[其它语言学习]Chapter 1 The Process of Academic Writing.ppt

,Unit 1 The Writing Process,Part I Academic Writing,Introduction Academic Writing, as the name implies, is the kind of writing that you are required to do at college or university. Its differences can be explained in part by its special audience, tone, and purpose.,Whenever you write, consider you specific audience, that is, the people who will read what you have written.,Audience,Tone is your style or manner of expression. It is revealed by your choice of words and grammatical structures and even the length of your sentences.,Tone,Considering Audience,1. Topic The importance of eating a healthy diet that is low in fat. Audience 1: A weight-loss club Audience 2: A second grade class,Considering Audience,Audience 1: A weight-loss club Four points: description of physical effects of a healthy diet; detailed statistics; influence on lifestyle; sample diets and foods that are healthy and low in fat Tone: informal, direct, informative,Considering Audience,Audience 2: A second grade class Four points: physical effects of a healthy diet in simple terms; statistics in simple figures; importance of making future choices; sample foods that are healthy and low in fat Tone: informal, friendly, informative,Considering Audience,2. Topic Why companies should allow casual work attire on Fridays Audience 1: The company's managers Audience 2: Your staff,Considering Audience,Audience 1: The company's managers Four points: specific statistics associated with casual Fridays and worker efficiency; discussion of casual Fridays and employee satisfaction; examples of casual Fridays in the workplaces of close competitors; employee opinion poll on this issue. Tone: respectful, direct, formal, persuasive,Considering Audience,Audience 2: Your staff Four points: history of your company's policy toward casual Fridays; definition of casual Fridays (what clothes are permissible, etc.); prevailing attitude among employees and management toward casual Fridays; a call for further discussion about this issue. Tone: friendly, somewhat informal and mildly persuasive,Finally, the purpose of a piece of writing determines the rhetorical form chosen for it. A persuasive essay will be organized in one way and an expository essay in another way.,Purpose,Characteristics of Good Writing,Good writing is good thinking. Good writing involves thoughtful revision. Good writing is directed towards an audience. Good writing achieves a clear purpose. Good writing expresses ideas clearly. (Qi, 2001:11),What is good writing ? Good writing should be distinct in the following aspects : Appropriate style for the purpose Clear organization Effective use of expressions Reader oriented,There is no rule on how to write .Sometimes it comes easily and perfectly ;sometimes its like drilling rock and then blasting it out with charges . (Ernest Hemingway ) Writing is just work -theres no secret .If you dictate, use a pen or write with your toes -it is still just work . (Sinclair Lewis ),Part The Writing Process of Academic Writing,Stage I: Prewriting writing is a process, not a “product.”,There are four main stages in the writing process: pre-writing, planning, writing and revising drafts, and writing the final copy to hand in.,Step 1:Choosing and Narrowing on Topic,The following diagram illustrates the process of narrowing a general topic to a specific one. General topic Environment Specific topic Pollution Ocean Pollution Oil Pollution Very specific topic Effects on Sea Life,PRACTICE I Choosing and Narrowing a Topic,School Entertainment Television Food Sports,Step 2: Brainstorming,Two useful brainstorming techniques are listing and clustering.,Listing Listing is a brainstorming technique in which you think about your topic and quickly make a list of whatever words or phrases come into your mind .Your purpose is to produce as many ideas as possible in a short time, and your goal is to find a specific focus for your topic.,Clustering Clustering is another brainstorming activity that you can use to generate ideas. Heres how to use this technique: In the center of your paper, write your topic and draw a “balloon” around it. This is your center, or core, balloon. Then write whatever ideas come to you in balloons around the core. Think about each of these ideas and make more balloons around them.,For example, suppose you have to describe a person who is close to you in some way. Using the clustering technique to get ideas, you might end up with a paper such as the following. MODEL Clustering,Stayed Home,One week last year,Painted house,Vacation,Workaholic,Stays late at office,Works six days a week,Boring life,Heart problem,MY FATHER,Exercise enthusiast,Sports fan,Very religious,Likes to cook,Gives 10% of income to church,Attends weekly prayer meetings,Does accounting for church,Every Sunday,The largest cluster of balloons was generated from the “workaholic” balloon, so this would be a good focus for this students paragraph about his father. PRACTICE Brainstorming by Clustering Use the clustering technique for ten minutes to generate ideas about a member of your family.,The Writing Process, Stage : Planning ( Outlining ),Turn to the model about culture shock. A student had developed three different lists of ideas: communication problems, classroom environment, and American family life. She decided to write a paragraph about communication problems.,Step 1: Making Sub-lists,The first step toward making an outline is to divide the ideas in the “communication problems” list further into sub-lists and to cross out any items that dont belong or that arent useable. MODEL Sub-lists,Communication Problems Poor verbal skills (2) Americans difficult to understand lack vocabulary use incomplete sentences new language unclear expressions poor pronunciation Americans talk too fast lack confidence use slang and idioms,Step 2: Writing the Topic Sentence,Finally, write a topic sentence.,MODEL Topic Sentence,One problem that many international students face in the United States is communication with Americans. or International students in the United States face communication problems with Americans.,Step 3: Outlining,An outline is a formal plan for a paragraph.,MODEL Outline,Topic Sentence Supporting point Supporting detail Supporting detail Supporting point Supporting detail Supporting detail Supporting detail Supporting detail,The Writing Process, Stage : Writing and Revising Drafts,Stage in the writing process, after prewriting ( Stage) and planning ( Stage ), is writing and revising several drafts until you have produced a final copy to hand in.,plan,1. Writer's Purpose 2. Reader's Response 3. Reader's Information,organize,draft,revise,edit,outline,Keep going; dont worry about mistakes.,Check/revise the “5 Cs“: Is it Complete (content & structure)? Are they Cohesive? Are they Clear and Concise? Are they Courteous (tone) ? (for faxes, emails, letters, etc),Check/revise grammar problems: two verbs in one sentence tense countable/uncountable nouns word class,The following models show you how one student worked through the process of writing and revising drafts before arriving at the final copy.,MODEL The Second Draft,Communication Problems 1One kind of culture shock faced by international (of) students in the United States is the difficulty they have When they first arrive in the United States. communicating with Americans, 2They soon realize that their verbal skills are poor. 3First of all, they lack,vocabulary, and they have poor pronunciation. (so) (dont) 4American people doesnt understand them. 5For example, a few days ago, I asked an American student how to get to the library, but because I have trouble pronouncing rs and Is, the student didnt understand (had) me. 6I finally have to write it on a piece of paper.,(International students) (they) (It) 7They also speak too softly because are shy. 8 Is difficult for foreign people to understand Americans. (,) too. 9Americans use incomplete sentences, such as “Later” to mean “Ill see you later,” and “Coming?” to mean “Are you coming?” 10Also, Americans talk too,(,) SP understand them fast so it is often imposible to catch their meaning. 11In addition, Americans also use a lot of slangs and idioms. 12People do not know their meaning. 13For example, the other day someone said to me, “That drives me up the wall,” and I could not imagine what,(driving) he meant. 14I had a picture in my mind of him sitting in his car driving up a wall. 15It didnt make sense to me, 16In short, communication is probably the first problem that international students face in the United States. 17After a while, however, their ears get used to,the American way of speaking, and their own verbal (abilities) skills improve.,These are the important points you should have learned from this chapter: 1. Academic writing is a special kind of writing for college and university work. It is intended for a specific audience (primarily your instructors and professors). 2. Academic writing is formal in tone.,3. The purpose of academic writing is usually to explain or to persuade. The purpose of a piece of writing will determine its rhetorical form. 4. Prewriting activities are useful for narrowing a topic and generating ideas. Three useful brainstorming techniques are listing, free writing, and clustering.,5. Plan your writing by preparing an outline. 6. Revision is an essential part of the writing process. Your first effort is called the rough draft. After revising it for content and organization, write your second draft. Proofread your second draft for sentence structure, grammar, mechanics, and vocabulary, and then write a final copy to hand in.,Writing task,As is known that we have met many teachers as we grow up .But now some people have a view that they can learn better by themselves than with a teacher. This has brought a debate about: how to study efficiently, with the help of a teacher or not? Write an essay on the topic with no less than 150 words. graduatewriting10163.com,