- •Planning a Text
- •1. In the case of essays written in exams, it is best to begin planning by analysing the title and then writing down any ideas that seem relevant.
- •2. Having assembled your ideas, it is then necessary to find a suitable framework for the essay.
- •3. Complete the plan for the title in (1) using ideas from (1).
- •4. Decide which of the three frameworks in (2) would be most suitable for the following titles.
- •5. Study the title below and the ideas collected for the essay. Add to the list if possible. Then choose a suitable framework and complete the plan below.
- •6. Choose one of the titles below and note at least six ideas that might be used in the essay. Then select a suitable framework and write a plan.
- •7. In the case of longer essays, written as coursework, planning will normally be a two-stage process:
- •Organising Paragraphs
- •1. Read the following paragraph.
- •2. A paragraph is a collection of sentences that deal with one subject.
- •3. Read and analyse the following paragraph.
- •Organising the Main Body
- •3. Shorter essays (in exams, for example) tend to have simpler structures:
- •4. Inside the main body, ideas need to be presented in the most logical fashion, linked together to form a coherent argument.
- •5. It is useful to mark the beginning of new paragraphs or the introduction of new subjects with special phrases.
- •6. Complete with suitable phrases the following extract from an essay on ‘British weather’.
- •Introductions
- •8. There is no such thing as a standard introduction, and much depends on the nature of the research and the length of the essay.
- •9. Prepare to write an introduction to an essay with the title ‘Higher education should be available to everyone – Discuss’ by answering the questions below.
- •10. Write the introduction (about 100 words), using your answers from (9) and the notes provided below.
- •11. Write an introduction to an essay on one of the following subjects, or choose a subject from your own discipline.
- •Conclusions
- •1. Not every academic essay has a conclusion.
- •2. Compare the following conclusions to two essays on ‘Public transport in a modern economy’. Complete the table to show the main differences between them.
- •3. The following may be found in conclusions. Decide on the most suitable order for them (a–e).
- •4. Below are notes for the main body of an essay. Read the notes and complete the conclusion, using your own ideas if necessary.
- •Implications –
- •5. Study the notes for the essay below and write a conclusion in about 100 words.
- •1. After finishing the first draft of an essay you should, if you have time, wait for a while and then re-read the essay, asking the following questions.
- •2. Read this short essay written by a Japanese student to the title ‘Compare the university system in your country with the British system’. Answer the questions above by making notes below.
- •3. A careful re-reading of the essay would suggest the following points.
- •4. Use the notes below to re-write the introductory paragraph.
- •5. Read this extract from the main body of an essay on ‘Education is the most important factor in national development – Discuss’. Study the notes below and then re-write the extract.
- •Proof-Reading
- •1. Before handing in any piece of written work for marking, it is important to check it carefully for errors that may distort your meaning or even make your work difficult to understand.
- •2. When proof-reading, it is a good idea to exchange texts with another student, since you may become over-familiar with your own work.
- •3. Proof-reading a longer text is more difficult.
1. After finishing the first draft of an essay you should, if you have time, wait for a while and then re-read the essay, asking the following questions.
a) How well does this answer the question in the title?
b) Have I forgotten any points that would strengthen the development?
c) Is it clearly structured and well linked together?
2. Read this short essay written by a Japanese student to the title ‘Compare the university system in your country with the British system’. Answer the questions above by making notes below.
It is said that there are large differences in the teaching methods between British universities and Japanese ones. Courses in British universities consist mainly of lectures, discussions, presentations and tutorials and students study specifically their major subject. On the other hand, Japanese universities normally have only lectures in the first two years and students have to study a wide range of subjects in addition to their major. The aim of this essay is to compare and analyse each system.
In British universities, students need a more active attitude in their study than Japanese students. They need to prepare for presentations and discussions. This is useful for learning because they take much time for study outside the classroom and as they become familiar with their subjects they will become more interested in them.
In Japan, students’ attitude is amazingly passive and they study only just before exams. The other difference between British universities and Japanese ones is, as mentioned above, British students concentrate on their major subject and gain specific knowledge about it.
Japanese students, however, gain wider knowledge by studying a few other subjects in addition to their major. This system gives students apparently much knowledge but they cannot study their major deeply and their knowledge is wide-ranging but not useful.
In conclusion, British teaching methods give students more chance to know the subject thoroughly compared to Japanese teaching methods, but Japanese methods are suitable for students who are eager to gain a wide range of knowledge and like to study on their own. It is hard to say which is better, it depends on students.
a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
c) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3. A careful re-reading of the essay would suggest the following points.
a) The essay only partly answers the title. It looks at university life from a student’s position, but does not really deal with the system as a whole. The last line of the conclusion discusses a question not asked in the title.
b) To deal with the subject more fully the writer needs to examine topics such as length of courses, funding of students, and admission procedures. If there is not space to discuss these in detail they must be at least mentioned, to show that the writer is aware that they are central to the subject.
c) The introduction needs to be more general. It goes straight to a comparison of teaching methods. This could be in the main body. Otherwise the essay is well organised and quite logical.