- •Т. А. Бойцова, а. В. Соснин
- •© Т.А. Бойцова, а.В. Соснин, 2012
- •Part II English Punctuation
- •Capitalization.................................................................................................44 Part III Structural Aspects of Writing
- •Part IV Some Notes on Style
- •Using Jargon Appropriately.........................................................................88
- •What kind of skill is writing ?
- •Exercises
- •Insert the missing letters for [f]:
- •The Phoneme [k] – (c, k, ck, ch, qu(e))
- •Exercises
- •Insert the missing letters for [k]:
- •Exercises
- •Insert the missing letters: (tch, ch, t)
- •The Phoneme [g] – (g, dg(e), j)
- •Exercises
- •Insert the missing letters:
- •The Reduplication of Consonants
- •Exercises
- •Insert the missing letters:
- •Insert the missing letters for the sounds given in brackets:
- •The Final Letter “y”
- •Exercises
- •Insert the missing letters “y” or “I”:
- •The Mute Final “e” The mute Final “e” and its Functions
- •Exercises
- •Insert the letter “e”where necessary:
- •Affixation (Prefixation and Suffixation)
- •I. Prefixation
- •Negative prefixes
- •Exercises
- •II. Suffixation
- •The Suffix -tion, -sion
- •To scan – scansion
- •Write corresponding nouns from the following verbs by adding the suffixes -tion, -sion:
- •Exercises
- •Insert the missing letters “a” or “e”:
- •The Suffixes -able, -ible
- •Guiding Principles
- •If the stem ends in [s] -c or [d] -g, the final mute letter “e” is retained before -able:
- •Exercises
- •The Suffix -ous (-ious, -eous, -uous)
- •Study and Memorize the Following List
- •Exercises
- •Insert e or I :
- •Insert the proper vowel wherever necessary:
- •General Review
- •Part II English Punctuation Punctuation marks
- •Exercises
- •Apostrophe
- •Quotation Marks
- •Punctuation of Compound and Complex Sentences Comma and Semicolon
- •Capitalization
- •Exercises
- •Part III structural aspects of writing paragraph
- •2. A) Read the following passage.
- •Description
- •Technical description a Sitting Room
- •Description of a place or scene (Suggestive Description)
- •1. A) Read the above passage carefully paying attention to the choice of the
- •Vocabulary.
- •Character Sketch
- •Description of an Old Man
- •1. Study the passage below and describe the impression Charles Strickland produced on the author at their first meeting.
- •4. Write a descriptive sketch of a) your relative; b) an interesting person whom you know. Summary
- •How to Avoid Foolish Opinions
- •2. Study the following article carefully and make an outline of its essential points. Modern Constitutions
- •3. Consider a summary of this article written in Russian. Does it cover all the key points of the article? Write a summary in English.
- •Words and Phrases to Use in a Résumé
- •1. Make a résumé of the article below. The following questions might help you:
- •How to find true love Or, Rather, How It Finds You
- •Composition and essay
- •Technical / scientific essay
- •Important Development Projects in Russia: their Impact on the Area and People’s Lives. The Shtokman Gas Field – Thinking the Unthinkable
- •References
- •Part IV some notes on style active or passive voice ?
- •Avoiding male-only pronouns
- •Writing With Finesse
- •Suggestions on self-assessment
- •Supplement Words Frequently Misspelt
- •Wednesday
- •Word List For Special Study
- •References
- •Татьяна Алексеевна Бойцова
Composition and essay
A composition is a creative literary work, raising several issues or dealing with one problem in detail. An essay is a short composition on any subject. Before you can write on any subject it is necessary to accumulate a stock of ideas related to it.
Beginning of Compositions and Essays. A good beginning is of great importance, for we naturally desire to hold the readers’ attention from the first. The opening paragraph should appear to be natural and it can often be direct. It is a good plan to get right into the subject to be discussed, arrest the attention of the reader with the first sentence.
There are many ways of beginning an essay or composition, among them: a) general reflection; b) a definition that immediately introduces the subject; c) a quotation or a proverb; d) a joke – if appropriate, this is a neat way of beginning.
Whatever the form of opening, it should make the reader hungry for more.
Ending of Compositions and Essays. The ending should obviously prove to the reader that the subject has been nicely rounded off; that the whole is finished and complete.
The Body of a Composition or an Essay. Before beginning to write, it is a good idea to think of an outline, “a skeleton” whose bones must later be fleshed out, and then to gradually expand each point of the outline into a paragraph.
Suppose the subject is “An Apple Orchard”. Let your mind dwell on the subject for a while, and then write down the ideas you get; put them down just as they come; do not try to make any attempt at arrangement. Here are some that may be suggested: an apple orchard in spring time – the sight of the blossom on a pleasant spring day – the appearance of the flower when you observe it closely – its delicate pink and white colouring – the general snow-like effect of all the blossom when you view it from a distance. The same orchard in early autumn when the apples are ripe – the uses of the apples – home-grown fruit. Any reference to apples in literature – the Bible, William Tell, etc. From the above notes we can make the following headings, which help us make an outline:
a. Appearance of an apple orchard in spring-time;
b. The blossom;
c. The orchard in autumn;
d. Joys of an apple orchard;
e. The uses of apples;
f. References to apples in literature.
Each of these headings should represent a paragraph, and the last paragraph should round off the whole.
The making of an outline to base your writing upon is always extremely important. Before beginning to write your essay, examine the outline to make sure that there is a development from the opening paragraph to the end. Observe the following stages when writing:
Collect your material.
Select the information you need.
Arrange the material in the order of presentation according to your plan.
Write down the main topics of each paragraph.
Indicate the development under each topic.
Make a rough draft.
Correct the rough draft and make your final copy.
Technical / scientific essay
A technical or scientific essay should be written in a very precise, clear and lucid style, hardly allowing of any digressions. When writing a technical essay, keep to the following scheme: make an introduction to the theme; put forward a thesis or raise a controversial issue; present argumentation in favour of or against the thesis; cite several illustrative examples (do not give too many!) or provide relevant statistical data; make a logical and well-grounded conclusion; indicate further possible developments of the theme; if you have quoted or referred to any sources (which should not be done to excess), make a special section “References” at the end of your essay and list the sources in order of their citation in the main text.
Given below is a model technical essay on whether it is economically feasible to develop the Shtokman gas field. Study the essay carefully, pay particular attention to the style, advanced grammar patterns and technical vocabulary, and see how our scheme for essay-writing is implemented.