WRITING SKILLS

THE WRITING PROCESS (this section relates directly to writing the term paper).

The writing process is that chain of events and actions that starts from the conception of a writing
idea/task and ends with a finished, well-written and properly edited text. This includes choosing or
narrowing a topic; gathering materials from different sources; selecting the useful materials;
preparing an outline; writing the major parts of the term paper (Introduction; Body; Conclusion;
Recommendation and References) drafting; peer/other evaluation; re-drafting; editing and writing a
clear copy/word processing.

1. Choosing or Narrowing a Topic

You may be required to choose your own topic but usually a topic is assigned to you and you have to
focus on a particular aspect. Let us choose a general topic "Environmental Pollution". This is a very
wide topic that will be difficult to write on in a 5 - 10 page assignment. You have to decide the
particular focus of your writing.

There are several parameters that can be used to narrow a topic. Two will be discussed here. They
are tempo-spatial -considerations and picking a subset. Tempo-spatial considerations have to do
with time and location (tempo from Latin this refers to time; spatial, adjective for space). All events
occur in time and space. By specifying a point in time and a place in space, you narrow your topic.
The general topic 'Environmental Pollution' now becomes "Environmental Pollution in the Niger
Delta between 1995 and 1999".

The time and space can be as narrow as you wish. The time could be as narrow as a week, a day or a
few hours, depending on the event you are writing about. The place could be as large as FUTA or as
small as Abiola Hall. Your final topic could then be Environmental Pollution in Abiola Mall in 2003.

Our 'final' topic is no doubt still very wide. Even though time and space have been narrowed, the
topic implies you have to write everything about Environmental Pollution (E.P) . To deal with this
you must choose a subset of the topic. For E.P the different aspects include types, causes, effects
control and so on. If you choose as your focus TYPES then you may end up writing on "Land
Pollution in Abiola Hall etc".

TASK (A) Choose two of the topics below and narrow them using tempo-spatial Parameters.

i The Economy

ii. Waste Management

iii. Weather

iv. AIDS

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(B) Of the two you have chosen, further narrow one topic by picking a very small subset.

(C) Compare your final topic with that of your friend.

You may choose to write about the health problems caused by air pollution if, as an asthmatic, you
have had some of these problems yourself. An Ogoni living at home is best placed to write on the
environmental impact of crude oil prospecting. This way, your experience will be of advantage to
you. Apart from experience, one's interest can lead him/her to choose a particular topic. Your
interest can lead you to look for information in an area in which you have no experience. Getting
information leads to knowledge. It is not impossible that you may have knowledge in an area in
which you have neither experience nor interest. But if you do not have knowledge of a topic, then
you can look for information from different sources.

2. Gathering Materials from different sources

Everyone working on a topic needs to gather materials from different sources to make up for gaps in
knowledge. You may also need to corroborate facts you already know, crosscheck facts and data,
find out different sides of an argument and so on. So where can you go? A library is a good place to
start:
TASK: - Make a list:

What kinds of resources are available in a library?

What kinds of books and audio-visual resources are available?

What kinds of information can you get from the media? From the Internet?

SELECTING AND ARRANGING INFORMATION

Having consulted many sources of information, you will probably have more information that you
can use. You will therefore need to pick what you need and arrange it in an order that is logical and
that adequately develops your message. Information on outlining is presented below:

OUTLINING

A. Definition

An outline provides formal and detailed information of the content and structure of a written or
spoken text. We say it is formal because it is constructed according to some rules and it is detailed
because it contains all the important ideas of the communication.

B. Purpose

It presents the key ideas and important details in a text as well as the relationships between these
ideas. An outline is useful for the following: planning and writing assignments; preparing for
examinations; taking and making notes; summarizing; studying etc.

C. Construction

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An outline must accurately represent the structure of the material in question as well as the
relationships between the ideas it contains. This suggests that the major divisions and minor
subdivisions of your outline must correspond exactly with the main ideas and the important details
of the material. In addition, the relationship between the main ideas and the important details must
match the relationships expressed in the material.

D. Labelling

To label the various divisions of the outline, you use different sets of symbols to represent different
levels of ideas. You may decide to use one of these: I, II, III; or A, B, C; or 1, 2, 3 to illustrate your
main idea. A popularly used system of notation consists of the use of Arabic numerals to number
ideas and full stops indicate the subdivisions of the ideas. An example has been done for you below:

1. Main division
1.1 Subdivision
1.1.1 Minor subdivision
2. Main division
2.1 Subdivision of 2
2.1.1 Minor subdivision of 2.1
2.2 Another subdivision of 2
2.2.1 Minor subdivision of 2
2.3 Yet another subdivision of 2
2.3.1 Minor subdivision of 2.3
2.3.2 Another minor subdivision of 2 3
3. Main division
3.1 Subdivision of 3
3.1.1 Minor subdivision of 3.1
3.1.2 Another minor
3.2 Another subdivision of 3
3.3 Yet another subdivision of 3
E. Rules
i. Each new division is indented more than the preceding division.
ii. All entries of the same level will be indented the same number of spaces.
iii. All entries on any given level of division in the outline must have the same
grammatical form. That is, if the entry for the first component is a sentence, then
other equivalent entries must be sentences.
F. How to write a good outline
i. Try to understand the text. This involves using the heading or topic to anticipate what the author
will mention in the text, e.g. if the text is titled "Earthquakes", begin to anticipate how you think the
author will develop the theme. Some of the things he may mention may include-definition of
earthquakes, causes of earthquakes, severity of earthquakes, consequences of earthquakes, areas
prone to earthquakes etc. Some of the words he may use could include-tremor, active, Richter scale,
destruction, magnitude, amplitude, effect etc. From trying to generate the meaning globally try to
use things like chunks of paragraphs, important sentences like topic sentences, phrases, signal words
etc. to generate more meaning. This means that you will be moving from the global to the specific;
the more specific, and back to the global again to check your comprehension.

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ii. Then try to understand the organisation of the text. Watch for topic sentences, subdivisions of
ideas, details etc. Remember that your topic sentences occupy the initial position in some cases -not
all. Occasionally they appear in the middle or end of paragraphs, so think! Your topic sentence
contains the main ideas or important details of your paragraph. Other sentences merely develop,
amplify, exemplify or illustrate these ideas. Signal words are vital too -they communicate the
direction of an author's thoughts or ideas e.g. "in fact" suggests that more specific information is
being added to the preceding statement; "still" introduces unexpected information and
"furthermore" introduces the next item in a list; it may also introduce more important or more
specific information about the previous item.

iii. You may need to draw a flowchart that will help to illustrate the structure of your text in a graphic
form and present your ideas and the relationships between them.

Drafting

Your outline should be a statement of the structure and content of your essay. Your first draft is a re-
working of that structure and contact into paragraphs. A paragraph comprises a string of sentences
expressing and logically developing one main point. The sentence that expresses that main point or
core idea is called the topic sentence. This usually comes at the beginning of the paragraph, where it
states the core idea and all subsequent sentences develop that idea by re-defining, explaining, re-
stating or exemplifying the core idea. Sometimes, the topic sentence may come last, as a conclusion
to the paragraph. (See the section on The Paragraph). It is necessary to know how to develop your
paragraphs. Medubi (1996) quoting Trimble (1985) describes four methods of paragraph
development resulting in four types of paragraphs.

(i) In the deductive paragraph the topic sentence is at, or near the beginning of the paragraph. The
remaining sentences supply supporting information. E.g.

Industry produces a large number of hazardous metal wastes. There are five extremely dangerous
ones: lead, cadmium, mercury, chromium and arsenic. Breathing in even tiny quantities of these
metals damages the lungs.

(ii) In the inductive paragraph the topic sentence is at, or near the end, and the preceding sentences
give reasons for the generalization made at the end. E. g.

Many of the world's rivers and lakes are devoid of marine life-killed by industrial Waste. The amount
of lead in the bodies of urban dwellers is dangerously high. Millions of factory workers live with
hearing impairment. So it is high time man started tackling his pollution problem with the
seriousness it deserves.

(iii) In the hybrid paragraph inductive statements precede the topic sentence, and deductive
statements follow it.

(iv) The implicit paragraph does not have a topic sentence, but the core idea can be inferred by the
reader. For purposes of academic writing, types I and II are preferred.

Task: Improve on the outline presented below. Pay special attention to: the schematic structure;
labelling and relevant aspects of grammar.

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Effects of High Temperature on Horticultural Crops in Ikere Ekiti in 2008.
1.0 Introduction
1.1 General Overview
1.2 Definition of terms
Area under Consideration
1.4 Aim of Study
1.5 Scope of Work
2.0 Causes of high temperature
Low rainfall
Deforestation
3.0 Effect of high temperature on horticultural crops
3.1 Increase in rate of transpire
3.2 Delayed photosynthesis process
3.3 Reduce in quantity and yield
3.4 poor water and nutrient absorption
3.5 Slow enzymic activity
4.0 Control measures
4.1 irrigating
4.2 afforestation
4.3 Mulching
5.0 conclusion
6.0 Recommendation
References
Adapted from: GNS 102 assignment submitted by-Agboola, O.Y; Ojegbile, O.P; Akinrotimi, B.J.;
Ojolo, G.T; Ganiyu, M.A; Okeke, O.D- 2008.

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