skkn how to help gifted students find essay writing easy and how to help them write more effectively

TABLE OF CONTENTS - TITLE …………………………………………………………2 - INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………3 - RATIONALE OF THE STUDY…………………………… - PROCEDURES……………………………………………… - FINDINGS ……………………………………………………32 - CONCLUSION ……………………………………….………33 - REFERENCES ………………………………………………34 Title How to help gifted students find essay writing easy and how to help them write more effectively INTRODUCTION Writing is ooften considered as the last skill to be developed after listening, speaking, and reading After many years of teaching at Luong The Vinh high school I have found that a lot of gifted students at this school are enthusiastic about writing especially academic writing But, after marking and correcting their essays I found that their pieces of writing still contained mistakes These mistakes ranged from minor ones such as spellings to major ones such as sentence structures and the organization in an essay As a teacher, I think that I should something to help them overcome their difficulties in writing so that they can improve their writing skill and write well and effectively The innovation covered a range of skills , from basic punctuation and capitalization rules to clause work and the organization in an essay RATIONALE OF THE STUDY a What is Writing ? According to Oshima and Huge, “ Writing is a possessive activity This means that when you first write something down, you have already been thinking about what you are going to say and how are you going to say it Then after you have finished writing , you read over what you have written and make changes and corrections Therefore, writing is never a one-step action: it is a process that has several steps.” ( Oshima and Huge 1997 : ) b The importance of writing to gifted students / college students Writing skill plays a very important role and gifted students / college students need good writing skills as Oshima and Huge point out that “ The most important aspect of a college education is to learn to communicate clearly and effectively That is why general college education prerequisites include a number of composition and reading courses that you must complete before you graduate.” c The aim of the innovation : - To teach gifted students some basic academic writing skills - To help them write well and effectively - To help them find essay writing easy - To help them develop more confidence in their ability to write - To help them show their skills in organising their ideas systematically d The participants of the study 64 students of the two English classes ( grade 11 ) of LTV high school were chosen to take part in the innovation The innovation was carried out in writing periods of the two semesters of the school year The reason why the students of the two English classes ( grade 11 ) were chosen as the participants of the study were that : - They are gifted students - They usually have to write essays - They are interested in writing - They often have to sit exams of English around the year PROCEDURES Learning to write well is a step-by-step process As Oshima and Huge point out that “ The ability to write is not a talent one is born with.” “In writing, content is more important than mechanics, but mechanics is important too.” ( From the Course book : Teaching Reading & Writing – SEAMEO – page 104 ) Here are some important rules / skills that I have accumulated and given to students so that I could help them show their ability in presenting a logical argument , their skills in organising their ideas systematically , their ability to select relevant ideas and information to the topic and last but not least their ability to use correct English grammar and vocabulary A RULES Title Rules A title is used to attract attention and generally tells the reader what to expect It is usually a phrase , not a sentence RULES EXAMPLES -Capitalize the first , last , and important Choosing a Vacation Spot words in a title - Do not capitalize short prepositions such How to Fight Stress as on , to , in , and for ; short conjunctions Winning the Lottery such as and , or , and so ; and the articles a, an ,and the Exception : Capitalize a short word if it is The Problems of Single Parenting the first word in a title The Advantages of Public Transportation Capitalization Rules RULES EXAMPLES Capitalize a The first word of a sentence Mother Teresa is admired for her work all over the world b The pronoun I The nun and I tried to care for poor, sick people throughout the world c Abbreviations and acronyms, which are FBI IBM words formed from the first letters of the USA YMCA WHO words in the names of organizations UN DDT UNICEFF AIDS d All proper nouns Proper nouns include - Names of deities God Allah - Names of people and their titles Jane P Doe , PhD Diana, Princess of Wales Dr Jonas Salk BUT NOT a title without a name the general , the prime minister , the math professor , the prince , the king -Names of specific places you could find on Lake Victoria Telegraph Avenue a map North Pole Trafalgar Square - Names of days , months, and special days Monday Independence Day January Ramadan Asian Russian BUT NOT the names of the seasons -Names of specific groups of people Moslem Jehovah’s Witness ( nationalities, races, and ethnic groups) - Names of geographic areas the Middle East the Southwest James’s home is in the South, but Tom comes from the East Coat BUT NOT the names of compass directions Drive east for two blocks, and then turn south - Names of school subjects with course Business Administration 17B numbers German 101 Chemistry 10 A BUT NOT names of classes without Computer science , business administration , numbers , except languages German conversation , English composition -Names of specific structures such as Golden Gate Bridge buildings and bridges Park Plaza Hotel the White House Kensington Palace -Names of specific organizations International Students’ Club ( businesses, clubs, schools ) University of California St Mary’s High School American Heart Association -Titles of compositions, stories, books, Introducing Myself magazines, newspapers, plays, poems, and Introduction to Academic Writing movies All Quiet on the Western Front Note : Underline or italicize the titles of Star Wars books, magazines, newspapers, plays, and movies Exercise Change small letters to capital letters wherever it is necessary in the following sentences farnaz is a student from iran She speaks english, french, and farsi her major is chemistry three important winter holidays in the united states are christmas, hanukkah, and new year’s day president john f kennedy was bon on may 29, 1917, and was assassinated on november 22, 1963 4.greenhills college is located in boston, massachusetts 5.i am taking four classes this semester : english 40, sociology 32, typing and a computer science course 6 thanksgiving is always on the fourth thursday in november excuse me ! can you please tell me where the golden gate bridge 8.there are three main religions in japan : buddhism, shintoism, and christianity 9.i work during the months of june, july, and august Punctuation Rules RULES a END-OF-SENTENCE PUNCTUATION EXAMPLES The flowers are beautiful in the spring -Put a period at the end of a statement or Water the flowers today command - Put a question mark at the end of a Why are your roses dying ? question - Use an exclamation point to show strong Well, I’m not a gardener! feelings b COMMAS ARE USED To separate items in a series I’m taking, Spanish, English, physics, and economics The teacher will read your essay, make comments on it, and return it to you To separate the day of the month from the American declared their independence from year, and after the year England on July 4, 1776, in Philadelphia NOTE : If no day is given, no comas are American declared their independence from necessary England on July 1776, in Philadelphia To separate the parts of an address in a My address is 404 West 63rd Street , Apt 13, sentence New York, NY 10017 To separate the street name from the 401 West 63rd Street , Apt 13 New York, NY apartment number and the city from the state 10017 in a postal address Before a coordinating conjunction in a We don’t need to bring umbrellas, for the compound sentence sun is shining brightly After a sentence connector in compound The sun is shining brightly; therefore, We sentence don’t need to bring umbrellas After a dependent adverbial clause that is Because the sun is shining brightly, we followed by an independent clause in a don’t need to bring umbrellas complex sentence Before (and after ) nonrestrictive adjective The Napa Valley, which is a famous wineclauses growing region in Northern California, is about 100 miles north of San Francisco Before (and after ) nonrestrictive The Napa Valley, a famous wine-growing appositives region in Northern California, is about 100 miles north of San Francisco After most transition expressions at the Finally, we arrived at our hotel beginning of a sentence However, our rooms were not ready After an hour, we left to find a place to eat Across the street, we found a small café c SEMICOLONS ARE USED Between independent clauses that are not My battery is dead; my car won’t start connected by a coordinating conjunction in My battery is dead; therefore, my car won’t compound sentence start d QUOTATION MARKS ARE USED She said, “ I’ll miss you.” “ I’ll write you every day,” she promised “I think about you every day.” she continued “ and I’ll dream about you every night.” B BASIC WRITING SKILLS I / The Basics of Sentence Construction PHRASES a./ Noun phrases e.g : The bright blue dress was Helen’s favourite dress b./ Prepositional phrases ( phrases that start with a preposition Prepositional phrases work to modify nouns or verbs ) e.g : The man near the door is talking with Nathan ( in this sense , they work very much like adjectives and adverbs) c./ Verbal phrases ( phrases that start with either : a gerund , an infinitive , or a participle Verbal phrases can work as nouns , adjectives , or adverbs.) e.g : Working in a factory had left him broken in body and spirit d./ Appositive phrases e.g : My uncle Jack, a diligent and serious man , taught me the value of hard work Exercise : Read the following sentences Underline all the noun phrases and circle the prepositional phrases Then draw an arrow to the word that each prepositional phrase modifies The leopard’s spots help it to hide from its prey When the right foot of the player touched the foul line, the referee blew the whistle Average winner temperatures in the Arctic Circle drop below zero The vast majority of start-up companies fail their first three years Exercise Read the following sentences Underline any verbal phrases that act as nouns Circle any verbal phrases that act as modifier Then draw an arrow to the word that each phrase modifies Maintaining a high grade point average is essential to any student hoping to go to college Crying and upset, the witness admitted she had lied to protect her boyfriend Ned came home to find his door forced open and his belongings scattered on the floor Planning the trip scheduled for next week is Helen’s responsibility Exercise Read the following sentences Underline any appositive phrases in them and put a comma at the beginning and at the end of each appositive phrase Then draw an arrow to the noun modified by the appositive The Tigers the only team to go undefeated are the favorites to win the championship The film about King Kong a giant ape who destroys the city was entertaining The dancer a girl of both beauty and grace was the star of the show The climbers decided to attempt their ascent of the mountain during the spring traditionally the safest time of year in terms of weather CLAUSES a./ Independent clauses ( Independent clauses can stand alone as complete sentences Independent clauses can function as sentences because they express complete thought e.g.: He got out of his car b./ Dependent clauses Dependent clauses cannot function as complete sentences because they not express complete thoughts Dependent clauses come in three forms : coordinate clauses, subordinate clauses ,and noun clauses -Coordinate clauses are essentially independent clauses However, they cannot function as complete sentences because they begin with coordinating conjunctions, and this makes the thoughts they express incomplete e.g : He got out of the car, but he left the car running - Subordinate clauses always start with a subordinating conjunction Subordinate clauses can be joined to independent clauses , coordinate clauses , or other subordinate clauses e.g : He got out the car, but he left the car running because he was planning to return quickly - Noun clauses : Within a sentence, noun clauses serve the same functions as nouns They can work as subjects , objects , or complement Noun clauses are introduced by one of the following words : that , which , whichever , who , whoever , whomever , what , whatever , when , whenever , how , however , and whether e.g : Mike always buys whatever Mary wants Whoever ate the last piece of cake is in big trouble The big question is how we are going to fix the problem Exercise 10 important was the fact that the Native Americans refrained from attacking the Pilgrims Had they desired to, the Native Americans could have easily driven those early settlers back into the sea ……………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… Nowadays, my hometown is a much better place to live in There are more parks, theaters, and restaurant, so it’s a much more interesting place In addition, the police force has expanded greatly , so there is much less crime than there used to be Exercise Each passage below contains a series of sentences with specific examples of a single character trait: (1) patience, (2) a frightful imagination, and (3) a love of reading What each passage lacks is a topic sentence Your job is to complete each paragraph by creating an imaginative topic sentence that both identifies the particular character trait and creates enough interest to keep us reading Passage A: Patience Create a topic sentence For example, recently I began taking my two-year-old dog to obedience school After four weeks of lessons and practice, she has learned to follow only three commands sit, stand, and lie down and even those she often gets confused Frustrating (and costly) as this is, I continue to work with her every day After dog school, my grandmother and I sometimes go grocery shopping Inching along those aisles, elbowed by hundreds of fellow customers, backtracking to pick up forgotten items, and standing in the endless line at the checkout, I could easily grow frustrated and cranky But through years of trying times I have learned to keep my temper in check Finally, after putting away the groceries, I might go out to a movie with my fiancé, to whom I have been engaged for three years Layoffs, extra jobs, and problems at home have forced us to postpone our wedding date several times Still, my patience has enabled me to cancel and reschedule our wedding plans again and again without fuss, fights, or tears Passage B: A Frightful Imagination Create a topic sentence For instance, when I was in kindergarten, I dreamed that my sister killed people with a television antenna and disposed of their bodies in the woods across the street from my house For three weeks after that dream I stayed with my grandparents until they finally convinced me that my sister was harmless Not long afterwards, my grandfather died, and that sparked new fears I was so terrified that his ghost would visit me that I put two brooms across the doorway of my bedroom at night Fortunately, my little trick worked He never came back More recently, I was terribly frightened after staying up late one night to watch The Ring I lay awake until dawn clutching my cell phone, 20 ready to ring 911 the moment that spooky little girl stepped out of my TV Just thinking about it now gives me Goosebumps Passage C: A Love of Reading Create a topic sentence When I was a young girl, I would make a tent out of my blankets and read Nancy Drew mysteries late into the night I still read cereal boxes at the breakfast table, newspapers while I am stopped at red lights, and gossip magazines while waiting in line at the supermarket In fact, I'm a very talented reader For example, I've mastered the art of talking on the phone while simultaneously reading Dean Koontz or Stephen King But what I read doesn't matter all that much In a pinch, I'll read junk mail, an old warranty, a furniture tag ("DO NOT REMOVE UNDER PENALTY OF LAW"), or even, if I'm extremely desperate, a chapter or two in a textbook Exercise 3: Read the paragraphs below and write an appropriate topic sentence for each one in the space provided 1……………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… Studies have shown that many crucial skills are gained in the first three or four years of life This is when a child acquires basic language skills, a sense of right and wrong , and an understanding of how to interact properly with others Children who not receive the proper forms of attention and support in these years may develop problems that will affect them for the rest of their live …………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Without effective advertising , a company has little chance of informing the public about its products or of persuading the public to buy those products Obviously, without the income generated through sales, any company is doomed to fail However, effective advertising will more than just help increase sales Truly effective advertising will also allow a company to reach new markets Consequently , advertising is also important for the growth of a company ……………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… Photons, whether they exist in the visible spectrum or in the microwave or gamma –ray range, are extremely useful for observation Photons are electrically neutral, so magnetic 21 fields not interfere with them or disrupt their paths Further more, photons are extremely stable , meaning they can travel great distances Finally, since all photons travel at the speed of light, they carry information as fast as physically possible Astronomers use photon observation to study everything from the planets and the sun to the most distant galaxies Supporting Ideas Supporting ideas are the facts, examples, and opinions used to support the main ideas, and they form the majority of the paragraph Supporting ideas can be organized into two different categories: factual support and explanations of relevance Factual support includes facts , examples , and claims that are used to support the main idea The problem is that it is not always immediately clear how a fact supports the main idea Look at the example below: A student’s time in a university is a time for that student to decide what he or she wants to I life In a university , a student takes classes in any number of different subjects Furthermore, a student may be able to get real-life experience in a particular career through an internship For example, I didn’t really know what I wanted to in life until I got an internship working in a local school As you can see , the statement in bold are intended to support the main idea of the paragraph, but the writer does not explain how they support the main idea In this case, the reader has to guess what the relevance of each statement is We can solve this problem by including explanations of relevance for each factual statement Look at the example below: A student’s time in a university is a time for that student to decide what he or she wants to I life In a university , a student takes classes in any number of different subjects This way the student can gain a little bit of knowledge about many different career fields and better decide what interests him or her Furthermore, a student may be able to get real-life experience in a particular career through an internship This helps the student make a better career decision by giving him or her real –life experience doing a particular job on a day to day basis For example, I didn’t really know what I wanted to in life until I got an internship working in a local school This experience convinced me that I would be happiest pursuing a career in education 22 Exercise Read the paragraph below Underline factual support and circle explanations of relevance I believe that advertising can tell you a great deal about a culture If you look at a lot of American advertisements, you’ll see that many of them feature people who are young, attractive , and successful, and they seem to imply that if you buy these products , you will be like these people , too The stress that American commercials place on these qualities clearly shows that youth , success , and attractiveness are highly valued in American culture In my experience , the same is true in o other countries ; their commercials highlight the qualities that are valued in their respective cultures Therefore, by paying attention to the qualities stressed in advertisements , you can begin to learn about the underlying values of a particular culture Exercise Read the paragraph below The relevance of some factual support statements is not explained Add explanations of relevance in the spaces provided I agree that it is important to be honest in all situations A person’s level of honesty is one of the basic characteristics that he or she will be judged by ……… .… Honesty is especially important between friends and family members because trust is the foundation of these relationships ………………………………………………………………………………………… D ESSAY STRUCTURE, EDITING, & REVISION I./ The Basics of Essay Structure Every essay , no matter how long or how short, should contain the same three basic parts : an introduction , a body, and a conclusion Each of these sections has a specific purpose within the essay -Introduction : The basic purpose of the introduction is to let the reader know what the topic and organization of the essay will be - Body : The body will provide most of the details and support for the essay - Conclusion : The conclusion should summaries the main idea and the most important details of the essay 23 Look at the sample essay below : People often talk about the importance of first impressions, and certainly making a good first impression is important However, everyday experience shows us that it is best not to judge people based solely on our first impressions of them No one is a perfect judge of character, and everyone has days when he is not himself I know from personal experience that no one is a perfect judge of character There have been many occasions when my judgment of a person has been proven wrong When I was in college, for example , I lived in a dormitory When I first met my roommate, I was sure that we didn’t get along I felt he was rather arrogant and rude As time passed , however , I realized I had been completely wrong in my judgment of him He is actually a very friendly and caring person, and he is now one of my closest friends Since anyone can make these kinds of errors in judgment , I believe that we should be cautious of our first reactions to others The other reason I feel that we should not rely on first impression in making judgment of people is that everyone has bad days Everyone, no matter how good a person he is , has days when he just isn’t himself My brother , for example , is a really outgoing person , but when he is sick , he barely talks at all So if you happened to meet him when he was sick , your first impression would probably be that he was very shy, which is definitely not the case In conclusion, while many people stress the important of first impressions , I feel it is best to reverse judgment until you k now a person a little better There are simply too many reasons why your first impression of a person could be inaccurate Introductions Being able to construct a strong introduction for an essay is an essential writing skill A well-written introduction will not only set the tone for your essay , but also give the reader a glimpse of the organizational structure of the essay , making it easier for the reader to follow your ideas Take a look at the introduction of the sample essay again : People often talk about the importance of first impressions, and certainly making a good first impression is important However, everyday experience shows us that it is best not to judge people based solely on our first impressions of them No one is a perfect judge of character, and everyone has days when he is not himself A number of things help to make this a strong introduction : 24 It is concise The introduction gets right to the point Too often, writers waste time trying to lead into their topic Instead , you should start your essay by clearly stating your point in the first one or two sentences It is strongly worded Notice that the writer states his position as a fact, rather than as an opinion There are no qualifying phrases such as “ I feel that” or “ In my opinion” to weaken his topic statement It clearly indicates the organizational structure of the rest of the essay The writer’s two main support claims are clearly stated in the final sentence of the introduction Furthermore, they are stated in the same order as they appear in the body This lets the reader know what to expect and helps him to follow the essay more easily Body Paragraphs The body paragraphs of your essay are where you will explain all of your major ideas An essay may only have one body paragraph, or it may have many However, you should usually have two or three body paragraphs Take a look at the body paragraphs from the sample essay again: I know from personal experience that no one is a perfect judge of character There have been many occasions when my judgment of a person has been proven wrong When I was in college, for example , I lived in a dormitory When I first met my roommate, I was sure that we didn’t get along I felt he was rather arrogant and rude As time passed , however , I realized I had been completely wrong in my judgment of him He is actually a very friendly and caring person, and he is now one of my closest friends Since anyone can make these kinds of errors in judgment , I believe that we should be cautious of our first reactions to others The other reason I feel that we should not rely on first impression in making judgment of people is that everyone has bad days Everyone, no matter how good a person he is , has days when he just isn’t himself My brother , for example , is a really outgoing person , but when he is sick , he barely talks at all So if you happened to meet him when he was sick , your first impression would probably be that he was very shy, which is definitely not the case These are good body paragraphs for a number of reasons : Each paragraph is clearly organized around a single supporting idea Knowing how and when to break ideas into separate paragraphs is a crucial writing skill Each individual paragraph should focus on a single , unified idea 25 Each paragraph has a clear , logical flow of ideas It is important that every body paragraph is organized and that the progression of ideas is easy for the reader to follow The use of appropriate transitional phrases such as “ for example” and “ additionally” will help you create this flow of ideas There are clear transition between paragraphs Each paragraph should start with a clear transition that shows its relationship to the paragraph before it Conclusions Conclusions work to summarize the major points of your essay In a sense , they give you one last chance to repeat your most important ideas that the reader will understand and remember them Take a look at the conclusion from the sample essay again: In conclusion, while many people stress the important of first impressions , I feel it is best to reverse judgment until you k now a person a little better There are simply too many reasons why your first impression of a person could be inaccurate This is a strong conclusion for the following reasons: It summarizes the major points of the argument A good conclusion should cover all the key ideas from the essay This requires you to decide which ideas are essential and which are simply details that can be omitted from the conclusion It paraphrases important concepts While a good conclusion should repeat key ideas, it should not so using the same language that is used in the introduction or body of the essay Repeating ideas word fro word will make your conclusion seem boring and repetitious You must be able to rephrase your ideas using slightly different language It discusses the topic in general terms Never repeat specific examples in your essay Instead , try to discuss the more general ideas that the examples have been used to illustrate II/ Editing and Revision Editing and revision are essential parts of the writing process, and even the best writers need to edit and revise their work The best way to this is to break up the editing process into different steps * Step : Correct all mechanical errors Quickly read through your essay and correct any and all errors in grammar , sentence structure and word choice * Step : Check your supporting ideas Read through your essay and ask yourself the following questions: Are all of your ideas adequately supported ? Is the 26 relevance of your examples clear ? Correct any problems relating to insufficient or unclear support * Step : Check the sophistication and variety of your grammar and vocabulary Do you vary your sentence structures and vocabulary , or you rely on repetitious words and phrases ? Replace some ideas if your language seems repetitious or formulaic Exercise Read each of the following questions and the introductory paragraph responding to it Then revise the introduction so that it is more concise and more strongly worded What are the most important qualities for a boss to have ? Most adults spend a significant part of their lives at work For some, work is a pleasurable, fulfilling experience, but for others it is a daily form of torture I feel the quality of a person’s boss is very important to how that person views his or her work; people who have bad bosses are far more likely to dislike their jobs In my opinion, I believe the most important qualities for a boss to have are a clear set of expectations and a willingness to listen to his or her employees People are now living longer than ever before Do you feel this is a positive or negative development ? The desire to live a long life is a natural one; nobody wants to die, even as they grow older With the help of modern medicine , it ahs become possible to delay death for increasingly longer periods Many people now live into their nineties Although I understand that everyone fears death I feel that our increasingly long life spans may be beginning to cause problems for society Exercise Read the following essay The body is improperly organized into a single paragraph Find the most logical places to break the body into separate paragraphs If someone were to propose the construction of a new shopping centre in my community I would definitely oppose it Although a large shopping center would certainly lead to the creation of jobs fro relatively unskilled workers, it would also drive small stores out of business and create further traffic problems in the community 27 First of all , many members of my community are self-employed and own their own small shops My uncle, for example, runs a small bakery, and has done so for the last thirty years Small business owners such as my uncle would not be able to withstand the intense competition that would be created if a large shopping center were constructed They would not be able to compete with the lower prices that much larger business chains are able to offer and would most likely be driven out of business So, while the construction of a new shopping center would create jobs for some, it would also ruin the livelihoods of many others Furthermore , since most of the new jobs created would be lower-paying jobs, such as cashier and sales positions, the overall effect on the local economy would be largely negative The construction of a new shopping mall would also further add to traffic congestion, which is already a significant problem in the community A new shopping center would centralize the workforce and commerce within the community Essentially , most community members, whether they were going to work or simply going shopping , would be going to the same place Clearly , this would have a disastrous effect on traffic Exercise Read the following body paragraph The flow of ideas in each paragraph is poorly organized Revise each paragraph by reordering the ideas so that the flow of ideas is more logical You may have to adjust the grammar of some sentences or change some transitional phrases to this One reason it is incorrect to define success by how much money one earns is that wealth does not always bring happiness My uncle owns a chain of auto repair shops, and he has made a lot of money However, he hasn’t taken a vacation in more than five years because he is always working He loves to golf, but he rarely plays because he spends most weekends in his office In my opinion , many wealthy people are too busy earning money to truly enjoy them Another reason that success should not be judged solely on the basis of wealth is that this kind of narrow, materials view is bad for society An individual’s contributions to society should be an essential part of any definition of success A person who spends all of his or her time trying to earn more money does not really contribute to the community in a meaningful way People who donate their time by volunteering may not earn as much money , but they are actively working to improve their communities 28 E TRANSITION EXPESSIONS I./ Opinions IV./ Spatial Order -According to , -above the -In my opinion … -acrross from the -In my view, -around the outside of the -I think / believe / feel ( that ) -at the top of the II / Conclusions -below the -All in all, -behind the -For these reasons, -beside the -In brief, -between the -Indeed, -close to the -In other words, -in the -In short, -in ( the ) back ( of ) the -In the end, -in ( the ) front (of) the III / Time Order -in the center ( of the) -First, -inside ( of ) the -First of all, -near the -Second, -next to the -Next, -on one side of the -After that, -on the other side of the -Afterward, -on the left ( right ) -Later, -opposite the -Finally, -to the left ( right ) of the -Meanwhile, -under the -Then, V./ Order of Importance -Now, -The first and most -At the beginning of the important reason is -Before the - The last and most -After the important reason is VI./ Make smooth trasitions among different parts of the composition by using transitional phrases such as 29 - It goes without saying that - It is obvious that - To start / begin with - First of all - First , second , last -Moreover , furthermore , in addition - Nevertheless - Meanwhile , whereas - Once once - To sum up , In sum , In short - Finally - In conclusion - On one hand ; On the other hand - On the contrary - Luckily , Absolutely , Consequently, As a result - Let alone - As a matter of fact , In fact , Actually - Last but least - For instance , For example - so on and so forth ,etc - Likewise , Otherwise , or else - In the first place - From the above reasons / considerations - As far as I’m concerned - To make the full use of - I must admit that - To weigh the advantanges and disadvantages of - Hence - It is regarded / considered - From the educational point of view - It is importatnt / imperative that - Nobody can deny that - One proverb goes like this - To weigh the value of - That is to say It means that - Everything has two sides - It’s no use It’s worth - The other part of the proverb runs… - It is ( un)likely that F./ DESCRIPTION - To take into consideration / account – NARRATION – ARGUMENTATION – EXPOSITIONS Besides rules and writing skills mentioned above, the teacher showed the students the differences in pieces of description writing, pieces of narration writing, pieces of argumentation writing, and pieces of exposition writing The teacher also prepared spade work not only in the basics of grammar but also in essential language and skills, and provided them with language resources by laying more emphasis on expanding students’ stock of language ( words & expressions ) I./ Description Describing people - Words and expressions for describing a person’s physical appearance 30 - Composition skills Describing places - Language material - Composition skills II./ Narration Time and tense in a Narration Story for Study Basic Descriptive and Narrative Skills III./ Argumentation Essential Language and Skills Argumentative Texts for Study A General Plan for the Whole Argumentative Essay Words and Expressions to Describe Some Basic Concepts IV./ Exposition Exposition Texts for Study A General Plan for an Expository Essay 31 FINDINGS Questionnaire What did you think about rules and writing skills I had taught you ? A./ Statements SA A N D SD You find writing easier 87 % 65% 5% 10 % 4% 16 % 9% 67 % 16 % 8% 9% on your own You could find out the mistakes 68 % 21 % 11 % in your friends’ essays 68 % 21% 11% You gain more confidence in writing 3.You could learn a lot ( e.g rules , grammar points ) from the lessons the teacher had given to you You could correct your essays 2./ Other comments …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… B / Some comments given by the students when doing the questionnaire : - They could avoid mistakes that they used to make before - They could understand the basics of essay structure - They felt less tense and more relaxed in writing - After finishing writing they themselves could correct minor mistakes in their essays CONCLUSION 32 How to write well and effectively and meet the expectations of the readers is a major concern for many students So we should teach them how to write In writing, content is more important than mechanics, but mechanics is important too Meaning before mechanics , but not in the place of mechanics, looking after the content means also looking after the mechanics Life is not simple, the answer are not right there on the page for us In order to help gifted students to achieve their purpose –how to gifted write well and more effectively- we should / must instruct them both in simple rules and important writing skills They will become more motivated if learning materials and teachers’ way of teaching meet their expectations , needs , abilities and interests The writer of this piece of writing Bùi Ngọc Xinh 33 REFERENCES - Morley –Warner, T 2000 Academic Writing is CREA Publications - Oshima, A & Hogue,A 1997 Introduction to Academic Writing Addison Wesley Longman - Insider Writing – 2006-2007 LinguaForum, Inc - The Course booklet Teaching Reading and Writing Regional Language Centre Singapore 34 [...]... on the page for us In order to help gifted students to achieve their purpose how to gifted write well and more effectively- we should / must instruct them both in simple rules and important writing skills They will become more motivated if learning materials and teachers’ way of teaching meet their expectations , needs , abilities and interests The writer of this piece of writing Bùi Ngọc Xinh 33 REFERENCES... After finishing writing they themselves could correct minor mistakes in their essays CONCLUSION 32 How to write well and effectively and meet the expectations of the readers is a major concern for many students So we should teach them how to write In writing, content is more important than mechanics, but mechanics is important too Meaning before mechanics , but not in the place of mechanics, looking after... example below : Bob and Jessica wanted to go to the beach, but their sister Diane didn’t , so they planned to go into the city instead, but the traffic was terrible because there had been a huge accident, and they had to turn around and go home Run-on sentences like the one above should be broken into two or more smaller sentences Look at the example below : Bob and Jessica wanted to go to the beach, but... You must be able to rephrase your ideas using slightly different language 3 It discusses the topic in general terms Never repeat specific examples in your essay Instead , try to discuss the more general ideas that the examples have been used to illustrate II/ Editing and Revision Editing and revision are essential parts of the writing process, and even the best writers need to edit and revise their... pieces of narration writing, pieces of argumentation writing, and pieces of exposition writing The teacher also prepared spade work not only in the basics of grammar but also in essential language and skills, and provided them with language resources by laying more emphasis on expanding students stock of language ( words & expressions ) I./ Description 1 Describing people - Words and expressions for... to them Bats live in dark caves and hunt at night In order to make up for the dark of light , they also use sound to navigate and locate objects - The main idea of this passage is that dolphins and bats both use sound to hunt and navigate because they live in low-light conditions Exercise 1 Read the following paragraph and underline the topic sentence in each one If a paragraph does not contain a topic... different sentences, and the reader will be expected to be able to put these pieces together to understand what the main idea is a./ Topic Sentence What is the topic sentence? Topic sentences usually appear at the beginning or end of a paragraph and tell the reader exactly what the paragraph is about A topic sentence contains the main idea upon which a paragraph is developed What follows a topic sentence... like “ however.” Look at the example below: After the meeting had ended , Mitch and Katie got into a huge argument Later, however , they apologised to each other b./ Run-on Sentences In theory , there is no limit to the number of clauses that you can link together in a sentence In practice , however, if you link too many clauses together in a sentence , your sentence will be long, disorganized, and confusing... safety, and it promised to ease the restrictions as soon as it is deemed to be safe to do so Exercise 2 : Combine the simple sentences below Try to combine them into a single sentence using as many different sentence structures as possible The team began to lose any hope of victory The team realized it was thirteen points back with only minutes to go in the final quarter 1 Combine the sentences into a... job is to complete each paragraph by creating an imaginative topic sentence that both identifies the particular character trait and creates enough interest to keep us reading Passage A: Patience Create a topic sentence For example, recently I began taking my two-year-old dog to obedience school After four weeks of lessons and practice, she has learned to follow only three commands sit, stand, and lie