Foundations: Writing Skills 1, Elem. Level, First Ed.

Preface
FOUNDATIONS WRITING SKILLS is a two-level, self-contained course in writing English aimed at elementary and intermediate level Arab students. The course guides students step-by-step towards writing simple and accurate paragraphs, paying close attention to sentence structure, vocabulary, grammar and mechanics, guided paragraph writing and the process of writing.
Continuous graded practice is provided through a variety of exercise types such as reading comprehension, gap-fill, table completion, the correction of passages and the writing of sentences and paragraphs using pictures and tabular information. All exercises are based on realistic topics and content and language functions, useful in real life situations. Places from various Arab countries are commonly mentioned, but the locale should be unimportant for the comprehension of the model compositions, and students will substitute their own environments in their writing.
The book is divided into ten units. Each unit is subdivided into six sections: model composition, vocabulary, grammar and mechanics, sentence-joining, guided paragraphs, and the process of writing.
All model compositions focus on certain purposes for writing, such as narrating and describing, and certain means of organizing ideas such as chronological and spatial ordering. The assumptions here are that even on an elementary level there is more to composing than mere sentence-level exercises and that English learners can understand and use sophisticated principles and techniques of English compositions writing without waiting until they are more fully fluent in English.

Contents
UNIT 1: Describing People 1 1

Part 1: Model Composition 1

Part 2: Vocabulary 5

Part 3: Grammar and Mechanics 6

Using a/an 6
Simple Present of the Verb be 8
Simple Present Tense – Other Verbs 9
Affirmative Statements 9
Negative Statements 12
Capital Letters and Periods 12
Part 4: Sentence-Joining 15

Using and 15
Using but 15
Part 5: Guided Paragraphs 17

Part 6: The Writing Process 19

UNIT 2: Describing People 2 21

Part 1: Model Composition 21

Part 2: Vocabulary 24

Part 3: Grammar and Mechanics 26

Using have/has + got = ’ve got or ’s got 26

Part 4: Sentence-Joining 29

Using the conjunction and 29
Using with 31
Using too 32
Part 5: Guided Paragraphs 33

Part 6: The Writing Process 36

UNIT 3: Describing a Routine Day 38

Part 1: Model Composition 38

Part 2: Vocabulary 1 40

Vocabulary 2 43

Part 3: Grammar and Mechanics 44

Simple Present Tense 44
Adverbs of Frequency 46
Prepositions of Time 48
Part 4: Sentence-Joining 50

Part 5: Guided Paragraphs 55

Part 6: The Writing Process 57

UNIT 4: Describing Your Family 60

Part 1: Model Composition 61

Part 2: Vocabulary 65

Part 3: Grammar and Mechanics 67

Simple Present Tense 67

Part 4: Sentence-Joining 69

Using but 69
Using and 70
Part 5: Guided Paragraphs 71

Part 6: The Writing Process 74

UNIT 5: Describing Your Home 76

Part 1: Model Composition 77

Part 2: Vocabulary 81

Descriptive Adjectives 81

Part 3: Grammar and Mechanics 83

There is/There are 83
Prepositions of Place 85
Part 4: Sentence-Joining 89

Using but to join sentences containing contrasting information 89

Part 5: Guided Paragraphs 90

Part 6: The Writing Process 92

UNIT 6: Describing Your School 94

Part 1: Model Composition 94

Part 2: Vocabulary 98

Descriptive Adjectives: Order 98

Part 3: Grammar and Mechanics 100

There is/There are: Review 100

Part 4: Sentence-Joining: Review 102

and 102
with 102
but 102
Part 5: Guided Paragraphs 103

Part 6: The Writing Process 108

UNIT 7: Describing a Restaurant 111

Part 1: Model Composition 112

Part 2: Vocabulary 116

Contents

Part 3: Grammar and Mechanics 118

Countable and Uncountable Nouns 118
A/An – Some/Any 120
Countable Nouns 120
Uncountable Nouns 120
Part 4: Sentence-Joining: Using and 122

Using and 122
Using or 124
Part 5: Guided Paragraphs 125

Part 6: The Writing Process 129

UNIT 8: Describing Seasons and Weather 133

Part 1: Model Composition 133

Part 2: Vocabulary 138

Part 3: Grammar and Mechanics: Modifying Adjectives – Adverbs of Degree 141

Part 4: Sentence-Joining: and, with, but 145

Part 5: Guided Paragraphs 147

Part 6: The Writing Process 149

UNIT 9: Describing a Holiday 152

Part 1: Model Composition 153

Part 2: Vocabulary 157

Past Tense: Regular and Irregular Verbs 157
Spelling Rules for Adding ing to Verbs 159
Part 3: Grammar and Mechanics 161

Past Simple Tense 161

Part 4: Sentence-Joining 165

Part 5: Guided Paragraphs 166

Part 6: The Writing Process 168

UNIT 10: Describing Your Schedule 170

Part 1: Model Composition 170

Part 2: Vocabulary 172

Transition Words 172

Part 3: Grammar and Mechanics 173

Using be going to 173
Simple Prepositions: on, at, with 175
Part 4: Sentence-Joining 176

Part 5: Guided Paragraphs 182

Part 6: The Writing Process 185