Welcome!

Welcome to the blog where we will travel through the world of writing in English. 

Originally created as a proposal for an undergraduate project for obtaining a Bachelors in Linguistics, the contents can be useful for anybody. From a freshman to a senior, we all need sometimes a revision on those things we were taught about writing; that is why this blog is called Writing English 101.

Whether we are chatting with our boss in Whatsapp or preparing an essay for class, all types of writing have elements in common. The most important are:

Audience: to whom are we writing?

Purpose: why are we writing?

Form: what will the finished product look like?

These three elements are independent, that is, whenever one changes, it has an impact on each of the others. For that reason, it is essential to establish them before start writing. 

Audience

This is vital because it will help us understand what style will be the best to attract our target and how much work needs to be done so that we obtain what we want through our text. Who will be reading? What and how much information does the audience need?

Purpose

Just as life itself, our writing has also a purpose. Do we want to persuade, inform or entertain? What do we need the audience to know or agree with? Do we want the public to take some action on the matter?

Form

This aspect depends on the type of material we are preparing. At University specially, we will always be asked to follow certain formats so that all assignments can be graded at a single standard. In real life, there are also structures we need to respect, like when we want to request vacation to our boss or a pay rise! So formal vs informal writing really makes a difference in how we catch our audience's attention. 

And that is all for this first lesson. I hope you enjoy every piece of advice!

If you are curious about knowing more about the history of the English language we all want to learn, you can watch this video