WRITING SKILLS 4

LESSON 1-The process of academic

Writing
Instructor: Nguyen Thi Giang, MA.
 writing
process

pre-writing

choosing &
brainstorming
narrowing a topic

planning

writing topic writing topic

selecting grouping outlining outlining
sentence sentence

writing &
revising
revising : contents
writing first organization
vocabulary
draft grammar
 PRE-WRITING

NARROWING A
NARROWING A
BRAINSTORMING
BRAINSTORMING
TOPIC
TOPIC
 NARROWING A TOPIC
working in groups of 5, narrowing the following
topics. Try to write 3 questions for each . This is
an example
Topic: Education
Narrowed :student behavior-> problems -->
solutions?
Question: In many countries schools have severe
problems with student behavior. What do you
think are the causes of this? What solutions can
you suggest?
 NARROWING A TOPIC
Crime and Law

Transportation

News and Media

Brainstorming
 Brainstorming
The Key to
Successful Essay Writing

Adapted from http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/brainstorming.html

Brainstorming
What is it?
A gathering of ideas from your brain onto paper.
The variety of ideas and the use of your imagination assist you in
producing a lot of material with which to work.

Why do we need it?

It’s the best way to collect your thoughts.
It’s helpful for organization.
It ensures only quality ideas are used in the essay.
Brainstorming Technique
Number One

Freewriting
"This paper is supposed to be on the politics of tobacco production
What is it?though I went to all the lectures and read the book I can't
but even
think of
Think whatthe
about to say and
topic. I've write,
Then felt this way write.
write, for fourWhatever
minutes now and I
comes
have 11 minutes left and I wonder if I'll keep thinking nothing during
into your brain – even if it doesn’t have to do with the topic.
every minute but I'm not sure if it matters that I am babbling and I
Example:
don't know what else to say about this topic and it is rainy today
and I never noticed the number of cracks in that wall before and
those cracks remind me of the walls in my grandfather's study and
he smoked and he farmed and I wonder why he didn't farm
tobacco..."
 Brainstorming Technique
Number 1

Freewriting ???
???

When is it helpful?
When you have NO ideas about a topic
When you have TOO MANY ideas about a topic

Maybe I could say

this or maybe I
could say that…
hmmm
Brainstorming Technique
Number 2

Clustering
What is it?
When you write down words or concepts associated with the
topic – any ideas that come into your mind
 Brainstorming Technique
Number Three
Global Warming
rainforests disappearing

Clustering extinction emissions

dangerous

dying animals toxic world wide

Draw a bubble.
And write the topic above it. Cars/SUVs factories

Brainstorm! landscape changes no icebergs

expensive to fix? hurricanes
Reversible?
vocabulary
Now look for words that connect with each other.
Circle the words and connect them with lines.
Brainstorming Technique
Number Six

Tree Diagram
What is it?
This diagram has a central idea to which you add branches that
focus on details.
 Brainstorming Technique
Number Six

save time
Tree Diagram
When do you use it?
This type of diagram is helpful in classification essays.

Media

Print Visual
Audio

Newspaper magazine booklet

television webpage movie
cd mp3 cassette
 Planning: selecting
– Your goal in selecting is to choose the best ideas that
support your thesis.
– If they don’t back up
– Then you must leave out
• Eliminate, cross out, delete
– the poor ideas
– the irrelevant ideas
– those that don’t support your Thesis

• Keep, circle, select

– the quality, excellent ideas
– the unique, interesting, fresh ideas
– those relevant and supportive of your Thesis
SELECTING & ORDERING
 From the remaining list of quality ideas
 chose the best 3-5 ideas

 Then narrow that list down again to the best 3.

 practice
too many people

cars/suvs not recycling

chopping down trees

Global Warming

Crazy weather

loss of polar ice caps

dying animals
OUTLINING THESIS:
OUTLINE

 Now it’s time to

I. POINT #1
 draft your OUTLINE.
A. SUPPORT
B. SUPPORT

II. POINT #2
A. SUPPORT
B. SUPPORT

III. POINT #3
A. SUPPORT
B. SUPPORT
OUTLINING
 THESIS STATEMENT:
◦ At the top of the Outline page write your Thesis
 in a complete sentence

 NUMBERED LIST:
◦ Then take the numbered ideas from the previous
Brainstorming Exercise and list them here
 in Emphatic Order
 use Roman numerals
OUTLINING
 MAIN IDEAS:
◦ The Roman Numerals indicate your Main Ideas
◦ each main idea = single paragraph

 MAIN IDEA =
◦ Reason
◦ Type or Role
◦ Similarity or Difference
◦ Cause or Effect
ORDERING
 Lastly, arrange these premium ideas in the
“EMPHATIC ORDER”
◦ putting last the “most important” or “most significant”
OUTLINING
 SUPPORT:
◦ Beneath each Main Point
◦ List your means of Support
 use capital letters for each

 TYPES of SUPPORT
◦ Examples, instances
◦ Stats, Anecdotes
◦ Quotes from experts
OUTLINING THESIS:
OUTLINE

 OUTLINE:
I. POINT #1
◦ An Outline for a
A. SUPPORT
◦ 5-paragraph essay
B. SUPPORT
◦ should look something
◦ like this:
II. POINT #2
◦ Each point = A. SUPPORT
B. SUPPORT
◦ a Body paragraph

III. POINT #3
A. SUPPORT
B. SUPPORT
revising : contents/organization/vocabulary/
grammar
 look at the symbol in the handout and do some revising
work
 Remember that you have to carry that handout with you

every lesson and be ready for peer revising

 Peer Editing is Fun!
Working with your classmates to
help improve their writing can be lots of
fun. But first, you have to learn what it
means to “peer edit” and how to do it!
 What is Peer Editing?
• A peer is someone your own age.
• Editing means making suggestions, comments,
compliments, and changes to writing.

 Peer editing means working with someone

your own age – usually someone in your
class – to help improve, revise, and edit his
or her writing.
 3 Steps to Peer Editing
There are three important steps to remember
when you are peer editing another student’s
writing.
• Step 1 – Compliments

• Step 2 – Suggestions

• Step 3 - Corrections
 4 aspects need revising
• contents
• organization
• language use
• mechanism (Spelling mistakes,
Grammar mistakes, Missing
punctuation, Incomplete or run-on
sentences)
 STEP 3

Corrections
Read through the paragraph again on
your worksheet. Circle, underline, or
use editing marks to correct errors
in spelling, punctuation, or grammar.
 STEP 3

Corrections
• The third step in the peer editing process is
making corrections.
• Corrections means checking your peer’s paper
for:
– Spelling mistakes
– Grammar mistakes
– Missing punctuation
– Incomplete or run-on sentences
Practice
 Write about the following topic:
 Food can be produced much more cheaply today because

of improved facilities and better machinery. However,

some of the methods may be dangerous to human health,
and may have negative effects on local community. To
what extent do you agree or disagree?
What is the problem with this answer?
• introduction:
Food can be produced much more cheaply
today because of improved techniques and
facilities and better machinery. Some of
these methods however may be dangerous
to human health .
 Organization - incoherence
• Using too many short, choppy sentences
• Organizing your sentences in an illogical
sequence
• Using weak transitions that fail to suit your
purposes, or not using transitions at all

• Alternating between different tones and styles

• Canadian software companies face several
tough challenges in the new millennium because
of ‘brain drain,’ and the monopoly held by their
American counterparts. However, the Canadian
dollar is getting stronger. ‘Brain drain’ is a bad
thing. Our greatest resources are leaving.
Microsoft is squeezing out its competitors. In
comparison, if the ‘brain drain’ continues,
Canadian companies will find it difficult to
produce innovative software. If the dollar doesn’t
stay strong, it will hurt us. It will help the
Americans.”
• [The paragraph above is incoherent
because it lacks unity, lacks variety in
sentence structure, organizes ideas
illogically, lacks transitions that show the
connections between ideas, alternates
between formal and informal style, and
uses both third person and first person
point of view inappropriately.]
 how do you answer this question?
• Some people believe that money is the
most important factor for achieving
happiness. However, others believe that
happiness has nothing to do with money.
• Do you agree or disagree? Give reasons
for your answer and include any relevant
examples from your own knowledge or
experience.
• Make an outline
• Sample Answer:
• We live in a world that is surrounded by sorrows, suffering, grief and happiness. We
often try to make our souls happy through spiritual deeds and materialistic things.
Few individuals of a society believe that money is vital in bringing happiness in life;
other thinks that money is not associated with monetary funds. I personally believe
that not all, but money does play some role in bringing happiness.

• One the one hand, people commit their lives in earning huge sum of money because
they consider money and happiness goes hand in hand and for them life without
money will be miserable and one cannot enjoy to the fullest extent. For instance,
people that find happiness in traveling, branded clothing or expensive dining would
not be able to enjoy without money. Another example is of parents, whose child is
severely sick and needs expensive medication or treatment abroad, with wealth,
parents can buy happiness for their child. For them merriment and capital funds are
closely related to each other and one cannot image to live without it.

• On the other hand, there are several plausible arguments which say that money has
not relation with cheeriness. People believe that money cannot remove their sorrows
and sufferings. For instance, a mother who has lost her child in war, money is of no
value because her grievance and tears cannot be wiped through financial aid and to
make her glee. Soothing words and sympathy can calm her down and bring some
elation.

• To conclude, the above provide solid arguments in favor of both views. I personally
believe that money give lots of benefit to people in terms of their status and lifestyle
but one should not equate money as the vital factor in bringing happiness.