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.

Paraphrasing

With paraphrasing you can rewrite in your own words the ideas taken from the source.

Exercise 1

Paraphrase each sentence. They may be more than one way to rewrite each one. Remember to change vocabulary, phrases and sentence structure wherever you can.

1.   Despite their massive size, elephants are known for being agile.

Although they are large animals, elephants are known for being agile.

2.   Because elephants consume up to 500 pounds of food a day, they are able to strip a forest bare in no time.

Due to large amounts of food eaten by elephants, they are capable to bringing down a forest quickly.

3.   Over the centuries, lions have been used in art to represent power and magnificence.

Over the time, lions have been used as an icon that represents strength and wonder.

4.   Lions are social animals with one dominant male in each pride.

It is common that interacting animals like lions have an authority member in their pride.

5.   George Washington Carver was a dedicated teacher, in addition, he was known as a talented artist, musician, and researcher who made valuable contributions to his people and his country.

Because of different abilities regarding to music and acting G.W Carver was recognized for his labor in order to improve his country.

6.   Archibald McLeish, known for his poetry, was appointed head of the Library of Congress by President Roosevelt in 1939.

Archibald McLeish was selected principal of the library of congress by President Roosevelt in 1939.

Exercise 2

Read each paragraph and state the main idea in your own words. If you find the main idea stated directly in the paragraph, be sure to use the paraphrasing techniques that you practice in exercise one.

1.   There is plenty of water on the earth. In fact, there is enough water in this planet for everyone to have huge lake. The trouble is that the water is not always found in the place where it is needed. In addition, much of the water is polluted or salty. Because of these problems, there are many people without sufficient water.

Main Idea: Problems with the water around the world.

2.   New oil supplies need to be found to replace those that have been used up. There is a constant search for new oil fields. Oil hunters sink their wells there are signs of oil. Each of these drillings costs thousands and thousands of dollars, and often there is not enough oil to make it profitable. Nevertheless, the search for new oil never ends.

Main idea: The necessity of replace old oil

3.   Quakers, a religious group known as the Society of Friends, have always worked for human causes. Before the Civil War in the United States, they were against slavery and led the movement to help slaves escape from the southern part of the United States and seek freedom in the northern part. Today, they fight hunger and disease around the globe and still aid people fleeing tyranny and war. Their beliefs are based on the principles of pacifism and simple living.

Main idea: The principal purpose of Quakers is to fight against slavery and hunger in the world.

Exercise 3

Fill the outline and write a 100 word summary.

Thesis: Students should participate in the affairs of the university.

I (Main idea) Students deserve to be participant on the decision regarding to principal election at the University.

II (Main idea) Students would be a great help to develop flexible schedules to meet the needs of those.

III (Main idea) Students must fight for their rights like in the past.

Summary

The text summarized that students deserved to be participant in professors election, curriculum planning and scheduling. Regarding to the selection of faculty members, the do not have vote neither voice. First, students only interact with the selected professor only in the first day class.  Second, they do not know where professors come from or what they have been done in order to be selected (revision of curriculum vitae). With respect to curriculum planning, the text expressed that if students have to pay for their books why they are not allowed to bring opinion about materials and planning to prepare them intellectually for the future. In connection to schedules, students must be included within the committee in charge of it.

What does this picture express?

This picture, in my opinion, expresses sadness because color gray is commonly associated with negative feelings and depression. Maybe the picture was taken in a rainy day, and when it’s raining we cannot fun as in sunny days.

Main Idea

The main idea of a passage or reading is the central thought or message. In contrast to the term topic, which refers to the subject under discussion, the term main idea refers to the point or thought being expressed. The difference between a topic and a main idea will become clearer to you if you imagine yourself overhearing a conversation in which your name is repeatedly mentioned. When you ask your friends what they were discussing, they say they were talking about you. At that point, you have the topic but not the main idea. Undoubtedly, you wouldn’t be satisfied until you learned what your friends were saying about this particular topic. You would probably pester them until you knew the main idea, until you knew, that is, exactly what they were saying about your personality, appearance, or behavior. The same principle applies to reading. The topic is seldom enough. You also need to discover the main idea.

Reading Tips:                         

1. As soon as you can define the topic, ask yourself “What general point does the author want to make about this topic?” Once you can answer that question, you have more than likely found the main idea.

2. Most main ideas are stated or suggested early on in a reading; pay special attention to the first third of any passage, article, or chapter. That’s where you are likely to get the best statement or clearest expression of the main idea.

3. Pay attention to any idea that is repeated in different ways. If an author returns to the same thought in several different sentences or paragraphs, that idea is the main or central thought under discussion.

4. Once you feel sure you have found the main idea, test it. Ask yourself if the examples, reasons, statistics, studies, and facts included in the reading lend themselves as evidence or explanation in support of the main idea you have in mind. If they do, your comprehension is right on target. If they don’t, you might want to revise your first notion about the author’s main idea.

5. The main idea of a passage can be expressed any number of ways. For example, you and your roommate might come up with the same main idea for a reading, but the language in which that idea is expressed would probably be different. When, however, you are asked to find the topic sentence, you are being asked to find the statement that expresses the main idea in the author’s words. Any number of people can come up with the main idea for a passage, but only the author of the passage can create the topic sentence.

6. If you are taking a test that asks you to find the thesis or theme of a reading, don’t let the terms confuse you, you are still looking for the main idea.

What is a topic?

A topic is the main organizing principle of a discussion, either verbal or written. Topics offer us an occasion for speaking or writing and a focus which governs what we say.

• What does it do?
  It introduces the main idea of the paragraph.
• How do I write one?
  Summarize the main idea of your paragraph. Indicate to the reader what your paragraph will be about.

Example:

There are three reasons why Canada is one of the best countries in the world. First, Canada has an excellent health care system. All Canadians have access to medical services at a reasonable price. Second, Canada has a high standard of education. Students are taught by well-trained teachers and are encouraged to continue studying at university. Finally, Canada's cities are clean and efficiently managed. Canadian cities have many parks and lots of space for people to live. As a result, Canada is a desirable place to live.