Title: Writing Process:
1- Writing Process
- 1. Get ideas
- 2. Think
- 3. Organize
- 4. Write
- 5. Revise
2Writing a topic sentence / thesis (statement)
- A topic sentence is a single sentence which
conveys the point you want to make and write
about. It is the central idea of your passage. - A topic sentence should be neither a sentence
fragment nor a question. - The topic sentence serves as a guide to yourself
and to the reader. - Everything else in the paragraph should then
develop and support in specific ways the single
point given in the first sentence.
3- The topic sentence consists of two parts the
subject or the topic and controlling idea. - The subject is the limited topic which tells what
a passage is about. - The controlling idea is the writers idea about
the limited topic, which is usually expressed in
a key word or words.
4- Cheating is common is everyday life
- the topic is cheating and the controlling idea
is common in everyday life.
5- The topic sentence consists of two parts the
subject or the topic and controlling idea. - The subject is the limited topic which tells what
a passage is about. - The controlling idea is the writers idea about
the limited topic, which is usually expressed in
a key word or words.
6There are two commonly used types of outlines
- the topic outline and the sentence outline.
- 1) A topic outline
- A topic outline is brief and clear, and it gives
an instant overview of the entire paper. - All entries in a topic outline consist of nouns
and their modifiers, or their equivalents, that
is, gerund phraes or infinitive phrases.
7A Topic Outline
- Thesis Foreign trade is beneficial to and
indispensable for all nations. - I. Introduction the foundation of foreign trade
- II. The necessity of visible trade
- A. Lack of certain commodities
- B. Insufficiency of particular items
- C. Comparative advantage in certain items
- D. Latest innovations and different styles of
commodities - E. The importance of a favorable balance of trade
8- III. The necessity of invisible tradeexchange of
services between nations - A. Transportation
- B. Insurance
- C. Tourism
- D. Technology
- IV. Conclusion the purpose of foreign trade and
the importance of the balance of payments
92) A sentence outline
- A sentence outline is provides a more detailed
plan of the paper. The advantage of a sentence
outline is that you can use them directly. The
disadvantage is if you use them, the sentence
structures are the same and will be boring.
10A sentence outline
- Thesis Foreign trade is beneficial to and
indispensable for all nations. - I. Introduction the utilization of different
economic resources and the development of
different skills form the foundation of foreign
trade. - II. Trade in commodities (visible trade) is
necessary between nations. - A. No nation has all the commodities it needs.
- B. A nation may not have enough of certain
commodities. - C. A nation may sell certain commodities at a
profit. - D. Latest innovations and different styles of
commodities may make foreign trade necessary. - E. All nations strive to maintain a favorable
balance of trade so as to be assured of the means
to buy necessary goods.
11- III. Exchange of services between nations
(invisible trade) is part of foreign trade. - A. Nations vie in providing transportation for
foreign trade. - B. Prudent exporters purchase insurance for their
cargoes. - C. Tourism brings a nation huge profits.
- D. Technology is also exported and imported.
- IV. Conclusion the purpose of foreign trade is
to earn money for necessary imports and it is
important to keep the balance of payments.
123) Rules for writing outlines
- (1) Avoid single subdivisions.
- If there is a major point marked I, there must
be at least another marked II if there is an
A, there must be a B, and so on. - (2) Avoid mixing types.
- A topic outline is written in noun phrases, and a
sentence outline in sentences. Do not mix these
two types. - (3) Use parallel structures for the headings of
the same rank. - Make sure subheads of the same rank are of equal
importance and are related to the heading and
arranged in logical order. - (4) Use specific evidence that supports the topic
sentence - (5) Make sure the thesis is a complete
declarative sentence in the affirmative do not
use a question, a phrase or a dependent clause.
13Everyday Cheating
- Cheating is common in everyday life. For one
thing, cheating at school is common. Many
students will borrow a friends homework and copy
it in their own handwriting. During a test,
students will use a tiny sheet of answers stored
in their pockets or sit near a friend to copy
answers. People also cheat on the job. They take
home office supplies such as tape, paper, or
pens. Some people who are not closely supervised
or who are out on the road may cheat an employer
by taking dozens of breaks or using work time for
personal chores. Finally, many people cheat when
they deal with large businesses. For instance,
few customers will report an incorrect bill in
their favor. Visitors in a hotel may take home
towels, and restaurant patrons may take home
silverware. A customer in a store may change
price tags because This is how much the shirt
cost last month.? For many people, daily
cheating is an acceptable way to behave.
14Topic sentence Cheating is common in everyday
life
- I. At school
- a. Copying homework
- b. Cheating on tests
- II. At work
- a. Stealing office supplies
- b. Taking breaks and doing errands on company
time - III. With large businesses
- a. Not reporting error on bill
- b. Stealing towels and silverware
- IV. Conclusion daily cheating acceptable for
many people
15Exercises
- Write an outline for each of the following
topics. - 1. education 2. Computers 3.weekend
16Education
- Thesis Compared with the traditional education,
the quality education is very different. - I. Traditional education
- A. Paying much attention to the marks
- B. Reading only for exams
- II. Quality education
- A. Developing all-around
- B. Improving ability and practice
- III. Conclusion Advocating the quality education
173. Computers
- Thesis the importance of computers play an
important part in our life. - I. Introduction the foundation and development
of computers - II. The advantages of computers
- A. At work
- 1. Looking up the information
- 2. Making work efficient
- B. Education
- 1. Preparing for the lessons
- 2. Managing the studies
18- C. In daily life
- 1. Sending emails
- 2. Giving more news around the world
- 3. Communicating with different people on the
internet - III. The disadvantages of computers
- A. Doing Bad harm for our health
- 1. Eyes
- 2. Body disease
19- B. Distracting the youths from their studies
- 1. Playing games
- 2. Chatting
- C. Making people rely on computers
- IV. Conclusion Making good use of computers
20The most important quality of exposition is
clarity. To achieve this the writer should
- 1) Limit his subject or the scope of
discussion. - 2) Prepare enough material (details or
examples). - 3) Present the facts and views in proper
order, in the order of time or of logical
sequence depending on the nature of the
subject.4) Pay attention to the accuracy
and clarity of words and sentences.5) Make
our exposition, if possible, interesting or
moving.
21The Two-Day Weekend
- The advance of science and technology makes
people have more free time. Nowadays, we have
5-workday week. Therefore, our university and
college students can have much more leisure time.
Sports fans can play in the playground. Some
students who are interested in social work can
join many clubs. Of course, we also can get a
part time job to gain some work experience.
22- There is a growing concern over the students who
don't put too much emphasis on study. Some
students always idle away their time, playing
cards, drinking, gambling. These problems are
really serious. Taking into account all these
factors, we can safely come to the conclusion
that the students will waste more time if they
don't make good use of it.
23- As a student, busy as I am with my study, I also
do many interesting things such as reading
novels, writing articles at the two-day weekend.
All work no play makes Jack a dull boy. It's
really true!
24Argumentation
- The purpose of exposition is to inform the
purpose of argumentation, on the other hand, is
to convince. - While an expository paper makes known something
and explains it to make the reader understand, an
argumentative essay tries to make the reader
agree with its point of view and support it, to
persuade him to change his mind or behavior, and
to approve a policy or a course of action that it
proposes. - Speeches on policies, editorials of newspapers,
articles on political or theoretical questions,
and various proposals are often argumentative.
25Argumentation makes use of the other three types
of writingdescription, narration, and above all
exposition,
- for argumentation and exposition are very closely
related argumentation is actually exposition
with the additional purpose of convincing or
persuading.
26Note
- (1) A debatable point
- 1) Mere statements of facts.Chinese doctors use
acupuncture anesthesia to perform certain
operationsAcupuncture anesthesia should replace
conventional anesthesia in all operations. - 2) Statements of personal preferenceBa Jin is my
favorite author.Ba Jin is the greatest Chinese
writer of 20th century - 3) Viewpoints that are generally accepted or can
be easily verifiedNoise pollution is harmful to
peoples health. - Noise pollution is the most harmful of all
environmental pollution.
27- (2) Sufficient evidenceSufficient evidence
includes common knowledge specific examples
hard, not soft, evidence, or facts, not opinions,
unless the opinions are expert and authoritative
statistics and quotations from authorities. - (3) Good logic
- All the facts and reasons that are given, as
evidence should be logically connected with the
conclusion and with each other. - Any fallacy illogic or wrong step in reasoning
would leave the reader in doubt about the whole
argument.
28There are generally two ways of
reasoning1) Inductive reasoningInductive
reasoning is the more common way. When we use
induction, we start with facts and proceed from
facts to a general conclusion. In other words, we
move from specific examples to a general
statement.2)Deductive reasoningThe process is
just the opposite
29- (4) Clear logic(5) Good use of the other three
types of writingdescription, narration, and
especially the various methods of
exposition(6) An honest and friendly attitude
30An essay is a short piece of writing that
generally shows the author's view on a particular
subject. There are many different kinds of
essays, including narrative, descriptive, and
persuasive. The following steps, however, can be
used to write any kind of essay.
How to Write an Essay
31- Example
- Advertisements are getting their way into
people's lives. People depend on advertisers in
their daily lives because they are consumers. The
advertisers are always manufacturers. Sometimes
they are salesmen. Their merchandise needs
advertising. Thus nearly every product is
advertised. To some extent, good advertising
means success while bad advertising can means
failure. There are many ways to advertise
and 'ads' come in different forms. Newspaper
carry advertisements. Some products are announced
on TV and radio which have a wide audience.
Billboards also carry advertising. Advertising is
a big industry now and many agencies are set up
to furnish a variety of services for it.
However, advertising is not always truthful. A
product is often misrepresented. The advertiser
exaggerates the benefit of the merchandise he
wants to sell. Thus, he misrepresents the truth.
The consumer falls victim to such advertising.
Millions of people have bought advertised
products and they haven't always been satisfied.
32Write a First Draft
- Every essay or paper is made up of three parts
- Introduction
- Body
- Conclusion
33- The introduction is the first paragraph of the
paper. It often begins with a general statement
about the topic and ends with a more specific
statement of the main idea of your paper. The
purpose of the introduction is to - let the reader know what the topic is
- inform the reader about your point of view
- arouse the reader's curiosity so that he or she
will want to read about your topic
34- 2.The body of the paper follows the introduction.
It consists of a number of paragraphs in which
you develop your ideas in detail. - Limit each paragraph to one main idea. (Don't try
to talk about more than one idea per paragraph.) - Prove your points continually by using specific
examples and quotations. - Use transition words to ensure a smooth flow of
ideas from paragraph to paragraph.
35- 3.The conclusion is the last paragraph of the
paper. Its purpose is to - summarize your main points, leaving out specific
examples - restate the main idea of the paper
36Establish Your Topic
- One method for narrowing down your topic is
called brainstorming. Brainstorming is a useful
way to let ideas you didn't' know you had come to
the surface.
37- Sit down with a pencil and paper, or at your
computer, and write whatever comes into your head
about your topic, no matter how confused or
disorganized. - Keep writing for a short but specific amount of
time, say 35 minutes. Don't stop to change what
you've written or to correct spelling or grammar
errors. - After a few minutes, read through what you have
written. You will probably throw out most of it,
but some of what you've written may give you an
idea you can develop. - Do some more brainstorming and see what else you
can come up with.
38Organize Your Ideas
- Develop an outline to organize your ideas. An
outline shows your main ideas and the order in
which you are going to write about them. - 1.Write down all the main ideas.
- 2.List the subordinate ideas below the main
ideas. - 3.Avoid any repetition of ideas.
39Revise the First Draft
- Try to set aside your draft for a day or two
before revising. This makes it easier to view
your work objectively and see any gaps or
problems. - Revising involves rethinking your ideas, refining
your arguments, reorganizing paragraphs, and
rewording sentences. You may need to develop your
ideas in more detail, give more evidence to
support your claims, or delete material that is
unnecessary. - Read your paper out loud. This sometimes makes it
easier to identify writing that is awkward or
unclear. - Have somebody else read the paper and tell you if
there's anything that's unclear or confusing.
40How to write a good paragraph
- 1. What is a good paragraph?
- One of the important organizational
principles is coherence. This requires that each
sentence in a paragraph leads naturally and
logically to the next in explaining the central
idea. The central idea of a paragraph is often
introduced by a topic sentence, usually in the
form of a general statement, which is further
developed in the paragraph naturally ad
logically. This may be done by specific examples,
definitions or arguments. Another is one
paragraph should have only one idea. If you have
tow idea, you should put them in tow paragraphs.
The next is that it should be unity. It means it
should be complete. And the last is that it has
proper transitions.
41- Generally speaking, there is a only one topic
sentencethe main idea of the paragraph, so
identifying the topic sentence in a paragraph
enables you to know exactly what the central idea
is. And when you are reading and taking notes, it
ensures that the most important points would be
not be missed out. When you are writing, it
ensures that your readers will not miss the main
points you wish to make. It is very important to
identify the topic sentence in your reading and
give a clear one in your writing. - Usually the most general statement is shown by
the topic sentence.
42- the main parts of a paragraph
- It includes three parts
- i) the topic sentence
- ii) supporting sentences
- iii) concluding sentences
- Note concluding sentences may be omitted if the
paragraph is a short one.
43- Where should the topic sentence be placed?
- i. at the very beginningthe first sentence is
the topic sentence - ii. at the end of the paragraphthe last sentence
- iii. there is no specific topic sentence or in
the middle of the paragraph
44- A University Professor
- 1A university professor has many duties. 2In the
classroom, he or she lectures to the students and
answers questions. 3If the professor is a science
instructor, he or she also conducts laboratory
experiments. 4During office hours, students are
free to visit the professor to get help on
difficult material or problems. 5In addition, a
professor may often work for many hours in
laboratory doing a research project. 6Another
professor might spend his or her time writing a
scholarly paper for a professional journal.
7Still another one might spend time writing a
book. 8In conclusion, a professor is always a
very busy person. -
45- Answer sentence 1 is the topic sentence,
sentences2-7 are supporting sentences and
sentence 8 is the concluding sentence.
46- SAMPLE
- Direction
- A. Title A Matter of Approach
- B. Word Limit about 200 words
- C. Your composition should be based on the
OUTLINE below and should start with the given
opening sentence "Two sencondary school teahers
I remember show how different people can be
though engaged in the same profession." -
47- OUTLINE
- 1. Two secondary school teahers I remember
- 2. The differences between the two teahers in
classroom attitudes - 3. Their attitudes to their students
- 4. Their methods of teaching
48- SAMPLE
- Directions
- A. Cars play an important role in modern
society. But they are also responsible for a good
part of air pollution in big cities. Write an
essay of about 200 words on car and air
pollution. - B. Your essay should cover the following
points - 1. the serious problem of air pollution caused
by cars - 2. your suggestions on how to deal with the
problem.
49Cars and Air Pollution
- Too many cars have created a lot of serious
problems in our world. Besides congestion,
accidents and fast fuel consumption,cars are
responsible for a good part of air pollution in
big cities. All the time, they are pumping huge
amounts of waste gases into the atmosphere. These
gases are very harmful, causing disease and even
death. Last winter, car fumes formed heavy smog
over Beijing, making the sky gloomy for weeks and
deteriorating people's health.
50- One possible solution is to design and develop
clean cars and clean fuels. In Tsinghua
University, campus buses are driven by
electricity. In Beijing some of the public buses
begin to run on natural gas, which does not give
off as much carbon dioxide as the petrol. But it
may take decades for the new models of clean cars
to completely replace the traditional ones.
51- Another solution is to develop modern public
transportation systems and restrict the use of
private cars. If the price of petrol rises
constantly and the public vehicles are efficient
and convenient enough, most people will not
private cars. And the total number of cars in big
cities will reduce greatly. On the whole, the
elimination of air pollution needs the co-efforts
from the government, the public and the
environments. This problem will be solved only
with the help of science and technology.
52Preserving Natural Resources
- Through the changes in the ways of making a
living in a family over several generations, the
cartoon aims at sounding a warning against man's
wasteful use of natural resources and emphasizing
the urgent need to preserve these resources.
53- Ever since man appeared on the earth, man's
survival has been heavily relied on nature.
Almost everything we use in our everyday life
comes from nature, ranging from the food we eat,
the water we drink, to the wood which is turned
into furiture. With the development of technology
and population growth, the amount and range of
materials used has increased at an alarming rate.
However, natural resources are not inexhaustible.
Some reserves are already on the brink of
exhaustion and there is no hope of replacing
them. The widespread water shortage is an example
in point. If man continued to squander natural
resources with no thought for the future, the
later generations would end up selling sand, as
is the case in the cartoon, and the whole world
would be in a mess.
54- Time is running out. It is up to us to take
effective measures before the situation gets out
of hand.
55TOPIC
- What Will Happen If China Enters WTO?
56- Every Chinese is looking forward to China's entry
into WTO, widely seen as a blessing and a promise
of prosperity. It seems to be so at first sight,
however, on reflection, we're convinced that it's
just another coin with two sides.
57- On the one hand, both the nation and people will
benefit greatly from China's entry into WTO. Shut
out of WTO, China Dused to be deprived of equal
trade opportunities and was placed at a distinct
disadvantage in world trade. This situation will
change if China enters WTO. In addition, foreign
coMPAnies will stream into China and offer great
job opportunities, which, in a sense, will
relieve the unemployment problem.
58- On the other hand, the entry will impose some
negative effects on China. State-owned
enterprises in China are undergoing great
difficulties, which will be more acute with the
flow of foreign competitors into China. - In short, excited about the advantages caused
by the entry, we should not lose sight of the
severe challenges posed by it.