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Writing: A First Look
LECTURE # 1
PROF. DOC. REVAZ TABATADZE
What is writing?
"Writing" is the process of using symbols (letters of the alphabet, punctuation

and spaces) to communicate thoughts and ideas in a readable form.
Writing is the fourth of the four language skills, which are:

 Listening
 Speaking
 Reading
 Writing
What is APA style?
 APA is the style of documentation of sources used by the American

Psychological Association. This form of writing research papers is used
mainly in the social sciences, like psychology, anthropology, sociology,
as well as education and other fields.
Characteristics of Academic Writing
 Planned and focused:

 Structured:
 Evidenced:
 Formal in tone and style:
The Purpose of Writing
 To inform
 To persuade
 To express yourself
 To entertain
PRACTICAL ACTIVITY # 1
Do you want to add years to your life and feel better? Here are a few tips. First, to decrease
your chance of a heart attack, eat a handful of nuts each day. Also, to ease the effects of
active work-out, be sure to include some fruit, such as orange juice in your diet. Finally,
exercise on a regular basis.
The primary purpose of this passage is:

a. To entertain
b. To inform
c. To persuade
The moment the words were out of my mouth, I wished I could take them back. I didn't mean to hurt Keith's
feelings. He is such a nice person, and he certainly doesn't deserve to be treated so poorly. I guess the stress
from my job has been more than I can handle. Instead of taking my problems out on him, I need to deal
directly with the people who create the stress. If only I didn't care so much what people thought of me at
work, then this would not have happened.
The primary purpose of this passage is to:

a. persuade
b. entertain
c. inform
Alonzo winked at his mother with a smile he said, "sausage and pepperoni pizza for breakfast makes
perfect sense. Allow me to demonstrate. You have your tomato. Tomato is technically a fruit. You have
your cheese. Cheese is a dairy product. And don't forget the sausage and the pepperoni… my protein. If
you think about it, it is just like bacon and eggs, toast, and orange juice." Still smiling, he added, "really, it
is… well, almost." "Why are you looking at me that way?"
The primary purpose of this passage is:

a. to entertain
b. to inform
c. to persuade
The audience of your writing:
 What are the educational level, age, social class, and economic issues of the
audience I want to reach?
 Why will this audience read my writing? To gain information? Learn my views on
a controversial issue? Be entertained?
 What attitudes, needs and expectations do they have?
 How are they likely to respond to what I say? Can I expect them to be neutral?
Opposed? Friendly?
 How much do they know about the topic?
 What kind of language will communicate with them most effectively?
 1. What audience does each author address? How do you know?

 2. Identify ways in which each author appeals to a specific audience.
Nanotechnology is the creation of functional materials, devices and systems through
control of matter on the nanometer length scale (1–100 nanometers) and exploitation of
novel phenomena and properties (physical, chemical, biological, mechanical,
electrical …) at that length scale. For comparison, 10 nanometers is 1,000 times smaller
than the diameter of a human hair. A scientific and technical revolution has just begun
based upon the ability to systematically organize and manipulate matter at nanoscale.
Payoff is anticipated within the next 10–15 years.
CNT Center for Nanotechnology

Today’s manufacturing methods are very crude at the molecular level. Casting, grinding milling
and even lithography move atoms in great thundering statistical herds. It’s like trying to make
things out of LEGO blocks with boxing gloves on your hands. Yes, you can push the LEGO
blocks into great heaps and pile them up, but you can’t really snap them together the way you’d
like.
In the future, nanotechnology (more specifically, molecular nanotechnology or MNT) will let us
take off the boxing gloves. We’ll be able to snap together the fundamental building blocks of
nature easily, inexpensively, and in most of the ways permitted by the laws of nature.
This will let us continue the revolution in computer hardware to its ultimate limits: molecular
computers made from molecular logic gates connected by molecular wires. This new pollution
free manufacturing technology will also let us inexpensively fabricate a cornucopia of new
products that are remarkably light, strong, smart, and durable.
Dr. Ralph Merkle, Nanotechnology

Discourse Communities
 What are the major concerns and questions in this field?

 What seems to be common knowledge?
 To what works do writers regularly refer?
 How do those in the field go about answering questions?
 What methods do they follow?
 Which kinds of knowledge are acceptable? Which are not?
 What values seem to guide the field?
 What kinds of information must writers include in papers?
 How are different writing projects organized?
 What conventions do writers follow?
Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and

rationally about what to do or what to believe. It
includes the ability to engage in reflective and
independent thinking.
Someone with critical thinking skills is
able to do the following:
 understand the logical connections between ideas
 identify, construct and evaluate arguments
 detect inconsistencies and common mistakes in reasoning
 solve problems systematically
 identify the relevance and importance of ideas
 reflect on the justification of one's own beliefs and values
The Qualities of Good Writing
1. Fresh thinking
2. Sense of style
3. Effective organization:
 A beginning – an introduction
 A middle – a body
 An end – a conclusion
 Begin with the idea and in-depth research
 Analyze at least one good example
 Brainstorming to pick one main idea
 State your thesis statement clearly
 Plan paper example and write the final draft
 Write body paragraph step-by-step
 Transform a topic of your interest into the powerful title and introduction
 Write your conclusion
PRACTICAL ACTIVTY # 5
Online education and training is becoming increasingly popular

in the business world. Do the advantages of this development
outweigh the disadvantages?
 Enthusiasm for digital technology is at an all-time high, not least in the workplace as companies around the
world turn to internet-based training to keep their employees abreast of all the latest developments. As with
all new trends, there is some debate about whether this transition is for the best.
 One key reason for this move away from more traditional training methods is the fact that e-learning offers
businesses the opportunity to reduce their expenditure significantly. Providing face-to-face training can be
exorbitantly expensive, particularly in terms of travel costs and lost productivity, and online courses can greatly
reduce the expense of keeping employees well-informed and up-to-date. Computer-based training renders
geographical location irrelevant and this eliminates the need to pay an instructor to travel to your office or cover the
cost of sending your employees to a training centre. It also minimises the amount of time wasted. From a purely
financial perspective, there is no doubt that this shift to digital learning makes perfect sense.
 However, research suggests that the quality and effectiveness of web-based courses lag behind the efficacy of those
delivered in a classroom setting. People crave interaction and while digital training courses may offer a welcome
addition to a company’s professional development plan, many educators believe that they should be used to
complement rather than replace instructor-led sessions.
 In conclusion, although the rise of computer-based education is very attractive in terms of reducing overheads, for the moment at least,
more traditional training still has its place in the workplace. The challenge for businesses is to find the right balance between the two.
The principles of ethical writing
 Truthful - Writing perceived as truthful should be truthful. Granted, a writer may use humorous
exaggeration to make us laugh, and some sales pitches may stretch the truth a bit in order to entice
buyers.
 Complete - Writing meant to be perceived as truthful should tell the whole truth, omitting nothing
the reader needs to know in order to make informed decisions.
 Clear - Writing should be clear to the reader. All of us know the frustration of trying to read a crucial
regulation that is impossible to comprehend.
 No Harm - Writing should not be intended to harm the reader. Certainly it is fair to point out the
advantages of a product or service that readers might not need.
Plagiarism
According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, to "plagiarize" means:
 to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own
 to use (another's production) without crediting the source
 to commit literary theft
 to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source
But can words and ideas really be
stolen?
All of the following are considered
plagiarism:
 turning in someone else's work as your own
 copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit
 failing to put a quotation in quotation marks
 giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation
 changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit
 copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your work,
whether you give credit or not (see our section on "fair use" rules)
Q /A

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Writing: A First Look

"Writing" is the process of using symbols (letters of the alphabet, punctuation

Writing is the fourth of the four language skills, which are:

 APA is the style of documentation of sources used by the American

 Planned and focused:

The primary purpose of this passage is:

The primary purpose of this passage is to:

The primary purpose of this passage is:

 1. What audience does each author address? How do you know?

CNT Center for Nanotechnology

Dr. Ralph Merkle, Nanotechnology

 What are the major concerns and questions in this field?

Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and

Online education and training is becoming increasingly popular

According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, to "plagiarize" means:

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