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UNIT 3

STUDY (ACADEMIC) WRITING

I. Lead-in

1. Which of the following forms of study/academic writing have you written more often?

Essay

Dicto-comp (dictation-composition)/dicto-gloss (listening and noting down key words that are used as a base for reconstruction)

Summary/précis

Review

Annotation

Research report

Abstracts

Outline

Notes

What are these forms of writing called in Russian?

2. You probably already have some experience in writing essays. Discuss the following questions with a partner or group.

a)What is an essay?

b)What are some ways in which writing a timed essay is different from writing an essay without a time limit? Which aspects might be challenging for you?

c)In what situations have you written timed essays in your own language and in English?

d)Do you know any good techniques for writing timed essays?

II. Practice

1. Do you know the difference between “for and against” essays, opinion essays, problem essays and discursive essays?

Match the definitions below with the types of essays?

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2. When we write academic/study papers we normally go through several steps to produce a piece of writing. Arrange the following steps of the opinion essay writing process in a logical order.

Pre-writing

Step One: …

Step Two: …

Step Three: …

Step Four: …

Step Five: …

Step Six: …

Drafting

Step Seven: … Reviewing and revising

Step Eight: …

Step Nine: …

Rewriting Step Ten: …

a)Review structure and content. Check what you have written. Read your writing silently to yourself or aloud, perhaps to a friend. Look for places where you can add more information, and check to see if you have any unnecessary information.

b)Choose a topic. Before you write you are given a specific assignment or some ideas of what to write about. If not, choose a topic yourself.

c)Write. Write your paragraph or essay from start to finish. Use your notes about your ideas and organization.

d)Revise structure and content. Use your ideas from the previous step to rewrite your text, making improvements to the structure and content. You might need to explain something more clearly, or add more details. You may even need to change your organization so that your text is more logical. Together, this step and the previous one can be called editing.

Read your text again. This time, check your spelling and grammar and think about the words you have chosen to use.

Check that you have corrected the errors you discovered and make any other changes you want to make. Now your text is finished!

e)Organise. Decide which of the ideas you want to use and where you want to use them. Choose which idea to talk about first, which to talk about next, and which to talk about last.

f)Gather ideas. When you have a topic, think about what you will write about that topic.

g)Writing a strong thesis statement. Formulate a thesis statement. A thesis statement gives the author’s opinion or states an important idea about the topic. It should give an idea that can be discussed and explained with supporting

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ideas. These are strong thesis statements. A thesis statement should not be a sentence that only gives a fact about the topic. A thesis statement should not state two sides of an argument. This could be a topic sentence. The paragraphs in the main body of an essay should always explain the thesis statement. In addition, each paragraph in the main body should discuss one part of the thesis.

h)Structure. Think of the structure of an essay. It must have at least three paragraphs: introduction, main body, conclusion. The introduction explains the topic with general ideas. It also has a thesis statement. It usually comes at or

near the end of the paragraph. The introduction is usually five to ten sentences and should catch the reader’s interest. The main body explains and supports the thesis statement and may contain one or more paragraphs. The conclusion summarises or restates the thesis and the supporting ideas of the essay.

i)Outlining an essay. Making an outline in advance will support your essay by providing its structure, show you what to write before you actually begin writing, help make your essay well organized and clearly focused and keep

you from forgetting any important points. Adding more information to an outline is called “fleshing it out”.

j)Unity and coherence. Check your essay foe unity and coherence. Unity in writing is the connection of all ideas to a single topic. Make sure all three parts of an essay work together to explain your topic clearly. After you have written the essay, it is helpful to review the text and look for ideas that do not relate to the thesis or the topic sentence. Coherence is related to unity.

Do you always follow the outlined steps when writing an essay?

III. On Your Own

1. Read the tasks for essay writing below and identify the type of essay each of them requires. Choose any you like more and write an essay.

A.Write an essay on the topic “Package holidays: Good or Bad?” using 120–180 words. Remember to use appropriate linking words and phrases.

B.Write an essay expression your opinion on the following: “University students should not have part-time jobs” using 120–180 words.

C.Write an essay entitled “What can be done to reduce the amount of crime in our society?” using 120–180 words.

D.Write an essay on the topic “The Role of Marriage in Today’s Society” using 120–180 words.

2. Peer editing.

1. Do you know what peer editing is? What is it used for? How should you peer edit? Discuss your ideas in the group.

Now read the information below and compare it with your ideas on peer editing.

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What is peer editing?

Showing your work to another student is a very useful way to improve your writing. This is called peer editing. You read your partner’s writing and your partner reads yours. You comment on your partner’s writing and your partner comments on yours. You might talk together, write comments on a sheet that your teacher may give you, or write directly on your partner’s work.

Why do writers use peer editing?

There are two reasons for peer editing. The first is to get a reader’s opinion about your writing. A reader can tell you that…

you should add more details or explanation;

something is not organized clearly;

you have some information that is not relevant;

there is something that is hard to understand.

These comments will help you write your next draft.

The second reason to share writing with others is for you to read more ex-

amples of writing. Other people will have had experiences that you haven’t. They may show you fresh ways of writing about experiences. Reading their paragraphs and essays can give you ideas to use yourself in the future.

How do I peer edit?

Read your partner’s work several times. The first time, just read from the beginning to the end. Ask yourself, “What is it about? What is the writer’s purpose?’

On your second reading, go more slowly and look at specific parts of the writing and make notes.

Look for topic sentences and concluding sentences.

Note places where you have trouble understanding something, where there seems to be unnecessary information, or where there is not enough information.

Let the writer know which parts of the text are especially strong or interesting.

Ask questions. This is a good way to let the writer know where he or she could add more information.

Circle or underline words, phrases, and sentences that you wish to comment on.

Don’t look for grammar or spelling mistakes. Pay attention just to the content and organization of the work.

(Abridged from: Dorothy E Zemach, Lisa A Rumisek. Academic Writing from paragraph to essay. P. 21–22)

3. Read your partner’s essay and peer edit it. You may write your comments directly on your partner’s work or on Peer feedback-essay sheet given below.

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Peer feedback-essay

Writer’s name:

Reader’s name:

Assignment:

1.What is the topic of the essay? What is the main idea?

2.Read the introduction. Is it interesting? Does it give some background information? Does it include a thesis statement? If so, write it here:

3.Does each paragraph in the main body support the thesis statement? Write the topic sentence of each paragraph in the main body here:

4.Are there any places where the write could add more details? Do you have any questions for the writer?

5.Is there a conclusion to the essay? Does it restate the thesis or sum up the information or flow logically from the ideas in the essay? Does it contain any new points?

6.Is the essay coherent? Are the paragraphs united together logically?

7.What are some good things about this essay?

(Abridged from: Dorothy E Zemach, Lisa A Rumisek. Academic Writing from paragraph to essay. P. 124)

4.Share your comments with the writer of the essay and discuss them together. Does your partner agree with everything? Have your comments been useful?

5.Have you ever checked anyone’s work for mistakes (spelling, grammar, vocabulary, punctuation, stylistics)? Do you know the error code?

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Look at the error log chart with the symbols and their explanation, read the sentences below and match the mistakes underlined in the sentences to the error code symbols. The correction of the mistakes in the sentences is given in brackets.

1.The law attempts ending smoking in all public building. (to end)

2.Completion /\ the project is expected in six to eight months. (Completion of the project…) (prep)

3.The boy was afeared of the dog. (afraid)

4.The laboratory lacks modern equipment, or it is still used for many experiments.

5.Several countries have signed to the peace treaty. (…have signed the peace treaty)

6.Amanda is reading always on her bed. (is always reading)

7.Several people from my country attends the class. (attend)

8.Because the cinema was old and no longer in use. (Because… in use, it was closed and the property was sold.)

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9. The summer is long hot and humid. (…long, hot, and…)

10.They were education in many different countries. (educated)

11.The company’s profits continue to be good, so it will expand your product

line. (its)

12.The shop ended its sale, it marked up the remaining goods. (…sale, and it…)

13.We bought the rug after describing the price. (discussing) 14.John works as an investment brokers. (broker)

15.If the temperature drops, the lake will freeze last year it froze for several months. (…freeze. Last year…)

16.I will be go to the dentist next week. (will go)

17.There are many advantage of living abroad. (advantages)

18.Number 10 Downing Street is the place of residence for the prime minister of the UK. (Number 10 Downing Street)

19.A enthusiastic employee is an asset for a company. (An) 20.Last year, we go to visit relatives in a neighbouring city. (went)

21.The committee is not gonna change the plans of the project. (going to) 22.Donations were given into the charity. (to)

23.The government plans to create every child goes to school. (plans to create a fund allowing every child to go to school)

24.The workers forced to work for twelve hours by management. (were forced)

6. Now check your partner’s essay for mistakes. Use the error code.

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UNIT 4

CREATIVE WRITING

I. Lead-in

1. What is creative writing in your understanding? How does it differ from academic or professional writing?

Read the definition below and see if it differs from yours.

“Creative writing is any writing that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on narrative craft, character development, and the use of literary tropes or with various traditions of poetry and poetics.”

(From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_writing)

2.What forms of creative writing given below are you best familiar with? Which

ones have you written yourself? Which ones are new to you?

Autobiography/Memoir;Collaborative writing

Creative non-fiction (Personal & Journalistic Essays);Epic;

Flash fiction;

Graphic novels/Comics;Novel;

Novella;

Playwriting/Dramatic writing;Poetry;

Screenwriting;Short story;

Songwriting;Bibliography;

Stream of consciousness (narrative mode).

3.Look at the examples of creative writing below and identify the form of

each.

A. Man May Love

Robert Sharp

“Miss Young, I want to ask you something,” and Geoffrey modestly pulled the sheets close up under his pink chin. “I suppose you’ll think me an awful bore for saying this to you so abruptly, but I’m dreadfully in earnest. Will you marry me, please?”

Miss Young did not stop a minute in her deft arrangement of his breakfast tray. She didn’t even blush. “No, I don’t think I will,” she answered. “You see, I can’t marry everyone that asks me.”

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“How many have you married already?” “Well, I haven’t married any yet.” “Then marry me.”

(From: http://www.flashfictiononline.com/f_archives.html)

B. Scars

A life in injuries

David Owen

On a hill in the neighborhood where I grew up, in Kansas City, was a suburban ruin that my friends and I called the Burned-Down House. There was a crumbling tennis court, which was enclosed by an overgrown chain-link fence, and there was a concrete slab with a dirt-floored crawl space underneath it, and there were two limestone chimneys. During the summer of 1972, when I was in high school, my friend Duncan and I sat on top of one of the chimneys lighting firecrackers with our cigarettes and throwing them at two other friends, who were sitting on a limestone retaining wall and throwing firecrackers at us. Between explosions, we tried to think of something less boring to do. Most of our firecrackers were Black Cats, but we had some cherry bombs, too, and one of those blew up a few inches above my left foot. When I could hear again, and when Duncan and I had stopped laughing, I noticed a nickel-size piece of cher- ry-bomb shrapnel embedded in the rubber toe cap of my sneaker. When I pulled on it, it came out of my foot like a cork, and blood spread up through the canvas and into the laces. Duncan drove me to the office of my doctor, a pediatrician. The waiting room was full of mothers and weepy three-year-olds, and I took off my shoe and handed it to the receptionist, to show her what the problem was.

I can still make out the line of the wound. Over the years, your body becomes a kind of historical document, in which certain dramatic moments are memorialized in scar tissue.

(Abridged from: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/03/19/scars)

C.

FADE IN:

EXT. CARIBBEAN SEA – DAY

A gray, impenetrable wall of fog. From somewhere comes the FAINT SOUND of a LITTLE GIRL’S VOICE, singing, slow tempo, almost under her breath.

YOUNG ELIZABETH

Yo, ho, yo, ho, a pirate’s life for me

Yo, ho, yo, ho, it’s a pirate’s life for me...

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Suddenly a massive SHIP emerges from the grey, the Winged Victory maidenhead looming. It’s a British dreadnought, the H.M.S. Dauntless. Formidable, frightening, twenty-five gun ports on a side, and rail guns to boot.

EXT. H.M.S. DAUNTLESS – FORECASTLE – DAY ELIZABETH SWANN, strawberry blond hair, stands at the bow railing, gazing at the seas, still singing –

ELIZABETH

...drink up me hearties, yo, ho...

JOSHAMEE GIBBS, who was born old, skin a dark leather, clutches her shoulder, startling her.

GIBBS

Quiet, missy! Cursed pirates sail these waters. You want to call’em down on us?

Elizabeth stares wide-eyed at him. NORRINGTON

Mr. Gibbs.

NORRINGTON, a dashing young man, Royal Navy to the core, glares sternly at Gibbs. Standing beside him is GOVERNOR WEATHERBY SWAN, a man of obvious high station, brass buttons on his thick blue jacket. He is Elizabeth’s father.

NORRINGTON That will do. GIBBS

She was singing about pirates.

Bad luck to sing about pirates, with us mired in this unnatural fog – mark my words.

NORRINGTON

Consider them marked. On your way. GIBBS

Aye, Captain. (as he moves off)

Bad luck to have a woman on board, too. Even a miniature one.

He returns to his deck-swabbing duties, surreptitiously takes a quick swig from flask.

ELIZABETH

I think it would be rather exciting to meet a pirate. NORRINGTON

Think again, Miss Swan. Vile and dissolute creatures, the lot of them.

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