In the link about the Personal Essay, you read that "[w]
hen using quoted speech, don't let a voice talk for very long in your essay; it will take over and start to sound weird."
For this reason, it is important to master reported, or indirect, speech. To do so, go to an ESL lab computer and open the software program, Focus on Grammar, High-Intermediate.
♦ Go to Part 9: Indirect Speech and Embedded Questions.
♦ Study Units 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25 as extensively as time allows. ♦ Print off the grammar notes
for each chapter and review them.
If you practice what you study, your writing will improve, so be sure to try out a couple of the Practice Activities in each unit. It is also helpful to print the reading from each unit and find and underline the targeted grammar point. Ask a lab instructor for help if you have questions.