Writing

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Writing

• Enda P Guinan
• Writing Skills
• Language Centre
• NUI Maynooth

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The two types

• Any piece of extended writing is either
• DESCRIPTIVE
• or
• ARGUMENTATIVE
• or possibly some kind of mixture

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Descriptive

• List important points
• Your view often not needed

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Argumentative

• State your point of view
• Defend it with supporting arguments

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Which approach?

• Explain, with examples, how the system of
  government works.
• Outline some of the things that led to the defeat
  of the Japanese at the end of World War II.
• What is the difference between knowledge and
  belief?
• Compare and contrast the education system of the
  USA and your own country.
• What influence did the Greeks have on the ancient
  Romans?
• Write a concise description of the role of the
  World Bank in development today.

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What to put in and leave out

• The Parliamentary System of Australia
• Should you explain
• What a parliament is?
• What is meant by a system?
• What Australia is?
• Something about the history of parliaments?
• Who the present PM of Australia is?
• What a democracy is?
• What a vote is?

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Two things to take into account
1. Why are you writing the essay at all? 2.
Have a specific reader in mind when you write
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1. Why are you writing the essay at all?
Because the tutor wants to see if you have
understood the lectures and the recommended
reading.
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2. Have a specific reader in mind when you write

• Someone who
• Is intelligent enough to be one of your
  colleagues
• Has a reasonable amount of common sense
• Knows almost nothing about your subject

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This way

• You wont waste time explaining the obvious and
  things that any sensible person would know
• And you will explain the things that need
  explaining

• Imagine this person will read, but not mark, your
  work.
• Make it someone you respect, but who hasnt had
  the benefit of attending your course

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Back to Australia!

• The Parliamentary System of Australia
• Should you explain
• What a parliament is?
• What is meant by a system?
• What Australia is?
• Something about the history of parliaments?
• Who the present PM of Australia is?
• What a democracy is?
• What a vote is?

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The Descriptive Essay The Introduction

• Do not include the questions in the introduction
  - include the answers
• Do I need to define any of the terms in the
  title?
• Why is the topic Im writing about important?
• How am I limiting my discussion?
• Can I break up my task into a number of areas?

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1. What do I need to define?

• Show the reader you understand what you must talk
  about
• Either you must define a term or explain some
  important feature of the term.
• Remember what you dont have to explain

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Try these Which terms need definition?

1. Discuss the effects a curfew has on business
   interests in a city.
2. To what extent does sexual equality lead to
   social change?
3. Explain how a compass works.

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Describe, with examples, the role of the defence
forces in border disputes.

• There are three arms of the defence force the
  Army, the Navy and the Airforce. All three of
  these can be involved in border disputes,
  depending on the location of the border under
  dispute.

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2. Why is the topic important?

• Explain how the topic is important
• Either in terms of its relevance today or
• In terms of its relevance to the general study of
  the subject
• Example

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Describe, with examples, the role of the defence
forces in border disputes.

• A study of the defence forces role in border
  disputes is worth examining because it is a good
  example of the way that the armed forces take
  over policing in areas where the police have
  little control.

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3. How am I limiting my discussion?

• No essay can deal with all aspects of a topic
• Select what you consider to be the central point
• Tell your reader just what area you will discuss
• Say why you are limiting yourself
• Example

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Describe, with examples, the role of the defence
forces in border disputes.

• As most disputes are land-based, this discussion
  will limit itself to examining the role of the
  Army.

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4. Can I break up the task into a number of parts?

• This will give you an idea of the number of
  paragraphs you will have
• Use words like major, main or most
  important
• Use lots of words from the title
• Dont write out which areas you will be
  describing (you essay itself does that!)

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Describe, with examples, the role of the defence
forces in border disputes.

• Although the army becomes involved in many ways,
  there are three main roles that the defence force
  in general, and the Army in particular, has in
  border disputes.

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Body text

• A sequence of paragraphs each logically following
  from the last and each developing a point
• Each paragraph
• Begins with a restatement of the final sentence
  of the intro
• States your info in detail
• Ends with an example

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The Conclusion

• Short
• You could
• Write about future implications (if relevant)
• Write about influence of what you have described
  on wider issues
• Suggest how the situation could be improved in
  some way

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The Fall of the Roman Empire

• There were, then, many reasons why the Roman
  Empire fell. As the empire crumbled, it became
  divided into the two centres of Rome and
  Constantinople. The resulting rivalry meant that
  the Arab forces were able to gain much more
  ground in Europe and North Africa than they might
  otherwise might have done. In the long term this
  was perhaps an advantage to European culture as a
  whole, for it exposed Europe to Arab philosophy
  and science both of which were in many ways far
  superior to those of Europe at the time.

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The Argumentative Essay

• Puts forward a point of view
• Defends that point of view
• Most frequently used approach in academic writing
  (for extended pieces)
• Tests ability to think logically

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The Introduction

• Sets out the problem (topic)
• A typical intro (no of sentences in brackets)
• Relates topic to readers experience (1)
• Sets out problem (often question form) (1)
• Shows opposing voices and explains why (1)
• Sets out writers opinion (1)

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1. Relate to readers experience

• Less important in college essays!
• However
• This is something you will be interested in. It
  discusses something you have been thinking about
  recently
• May take several or only one sentence

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Examples

• The recent troubles in the Middle East have been
  widely reported in the worlds press.
• In the last year there have been over five
  hundred violations of air traffic rules in the
  USA.
• In last weeks daily papers there was a great
  deal of coverage given to a case of child
  beating. The parents, it seems, were blaming
  their cramped housing on their sudden loss of
  control.

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2. Question that sets out the problem behind the
topic

• Lets call this the issue
• V important. Makes the topic perfectly clear
• Helps you get to the root of the problem and stay
  relevant
• Watch out! Some issues are lame

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Lame issues

• Is theft a crime?
• Is the world round?
• Should we obey the traffic rules?
• Are women legally equal to men?
• Is violence a bad thing?
• Why are these lame? How could you improve them?

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3. Objections that exist and why?

• A good issue should have two sides
• Acknowledging this does two things
• 1. Tells reader (who may share the opposing
  view!) that opposing view has some strong
  arguments
• 2. Makes sure there are two sides. If not, its
  not a good issue - it may be lame

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Careful though

• Dont give more than one support for the other
  argument
• Introduce opposing arg with
• Some people maintain
• It can be argued that
• It might be said that
• can, might, may are tentative words

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Spot the difference

• Students are lazy people.
• This sound like a fact
• Speaker sounds very definite
• It might be said that students are lazy people.
• Speaker sounds doubtful
• Speaker doesnt agree with it

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4. Set out your opinion

• Lets call this the MIS (Main Idea Statement)
• The MIS is the answer to the question posed by
  the issue
• Do not provide any reasons - yet (more difficult
  than it sounds!)
• Introduce MIS something like this
• However, it is clear that
• There are many reasons why

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Body text The supporting arguments

• Make sure your supports actually support your MIS
• Each support should have its own paragraph (or
  two)
• Follow the three steps
• State
• Explain
• Example

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State

• Begin new paragraphs with
• The first reason why restate MIS is first
  support
• The second reason why restate MIS is first
  support
• The third. and so on

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Explain

• Clarify the point - enhance the topic sentence
• Bring in quotations from sources
• Make reference to other authorities
• Give weight to your point of view

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Example

• Conclude your paragraph with an example
• Be as precise as possible - facts and figures
• Resist the temptation to massage or invent
  information

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The Conclusion

• Do not list all of your arguments
• Attempt a solution
• Your issue had two sides - how might they be
  reconciled in the light of your arguments?
• You can make suggestions here
• You dont have to neatly reconcile things

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An example

• Although it is clear that the police should
  definitely not be armed, there are occasions when
  it is necessary for them to have weapons when
  dealing with a dangerous criminal, for example.
  The answer then may be to allow the police to
  carry weapons only when permitted to by a judge
  or someone similar.

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Questions and answers to

• grammartogo_at_may.ie