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MODULE MANUAL

Module 4Effective Writing

Commonwealth of LearningTeacher Education


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The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) is an intergovernmental organisation created byCommonwealth Heads of Government to encourage the development and sharing of open learning anddistance education knowledge resources and technologies!

Commonwealth of Learning "#$"

CC %&'

* "#$" by the Commonwealth of Learning! Open +esources for ,nglish Language Teaching- .odule/ 0 ,ffective 1riting is made available under a Creative Commons ttribution'harelike 2!#Licence (international)- http-33creativecommons!org3licences3by'sa32!#

4or the avoidance of doubt by applying this licence the Commonwealth of Learning does not waiveany privileges or immunities from claims that it may be entitled to assert nor does the Commonwealthof Learning submit itself to the 5urisdiction courts legal processes or laws of any 5urisdiction!

ll of this document may be reproduced without permission but with attribution to the Commonwealthof Learning and the author!

Open +esources for ,nglish Language Teaching- .odule / 0 ,ffective 1riting6%7- 89:'$':8/89;'/9'F a video recording of the activity-

criptsR.odule/RDnit $Rctivity $R+esource2R>ideoR+eporterstory!mp/


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Unit "& 'etter Writing Uing (eronal E)*erience Error! No text of

Audio

6f you have trouble playing the video you can have your students listento the audio recording (below) of the same conversation-

criptsR.odule/RDnit $Rctivity$R+esource 2RudioR+eporterstory!mp2


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3eource 4& Common term for decri!ing *h.ical feature

3eource 4

/ace& round3oval'shaped3sIuare3pointed3triangular3angular3large

2air& straight3wavy3curly3silky3shoulder'length3bald3thinning3grey3pepper'and'salt

E.e& round3almond'shaped3small3large3soft3bulging3narrow3wide3Oriental3light


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Com*le)ion& fair3dark3dusky3light3rough3pale3sallow3sickly

Noe& sharp3pointed3broad3small3flat3thin3large3hooked3flaringnostrils

Other mark& mole3birthmark3scar3spot

'od. ha*e& thin3slim3stout3overweight3fat3angular3>'shaped


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Li*& thin3shapely3broad3bow'shaped3wide3pouting3full3cracked


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3eource 0& (hotogra*h of two men


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Module 4

3eource 0


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3eource


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Module 4

Traffic was brought to a standstill for several hours when a saloon carheading to town collided with a lorry along 1aiyaki 1ay killing all four

passengers on board! ccording to eye witnesses the lorry belonging to acity dairy company lost control and thenswerved onto the wrong lane

ramming into the saloon car! After the accident the lorry driver and histurn'boy who were unhurt took off and the police are still on their trail!5ncidentall. this is the third accident to take place along the route thisweek! =revious incidents $; people lost their lives including sevenmembers of the same family!

Meanwhile 7airobi area traffic commandant lfayo .uthee has called on


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all road users to adhere to the highway code and to also ensure that theirvehicles are in good working condition to avoid road carnage! mosubai reporting for 7ews ;/ in 7airobi!

-ideo

3eource file

ee in the enclosed F>F a video recording of the activity-

criptsR.odule/RDnit$Rctivity"R+esource


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Module 4

3eource %&Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl


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3eource %


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Module 4


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3eource =& 9am*le diar. entrie

3eource =

9am*le "


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9am*le ,


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9am*le #


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3eource +& $uideline on diar. entrie

3eource +

1rite in the first person! diary is a personalaccount of the events of

a day or some hours in your life so it is inappropriate to use the thirdperson!

6n a diary we refer to events that have happened in our lives and to

people who are in our lives!


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1e disclose our innermost feelings in a diary so a diary entry includes

our emotions! 6n a diary we write about our feelingsmore than aboutfacts!

diary has one particular point of view of events- our own! 6f weinclude other peoples comments or 5udgement we do it from our own

perspective!

diary is a keeper of secrets! That is why a diary is for our own eyes

only J we rarely allow others to read our diaries!


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4or more guidelines and activities on diary writing visit the website

www!kidsonthenet!com3adventureisland3teachers3worksheetdiary!pdf


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Teacher ?uetion and anwer

/eed!ack

@uetion& 6n a large mi@ed ability class when students are

working in groups how do 6 make sure that theslower learners are benefitingK

Anwer& .ake sure that the groups reflect the nature of yourclass! Groups should also be of mi@ed ability toensure that the faster learners are assisting the slowerones! Furing group work make sure you move


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around to observe the participation in each group!6nsist that every group member contribute at leastone point to the discussion! 1hen you pick somestudents work to read make sure that you pick from

students of varied abilities!


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Unit ,& 'etter Writing through A**ro*riate

-oca!ular. and $rammar

5ntroduction

B students are usually less confident about e@pressing themselvesthrough writing because the language of their everyday speech differsgreatly from that of written te@ts! They may have limited vocabulary andskills in punctuation be less practised in producing original answers tocomprehension Iuestions and have little familiarity with producing

original compositions!

However their confidence can grow through practice in e@panding theirrange of vocabulary and teaching them better grammar and punctuationskills! This unit provides some ways to help develop your studentsspelling grammar and punctuation skills!

Unit outcome

Dpon completion of this unit you will be able to-

Outcome

use different ways to enhance your students vocabulary and

punctuation skills

use authentic te@ts such as news reports to familiarise your students

with conventions of grammar and uses of punctuation and

develop your students confidence in communicating through writing!

Terminolog.

Terminolog.

9emantic marker& 1ords and phrases that help signal the progressionof ideas in a te@t! emantic markers can performvarious functions such as showing the chronologyof events (firstly, then, eventually, in the end) a causeand effect relationship (since, because, so,consequently) summing up (in short, to sum up)rephrasing (in other words) and so on! Thesee@pressions help a reader to navigate easilythrough a te@t!

Module 4& Effective Writing =%


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Conte)t& The conte)t of a word can be either physical orlinguistic! The *h.ical conte@t refers to the real'world situation in which the word is used as inMhorrible weatherN (i!e! badweather J when its

raining heavily)! The linguitic conte@t refers tothe words or sentences surrounding the word thathelp to make its meaning clear as in M6 dont knowwhats happening to me!!! 6 seem to be makingmistakes all the timeS 6ts horribleS 6 think 6 need totake a breakN (horrible here referring to someunhappy circumstances)!


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Narrative& written te@t that may be a fictional or factualaccount of an event described in chronologicalorder! narrative usually has a clear beginningmiddle and end and includes descriptions

dialogues and comments! 7ovels short storiestravelogues and biographies are some e@amples ofnarratives!

Collocationalretriction&

1hen two words cannot be used together to makea meaningful unit we say that they havecollocational retriction; 4or e@ample the


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collocation married spinsteris unacceptable as arethe phrases smiling computer or manicured hair.These combinations ignore collocationalretrictionon grammar and meaning! spinster is

an unmarried woman a computer is inanimate andhence cannot smile and unlike nails or gardenshair cannot be manicured! Collocation thereforerefers to the appropriate use of a combination ofwords!


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Teacher u**ort information

One of the interesting things about the ,nglish language is that there is

often little correspondence between the spoken and the written form! Thismeans that many words in ,nglish J for e@ample write, women, sightandwhiteJare pronounced differently from how they are spelt!

ometimes the meaning that is conveyed depends on the spelling or thearrangements of the words! 1ords like write, right and rite or sight, citeand sitehave different meanings but are pronounced the same!


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imilarly the same sound may be spelt in different ways J for e@amplethe sound Msh(u)nN in mission and addition (see 3eource ,& Commonl.mi*elled Englih word! Or the same seIuence of letters may be

pronounced differently in different words J for e@ample the seIuenceough which has a different pronunciation in rough (MruffN) though(MthoaN) through (MthrooN) and thought (MthotN)! These characteristics of,nglish are a challenge to many students in secondary school! The casestudy resources and activities in this unit should help you use interestingactivities to develop students effective writing skills!


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Cae tud.

Cae tud.

.rs .wemei the ,nglish Language teacher at abanga econdary

chool consulted her scheme of work and found that her ne@t topic wasMFeveloping %etter 1riting!N he decided to use guided3controlledactivities to teach this topic! To make the lessons more interactive she

planned to use a variety of techniIues including dictation conversationand stories!

6n the first lesson .rs .wemei gave her students a passage she had


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carefully picked from a book for them to read in pairs! he asked thestudents to underline all the words that they did not understand! he thenwrote the problem words on the board and asked for the meanings fromthe other groups! he repeated the e@ercise for each group until they had

about "# words on the board that were unfamiliar to all the students!

.rs .wemei now practised with the students the strategy of Mguessingmeaning from the conte@t!N 4or each word she wrote a sentence that usedthe word in an appropriate conte@t (for e@ample The contours of thislandscape are very interesting... sometimes the land goes up and down, andsometimes it breaks into deep valleys )! The class was now asked to supply


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possible meanings! mid laughter and competition the class came upwith appropriate synonyms after several wrong guesses (contours =quality, beauty, barriers , shape, etc!) for eight of the words! Havinge@hausted this resource .rs .wemei now used the ne@t strategy!

he divided the class into four groups and gave each group a set of threewords from the list! The groups had to consult the dictionary and

find the meaning of each word that most closely fit the meaning in the

original story


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look up the pronunciation of the word

use the word in a sentence of their own and

share their findings with the class!

4or homework .rs .wemei asked each student to think about thepossible heading of the passage! he also asked them to note theimportant information they got from the passage! 6n addition she gavethem a list of commonly misspelled words (see 3eource ,) so that theycould improve their vocabulary skills as well! 6n the ne@t class .rs


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.wemei had the students write short summaries of the passage usingsome of the new words they had learned! The students en5oyed thee@ercise and informed her that it would now be easy for them toremember and use those words in other compositions later on!

(oint to *onder " 1hat strategies do you use to help your students understand themeanings of unfamiliar wordsK

, How effective do you think it is to ask your students to refer to adictionary every time they encounter a new wordK 6f you haveencouraged students to do this has it helped them improve their


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vocabularyK


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Activitie

Activit. "& E)*anding .our tudent> voca!ular.& Ad7ective of ?ualit.

Activit. "

Ad7ective of ?ualit.are a class of words used widely in narrative anddescriptive te@ts! They are used for describing people ob5ects and events!

However most ,nglish ad5ectives have collocational retriction! 4orinstance the ad5ective meticulouswill collocate with the nouns planning,


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embroideryor work but is unlikely to be used with the noun vocabulary asin the phrase meticulous vocabulary! This activity is meant to help youdevelop the students skills in creative composition with e@ercises onusing ad5ectives of Iuality! s a pre'task show the students a picture of

any ob5ect (an umbrella3a car3some scenery etc!) and ask them randomlyto use an ad5ective to describe it! 4or e@ample they might sayred/spotted/large/frilled/ladies/silk umbrella. +emind them that suchad5ectives are called ad5ectives of Iuality as they tell us more of thedistinctivecharacteristics of the ob5ect (umbrella)!

=ick up any ad5ective from the ones supplied (e!g! red) and ask the


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students to replace it with synonyms! ,ncourage them to use wordsthat are creative and interesting (scarlet/crimson/fiery red/tomato red,etc!)! Fiscuss with them the special meanings that arise with each newsynonym and how one can use language creatively by using

ad5ectives of Iuality appropriately!

7ow divide the class into groups of five or si@ and distribute the

passage in 3eource "! 6nstruct thegroups to replace the underlinedad5ectives with appropriate and interesting synonyms! llow them touse a dictionary or thesaurus to be creative! fter they finish ask themto present the passages with the new ad5ectives! Fiscuss how each


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new version makes the passage more interesting!

s a homework assignment ask the students to write a similarcomposition using the words they have 5ust learned! This will help them

improve their active vocabulary!


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Activit. ,& Uing *unctuation for effective writing

Activit. ,

s a preparation for this lesson put this well'known sentence on theboard-

! bear eats shoots and leaves!

7ow show your students with a little humour how the meaning of thesewords changes when we punctuate the words differently (and add e@trate@t)-

" ! bear eats shoots and leaves. (Fescribes what a bear eats!)


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effective writing!

7ow announce that you are going to test the students punctuation skillsand put them in groups of four or five! =ut on the board the following

sentences from 3eource #a& The Tortoie 9tor. e)tractB note that thesehave no commas and speech marks! lternatively you can ask them tocopy the lines or distribute the te@t in a handout!

"ne day as he was strutting proudly around the kingdom #are met Tortoisecarrying a heavy load on her head.


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"ld bag of bones #are said get out of my way before $ push you off the path.

The task for each group is to put commas and speech marks (Iuotationmarks) wherever appropriate a the. liten to .ou read the line ! =lay the

audio clip of these lines or read the lines aloud (paying attention to thepunctuation)!

fter the students have finished the task give them oral feedback! 4irstread the lines again but more slowly pausing longer at commas andanimating your facial e@pressions as you read the dialogue! sk them to


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make corrections if they wish as they listen the second time then havethe groups do peer correction while you punctuate the lines on the board!

6f you wish to give them more practice use different e@tracts frompassages that illustrate the use of other punctuation marks such as the

colon dash e@clamations and so on!

4inally give the students the first seven paragraphs of The Tortoie 9tor.(up to%Wait and see,& Tortoise said.) without punctuation and ask them toread and punctuate the passage appropriately! fter they have done so

play the audio version of the seven paragraphs (3eource #!)!


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s a homework task you can ask your students to write and bring to theclass a short story (not more than three paragraphs) on a popular folk talesimilar to The Tortoie 9tor. or have them make up their own story withat least two characters and dialogue between them!

Activit. #& Effective writing& Uing linker and connective

s you are aware in any te@t whether spoken or written linkers andconnectives (some of which are also sometimes called emantic marker)act like signposts that help us navigate through the te@t!


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Activit. #,@pressions like firstly, meanwhile, however, in other words or in shorthelpus understand the links between ideas concepts and arguments in a te@t!To write effectively your students need to learn how to use such markersfor ma@imum effect!

%efore having the students use linkers in their own compositions itwould be helpful to familiarise them with the functions of suchconnecting devices! 4or functions of semantic markers see 3eource 4!

nnounce to the class that they will hear two telecasts of the first

news item of the evening news! s they listen they will have to guess


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the differences between the two telecasts! 7ow play the video of twonewscasters reading the evening news on television!

6f you cannot play the video read aloud the transcripts of the news

(see 3eource 0& E)am*le of emantic marker) and ask the studentsto note the differences!

sk them which version they understood better or found more

interesting and why! They should be able to tell you that the secondversion was better because the information was easier to follow

because of the e@tra words used in this version! %efore e@plaining or


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drawing their attention to the functions of semantic markers givethem another task on the te@ts to help them identify the linkers andsemantic markers used! This one is a dictation task! Give thetranscripts to the students in the form of a handout or write or display

it to them on a slide or chalkboard! 3emem!er to re*lace the word in!old in Te)t , with dahe !efore .ou ditri!ute the te)t ! %efore you

begin the dictation e@plain to the students that they should read boththe te@ts in the handout carefully before doing the task! Their taskwould be to fill in the blanks by inserting the e@pressions they hearwhen you dictate Te@t "!


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7ow give them as a handout a passage from any of their sub5ect

te@tbooks preferably a History or ,nglish literature te@tbook thathave some of these semantic markers but delete the markers! sk thestudents to work in pairs to discuss and fill in the appropriate semantic

markers! Compare their insertions with the original te@t and have aclass discussion on which ones are appropriate and why!

fter taking the students through this process of understanding the use

of semantic markers give them a homework assignment to write ashort passage either (i) a description of a memorable personal event or(ii) a short essay on the advantages and disadvantages of using


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computers! +emind them to use the appropriate semantic markers!They can consult the list given in 3eource 4or use their own!

Unit ummar.

6n this unit you learned how to guide your students to e@pand theirvocabulary use correct punctuation and present their ideas andinformation in written form more clearly using linkers and semantic


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9ummar.markers! These resources should give you ideas for engaging yourstudents in similar activities in pairs and groups to practise other aspectsof written communication such as writing in formal and informalsituations!


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3eflection

3eflection

Fid your students en5oy doing the activitiesK

Fo you think your students can now use punctuation more skilfullyK

Can you think of other activities to improve your students

vocabularyK ome common word games that your students mighten5oy playing for vocabulary e@pansion are crossword pules


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anagrams and guessing words from actions (dumb charades)!

Fo you agree that students need to understand the functions of

semantic markers and use them in their written workK


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Aement

Aement

6n the case study if you were .rs .wemei what would you have

done differentlyK ,@plain how this would have helped students learnbetter!


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=eru and built their kingdom using *lendid architectural designs! The6ncas were also killed craftsmen who created !eautiful 5ewellery andte@tiles! They were a!leadministrators who ruled with a mi@ture of forceand kindness! They were also tolerant rulers and allowed people of

different races to practise their religions and cultures peacefully!

Things changed however when the panish conIuerors arrived in $;2"!

1ith an army of fewer than /## men the cunningpanish defeated the6nca army of /#### soldiers! Then the viciouconIuerors began lootingand plundering the riches of the 6nca culture! .ost of the amaing


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architecture and intricatebuildings the 6ncas had carefully built were torndown and replaced by panish'style palaces and fortresses!

Luckily for the world one atonihingdiscovery was made in $8$$ of a

*lendidpiece of 6nca architecture! 6t was of Machu (icchu the temple ofthe sun god! This magnificent 6nca memorial stands at the top of amountain near the Drubamba river in =eru! The 6ncas did not survive buttheir temple remains a gloriou tribute to their civiliation- a timelememorial of the greatness of a people we can only read about in history

books!


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3eource ,& Commonl. mi*elled Englih word

3eource ,

pelling words correctly is one of the skills of effective writing! omewords may change their meaning if spelled differently ( live/leave;

write/right; assent/ascent) which could make the te@t meaningless!

%ecause many pairs of words in ,nglish are pronounced the same peopleoften confuse their spellings and use such words in the wrong conte@ts!=eople also often misspell words with double letters!

Here are some commonly misspelled ,nglish words!


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Word with dou!le cononant

accommodation

address

aggression

business

bubble

committee

commission

fiddle

feel

middle

millennium

summon

success


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meal

mean

seam

knead

Word with au or ou&

beautiful

bureaucracy

restaurant

accountant

contentious

generous

fabulous

congruous

ealous


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Word that ound imilar are called homophones&

assent 0 ascent

break 0 brake

cereal 0 serial

complement 0 compliment

course 0 coarse

great 0 grate

5ail 0 gaol

peace 0 piece

principal 0 principle

red 0 read


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seie 0 cease

waste 0 waist

weather 0 whether


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3eource #a& The Tortoie 9tor. e)tractB

3eource #a

Trancri*t

One day as he was strutting proudly around the kingdom Hare metTortoise carrying a heavy load on her head!

Old bag of bones Hare said get out of my way before 6 push you off


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the path!

Audio

3eource file

ee in the enclosed F>F an audio recording of the activity-

criptsR.odule/RDnit"Rctivity"R+esource2aRudioRhortentences1ith

=unctuation!mp2

criptsR.odule/RDnit"Rctivity"R+esource2aRudioRhortentences1itho


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ut=unctuation!mp2

3eource #!& The Tortoie 9tor.

3eource #!

Trancri*t

Hare always won all the competitions held in the animal kingdom! 7oother animal was cleverer than him or could run faster! lthough he was


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small Hare always came up with ways to make sure he won anycompetition!

%ecause of his cunning ways Hare was always proud and treated other

animals with lack of concern! 6n short he was arrogant and rude andwanted to have his own way all the time!

One day as he was strutting proudly around the kingdom Hare metTortoise carrying a heavy load on her head!

MOld bag of bonesN Hare said MGet out of my way before 6 push you off


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the pathSN

Tortoise was very angry! MHow dare you insult meK Font think yourselfsmart in everything! 6 can outrun you in a race!N

Hare laughed heartily and said- MHow dare you challenge the honourableHare to raceKN

M1ait and seeN Tortoise said!


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Audio

3eource file


criptsR.odule/RDnit"Rctivity"R+esource2bRudioRTortoisetory!mp2


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3eource 4& /unction of emantic marker

3eource 4

emantic markers are important cohesive devices that serve asMsignpostsN to connect ideas in any piece of writing!

ome broad categories of semantic markers and their functions are-

List of points (firstly, secondly, finally)!

Time relationships (ne't, then, eventually(!


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6llustration (for e'ample, for instance)!

+ephrasing (in other words)!

,mphasis (a crucial point is, importantly)!

,@pressing a condition (if, unless, until)!

Counter'arguments or contrasts (but, however, on the other hand)!


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ummary or conclusion (to sum up, the gist of it is)!

4or more information on the use of semantic markers (also referred to asdiscourse markers) look up 1allace .ichael B! ("##8)! )tudy )kills in

*nglish(econd ,dition)! Cambridge- Cambridge Dniversity =ress!


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3eource 0& E)am*le of emantic marker

3eource 0

New re*ort trancri*t

Te)t "

The prime minister announced that the Commonwealth Games would beheld smoothly despite delays in the preparation of venues! Constructionrubble would be cleared from roads by the end of this month! The ports.inistry has called for a high'level meeting on .onday to discuss thefinal touches to the Games! There would be three levels of activity a


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spokesperson for the ministry told this channel! team of top securitye@perts would visit the venue to seal all entries! 6nternational observersfor the Games would inspect the facilities! The prime minister would visitthe stadia before declaring the Games venues ready! The ministry stated

work on the venues would be halted! 6t wanted the contractors to clear allvenues and roads of the construction waste and heavy machinery that still

blocked many of the main streets of the city! 6t would cause delay! Theministry believed the Games would begin on time! ,verything would bedone to make this Commonwealth Games the greatest sports event everorganised by a Third 1orld country!


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Te)t ,

The prime minister toda. announced that the Commonwealth Gameswould be held smoothly de*itedelays in the preparation of venues! #e

alsomade it clear thatconstruction rubble would be cleared from roads bythe end of this month! Meanwhile the ports .inistry has called for ahigh'level meeting on .onday to discuss the final touches to the Games!There would be three levels of activity a spokesperson for the ministrytold this channel toda.! /irtl. a team of top security e@perts would visitthe venue to seal all entries! After that international observers for theGames would inspect the facilities and finall. the prime minister would


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himself visit the stadia before declaring the Games venues ready!

2owever the ministry added work on the venues would be halted ne)tweek8 a it wanted the contractors to clear all venues and roads of the

construction waste and heavy machinery that tillblocked many of themain streets of the city; 5n *ite of the delay that might cause the ministry

believed that the Games would begin on time! 5n hort8everything wouldbe done to make this Commonwealth Games the greatest sports eventever organised by a Third 1orld country!


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-ideo

3eource file


criptsR.odule/RDnit"Rctivity2R+esource;R>ideoRTelecast$!mp/

criptsR.odule/RDnit"Rctivity2R+esource;R>ideoRTelecast"!mp/


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Teacher ?uetion and anwer

/eed!ack

@uetion& How can 6 use the audio resources when 6 do nothave any audio eIuipmentK

Anwer& &our voice or your students voices are good audioresources! &ou may read the script aloud or ask oneof your students to read it aloud to his or herclassmates!


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Unit #& Writing for Effective Communication&

/ormal Occaion

5ntroduction

s we are all aware ,nglish remains the most popular language ofofficial and business communication! 6t is the medium through which weapply for 5obs or for leave present our findings write importantnotifications or communicate with colleagues in the workplace! s youngadults preparing for professional or vocational education your B

students need to practise communicating effectively in writing in formalsituations! This unit aims to provide you with opportunities to e@plore avariety of techniIues to assist your students to communicate effectivelythrough letters notices and reports!

Unit outcome


Outcome

introduce your students to formal written communication throughbusiness letters notices and reportsE

teach B students to write formal lettersE

familiarise your students with the format of noticesE and

give your students some e@posure to reports!

Terminolog.

Terminolog.

/ormalcommunication&

Communication for official or business purposes!6t often has a prescribed format! formal letter isan e@ample of business or official communication!

5nformalcommunication&

4amiliar casual and personal communication! ninformal letter for e@ample is a way ofcommunicating with people we are close to orfamiliar with!


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9ummar.& brief statement that presents the main points in aconcise form!

3e*ort& written summary3analysis of an event which

may include numerical data and factual details!+eports may be short such as news reports ordetailed summaries of official meetings and

presentations!

Teacher u**ort information

,ffective communication is an essential element of writing! The casestudy and activities in this unit identify some of the teaching techniIues

that can assist you in developing your students ability to communicateeffectively! Through demonstration and discussion for e@ample yourstudents will e@plore the importance of taking time to consider who theyare writing to what they wish to communicate and how they can presenttheir message or ideas better to achieve effective communication! The+esources section has additional materials to supplement your activities!

Cae tud.

Cae tud.

.rs .wasala a 4orm Two ,nglish Language teacher at Buani econdarychool decided to try a new method of teaching letter writing! he readout to the class a letter that she claimed to have found in the corridor andasked them to say what kind of letter it was! The students said it was alove letter! .rs .wasala then distributed a copy of the letter to herstudents working in pairs and asked them to write a reply to the letter!

.rs .wasala then formed groups made up of three pairs each and askedall the groups to note the format of the letters they had written! s shemoved from group to group she noticed that they were able to clearlydifferentiate the sections of the letter including the salutation and closing!he then asked one member of each group to write a similar format on

the board and reminded the students that this kind of format belonged toan informal letter(3eource "and ,)!

fter identifying the main features of the informal letter .rs .wasalafocused on the content! he showed samples of personal letters to herstudents and e@plained that the content of letters to and from friends andrelatives focuses on personal matters making them less formal than

business letters! However she pointed out they still follow a certainformat including the address of the writer the date introduction bodyand conclusion!

Then she asked each student to write a letter to a relative or a friend!Later working in groups the students read discussed and edited their


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letters! The final drafts were compiled in a class book!

6n the ne@t lesson .rs .wasala taught her students the format andcontent of formal letters! he brought along samples of formal and

business letters (3eource #) and also newspaper cuttings of 5obadvertisements!

he asked students in their groups to read the 5ob advertisements and findthe following information-

" The name of the company institution or agency advertising the 5ob!

, The Iualifications they were looking for!

# The personal details of the candidate the advertiser was looking for!

Then .rs .wasala gave samples of formal and business letters to thestudents (5ob applications) and asked them to note the pattern3format of

the letters!

6n the ne@t class .rs .wasala had the students draft a letter ofapplication in answer to the advertisement they had read the previous day!They were told to use the format of the sample letters! 4or the contentshe asked them to use the information they had noted in the previousclass!

The letters were so good that some students obtained temporary 5obsduring their school holidays on the strength of these letters!

(oint to *onder " Fo your students write lettersK Have you asked them to bring theirown personal letters to the class and used these to teachK

, ince people rarely write personal letters nowadays do you think weshould stop teaching this and concentrate on official letters onlyK1hy or why notK

Activitie

Activit. "& Communicating effectivel.& Writing a !uine letter

Activit. "

4or this activity put the students in groups and give each group at

least three different types of letters J a 5ob application a personalletter and a letter of complaint!

sk them to identify which of the letters are personal and which are

official and to mark the differences between personal and officialletters!

Dse their feedback to discuss the format of a business letter (i!e! a

letter written for official purposes such as 5ob applications complaint

letters etc!)! Fraw their attention to the particular differences in the


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format such as the date the salutation the sub5ect line and so on! Letrepresentatives of each group write on the board one part each of a

business letter!

To make them more familiar with the format of official letters give

them an activity to do in pairs 3eource 4& /ormat of a !uine letterFworkheetG)! Dsing the sample official letters given in 3eource #toguide them have them practise parts of the format as given in theworksheet in 3eource 4!

s part of the feedback remember to point out that there are no fi@ed

rules in letter writingE there are only conventions that allow people tocommunicate with the least amount of confusion! 4or e@ample the

7orth merican convention is to write the month before the date

whereas in the %ritish tradition the date precedes the month! 4ore@ample $" pril "#$# or $"!#/!"#$# is the %ritish format and pril$" "#$# or #/!$"!"#$# is the 7orth merican format with theabbreviated form leading to possible confusion with / Fecember "#$#for %ritish people! To avoid this it is better to write the date as $"pril "#$#!

4or the ne@t part of the task give the students information about the

content of a letter they will write with a partner! The letter will-

be addressed to their ports teacher .s Caroline .andela

make a reIuest to cancel morning practice the ne@t day and

e@plain to her that the principal has asked them to sort and keep the

newly bought books in the library!

t the end of the activity have the pairs e@change their draft letters

and make corrections under your supervision!

s homework they should add delete or modify their letter as

suggested check for spelling and grammatical errors and make theletter ready for submission!

Activit. ,& Communicating with wider audience& Writing a notice

Activit. ,

s you are aware the noticeboard of an institution is usually a regularlyvisited area! .uch communication between authorities3employers andstudents3staff3employees is conveyed through the noticeboard! 7oticescan be for various purposes such as the announcement of eventsreminders information about lost and found goods and so on!

1hen teaching students how to write a notice we need to keep in mind

the style- the format the sentence structures the manner in whichimportant information is highlighted and so on! 4or this activity bring


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copies of notices from your school noticeboard (or you can design yourown notices) preferably announcing events that are of interest to students(for e@ample sports3co'curricular activities)! (ee 3eource %! for astandard notice!) .ake sure your samples have similar formats so that it

is easier for students to list the important features of a notice!

lso bring samples of official letters to contrast the style of a notice withthat of a letter!

%efore showing your students the sample notices have a class discussionon the ways in which people share written information with a largenumber of people at the same time! &ou could begin the discussion byasking them how their school communicates to them importantinformation about co'curricular activities e@am schedules competitionsor e@hibitions to elicit the word noticefrom them! Fraw their attention towhy letters emails or other similar ways of communicating cannot be

used in such situations (e@plain that these are ways we communicate withone person or a limited group of people we know personally orprofessionally)!

4or the activity ask the students about the kinds of topics that we find innotices (lost and found announcement of events reminders of deadlineswarnings etc!)! Once you have a list of their contributions choose a topicfor the class activity (preferably something familiar to them such as alost'and'found notice)!

%reak the class into groups of five! Give each group a sample notice anda sample letter!

sk the groups to list points about the format of the notice! Their pointsshould include the structure how contact details are given (see 3eource%a) and so on! fter ten minutes collect their feedback and write the

points on the board!

lternatively you can use the sample notice in 3eource %!for a similartask! 4or this task rewrite the contents of the sample notice in essay form(i!e! without breaking it into headings sub'headings capitalisation etc!)!Have the students work in pairs and give them this copy and the samplenotice! Let them study the two formats and decide which one is suitablefor a notice and which is more suitable for giving information in adifferent form! This task should make the students aware of the special

format and content style of notices!

The students should now be ready to write a notice for their classnoticeboard! Have the students work in groups to design different typesof notices- a lost'and'found notice one announcing a competitionanother issuing a warning about late arrival for morning assembly and soon! Have the groups e@change their notices and edit them! The groupsshould then take their own compositions back to make final copies whichcan subseIuently be put up in the class display board!


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Activit. #& Communicating effectivel.& Writing a re*ort

Activit. #

s you are aware a report is a short and concise summary of an event!

However a professional report includes much more than a summaryE ithas tables of figures diagrams analyses of the event and a bibliographylisting the documents consulted during the writing of the report!

t this level your B students need not learn the details of writing aprofessional report! %ut it is important for them to practise summarywriting for real'life purposes one of which is report writing! &ou canhave them practise the skills of report writing by using newspaper reportsas a model! newspaper report is aimed at a general audience and so

presents important events in a concise way using simple vocabulary andstructures! 7ote also that newspaper reports are usually written in the*aive voice because the focus is on the event that occurred and its

effects! 4or e@ample headlines freIuently begin Three killed in roadaccident...3World chess champion +ishwanathan !nands citienshipquestioned... and so on because the person behind the action is lessimportant than the event itself!

The following activity is designed to help your students practise writing asimple report for a general audience! %efore you begin bring to the classa selection of newspaper reports like the one in 3eource 0!

To begin the activity put up on the board the two headlines given

above and ask your students to guess where they might see suchsentences!

Then alongside each headline place the same sentence in the active

voice(! bus driver killed three people in a road accident.../The governmenthome department questions the citienship of world chess champion+ishwanathan !nand) and ask them what is different in each pair ofactive and passive sentences! sk them about the difference intructure(passive or active) the focu(the action itself3the doer of theaction) and t.le(use of numerals and short sentences inclusion ofonly important facts no personal opinions etc!)!

nnounce that the headlines they studied were from new*a*er

re*ort and that they are going to learn how to write a report! 1ith

their input draw up a list of points to remember while writing areportE for e@ample include only important points use passivestructures where possible keep the important points in the correctseIuence avoid personal opinions and so on! 4or the activity dividethe class into groups of five and give them sample newspaper reportsas a guide! Then give them a passage and ask them to draft a shortreport on it! .ake sure that for half of the groups the passage is in listform (a list of important points) (see 3eource


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Once the drafts are ready have the groups e@change their drafts with oneanother and suggest corrections in the content and style of each draftreport wherever necessary! fterwards have a class discussion on thesuggested corrections to highlight the different strategies they needed to

use while e'panding information from list notes and contractinginformation from an essay format! gain review the techniIues ofwriting a report that they discussed before they began the activity!

To complete the process of writing give the groups their drafts back

for editing and final submission with the necessary corrections! Havethem compare their report with the original essay3list they received sothat they can check the information is correct and in order!

s a homework assignment you could ask them to read that days

newspaper or listen to a news item on television and write a report onit for the ne@t class! This individual follow'up activity will give your

students an opportunity to practise their newly acIuired report writingskills!

Unit ummar.

9ummar.

6n this unit you learned how to develop your students skills in writingformal letters and how to use Iuestioning techniIues to guide students inmaking good summaries or reports! The activities can also help youe@pand your students vocabulary!

3eflection

3eflection

Fid the students write good formal lettersK

Fid you complete the activity within the planned timeK

Fid the students en5oy the lessonK

1hich part of this unit would you like to modify to suit yourclassroom situationK


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Aement

Aement

1hat other forms of official communication should we teach B

studentsK

Can you design an activity to teach students how to write a bio'data

sheetK Fo you think this would be a useful e@ercise for your studentsK

3eource

3eource "& Writing informal letter

3eource "

.ost people have either written or received an informal letter from arelative a friend or an acIuaintance! n informal letter is often writtenfor the purpose of communicating with someone we are close to or arefamiliar or comfortable with!

6nformal letters are therefore less structured and personal! Howeverinformal letters still follow a certain format including the address of thewriter the date an introduction the body and a conclusion!

The introduction is usually in the form of a greeting self'introduction andvery short summary of the main topic of the letter!

The body usually consists of the writers message along with any e@tradetails he or she may want to convey!

6n the conclusion the writer wraps everything up! This is the place to sumup the main idea of the letter thank the recipient for their time wish therecipient well and3or ask any Iuestions!


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3eource ,& 9am*le informal letter

3eource ,

Tabora

12/11/2009

Dear Susan,

How are you?

I hope you are fne. I am fne too.

I know it has ony been two months sin!e I wastrans"erre# to this s!hoo but it "ees ike su!h a on$time sin!e the ast time I saw you. How are youen%oyin$ s!hoo these #ays? Ha&e you ma#e new"rien#s?

So "ar my e'perien!e with (kombo)i Se!on#aryS!hoo has been $reat* I ha&e mana$e# to make new"rien#s. +thou$h there is no bea!h !ose by I amen%oyin$ ni!e sha#es o" man$o trees. I&e beenpayin$ ots o" netba an# Im aso earnin$ to payso!!er. So!!er is a bit tou$h an# re-uires moreener$y but we ha&e a $oo# !oa!h.

n the weeken#s I &isit with my "rien#s or $o$ar#enin$ with (ummy an# Ham)a. Da# an# (umha&e a!-uire# a sma pot an# we are a e'!ite#about it. I" you !ome to &isit you wi eat man$oes"rom our $ar#en. e ha&e two man$o trees in ourpot.

I ha&e !ome to ike this pa!e but I wish you werehere to share it with me. I may !ome to &isit #urin$the mi#year &a!ation. Do you think you be aroun#?I" you are, we !ou# spen# some time to$ether!at!hin$ up*

ease write an# te me what is happenin$ o&erthere.

ith o&e,

Sophia


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3eource #& Writing formal:official:!uine letter

" 9am*le official letter


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, 9am*le !uine letter


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3eource 4& /ormat of a !uine letter workheetB

3eource 4

Here are some ways of writing the important information in a letter to an

employer to apply for leave! Looking at the format of the sample letteryou have been given select the appropriate forms by circling them!

" Name of addreor& +odney

Hubner

.r +odney Hubner

+! Hubner

, Date& $:thBuly $#

$:!#9!"#$#

$: Buly "#$#

"#$#!#9!$:

# 9u!7ect line& 6d like to go on leave

pplication for leave of absence

pplying for leave

=rayer for granting leave of absence

4 9alutation& Fear ir

.y dear ir

Fear .r +odney Hubner

Fear +odney

0 5ntroduction& 1e would like to inform you that!!!

This is to acknowledge!!!

6 hope you are well!!!

The reason 6m writing to you is!!!

< Ending& %ye for now!

incerely3&ours faithfully!

6 remain


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3eource 0& The language of new*a*er re*ort

3eource 0

Trancri*t

+eport on the .anila hostage drama- The #indu Tuesday "/ ugust"#$# .anila!

even people were killed on .onday in the =hilippines when an e@'asacked police officer seied a tourist bus and opened fire at his hostages

before he was killed by police!

i@ of the dead were Chinese passengers held for more than $# hoursinside the air'conditioned bus in a seaside park in .anila City accordingto doctors at two hospitals where they were brought!

The hostage'taker dismissed police officer +olando Fel +osario.endoa was also killed in an e@change of gunfire with the policeassault team authorities said!

There were $; Chinese tourists and a 4ilipino driver being held in the buswhen the violence erupted!

The driver escaped from the bus when .endoa began to open fire in anangry outburst after seeing his brother who was helping in thenegotiations dragged away by police!

i@ Chinese hostages survived the assault but suffered various in5uries!One woman cried hysterically as she was helped out of the vehicle

whose glass windows were shattered!

6nterior ecretary Besse +obredo said the government was MsaddenedN bythe violent end to the standoff which began more than $# hours earlier!

rmed with an .$< assault rifle .endoa seied the bus and demandedthat authorities reconsider his dismissal from the force in 4ebruary "##8due to e@tortion and harassment!

He warned authorities of violence if his demand was not met!

There were "; people inside the bus when it was seied including "#

Chinese tourists a travel guide from Hong ong and four 4ilipinos!

i@ Chinese tourists including three children and three 4ilipinos weresubseIuently freed unharmed as MgiftsN to negotiators said .anila City>ice U=olice ChiefV 6sko .oreno!

%efore .endoa opened fire a Chinese woman told FWXL radio stationthat she and her daughter were among the hostages!

M1e are okay but we are afraidN she said!


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The hostage'taking played out on live national television giving.endoa a chance to see most of the movements of the police frominside the tourist bus!

The Hong ong government said it had chartered a plane to take relatives

of the dead and in5ured holiday makers to .anila! J F=

Audio

3eource file


criptsR.odule/RDnit2Rctivity2R+esource;RudioRThe Language of

7ewspaper +eports!mp2

3eource


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then declared open by the Chief Guest J the Honourable Governor! Theinaugural function was well attended and ended on time! The principalthen invited everyone to help themselves to refreshments and en5oy thesporting events! t 8-2# a!m! the ports teacher announced the schedule

and agenda for the day and gave instructions to each class about theirallotted places in the grounds!

The ports Fay had several categories of events lined up for sportslovers! ll the events were scheduled between $#-## a!m! and /-## p!m!with lunch served in a central marIuee (tarpaulin tent) 5ust outside thessembly Hall so that large numbers of people could dine at the sametime! The first set of events was thletics with track and field events- the$## "## and /## metre races on the +ace Track pole vault and 5avelinthrow on the far end of the track and high 5ump and long 5ump events onthe inner field! These events ran from $#-## a!m! until noon so that otherevents could be organised without delay! The days being shorter in the

winter now the school took care to organise the games well withindaylight hours!

The principal organised the events in such a way that all the spectatorscould watch all the events both indoors and outdoors! thletics wasfollowed by team sports J football basketball and handball! The finalsof these three sports were played between $" noon and "-## p!m! in the.ini 4ield and people were free to bring lunch from the marIuee andhave it on the grounds on the condition of no littering!

The last set of events was indoor games J table tennis badminton andchess which were organised in the schools 6ndoor Hall! The table tennis

badminton and chess games were played one after another from"-## p!m! until /-## p!m!

The day went smoothly with no ma5or hiccups and 5ust ten minutes ofe@tra time! The prie distribution ceremony was held right after the eventswere over and lasted from /-## p!m! until ;!2# p!m! The Chief Guestwho had graciously stayed for the entire day was called upon to awardthe winners of the various events! 6n the closing ceremony the principalfirst declared the Games closed and then asked the Honourable Governorto both announce and distribute the pries to the winners! The ceremonywas held in the ssembly Hall so that all the attending parents could

proudly watch their children walk up to the dais to receive their pries!The Chief Guest then thanked the organisers participants and spectators

for making the day a success and admitted that he had en5oyed himselfmore than he had e@pected! The school authorities thanked the guest on

behalf of everyone and with this the nnual chool ports Fay came toan end!


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3eource %a&5m*ortant *oint a!out notice

3eource %a

7otices especially in schools provide information about things lost andfound events that have happened or are about to happen meetingsfunctions tours fairs e@hibitions camps etc! being organised or

postponed new developments in the institutions or new rules and so on!

7otices should contain only the relevant information in simple

language!

notice should provide details of the following-

" 1hat is the information!

, 1ho is giving the information!

# 1ho the information is intended for!

4 1hat is the action to be taken!

0 Fate time and venue if it is about an event!

7otices should use C=6TL L,TT,+ for the word notice the name

of the school the heading and the name and designation of thecontact person!

The heading must be eye'catching!

3eource %!& Notice for a de!ating com*etition

3eource %!

N O T 5 C EL5TTLE /LOWE3 9C2OOL8 ADD59 A'A'A

HO5N ONE HO5N ALLI EA3N NAME AND /AMEI

Date& ", 9e*tem!er ,J"J

Little /lower 9chool i organiing an 5nterK9chool De!ating Com*etitionfor Hunior 9econdar. tudent; 5ntereted *artici*ant hould regitertheir name on or !efore #J 9e*tem!er ,J"J; The firt *rie i "JJJ:K and

a tro*h.; All com*etitor will !e awarded certificate of *artici*ation;

Date & "0 Octo!er ,J"J Time & ""&JJ a;m;-enue & 9chool auditorium

Lat date for regitration & #J 9e*tem!er ,J"J

/or more detail contact the underigned at hi office !etween +&JJ a;m;and #&JJ *;m;8 Monda. to /rida.;

9igned:K

3ichard imolo


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Unit 4& Effective Writing acro the Curriculum

5ntroduction

One of the skills that students need to develop to perform well in higherstudies is the ability to write essays on academic topics includingscientific reports analyses of historical3political3social events summariesof discussions and notes on lectures or te@ts! tudents who acIuire betterwriting skills in their early years of education therefore have better

performance records at higher levels! This unit on writing across thecurriculum aims to help you develop your students skills to communicate

effectively in writing for academic purposes!

Unit outcome


Outcome

identify strategies for developing your students ability to compose

written te@ts for academic purposes

introduce your students to the steps that need to be followed in writinga technical report and

organise visits (e!g! to the library or museum) and develop

investigation techniIues to guide your students in identifying sourcesof information!

Terminolog.

Terminolog.

Ea.& composition in prose in which a writerdiscusses a topic usually restricted in scope ortries to persuade the reader to accept a particular

point of view!

3e*ort& n account or statement describing in detail anevent or situation usually as the result ofobservation inIuiry etc! such as a scientificreport or a report on an academic event!

Note taking& The process of writing down the important pointsfrom a lecture or a written te@t for future

reference!


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Help the groups compile the paragraphs into one complete essay

assigning paragraph numbers! =hotocopy the draft of the essay to givea copy to each group for editing or display each paragraph on a screenfor group editing! lternatively you can edit the first paragraph

showing them how to make corrections in grammar and style andthen let them edit the rest! how them or give them a list of semanticmarkers (e!g! firstly, however, on the other hand, in other words, to sumup) that they can use in their essay for a smooth flow of the ideas!Once they have finalised their drafts you can compile the editedversions into one final copy and ask one of the students to read it out!The whole process will be time'consuming but your students willen5oy being given the responsibility of correcting and editing an essay!The e@ercise will also give them practical e@perience in learning the

process of essay writing!

Activit. ,& Writing a cientific re*ort

Activit. ,

s preparation for this activity show students the video on %iology,@periment- Osmosis! Have a class discussion after the video on howthey would report on this e@periment!

+ead 3eource #& 9cience e)*eriment& Omoi! sk the students tobrainstorm on the parts of a scientific report! The discussion shouldgenerate e@pressions like observation, findings, materials required,equipment used, procedureand so on!

Give the students 1orksheet $ (3eource #) on the report on the

e@periment described in the video! 1orking in groups their task willbe to (i) put the paragraphs in the correct order and (ii) match theheadings with the paragraphs! Have a feedback discussion on why it isnecessary to use this kind of format and not an essay format!,ncourage them to e@press their own arguments about the differencesin the styles of a narrative3essay and a scientific report!

7ow distribute 1orksheet " (or pro5ect it on a screen) and have the

students discuss the differences in style between the original reportand this one! &our feedback should note that both styles can be used inthis type of report depending on why the report is being written! Thesentence structure used in the original report is that of a directive

because the style is in the form of instructions while the second(1orksheet ") uses modal ver! because it demonstrates how thee@periment can be conducted! 6n the ne@t class the students should beready to write their own report! To take them through the steps inwriting a scientific report use the same strategies described above!4or e@ample have the students write a report title Mir 6s ,ssential for%urning!N 4irst have them brainstorm on the materials reIuired thesteps involved in conducting the e@periment and what would be thefindings! 3emem!er the focu here i not on conducting thee)*eriment8 !ut on writing a re*ort on it ! Once the students have cometo a consensus on the materials procedure and findings separate them

into groups and have them write a report using any one of the formats


170/193

described in 3eource #! fter the students have completed the reportask them to edit and proofread their work before submitting it!

Activit. #& Taking note

Activit. #

7ote taking is a very useful academic e@ercise because it allows one tokeep a concise written report of what one has heard or read! 6t helps onerecall and review a lecture or any other discourse in a systematic manner!

.ost of us take notes when we are reading or listening to somethingimportant and we tend to develop our own methods of note taking!+esearch shows however that if we learn to take notes systematicallyfollowing aprocess we will understand and retain more information for

later use!

The process of note taking begins even before we actually listen or read!=eople can take notes faster and with better understanding if they simplyspend a minute thinking about the topic they are going to hear or readbefore the actual note taking begins! The process ends with thereconstructing of the te@t or speech from the notes! The following activityaims to take the students through certain important steps of note taking!

Choose a passage for note taking keeping in mind the level of your

students and their interest areas! (&ou can also play the audiotape ofthe sample passage in 3eource 4& Natural lighting for energ.conervation or read the transcript aloud!)

%efore the students listen to or read the passage ask them to think of

two Iuestions that they think the passage will answer! 4or e@amplebefore listening to the passage in 3eource 4 we could ask Iuestionslike- (i) Will the passage define %energy conservation-&and (ii) Will it giveus tips on using natural lighting in our homes- The important thing here isnot whether they have asked MintelligentN Iuestions but that they have

begun to think about the topic thus preparing themselves tolisten3read more efficiently!

To help the students prepare to take notes have a class discussion on

emantic marker(practised in Unit ,) and on how they should trainthemselves to listen to these markers when taking notes because theyhelp the listener3reader navigate or move easily through the passage!4or e@ample the e@pression howeversignals that the speaker3writer isgoing to say something that contradicts what they said beforeE firstly,secondly,etc! help us list the points to give some order to the content!

lso remind the students that using abbreviations, listingand numbering

helps to speed up the note'taking process and will help them organisetheir notes systematically (see 3eource 0a and0!)!

+ead out the passage and let the students take notes using the

strategies described above!


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=ut the students in groups and have them reconstruct the passage from

their notes finalising the details by comparing notes with each other!

1hen they are ready read out the passage once again and let them

check the details and modify their summaries!

Have a feedback session so the students can say if they found the

techniIues useful and if their e@perience helped them rememberimportant information better!

Unit ummar.

9ummar.

6n this unit you learned how to assist your students in writing good essays

and scientific reports and taking notes! &ou also used investigationtechniIues to help your students collect information from varioussources! These activities have given your students an opportunity to

practise the processes involved in composing a variety of written te@ts!

3eflection

3eflection

How helpful was the case studyK

Can you think of a similar case studyK

Fo you think your students will en5oy going through the preparatory

steps involved in making a draft of a written composition foracademic purposesK

Aement

Aement

1hat other kinds of academic writing do your students need to learnK

Can you think of an activity to teachE for e@ample preparing amorning assembly speechK

1hat difficulties do you anticipate while teaching writing skillsK How

important is a strong vocabulary for formal writingK hould we designactivities to improve students formal vocabulary or do they e@pandtheir vocabulary naturallyK


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3eource

3eource "a& 9te* in ea. writing

3eource "a

3eading widel.& 4or the proper preparation of essay writing it is

crucial to have read widely about the topic! This is the first essentialstep of good essay writing!

Chooing a u!7ect&The candidate should choose a sub5ect with which

he or she feels comfortable knows something about or has alreadythought about!

Drawing u* a *lan&6t is very important to prepare a mental plan after

choosing the sub5ect! =lanning helps keep the essay writer on track

and minimises the chances of digression or irrelevance!

'eing concie and to the *oint& There is an important caveat for the

writer of an essay- the word limit! The writer should plan to covereverything he or she thinks is relevant but with precision andconciseness!

Learning to write a good to*ic entence& The topic sentence defines

the sub5ect matter of the paragraph! ll the sentences in a paragraphshould support the topic sentence! The topic sentence can be at the

beginning or at the end of the paragraph!

Writing a good introduction and concluion& The topic of the essayneeds to be introduced in such a manner that it gives an impressionthat the writer has a clear understanding of the central point of thesub5ect! imilarly the conclusion leaves a lasting impression and so itshould summarise the important points well!

Uing language a**ro*riatel.&n essay writer should use simple and

straightforward languageE that is vocabulary and structures thatpresent the ideas in a clear and interesting manner without long'winded e@planations in flowery language! .oreover semanticmarkers such as however, although, on the other hand, for instance, etc!should be used to help the reader navigate easily through the essay!

Diviion of the ea.&The essay needs to be divided into paragraphs

with clear introductory and concluding paragraphs! Care should betaken that the paragraphs develop ideas logically and with adeIuateillustrations and that they avoid the repetition of ideas that appearelsewhere in the essay!


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3eource "!& /our ma7or *art of an ea. or re*ort

3eource "!

The title&The title states the focus or the sub5ect you are writing about!

The introductor. *art& This normally defines describes or e@plains thekey terms of the topic at hand!

The !od.& This is where the discussion of the topic centres! 6t should

be well organised into paragraphs with each paragraph preferablycontaining one idea! 6f the idea is comple@ and reIuires elaboration itshould be subdivided logically into several paragraphs! emanticmarkers like the ones listed above should be used to 5oin paragraphs!

The concluion&The conclusion either summarises the main points of

the essay or gives opinions and recommendations!

3eource ,& /orm:ind of ea.

3eource ,

1e know that essays normally address a ma5or Iuestion on a particulartopic! They may seek to e@plain describe define or give a point of view!

Often it is the Iuestion that the essay seeks to answer and how itaddresses that Iuestion which differentiates forms or kinds of essays! Thevarious kinds of essay include decri*tive essays caue and effectessays com*arionessays argumentative essays and essays of definition!

Decri*tive ea.

These seek to answer the MwhatN Iuestions! 6n a descriptive essay thewriter may start with something obvious like the physical appearance ofan ob5ect or sub5ectE then they may include inner or hidden features likeattitude values or temperaments! They may also make associations withthe immediate environment of the ob5ect! Fepending on the field3sub5ectarea the writer may also include scientific or sociological e@planations!The ma5or ob5ective of the descriptive essay is to use language to makethe reader see feel and understand an ob5ect activity or event!

Caue and effect ea.

These seek to answer the Iuestions of what happened and why ithappened! The writer of a cause and effect essay e@plains the link

between the process and the result giving the most reasonable andconvincing e@planation! He or she can also e@plain how action X leads toevent & (for e@ample how the process of boiling water causes it to turninto vapour)!


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Com*arion:Contrat ea.

These seek to e@plain how two things are similar or different! n essay ofcomparison shows how two things are similar and an essay of contrast

shows how two things are different! 6n this kind of essay the writer statesand e@plains those features that are alike and those that are in contrast!

Argumentative ea.

These seek to discuss issues by providing plausible opinions on a sub5ect!The writer of the argumentative essay includes data3evidence to supporthis or her views on the sub5ect! This means the writer has to consultreliable sources of information and become knowledgeable aboutdifferent sides of the issue! He or she also needs to use persuasivelanguage to convince readers that the writers views are the most

plausible!

Ea. of definition

This type of essay seeks to clarify a particular term concept or idea!,ssays of definition provide answers to various Iuestions including whathow why and when so as to provide a complete understanding of thesub5ect! The writer shares his or her knowledge on the sub5ect in a clearand precise manner and includes only important and relevantinformation!

3eource #& 9cience e)*eriment& Omoi

3eource #

This +esource contains a link to a video on a biology e@periment asample report on the e@periment and 1orksheets $ and " for students!%efore beginning the activity watch the video and go through the reportand worksheets! They have been designed to actively engage yourstudents in the process of writing a scientific report so that rather thanbeing toldhow to write a report they e'periencethe procedure themselves!

3e*ort on a !iolog. e)*eriment& Omoi

5nvetigation& 1hat is osmosisK

Material and e?ui*ment re?uired& raw potato a boiled potato two petridishes a knife a peeler table salt water!

(rocedure& Cut the boiled and raw potatoes into two eIual halves!+emove the peel from the base of each half! Dse the peeler to make asmall hollow on the broader side of each potato half! =our an eIualamount of water in the two petri dishes! tand the base of each potato halfin the two petri dishes! =ut Y teaspoon of table salt inside the hollow ofeach potato half in the petri dish! Leave the two samples for two hours!fter two hours observe the two samples carefully!


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O!ervation& The hollow of the raw potato is filled with water while thatof the boiled potato contains no water!

3e*ort& Osmosis is the process of movement of water molecules from an

area of higher concentration of water molecules to an area of lowerconcentration across a selectively permeable membrane!

The process of osmosis can be observed by using a potato as a model of acell membrane! The concentration of water molecules is higher outsidethe hollow of the potato half and the concentration of salt (solute) ishigher inside the hollow of the potato half!

s a result water molecules move from outside the potato into the hollowof the potato half through the raw (living) cells which act as a selectively

permeable membrane! 1ater accumulates inside the hollow! The boiledpotato half has only dead cells so no osmosis occurs!

-ideo

3eource file


criptsR.odule/RDnit/Rctivity"R+esource2R>ideoR1ritingacience+epo

rt!mp/

Workheet "

raw potato a boiled potato two petri dishesa knife a peeler table salt water

6nvestigation

Osmosis is the process of movement of watermolecules from an area of higher concentration of water molecules to an area oflower concentration across a selectively

permeable membrane! The process of osmosiscan be observed by using a potato as a modelof a cell membrane! The concentration ofwater molecules is higher outside the hollowof the potato half and the concentration of salt(solute) is higher inside the hollow of the

potato half! s a result water molecules move

from outside the potato into the hollow of thepotato half through the raw (living) cellswhich act as a selectively permeablemembrane! 1ater accumulates inside thehollow! The boiled potato half has only deadcells so no osmosis occurs!

.aterials andeIuipment reIuired

1hat is osmosisK =rocedure

The hollow of the raw potato is filled withwater while that of the boiled potato containsno water!

Observations


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Cut the boiled and raw potatoes into two eIualhalves! +emove the peel from the base of eachhalf! Dse the peeler to make a small hollow onthe broader side of each potato half! =our an

eIual amount of water in the two petri dishes!tand the base of each potato half in the two

petri dishes! =ut Y teaspoon of table salt insidethe hollow of each potato half in the petri dish!Leave the two samples for two hours! ftertwo hours observe the two samples carefully!

+eport

Workheet ,

3e*ort on a !iolog. e)*eriment& Omoi

5nvetigation& 1hat is osmosisK

Material and e?ui*ment re?uired& raw potato a boiled potato two petridishes a knife a peeler table salt water

(rocedure- Cut the boiled and raw potatoes into two eIual halves!+emove the peel from the base of each half! Dse the peeler to make asmall hollow on the broader side of each potato half! =our an eIualamount of water in the two petri dishes! tand the base of each potatohalf in the two petri dishes! =ut Y teaspoon of table salt in the hollow ofeach potato half in the petri dish! Leave the two samples for two hours!fter two hours observe the two samples carefully!

O!ervation& The hollow of the raw potato is filled with water while thatof the boiled potato contains no water!

3e*ort&4rom this e@periment we can conclude that osmosis is the processof movement of water molecules from an area of higher concentration ofwater molecules to an area of lower concentration across a selectively

permeable membrane!

The process of osmosis can be observed by using a potato as a model of acell membrane! The concentration of water molecules is higher outsidethe hollow of the potato half and the concentration of salt (solute) ishigher inside the hollow of the potato half!

s a result water molecules move from outside the potato into thehollow through the raw (living) cells which act as a selectively

permeable membrane! 1ater accumulates inside the hollow! The boiledpotato half has only dead cells so no osmosis occurs!


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3eource 4& Natural lighting for energ. conervation

3eource 4

Trancri*t

Today 6m going to briefly touch upon natural lighting for houses!

&ou are all aware of the negative effects of global warming and one ofthe ways we can contribute to reducing the emission of carbon dio@ideand other harmful gases into the atmosphere is by using less electricity! 6nthis talk 6m going to mention four ways in which we can use naturallighting more effectively in our homes!

.a@imising our use of natural light will not only help us save onelectricity bills it will help eliminate germs and dust mites too! llowingmore light into our homes will therefore enable us to lead healthier and

better lives! 6n other words it has added advantages J it will reduce our

energy use and e@pensesE and in addition healthy living will ensure thatour hospital bills come down tooS

Here are four ways in which we can use natural lighting in our homes!

4irstly paint the interior walls of your home in lighter (pale) shades! Thisensures better reflection of light from the walls and makes the room look

brighter! &ou can also use mirrors to reflect natural light off the wallsespecially in darker rooms!

second option is to install large windows especially in houses that donot allow a lot of light in! The windows should be taller rather than wider-this is another MtrickN for ensuring more light enters the room!

nother healthy habit is to remember to keep windows and blinds openlonger on bright sunny days to admit as much light as possible! ,ven ifyou have air conditioners installed in the rooms it is always advisable tokeep windows and doors wide open for some time to prevent carbondio@ide from building up in the rooms!

There are many other ways we can save power by increasing the amountof natural light in our homes and workplaces but today 6m going to endwith 5ust one last suggestion! 6n your homes make sure that your workareas such as desks and kitchen sinks are situated close to sources ofnatural light! This is good for your health too and will save a lot of

power!

6n short 6ve given you four tips on energy conservation through the useof natural light! 6f everyone followed these simple measures in ourhomes imagine the amount of collective savings we would makeS Ourduty therefore is also to make others aware of these simple steps! preadthe word J make your neighbours family and friends more eco'friendly!


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Audio

3eource file


criptsR.odule/RDnit/Rctivity2R+esource/RudioR7aturalLighting!mp2

3eource 0a& Commonl. ued a!!reviation and .m!ol in note taking

3eource 0a

1hen we are taking notes especially from a lecture we do not have thelu@ury of taking down every word J the speaker cannot wait while wewriteS

The most sensible approach is to use abbreviations and symbols wherepossible and to leave out words that do not contribute to the meaning!

2ere i a lit of commonl. ued a!!reviation and .m!ol&

Word A!!reviation Word 9.m!ol

4or e@ample e!g! =ercentage Z

That is i!e! %ecause

>ersus vs! Therefore 3

Compare cf! Greater than 4

7ote well 7!%!Greater than oreIual to

[

6n the sameplace (fromte@t alreadyIuoted)

ibid Lesser than 5

6n the workcited

op! cit!Lesser than oreIual to

\

=ost script = ,Iual to P

Carbon dio@ide CO" 7ot eIual to ]

4or / nd

To " t the rate of A

4rom frm =roportional to 6

6mportant imp =arallel to

Great gr: 7egative ve

irconditioned3er

C =ositive ? ve


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3eource 0!& Liting and num!ering in note taking

3eource 0!

7ote taking is an e@ercise in summarising the main points of a lecture orwritten te@t for future reference! 6t is not unusual to refer to notes Iuite

some time after we first heard or read a te@t! 6t is natural in such a caseto forget related matters such as the number of main points discussed thesub'points of each point the important statistics and so on! To minimisethe burden of remembering all this information we can use a system oflisting through numberingand spacing! 4or illustration here are the noteson the passage in 3eource 4above

Documents

ORELT--Module 4 Modified 0