- •Planning a Text
- •1. In the case of essays written in exams, it is best to begin planning by analysing the title and then writing down any ideas that seem relevant.
- •2. Having assembled your ideas, it is then necessary to find a suitable framework for the essay.
- •3. Complete the plan for the title in (1) using ideas from (1).
- •4. Decide which of the three frameworks in (2) would be most suitable for the following titles.
- •5. Study the title below and the ideas collected for the essay. Add to the list if possible. Then choose a suitable framework and complete the plan below.
- •1. Read the following paragraph.
- •2. A paragraph is a collection of sentences that deal with one subject.
- •3. Read and analyse the following paragraph.
- •6. Choose one of the titles below and note at least six ideas that might be used in the essay. Then select a suitable framework and write a plan.
- •7. In the case of longer essays, written as coursework, planning will normally be a two-stage process:
- •Organising Paragraphs
- •Organising the Main Body
- •3. Shorter essays (in exams, for example) tend to have simpler structures:
- •4. Inside the main body, ideas need to be presented in the most logical fashion, linked together to form a coherent argument.
- •5. It is useful to mark the beginning of new paragraphs or the introduction of new subjects with special phrases.
- •6. Complete with suitable phrases the following extract from an essay on ‘British weather’.
- •Introductions
- •8. There is no such thing as a standard introduction, and much depends on the nature of the research and the length of the essay.
- •9. Prepare to write an introduction to an essay with the title ‘Higher education should be available to everyone – Discuss’ by answering the questions below.
- •10. Write the introduction (about 100 words), using your answers from (9) and the notes provided below.
- •11. Write an introduction to an essay on one of the following subjects, or choose a subject from your own discipline.
- •Conclusions
- •1. Not every academic essay has a conclusion.
- •2. Compare the following conclusions to two essays on ‘Public transport in a modern economy’. Complete the table to show the main differences between them.
- •3. The following may be found in conclusions. Decide on the most suitable order for them (a–e).
- •4. Below are notes for the main body of an essay. Read the notes and complete the conclusion, using your own ideas if necessary.
- •Implications –
- •5. Study the notes for the essay below and write a conclusion in about 100 words.
- •1. After finishing the first draft of an essay you should, if you have time, wait for a while and then re-read the essay, asking the following questions.
- •2. Read this short essay written by a Japanese student to the title ‘Compare the university system in your country with the British system’. Answer the questions above by making notes below.
- •3. A careful re-reading of the essay would suggest the following points.
- •4. Use the notes below to re-write the introductory paragraph.
- •5. Read this extract from the main body of an essay on ‘Education is the most important factor in national development – Discuss’. Study the notes below and then re-write the extract.
- •Proof-Reading
- •1. Before handing in any piece of written work for marking, it is important to check it carefully for errors that may distort your meaning or even make your work difficult to understand.
- •2. When proof-reading, it is a good idea to exchange texts with another student, since you may become over-familiar with your own work.
- •3. Proof-reading a longer text is more difficult.
2. When proof-reading, it is a good idea to exchange texts with another student, since you may become over-familiar with your own work.
However, even in exam conditions, when this is not possible, it is vital to spend a few minutes checking through your work, for this may reveal careless errors that can be quickly corrected.
Underline and correct the errors in the extracts below (one or two in each).
a) The graph shows changes in the number of prisoners over five years (1930–1980).
b) … the way the government prepares his citizens to contribute in the development ...
c) Secondly, education not only teach people many knowledge …
d) However, weather it is the most important factor is the issue …
e) There has been a sharp decrease between 1930 and 1950.
f) The quality of a society depends in the education level.
g) America had the biggest figure for crime.
3. Proof-reading a longer text is more difficult.
The following was written by a student who was asked to describe his background and future plans.
Underline the errors and then write in suitable corrections. NB. As the subject is personal, a relatively informal style is acceptable here.
I come from China, which is a very traditional country. I think before give my own situation and plan, I have to say something about my country, because her cultures effect me very much. My country has 5,000 years history, so in my brain there are a lot of thing which is from it.
When I first arrived UK I studied in Cambridge, which is the best university all over the world. Although I just studied in a language school in Cambridge, I felt so good. I learned a lot not only from the school but also from the Cambridge society. That is why I choose Cambridge to learn my foundation course. The foundation course just for oversea studies to improve their English.
I would like to study buiness, because when China join in WTO, my country will need a lot of people who know business very well. So I will choose business foundation course, computer and mathematics, because computer is very useful in modern society. In the future course I think the big problem is vocabulary, so I am planning to remember as many as I can. I will spend more time on mathematics, because I never learn it before.
Another problem is to finish the homework in time. Sometimes I think the homework is no useful for me, so I just leave it, which is a bad customer. The last and the big is homesick, which always slow down my progress, but studying broad is my own choice, I have to try my best.