ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAYS
1. INTRODUCTION
Writing in the English language classroom can become unreal if it?s always produced for the same reader, the teacher.
Students have to imagine contexts for their writing and motivate themselves to produce for the imaginary reader.
In real life, writing is usually undertaken in response to a demand of some kind.
e.g. For adults: the demand may arise from academic studies, professional responsibilities, etc.
e.g. For students: think about possible future purposes for writing in English (local newspaper, organizations, etc.)
2. WRITING AND COMMUNICATING
2.1 WRITING
It?s extremely difficult to discover what happens when people compose a written text. The handwritten product gives very little information, and if we think about our writing activity, we destroy its naturalness.
1. Factors of the writing process (3)
PLANNING STAGE
It?s the stage in which thoughts are organised, and a lexical / grammatical outline prepared.
The writer works on what the writer needs to know in order for his / her message be understood. (effect of the words)
AWARENESS OF LINGUISTIC AND SOCIAL CONVENTIONS
This is to follow the normal conventions of graphic expression, follow the rules of spelling and punctuation, etc.
MEDIUM OF EXPRESSION
Writers need to choose a specific medium of expression, such as handwriting, typing or word processing.
2. The act of revision
Any model must take into account the act of revision. From the first stages of making notes and headings, through various drafts, to the final version.
This is a promising field of research: the self-corrections and errors introduced while composing written language.
3. Writing and thinking
When people write something, sometimes may affect the way they think. Sometimes people think: ?It doesn?t look right now I?ve written it down.?
4. Composing
There are 4 things that writers do while composing:
DELETION: Elimination of false starts and unnecessary or wrongly chosen words.
REARRANGEMENT: To separate or to bring together material changing logic or word order.
CONSOLIDATION: To make the text more compact or streamlined while retaining the content.
DIFFERENTIATION: To add or to expand material.
2.2. COMMUNICATING
One of the tasks for a teacher of writing is to help students as writers to become aware of their readers and to develop a sense of audience.
1. More and less skilled writers
Recent research shows that skilled writers are sensitive to their audiences. They think about what the reader will be interested in.
2. Writer based prose
Less skilled writers produce what can be called ?writer based? rather than ?reader based? prose. The presentation of ideas and arguments is less clear.
3. Encouragement
Students need encouragement from the teacher to think about appropriateness as well as correctness in writing. For every piece of writing undertaken, a student needs to answer:
– Who is my reader?
– What do I need to say?
– How can I make it unambiguous and accessible to my reader?
It is a clear sense of audience that enables a writer to select appropriate content and express it in an appropriate form and style: in a way that facilitates the process of communicating.
3. STRUCTURE OF ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAYS
3.1. INTRODUCTION
It is a short introduction, presenting your thesis.
3.2. MAIN PART
These are the main arguments in the body of the essay. Here, the arguments supporting your thesis are presented.
§ Each argument must be stated at the beginning of the paragraph.
§ Each paragraph must be introduced by the last sentence of the previous paragraph.
§ There must never be more than one thought per sentence, and one idea per paragraph.
§ The arguments must be set out in logical order.
§ Each argument must be illustrated with typical examples. However, do not give more tan two or three, you are not showing off how much you know. If you want to impress the reader, this is best done by choosing examples that are less well-known or examples that are not in the books, etc. but from your personal experience.
3.3. CONCLUSION
It should be short and confirm, from the evidence in the main part, the thesis you set out to prove in the introduction.
4. CHARACTERISTICS. Argumentative essays written for different purposes.
The purpose affects how we write these essays, although the structure is not affected by the purpose.
4.1. THE ESSAY IS SET IN AN EXAMINATION
In that case we are presenting our point of view to readers (examiners) who are familiar with the subject.
4.2. THE ESSAY IS A THESIS OR A SCHOOL PROJECT
It may have been set by somebody else. We have had time to study the subject and do some research.
We can still assume some knowledge in the reader, but we should not assume too much. The facts will be fresher in our mind than in his / hers.
The less we think our reader knows, the more we must set out our facts in detail and give our sources.
4.3. THE ESSAY IS ADDRESSED TO A LAY AUDIENCE
e.g. an article for a newspaper. We assume no knowledge. We explain all the terms and never make more than three points. Three points is all an article can take.
5. SYNTHESIS
– Students need encouragement from the teacher to think about appropriateness as well as correctness in writing.
– Argumentative essays are divided into 3 parts: introduction, main part and conclusion.
– In the introduction we present our thesis.
– In the body of the essay we present the arguments supporting our thesis.
– The conclusion must be short and confirm the thesis we previously set out.
– Argumentative essays may be written for 3 different purposes:
– The essay is set in an examination
– The essay is a thesis or a school project
– The essay is addressed to a lay audience
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