Back to English

There are many who still believe that poetry is reserved for the talented. I say that poetry is for all. In fact, anyone who knows to use a language to write has the potential of writing a simple poem. After all, we are not asking you to write the way Shakespeare or Wordsworth has written. Each of us have our own style. Furthermore, you have the poetic license to break grammar rules. You love that don’t you? Let’s look at some tips on writing a poem.

1. Step 1

   Be inspired. Inspiration may come at any time very unexpectedly. It may be a specific person, place or situation that invokes your emotion.  You could be sitting alone at the patio and suddenly a colourful little bird flew past, perched on a tree and it made you wonder of the beauty of nature.

2. Step 2

   You’ve found the inspiration. Now, brainstorm. Write down everything that comes to mind. Don’t think much; let instinct take over. Be uninhibited in what is written down and let all feelings pour out. Remember everything can be thrown out later.

3. Step 3

   Think about form and begin to organise thoughts. Since you’re mostly likely not write it for performance at a theatre, opt for the free verse where there are no restrictions. You’re free as a bird to write as many lines as you want in a stanza, or merely one stanza.

4. Step 4

   Remember rhythm and metre. There is a difference between the two, and both are equally important in poetry. Metre is the established pattern of the poem, that is, the arrangement of syllables, while rhythm refers to the sound when it is spoken. Take both into consideration while writing a poem.

5. Step 5

   Use a lot of descriptive words. These words arouse all the senses. Use symbolism, and metaphors. To add more life and interest into your poem, use alliteration, the repeating of similar sounds in a sentence or phrase.

Compare these two poems, and see which one gives more impact. Why?

Need more information? Read up on poetry. There are many books in the library and the bookstore. The more you read, the more ideas you’d get.

It’s rather pathetic that our flip-flop government has been undecided about the implementation of teaching and learning of certain subjects in English.  I’m not in the position to comment on whether their decisions are politically motivated or not, but what I’m sure is that the ultimate victims are the students.

One of the hot issues is the teaching of Math and Science in English in order to improve the English language proficiency of our students. This idea was mooted by Dr. Mahathir, our former Prime Minister, and was implemented in stages from 2002. Scholars and some teachers were fine with this policy as they saw the benefits, but in 2009, the new administration decided to abolish the policy as they claimed that it has been unfruitful. This is indeed sad. On one hand, we have scholars who are with this policy. On the other hand, we have politicians and non-political organisations that believe the use of English would jeopardise our National Language. I’m not going to waste my time debating on this, but I’d like to show you how the Chinese in China learn English.

In the two video clips below, you’ll see how much resilience, determination, courage and patience the Chinese have in learning a second language which they’re not even accustomed to. The Chinese government had imposed a regulation that English must be used in preparation for the Beijing Olympics in 2008. The result is what you see in the videos below:

Don’t you think that we should feel ashamed of ourselves for looking down on the importance of English when a country that has never been a British colony has taken the trouble to get its people to learn it, and successfully doing so? Take note that the Chinese in the video clips learnt English for a specific purpose – to be able to communicate with tourists; they’re not learning it to write business reports or seek corporate jobs. Therefore, the method is not suitable for academic purpose. Nevertheless, it clearly proves that English is important, and China has proven that with everyone’s participation, English can be learnt by all walks of life. Are we bold enough to make this change?

Modifiers are words, phrases or clauses that give more information about another word in the sentence. Modifiers most often are placed next to the word it modifies. Modifiers answer the questions where, why, when, who, how and what. Here are some examples. The modifiers are in red:

• There is a little boy at the bus stop (where).
• Because Jimmy was late (why), he missed the last bus.
• Jane went jogging after doing her chores (when).
• My neighbour, who is a policeman (who), is not a helpful person.
• The boy cried loudly (how) when he was hit by a sharp object.
• The aardvark, a tame animal (what), feeds on ants and other insects.

Notice that in all the examples above, the modifiers are placed next to the phrase it modifies.

Faulty Modifiers

(a) Dangling modifiers

Now, look at this sentence:

• While talking on the phone, the doorbell rang. (X)

The sentence appears to be correct, but it’s not. What is wrong with that sentence? Who is talking on the phone – you or the doorbell? The sentence above shows that the doorbell was talking on the phone. It doesn’t make sense! The phrase “while talking on the phone” appears to be dangling, and does not correctly modify the phrase “the doorbell rang”. This error is a dangling modifier.

Here is the correct sentence.

• While I was talking on the phone (who), the doorbell rang. (√)

So, in this sentence, who was talking on the phone? Me.

(b) Misplaced modifiers

Sometimes, modifiers are wrongly placed in a sentence. Therefore, the sentence does not convey the message correctly, or it could be humourous. Check out these sentences:

1. We read that Janet was married in her last letter. (X)
   In her last letter, we read that Janet was married. (√)
2. I almost listened to the whole album. (X)
   I listened to almost the whole album. (√)

In Example #1,  it seems that Janet was married in her letter. This is ridiculous; it’s funny because you cannot marry in a letter.  In Example #2, the sentence “I almost listened…” means that you wanted to listen but you did not in the end. If this is not what you are trying to say, then you have to correct it.

In both examples, the modifiers at at the wrong place, thus modifier errors like these are misplaced modifiers. To correct misplaced modifiers, just move the modifiers next to the words or phrases that they modify.

There are many words in English, when combined with a preposition, give new meanings. Such phrases are called phrasal verbs. For instance:

watch (v.)

• watch over = look after
• watch out = be careful, caution

put (v.)

• put on = wear
• put up = stay
• put up with = tolerate something unpleasant
• put off = cancel
• put out = extinguish (the fire)

… and the list goes on. However not all verbs can be followed by a preposition. It is common (but wrong) to make the following mistakes:

1. To avoid from overspending, we have to cut down on unnecessary expenses. (X)
   To avoid overspending, we have to cut down on unnecessary expenses. (√)
2. I think we should discuss about the event that we’re having next week. (X)
   I think we should discuss the event that we’re having next week. (√)

In Example #1, the word “avoid” means to stay away from something, so the word “from” is not necessary. Similarly in Example #2, the word “discuss” means to talk about something, so just omit the word “about”. Can you think of other phrases where it is redundant to put a preposition after a verb?

Watch this short video clip and tell me what you think To ensure smooth viewing, let the clip download completely first. Enjoy!