Exploratory task 1.2

Match the given texts with the focus of writing

Texts

Focus

…This man is no stranger to crime. He was first arrested for shoplifting at the age of twelve. Since then he has regularly appeared in court, charged with pick-pocketing, petty theft and burglary. His story began, when … 20th October. It's Sunday again and I am alone. How I hate these holidays with nothing to do, and these telephone rings "Sorry, wrong number!" Not even a person to come by the window. But wait! IT my night dream comes true… In desperation, I reached up, tugged at the nose of my now leaking pontoon, and the boat moved ahead about six inches. Clawing at the rocks, we inched our way forward and popped out of the channel – only to be smashed sideways into a flat-faced boulder at the apex of the river's left turn. Wash rice in several rinses of cold water to get rid of the starch. Peep and chop onions and garlic. Wash and chop celery. Wash and slice mushrooms and tomato and chop pepper. Heat oil in a saucepan over a moderate heat and fry onion…

Subject matter Writer Reader Language

Writing can be done with the purpose of description, narration, exposition, persuasion and reasoning. Description presents typical features of a living being, an object or an abstract image to make it recognizable. Narration tells of events in succession. Exposition describes circumstances. Persuasion makes people change their behavior or train of thought. Reasoning invites the reader to follow the logic of the author and to co-operate in producing ideas.

Exploratory task 1.3

Recall and/or bring to class pieces of writing, which would illustrate the types given below. Find the difference between various pieces, e.g. “essay” and “report”.

Description:	Character drawing, verbal portrait, putting image in words
Narration:	Paragraph, anecdote, short story, diary, fable, myth, personal letter
Exposition:	News story, business letter, autobiography.
Persuasion:	Letter of complaint, letter to the editor, review, advertisement.
Reasoning	Essay, report, article, research paper.

Schemata theory for writing

To write on a subject, one has to have some prior knowledge on what to write. The schemata concept can be interpreted as a structure for organizing knowledge, which can be imaged as a "series of slots plus fillers" in the writer’s mind. It serves the function of the "cognitive schemes" or, in other words, functions as the “route of cognition” that exists in the individual mind. It's the "schema" that gives our knowledge “the direction of thought”, in which we try to find the answer to a question or to a problem. Thus, a "schema" (the knowledge a person already has) can serve as a semantic interface between a person and a surrounding world. (After Harley. T. 1995. The Psychology of Language. Psychology Press. P. 193).

Exploratory task 1.4

Jot down notes of the knowledge you already have that might be helpful in writing an essay “Can you teach a dog to bark?”

Text format

Teaching to write is inseparable from teaching a text format, i.e. a typical lay-out of the text. For teaching writing it is essential to use the following formats of texts: congratulations and condolences, telegrams, notes, signs, labels, captions, notices, menus, advertisements, personal letters, invitations, condolences, business letters, applications for a job, CV, references, letters of complaint, recipes, diaries, log-books, dictation, note-taking, reproductions, abstracts, summaries, reviews, reports, précis, synopsis, case-studies, projects, essays, stories, poems. E.g. business letter is usually laid out as

Address of the sender Address of where the letter is to be sent Greeting Body of the letter Closing Polite expression