Lecture 2: How to Write Introduction

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Lecture 2 How to Write Introduction

• Presented by Li Xiaoli
• Beijing Language and Culture University

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Analysis of the First Writing Assignment

• Content Value means the moral principles and
  beliefs that people think are important in life
  and that they tend to live their lives by.
• Format 1.) A title is not necessary. 2.) You
  should divide your essay into several paragraphs.
  3.) Your essay should have clear introduction and
  conclusion.
• Language A lot of errors in spelling, choosing
  words, part of speech and sentences.

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Some Traditional Values / Virtues

• modesty, honesty, diligence, respecting the old
  and taking care of the children, good manners
  (li), due concern for rituals and customs,
  benevolent concern for ones fellow men (jen)
• personal conduct, morality, moral standards,
  Confucianism, Confucius
• the Golden Rule Do not do unto others that which
  you would not have them do unto you.

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Analysis of the First Writing Assignment

• Spelling nowadays, government, environment,
  modern, experience, issue, pursue, emphasize,
  diligent, apparently, reluctant, sacrifice,
  attitude, comfortable, opportunity,
• Word the old---the elders, critic---criticize,
  et al---etc, economic---economical---economics---e
  conomy, grant---get, against---oppose,
  retain---remain, lose---lost---loss,
  acknowledge---knowledge, distribution---contributi
  on, adapt---adopt---absorb, instead of---replace,
  due to---in order to

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Analysis of the First Writing Assignment

• Phrase
• 1.) ??(????)(v)
• 2.) ??? (v)
• 3.) ????? (n)
• 4.) ?????? (v)
• 5.) ?? (v)
• 6.) ??/?? (v)
• 7.) ???? (adv)
• 8.) ????? (n)

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Analysis of the First Writing Assignment

• Phrase
• 9.) ???? (adv)
• 10.) ??? (v)
• 11.) ???? (adv)
• 12.) ????(??)(v)
• 13.) ?(??)?? (v)
• 14.) ??(?????)(prep)
• 15.) ?????? (adv)
• 16.) ???? (n)

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Analysis of the First Writing Assignment

• Phrase
• 1.) sth fit in with/ sb adapt to
• 2.) be proud of
• 3.) an open mind
• 4.) takefor granted / take it for granted that
• 5.) lack / are short of
• 6.) abide by / follow / obey
• 7.) In a word, / In brief, / To sum up,
• 8.) the virtue of politeness

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Analysis of the First Writing Assignment

• 9.) Undoubtedly, / No doubt, / It goes without
  saying that
• 10.) look down on
• 11.) In other words,
• 12.) takeseriously / take a serious attitude to
  
• 13.) spend money on sth / in doing sth
• 14.) regardless of
• 15.) to a large extent / to some extent
• 16.) living standard

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Analysis of the First Writing Assignment

• Part of speech
• 1.) Firstly, traditional values of older
  generations include thrifty, diligent, and brave,
  and honest, and so on.
• 2.) Although the society is forwarding
• 3.) Young people pay much attention to their
  relax time.
• 4.) Its one aspect of society advances.
• 5.) It is obviously that
• 6.) so they like to pursuit an easy and comfort
  life.
• 7.) Young people are lack of ability to solve
  problems independently.
• 8.) I am doubt to this statement.

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Analysis of the First Writing Assignment

• Part of speech
• 1.) Firstly, traditional values of older
  generations include working hard, being diligent,
  brave, honest, and so on.
• 2.) Although the society is developing forward,
• 3.) Young people pay much attention to their
  leisure/spare time.
• 4.) Its one aspect of social advances.
• 5.) It is obvious that
• 6.) so they like to pursue an easy and
  comfortable life.
• 7.) It is no use to save money.
• 8.) I doubt/am doubtful about this statement.

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Analysis of the First Writing Assignment

• Sentence
• 1.) ??,?????????????,?????????
• 2.) ??,??????????????
• 3.) ?????????,???????????

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Analysis of the First Writing Assignment

• Sentence
• 1.) In a word, young people have lost many
  traditional values of the older generation, which
  is not a bad thing.
• 2.)  However, whether it is good or bad depends
  on how you think of it.
• 3.) While the older generations practice thrift,
  young people think nothing of saving money

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Analysis of the First Writing Assignment

• 4.) ??,?????????,????????
• 5.) ????????,????????????
• 6.) ????????????,??????????????
• 7.) ?????????????????????????,??????????

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Analysis of the First Writing Assignment

• 4.) Sometimes they think of family as a burden
  and never get married or have a child.
• 5.) As the young generation grow up, / With the
  young generation growing up, more traditional
  values are lost.
• 6.) We should change some traditional thoughts,
  but some should be kept.
• 7.) The view on the issue that young people have
  lost many of the traditional values of the older
  generations varies from person to person.

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The Structure of Introduction

• The background of the key word in the topic
  state the background where the key word in the
  topic happens
• Paraphrasing the topic emphasize the words
  restricting the topic
• The writers stand point out the thesis
  statement of the essay
• Sometimes, the first part is omitted or combined
  with the second part.

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A Sample Introduction

• Topic Do children watch too much television
  nowadays?
• Television is so common that nowadays it is hard
  to imagine life without it. (????) However, as
  many people have pointed out, most children spend
  too much time in front of television, and this is
  harmful. (????) Personally, I share the same
  concern with those people. (????)
• Many people complain nowadays that children spend
  a great proportion of their lives watching
  television. (????) This may be true in some
  cases, but it is certainly not common enough to
  be a serious problem. (????)

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Some Common Sentences

• About the background
• 1.Recently, the phenomenon (problem) of has
  aroused wide public concern (caused world-wide
  attention).
• ??,??(??)????????(??)???
• E.g. Recently, the problem of young people
  indulging in surfing on the Internet has aroused
  wide public concern.
• 2. One of the hottest topics (biggest problems)
  many people talk (are concerned) about now is .
• ??,?????????(????????)??
• E.g. One of the hottest topics many university
  students are concerned about now is the
  increasingly difficult job-hunting after
  graduation.

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A Class Exercise

• Translate the following sentences into English by
  using the structures given above.
• 1. ??,???????????????????????
• 2. ??,???????????????????????????????

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Key to the Exercise

• About the background
• 1. Recently, the governments policy of banning
  the use of private cars has aroused wide public
  concern.
• 2. One of the hottest topics many people talk
  about now is whether parents should send their
  children who are still at high school abroad to
  study.

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Some Common Sentences

• About paraphrasing topic
• 1.Should (Do / Is) ? Opinions (Attitudes) vary
  from person to person (widely). Some think
  (believe) . Others claim (argue) .
• ??(?)????????(??)?????????,?????
• E.g. Should the government legalize euthanasia?
  Opinions vary from person to person. Some people
  think euthanasia could reduce patients
  sufferings and should be legalized. Others argue
  that nobody has the right to take away a persons
  life, even the person himself.

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Some Common Sentences

• About paraphrasing topic
• 2.When asked about (When it comes to) , many
  (quite a few) people say (think) that . But
  other people think very (quite) differently and
  believe (claim) that .
• ??,?????,???????,????
• E.g. When asked about the flood of rural labour
  into big cities, many people think it is a good
  way to increase the farmers income. But other
  people think very differently and believe that it
  imposes very negative impact on the agricultural
  development.

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A Class Exercise

• Translate the following sentences into English by
  using the structures given above.
• 1. ????????????????????????????????????????????,?
  ????????????????????????
• 2. ?????????,??????????????????????,???????,?????
  ??????????????

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Key to the Exercise

• About paraphrasing topic
• Should higher education be industrialized?
  Opinions vary from person to person. Some people
  think the industrialization of higher education
  could encourage students to study harder. Others
  argue that this would make some poor students
  lose the opportunity to receive higher education.
• When asked about the problem of computer games,
  many people think parents should limit the time
  that teenagers spend in playing computer games.
  But other people think very differently and
  believe that computer games can develop
  teenagers creativity.

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Some Common Sentences

• About the writers stand
• 1.In my point of view (In my opinion), .
• ????
• E.g. In my point of view, the real cause of dying
  traditional values lies far beyond the invasion
  of western cultures.
• 2. As far as I am concerned, .
• ????
• E.g. As far as I am concerned, it is ridiculous
  that universities lower academic requirements to
  enroll some athlete students.

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Some Common Sentences

• About the writers stand
• 3. Personally, I share the same opinion (concern)
  with these people.
• ????????????
• E.g. Some people worry that traditional paper
  letters would finally give way to the
  fast-developing emails. Personally, I share the
  same concern with these people.
• 4. My point of view (My opinion) is .
• ????(??)??
• E.g. My point of view is that simply banning the
  use of private cars will never solve the problem
  of traffic jams.

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Some Common Sentences

• About the writers stand
• 5. I partly agree with the statement (opinion)
  that
• ?????????
• E.g. I partly agree with the statement that those
  backward traditional values that do not fit in
  with the modern society should be abandoned.
• 6. The statement (opinion) that . makes sense
  (holds water / is reasonable) to some extent (to
  some degree).
• ???????????????
• E.g. The opinion that American people are more
  creative than Chinese people makes sense to some
  degree.

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A Class Exercise

• Translate the following sentences into English by
  using the structures given above.
• 1. ????????????????????????????
• 2. ??????????????????,???????????

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Key to the Exercise

• About the writers stand
• 1. In my point of view, it is not a wise decision
  for some parents to send their children who are
  still at high school abroad to study.
• 2. Some people worry that our traditional culture
  is dying. Personally, I share the same concern
  with these people.

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About the Language

• Tense Usually simple present (Nowadays, many
  people do not realize how many hours they
  actually spend watching TV.) or present perfect
  (In fact, it has been pointed out that most
  children watch far more television than is good
  for them.)
• Paraphrase topic Use your own words. Dont copy.
• Accurate and Rich Try to use different
  expressions. Dont stick to one expression.

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A Class Exercise

• Write an introduction for the following two
  topics
• 1.) What can we do to help the less developed
  areas in this country?
• 2.) Who should be responsible for juvenile
  delinquency, family or school?

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Answer Key to the Class Exercise

• 1. There are a number of less developed areas in
  China, and the majority of these areas are
  located in western China. (????) The less
  developed areas need much help from outside,
  (????) and we can do the following things. (????)
•  
• 2. With an increasing number of the crimes
  committed by young people, (????) people begin to
  pay more attention to who has a greater influence
  on children. Family or school? (????) My point of
  view is that family exerts more influence on
  children and should take care of juvenile
  delinquency. (????)

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The Second Writing Assignment

• Topic Some people say the most effective way to
  reduce traffic jams in big cities is to ban the
  use of private cars and promote public transport.
  Whats your opinion?
• You must write an argumentative essay of no
  less than 250 words within 40 minutes. Please
  write your essay on the answer sheet provided.