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Stage 8 Term 3 English: Key Vocabulary Flashcards (Video Notes)

Writing Process

  • Plan, Draft, Edit, Revise, Final Draft
  • Use a mind map to organise thoughts
  • Write a rough first draft
  • Check spelling, grammar, and clarity
  • Have someone else read it
  • Make necessary corrections and improvements
  • Write a neat, polished version

Formal Letter Format

  • Sender's Information: Title, organisation, address, date (each on a new line)
  • Greeting: Sir/Madam or another formal salutation
  • Topic Heading: Bold & underlined – main issue
  • Introduction: Briefly state the reason for the letter
  • Body Paragraphs: Explain the issue in more detail
  • Conclusion: End with a polite request or statement
  • Closing: Sincerely, your signature and name

Informal/Friendly Letters

  • Used when writing to friends or family
  • Tone is relaxed and conversational

Book Review

  • Offers information about the book and instils interest
  • Briefly discusses the plot, setting and characters
  • Readers decide whether to read the book

Blurb

  • Short, catchy summary found on the back or inside the book
  • A publisher's advertorial aimed at encouraging potential readers to buy the book

Film/Theatre Review

  • Offers information about films and plays currently on the circuit
  • Describe and evaluate the play/film with reasons

Restaurant Review

  • Discusses food, service, price and setting
  • May praise and criticise in the same review
  • A critic is usually a foodie, an excellent cook or connoisseur

Writing a Short Story

  • Plot
  • Characters
  • Setting
  • Conflict
  • Narrator
  • Theme
  • Background

Argumentative Essays

  • Expresses a strong opinion (for or against)
  • Uses rhetorical, persuasive, and emotive language
  • The writer should give a range of arguments to support and substantiate their view
  • Conclusion is a strong, clear and convincing statement of the writer's opinion
  • Introduction: Present the topic and your main point (thesis)
  • Body Paragraphs: Present each argument with evidence (facts, logic, stats)
  • Counter Argument: Optional: mention and refute opposing views
  • Conclusion: Restate your view powerfully. No new information

Summaries

  • Purpose: To shorten a passage by including only main ideas
  • Written in past tense, reported speech, and in your own words
  • Process:
    1. Read the passage
    2. Reread and find key sentence in each paragraph
    3. List main points in your own words
    4. Write a first draft in order
    5. Read draft and remove unnecessary words and information
    6. Count and adjust word total
    7. Edit summary
    8. Write final draft and add word count at the end

Misplaced Modifiers

  • What is a modifier? A word or group of words that gives more information about something in a sentence
  • Modifiers usually describe nouns or verbs using adjectives, adverbs, phrases, or clauses
  • Think of a modifier as a laser pointer for meaning; the Golden Rule: Modifiers must stay close to what they describe
  • Modifiers must be placed right next to the word they are describing

Singular and Plural Forms

  • Singular vs plural forms
  • Quick Rules and Patterns
  • Regular plurals: add -s (cat -> cats; table -> tables)
  • Words ending in s, sh, ch, x, or z add -es (box -> boxes; bush -> bushes)
  • Words ending in -f or -fe change to -ves (leaf -> leaves; knife -> knives)
  • Vowel change (foot -> feet; tooth -> teeth)
  • Irregular plurals (child -> children; person -> people)
  • Compound nouns: main noun plural (brother-in-law -> brothers-in-law)
  • Verbs and helping verbs: subject-verb agreement (He is late -> They are late; She makes tea -> They make tea)

Pronouns

  • Subject pronouns: I, you, he, she, it, we, they
  • Object pronouns: me, you, him, her, it, us, you, them

Reflexive Pronouns

  • Reflexive rule: used when the subject and the object are the same
  • List:
    I -> myself
    you -> yourself
    he -> himself
    she -> herself
    it -> itself
    we -> ourselves
    you (plural) -> yourselves
    they -> themselves
  • Not subjects; use I as the subject
  • For emphasis: myself, himself, etc.

Relative Pronouns

  • Who / Which / That
  • Who: people; Which: things; That: people or things (essential information)
  • Use who for person; which for thing; that for essential information
  • Examples:
    The girl who won the prize is my friend.
    The apple, which was red, was juicy.
    The dog that barked all night kept me awake

Commas & Semicolons

  • Commas: separate items in a list; after introductory words or phrases; after extra information; before coordinating conjunction joining two independent clauses
  • Semicolons: join two related independent clauses without a conjunction
  • Example: The rain fell hard; we ran for cover

Common Sentence Errors & How to Fix Them

  • Run-on sentence: two sentences joined with no punctuation or link; fix with a comma + conjunction or semicolon
  • Fragment: incomplete sentence; add the missing part
  • Comma splice: two full sentences joined with just a comma; fix with semicolon or add conjunction
  • Fused sentence: two sentences with no punctuation; fix by adding punctuation or splitting
  • Summary: Commas and semicolons; ensure full sentence structure and punctuation

Exam Reminders

  • Remember to review all content
  • Prepare for tests; literature content
  • Good luck!