Writing III course

Assiut University College of Education Egypt

For

By

Dr Mahmoud M. S. Abdallah Curriculum & TESOL/TEFL Methodology Assiut University College of Education, Egypt

Writing III for 3rd Year EFL Student Teachers

Writing III for 3rd-Year EFL Student Teachers Copyright © 2016, by Dr Mahmoud M. S. Abdallah (First Edition) All Rights Reserved by the Author No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form – or by any means – without prior written permission of the author (copyright owner). Dr Mahmoud Mohammad Sayed Abdallah (PhD in Education, University of Exeter, England, UK) Assistant Professor of Curriculum & TESOL/TEFL Methodology, Curriculum & Instruction Department College of Education Assiut University, 71515, Assiut, Egypt Office: (002) 088-2423843 Mobile: (+2) 01011953743 Exeter University Homepage: http://eprofile.exeter.ac.uk/mahmoudabdallah Academic Profile: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mahmoud_Abdallah Scholar: https://scholar.google.com.eg/citations?user=7_RbCRcAAAAJ&hl=en Assiut University Homepage: English: http://www.aun.edu.eg/membercv.php?M_ID=3357 Arabic: http://www.aun.edu.eg/arabic/membercv.php?M_ID=3357 Social Networking: Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrMahAbdallah Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drmahmoud.abdallah

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Dr Mahmoud M. S. Abdallah

PREFACE Writing is a very important skill that should be mastered properly by university students, especially pre-service language teachers (e.g. EFL student teachers). In order to present their ideas efficiently in the context of their academic study, they have to be trained well on how to write meaningful pieces (e.g. essays, academic reports, summaries, critical reviews, etc.). In addition, junior EFL student teachers need to delve deeper into more advanced forms of writing such as multi-genre writing. Also, they need to recognise the wide range of writing areas, forms, possibilities and chances enabled online by the web technologies.

Moreover, writing is an important skill that prospective English language teachers need to develop during their pre-service education (training) programmes. They need to write accurately and coherently to present their ideas in a clear and acceptable academic format. They badly need this while doing their assignments, submitting their study reports and answering essay questions in literature, civilisation and language history courses, for example.

Course information based on new regulations (college bylaws, recently modified in 2013):

Code: Curr327

Course Title: Writing (3)

Level: 3rd Year- 2nd Semester

Major: BA in Arts Number of Units: and Education -Lecture (Theoretical Study): 1 hour (English Section)

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-Workshops (Practical Sessions): 2 hours -Total: 3 hours This Writing III course to junior EFL student teachers complements and builds on - the Writing II course studied in the previous year by 2nd-year EFL student teachers. It gradually takes student teachers further into more advanced essay writing genres, types and processes. Like the Writing II course, it also aims mainly to foster EFL student teachers’ essay writing skills by helping them to identify different ways, strategies and/or techniques used for writing a standard English essay (e.g. a comprehensive five-paragraph essay).

In this regard, it provides many examples, samples and illustrations of how to write different types of essays, and how to use various online techniques and strategies to develop paragraphs, and thus explore, reinforce and develop the main topic. More specifically, by the end of the course, junior EFL student teachers are expected to be able to: 1. Identify an English essay and its main components; 2. Write an English essay accurately and adequately; 3. Identify a topic paragraph in an essay; 4. Write a topic paragraph (and topic sentences or thesis) in an essay; 5. Identify and use multi-genre writing for different purposes; 6. Identify the common errors that people sometimes make while writing; 7. Continue writing and practicing different types of essays (e.g. expository, academic, descriptive, and narrative essays);

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8. Practice some online writing skills (e.g. using new technologies such as social networks - to fulfill some real literacy needs; sharing ideas online; write reflectively online; and give appropriate feedback to others online); 9. Identify different forms/types of online writing facilitated by some web technologies (e.g. reflective writing, collaborative writing and connective writing); 10. Write accurately based on some writing standards and/or guidelines; and 11. Write pragmatically and functionally based on some real needs and common goals.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs): 1.1

Knowledge & Understanding:

1.1.9 The student teacher recognizes the difference between the paragraph, the composition and the essay. 1.1.10 The student teacher recognizes the various modes and genres of writing, such as comparing and contrasting, cause and effect, argumentative and expository writing. 1.1.11 The student teacher recognizes how to revise and edit essays and check them for unity, order and coherence. 1.1.15 The student teacher recognizes the difference between translating the text and the context and the various stylistic devices used in social, political, medical and cultural contexts.

1.2

Intellectual Skills:

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1.2.6 The student teacher produces various writing genres (explanatory, expository, descriptive and narrative) accurately and fluently. 1.2.7 The student teacher initiates and terminates paragraphs or essays accurately. 1.2.8 The student teacher uses the process and product approach to writing paragraphs and/or essays. 1.2.9 The student teacher achieves unity and coherence in his/her writing through various devices. 1.2.10 The student teacher determines the audience or the purpose of an intended writing piece. 1.2.11 The student teacher prepares writing in a format (e.g. oral presentation, manuscript, and multimedia) appropriate to audience and purpose. 1.2.12 The student teacher revises and/or edits paragraphs and/or essays. 1.3

Professional Skills:

1.3.1 The student teacher enjoys English as an international means of communication. 1.3.2 The student teacher feels that learning English facilitates travelling abroad and communicating with native speakers. 1.3.5 The student teacher thinks that studying English dispels selfconsciousness. 1.3.6 The student teacher thinks that English is a worthwhile subject.

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1.4 General Skills: 1.4.1 The student teacher responds to specific situations and current conditions when implementing instructions. 1.4.2 The student teacher responds to the ideas and opinions of other speakers thoughtfully before uttering.

3- Teaching and Learning 1. Lecturing Methods 2. Discussion 3. Collaborative learning 4. Blended learning 5. Online learning

4- Teaching and Learning 1. Online tutorials Methods for Low 2. Private interviews Learners 3. Self-paced learning 5- Evaluation: Both forms of evaluation (i.e. formative and summative) are employed with student teachers throughout the whole semester.

a) Tools

Writing tasks in workshops; oral/written presentations; formative assessment in workshops; and discussion in lectures -Provisional scores are assigned for each student teacher every week in each workshop based on certain tasks.

b) Time Schedule

c) Grading System

-A final total score is assigned for each one by the end of the semester based on total performance in both lectures and workshops. -Some time is devoted to online interactions with tutors and among student teachers themselves outside the frame of the formal schedule (e.g. a Facebook group or an online Blog). • Semester work + Oral production: 20 marks •

Final semester exam: 80 marks

• Total: 100 marks

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Course Instructor: Dr Mahmoud M. S. Abdallah Assistant Professor of Curriculum & Instruction of English Language Learning Assiut University College of Education

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Table of Contents PREFACE ...................................................................................................................... 3 Table of Contents ........................................................................................................... 9 PART I .......................................................................................................................... 12 WRITING NOWADAYS: TEACHING AND LEARNING ISSUES.................................. 12 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCING WRITING ............................................................... 13 1.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 13 1.2 The Writing Sub-skills ..................................................................................... 16 1.3 Writing Fostered by New Technologies ......................................................... 17 1.4 Teaching Writing .............................................................................................. 20 1.4.1 Writing as a process vs. writing as a product ........................................... 20 1.4.2 Factors influencing the teaching of writing .............................................. 22 1.4.3 Principle of teaching writing ..................................................................... 24 1.4.4 Writing activities ........................................................................................ 25 1.5 Reflections and Ideas for Workshops ............................................................. 27 CHAPTER TWO: NEW FORMS OF WRITING FACILITATED BY NEW TECHNOLOGIES .......................................................................................................... 30 2.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 30 2.2 New Literacy Forms ......................................................................................... 30 2.3 New Forms of Writing...................................................................................... 35 2.3.1 Collaborative Writing ................................................................................ 35 2.3.2 Connective Writing ..................................................................................... 40 2.3.3 Reflective Writing Online ........................................................................... 45 2.4 Reflections and Ideas for Workshops ............................................................. 49 CHAPTER THREE: MULTI-GENRE WRITING ........................................................... 52 3.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 52 3.2 A Brief List of Genres ....................................................................................... 56 3.3 Teachers’ roles.................................................................................................. 58 3.4 Procedures ........................................................................................................ 61 3.5 Reflections and Ideas for Workshops ............................................................. 66 CHAPTER FOUR: EXPOSITORY WRITING ................................................................ 69 4.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 69 4.2 Main Characteristics and Features of Expository Writing ............................ 70 4.3 Why to Teach Expository Writing? ................................................................. 70 4.4 Guidelines for Writing Expository Essays ...................................................... 71 definition| example| compare and contrast| cause and effect | classification | process analysis ...................................................................................................... 74 4.5 Examples of Expository Writing ..................................................................... 74

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4.6 Reflections and Ideas for Workshops ............................................................. 77 PART II ........................................................................................................................ 79 FORMAL WRITING: LINGUISTIC AND STYLISTIC ISSUES ...................................... 79 CHAPTER FIVE: ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES OF COMPOSITION ........................... 80 5.1 Make the paragraph the unit of composition: one paragraph to each topic. 80 5.2 As a rule, begin each paragraph with a topic sentence; end it in conformity with the beginning. ............................................................................. 83 5.3 Use the active voice...................................................................................... 90 5.4 Put statements in positive form. ................................................................ 94 5.5 Omit needless words. .................................................................................. 96 5.6 Avoid a succession of loose sentences. ...................................................... 98 5.7 Express co-ordinate ideas in similar form. .............................................. 100 5.8 Keep related words together. ................................................................... 103 5.9 In summaries, keep to one tense. ............................................................. 107 5.10 Place the emphatic words of a sentence at the end............................. 109 CHAPTER SIX: WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS COMMONLY MISUSED .................... 113 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

All right.......................................................................................................... 113 As good or better than ................................................................................. 113 As to whether................................................................................................ 114 Bid................................................................................................................... 114 Case ................................................................................................................ 114 Certainly ........................................................................................................ 114 Character ....................................................................................................... 115 Claim .............................................................................................................. 115 Compare ........................................................................................................ 115 Clever ............................................................................................................. 116 Consider ........................................................................................................ 116 Dependable ................................................................................................... 116 Due to ............................................................................................................. 116 Effect .............................................................................................................. 116 Etc ................................................................................................................... 117 Fact ................................................................................................................. 117 Factor ............................................................................................................. 118 Feature ........................................................................................................... 118 Fix ................................................................................................................... 119 He is a man who ........................................................................................... 119 However ........................................................................................................ 120 Kind of ........................................................................................................... 120 Less ................................................................................................................. 121 Line, along these lines ................................................................................. 121 Literal, literally ............................................................................................. 122

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Dr Mahmoud M. S. Abdallah • Lose out ......................................................................................................... 122 • Most................................................................................................................ 122 • Nature ............................................................................................................ 123 • Near by .......................................................................................................... 123 • Oftentimes, ofttimes .................................................................................... 123 • One hundred and one.................................................................................. 124 • One of the most ............................................................................................ 124 • People............................................................................................................. 124 • Phase .............................................................................................................. 125 • Possess ........................................................................................................... 125 • Respective, respectively .............................................................................. 125 • So .................................................................................................................... 126 • Sort of ............................................................................................................. 126 • State ................................................................................................................ 126 • Student body ................................................................................................. 126 • System ............................................................................................................ 127 • Thanking you in advance ........................................................................... 127 • They ................................................................................................................ 128 • Very ................................................................................................................ 128 • Viewpoint ...................................................................................................... 128 • While .............................................................................................................. 128 • Whom............................................................................................................. 130 • Worth while .................................................................................................. 131 • Would ............................................................................................................ 131 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................ 133

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PART I WRITING NOWADAYS: TEACHING AND LEARNING ISSUES

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CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCING WRITING

1.1 Introduction Generally, writing is a language skill, an everyday practice, a form of literacy, a communicative activity, and sometimes a means through which learners can be assessed, especially within the Egyptian context. As a method of communication, for example, writing can be used to establish and maintain contact with others, transmit information, express thoughts, feelings, and reactions, entertain, and persuade. As a personal or private activity, it can be a powerful tool for learning and remembering. It can be used to explore and refine ideas, organise thoughts, and record information. At school, learners are usually asked to use writing to display what they know, and thus, writing becomes the medium through which pupil learning is measured (Browne, 1999: p2). Therefore, people write for different reasons and in a wide range of contexts. They normally write in order to: Get their message across; Convey important information and facts to others; Communicate their own intentions and purposes; Help and support others; Prove that they have mastered something; Put ideas on paper so that they are not lost; Plan for doing something by creating a schedule or timetable; Guide and direct others; Succeed in life and pass tests; 13


Modify and re-draft something; Make money and earn living; Express themselves; Socialise and participate in different events; Organise ideas and say what one cannot communicate orally; Share ideas and experiences with others; State reflections and jot down personal diaries; Teach/Train others and provide them with feedback; Learn and internalise some linguistic aspects (e.g., vocabulary and grammar); and Simplify something. According to Harmer (2007), composing or writing in a foreign language is always a demanding process where language learners need to employ many skills and strategies. As a productive skill, writing draws on other language skills such as listening and reading. That is why language teachers usually delay it until their students have done a great deal of listening and reading in the target language. In its simplest form, writing may take the form of notation: copying in conventional graphic form something already written, or reproducing in written form something that has been read or heard. This act hardly involves anything more than the ability to use the writing system of the language. Writing in the language becomes more complicated when it involves writing meaningful segments of language which might be used in specific circumstances by native speakers. This is the type of writing involved in things like grammatical exercises, the construction of simple dialogues, and

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dictation. In its most highly developed form, writing refers to the conveying of information or the expression of original ideas in the target language. These distinctions among the types of writing activities reflect the major areas of learning involved in the writing process. Students must learn the graphic system and be able to spell according to the conventions of language. They must learn to control the structure according the canons of good writing. They must learn to select from among possible combinations of words and phrases those which will convey the meaning they have in mind (Rivers, 1981). Furthermore, it is important to be aware of the differences between spoken and written language. When people speak, they normally seem more relaxed and less formal. They are likely to express themselves in a simple language which is full of hesitations, pauses, repetitions, etc. In this regard, Holliday (1985) and Nunan (1991) state some of the features that distinguish spoken from written texts:

Spoken language sounds simpler than written language; Transcriptions of spoken language look less structured because they represent ‘unedited’ language. The lexical density of written texts (i.e. the number of lexical or content words per clause) makes writing seem more complex;

Spoken forms are in a sense more basic than the written forms; in writing, we have normally altered the normal state of events;

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Compared with speech, writing is often de-contextualised; in communicating a message, writers are usually distant in time and place from the person(s) with whom they wish to communicate. Because of this lack of direct contact with the reader, they are unable to make use of feedback from others to adjust their message;

People usually exert more effort during writing as they do their best to clarify their message. This absence of the physical and paralinguistic features that the speaker uses to support his/her utterance adds burdens to the writer.

1.2 The Writing Sub-skills Writing is a broad skill that has many manifestations that might be referred to as ‘writing sub-skills’. These are the concrete skills that language learners need to develop so as to be efficient writers in the target

language.

They

include

(see:

http://miguelbengoa.com/elt/?p=87): 1. Manipulating the script of the language: handwriting, spelling, and punctuation; 2. Expressing grammatical (syntactic relationships at the sentence level;

and

morphological)

3. Expressing relationships between parts of a written text through cohesive devices (especially through grammatical devices such as noun-pronoun reference); 4. Using markers in written discourse, in particular: 16

Dr Mahmoud M. S. Abdallah • • • • • • •

introducing an idea developing an idea making a transition to another idea concluding an idea emphasising a point (and indicating main or important information) explaining or clarifying a point already made anticipating an objection or contrary view

5. Expressing the communicative function of written sentences: • •

using explicit markers without using explicit markers

6. Expressing information or knowledge in writing: both explicitly and implicitly; 7. Expressing conceptual meaning; 8. Planning and organising written information in expository language, which includes: • • • •

narrative straight description of phenomena or ideas descriptions of process or change of state argument

1.3 Writing Fostered by New Technologies The writing skill nowadays has been fostered by new technologies. In particular, some Web-based facilities have recently enabled new genres of writing and made it possible to share and develop ideas in an infinite fashion. For example, Wikis have enabled ‘collaborative writing’ in which case learners collaborate together online to produce something.

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Through Wikis, language learners can add, edit, and delete the content in a developmental fashion that was not possible before. Similarly, through Blogs, learners have become able to practise ‘connective writing’ in which case they can post content and comment on posts made. Thus, the same post may raise a great deal of arguments connected together. This might result in threaded discussions in which the ideas are developed continuously with no end.

Unlike the case in traditional, paper-based writing, students while writing online (whether connectively or collaboratively) write purposefully, sometimes in response to others' accounts, keeping in mind the potential audience. Besides, there is no end for the writing, as the dialogue will continue when others comment on what has been written and post new pieces that stimulate discussion. This state of affairs has provided online spaces to practise writing and develop the different writing skills that learners need in the 21st century. Writing has become a collaborative activity rather than a static product that a student initiates and finishes individually with no interference from others. Besides, the way that learners write online is totally different from the way they write on paper. Writing online enables writers to:

Easily correct themselves (self-correction) while they are writing;

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Use many options such as checking spelling and grammar to produce accurate pieces;

Exploit multiple resources while writing and copy and paste parts easily and flexibly;

Reflect on what they are writing by employing different techniques such as the ‘find’ feature that enables them to locate any word/phrase in the text;

Re-order the content they have written and fill in the gaps when necessary;

View models of good writing that might help them with organising their ideas and developing their writing skills;

Contrast different accounts and summarise what they have written;

Establish an e-mail dialogue with other students who are reading the same content;

Write to a real audience for realistic and communicative purposes;

View written accounts belonging to different genres and practise multi-genre writing online;

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Make use of the authentic content available online while writing.

1.4 Teaching Writing 1.4.1 Writing as a process vs. writing as a product Perceiving writing either as a process or as a product drastically determines how we teach writing. The ‘product’ approach to writing is a teacher-centred approach that focuses solely on accuracy. It focuses on the end result of the learning process – what it is that the learner is expected to be able to do as a fluent and competent user of the language (Nunan, 1991: p86).

In other words, teachers are concerned with the outcome or product that learners eventually produce. Thus, writing in the target language is seen more as a purely linguistic activity than as a communicative activity. It is viewed as a standard practice that can be easily measured and scored objectively based on some pre-determined criteria. Thus, the product-oriented approach favours classroom activities in which the learner is engaged in imitating, copying, and transforming models of correct language. On the other hand, the ‘process’ approach focuses on fluency more than on accuracy, and on quantity more than on quality. It focuses mainly on the various classroom activities which are believed to promote the development of skilled language use. Teachers adopting this approach, instead of looking at completed texts, are much more interested in the process writers go through in composing texts.

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They believe that competent writers do not produce final texts at their first attempt, and that writing is a long and often painful process, in which the final text emerges through successive drafts. Thus, beginning writers are encouraged to get their ideas on paper in any shape or form without worrying too much about formal correctness or grammar. Further, this approach encourages collaborative group work between learners as a way of enhancing motivation and developing positive attitudes towards writing (Nunan, 1991: p87). Accordingly, writing is a creative, expressive, and learner-centred activity in which the learners’ personal characteristics, attitudes, and feelings play vital roles. Thus, the student writer’s voice comes to the fore as an essential component of the writing process which is an individual process in the first place (Reid, 2009). In this sense, and as Harmer (2009: p113) states, writing is not a linear process that follows a pre-determined order; instead, it is a complicated, iterative process that might go in a chaotic order. Thus, writers may plan, draft, re-plan, draft, edit, re-edit, re-plan, etc before they produce their final version. This way, students are writing-for-writing beside writing-for-learning.

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1.4.2 Factors influencing the teaching of writing There are many factors that language teachers should consider for teaching writing. For example, the kind of writing they ask students to do and the way they ask them to do it will depend on learners’ age, level, learning styles, and interests. Thus, they should not ask beginners to try to put together a complex narrative composition in English. As Harmer (2009) puts it, in order to help students to write successfully and enthusiastically in different styles, we need to consider three separate issues: genre, the writing process, and building the writing habit. Generally, genre (the French equivalent of ‘sort’, ‘kind’, or ‘type), according to Wikipedia, is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture (e.g., music) and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audio or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time as new genres are invented and the use of old ones is discontinued. Often, works fit into multiple genres by way of borrowing and recombining these conventions.

As far as writing is concerned, a genre is a type of writing which members of a discourse community would instantly recognise for what it was. Thus, we recognise a small ad in a newspaper the moment we see it because, being members of a particular group, we have seen many of such texts before and are familiar with the way they are constructed. Therefore, one of the important decisions language teachers need to make is which genres are important and/or engaging for their students. Then, they can show them 22


examples of texts within a genre to help them to see how typical texts within a genre are constructed. This knowledge will help them to construct appropriate texts of their own. At lower levels, learners might be given clear models to follow and imitate. However, as their language levels improve, their writing should express their own creativity within a genre, rather than imitating it (Harmer, 2009: p113). Teachers should also consider the issue of writing as a process. They should encourage students to plan, draft, and edit in a dialogic, iterative fashion. In order to develop writing as a process, teachers need to be both patient and tolerant allowing learners sometimes to err and violate grammatical rules for the sake of producing a creative content that reflects self-expression and personal thinking. Thus, learners should be allowed to do many attempts before producing a final version. Moreover, teachers should help their students to build the writing habits. Often, students feel too bored to write or find it difficult to start. This is quite normal, and therefore, the teacher’s role lies in encouraging them from the very beginning to make writing an essential component of their daily activities. In addition, teachers should do their best to make writing interesting, realistic, and relevant to their students. For example, the more the writing topic is interesting to students and relevant to their daily lives, the more they are likely to develop their writing skills and produce reasonable accounts. In other words, writing should be contextualised within the learners’ culture. Thus, it might 23


be better to ask Egyptian learners to write in English on agriculture in Egypt or the over-population problem there, than to ask them to write on the English weather or life in London. 1.4.3 Principle of teaching writing The following principles should act as guidelines for language teachers while teaching writing: Teachers should do their best to develop writing as a habit for their students;

Teachers should find ways to involve those learners who are reluctant to write (e.g., exposing them gradually to writing; asking them to write about something they like; and giving them rewards after producing a reasonable written account);

Teachers should consider the goals behind the writing activities/exercises at hand and adjust their teaching accordingly;

During free writing exercises, teachers should avoid overcorrection and try their best to be encouraging, tolerant, and flexible all the time;

Beside striving to obtain an accurate product from students after writing, teachers should also focus on writing as a process by

understanding

the

overlapping

socio-cultural,

psycholinguistic, and personal aspects associated with writing;

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Teachers should do their best to make the writing activity interesting and relevant to their students;

Teachers should involve their students in various genres of writing;

Teacher should relate and integrate writing with other language skills/aspects such as reading and listening.

1.4.4 Writing activities Deciding on writing activities by teachers depends on many factors such as: students’ level, their average age, the future intentions for the writing (e.g., school tests), the specific writing skills in focus, the language aspects that a teacher wants to address, and the writing genre in focus.

Thus, an important question to ask oneself is: What should the students be able to produce at the end of this exercise? (e.g., a well written letter, a report, an essay, an advertisement, a story, etc.). Another important question is: What is the focus of the exercise? (e.g., structure, tense usage, and creative writing). Once these factors are clear in the teacher’s mind, the teacher can begin to focus on how to involve the students in the activity thus promoting a positive, longterm

learning

experience

http://esl.about.com/cs/teachingtechnique/a/a_twrite.htm).

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(see:


Harmer (2007) mentions a reasonable range of writing activities. These include:

1-Instant writing activities: Using instant writing activities as often as possible, especially with reluctant writers, can help with building the writing habit. In these activities, students are asked to write immediately in response to a teacher’s request. For example, students might be dictated half sentences to complete (e.g., ‘My favourite hobby is …’, and ‘I will never forget the time I …’). Teachers can also give students three words and tell them to put them into a sentence as quickly as possible. Instant writing is designed both to make students comfortable when writing, and also to give them thinking time before they say the sentences they have written aloud. 2-Newspapers and magazines: Newspapers and magazines offer different kinds of text that allow for genre analysis, and then writing within that genre. For example, students might be asked to look at a range of different articles to analyse how headlines are constructed, and how articles are normally arranged. They then can write an article about a real or imaginary news story that interests them. 3-Collaborative writing activities: Students gain a lot from constructing texts together, especially through using online tools such as Wikis and Google Documents. For example, teachers can have them build up a letter on the board, where each line is written by a different student. Also, teachers can tell a story which students then have to try to reproduce in groups. When students have created their own versions of the same story they have already heard, they might

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compare their version with the original as a way of increasing their language awareness. Teachers can also set up a story circle in which each student in the group has a piece of paper on which they write the first line of a story (as dictated to them by the teacher). They then have to write the next sentence, and then pass their papers to the person next to them, and so on. Finally, when the papers get back to their original owners, those students write the conclusion. Another variety of the same activity might be to engage students in collaborative writing around a computer screen. They can use a Word processing application for writing, or an online tool such as Wiki to produce a written outcome. 4-Writing to each other: Students can be asked to write e-mails or any other kind of messages to each other. They can be also involved, under the teacher’s supervision, in live chat sessions on the Internet.

1.5 Reflections and Ideas for Workshops Discuss with your instructor the above section on ‘how to teach writing’ to come out with practical ideas that you can use for teaching writing activities in your classroom.

Select a writing exercise/activity from the textbook you are dealing with in your teaching practice sessions and demonstrate in the workshops how you will teach it. Please prepare your teaching notes for this exercise in advance based on both the guidelines that you concluded from the previous discussion with your instructor and the teaching notes included in the official

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Teacher’s Guide you are using in your teaching practice. Also, please always consider the three stages of teaching writing: prewriting, while-writing, and post-writing stages, and adjust your teaching accordingly.

Select any of the writing activities discussed above, prepare for it, and then try to carry it out in the workshops.

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CHAPTER TWO: NEW FORMS OF WRITING FACILITATED BY NEW TECHNOLOGIES 2.1 Introduction Generally, from a theoretical standpoint, English language learning has been greatly influenced by the new theories of literacy which recognise the new dimensions that the dominant technological innovations have brought to the fore (Abdallah, 2010b). Nowadays, people are talking about new varieties of the traditional and already existing language skills; they talk about ‘online reading’, ‘online writing’, ‘networked communication’, ‘collaborative writing’, and ‘connective writing’. These new varieties have been recently enabled and fostered by a group of Web-based technologies (e.g., Blogs, Wikis, and social bookmarking websites).

2.2 New Literacy Forms The web, as a dominant technology nowadays, has recently enabled the emergence of many new literacy forms that reflect the new reality of the English language. In particular, I identified in my PhD (Abdallah, 2011) some of those new forms, which are closely relevant to the writing skill.

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Table 2.1: New Literacy Forms of Writing New Literacy Forms of Writing 1. Membership of online communities and the knowledge society: 1.1 Students should be able to employ appropriate Web-based communication tools. 1.2 Students should be able to utilise the diverse modes of Webbased

communication

(e.g.

synchronous/asynchronous

and

online/offline modes) appropriately. 1.3 Students should be able to communicate cross-culturally (i.e. communicate with others from diverse cultures and geographical locations). 1.4 Students should show respect and consideration to others during online interactions (i.e. netiquette). 1.5 Students should be able to practice roles and responsibilities effectively in an online collaborative learning community (e.g. being critical online readers, creative online writers, constructors of knowledge, effective online communicators, active participants and negotiators). 1.6 Students should participate effectively in online boards and forums (e.g. bulletin boards, discussion forums, and/or listserv discussions). 1.7 Students should join online e-mail discussion groups (e.g. Yahoo Groups and Google Groups). 2. Composing and writing online: 2.1 Students should be able to understand and identify ways of

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New Literacy Forms of Writing composing, revising, and editing online, using a word processor (e.g. Microsoft Word). 2.2 Students should be aware of the interactive relationship between many components while composing an online message: the audience, their purpose of writing, the medium, and their message. 2.3 Students should show some consideration for their online audience while they are writing (e.g. considering their interests, age, cultural background, educational level, and availability). 2.4 Students should be able to reflect on the quality of their own writing and the language they use while using online writing tools (e.g. they should use a formal style when they approach academic staff through email). 2.5 Students should be able to employ a range of online writing tools, whether synchronous (e.g. real-time chat) or asynchronous (e.g. email), for creative writing. 2.6 Students should be selective of sources during online writing (e.g. choosing the online documents and resources which sound appropriate to the writing purpose, and adapting them properly to the task at hand). 2.7 Students should be able to express in their own words new knowledge derived from online resources to convey to others their personal understanding. 2.8 Students should be able to share ideas with specialists and attain feedback from them (e.g. through email communication).

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New Literacy Forms of Writing 2.9 Students should be able to practise cooperative, functional writing online (i.e. having purpose and objectives while writing to others) to promote the exchange of ideas, viewpoints, and perspectives. 2.10 Students should be able to employ online tools of written communication (e.g. email and blogs) to practise online writing activities (e.g. answering others’ questions, making new postings, and/or responding to others’ postings). 2.11 Students should be able to compose and send effective online messages to influence, convince, and/or orient others. 2.12 Students should be able to embed some visual, hyper-textual, and/or multimodal elements (e.g. smileys and links) in their messages. 3. Meaning negotiation and idea sharing: 3.1 Students should be able to employ the Web as a publishing vehicle to express ideas and to share viewpoints as well as reflections with others. 3.2 Students should be able to transfer meaning across the different multi-dimensional systems made possible by the Web (e.g. hypertext, sound, and video). 3.3 Students should be able to investigate Web-based conversations and attract collaborators to construct ideas and valuable knowledge (e.g. by reviewing others’ online contributions in blogs and wikis and commenting on them). 3.4 Students should engage themselves in discussions with experts

33


New Literacy Forms of Writing in the field of English language teaching/learning. 3.5 Students should be able to exchange ideas and negotiate meaning through online collaboration with others by providing and receiving feedback. 3.6 Students should be able to engage themselves in an online open dialogue by using free online question/answer services (e.g. Yahoo Answers) to share their experiences with others and make use of others’ experiences. 4. Online language practice: 4.1 Students should be able to use English for realistic, purposeful communication with people all over the world through Web-based communication tools and facilities. 4.2 Students should employ Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) to increase their language use and practice, and to supplement face-to-face language learning. 4.3 Students should critique and respond to the language input provided by others. 4.4 Students should be able to use reflective Web-based tools that foster learning English as a foreign language (e.g. blogs and wikis). 5. Synthesising information and constructing knowledge: 5.1 Students should be able to engage in a self-directed text construction process (i.e. building texts based on personal motivation and direction) to construct meaning from unrelated and disparate online texts. 5.2 Students should be able to transform disconnected pieces of

34


New Literacy Forms of Writing information into an original text. 5.3 Students should be able to use a variety of tools and techniques to analyse, synthesise, translate, and manipulate digital content from the web in order to add value to the information. 5.4 Students should be able to participate in and contribute to ongoing content-building conversations over the web. 5.5 Students should be able to generate new perspectives and viewpoints by integrating information and synthesising ideas while they employ multiple online resources. 5.6 Students should be able to make use of various Web-based electronic formats (e.g. WebPages, email, blogs, audio sources, interactive diagrams, and discussion boards) and unlimited resources to synthesise information and construct knowledge.

2.3 New Forms of Writing 2.3.1 Collaborative Writing The term ‘collaborative writing’ can refer to: 1. two or more people jointly composing the complete text of a document; 2. two or more people contributing components to a document; 3. one or more person modifying, by editing and/or reviewing, the document of one or more persons; and 4. one person working interactively with one or more person and drafting a document based on the ideas of the person or persons.

35


With collaborative authoring, there is a meshing of the complexity of (technical) writing along with the challenges of collaboration. Given that writing is a complex, open-ended task, there are many ways of stating meaning. With multiple authors, this adds to the complexity. The acts of collaboration and writing as they relate to collaborative authoring include: establishing an agenda or goal of the collaboration effort; identifying writing tasks and dividing those tasks among group members; tracking individual idea generation; defining rules for document management; identifying roles for group members; communicating

ideas;

and

managing

conflict.

Collaborative

authoring, therefore, requires effective communication between members of the writing group.

The communication requirements of the writing task are: task division, brainstorming, editing, general discussion, and goal setting. Task division relates to assigning tasks and communicating the associated requirements and deadlines. Brainstorming is generating and recording ideas to be used in production of the text. Editing involves

members

indicating

their

comments

about

and

enhancements for the text. These comments and suggestions will be used to revise the existing text. General discussions can include formal team meetings as well as casual, impromptu conversations. Determining what the purpose or goal of the document is goal setting. Also, goal setting can include establishing the timelines and activities

that

relate

to

task

http://www.sis.pitt.edu/~spring/cas/node31.html).

36

division

(see

also:


Collaborative writing tools are those technologies that facilitate the editing and reviewing of a text document by multiple individuals either in real-time or asynchronously.

Online, web-based collaborative writing tools offer great flexibility and usefulness in learning groups and educational settings as they provide an easy mean to generate text exercises, research reports and other writing assignments in a full collaborative fashion. Collaborative writing tools can vary a great deal and can range from the simplicity of wiki system to more advanced systems. Basic features include the typical formatting and editing facilities of a standard Word processor with the addition of live chat, live markup and annotation, co-editing, version tracking, and more.

Google itself has recently entered this field with its Google Docs, a fully-web based collaborative writing tool formerly known as Writely. Documents generated with such tools are always accessible to all the editors and can be easily downloaded and exported in standard

word

processing

file

formats

(see:

http://www.kolabora.com/news/2007/03/01/collaborative_writing_tools_and_technol ogy.htm).

The environment enabled by web-based tool like Wiki allows for collaborative writing in which case all the people all over the world have equal opportunities to add, edit, or delete any content. The most famous Wiki is Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia that was created by people for people all over the world! Therefore, it sounds very reasonable to see how Wiki is defined on Wikipedia (Erben et al, 2009; Richardson, 2009). 37


A Wiki is a website that allows the easy creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a Web browser using a simplified mark-up language or a text editor (see Wikipedia definition at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki). The most famous Wiki that has been gaining ground for more than 10 years is Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia (http://en.wikipedia.org). Wikis are typically powered by Wiki software and are often used to create collaborative websites, to power community websites, for personal note taking, in corporate intranets, and in knowledge management systems. Wiki is a tool or technology connected with the Web 2.0 or Read/Write technology. "Wiki" is a word for "fast" in Hawaiian slang, but it has been backronymed1 by some to "What I Know Is" (Richardson, 2009). Erben et al. (2009) defines Wiki as "a collaborative website that many people can work on or edit". The idea was originally conceptualised by Ward Cunningham in 1994. The computer programme allows users to access the original postings and add or change content. The original intention of such shared writing was to allow as many participants to contribute and make changes, therefore resulting in a webpage that could be constantly updated. It is the product of collective community involvement.

Wikis may exist to serve a specific purpose, and in such cases, users use their editorial rights to remove material that is considered "off 1

’Backronym’ is a word that is either not an acronym, but is taken to be one and for which a full form is invented by back-formation, or is an acronym and for which an alternative full form is invented by back-formation (Source: en.wiktionary.org/wiki/backronym)

38


topic". Such is the case of the collaborative encyclopaedia Wikipedia in which anyone can publish anything.

From a learning perspective, participation in a Wiki is a good example of Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development or ZPD in action as participants are socially mediated by others in a problemsolving situation. Vygotsky (1978) highlighted the fact that the ZPD need not be a relationship between a novice and expert, but can be the relationship between like-level peers, who mediate each other. The English language learners' use of a Wiki fits nicely within this concept because, as they work together, their writing community is formed and the mediational process is enriched. In the end, knowledge is shared and collectively constructed. To facilitate ideas exchange and knowledge sharing, many Wikis offer an option called “Discussion” or “Comments” in which students can discuss issues with each other, give reasons for changes, and disagree with what someone else has written (Achterman, 2006).

More specifically, the fact that Wikis allow anyone to add and edit information provides a good chance for English learners to exchange ideas and opinions, practise writing as a language skill in the context of an online environment, develop dictionary skills, and read, evaluate, and criticise others’ writings to edit (or add to) them in a constructive and collaborate fashion.

Some researchers investigated using Wiki in an ELL context as a valuable tool for fostering authentic social/collaborative writing as a new genre of writing associated with the Web. They concluded that

39


students wrote better when they used a Wiki as a platform for collaboratively generating, editing, sharing, and redrafting the content to be produced. Others examined Wikis from a socio-cultural perspective concluding that Wikis hold the potential for collective knowledge advancement and language development.

Google Documents is another important service that enables sharing ideas and writing things cooperatively. Hence, it is a good facility for co-writing, co-authoring, and knowledge sharing. Some students used Google Documents to accomplish group work tasks and share their perspectives on various issues pertaining to some classes with other classmates during their post-graduate studies. They found this beneficial in connecting with their instructors and peers despite the diversity in schedules. Furthermore, this tool helped them to maintain communication with their professors, even when not on campus. On a pedagogical level, Google Documents could advance students’ critical thinking, reading, and writing skills. They can also develop students’ listening and speaking skills because students have to comment on each other’s work until they reach an agreement on the shape of the final product.

2.3.2 Connective Writing Undoubtedly, one of the first terrifying impressions when writing is facing the blank piece of paper unfolded in front of us waiting to be filled with our thoughts and ideas. Even the most experienced writers might feel a kind of panic in front of that blank sheet of paper. As soon as one starts putting something on it, one gets confident to see

40


how wonderfully one’s invisible inner thoughts are put in such a visible way that anybody can have access to them; now they are not hidden any more, they are not only mine, but they are others’ as well. It is a sublime moment when words come into our minds and we struggle to connect and put them together to give meaning to the thousand of ideas that are running into our heads (see http://calj.udistrital.edu.co/pdf_files/App_2008/1.%20Blogging.pdf).

Language is not just a system of structures, but it is the tool that allows human beings to construct and interpret the world, and convey their understanding to others. This involves connecting our personal ideas, reflections, appreciations, and interpretations with those of others to come out with new ideas and meanings. In this sense, writing is a means through which we communicate our ideas to others.

The writing process is cyclical or recursive, not linear. This fact has become more evident in this digital, electronic age; the new technologies used nowadays to promote and support writing have turned it into a continuous process that extends beyond the individual person. Thus, rather than being a closed and/or ended process, writing has become a cyclical, dialogic process that connects together accounts/inputs made by different individuals. These accounts/inputs are continuously reviewed, evaluated, and responded to by others throughout an online meaning negotiation process. In language learning terms, with the avenue of Internet and other technologies that can support writing, it is possible for students to 41


have peers in a remote part of the world, in a different school in the same city or just peers from other levels, or even from the same class at the same institution. New Technologies have extended writing environments by linking student- writers to other people with whom they can interact through writing. Writing then becomes the vehicle for communication rather than the final purpose. All types of network arrangements have the potential of motivating L2 students to write and to revise in response to a real audience, for helping them to gain more input in writing, for encouraging them to experiment in their writing, and for empowering them to seek out resources for developing

their

ideas

(see:

http://calj.udistrital.edu.co/pdf_files/App_2008/1.%20Blogging.pdf).

Thanks to technological changes, now students can write for an audience other that the teacher who might be native speakers of English. In this way, students-writers feel motivated to compose good texts in order that the interlocutor can understand them. It is a very enriching experience since often students do not consider the teacher a reader but simply the person who judges and marks their texts. By means of the interaction, students can also receive feedback from their peers in a very relaxed way, and within a communicative objective. Communication in these virtual environments can change some of the dynamics of peer feedback sessions found in traditional classrooms. Thus, connective Writing indicates that what one writes is not isolated from what others write. In this sense, it is defined as "the ability to publish in a variety of media with the intention of

42


connecting and sharing it with others who have an interest (or passion) in the topic."

It is also defined as "writing that is inspired by reading and is therefore a response to an idea or a set of ideas or conversations." Or: "Writing that synthesises those ideas (either individually or collaboratively) and remixes them in some way to make them our own and is published to potentially wide audiences." Or: "Writing that then becomes a part of a larger negotiation of truth or knowledge that is evolving in the larger network." Or: "Writing that is written with the expectation that it too will be taken and remixed by others into their own truths by this continuous process of reading, thinking, writing (and linking), publishing and reading some more." (Richardson,

2009).

See

also:

http://weblogged.wikispaces.com/Connective+Writing

It is obvious that connective writing does not entail just the fact that the writer is connecting outside of the writing using hyperlinks, but also that the writing is being connected to the community at large through a network, a network that will contribute to the writing through comments. This way, it is a "negotiation" by the readers and the writer, not a one-way street. Our students of today have become used to producing content for the web, and to connecting to their friends through online social networks. Connective writing is a natural extension of this process for them.

This involves some new literacies, such as:

43


Developing proficiency with the tools of technology (e.g., Blogs and Facebook); Building relationships with others to pose and solve problems collaboratively and cross-culturally; Designing and sharing information for global communities to meet a variety of purposes; Managing, analysing and synthesising multiple streams of simultaneous information; Creating, critiquing, analysing, and evaluating multi-media texts; Attending to the ethical responsibilities required by these complex environments.

Blogs are one of the Web-based tools that promote connective writing; on Blogs participants can post content and comment on posts made. Thus, the same post may raise a great deal of arguments connected together, which might result in threaded discussions that develop the original idea. Unlike the case in traditional, paper-based writing, there is no end for connective writing; the dialogue will continue when others comment on what has been written and post new pieces that stimulate discussion.

This suggests that Blogs can significantly change the dynamics of writing. Blogs are particularly easy to integrate into the traditional classes affording students’ freedom, creativity, own voice and selflearning, all of which might not be easy to achieve in traditional classes. Thus, writing becomes something to be done for a real audience, with a communicative purpose, through a process 44


approach, with the opportunity to get feedback and publish many pieces of writing. Further, students can work jointly with peers from their classrooms and other parts of the world creating a group of similar interests, which targets the achievement of similar learning objectives for its members.

2.3.3 Reflective Writing Online Generally, Reflective writing is:

• your response to experiences, opinions, events or new information; • your response to thoughts and feelings; • a way of thinking to explore your learning; • an opportunity to gain self-knowledge; • a way to achieve clarity and better understanding of what you are learning; • a chance to develop and reinforce writing skills; and • a way of making meaning out of what you study

Reflective writing online refers to this process which involves writing reflectively online through some Web-based tools or facilities. Those facilities might include: online diaries such as Yahoo! Notepad, and personal Blogs; and online journals.

Reflective tools, especially electronic ones used online, have been gaining ground in education in general and language learning in

45


particular. Diaries in particular are sometimes effective as they enable language learners to organise and reflect upon what they write. Computer and Web-based facilities have produced electronic diaries as tools which are more flexible than traditional paper-based ones. For example, Yahoo! Notepad as an online (Web-based) diary, can be kept right from the start of the learning process to record all significant events and updates (e.g., contacts, resources, reminders, must-do tasks, notes, comments, procedures, scripts, and essential readings).

This practice may organise the learning process for language learners by making them able to: (1) organise the whole work within relevant folders based on topic; (2) monitor their progress by, for example, reviewing the tasks they have accomplished, and the tasks remaining ahead; (3) save useful readings and textual resources to refer back to them on a regular basis; (4) create some preliminary drafts of the ideas they should tackle, and update these drafts when something new comes to their minds; and (5) create reminders to be reviewed on a weekly basis so that nothing is missed or forgotten.

The flexible nature of the notepad as an online diary allows for easily adding notes under any folder, and also updating and deleting these notes at anytime. What distinguishes this diary is that notes can be easily added, moved, deleted, and updated, and so is the case with the root folders. Hence, it is a flexible and helpful online tool that can be regularly checked on a weekly basis to remind learners of the essential tasks to do. This way, it helps with time management and keeping a record of the procedures followed so far right from the 46


start of the learning project. Being online or Web-based is a significant advantage of this diary; it is accessible from any place at anytime, and thus the recording process can be conducted quickly and smoothly.

In other words, this online diary can help so much with reflective learning during any learning project as follows:

1. Establishing relationships between old stuff and new stuff, and comparing between many aspects and dimensions in a dialogic fashion;

2. Determining those aspect that need to be improved, and how they might be improved;

3. Understanding many educational aspects and concepts;

4. Identifying those obstacles which might hinder or interfere with one’s learning;

5. Recording relevant arguments and pieces made by scholars, linguists, authors, and educationalists in the field to come out with personal appreciation;

6. Modifying

already

existing

arguments

developments, events, and updates;

47

based

on

new


7. Creating one’s personal educational and language database that can be accessed from anywhere at anytime, and which can be easily printed out if required; and

8. Sharing online with teachers certain aspects that need to be worked on together.

How can you write reflectively?

What can you discuss? • Your perceptions of the course and the content, or a specific learning topic;

• Experiences, ideas and observations you have had, and how they relate to the course or topic;

• What you found confusing, inspiring, difficult, interesting and why;

• Questions you have and conclusions you have drawn;

• How you solved a problem, reached a conclusion, found an answer, or reached a point of understanding;

• Possibilities, speculations, hypotheses, or solutions.

• Alternative interpretations or different perspectives on what you have read or done in your course;

48


• Comparisons and connections between what your are learning and: your prior knowledge and experience; your prior assumptions and preconceptions; what you know from other courses or disciplines. • How new ideas challenge what you already know; and • What you need to explore next in terms of thoughts and actions.

2.4 Reflections and Ideas for Workshops 1. Discuss with your instructor in the workshop the new literacy forms of writing in the table above (Table 2.1), and try to understand what is meant by each.

2. Work in groups to select from the table above the most important and relevant new literacy forms of writing, and explain why you regard them as important and relevant.

3. Using the new literacy forms of writing you have already selected, write down your own ideas about how you will employ them with your students in the classroom.

4. Revise quickly with your instructor section ‘2.3.1 Collaborative Writing’ above. Then, divide yourselves into small groups (i.e. 5-7 members in each), and using the information in 2.3.1 as guidelines, choose a topic of interest to write about within your group. If possible, 49


employ Wiki or Google Docs as an online tool that can be employed as a collaborative writing space (you can create a class Wiki online at: www.wikispaces.com). Produce as a final product an essay of about 5-7 paragraphs.

5. Revise quickly with your instructor section ‘2.3.2 Connective Writing’ above. Then, working as one group while using the information in 2.3.2 as guidelines, choose a topic of interest to write about or make a post on. If possible, employ a Blog as an online tool that can be employed as a connective writing space (you can create a class Blog online at: www.blogspot.com or use my Blog at: http://assiuttefl.blogspot.com). Under your instructor’s guidance, write a post, comment on a written post, give feedback, and continue a dialogue online for about 60 minutes.

6. Revise quickly with your instructor section ‘2.3.3 Reflective

Writing

Online’

above.

Then,

working

individually while using the information in 2.3.3 as guidelines, choose something to reflect on. If possible, employ an online diary as an online tool that can be employed as a reflective writing space. Under your instructor’s guidance, write something reflectively for about 60 minutes. Ask your instructor for guidance and support at anytime during the task.

50


51


CHAPTER THREE: MULTI-GENRE WRITING 3.1 Introduction Writing is thinking, and each time we write, we are teaching our brains to think. In addition, when we publish our writing on the Web, we are sharing our ideas, our feelings, and our thinking with others, which

creates

a

web

of

human

understanding

(see:

http://www.slideshare.net/bradythecamel/multigenre-writing).

As students explore different avenues for translating what they think or know into writing, they begin to understand that there is no single “right way” to communicate. Instead, writing demands intelligent, informed choices based on purpose, audience, content, and personal preference. Giving students the freedom to make these choices fosters their creativity and increases their engagement in the process (see: http://www.learner.org/workshops/middlewriting/support/SuppMatW5.pdf).

Generally, Genre (ˈʒɒnrə/ or /ˈdʒɒnrə/; from French, genre, "kind" or "sort", from Latin: genus (stem gener-), Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audio or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time as new genres are invented and the use of old ones are discontinued. Often, works fit into multiple genres by way of borrowing and recombining these conventions (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genre).

52


As far as writing is concerned, a genre is a type of writing. Thus, a poem is a genre; a traditional research paper is a genre; a newspaper editorial is a genre; and so are plays and diaries. Each type possesses certain features/characteristics that distinguish it, and make it easily recognised and identified at first sight. That is why we can easily distinguish a classical poem from newspaper article when we see both together.

In other words, and as stated in Chapter One, a genre is a type of writing which members of a discourse community would instantly recognise for what it was. Thus, we recognise a small ad in a newspaper the moment we see it because, being members of a particular group, we have seen many of such texts before and are familiar with the way they are constructed. Therefore, one of the important decisions language teachers need to make is which genres are important and/or engaging for their students. Then, they can show them examples of texts within a genre to help them to see how typical texts within a genre are constructed. This knowledge will help them to construct appropriate texts of their own. At lower levels, learners might be given clear models to follow and imitate. However, as their language levels improve, their writing should express their own creativity within a genre, rather than imitating it (Harmer, 2009: p113).

Multi-genre writing thus is an eclectic approach to writing instruction that offers students a wide range of options for expressing ideas and communicating knowledge. In other words,

53


multi-genre writing means writing about a single topic in a variety of genres, styles, voices, and perspectives. The multi-genre writing approach allows students to immerse themselves in a topic of choice, learn research skills, and explore the creative possibilities of various writing genres.

In the same token, a multi-genre essay is a collection of pieces written in a variety of genres, informed by the person’s research on a particular subject, which presents one or more perspectives on a research question or topic. A multi-genre paper is a personal, creative endeavour that cannot be copied from other sources. It involves the person, as a writer, making conscious decisions about what information is important and how it should be presented to the reader.

Multi-genre projects entail a series of generic documents that are linked by a central premise, theme, or goal. They may forward an argument, trace a history, or offer multiple interpretations of a text or event. They are rigorous forms of writing, involving all of the elements of a traditional research paper: research and citation, coherence and organisation, purpose and aim of discourse, audience awareness,

and

conventional

appropriateness

(see:

http://writing.colostate.edu/gallery/multigenre/introduction.htm).

Further, one can write, for example, an editorial, a poem, a dialogue between characters, a letter, or a debate. One can include a book, a collage, a poster, and/or a CD cover. One will have much choice about what to include. But keep in mind that this should not be a 54


haphazard collage of disjointed stuff; one must connect the genres and what they represent with a central, significant theme (thesis).

Thus, multi-genre writing:

Presents multiple, even conflicting perspectives of one event or topic.

Provides a rich context for an event or topic.

Demonstrates sophisticated understanding of audience’s needs and interests.

Permits meaning to dictate form, rather than vice versa.

Demonstrates a sophisticated knowledge of various genres and uses of language.

Integrates factual information into a meaningful text, versus copying or simply recalling.

Permits the author to highlight personal interests and special expertise.

Stimulates critical analysis and higher-level thinking skills.

Requires

research

skills

documentation.

55

and

knowledge

of

source


Can make full use of new media literacies.

Is almost impossible to plagiarise.

Results in an interesting, engaging product.

Demands careful reading and response.

3.2 A Brief List of Genres (Available at: http://writing.colostate.edu/gallery/multigenre/genrelist.html).

Before you select a genre from this list, ask yourself: Why am I choosing it? What do I want to be able to say or express through this genre? If you can't answer that question, you are not ready to work on it. •

Journal Entries

•

Personal Letter

•

Greeting Card

•

Schedule/Things to Do List

•

Inner Monologue Representing Internal Conflicts

•

Classified or Personal Ads

•

Personal Essay or Philosophical Questions

•

Top Ten List/Glossary or Dictionary

•

Poetry

•

Song Lyrics

•

Autobiographical Essay

56

Dr Mahmoud M. S. Abdallah •

Contest Entry Application

•

Business Letter or Correspondence/Persuasive or Advocacy Letter

•

Biographical Summary

•

Critique of a Published Source

•

Speech or Debate

•

Historical Times Context Essay

•

Textbook Article

•

Science Article or Report/Business Article or Report

•

Lesson Plan

•

Encyclopaedia Article

•

Short Scene from a Play with Notes for Stage Directions

•

Short Scene from a Movie with Notes for Camera Shots

•

Dialogue of a Conversation among Two or More People

•

Short Story

•

Adventure Magazine Story

•

Ghost Story

•

Myth, Tall Tale, or Fairy Tale

•

Talk Show Interview or Panel

•

Recipe and Description of Traditional Holiday Events

•

Classroom Discussion

•

Character Analysis or Case Study

•

Comedy Routine or Parody

•

Liner Notes

•

Picture book

•

Chart or Diagram with Explanation and Analysis

•

Brochure or Newsletter

•

Time Line or Chain of Events

57


•

Map with Explanation and Analysis

•

Magazine or TV Advertisement or Infomercial

•

Restaurant Description and Menu

•

Travel Brochure Description

•

How-To or Directions Booklet

•

Receipts, Applications, Deeds, Budgets or Other Documents

•

Wedding, Graduation or Special Event Invitation

•

Birth Certificate

•

Local News Report

•

Pop-Up book

•

Review and Poster for a Movie, Book, or TV Program

•

Board Game or Trivial Pursuit with Answers and Rules

•

Comic Strip or Graphic Novel excerpt

•

Power Point Presentation

•

Informational Video

•

Web Site

•

Future News Story

•

Letter to the Editor

•

Newspaper or Magazine Feature/Human Interest Story

•

Obituary, Eulogy or Tribute

•

News Program Story or Announcement

•

Tabloid Article

3.3 Teachers’ roles Teachers choose an approach to writing that reveals a broad definition of genre and that enables students to communicate 58


in a variety of forms for a variety of purposes and readers. The range of options stimulates students’ interest in their work and gives them experience in writing in various realistic forms.

Teachers reveal their appreciation of the diversity of interests and cultural backgrounds in their classes. The approach establishes a meaningful reason for writing, which improves the odds for students’ development as writers, and it also indicates the teachers’ affirmation of their students, as well as the importance of differentiating practices to meet the needs of students.

In the multi-genre project, teachers promote student ownership as writers and as learners. Students consider options for genres, as well as topics they may focus on. Such ownership, choice, and decision-making have important influences on student writers.

Teachers establish a specific structure and logical method of guiding the students in their work, such as the FQI (facts, questions, interpretation) method and the autobiography project. Though students have many options, teaching practices are intentional and well organised.

The teachers prompt students’ curiosity, leading them to inquiry that is significant to them. Writing is for a genuine, meaningful-to-student purpose. Students investigate and recognise that writing is a mode of learning and discovery. The

59


purpose of multi-genre writing is not merely to gain experience in writing a variety of forms.

Ample opportunity is provided for students to talk about possibilities, and to help each other in the project.

Teachers emphasise that the students are part of a community and should support and help each other. Class activities reveal the efforts of students and teacher to work in a supportive community.

Teachers read often to the students, and the students themselves read to understand different genres, as well as to learn about their topics. Reading serves both to engage the students and to teach them about the genres. Reading aloud is especially important for students who are early learners of English.

Both teachers and classmates respond to students’ work through whole-class discussion, small-group work, and teacher–student conferences.

Teachers provide appropriate examples and help students understand how they can learn about different genres. With the variety inherent in multigenre writing, having examples available is especially important.

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Students are challenged to read carefully to determine the characteristics of a chosen genre, and, of course, teachers provide information to help students.

3.4 Procedures Creating a central theme (see: http://mshogue.com/ce9/multi_genre/multigenre.htm).

We

want

to

encourage

our

students

to

choose

themes/subjects/ideas/concepts from across the curriculum. What this means is that you may want to write about an idea that you studied in history or in science or in health, and not just in English. All topics must be researchable. Therefore, a very personal topic, such as your dog, would not be a good choice. While you could research information about a breed of dog, there would be little else you could research.

Also, a good topic will be one that has a human element: humanity in conflict with society, science, itself.

All topics must be approved! Do not begin work until you have verified your topic with your teacher.

Questions to ask about your topic: 1. Am I truly interested in this topic? 2. Do I have access to enough information? 61


3. Is the subject limited enough? 4. Is there a human element to the topic? Can I personalise it? 5. Could I create a character which would represent the main problems, struggles, or ideas of this topic?

Limiting the topic: We begin with the general idea and move to the specific.

Table 3.1: Parts of your Multi-Genre Web Section 1. Title Page

Description This cover page includes the following information

No black backgrounds. No (centred, in this order): graphic backgrounds. You may

title (not label)

add a photo.

your first name only the date (due date) teacher & course name a link to your webfolio page a link to the table of contents page optional link to your index page

2. Table of Contents

This page will help your reader navigate your web. Each title is a hyperlink to one of your genre pages. This page also needs a link to the title page.

3. Opening/Preface

This preface, forward, or introduction will greet readers and give a bit of background information about your project. You'll need to introduce the subject and anything you think the reader should know about you and/or your project before they read it.

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Dr Mahmoud M. S. Abdallah Section

Description

3. Body -Your body consists of at least seven base pieces from at least seven different genres. You can

repeat

genres only

after you have completed the -The body of your multi-genre web is composed of initial seven.

the various pieces you create to help your reader understand your subject.

-There must be a minimum of five in-text hyperlinks in the -Here is where multi-genre happens. Some of the text overall.

pieces will be written, some visual, and some a combination.

-They may be scattered among the seven genres or clustered -This part of your web may include several pages in one or two pieces as you linked to the opening page. It will be important for deem appropriate.

you to create a logical order. In other words, as the writer you have to be aware of how your reader will

-These

links

must

be

to read your web.

information that is relevant and that adds to your readers' -Each of these pages must be linked back to the table understanding of your subject. of contents page.

-Drawing and design are in -You may also choose to link these pages to each addition to the seven base other in some logical way. pieces.

Think

of

the

presentation quality of your -Imbed hyperlinks into the text. web.

-To unify the separate pieces, use some type of repented or unifying device.

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Section

Description

This is your conclusion. It should have its own page.

4. Epilogue

Link this page back to the table of contents page. 5. Annotated Bibliography You

must

have

-This list of your sources includes a brief description

four of the source and its value to your project. Link this

(minimum) sources from a page back to the table of contents page. variety of information types. -An annotation is a note that is included with the bibliographic citation that gives a brief summary of the source and sometimes a judgment of its value.

-Your annotations should be between 30-50 words.

Gathering information Getting ready to research Make a list of what you already know about this topic; make a list of what you need to know or want to find out; use a chart to help you plan; create a concept map of related ideas or use a brainstorming web; and make a list of ideas you have about where to find the information you need.

Types of sources

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Choose a variety of sources. You must have at least four different sources from the following list. Books Magazines Newspapers Radio Transcripts Videos Internet sites Personal interviews Encyclopaedias

Taking notes Taking notes, whether manually or electronically, is important. If you decide to use note cards, for example, you should have the following information on each card: 1. the title of the source, 2. the page or other marker for identifying just where the information has come from, 3. the context of the note (what the discussion or paragraph or situation is about), and 4. one note only: either a direct quote, a summary, or a paraphrase. Use a dialectic approach where you take notes and comment about each note.

Another note taking option is to open a Word document and transcribe your thoughts there as you read from print or online sources. Be sure that you keep track of everything you get from sources, so you won't accidentally pass off borrowed information as your own writing. This is plagiarism, and it's stealing.

Preparing information for your annotated bibliography

65


Make a note card for each source, or keep a log of sources in a Word document. For each source, you might need certain pieces of information. For example, what you need for an Internet site is different from what you will need for a magazine article. For a book, you will need to record the author, the title, the date of publication, and the publishing company. Be sure you know exactly what you need and keep a complete record of each source that you consult. Later on, you will use this information in your annotated bibliography.

3.5 Reflections and Ideas for Workshops Discuss with your instructor what is meant by ‘multi-genre writing’, and then write down your own reflections about the term, and how it differs from other types of writing. Please state in writing your personal reflections, and then individually read that aloud to the whole class. You can also include in the discussion other terms such as: ‘genre’, ‘multigenre essay’, and ‘multi-genre paper’.

Discuss with your instructor the brief list of writing genres stated above, and then work in small groups to choose some of those genres and write short samples representing each genre (e.g., a short article, an ad, a poster, a personal letter, a dialogue, a journal entry, and a dialogue). At the end of the session, each group should present their writing pieces to the whole class and receive feedback from other groups, and finally from the instructor.

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Work in groups to write a multi-genre essay making use of the guidelines stated above in the ‘procedures’ section. You can employ computers and the Internet (if available) for this task, especially for the purpose of gathering data and organising your essay electronically. Please remember that you should present a final essay about a single topic of your choice, and which MUST include many genres (5-7 genres at least). Please make use of Table 3.1 above to construct your essay in the desired format.

67


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CHAPTER FOUR: EXPOSITORY WRITING 4.1 Introduction There are five main types of writing: expository, descriptive, narrative, persuasive, and creative. There are many other sub-types that fall under these titles.

Expository writing is where the author intends to inform, explain, describe, or define their subject to you. This is the most common type of writing you will find in text books and online. As the author is mostly trying to tell you all about the subject, their opinions are left out leaving you with facts and figures instead of trying to defend or support an opinion. An example of expository writing is "How-to" articles, where the author is explaining how to build or do something yourself (http://www.teach-nology.com/themes/lang_arts/typesofwriting). The creator of an expository text cannot assume that the reader or listener has prior knowledge or prior understanding of the topic that is being discussed. One important point to keep in mind for the author is to try to use words that clearly show what they are talking about rather then deliberately telling the reader what is being discussed. Since clarity requires strong organisation, one of the most important mechanisms that can be used to improve our skills in exposition is to provide directions to improve the organisation of the text.

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4.2 Main Characteristics and Features of Expository Writing A well-written exposition remains focused on its topic and lists events in chronological order.

Expository essays should not reveal the opinion of the writer, and therefore, the use of first-person pronouns should be avoided.

Since clarity requires strong organisation, one of the most important mechanisms that can be used to improve the writer's skills in exposition is to provide directions to improve the organisation of the text.

4.3 Why to Teach Expository Writing? Let's think about the type of writing that most of us encounter in our daily lives. When you pick up and read a non-fiction book, magazines, or newspaper article, the author uses expository writing to inform you, the reader, about the topic. Here you are supposed to receive facts and be informed about something. In other words, the author here tells you about something without trying to orient you or influence your personal thinking.

70


Since expository text is meant to deposit information, it is the most frequently used type of writing by students in colleges, high schools, middle schools, elementary schools, and universities. At school, students are required to submit school exams and research papers as a means for their teachers to grade their progress. Moreover, at work, people are required to produce business reports and memorandums to inform their superiors and co-workers about the occurrences that take place at other levels of the company.

In addition, oral exposition is primarily observed in oral academic presentations, business talks, and speeches that are delivered to a group of people. As each of these different cases illustrate, expository writing and speech surround us in our everyday lives. Therefore, the primary intent of any Expository Writing training should be to help with moving students closer to mastering the how’s, when’s, and where’s to select different oral and written expository styles for a variety

of

real

world

contexts

(see:

http://www.stanford.edu/~arnetha/expowrite/info.html).

4.4 Guidelines for Writing Expository Essays (Available at: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/685/02).

The expository essay is a genre of essay that requires the student to investigate an idea, evaluate evidence, expound on the idea, and set forth an argument concerning that idea in a clear and concise manner. This can be accomplished through comparison and contrast, definition, example, the analysis of cause and effect, etc. Please note: This genre is commonly assigned as a tool for classroom evaluation and is often found in various exam formats.

71


The structure of the expository essay is held together by the following: A clear, concise, and defined thesis statement that occurs in the first paragraph of the essay. It is essential that this thesis statement be appropriately narrowed to follow the guidelines set forth in the assignment. If the student does not master this portion of the essay, it will be quite difficult to compose an effective or persuasive essay. Clear and logical transitions between the introduction, body, and conclusion. Transitions are the mortar that holds the foundation of the essay together. Without logical progression of thought, the reader is unable to follow the essay’s argument, and the structure will collapse. Body paragraphs that include evidential support. Each paragraph should be limited to the exposition of one general idea. This will allow for clarity and direction throughout the essay. What is more, such conciseness creates an ease of readability for one’s audience. It is important to note that each paragraph in the body of the essay must have some logical connection to the thesis statement in the opening paragraph. Evidential support (whether factual, logical, statistical, or anecdotal). Often times, students are required to write expository essays with little or no preparation; therefore, such essays do not typically allow for a great deal of statistical or factual evidence. A bit of creativity! Though creativity and artfulness are not always associated with essay writing, it is an art form nonetheless. Try not to get stuck on the formulaic nature of expository writing at the expense of writing something interesting. Remember, though you may not be crafting the next great novel, you are attempting to leave a lasting impression on the people evaluating your essay.

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A conclusion that does not simply restate the thesis, but readdresses it in light of the evidence provided. It is at this point of the essay that students will inevitably begin to struggle. This is the portion of the essay that will leave the most immediate impression on the mind of the reader. Therefore, it must be effective and logical. Do not introduce any new information into the conclusion; rather, synthesize and come to a conclusion concerning the information presented in the body of the essay. A Complete Argument

Perhaps it is helpful to think of an essay in terms of a conversation or debate with a classmate. If I were to discuss the cause of the Great Depression and its current effect on those who lived through the tumultuous time, there would be a beginning, middle, and end to the conversation. In fact, if I were to end the exposition in the middle of my second point, questions would arise concerning the current effects on those who lived through the Depression. Therefore, the expository essay must be complete, and logically so, leaving no doubt as to its intent or argument. The Five-Paragraph Essay

A common method for writing an expository essay is the fiveparagraph approach. This is, however, by no means the only formula for writing such essays. If it sounds straightforward, that is because it is; in fact, the method consists of: 1. an introductory paragraph 2. three evidentiary body paragraphs 3. a conclusion When writing your expository essay, follow these eight basic steps: (Available at: http://www.studygs.net/wrtstr3.htm) Select a topic: Be sure the topic is narrow enough to make it manageable within the space of an essay. Write a thesis sentence: Be sure the thesis statement (or sentence) expresses a controlling idea that is neither too broad nor too specific to be developed effectively.

73


Select a method of development: Check through all the methods before you finally settle on the one which will best serve your thesis: definition| example| compare and contrast| cause and effect | classification | process analysis Organise the essay: Begin by listing the major divisions which the body paragraphs in your essay will discuss; then fill in the primary supports that each body paragraph of the essay will contain. Write topic sentences for the body paragraphs of the essay: For each body paragraph, furnish a topic sentence that directly relates to the thesis sentence. Write the body paragraphs of the essay: Each body paragraph should develop the primary support covered in that paragraph's topic sentence. Furnish a paragraph of introduction: An introductory paragraph should state the thesis of the essay, introduce the divisions in the body paragraphs of the essay, and gain the interest of the reader. Write a paragraph of conclusion: Restate the thesis and divisions of the essay Bring the essay to an appropriate and effective close Avoid digressing into new issues

4.5 Examples of Expository Writing The

example

below

(available

at:

http://web.gccaz.edu/~mdinchak/ENG101/expository_writing.htm) illustrates some different patterns that Expository Writing might include

(i.e.,

Descriptive

Writing,

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Sequential

Writing,


Compare/Contrast

Writing,

Cause/Effect

Writing,

and

Problem/Solution Writing).

Written and Graphic Example of the Pattern Name Pattern Description The author describes a topic by listing characteristics, features, and examples. It provides details about how something looks, feels, tastes, smells, makes one feel, or sounds Cue Words for example, the characteristics are...

Example of Descriptive Writing Expository essays are written by students to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of a particular topic. For example, a student might use a descriptive pattern to emphasize the features and characteristics of a topic. Sequential writing emphasizes the order of events, listing items in numerical or chronological order. A writer might use a comparison or contrast pattern to emphasize the similarities or differences between two topics. A cause and/or effect pattern shows the relationship between events, while a problem/solution pattern shows a different kind of relationship that discusses a problem and suggests solutions. Variations of these patterns are sometimes used, as well as a combination of patterns to create an expository essay.

Sequence or Process The author lists items or events in numerical or chronological order. Cue Words first, second, third; next; then; finally Example of Sequential Writing Expository writing is intended to convey the writer's knowledge about a topic. While different patterns may be employed to create the essay, every essay contains the same features: the introduction, the thesis, the body paragraphs, and the conclusion. The introduction is the first paragraph in the essay. The introduction contains the thesis statement, one sentence that summarizes the main idea of the essay. The body paragraphs follow the introduction and explain the main topics. Lastly, the conclusion is the final paragraph that restates the main topics and and the thesis. Every expository essay

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Written and Graphic Example of the Pattern Name Pattern contains these features, in this order. Comparison The author explains how two or more things are alike and/or how they are different. A comparison essay usually discusses the similarities between two things, while the contrast essaydiscusses the differences.

Cue Words different; in contrast; alike; same as; on the other hand Example of Compare/Contrast Writing Expository writing has distinct features that distinguish it from creative writing. The content of an expository essay is factual and straight-forward while the content of a creative story is imaginative and symbolic. Expository essays are written for a general audience but creative stories are designed for a specific audience. The writing style of an expository essay is formal, standard and academic, while a creative story uses an informal and artistic style. The organization of an expository essay is systematic and deliberate; on the other hand, the organization of a creative story is more arbitrary and artistic. Finally, the most important difference between the two types of writing is the purpose of the text. An expository essay is written to inform and instruct, while a creative story is written to entertain and captivate. Cause / Effect The author focuses on the relationship between two or more events or experiences. The essay could discuss both causes and effects, or it could simply address one or the other. A cause essay usually discusses the reasons why something happened. An effect essaydiscusses what happens after a

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Written and Graphic Example of the Pattern Name Pattern specific event or circumstance. Cue Words reasons why; if...then; as a result; therefore; because

Problem / Solution The author states a problem and lists one or more solutions for the problem. A variation of this pattern is the questionand-answer format in which the author poses a question and then answers it. Cue Words the problem is; the dilemma is; puzzle is solved; question... answer

Example of Cause/Effect Writing There are several reasons why so many people attend the Olympic games or watch them on television. One reason is tradition. The name Olympics and the torch and flame remind people of the ancient games. People can escape the ordinariness of daily life by attending or watching the Olympics. They like to identify with someone else's individual sacrifice and accomplishment. National pride is another reason, and an athlete's or a team's hard earned victory becomes a nation's victory. There are national medal counts and people keep track of how many medals their country's athletes have won.

Example of Problem/Solution Writing One problem with the modern Olympics is that it has become very big and expensive to operate. The city or country that hosts the games often loses a lot of money. A stadium, pools, and playing fields must be built for the athletic events and housing is needed for the athletes who come from around the world. And all of these facilities are used for only 2 weeks! In 1984, Los Angeles solved these problems by charging a fee for companies who wanted to be official sponsors of the games. Companies like McDonald's paid a lot of money to be part of the Olympics. Many buildings that were already built in the Los Angeles area were also used. The Coliseum where the 1932 games were held was used again and many colleges and universities in the area became playing and living sites.

4.6 Reflections and Ideas for Workshops Discuss with your instructor the meaning of ‘Expository Writing’ and try (with the help of your instructor) to get samples (online, for example) that represent expository writing. Discuss these samples with your instructor.

77


Review with your instructor the section on ‘Expository Essay’ above, and then, making use of the guidelines stated above, work in groups for about 60 minutes to write an Expository Essay. While working in groups, choose a topic of interest, and then work cooperatively to finish the essay. Please remember to make things easy for you by assigning roles for each member in the group.

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PART II FORMAL WRITING: LINGUISTIC AND STYLISTIC ISSUES

79


CHAPTER FIVE: ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES OF COMPOSITION (Source: The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. see Bibliography)

5.1 Make the paragraph the unit of composition: one paragraph to each topic.

If the subject on which you are writing is of slight extent, or if you intend to treat it very briefly, there may be no need of subdividing it into topics. Thus a brief description, a brief summary of a literary work, a brief account of a single incident, a narrative merely outlining an action, the setting forth of a single idea, any one of these is best written in a single paragraph. After the paragraph has been written, it should be examined to see whether subdivision will not improve it.

Ordinarily, however, a subject requires subdivision into topics, each of which should be made the subject of a paragraph. The object of treating each topic in a paragraph by itself is, of course, to aid the reader. The beginning of each paragraph is a signal to him that a new step in the

80


development of the subject has been reached.

The extent of subdivision will vary with the length of the composition. For example, a short notice of a book or poem might consist of a single paragraph. One slightly longer might consist of two paragraphs:

A. Account of the work. B. Critical discussion.

A report on a poem, written for a class in literature, might consist of seven paragraphs:

C. Facts of composition and publication. D. Kind of poem; metrical form. E. Subject. F. Treatment of subject. G. For what chiefly remarkable. H. Wherein characteristic of the writer. I. Relationship to other works.

The contents of paragraphs C and D would vary with the poem. Usually, paragraph C would indicate the actual or

81


imagined circumstances of the poem (the situation), if these call for explanation, and would then state the subject and outline its development. If the poem is a narrative in the third person throughout, paragraph C need contain no more than a concise summary of the action. Paragraph D would indicate the leading ideas and show how they are made prominent, or would indicate what points in the narrative are chiefly emphasized.

A novel might be discussed under the heads:

J. Setting. K. Plot. L. Characters. M. Purpose.

A historical event might be discussed under the heads:

N. What led up to the event. O. Account of the event. P. What the event led up to.

In treating either of these last two subjects, the writer would

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probably find it necessary to subdivide one or more of the topics here given.

As a rule, single sentences should not be written or printed as paragraphs. An exception may be made of sentences of transition, indicating the relation between the parts of an exposition or argument.

In dialogue, each speech, even if only a single word, is a paragraph by itself; that is, a new paragraph begins with each change of speaker. The application of this rule, when dialogue and narrative are combined, is best learned from examples in well-printed works of fiction.

5.2 As a rule, begin each paragraph with a topic sentence; end it in conformity with the beginning.

Again, the object is to aid the reader. The practice here recommended enables him to discover the purpose of each paragraph as he begins to read it, and to retain the purpose in mind as he ends it. For this reason, the most generally useful kind of paragraph, particularly in exposition and argument, is that in which

83


Q. the topic sentence comes at or near the beginning; R. the succeeding sentences explain or establish or develop the statement made in the topic sentence; and S. the final sentence either emphasises the thought of the topic sentence or states some important consequence.

Ending with a digression, or with an unimportant detail, is particularly to be avoided.

If the paragraph forms part of a larger composition, its relation to what precedes, or its function as a part of the whole, may need to be expressed. This can sometimes be done by a mere word or phrase (again; therefore; for the same reason) in the topic sentence. Sometimes, however, it is expedient to precede the topic sentence by one or more sentences of introduction or transition. If more than one such sentence is required, it is generally better to set apart the transitional sentences as a separate paragraph.

According to the writer's purpose, he may, as indicated above, relate the body of the paragraph to the topic sentence in one or more of several different ways. He may make the meaning of the topic sentence clearer by restating it in other forms, by defining its terms, by denying the converse, by giving illustrations or specific instances; he may establish it

84


by proofs; or he may develop it by showing its implications and consequences. In a long paragraph, he may carry out several of these processes.

1 Now, to be properly

1 Topic sentence.

enjoyed, a walking tour should be gone upon alone. 2 If you go in a company, 2 The meaning made or even in pairs, it is no

clearer by denial of the

longer a walking tour in

contrary.

anything but name; it is something else and more in the nature of a picnic. 3 A walking tour should

3 The topic sentence

be gone upon alone,

repeated, in abridged

because freedom is of the form, and supported by essence; because you

three reasons; the

should be able to stop

meaning of the third

and go on, and follow

("you must have your

this way or that, as the

own pace") made clearer

freak takes you; and

by denying the converse.

because you must have your own pace, and neither trot alongside a

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champion walker, nor mince in time with a girl. 4 And you must be open

4 A fourth reason, stated

to all impressions and let

in two forms.

your thoughts take colour from what you see. 5 You should be as a pipe 5 The same reason, stated for any wind to play

in still another form.

upon. 6 "I cannot see the wit," says Hazlitt, "of walking and talking at the same time. 7 When I am in the

6-7 The same reason as

country, I wish to

stated by Hazlitt.

vegetate like the country," which is the gist of all that can be said upon the matter. 8 There should be no

8 Repetition, in

cackle of voices at your

paraphrase, of the

elbow, to jar on the

quotation from Hazlitt.

meditative silence of the morning.

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9 And so long as a man is 9 Final statement of the reasoning he cannot

fourth reason, in

surrender himself to that

language amplified and

fine intoxication that

heightened to form a

comes of much motion in strong conclusion. the open air, that begins in a sort of dazzle and sluggishness of the brain, and ends in a peace that passes comprehension.— Stevenson, Walking Tours.

1 It was chiefly in the

1 Topic sentence.

eighteenth century that a very different conception of history grew up. 2 Historians then came to 2 The meaning of the believe that their task was topic sentence made not so much to paint a

clearer; the new

picture as to solve a

conception of history

problem; to explain or

defined.

illustrate the successive phases of national growth, prosperity, and adversity.

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3 The history of morals,

3 The definition

of industry, of intellect,

expanded.

and of art; the changes that take place in manners or beliefs; the dominant ideas that prevailed in successive periods; the rise, fall, and modification of political constitutions; in a word, all the conditions of national well-being became the subjects of their works. 4 They sought rather to

4 The definition

write a history of peoples explained by contrast. than a history of kings. 5 They looked especially

5 The definition

in history for the chain of supplemented: another causes and effects.

element in the new conception of history.

6 They undertook to

6 Conclusion: an

study in the past the

important consequence of

physiology of nations,

the new conception of

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and hoped by applying

history.

the experimental method on a large scale to deduce some lessons of real value about the conditions on which the welfare of society mainly depend.— Lecky, The Political Value of History.

In narration and description the paragraph sometimes begins with a concise, comprehensive statement serving to hold together the details that follow.

The breeze served us admirably. The campaign opened with a series of reverses. The next ten or twelve pages were filled with a curious set of entries.

But this device, if too often used, would become a mannerism. More commonly the opening sentence simply indicates by its subject with what the paragraph is to be principally concerned.

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At length I thought I might return towards the stockade. He picked up the heavy lamp from the table and began to explore. Another flight of steps, and they emerged on the roof.

The brief paragraphs of animated narrative, however, are often without even this semblance of a topic sentence. The break between them serves the purpose of a rhetorical pause, throwing into prominence some detail of the action.

5.3 Use the active voice. The active voice is usually more direct and vigorous than the passive:

I shall always remember my first visit to Boston.

This is much better than

My first visit to Boston will always be remembered by me.

The latter sentence is less direct, less bold, and less concise. If

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the writer tries to make it more concise by omitting "by me,"

My first visit to Boston will always be remembered,

it becomes indefinite: is it the writer, or some person undisclosed, or the world at large, that will always remember this visit?

This rule does not, of course, mean that the writer should entirely discard the passive voice, which is frequently convenient and sometimes necessary.

The dramatists of the Restoration are little esteemed to-day. Modern readers have little esteem for the dramatists of the Restoration.

The first would be the right form in a paragraph on the dramatists of the Restoration; the second, in a paragraph on the tastes of modern readers. The need of making a particular word the subject of the sentence will often, as in these examples, determine which voice is to be used.

The habitual use of the active voice, however, makes for forcible writing. This is true not only in narrative principally

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concerned with action, but in writing of any kind. Many a tame sentence of description or exposition can be made lively and emphatic by substituting a transitive in the active voice for some such perfunctory expression as there is, or could be heard.

There were a great

Dead leaves covered the

number of dead leaves

ground.

lying on the ground. The sound of the falls

The sound of the falls still

could still be heard.

reached our ears.

The reason that he left

Failing health compelled

college was that his

him to leave college.

health became impaired. It was not long before he

He soon repented his

was very sorry that he

words.

had said what he had.

As a rule, avoid making one passive depend directly upon another.

Gold was not allowed to

It was forbidden to export

be exported.

gold (The export of gold

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was prohibited). He has been proved to

It has been proved that he

have been seen entering

was seen to enter the

the building.

building.

In both the examples above, before correction, the word properly related to the second passive is made the subject of the first.

A common fault is to use as the subject of a passive construction a noun which expresses the entire action, leaving to the verb no function beyond that of completing the sentence.

A survey of this region was

This region was surveyed in

made in 1900.

1900.

Mobilization of the army

The army was rapidly

was rapidly carried out.

mobilized.

Confirmation of these

These reports cannot be

reports cannot be obtained.

confirmed.

Compare the sentence, "The export of gold was prohibited," in which the predicate "was prohibited" expresses something

93


not implied in "export."

5.4 Put statements in positive form. Make definite assertions. Avoid tame, colourless, hesitating, non-committal language. Use the word not as a means of denial or in antithesis, never as a means of evasion.

He was not very often on He usually came late. time. He did not think that

He thought the study of

studying Latin was much Latin useless. use. The Taming of the Shrew is

The women in The Taming

rather weak in spots.

of the Shrew are

Shakespeare does not

unattractive. Katharine is

portray Katharine as a

disagreeable, Bianca

very admirable character, insignificant. nor does Bianca remain long in memory as an important character in Shakespeare's works.

The last example, before correction, is indefinite as well as

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negative. The corrected version, consequently, is simply a guess at the writer's intention.

All three examples show the weakness inherent in the word not. Consciously or unconsciously, the reader is dissatisfied with being told only what is not; he wishes to be told what is. Hence, as a rule, it is better to express a negative in positive form.

not honest

dishonest

not important

trifling

did not remember

forgot

did not pay any attention to

ignored

did not have much confidence in distrusted

The antithesis of negative and positive is strong:

Not charity, but simple justice. Not that I loved Caesar less, but Rome the more.

Negative words other than not are usually strong:

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The sun never sets upon the British flag.

5.5 Omit needless words. Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.

Many expressions in common use violate this principle:

the question as to whether whether (the question whether) there is no doubt but that

no doubt (doubtless)

used for fuel purposes

used for fuel

he is a man who

he

in a hasty manner

hastily

this is a subject which

this subject

His story is a strange one. His story is strange.

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In especial the expression the fact that should be revised out of every sentence in which it occurs.

owing to the fact that

since (because)

in spite of the fact that

though (although)

call your attention to the fact that

remind you (notify you)

I was unaware of the fact

I was unaware that (did not

that

know)

the fact that he had not

his failure

succeeded the fact that I had arrived

my arrival

Who is, which was, and the like are often superfluous.

His brother, who is a

His brother, a member of

member of the same firm

the same firm

Trafalgar, which was

Trafalgar, Nelson's last

Nelson's last battle

battle

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As positive statement is more concise than negative, and the active voice more concise than the passive.

A common violation of conciseness is the presentation of a single complex idea, step by step, in a series of sentences which might to advantage be combined into one.

Macbeth was very

Encouraged by his wife,

ambitious. This led him

Macbeth achieved his

to wish to become king of ambition and realized the Scotland. The witches

prediction of the witches

told him that this wish of by murdering Duncan his would come true. The and becoming king of king of Scotland at this

Scotland in his place. (26

time was Duncan.

words.)

Encouraged by his wife, Macbeth murdered Duncan. He was thus enabled to succeed Duncan as king. (55 words.)

5.6 Avoid a succession of loose sentences.

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This rule refers especially to loose sentences of a particular type, those consisting of two co-ordinate clauses, the second introduced by a conjunction or relative. Although single sentences of this type may be unexceptionable, a series soon becomes monotonous and tedious.

An unskilful writer will sometimes construct a whole paragraph of sentences of this kind, using as connectives and, but, and less frequently, who, which, when, where, and while, these last in non-restrictive senses.

The third concert of the subscription series was given last evening, and a large audience was in attendance. Mr. Edward Appleton was the soloist, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra furnished the instrumental music. The former showed himself to be an artist of the first rank, while the latter proved itself fully deserving of its high reputation. The interest aroused by the series has been very gratifying to the Committee, and it is planned to give a similar series annually hereafter. The fourth concert will be given on Tuesday, May 10, when an equally attractive programme will be presented.

Apart from its triteness and emptiness, the paragraph above

99


is bad because of the structure of its sentences, with their mechanical symmetry and sing-song. Contrast with them the sentences in the paragraphs quoted under Rule 10, or in any piece of good English prose, as the preface (Before the Curtain) to Vanity Fair.

If the writer finds that he has written a series of sentences of the type described, he should recast enough of them to remove the monotony, replacing them by simple sentences, by sentences of two clauses joined by a semicolon, by periodic sentences of two clauses, by sentences, loose or periodic, of three clauses—whichever best represent the real relations of the thought.

5.7 Express co-ordinate ideas in similar form. This principle, that of parallel construction, requires that expressions of similar content and function should be outwardly similar. The likeness of form enables the reader to recognize more readily the likeness of content and function. Familiar instances from the Bible are the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, and the petitions of the Lord's Prayer.

The unskilful writer often violates this principle, from a

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mistaken belief that he should constantly vary the form of his expressions. It is true that in repeating a statement in order to emphasize it he may have need to vary its form. For illustration, see the paragraph from Stevenson quoted under Rule 10. But apart from this, he should follow the principle of parallel construction.

Formerly, science was

Formerly, science was

taught by the textbook

taught by the textbook

method, while now the

method; now it is taught

laboratory method is

by the laboratory method.

employed.

The left-hand version gives the impression that the writer is undecided or timid; he seems unable or afraid to choose one form of expression and hold to it. The right-hand version shows that the writer has at least made his choice and abided by it.

By this principle, an article or a preposition applying to all the members of a series must either be used only before the first term or else be repeated before each term.

The French, the Italians,

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The French, the Italians,


Spanish, and Portuguese

the Spanish, and the Portuguese

In spring, summer, or in

In spring, summer, or

winter

winter (In spring, in summer, or in winter)

Correlative expressions (both, and; not, but; not only, but also; either, or; first, second, third; and the like) should be followed by the same grammatical construction. Many violations of this rule can be corrected by rearranging the sentence.

It was both a long

The ceremony was both

ceremony and very

long and tedious.

tedious. A time not for words, but A time not for words, but action

for action

Either you must grant his You must either grant his request or incur his ill

request or incur his ill

will.

will.

My objections are, first,

My objections are, first,

the injustice of the

that the measure is

measure; second, that it is unjust; second, that it is unconstitutional.

unconstitutional.

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It may be asked, what if a writer needs to express a very large number of similar ideas, say twenty? Must he write twenty consecutive sentences of the same pattern? On closer examination he will probably find that the difficulty is imaginary, that his twenty ideas can be classified in groups, and that he need apply the principle only within each group. Otherwise he had best avoid the difficulty by putting his statements in the form of a table.

5.8 Keep related words together. The position of the words in a sentence is the principal means of showing their relationship. The writer must therefore, so far as possible, bring together the words, and groups of words, that are related in thought, and keep apart those which are not so related.

The subject of a sentence and the principal verb should not, as a rule, be separated by a phrase or clause that can be transferred to the beginning.

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Wordsworth, in the fifth

In the fifth book of The

book of The Excursion,

Excursion, Wordsworth

gives a minute

gives a minute

description of this church. description of this church. Cast iron, when treated in By treatment in a a Bessemer converter, is

Bessemer converter, cast

changed into steel.

iron is changed into steel.

The objection is that the interposed phrase or clause needlessly interrupts the natural order of the main clause. This objection, however, does not usually hold when the order is interrupted only by a relative clause or by an expression in apposition. Nor does it hold in periodic sentences in which the interruption is a deliberately used means of creating suspense.

The relative pronoun should come, as a rule, immediately after its antecedent.

There was a look in his

In his eye was a look that

eye that boded mischief.

boded mischief.

He wrote three articles

He published in Harper's

about his adventures in

Magazine three articles

Spain, which were

about his adventures in

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published in Harper's

Spain.

Magazine. This is a portrait of

This is a portrait of

Benjamin Harrison,

Benjamin Harrison,

grandson of William

grandson of William

Henry Harrison, who

Henry Harrison. He

became President in 1889. became President in 1889.

If the antecedent consists of a group of words, the relative comes at the end of the group, unless this would cause ambiguity.

The Superintendent of the Chicago Division, who A proposal, which has been variously judged, to A proposal to amend the

amend the Sherman Act

Sherman Act, which has A proposal to amend the

been variously judged

much-debated Sherman Act The grandson of William

William Henry Harrison's

Henry Harrison, who

grandson, Benjamin Harrison, who

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A noun in apposition may come between antecedent and relative, because in such a combination no real ambiguity can arise.

The Duke of York, his brother, who was regarded with hostility by the Whigs

Modifiers should come, if possible next to the word they modify. If several expressions modify the same word, they should be so arranged that no wrong relation is suggested.

All the members were not Not all the members were present.

present.

He only found two

He found only two

mistakes.

mistakes.

Major R. E. Joyce will

On Tuesday evening at

give a lecture on Tuesday eight P. M., Major R. E. evening in Bailey Hall, to Joyce will give in Bailey which the public is

Hall a lecture on "My

invited, on "My

Experiences in

Experiences in

Mesopotamia." The

Mesopotamia" at eight P.

public is invited.

M.

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5.9 In summaries, keep to one tense. In summarizing the action of a drama, the writer should always use the present tense. In summarizing a poem, story, or novel, he should preferably use the present, though he may use the past if he prefers. If the summary is in the present tense, antecedent action should be expressed by the perfect; if in the past, by the past perfect.

An unforeseen chance prevents Friar John from delivering Friar Lawrence's letter to Romeo. Juliet, meanwhile, owing to her father's arbitrary change of the day set for her wedding, has been compelled to drink the potion on Tuesday night, with the result that Balthasar informs Romeo of her supposed death before Friar Lawrence learns of the nondelivery of the letter.

But whichever tense be used in the summary, a past tense in indirect discourse or in indirect question remains unchanged.

The Legate inquires who struck the blow.

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Apart from the exceptions noted, whichever tense the writer chooses, he should use throughout. Shifting from one tense to the other gives the appearance of uncertainty and irresolution (compare Rule 15).

In presenting the statements or the thought of some one else, as in summarizing an essay or reporting a speech, the writer should avoid intercalating such expressions as "he said," "he stated," "the speaker added," "the speaker then went on to say," "the author also thinks," or the like. He should indicate clearly at the outset, once for all, that what follows is summary, and then waste no words in repeating the notification.

In notebooks, in newspapers, in handbooks of literature, summaries of one kind or another may be indispensable, and for children in primary schools it is a useful exercise to retell a story in their own words. But in the criticism or interpretation of literature the writer should be careful to avoid dropping into summary. He may find it necessary to devote one or two sentences to indicating the subject, or the opening situation, of the work he is discussing; he may cite numerous details to illustrate its qualities. But he should aim to write an orderly discussion supported by evidence, not a

108


summary with occasional comment. Similarly, if the scope of his discussion includes a number of works, he will as a rule do better not to take them up singly in chronological order, but to aim from the beginning at establishing general conclusions.

5.10 Place the emphatic words of a sentence at the end.

The proper place for the word, or group of words, which the writer desires to make most prominent is usually the end of the sentence.

Humanity has hardly

Humanity, since that

advanced in fortitude

time, has advanced in

since that time, though it

many other ways, but it

has advanced in many

has hardly advanced in

other ways.

fortitude.

This steel is principally

Because of its hardness,

used for making razors,

this steel is principally

because of its hardness.

used in making razors.

The word or group of words entitled to this position of prominence is usually the logical predicate, that is, the new

109


element in the sentence, as it is in the second example.

The effectiveness of the periodic sentence arises from the prominence which it gives to the main statement.

Four centuries ago, Christopher Columbus, one of the Italian mariners whom the decline of their own republics had put at the service of the world and of adventure, seeking for Spain a westward passage to the Indies as a set-off against the achievements of Portuguese discoverers, lighted on America. With these hopes and in this belief I would urge you, laying aside all hindrance, thrusting away all private aims, to devote yourselves unswervingly and unflinchingly to the vigorous and successful prosecution of this war.

The other prominent position in the sentence is the beginning. Any element in the sentence, other than the subject, becomes emphatic when placed first.

Deceit or treachery he could never forgive. So vast and rude, fretted by the action of nearly three

110


thousand years, the fragments of this architecture may often seem, at first sight, like works of nature.

A subject coming first in its sentence may be emphatic, but hardly by its position alone. In the sentence,

Great kings worshipped at his shrine,

the emphasis upon kings arises largely from its meaning and from the context. To receive special emphasis, the subject of a sentence must take the position of the predicate.

Through the middle of the valley flowed a winding stream.

The principle that the proper place for what is to be made most prominent is the end applies equally to the words of a sentence, to the sentences of a paragraph, and to the paragraphs of a composition.

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CHAPTER SIX: WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS COMMONLY MISUSED (Source: The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. see Bibliography)

WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS COMMONLY MISUSED (Many of the words and expressions here listed are not so much bad English as bad style, the commonplaces of careless writing. As illustrated under Feature, the proper correction is likely to be not the replacement of one word or set of words by another, but the replacement of vague generality by definite statement.)

•

All right. Idiomatic in familiar speech as a detached phrase in the sense, "Agreed," or "Go ahead." In other uses better avoided. Always written as two words.

•

As good or better than. Expressions of this type should be corrected by rearranging the sentence.

My opinion is as good My opinion is as good or better than his.

as his, or better (if not better).

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•

As to whether. Whether is sufficient.

•

Bid. Takes the infinitive without to. The past tense is bade.

•

Case. The Concise Oxford Dictionary begins its definition of this word: "instance of a thing's occurring; usual state of affairs." In these two senses, the word is usually unnecessary.

In many cases, the

Many of the rooms

rooms were poorly

were poorly

ventilated.

ventilated.

It has rarely been the

Few mistakes have

case that any mistake

been made.

has been made.

See Wood, Suggestions to Authors, pp. 68-71, and Quiller-Couch, The Art of Writing, pp. 103-106.

•

Certainly. Used indiscriminately by some speakers, much as others use very, to intensify any and every statement. A 114


mannerism of this kind, bad in speech, is even worse in writing.

•

Character. Often simply redundant, used from a mere habit of wordiness.

Acts of a hostile character Hostile acts

•

Claim, vb. With object-noun, means lay claim to. May be used with a dependent clause if this sense is clearly involved: "He claimed that he was the sole surviving heir." (But even here, "claimed to be" would be better.) Not to be used as a substitute for declare, maintain, or charge.

•

Compare. To compare to is to point out or imply resemblances, between objects regarded as essentially of different order; to compare with is mainly to point out differences, between objects regarded as essentially of the same order. Thus life has been compared to a pilgrimage, to a drama, to a battle; Congress may be compared with the British Parliament. Paris has been compared to ancient Athens; it may be compared with modern London.

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•

Clever. This word has been greatly overused; it is best restricted to ingenuity displayed in small matters.

•

Consider. Not followed by as when it means, "believe to be." "I consider him thoroughly competent." Compare, "The lecturer considered Cromwell first as soldier and second as administrator," where "considered" means "examined" or "discussed."

•

Dependable. A needless substitute for reliable, trustworthy.

•

Due to. Incorrectly used for through, because of, or owing to, in adverbial phrases: "He lost the first game, due to carelessness." In correct use related as predicate or as modifier to a particular noun: "This invention is due to Edison;" "losses due to preventable fires."

•

Effect. As noun, means result; as verb, means to bring about, accomplish (not to be confused with affect, which means "to influence").

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As noun, often loosely used in perfunctory writing about fashions, music, painting, and other arts: "an Oriental effect;" "effects in pale green;" "very delicate effects;" "broad effects;" "subtle effects;" "a charming effect was produced by." The writer who has a definite meaning to express will not take refuge in such vagueness.

•

Etc. Not to be used of persons. Equivalent to and the rest, and so forth, and hence not to be used if one of these would be insufficient, that is, if the reader would be left in doubt as to any important particulars. Least open to objection when it represents the last terms of a list already given in full, or immaterial words at the end of a quotation.

At the end of a list introduced by such as, for example, or any similar expression, etc. is incorrect.

•

Fact. Use this word only of matters of a kind capable of direct verification, not of matters of judgment. That a particular event happened on a given date, that lead melts at a certain temperature, are facts. But such conclusions as that Napoleon was the greatest of modern generals, or that the climate of California is delightful, however incontestable they may be, are not properly

117


facts.

On the formula the fact that...

•

Factor. A hackneyed word; the expressions of which it forms part can usually be replaced by something more direct and idiomatic.

His superior training

He won the match by

was the great factor in being better trained. his winning the match. Heavy artillery is

Heavy artillery is

becoming an

playing a larger and

increasingly important larger part in deciding factor in deciding

battles.

battles.

•

Feature. Another hackneyed word; like factor it usually adds nothing to the sentence in which it occurs.

A feature of the

(Better use the same

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entertainment

number of words to

especially worthy of

tell what Miss A. sang,

mention was the

or if the programme

singing of Miss A.

has already been given, to tell something of how she sang.)

As a verb, in the advertising sense of offer as a special attraction, to be avoided.

•

Fix. Colloquial in America for arrange, prepare, mend. In writing restrict it to its literary senses, fasten, make firm or immovable, etc.

•

He is a man who. A common type of redundant expression.

He is a man who is

He is very ambitious.

very ambitious. Spain is a country

I have always wanted

which I have always

to visit Spain.

wanted to visit.

119


•

However. In the meaning nevertheless, not to come first in its sentence or clause.

The roads were almost The roads were almost impassable. However, impassable. At last, we at last succeeded

however, we

in reaching camp.

succeeded in reaching camp.

When however comes first, it means in whatever way or to whatever extent.

However you advise him, he will probably do as he thinks best. However discouraging the prospect, he never lost heart.

•

Kind of. Not to be used as a substitute for rather (before adjectives and verbs), or except in familiar style, for something like (before nouns). Restrict it to its literal sense: "Amber is a kind of fossil resin;" "I dislike that kind of notoriety." The same holds true of sort of.

120


•

Less. Should not be misused for fewer.

He had less men than

He had fewer men

in the previous

than in the previous

campaign.

campaign.

Less refers to quantity, fewer to number. "His troubles are less than mine" means "His troubles are not so great as mine." "His troubles are fewer than mine" means "His troubles are not so numerous as mine." It is, however, correct to say, "The signers of the petition were less than a hundred, "where the round number, a hundred, is something like a collective noun, and less is thought of as meaning a less quantity or amount.

•

Line, along these lines. Line in the sense of course of procedure, conduct, thought, is allowable, but has been so much overworked, particularly in the phrase along these lines, that a writer who aims at freshness or originality had better discard it entirely.

Mr. B. also spoke

Mr. B. also spoke, to

along the same lines.

the same effect.

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He is studying along

He is studying French

the line of French

literature.

literature.

•

Literal, literally. Often incorrectly used in support of exaggeration or violent metaphor.

A literal flood of

A flood of abuse

abuse

•

Literally dead with

Almost dead with

fatigue

fatigue (dead tired)

Lose out. Meant to be more emphatic than lose, but actually less so, because of its commonness. The same holds true of try out, win out, sign up, register up. With a number of verbs, out and up form idiomatic combinations: find out, run out, turn out, cheer up, dry up, make up, and others, each distinguishable in meaning from the simple verb. Lose out is not.

•

Most. Not to be used for almost.

122


Most everybody Almost everybody Most all the time Almost all the time

•

Nature. Often simply redundant, used like character.

Acts of a hostile nature Hostile acts

Often vaguely used in such expressions as "a lover of nature;" "poems about nature." Unless more specific statements follow, the reader cannot tell whether the poems have to do with natural scenery, rural life, the sunset, the untracked wilderness, or the habits of squirrels.

•

Near by. Adverbial phrase, not yet fully accepted as good English, though the analogy of close by and hard by seems to justify it. Near, or near at hand, is as good, if not better.

Not to be used as an adjective; use neighbouring.

•

Oftentimes, ofttimes. Archaic forms, no longer in good use. The

123


modern word is often.

•

One hundred and one. Retain the and in this and similar expressions, in accordance with the unvarying usage of English prose from Old English times.

•

One of the most. Avoid beginning essays or paragraphs with this formula, as, "One of the most interesting developments of modern science is, etc.;" "Switzerland is one of the most interesting countries of Europe." There is nothing wrong in this; it is simply threadbare and forcible-feeble.

•

People. The people is a political term, not to be confused with the public. From the people comes political support or opposition; from the public comes artistic appreciation or commercial patronage.

The word people is not to be used with words of number, in place of persons. If of "six people" five went away, how many "people" would be left?

124


•

Phase. Means a stage of transition or development: "the phases of the moon;" "the last phase." Not to be used for aspect or topic.

Another phase of the subject Another point (another question)

•

Possess. Not to be used as a mere substitute for have or own.

He possessed great

He had great courage

courage.

(was very brave).

He was the fortunate

He owned

possessor of

•

Respective, respectively. These words may usually be omitted with advantage.

Works of fiction are

Works of fiction are

listed under the names listed under the names of their respective

of their authors.

authors. The one mile and two

The one mile and two

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mile runs were won

mile runs were won

by Jones and

by Jones and by

Cummings

Cummings.

respectively.

In some kinds of formal writing, as in geometrical proofs, it may be necessary to use respectively, but it should not appear in writing on ordinary subjects.

•

So. Avoid, in writing, the use of so as an intensifier: "so good;" "so warm;" "so delightful."

• •

Sort of. See under Kind of.

•

State. Not to be used as a mere substitute for say, remark. Restrict it to the sense of express fully or clearly, as, "He refused to state his objections."

•

Student body. A needless and awkward expression, meaning no more than the simple word students.

126


A member of the

A student

student body Popular with the

Liked by the

student body

students

The student body

The students

passed resolutions. passed resolutions.

•

System. Frequently used without need.

Dayton has

Dayton has

adopted the

adopted

commission system government by of government.

commission.

The dormitory

Dormitories

system

•

Thanking you in advance. This sounds as if the writer meant, "It will not be worth my while to write to you again." Simply write, "Thanking you," and if the favour which you have requested is granted, write a letter of acknowledgment.

127


•

They. A common inaccuracy is the use of the plural pronoun when the antecedent is a distributive expression such as each, each one, everybody, every one, many a man, which, though implying more than one person, requires the pronoun to be in the singular. Similar to this, but with even less justification, is the use of the plural pronoun with the antecedent anybody, any one, somebody, some one, the intention being either to avoid the awkward "he or she," or to avoid committing oneself to either. Some bashful speakers even say, "A friend of mine told me that they, etc."

Use he with all the above words, unless the antecedent is or must be feminine.

•

Very. Use this word sparingly. Where emphasis is necessary, use words strong in themselves.

•

Viewpoint. Write point of view, but do not misuse this, as many do, for view or opinion.

•

While. Avoid the indiscriminate use of this word for and, but, and although. Many writers use it frequently as a substitute for and or but, either from a mere desire to vary the connective, or from 128


uncertainty which of the two connectives is the more appropriate. In this use it is best replaced by a semicolon. This is entirely correct, as shown by the paraphrase,

The office and

The office and

salesrooms are on the

salesrooms are on the

ground floor, while

ground floor; the rest

the rest of the building of the building is is devoted to

devoted to

manufacturing.

manufacturing.

Its use as a virtual equivalent of although is allowable in sentences where this leads to no ambiguity or absurdity.

While I admire his energy, I wish it were employed in a better cause.

I admire his energy; at the same time I wish it were employed in a better cause.

Compare:

129


While the temperature Although the reaches 90 or 95

temperature reaches

degrees in the

90 or 95 degrees in the

daytime, the nights

daytime, the nights

are often chilly.

are often chilly.

The paraphrase,

The temperature reaches 90 or 95 degrees in the daytime; at the same time the nights are often chilly,

shows why the use of while is incorrect.

In general, the writer will do well to use while only with strict literalness, in the sense of during the time that.

•

Whom. Often incorrectly used for who before he said or similar expressions, when it is really the subject of a following verb.

His brother, whom he His brother, who he

130


said would send him

said would send him

the money

the money

The man whom he

The man who (that) he

thought was his friend thought was his friend (whom he thought his friend)

•

Worth while. Overworked as a term of vague approval and (with not) of disapproval. Strictly applicable only to actions: "Is it worth while to telegraph?"

His books are not

His books are not

worth while.

worth reading (not worth one's while to read; do not repay reading).

The use of worth while before a noun ("a worth while story") is indefensible.

•

Would. A conditional statement in the first person requires should, not would.

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I should not have succeeded without his help.

The equivalent of shall in indirect quotation after a verb in the past tense is should, not would.

He predicted that before long we should have a great surprise.

To express habitual or repeated action, the past tense, without would, is usually sufficient, and from its brevity, more emphatic.

Once a year he would

Once a year he visited

visit the old mansion.

the old mansion.

•

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Abdallah, M. M. S. (2008) "New literacies or new challenges?": The development of the concept of literacy in the context of information and communication technologies and language teaching. ERIC. ED502132. Abdallah, M. M. S. (2010a) Multiple intelligences, oral communication and language learning. VDM Verlag Dr. Müller, Saarbrücken, Germany. Abdallah, M. M. S. (2010b) Web-based new literacies: Revisiting literacy in TESOL and EFL teacher education. Paper presented at the Australian Council of TESOL Associations (ACTA) International TESOL Conference titled: Redefining "TESOL" for the 21st Century - Language learning and teaching for the future. Surfer’s Paradise Holiday Inn, Gold Coast, Australia (7-10

July,

2010).

[Online]

Available

http://eric.exeter.ac.uk/exeter/handle/10036/111761

(Accessed

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