Applying some innovative solutions to improve the gifted students’ argumentative writing skill at nhu thanh high school

THANH HOA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING NHU THANH HIGH SCHOOL -*** - INNOVATION IN TEACHING APPLYING SOME INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE THE GIFTED STUDENTS’ ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING SKILL AT NHU THANH HIGH SCHOOL The writer: Nguyen Thi Kim Lien The post: The teacher Innovation of subject: English THANH HOA, 2019 TABLE OF CONTENT PART ONE: INTRODUCTION .1 I RATIONALE OF THE STUDY .1 II AIMS OF THE STUDY III RESEARCH QUESTIONS IV METHODS OF THE STUDY PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW I OVERVIEW OF WRITING SKILL II THE ARGUMENTIVE ESSAY III THE DIFFICULTIES OF WRITING ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAYS V THE SOLUTION OF DETERMINING THE STRUTURE OF ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING THROUGH THE NETWORK AND A FIFTEEN-PHRASE/SENTENCE SOLUTION AND THEIR IMPACT ON DEVELOPING THE STUDENTS’ ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING SKILL CHAPTER 2: PRACTICAL SITUATIONS I METHODS OF THE STUDY II THE REALITY OF TEACHING AND LEARNING ENGLISH ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING SKILL AT NHU THANH HIGH SCHOOL .6 CHAPTER 3: RECOMMENDATIONS TO HELP .7 I RECOMMENDATIONS II PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS SOME PRACTICAL EXAMPLES OF USING A FIFTEEN- SENTENCE/PHRASE SOLUTION IN THE WRITING LESSON AT NHU THANH HIGH SCHOOL 14 CHAPTER 4: RESULT 18 PART THREE: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION .18 I CONCLUSION .18 II REFLECTIONS 18 REFERENCES 20 PART ONE: INTRODUCTION I RATIONALE OF THE STUDY Studying English nowadays has become an essential demand for everyone Learning English is important It is simple as English is one of the most popular international languages and it is most not only all over the world but also in all aspects of society Therefore, learning and mastering it would greatly give advantages to the person concerned Especially, since Vietnam became the 150th member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), it has been required that we have to build the labor force who are skillful at work and use English well as an effective tool of communication Although many Vietnamese students get excellent certain qualifications, their ability of communicating in English is limited As a result, they must give up their dream jobs There is no doubt about that English is the optimum standard for applicants into foreign and state- owned companies On account of the above demands, English is compulsory not only at school but also in examinations at certain stages of the school education system According to the national curriculum, English is built with the aim of communicating Creating the ability of communication in English for students is the most important target in the process of teaching As teachers, I think we’d all agree that communication is important In fact, it’s a necessary component of education, livelihood, and basic functionality in our society It’s also fairly obvious that there are two main ways to communicate, although more obscure forms exist Basically, we talk and we write That’s how we let other people know what’s going on, and it’s an important skill to have Just about every student can talk, but how many Vietnamese students can truly write well? Writing is important because it’s used extensively in higher education and in the workplace If students don’t know how to express themselves in writing, they won’t be able to communicate well with friends, teachers, professors, employers, peers, or just about anyone else Much of professional communication is done in writing: proposals, memos, reports, applications, preliminary interviews, e-mails, and more are part of the daily life of a college student or successful graduate Even if students manage to learn the material in their college classes without knowing how to write well, they won’t be able to express their knowledge to the people who are making the big decisions Potential employers won’t know whether or not head knowledge can be applied to everyday demands unless it’s through a spoken interview Even the majority of certifications and licensures require basic writing skills to obtain The inability to write makes for a stillborn career Argumentative writing has been confirmed by researchers to be the hardest model in writing This genre of writing is important for gifted students to express their own points of view in academically appropriate forms and strategies Unfortunately, students often encounter difficulties in the use of complex syntactic patterns and appropriate elements in composing argumentative writing Consequently, by means of the drawbacks in language teaching methods of the past, particularly in the argumentative writing skill, a number of research studies have sought to investigate and demonstrate how argumentative writing can be improved by using effective methods to gauge the weaknesses of students’ writing ability Therefore, in this research I present some innovative solutions including The solution of determining the structure of an argumentative essay and its own paragraph through the network and a fifteen – sentence/phrase solution which I have applied effectively over the last few years to improve my gifted students’ argumentative writing skill II AIMS OF THE STUDY On the basis of surveying students’ ability of writing an argumentative essay in English at Nhu Thanh High School, I have given feasible solutions including innovating methods of teaching writing skill This study also investigates whether the solution of determining the structure of an argumentative essay through the network and a fifteen – sentence/phrase solution in improving argumentative writing skill can have positive impact on writing process among gifted students and can develop their argumentative writing skill or not I decide the research with title “Applying some innovative solutions to improve the gifted students’ argumentative writing skill” III RESEARCH QUESTIONS This study aims at finding answer to the following research question: How can innovative solutions help the students at Nhu Thanh High School improve their argumentative writing skill ? The question has been addressed to one group of students that I have been teaching in Nhu Thanh High School with the aim to examine how innovative solutions affect the process of argumentative writing here IV METHODS OF THE STUDY - The method of collecting and analyzing materials for the research: research for materials concerning about the subject, analyze and get certain knowledge from previous researches, finally give the foundation to the research - The method of talking to students: through talking to students, I have got to know real situation of students’ writing learning in language classes at Nhu Thanh High School - The method of surveying through answer sheets PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW I OVERVIEW OF WRITING SKILL What is writing? "Writing" is the process of using symbols (letters of the alphabet, punctuation and spaces) to communicate thoughts and ideas in a readable form To write clearly it is essential to understand the basic system of a language In English this includes knowledge of grammar, punctuation and sentence structure Vocabulary is also necessary, as is correct spelling and formatting A writer may write for personal enjoyment or use, or for an audience of one person or more The audience may be known (targeted) or unknown Taking notes for study purposes is an example of writing for one's self Blogging publicly is an example of writing for an unknown audience A letter to a friend is an example of writing for a targeted audience As with speaking, it is important to consider your audience when writing There are many different styles of writing, from informal to formal Some of the difficulties associated with the teaching of writing in foreign language classes come from the nature of writing itself Writing is an artificial activity in a way that speech is not; while every normal human being on this planet learns, eventually, to talk and to listen, far fewer people become literate, able to write Writing is learned, while speaking is acquired as part of growing up Writing is indeed difficult, for several reasons Firstly, the writer has to decide what information the reader needs, and how best to express this So there is a psychological difficulty, in that the writer cannot consult the reader- the audience is not immediately present, in contrast with most conversations Writer has no immediate feedback to let them know how they are doing and whether they should change their approach There is no immediate interaction between the producer and receiver Secondly, there is a linguistic difficulty, in that the language used in written language is different in most ways from that used in speech It is either simplified (lists, telegrams, notes, etc.) or more elaborate, more formal In our mother tongue we have to learn an elaborate network of conventions and rules before we become “good writer” In a foreign language this process is all the more difficult as there may be interference on a cultural level, not just the linguistic, between mother tongue and the foreign language Thirdly, there is a cognitive difficulty, in that students have to organize thoughts on paper In schools, writing is taught partly as a vital part of literacy program, but also in order to show that work is being done Writing is often associated, particularly in weaker students’ minds, with “chores” or even with discipline (the traditional writing lesson is quite quiet, so the teacher is easily able to keep control) This “homework syndrome” can lead to students making less and less progress because they are poorly motivated, perform badly, receive low grades, and end up disliking writing more and more II THE ARGUMENTIVE ESSAY The argumentative essay is a genre of writing that requires the student to investigate a topic; collect, generate, and evaluate evidence; and establish a position on the topic in a concise manner Please note: Some confusion may occur between the argumentative essay and the expository essay These two genres are similar, but the argumentative essay differs from the expository essay in the amount of pre-writing (invention) and research involved The argumentative essay is commonly assigned as a capstone or final project in first year writing or advanced composition courses and involves lengthy, detailed research Expository essays involve less research and are shorter in length Expository essays are often used for in-class writing exercises or tests, such as the GED or GRE Argumentative essay assignments generally call for extensive research of literature or previously published material Argumentative assignments may also require empirical research where the student collects data through interviews, surveys, observations, or experiments Detailed research allows the student to learn about the topic and to understand different points of view regarding the topic so that she/he may choose a position and support it with the evidence collected during research Regardless of the amount or type of research involved, argumentative essays must establish a clear thesis and follow sound reasoning The argument essay is the most common type of writing assignment that gifted students will encounter throughout their exams While there are different variations of the argument essay, the overall foundation is always the same: the writer is tasked with investigating an issue, taking a stand on the issue, and finding and incorporating a multitude of evidence in a logical manner to support the overall claim Most of us have experience with arguing, but an argumentative essay is quite different than a verbal argument that arises out of the blue Verbal arguments often become heated and unreasonable, while the goal of an argumentative essay is the opposite: the argument must be specific, reasoned, detailed and supported with a variety of evidence Furthermore, a verbal argument often focuses on who is right regarding a specific issue, while a well-written, researched argument essay focuses on what is the right side of a particular issue In short, an argument essay must be logical from beginning to end III THE DIFFICULTIES OF WRITING ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAYS Writing an argumentative essay can be easy in many aspects because students are given the opportunity to take a personal stance on a topic This can be a more entertaining essay to write, but we must remember that although students’ main idea may be opinion based, it is important that students’ paper is still research based Here are some common problems students may experience while writing an argumentative essay: Finding Support Once students have selected a topic or argument that students would like to prove through their essay, it is crucial to locate reputable support The Internet is full of opinion-based articles, but these are not what students will want to use to develop they argument Arguments or opinions must be supported with factual data or research in order to be credible They can also quote an authority on the topic Contradictory Arguments Another common problem to be weary of when writing an argumentative essay is contradictory arguments Make sure to thoroughly read their sources A quote or idea from a source can easily be taken out of context, changing the meaning of said quote all together Students want to be sure to maintain their credibility on the topic, and honestly make their argument Avoid Personal Opinion When writing your argumentative essay you must be sure to keep a neutral tone on the topic There is a difference between making a compelling argument, and bombarding your readers with overly emotional personal opinion With strong facts and reliable sources you will find that harsh or passionate language is unnecessary to prove your point Consider Your Audience Your audience quite frequently influences the way you approach your topic The means to convince an audience of college professors will surely be different from adolescent readers IV THE IMPORTANCE ELEMENTS OF A GOOD ARGUMENTAIVE ESSAY Most people not require special skills to prove their point of view when providing arguments on various day-to-day issues All of us sometimes argue why the movie we have watched is so impressive or why we should get a promotion This means that we argue not only in the academic field, but also in our everyday lives That is why writing an argumentative essay does not require any additional skills and most students can deal with the assignment with much success However, it is also important to structure an argumentative essay in a correct way For this reason, before writing an essay, you need to find out what elements should be included in your argumentative essay You also need to support your viewpoint by providing an explanation of your ideas and specific examples Let us discuss the fundamental elements of argumentative essays * Organization and focus When writing an argumentative essay, you need to prove the main viewpoint by providing enough evidence and well-grounded arguments * Description and analysis: Description and analysis are two more elements of an argumentative essay that should be included in your paper if you want it to be consistent and relevant * Evidence Evidence can be provided in different way You should support your ideas with certain examples and make the readers accept your point of view by providing well-grounded evidence in favor of your position * Answering a counterargument If you add a counterargument in your essay, it will make it clear for the readers that you fully understand the material you are discussing in your paper V THE SOLUTION OF DETERMINING THE STRUTURE OF ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING THROUGH THE NETWORK AND A FIFTEEN-PHRASE/SENTENCE SOLUTION AND THEIR IMPACT ON DEVELOPING THE STUDENTS’ ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING SKILL Determining the structure of argumentative essay in the right way is extremely important, which helps students arrange logical ideas in suitable places An argumentative essay is one of the most common type of essays in the academic world It is conceivable that every student will be expected to write an argumentative essay at one point or another in their academic career To write a good argumentative essay, it is imperative for the writer to know the structure of the essay In addition, using sentences and phrases in the fifteen- phrase/sentence solution is based on the criteria of band in IELTS writing task The fifteenphrase/sentence solution is actually a format of an essay Although students use the model to write, they still give their own ideas The benefits of this fifteen- phrase/sentence solution are that the essay is not only logic, but the students also think and write more quickly and easily This study is beneficial for teachers to provide valuable insights into the weaknesses in their learners’ language variants that can be used to develop their teaching programmes and instructions to more effectively support students’ argumentative writing development CHAPTER 2: PRACTICAL SITUATIONS I METHODS OF THE STUDY The research is done qualitatively in the context of one group of thirty students At Nhu Thanh High School In this survey, I use the survey questionnaire for students This survey is designed to collect information for the study on “An investigation into the Reality of teaching and learning English argumentative writing skill at Nhu Thanh High School II THE REALITY OF TEACHING AND LEARNING ENGLISH ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING SKILL AT NHU THANH HIGH SCHOOL The whole procedure of teaching and learning is implemented similarly to all students of the class after all of them give consent to be part of the research However, due to the limit of the study, I only focus to collect information from the learning engagement of one gifted student group ( total: 30 students) during this process as the data for analysis Below is the survey of the practical situation of learning English writing skill at Nhu Thanh High School Table 1: Frequencies of argumentative writing difficulties faced by students Number of students Difficulties faced by students have difficulty fulfilling task demand 20 grammar structure 27 Topic sentence of each paragraph 20 Length 20 organized ideas 23 Pacing 20 solid evidence 20 The structure of argumentative writing 27 During the interview, the students talked about the difficulties in writing argumentative essay As shown in Table 1, students reported that grammar structure in English and the structure of an argumentative essay were the great difficulties for their argumentative writing They felt that they did not have enough knowledge of the complex sentences Understanding the argumentative writing structure and grammar ones were also considered difficult for students because students pointed out that the structure of argumentative writing posed the main barrier for them to produce a good piece of argumentative essay In relation to the difficulties of solid evidence, they stated that providing solid evidence was one of the most difficult aspects for them to convince the audience to believe in what they wrote With reference to the difficulties of time constraints in argumentative writing, students faced the difficulties in this aspect One of students stated: “Another problem is the limitation of the time I cannot write a good piece of writing because I feel hectic I need more time to write because of the limited time I cannot think of strong evidence to write” They admitted that it was difficult to write a well-organized argumentative essay For example, the following students pointed out that “I don’t know how to organize the idea of argumentative writing essay I not know that I have to write the Introduction or I have to control the idea I have to write supporting detail 1,2,3 and then I have to write the conclusion I write down what I can think of without controlling the idea” With the reference to the difficulties of fulfilling task demand and understanding the questions, students considered this task demand difficult Students stated that writing the thesis statement was difficult for them to write in order to convince the audience CHAPTER 3: RECOMMENDATIONS TO HELP THE GIFTED STUDENTS TO IMPROVE THEIR ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING SKILL I RECOMMENDATIONS According to the data analysis from the survey, The aim of this study was to identify the argumentative writing difficulties that students encountered when they compose argumentative essays It was noted that teachers have realized that there is a critical need to accord greater attention to the improvement of writing teaching for students The way to improve writing instruction is to develop insights into the diagnostic evaluation of writing This type of evaluation provides valuable data about students‟ weaknesses in argumentative writing Therefore, I have applied some innovative solutions to improve the gifted students’ argumentative writing skill at Nhu Thanh High School II PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS A The solution of determining the structure of an argumentative essay through the network I have given my students the following structures and ask them to get to know them and analyse them in detail The structure of paper's outline is the same as the structure of their entire essay The difference is that they include the entire information in the body text while students only name the arguments in their outline An English essay outline is worth their time as it figures as their plan during the whole writing process There are three basic sections of any argumentative essay students should follow: Introduction paragraph Body with 2-3 strong arguments and refusing opposing arguments in one paragraph Conclusion Of course, students must focus on supporting your thesis statement rather than the opponents The opposing point of view is included just to show the writer is objective with his judgments, and he respects all existing arguments Outline Section 1: Introduction Every essay starts with an introduction, and an argumentative essay is not an exception Hook First of all, think about a powerful, eye-catching hook to grab reader's attention Sure, it is important to know who your target audience is first Different people require different approaches Let's look at the example Writers used to write an argumentative essay on why there should be a second official language in the United States in addition to English They have chosen Spanish as my point of view Based on the primary research, my hook could be, "As far as most of the immigrants in the United States speak Spanish due to the neighborhood with Latin America, Spanish should be made the second official language in the United States." Background information Don't try to write too much in this part Simply name a topic and give a hint on what you'll be talking about in your argumentative text Briefly explain why the topic is important and who cares about it An example might be, "The research shows that immigrants from Latin America feel uncomfortable with studying in English schools as they require more time to learn this language Thus, it is important to work on the question of the second national language." Working on the thesis statement This part contains the main argument Don't pose any questions here - just state your main point of view clearly and without any hesitations You may look at the additional information on how to write an eye-catching essay introduction with a hook Outline Section 2: Working on students’ arguments and refusing opposing arguments As you remember, every claim is supported by the corresponding evidence you found during the research If you have more information to share, you may include up to five body paragraphs Claim It is a statement to support your argumentative essay's thesis An example of an opening sentence in body paragraph is: "Making Spanish the second official language in the IS would positively impact the economic relationships between Mexico and the United States." Without a good evidence, no one is going to believe my words Evidence is based on credible facts and statistics the writer finds during the research process It has nothing to with your personal knowledge or information based on your experience Choose sources carefully The example is: "12% increase in trade between the US and Mexico was a notice in 2014 when Arizona's local government send people who spoke Spanish to take part in the deal." Also, the reader will think your judgments are subjective until you add an opposing argument Looking for Opponent's Claims You need to understand that different people have different points of view regarding the same topic, so be patient Check the arguments of the US citizens who not support the idea of the second national language They may be helpful while working on the third section of your argumentative essay You may pose a question why they don't like the idea of any other language except for English Make it clear that they fear are connected with the unwillingness to study one more language or cooperate with Mexican population Remember that your personal ideas should be supported by the facts you find during your research For every argument against, you should present enough evidence to prove you're right It all may sound difficult, but please keep in mind you have a right to buy papers online! Outline Section 3: Conclusion While arguing with various opinions, you have lost the focus Remind the readers of your topic by restating your thesis Make it clear why your argument is a winning one The best way to so is to present how the things would turn without your idea being implemented ASAP After my students understand the above structures clearly, I will give them my prepared completed argumentative essays to ask them to determine what the structure of these argumentative essay and their own paragraphs are through the network above HERE ARE SOME PRATICAL EXAPLES MY STUDENTS HAVE APPLIED THIS WAY: Example Topic 1: 10 Smoking should be prohibited in public places To what extent you agree or disagree with this statement? Write an essay of about 250 words to show your opinion The question of whether smoking should be banned in public places or not remains controversial Some people advocate while others criticize From my point of view, I support the ideal that: no smoking in public sites is a good decision I have some reasons for this One of major disadvantages of smoking a lot in public places is that it has a negative effect on both healths’ active and passive smokers Every year, in the world, a large number of people who get lung cancer result from smoking frequently Furthermore, non- smokers also inhale poisonous substances from cigarettes As a result, they also get the same diseases as smokers According to some statistics, there is a strong link between smoking and cancer A recent medical survey shows that the cancer rate among smokers is as high as nonsmokers Another point of view in favor of banning smoking is that it causes environment pollutions, fire accidents and financial problems In fact, smoking makes the air polluted, especially when smokers use means of public transports with numerous passengers including children and pregnant women What is more, a plenty of fire accidents happens from smoking such as forest fire, market one…In addition, smokers must spend much money on smoking Supporters of smoking in public sites would argue that this can take away their privacy freedom Nevertheless, as stated previously, smoking is always badly influential to other people In the final analysis, I am convinced the idea that the government should give the law of banning smoking in public places It is likely that in the future smokers will have a tendency to smoke less and we will live in the clean world without smoke Students will read the completed essay and find out its own structure and here are their typical work: INTRODUCTION PARAGRAPH: The question of whether smoking should be banned in public places or not remains controversial Some people advocate while others criticize From my point of view, I support the ideal that: no smoking in public sites is a good decision I have some reasons for this BODY: PARAGRAPH 1: One of major disadvantages of smoking a lot in public places is that it has a negative effect on both healths’ active and passive smokers( TOPIC SENTENCE 1) Every year, in the world, a large number of people who get lung cancer result from smoking frequently Furthermore, nonsmokers also inhale poisonous substances from cigarettes As a result, they also get the same diseases as smokers According to some statistics, there is a strong link between smoking and cancer A recent medical survey shows that the cancer rate among smokers is as high as non-smokers(SUPPORTING IDEAS) 11 PARAGRAPH 2: Another point of view in favor of banning smoking is that it causes environment pollutions, fire accidents and financial problems(TOPIC SENTENCE) In fact, smoking makes the air polluted, especially when smokers use means of public transports with numerous passengers including children and pregnant women What is more, a plenty of fire accidents happens from smoking such as forest fire, market one…In addition, smokers must spend much money on smoking(SUPPORTING IDEAS) PARAGRAPH 3: FOR REFUSING OPPOSING ARGUMENTS: upporters of smoking in public sites would argue that this can take away their privacy freedom Nevertheless, as stated previously, smoking is always badly influential to other people CONCLUSION PARAGRAPH : In the final analysis, I am convinced the idea that the government should give the law of banning smoking in public places It is likely that in the future smokers will have a tendency to smoke less and we will live in the clean world without smoke Example Topic 2: ” Parents are the best teachers” Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Write an essay of about 250 words to show your opinion INTRODUCTION PARAGRAPH: The question of whether parents are the best teachers or not remains controversial Some people advocate while others disapprove of this ideal To my way of thinking, I support the statement that: Parents play the most important role in educating their children I have some reasons for this BODY: PARAGRAPH 1: The first reason is that parents who bear and take care of us, teach us everything in our lives such as how to eat, speak, drink, stand, walk, communicate( TOPIC SENTENCE 1)….Parents are the first teacher that are always with us whenever we need With parents’ teaching, we are growing –up and become an independent person(SUPPORTING IDEAS) PARAGRAPH 2: Another reason is that parents are influential to our behavior( TOPIC SENTENCE 1) Nobody can understand as deeply as our parents can If we make any mistakes, it is easy for them to realize reasons for the problem and give advice to us Whenever we get into troubles, parents are persons who worry about us, make us more optimistic about life Furthermore, they are willing to share happiness and sadness with us Last but not least, there is no doubt about that parents always try to have the most perfective conditions at the time we are at the primary school where professional teachers join hands in teaching us (SUPPORTING IDEAS) PARAGRAPH 3: FOR REFUSING OPPOSING ARGUMENTS Some people say that teachers at school are really the best ones because they are welltrained and skilled in teaching, each teacher is good at a certain subject and knowledgeable However, as stated previously, parents are always with us at the time we are born 12 CONCLUSION PARAGRAPH : In the final analysis, I am convinced of the ideal that our best teachers are parents Each child will get good development of character providing that he has educational environment from his parents By this way my students are able to determine the structure of an argumentative essay and its own paragraph through the network, which helps them have an argumentative writing in the right way in the first step B fifteen- phrase/sentence solution: I give my students typical sentence structures used for argumentative writings: - According to recent Introduce the statistics, the number of background users on has been considerably increasing - The question of Introduce the debate whether or not topic Introductio remains controversial n - There has been a lot of Introducing argument about topic, idea whether or not - From my point of view, I Give writer’s own idea support the ideal that - To my way of thinking, I am convinced of the idea that - One of major Give the 1st reason (dis)advantages of .is ( topic sentence) that…… Paragraph This means that……….(effect) Explain more This is because……….(cause) specifically Supporting If……….not………( opponent idea approach) So/ Therefore, ……………… The idea is basic Paragraph Giving an example - Another point of view in Give the 2nd reason favor of + is that… ( topic sentence) For example,……………… Give example relating the fact ……………………… Explain the example more specifically 13 10 Paragraph (counterargument) Making concessions - Supporters/ opponents Don’t deny the opposite of would argue that ideas nevertheless, as stated previously, Of course,……………… Admit that there was 11 still rational aspect for the opposite idea However/yet………………… Indicate that there was 12 Nonetheless, it is more no rational aspect for important to remember that…/ the opposite idea - In the final analysis, I am Restate their own idea convinced of the idea that - In conclusion 13 - To sum up - Overall/ all in all - On the whole Conclusion Meanwhile,……………… 14 15 By doing ………………………… Simultaneously, they shouldn’t disregard completely the opposite ideas so, Extend the topic SOME PRACTICAL EXAMPLES OF USING A FIFTEEN- SENTENCE/PHRASE SOLUTION IN THE WRITING LESSON AT NHU THANH HIGH SCHOOL Example 1: Le Yen Nga’s essay ( the 10th grader) Topic: Students at high schools should not use Facebook because of negative effects Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Do you agree or disagree? Write an essay (about 250 words) to express your personal point of view” According to recent statistics, the number of users on Facebook has been considerably increasing Introductio n To my way of thinking, I support of the idea that Facebook has some negative effects on students’ work Paragraph 1 The first disadvantage of using Facebook is wasting time, especially for students who should spend their time studying Moreover, many boys and girls are interested on logging in facebook in order to share, like, comment on things that I must call “meaningless” 14 Paragraph 2 Paragraph Another point of view in favor of not using facebook is that it has a bad impact on your health and communicative skill In addition, online facebook limits our direct communication Too much time spent online makes us feel afraid of going out, talking with neighbors It causes many bad effects to your eyes, your skin Sitting all day long before the Pc even makes you fatter Opponents of not using facebook would argue that it has lots of advantages as it helps you communicate with anyone easily with little money, make friends in wherever you like, or express your own interests… However, as stated previously, it has its great disadvantages especially for students’ study On the whole, with the main reasons above, I strongly believe that high students should not waste their Conclusion time on facebook Instead, they had better focus on their own plan for their future life Example 2: Ha Viet Cuong’s essay( the 10th grader) “Studying the English language in an English speaking country is the best but not the only way to learn the language” Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Write an essay (about 250 words) to express your personal point of view” The question of whether studying English in an English Introductio speaking country is the most effective way for learners or not remains controversial n Introducing From my point of view, I support the ideal that: learning topic, idea English in English speaking countries is really good yet there are still various ways to master the language There is no doubt about that English learners have perfective conditions for studying English in English speaking countries such as naturally communicative Paragraph environment In addition, in English speaking countries, all people speak English that requires learners to try their best to adapt to this Paragraph Nevertheless, studying English is not only way for them to master the language because learners still study English well in other countries Moreover, they can take the advantage of the language conditions in their homeland such as television, internet, magazines, language websites… 15 Paragraph (counterargument) Making concessions Conclusion … In fact, a large number of English learners who master it have increased considerably Many supporters of the ideal that studying E in an E speaking country is the only and the best way However, as stated previously we can learn English in various ways In the final analysis, I am convinced the idea that it is very effective for learners to study English in an E speaking country but it is not the only way It is likely that next year’s opportunities for E learners in all countries are equal Only by doing so can tourism brings us sustainable development Here are some of my students’ completed works after applying these above innovative solutions: 15 16 17 18 CHAPTER 4: RESULT In conclusion, The aim of this research study was to identify the difficulties that students encounter when writing argumentative writing The findings showed that providing detailed information about students’ weaknesses in their writing activity can raise awareness among teachers and students This can also be combined with other appropriate teaching approaches toward making significant contributions in having a detailed profile of students’ weaknesses in writing argumentative essays Such information would be beneficial for teachers to design and improve their writing programmes and teach effectively to further support students’ writing improvement The benefits of determining the right structure of argumentative writings and taking this fifteen- phrase/sentence solution help students not only write a logic essay but think and write more quickly and easily It also helps students overcome the pressure of structure of argumentative writing, providing solid evidence, time constraints, organized idea, fulfilling task demand, understanding the questions, writing the thesis statement, interpreting the questions, pacing * The following is the result : Before applying innovative After applying innovative solutions Group of solutions 30 Excellent Good Fair Excellent Good Fair students 30 19 10 15 PART THREE: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION I CONCLUSION Argumentative writing has been confirmed by researchers to be the hardest model in writing This genre of writing is important for gifted students to express their own points of view in academically appropriate forms and strategies Unfortunately, students often encounter difficulties in the use of complex syntactic patterns and appropriate elements in composing argumentative writing It is also proved by the research that students are more engaged in the writing activities when the tasks are more meaningful to them More specifically, in my case that means the tasks that give my students a more meaningful reason to complete engage them more II REFLECTIONS This study has given me a chance to know more about my students, about what goes wrong with them when they are not engaged in my writing class In the study, I also have chance to access a number of researches of many experienced language educators and teachers, from which I obtain new knowledge of language teaching and learning in general and knowledge of meaningful tasks in teaching writing in particular 19 During the research, I also learn more about the methods of doing research in a scientific way Firstly, I learn to look at the situation of my English teaching and learning critically and make research questions with the hope of improving it I also learn to arrange and organize my ideas and my work systematically to fit the timetable of the research procedure But the most important thing is that I learn how to put my background knowledge into the knowledge repertoire of related previous studies to have a broader view of the situation and to make my research skills (such summarizing and synthesizing) useful by activating them creatively and critically The Headmaster’s identification Thanh Hoa, the second of May, 2019 I ensure that this study has been written by me The writer Nguyen Thi Kim Lien 20 REFERENCES David Cross (1994): Practical handbook of language teaching Penny Ur ( 1998) A course in language teaching - Practical and Theory Cambrige university press Nguyen Hanh Dung Methods of teaching English at Secondary education 21 ... applied some innovative solutions to improve the gifted students’ argumentative writing skill at Nhu Thanh High School II PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS A The solution of determining the structure of an argumentative. .. and can develop their argumentative writing skill or not I decide the research with title Applying some innovative solutions to improve the gifted students’ argumentative writing skill III RESEARCH... Students stated that writing the thesis statement was difficult for them to write in order to convince the audience CHAPTER 3: RECOMMENDATIONS TO HELP THE GIFTED STUDENTS TO IMPROVE THEIR ARGUMENTATIVE