vi / IMPROVE YOUR WRITTEN ENGLISH Remembering the question mark and the exclamation mark 39 Revising the points 40 Practising what you’ve learnt 41 4 Paragraphing your Work 43 Structuring a paragraph 43 Setting out direct speech 46 Changing to indirect speech 49 Writing a play 50 Revising the points 50 Practising what you’ve learnt 51 5 Checking your Spelling 53 Establishing the ground rules 53 Avoiding common mistakes 57 Using the dictionary 63 Making use of the thesaurus 65 Revising the points 66 Practising what you’ve learnt 66 6 Looking at Apostrophes and Abbreviations 68 Showing possession 68 Abbreviating words 70 Handling contractions 72 Using initial letters 73 Looking at acronyms 73 Revising the points 74 Practising what you’ve learnt 74 7 Improving your Style 76 Recognising common mistakes 76 Avoiding unnecessary repetition 83 Making comparisons 84 Eliminating jargon 86 Stimulating your imagination 87 Checking your work 92 Using the checklist 95 Practising what you’ve learnt 95