communication in specific situations.
These types of compositions are designed to make you express yourself with clarity and
coherence in a manner appropriate to the audience, purpose, topic and situation. You may come
across situations in life when you may have to argue, describe, narrate an incidence or do some
other things that require some skills in writing. When such situations occur, you are expected to
be able to demonstrate your knowledge and skill by presenting what is logical, acceptable,
convincing and understandable to the audience – readers

Planning is a very important stage in composition writing. In some public exams, some students
get disturbed when they see some other candidates scribbling away almost immediately they
collect their paper. The confusion may be so much for some naïve students such that they too
start writing without planning or thinking much about what they want to write. In a public exam,
you have to take a few minutes off to think about the topic, the points you are going to write
about, how you will arrange your paragraphs, what your introduction will be and what your
conclusion is likely to be.

Essay Writing Strategies

1. Note making
Note taking is an important aspect of writing. Writing down the main points as it occurs to you
while reading is important because it helps you to remember and organize the salient points in
your work. When you have to analyze your topic, you need to write down the points as you hope
to use them to develop the paragraphs as you write. You may even need to research a topic
before you start writing and making notes as you read will help you when you need to
acknowledge the source of your information although it is advised that you need to write in your
own words as much as possible.
2. Organizing your Work
You should have an idea of how you want your work to be organized and you need to work
towards this. If it is an argumentative essay, you should know the side you want to support. Even
though you have to balance your arguments, much of your submission still has to reflect your
support for whichever side you want to identify with. You should organize it in such a way that
each paragraph has a main point while the other sentences are supporting. Your conclusion
should be such that will summarize in brief the argument you have presented.
3. Analyzing the title of the Essay
When you are given an essay topic, you need to analyze the title and make sure you understand
what the question is trying to say. When you think you understand, you can use this knowledge
to draft your introduction. If you misfire right from the beginning, you may loose your direction
and focus thereby making you to score low marks on the write-up. For example, some students
were asked to write an article sometimes ago on the following topics:
1. Should capital punishment be abolished in the country?
2. Write an article on the need to curb the wave of violence in our country- Nigeria
You may be surprised to know that some students misinterpreted the two essay topics in a very
funny way. Some students mistook the first question on capital punishment to be corporal
punishment and they wrote extensively on that. This made them to loose marks under content,
organization, expression and mechanical accuracy. The other set of students who answered the
question on the need to curb the wave of violence were writing about the waves of the sea at the
bar beach in Lagos. It may sound funny and you may be wondering if anybody could do such a
thing. But it did happen. So, correct interpretation of the question is important. At times an essay
topic may have two or three parts, you must make sure you cover every part of the question
otherwise you would not have done justice to the question. Analyzing means breaking down into
parts and dealing with each part to get a compact whole.
4. Building up your Essay
You need to build up your essay on ideas you have developed yourself. Some of the ideas that
will occur to you may be those you got from books you have read. You should examine those
ideas very well to find out if they go along with your thoughts and if they do and you want to
make use of them the way they are, you need to acknowledge the source so that you will not be
accused of copying or plagiarism. Andrew Roberts notes that you should not allow the notes you
put down on the books you have read to set the pattern of your essay. Your essay should express
your own thoughts and that is why you have been advised to write in your own words.
5. Revision
You should revise your work before you submit or before you even give it to another classmate
or friend of yours to read through for you. It is possible that you skipped some errors while
writing and going over the work for spelling mistakes and grammatical errors will do you a lot of
good and save you from all kinds of embarrassment that such mistakes can cause. After the
revision, you still give it to another friend to go through for you. This is particularly important if
the write up is a long essay and you are all writing on different topics. But if the assignment is
a class essay where you are all expected to compete for marks, it does not make sense giving it to
someone else to read for you because you would have defeated the purpose for which the test or
exam is set.

Errors to avoid while writing

Errors to avoid in writing include the following:
1. Errors in Grammar
The elements of structure of a clause are the same as the elements of structure of a sentence.
(Subject, Predicator, Complement, Adverbial or Subject, Verb, Object, Complement). These
 essential elements are important for a sentence to be grammatically correct. Except a sentence is
designed to have a particular structure, omitting an essential part of a sentence will make your
sentence awkward and incorrect. Some of the major errors in grammar include wrong tense,
wrong tense sequence, misuse of modal operators (may/might/ can/ could etc) ambiguity in the
use of pronouns, misuse or omission of articles, including confusion between countable and
uncountable nouns, wrong prepositions, misuse of relatives, subordinators and conjunctions.
There are also errors of concord (agreement between the subject and the verb).
2. Punctuation Errors
Punctuation errors are errors that should be avoided in good writing and some of these include
non-use of full stops, question marks, exclamation marks; misuse or omission of quotation
marks. Either single or double quotation marks could be used. Consistency is however important
in the use of either single or double quotation marks. You must stick to one except in formal
writings where you are instructed to do otherwise. Some other punctuation errors include the use
of a comma where a full stop or semicolon is required, insertion of comma between subject and
verb and object, insertion of comma between subordinator or conjunction and following clause
or group or between adjective and noun or between verb and adverb. Misuse of capital letters
should also be avoided in good writing.
3. Spelling Errors
In modern English usage, there is a great deal of liberty. Nevertheless, spelling errors should be
avoided as much as possible. Make sure you check up on your spellings before and after doing
your write-up. In this case, all spelling errors can be detected and addressed before the
submission of the write up. For example, putting a hyphen on words such as *how-ever, *some-
one* or failure to hyphenate a divided word at the end of a line could be considered as errors. In
addition, faulty amalgamation e.g. writing *inspite of* instead of *in spite of* should be
avoided.

Types of Essay
There are four types of essay:
 Description
 Exposition
 Narration
 Argumentation

A description is a piece of writing that makes a clear imaginative statement about its subject.
Here is an example of a description: 

Water, chemical symbol H2O, is a clear, colorless liquid that has a freezing point of 0 degrees
Celsius and a boiling point of 100 degrees Celsius. Water is the most abundant atom in our
atmosphere. All life-forms on Earth need water.

A description doesn’t speculate or offer up opinions or interpretations. It simply states the facts. 

Exposition is an interpretation of the facts. It expands on a description by introducing additional

facts that shed light on how the subject fits into a larger discussion. It might explore related facts
and what they imply and/or pivot to related topics through thoughtful transition sentences and
extrapolation. It’s still grounded in fact; an exposition doesn’t include its author’s opinions on
the subject. Take a look at this example: 
Although water is the most abundant atom in our atmosphere, entire regions are devastated by
yearly droughts. These droughts can lead to mass starvation due to crop loss. Switching to more
sustainable agricultural practices can reduce the impact of droughts, and doing this successfully
requires cooperation between governments and corporations. 

Narration is the mode of writing that presents the author’s point of view. The writing is still
about its subject rather than its author, but it discusses and explores the subject through the
author’s description of their experience. Here is an example of narrative writing: 

I’ve always had a healthy respect for water, and I’d say that comes from an experience with it I
had as a small child. It was a delightful summer day and my family decided to take the boat out.
But then the sky suddenly turned gray, and our delightful summer day became a terrifying
summer thunderstorm, with forceful winds pushing the boat as my brother and I tried to bail the
pooling rainwater out with buckets. 

The last type, argumentation, is similar to a persuasive essay. In an argumentative essay, the

writer presents two or more positions on an issue and, through a logical exploration of each,
demonstrates why one position is the best choice. Take a look at this example: 

Researchers have identified multiple strategies we can use to prevent droughts. These include
rainwater harvesting, desalination, switching to renewable energy sources, and combating
deforestation. These strategies have different success rates . . . 

In this example, the writer would go on to compare these different drought prevention strategies
and their recorded success rates after which only one strategy will be justified as the best. 

What is Letter Writing?

Letter Writing has been deemed as one of the most useful forms learnt and used for various
reasons. There are several kinds of letters, each of which has its own form and style. However,
there are certain parts of the letter which remain the same and some which are specific. They
include:

 Sender’s address
 Date
 Receiver’s address (for formal letter only)
 Greeting or Salutation
 Title (for formal letter only)
 Body of the Letter
 Subscription
 Signature (for formal letter only)
 Writer’s name
Sender’s Address
The writer’s complete postal address has to be mentioned at the beginning of the letter on the
right-hand side of the paper. This lets the receiver know where you wrote the letter from.
Date
The date is written just below the sender’s address, and It lets the recipient know when exactly
the letter was written. The date may be written in any of the following ways:
4th July 2022
July 4, 2022
Receiver’s Address
The receiver’s complete office address, usually started with the position of the receiver has to be
written below the writer’s address on the left-hand side of the paper. This makes the receiver
know that the letter is addressed to them.
Greeting or Salutation
The Salutation depends on the relationship between the sender and the receiver.

 To members of your family and friends (for informal letter), it could be Dear Father, My
Dearest Friend, Dear Uncle, Dear Diana, etc.
 To Business people or any officer of higher rank (for formal letter), it could be Dear Sir,
Dear Ma’am, Sir/Ma’am, etc.

Title

Title of the formal letter is either in lower case (and underlined) or upper case (without
underlining). The title of the letter projects what the letter is about.
Body of the Letter
The message that you want to convey is stated in the body of the letter. The style, however,
depends on the type of letter you are writing. The style of a friendly letter differs completely
from that of a business letter or an official letter, but there are certain points that apply to both
formal letters and informal letters.
Generally, when you draft the body of your letter, see to that you divide it into short paragraphs,
according to the change in the subject matter. Use simple and direct language that is easy to
comprehend. Put down all your points in a logical order. Mind your punctuation; incorrect
punctuation will alter the meaning of the sentence completely.
Subscription
The subscription helps you end the letter in a polite and courteous manner. The subscriptions
change according to the type of letter you are writing. It can be written as Yours faithfully, Yours
lovingly, Yours sincerely, With love, etc.
Signature
The signature is appended just below the subscription (for only formal letter).
Writer’s Name
Only first name is written under subscription for an informal letter because the receiver is
familiar with the writer. So, it is not difficult for the receiver to identify the writer through only
the first name. For a formal letter, both first name and surname are expected to be written below
the signature.

Types of Letters
Letters can be classified into two main types according to the purpose of the letter. Informal
Letters are also known as Friendly Letters. Formal Letters, also known as Business Letters,
include Letters of Application (letters to people in positions of authority).

Informal Letter
Letters to friends and family can be written in a conversational style. They are just a composition
of spontaneous thoughts, and they are easy and personal. When writing an informal letter, you
are free to use colloquial language, which would be quite out of place in a formal letter. This
does not mean that you can pen down random thoughts that are totally disconnected and make no
sense. Wrong spelling, punctuation and grammar errors are not allowed even though the letter is
informal and personal.
An informal letter can be written by following a basic format that includes the sender’s address,
date, greeting, body of the letter, subscription and name.

Formal Letter
Formal letters or Business letters should be clear and concise. You should always remember that
formal letters are written to bring important information into consideration, so you should always
draft the letter carefully by providing only the necessary information.
The language used in formal letters is a lot more professional than informal letters. The format of
formal letters is the same as explained above, with a few additions, viz., ‘the Receiver’s
Address’, ‘Subject’ and ‘Signature’.

Letter Samples
Sample Informal Letter – Letter to a friend in reply to her about planning a trip together
16/65, Martins Castle,
DB Road,
New Bodija, Ibadan.
23 November, 2022
Dearest Caro,
I was happy to see your letter, and I loved your idea. I have been wanting to go on a trip with you
for a long time and I think both of us can finally make time to plan and make it happen.
I have a list of places that I thought would be fun to visit. I also do have a list of things I would
like to do on our trip. I am too scared of heights and I know you are too, but I have always
wanted to try out bungee jumping with you. Let me know what you think about it. We can also
find affordable and beautiful places to stay and I am sure we can chart it all out. I cannot wait to
go on this adventure with you. I know it is a secret to be kept since it is going to be just us and
that makes it all the more exciting. I know for sure that it is going to be worth it too.
I will make sure that I meet you next weekend and make plans for the trip. It would definitely be
difficult to get our parents to allow us on this trip, but let’s try hard and make this work. See you
soon.
Love,
Rose

Sample Formal Letter – Letter of Application

3, Old Gate,
Fatai Atere Way,
Mushin.
23rd November, 2022
The Principal,
Taurina High School,
Ikeja, Lagos.

Dear Sir,
Application for the Post of English Teacher
I am applying for the position of English Teacher in your organization with reference to the
advertisement on The Indian Express dated 18th November, 2022. I have great interest in this
position and would highly appreciate it if you could consider my application.
I have completed my Graduate Studies in English and have experience of working as a High
School English Teacher for two years. In my teaching experience, I have come across various
challenging situations with kids and parents and I have learnt to handle all of them well. I have
enjoyed connecting with the children and being a part of their growth and development as
considerate and intelligent individuals.
I have attached my curriculum vitae and certificates for your kind perusal and hope to hear from
you in this regard.
Thank you, sir.

Yours faithfully,
Signature
Sean Alexander