Unit. 2
Before writing:
1. Types of Essays
1. Description:
Painting a picture in words of a person, place, object, or scene.
2. Narration:
Give an
account of an event or a
series of events.
3. Exposition:
Explain or
explore something, (e. g, process of make a machine, the causes of a natural or social phenomenon, the planning of a project, or a
solution of a problem)
* Description
mainly deal with appearance and feelings, and narration with events and experiences,
unlike the two, the
expositionmainly deals with relationships as well as processes.
Things can be explained by illustration, process, classification, and division, comparison, contrast, and
analysis of their causes and effects or definition. That is to say, methods that are good for
paragraph development are also good for expository essays.
3. Argumentation:
unlike the purpose of exposition, which aims to inform, the purpose of argumentation is to convince.
You should do your best to meet the following requirements:
1) A debatable point:
Eg: Noise is the most
harmful of all environmental pollution; Part-time study is helpful for young students;
2) Sufficient evidence:
Common knowledge,
specific example, facts (not opinions unless the opinions are
expert and authoritative;) statistics, and quotations from authorities.
3) Logic ways of reasoning:
(1) Inductive reasoning(归纳)From facts to a general conclusion.
(2)Deductive reasoning(演绎)From general to specific
German cars are well built.
Volkswagens are German cars
My Volkswagen is well built.
II. Process of Writing
1. Generate ideas
2. outlining
3. draft
4. revise
5. edit
III. Our teaching plan
Generally follow the textbooks arrangement, but not exactly. (the syllabus to be finished)
IV. Grading method
Three best ones + final test
V. Other activities
1. web-pubishing (above 90)
2. a
collection of students articles
3.
journalwriting (two
journal books)
VI.
Telling your stories
A personal narrative
Narrative
writing is a story telling. A personal
narrative is simply a story taken from your life.
It is organized chronologically, and relies on narration, sometimes in
combination with
description and other kinds of writing. If it is a short one, you’d better choose one main point or incident, you should give enough
specific details and facts so that readers can see and feel the experience rather than read about it.
Before
writing activity:
Before
writing activities
1. Asking questions:
What is happening?
When did it begin?
What is causing it to happen?
What dose it do?
How is it being done?
Where is it being done?
Why is it happening?
What dose it look like?
Samples:
When I was sixteen, I overheard a conversation between my mother and my father that changed my life. On this particular day, I had stayed home from school because of an attack of asthma that I frequently suffered. While resting in my bedroom, I could
overhear my parents discussing my illness.
‘I wonder if asthma is inherited, my mother said.’ No one in my family or in yours has ever had it . Tom must have inherited it from his mother and father”.
“from his mother and father!” I could not believe my ears. Weren’t those two people in the living room my father an mother? If they were not, then who were my parents? Suddenly, I realized what they had meant. I was adopted.
That nigh I could hardly sleep,
shaken by what I had overheard. The nest morning I confronted my parents with the words I had overheard and demanded to know the truth The looked
nervously at each other,
trying to find the words to answer me. Finally, my mother told me the story My real parents were unmarried, and I had been put up for
adoptionshortly after my bir
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