CHP Essay 1 – Writing Skills Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering essential writing and grammar terms from the lecture notes.

Sentence

A complete set of words that expresses a full thought and can stand alone.

Phrase

A group of words without a subject-verb pair; it does not convey a complete thought.

Clause

A group of words containing a subject and a verb; may be independent or dependent.

Independent Clause

A clause that expresses a complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence.

Dependent Clause

A clause that cannot stand alone and begins with a subordinating word (e.g., because, although).

Simple Sentence

One independent clause presented as a single sentence.

Compound Sentence

A sentence containing two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction or a semicolon.

Paragraph

A group of related sentences focused on a single idea.

Topic Sentence

The first sentence in a paragraph that introduces the main idea.

Supporting Details

Specific facts, points, or evidence that expand on the topic sentence.

Concluding Sentence

The final sentence that restates or summarizes the main idea and closes the paragraph.

Brainstorming

A pre-writing technique for rapidly generating ideas about a topic without judgment.

Mapping

A visual brainstorming tool that shows relationships between ideas with bubbles or branches.

Listing

A brainstorming method that records ideas in a quick numbered or bulleted list.

Freewriting

Writing non-stop for a set time to generate ideas without worrying about grammar or order.

Planning (Writing)

Organizing ideas before drafting by choosing a topic, brainstorming, outlining, and forming a topic sentence.

Academic Writing

A formal style used in universities and scholarly publications.

Peer Editing

Reviewing a classmate’s work to give feedback on content, organization, grammar, and style.

Details (Support)

Specific facts or descriptions that clarify a general statement.

Example (Support)

A particular instance used to illustrate or clarify a point.

Explanation (Support)

Sentences that tell how or why something is true, elaborating on an idea.

Title (Writing)

A brief phrase that reflects the topic of a paragraph or essay and attracts readers’ attention.

Broad Topic

A subject so wide that it contains too many ideas for one paragraph or essay.

Narrow Topic

A focused subject that can be thoroughly covered in a single paragraph or assignment.

Proofreading

The final writing stage where spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors are corrected.