Topic: Write a five-paragraph essay that compares and contrasts speaking and writing in your

native language.   

Every language has obvious differences in its spoken and written form. While the way people
speak is more natural and familiar with a particular region, the writing style is much more
formal and standard. Obviously, my native dialect – Vietnamese- also consists of several
contrasts of speaking and writing which are word choices, structures and repetition.

First of all, in terms of word choices, people in my country have a tendency to use slang or
informal words to speak. It is more natural and friendly to apply these words in daily
conversation. On the contrary, formal words are written in various forms of writing. It may
help to show writer’s respect for readers as well as enthusiasm for the topic. Besides, in
speaking, words which are formed in a particular region will be talked prominently in that
area. For example, in spite of expressing the same meaning of the word “pig”, in the north of
Vietnam, it is common to say “lợn” while in the south they commonly say “heo”. However,
writing piece is available to public so its words have to be standardized. If there are words that
belong to a specific region, it is hard for readers from others to fully understand.

Apart from the way to choose words to use, there is a difference related to structure
formulation. While simple sentences tend to be applied to speaking, complex structures are
suggested for writing form. Because simple sentences help listeners easily follow and completely
understand what speaking are saying. Moreover, a sentence that contains two or more clauses
can create ambiguous situations in a short period of conversation. Meanwhile, writers are
encouraged to use complex structures to make writing pieces more interesting and stimulate
readers to engage in them. If a particular book just includes full of simple sentences, it likes
book for kids.

Lastly, repetition is inevitable in both speaking and writing. But it is not serious if we speak the
same word many times. Whereas it may be quite boring and fail to grab readers’ attention
unless writers paraphrase and use antonyms or synonyms.

There are certain similarities and differences between the spoken and written form of
Vietnamese. Both of them have their own distinctive characteristics regarding the way to
choose words and formulate structures as well as the appropriateness in repetition.