Summary

The use of guided composition through

topics in order to help students develop

their writing skills

Introduction (Paragraph nº 3 (341 Words).

When students write, they have a chance to be adventurous with the language, to go beyond what they have just learned to say, to take risks. They basically get involved with the new language, because the effort to express ideas and the constant use of eye, hand, and brain is a unique way to reinforce learning. Composition then, broadens the student’s communication abilities, and it also completes the study of grammatical patterns and vocabulary. In an integrated English Language curriculum, writing is taught in meaningful contexts to the students. It is the teachers’ task to help learners use the language effectively and appreciate the written expression of others.  As it is well known, communication is the fundamental reason for the existence of language, and writing is a means towards it .Moreover, it gives the students a chance to practice what they learn in a more meaningful and creative way. In other words, through writing, the students are able to relate what they learn through every day life and experiences. Basically, according to Gwin “the true reason for writing in the real world, whether it is a report on scientific research, a technical manual, an office memo, or a personal letter, is to communicate some meaning to another person.”(Gwin,1991:2) Language enables an individual to express thought, and by expressing it in a more precise way; to prove the effectiveness of using a composition strategy called ¨Teaching composition by topics¨ to help tenth grade students from Patriarca San José High school, in San Ramón, Alajuela, in their intents to learn to write accurately. The purpose of this article is to share the findings with other colleagues and to provide them with some tools that could be used as an alternative for the teaching of writing in the English courses in high schools. Also this article attempts to show EFL teachers that teaching students how to write is not a difficult task if different alternatives techniques such as guided composition through topics are used to help them develop this skill in an easier way.

Summary (186 Words)

When students write, they have a chance to be adventurous with the language, to go beyond what they have just learned to say, to take risks. They get involved with the new language, because the effort to express ideas and the use of eye, hand, brain to reinforce learning. Composition broadens the student’s communication abilities, completes the study of grammatical patterns and vocabulary. Besides, writing is taught in meaningful contexts to the students.  The teacher’s task is to help them use the language and appreciate the written expression of others. Communication is considering the main reason for the existence of language towards writing.  As well, it gives the student a change to practice what they learn in a meaningful and creative way. According to Gwin (1991) the main reason for writing is to communicate something to someone. The purpose of the strategy called Teaching composition by topics is to help students from San Jose Patriarca high school to write accurately. The article brings tools and that could be used for teaching writing in this context and show that teaching students how to write is not difficult.  

Reference:

Ramirez, D. (2006). The use of guided composition through topics in order to help students develop their writing skills.  Inter Sedes Journal, 12, 77-86.

Wordy Sentences - Guided practice

Adam Smith, founder of modern economics, proposed a theory that made controversial. This economist educated in England, wrote the first study of political economy. The Wealth of Nations published in the same year that Americans declared their independence from England in 1776. Smith’s book pointed out and directed attention to the interdependence of freedom, order, economic processes and free trade laws. His influence during his lifetime did not affect economic than in the next century. “The invisible hand” and “laissez-faire” are synonymous with Smith’s names. Some people will say “He was a good man- he really understood how business works!” and others “He was an evil man- really sold the average citizen down the river”. Both reactions are extreme, but indicate controversy aroused by Smith’s ideas is still alive.   

Reducing Sentence Exercises

Schenker, in her article “Smart House”, houses will be networked making people’s life easier and more comfortable. The electronic devices will be connected to internet and have special chips to control housework, communications, shopping, bills or people social life. The disadvantages of having a networked house do not seem to be significant. People will just have to pay some extra dollars for the chips, the connection to internet and the security to protect the system against pirating. The maintenance will not have to be afforded because the service will repair themselves. The author concludes that the money that people will not mean much considering benefits of having a smart house.

Exercise

Monica has sent her summary to the evaluative committee of the magazine “TESOL Quarterly” to be considered for future publication. However, it was sent because the word limit was 115. Help Monica to reduce it and fulfill the demands of the audience to be accepted.

(1)   This study went through 1,600 marginal and end comments written on 110 drafts of essays by 47 university ESL advanced students, considering the pragmatic goals and the linguistic features of each comment. (2) Drafts of each individual essay were examined to observe the influence of the first draft commentary on the students’ revisions and asses the changes that were made in response to the teacher’s feedback improved the essays. (3) A significant proportion of the comments led to substantive student revision, and there were particular types of commentary that were more helpful than others. (4) The final results are suggestive of several important implications for L2 writing instruction and future studies on a vital neglected topic.