Correct grammar is recognised as very important in terms of achieving high standards of written work, especially in terms of academic papers or in writing important articles. The correct usage of grammar will also go a long way to helping the reader to understand exactly what the writer is trying to explain as simply as possible.
Understanding Gerunds in Essay Writing
A gerund is basically the term which is given to describe when a word ending in '-ing' is utilised as a verbal noun. In Study Skills For Dummies, Du Boulay (2009) highlights that some university professors or college lecturers find the use of gerunds in academic writing rather sophisticated. This is especially believed to be the case when gerunds are used in essays at the beginning of a sentence or main paragraph. One of the key advantages of using this approach to writing sentences or key paragraphs is that it means there is no need for the student to have to create sentences with complicated verb structures.
Gerunds are primarily effective in coursework essays or articles where the student wishes to convey key significant points of information in both an objective and factual manner. Additional usage of a gerund includes being preceded by a preposition, as a noun and to take the form of either an object, subject as well as predicative.
Practical Examples of Gerunds
Du Boulay (2009) provides five key practical examples of using gerunds which include the utilisation of the words estimating, considering, exploiting, analysing and observing at the beginning of a sentence. An example of using the gerund 'estimating' may involve the following: 'Estimating the impact of continued increase in childhood obesity is important to understanding health consequences.' The gerund 'considering' may include: 'Considering all that has been shared today, there is clearly much still to be done' while the gerund 'exploiting' may involves: 'Exploiting the most vulnerable in society is never going to help bridge the gap between rich and poor.
Another example of the use of a gerund includes using the word 'analysing' as follows: 'Analysing this report, it is clear that the facts have been greatly misinterpreted.' A popular gerund used to begin a sentence or paragraph in an essay may include the word 'observing,' for example: 'Observing the reaction seen here today, I clearly have a lot of work remaining.
As highlighted above, the gerund or '-ing' verb is often used to begin sentences within the academic arena. A major advantage of using this approach is that facts and objective statements may be clearly portrayed.
Source:
Du Boulay, D. (2009) Study Skills For Dummies Chichester: John Wiley & Sons
Kate Le Page - Kate Henning-Le Page writes about eating disorders, body image and recovery issues. She specializes in anorexia recovery.
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