Teaching speaking through discussion

Metaphor is a feature of style. However, it can be a powerful model-building device that helps students generate ideas and information. The novelist Richard Wright left in his Black Boy a valuable record of how metaphor can work as an invention technique. In the first draft of this essay Wright listed a number of books that had influenced him, and then he stated that “these books were like eyeglasses, enabling me to see my environment”, then he changed from “eyeglasses" to “eyes" (IIdraft) books were no longer “eyes" but “windows” (final draft). He told, for example, that the books that influenced him were “eyes" through which he could see the world as the authors saw it, enabling him to “understand and grasp" his own experiences. It allowed Wright to become the agent of seeing and not the others’ sight beneficiary.

1.3 organization of the essays. Essay structure

Not only writing stages and techniques are important, but also there are problems with syntactic organization of a text and cohesion which are the basis for writing. Byrne describes that “Writing is learned through a process of instruction - we have to master the written form of the language and to learn certain structures which are less used in speech, or perhaps not used at all. We also have to learn how to organize our ideas in such a way that they can be understood by a reader” [3, p.98]

Learners should pay special attention to the structure and organization of the essay. It can take many forms. Understanding how the movement of thought is managed through an essay has a profound impact on its overall cogency and ability to impress. Teacher should teach students step by step how to express their thoughts on the paper, in which order, what linking words to use, what common mistakes to avoid. If you want to teach somebody to write different things, your task is to make the process of writing interesting. The problem is that very often people imagine essays just in form of boring, serious writings on scientific or educational topics. As the result, they have no desire to do such things or to learn how to do them. At first, learners can try writing without any plans, so that to be used to putting ideas into the written form. Show that essay topics can be various. Teach people creativity; show them how to use imagination. Slowly you should make this process more complex. Try to teach them to recognize topic sentences and to write their own, to conduct a substantial research on the topic, back up statements with samples, introduce how to organize paragraphs in a coherent way, what vocabulary to use; give them samples of the essays to study and then ask different questions related to them etc. When learners go through various examples of essays, these will serve as guides and help in writing the assigned task. Give them a hint to successful writing by introducing the structure of the essay which should be preserved. It is difficult for creative mind to be made to write within some definite framework; it is suppressed by structural dependence. Notwithstanding, it may be a very easy task if you are taught at the beginning of your learning process to use various writing techniques and structural models, to express yourself according to some general rules in writing essays. Structure is important in essay. It will help to follow dynamic interchange of author's arguments, supporting evidence and questions. The reader will be able to grasp the message encoded by the writer. The essay must have at least three paragraphs. Academic writing, however, usually comprises five paragraphs organized in a coherent way: introduction, body with mainly three paragraphs, and conclusion. Each paragraph should have a clear, singular focus. One of the commonest students’ errors in writing essays is shifting topics within the same paragraph, rather than continuing to develop the idea they began with. If you want to start a new topic, begin a new paragraph instead.  Paragraph usually consists of the topic sentence, the supporting sentences and the concluding one. A topic sentence is generally the first sentence of the paragraph. It is concise and emphatic. Topic sentence contains the main idea of the paragraph, thus orienting the reader to the purpose of this piece of writing. To attract attention they sometimes appear in the form of rhetorical questions. When you use topic sentences, your reader will find it easier to follow your thoughts and arguments. Supporting sentences illustrate the main idea with examples and explanations, give details, elaborate on causes and effects, comparison and contrasts, anticipate and respond to counterarguments. The concluding sentence finishes the paragraph by giving the final comment. The following exercise can help in teaching students to distinguish these types of sentences.

Find the topic, concluding and supporting sentences in the paragraph given:

A stitch in time saves nine. My mother, who likes sewing, used this simple saying to teach me the value of working on problems when they are still small. Originally, the saying referred to sewing - if you have a small hole in a shirt? You can repair it with one stitch. But if you wait, the hole will get larger, and it will take you nine stitches. This simple example reminds me to take care of small problems before they become big problems.

When the learners know how to form topic, supporting and concluding sentences, they are ready to start to write introduction. It is the first and very important paragraph in the essay. It is here that the writer will have to get the attention of the reader, introduce him to the theme and focus his attention on the main argument by presenting a thesis statement. The introduction should always begin with something interesting. The writer may begin his essay by giving an anecdote, posing a question to his readers, presenting some interesting facts or by an exciting quotation relevant to the essay. The topic should be introduced clearly. You must avoid repeating the exact words of the topic, paraphrasing them will display your language skills. Concerning grammar the introduction will normally be in the present tense (e. g. people complain), or the present continuous (people are gradually becoming aware), or in the present perfect tense (people have pointed out). It is normally organized by giving first general ideas and leading to the more specific one, which is the thesis statement. The latter should indicate the point of discussion. For example, if you write an essay on hunger, you might say: World hunger has many causes and effects. This is a weak thesis statement for two major reasons. First, "world hunger" can't be discussed thoroughly in five or ten pages. Second, "many causes and effects" is vague. You should be able to identify specific causes and effects. Hunger persists in Africa because jobs are scarce and farming in the infertile soil is rarely profitable is a strong thesis. It narrows the subject to a more specific and manageable topic and it also identifies the specific causes for the existence of hunger. This thesis statement is a transitional "hook" which moves the reader to the first paragraph of the body of the essay.

The main body explains and supports the thesis statement, develops and illustrates the points you wish to make. It should be the easiest part to write. Using your outline and notes, try to rank ideas in order of importance. The first paragraph of the body should include the strongest argument as well as the second one. The third paragraph, however, usually presents the weakest argument. The main body is characterized by different evidences and examples, it is necessary to discuss positive and negative aspects. The writer can display power of analysis, personal understanding of complex topics. Do not feel you have to put in everything you have learned. Relevance and independence of thought are of importance. Take all the time you can to fully develop your ideas. If you stop writing too soon, it may be because you have not explained yourself completely, or backed up your assertions with examples. Do not simply state that something is true, prove it. There may be several ideas which must be supported. Not every supporting point will have details, though, some will have several details. Those make your essay stand out. You should include, however, only information that pertains to your topic. Qualify your answers for accuracy. If you cannot remember an exact date, approximate-“late eighteenth century" is better than 1988 if 1988 is incorrect. When you feel that you expressed everything you wanted, your thoughts are backed up by evidences and examples, you may proceed with concluding part of your essay.

The concluding paragraph must summarize the entire essay and reiterate the thesis statement presented in the introduction. It must be remembered that new facts and data cannot be presented here. A strong concluding statement at the end helps to convince the reader. You can effectively reinforce the points, made in the body but remember to reword them and keep the conclusion fresh. It's not enough just to restate your main ideas - if you only did that and then ended your essay, this part would be flat and boring. You should not use phrases such as “I wrote about" or “This essay was about. ” Drawing a conclusion often involves summarizing of the main points already made. A common mistake is to write the end that does not follow logically from what has been written before. This is sometimes called a ‘non-sequitur’. If you have the time, end with something more interesting giving a thought-provoking quotation, talking about consequences or implications, stating what action needs to be done. A speculative conclusion refers to a future possibility or prediction, such as “perhaps years from now. ” If you write about a problem, try to offer a solution. If you have a fitting quotation, use it to finish your essay. The person quoted does not have to be famous, but the quote should help you to make your point. Although be aware that you cannot overcome a weak essay with a clever conclusion. Your conclusion is the final impression left with your reader. Author need to say something that will continue to simmer in the readers’ minds long after they have put down this essay.

2. Chapter 2

2.1 Types of essays. Essay samples

The information to use and the tips for writing depend on the essay type. Essays consist mainly of assignments set by instructors for the students to test their understanding and knowledge levels on a particular topic, abilities to present the balanced comprehension of it. There are many different types of essays a professor may choose from. The teacher may ask students to write a discursive essay to check their analytical skills or may instruct them to write a descriptive essay to simply test the power of expression and logical thinking of his students. Choice of essays also to some extent depends on the subject studied. Different purposes and types of writing aim at various members of the discourse community.

It is easier to teach at first descriptive essays and then discursive ones. The former are personally relevant to the students. They may focus on people, places and buildings, objects and events. It is not so simple to describe what you observe. The best way to create a vivid experience for your readers is to make use of senses: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. They enable readers to imagine or experience something by themselves. Sensory details appeal to their emotional, physical or intellectual sensibilities. Description uses tools such as denotative and connotative language, metaphors and similes to arrive at a dominant impression.

Consider the topic carefully and describe things relevant to it, some points may be unnecessary. When writing on the topic “Describe a person who has done a great deal for others, and explain how he or she has managed to achieve so much”, it will be irrelevant to describe appearance. The description must be supported with examples; use a variety of adjectives to make a composition more interesting. The adjectives must be ordered in the following way: opinion, size/weight, age, shape, colour, pattern, origin, material. It is advisable not to use them one after another; it will sound unnatural.mild language should be used when the learner wants to describe some negative qualities (e. g. tend to, seem to, can occasionally etc. - Peter tends to be impolite). To avoid simple sentences and same structures, different linking words are to be introduced.

There are various descriptive types of essays. Three main of them are presented below and suggested by Virginia Evans.

Discursive writing is a good way to learn how to logically structure an argument and how to anticipate and counter the arguments of the other side. There exist various types of discursive essays:

Ø    For and against essay is a formal piece of writing where the writer should consider the topic from various perspectives. Arguments are to be presented in a fair and objective way with as many justifications, examples and reasons as possible.

Ø    Opinion essay requires the author’s opinion on a topic stated clearly from various viewpoints, supported by reasons and/or examples. An opposite point of view should also be presented. It comprises a combination of personal and argumentative approaches. The writer’s main task is to persuade the reader of author’s rightness and to make readers take the same position.

Ø    Essay suggesting solution to problems makes a thorough analysis of the problem, states its causes clearly, giving possible ways of solving it at the same time. The consequences and the results of the suggested actions are also specified.

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