Understanding and Producing Written English Lecture 11 Expository Writing

Understanding and Understanding and Producing Written Producing Written

EnglishEnglish

Understanding and Understanding and Producing Written Producing Written

EnglishEnglishLecture 11Lecture 11

Expository WritingExpository Writing

Two More Assignments• Expository Essay Outline• Plan for Future Improvement

– Work on reading and writing at least ½ hour a day

• Due Dates– Journals (End of Week 13)– Future Plan (End of Week 14)– Expository Essay Outline (End of Week 14)– Final Test (Week 13 Tutorials)

Expository Writing• Writing that explains• Writing that ‘exposes’ • Doesn’t have to be boring• ‘Creative writing’• Stories and descriptions• Examples of expository writing

from ‘real life’

Steps• Brainstorming subjects of interest• Evaluating possible topics• Considering purpose and audience• Narrowing down your topic• Gathering information and evidence• Deciding on a design• Formulating a ‘thesis’• Making an outline

Choosing a topic• What are you an expert on?• ‘Applying for the job’• Self-awareness and self-

confidence• Writing and the ‘real world’

Purpose and Audience• Whom are you writing for? • What do you want them to

think/do? • What image do you want them to

have of you?

Narrowing down your topic

• Biggest Danger: Trying to do to much• Exploring your subject• A journalist questions• Who, what, where, when, why, how? • Observing and describing• Thinking of stories

Gathering information• ‘Research’ • Observing• Talking to people• Introspection and remembering• Reading• Gathering things

Determining your design: Reasoning

• Start with your purpose!• What’s the problem?• Problem>Solution• What kind of pattern is most

suitable for solving my problem?

Design Patterns• Classification• To solve the problem, you need to

understand the different characteristics of the different kinds of X

• Compare/Contrast• To solve the problem, you need to

understand how X is different from and/ or similar to Y

Design Patterns• Cause/Effect• To solve the problem, you need to

understand what caused X or what the effect of X might be

• Process• To solve the problem, you need to

understand how X develops over time (or how to do X)

Design Patterns• Every essay has it’s own UNIQUE

design• Find the principle of organization

within your own ideas!!!

Dangers• Picking a fight• ‘As we know…’, ‘It has been said…’• Rhetorical Questions• Writing about ‘ideas’ rather than ‘real

things/people’• Using clichès• ‘Old hat’ and obvious statements• Stealing • Newspapers

Dangers

•Generalizations

Making an Outline• An outline is a THINKING DEVICE• 1-2 pages• ‘Full’ outline• Include

– Introduction– Main Points– Reasons/Evidence/Examples– Conclusion

Making an OutlineI. First major division

A. First secondary division 1. First supporting example 2. Next supporting example

B. Next secondary division.

Making an Outline• HOW TO ‘fen’ (Divide things up)• Parallelism• Subordination• Coordination• Division• See Developing an Outline

Writing Without Teachers

• ‘Guru Yoga’

Finding the Teacher Within

• Developing a self-reflective mind• Calming your ego• Cultivating confidence• Maintaining diligence

Making a connection to English

• Find a way to associate reading and writing with things you already do or already are interested in.

• Touching English every day

Know thyself!• Reflecting on difficulties

– Think– Write– Edit

• Gathering evidence of weaknesses– Error analysis– Reflecting on feedback from teachers and

peers

Making a Plan• Needs Analysis• Plan of action• Justification

Needs Analysis• What are my difficulties? (internal)• What are my behaviors? (external)• How can I change them?

– Reflection– Repetition– Information– Analysis

What kind of learner am I?

• Left brain or right brain?• Associations

– Visual, textual, auditory, tactile, conceptual?

Making a plan• Useful and realistic• Something for your reading• Something for your writing

Something for your Reading

• Reading magazines, novels and other books

• Re-reading things that you have read before

• Intensive reading• Analytical reading• Extensive reading

Something for your Writing

• Freewriting and diary keeping• Structured writing• Letter/email writing• Analytical writing• Silly writing• Song writing• Re-writing

Justification• Why have you chosen these

activities based on your needs analysis?

• What outcomes do you expect

Format• One page• Combination of point form and

paragraph• Write ‘Justification’ as a paragraph!• (to practice your paragraph

writing!)