COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUES- I ENGLISH WRITING 28. WRITING SKILLS: COMPOSING PASSAGES AND ESSAYS This is the fourth lesson under the fifth unit in which you will be working on the various steps aimed at acquiring Writing Skills with specific reference to composing longer Passages and Essays. This lesson moves forward from the previous lessons in this unit where you had been taught the basic concepts for construction of sentences, tools for combining and expanding sentences and acquiring the required skills for writing paragraphs. ___________________________________________________________________
28.0 Objectives By the end of this lesson you will: i. ii. iii.
organize ideas and facts in a meaningful order develop content in order to make the text interesting and informative write passages/essays in a structured form
28.1 Introduction As you are aware, writing is one of the four basic components of communication. We are exposed to written text in one form or the other right from school level. It could be an educational text, an article in a newspaper or a magazine, an essay by our favourite author or a work of fiction like a fairy tale. This exposure is sure to have kindled in us some kind of thinking process which can translate into effective writing. All we need to do now is familiarize ourselves with the steps/tools that help us write. You will now move on to acquainting yourself with important steps and processes for composing Passages and Essays. You need to pay careful attention and make a conscious effort to understand the features and ideas explained for composing passages/essays. Do make an effort to also read essays written by different authors and observe the manner of writing. Thereafter, try to write simple essays about a topic which interests you or that you feel strongly about or on your observations of what is going on around you. The more you practice the more your writing skills will get enhanced and you will be in a position to write interesting passages/essays.
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28.2 Writing and developing essays Writing an essay is not a difficult job. It is similar to writing a paragraph except that the length of the text is longer. The number of paragraphs would also be more depending on the extent of the subject and the information that is sought to be conveyed. You need to be careful and see that a connecting link between the paragraphs is ensured. The basic structure of an essay would be as follows: •
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Just as the first sentence of a paragraph tells the reader what the main idea of the paragraph is, so does the opening paragraph of an essay. It focusses on introducing the topic of the essay. This paragraph would have to catch the reader’s interest and hence will need to have a strong expression of introductory statements about the topic. The paragraph/s in the middle will provide the substance of the essay and therefore contain a lot of details relating to the topic. The main theme has to be logically developed in this paragraph. The style of writing differs with the purpose of the writing. For example, in expository and narrative essays, the content would have to be accurate and authentic. In descriptive text the style of writing should be appealing to the reader, while in persuasive text it should be convincing and have the power to influence. The development of the topic should focus to a great extent on ‘why’, ‘where’, ‘what’, ‘who’, ‘when’ and ‘how’, in order to make the text more interesting, as well as understandable. The final or concluding paragraph should give a recap of the topic. As in paragraph writing, it is necessary to maintain unity, order and clarity in the text. Transitional words and phrases and other tools like combining and expanding sentences should be properly used to make the writing effective. The rules of punctuation should be carefully followed. It would be necessary to critically check the written text on a) content, b) rules of grammar and structure and c) effectiveness in style, and improve on the first draft.
28.3 Types of Compositions There are many kinds of writing, which can mainly be classified into articles/essays, stories, scripts/conversations and letters. The basic elements of writing in all these would be similar, though the format and style would vary. For the present we shall confine ourselves to the first two. In an article or essay the style would be mostly formal unless the content warrants it to be friendly or thoughtful. In a story it would be more
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imaginative, based on fantasy or creative thoughts, though stories are also written on real life incidents.
28.4 Steps in Writing Remember to follow the steps given below for best results • • • • •
select your subject or topic carefully collect ideas by interacting with people and also from reference material introduce the idea, develop it and then conclude; in the process maintain the link between the paragraphs write your first draft freely go over the draft and modify the text till you feel it reaches a point where it would interest the reader
28.4.1 Selecting the Subject: This is the first step. The key question underlining this step is ‘What should I write about?’ If the choice of topic is left to the writer, it is better to select something one feels strongly about where one can have access to authentic reference sources and also contribute one’s own views. It also can be a topic about which the writer knows a lot. When the topic is already given, it is called directed writing. This mostly occurs in school assignments or in news reporting. 28.4.2 Collecting Ideas and Information: Ideas and information can be easily collected through live interaction with people, by visiting the places related to the topic on hand, and by extensive reading of related articles already published. You need to collect your own thoughts and the inferences you can make on the subject. 28.4.3 Prepare a Framework or Outline: This is a kind of rough work (draft or outline) where you prepare a sketch of the points to be included in the writing and the style to be adopted. This guides you through the process of writing and helps you to remain focused. Of course the outline will need to be modified and rewritten many times based on the required improvements till you reach the desired level of effectiveness. This is also a good time to plan what text you would like to include in your final product. Do keep the notes prepared by your side as you go along with your process of writing. You may want to add to these notes as you think of ideas. Remember, these notes will be a valuable resource to you as you proceed with your task. 28.4.4 Connecting and Editing:
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Remember we write not only for ourselves but also for others to read. It is important to establish that rapport with the reader by fluent connecting of ideas and thoughts. Adopt a free and honest style that stimulates your creativity and thinking. Give shape to your work by rewriting the text, reorganizing paragraphs, modifying sentences, compressing or expanding ideas and information according to the need. Finally check for errors in sentence formation, grammar and punctuation. 28.4.5 Final Copy This is the finished product that you will be proud to share with your identified audience. It should appeal to the audience you want to target. Know your FAT-P: The FAT-P is an acronym created to keep writers focused on the task on hand. ‘F’ stands for ‘form’. Be aware of the form that you will use as your final product. The key question that guides you here is: “What” should I write? The answer could be: a letter, an essay, an article, a paragraph, etc. ‘A’ stands for ‘audience’. Be aware of who you are writing for. In other words, know who will read your piece of writing. For instance, if you are writing for children, you will need to use simple, direct language. Knowing your target audience will help you construct your piece of writing effectively. The key question that guides you here is: “Who” will read what I write? ‘T’ stands for ‘topic’. Be aware of what you need to write about. In other words, know your subject well and make sure you cover all the important aspects of it. The key question that guides you here is: “About what” will I write? ‘P’ stands for ‘purpose’. Be aware of why you need to write. In other words, know your purpose for doing this task. Are you writing because you need to find out something? Or is it because it is an assignment that will explain to someone all that you have learnt in a particular subject? It could also be because you enjoy writing and want to share some ideas with others. The key question that guides you here is: “Why” will I write?
Self-Check Questions Give one line/short answers. 1. 2. 3. 4.
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What should be reflected in the opening paragraph of an essay? What would you need to critically check in the first draft of an essay? What does the acronym FAT-P denote? What are the five important steps in writing?
28.5 Summing Up In this lesson you learnt • •
basic concepts and steps you need to adopt for writing compositions in a logical structured form to be aware of your FAT-P This, along with the practical work you will go through in the Lab session, will enable you to acquire skills for writing longer texts.
28.6 Answers to Self-Check Questions 1. The topic of the essay should be reflected in the opening paragraph. 2. One would need to critically check on a) content, b) rules of grammar and structure and c) effectiveness in style, in the first draft of an essay. 3. The acronym FAT-P denotes a) form, b) audience, c) topic and d) purpose. 4. The five important steps to be followed in writing are a) selecting the topic, b) collecting ideas/information, c) preparing a framework/outline, d) connecting and editing and e) checking the final draft for errors in sentence formation, grammar and punctuation.
28.7 References 1. Sebranek, Patrick and Verne Meyer and Dave Kemper. Write Source 2000. Wisconsin: Write Source Educational Publishing House, 1995. 2. Scholastic Writer’s Desk Reference. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2000. 3. Panman, Sandra and Richard Panman. Writing Basics. New York: Active Learning Corporation, 1991. 4. Dumaine, Deborah. Writing to the Top: Writing for Corporate Success. New York: Random House, Inc., 1989. 5. Gilani, Archana, and Kaul, Mridula. & Suganthan Beena. The Grammar Tree India: Oxford University Press 2004. 6. Colligan, Louise. Scholastic’s A+Junior Guide to Good Writing. New York: Scholastic Inc., 1988.
28.8 Glossary • • • • • • • •
Authentic: genuine, valid Creative: original, imaginative Draft: text that has to be changed Factual: true-life, based on facts Fantasy: fancy, flight of imagination Format: plan, layout, design Framework: structure Introductory: opening, starting 5
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Outline: rough draft, sketch Stimulate: encourage, inspire Substance: solid matter Wide-ranging: extensive, thorough