User:Mr snow/academic writing notes

ACADEMIC WRITIING NOTES
TYPES OF WRITING Descriptive writing The purpose of descriptive writing is to make our readers see, feel, and hear what we have seen, felt, and heard. Whether we're describing a person, a place, or a thing, our aim is to reveal a subject through vivid and carefully selected details. “It was a cold grey day in late November. The weather had changed overnight, when a backing wind brought a granite sky and a mizzling rain with it, and although it was now only a little after two o'clock in the afternoon the pallor of a winter evening seemed to have closed upon the hills, cloaking them in mist. It would be dark by four. The air was clammy cold, and for all the tightly closed windows it penetrated the interior of the coach. The leather seats felt damp to the hands, and there must have been a small crack in the roof, because now and again little drips of rain fell softly through, smudging the leather and leaving a dark-blue stain like a splodge of ink. The wind came in gusts, at times shaking the coach as it travelled round the bend of the road, and in the exposed places on the high ground it blew with such force that the whole body of the coach trembled and swayed, rocking between the high wheels like a drunken man.” Extract from Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier http://www.stpetershigh.org.uk/DEPARTMENTS/ENGLISH_DEPT/EWILKINS/KS4_Resources/Describe_Examples.html

Narrative writing Narration paragraphs are most distinctively used in fiction. As such, they will contain all necessary components of action development: protagonist, setting, goal, obstacle, climax and resolution. Writing a narration paragraph requires, consequently, sequential order and chronology. “Larry suddenly woke up from a deep sleep. The sun was dazzling his half-open eyes, and he couldn’t figure out what time it was. The door to his room was closed; the house was immersed in some sort of reckless silence. He slowly got out of his bed and approached the bench right next to the window. For a moment, he thought, he heard a tapping sound coming from the attic. Then again he heard the sound, only this time it seemed to be somewhat closer. He looked outside the window and saw a man going by the left side of the road. On seeing Larry, the man approached his garden’s fence and whistled. At this point, Larry recognized Nick and waved his hand. He quickly got dressed and was about the get down to open the gate, but he again heard someone murmuring in the other part of the house. Larry decided to go to the attic and see what was causing this, now buzzing, sound. He got to the second floor of his house and looked toward the attic. He quickly opened its door and looked inside. Nothing was found. He was about to turn back and attend to his guest when he, suddenly, slipped on the stairs and fell. He called out to Nick to help him get up.” http://www.suite101.com/content/example-of-a-narrative-paragraph-a106737#ixzz0zp79gjXX

Expository writing It seeks to inform, explain, clarify, define or instruct. The general characteristics of expository writing include: focus on main topic, logical supporting facts, details, explanations, and examples, strong organization, clarity, unity and coherence, logical order, smooth transitions. Expository writing appears in and is not limited to letters, newsletters, definitions, instructions, guidebooks, catalogues, newspaper articles, magazine articles, manuals, pamphlets, reports and research papers. “In 1997, 175,000 volunteers picked up three million pounds of garbage along the coasts of the United States. As a result, both people and sea animals can enjoy cleaner and safer environments. Glass bottles, lumber, and syringes are less of a threat to barefooted beachgoers. Fewer sebirds, fish, and crabs will die entangled in plstic can holders, fishing nets, and fishing line.People put trash in the oceans, but by volunteering their time to help clean up after themselves, people are also the solution to the problem.” http://www.thewritingsite.org/resources/genre/expository.asp http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Example_of_expository_writing

Persuasive writing is a type of writing where your main goal is to persuade or convince someone to do something that you want them to do. In order to write a persuasive letter you need to have reasons why the person should do what you are suggesting. You also need reasons why your idea might not be the greatest. Lastly, your conclusion should restate what you are trying to persuade the person to do. . The general characteristics of persuasive writing include: stated position or belief, factual supports, persuasive techniques, logical argument, call to action. Persuasive writing appears in and is not limited to speeches, letters to the editor, editorials, advertisements, award nominations, pamphlets, petitions, scholarly writing, and opinion pieces. http://www.thewritingsite.org/resources/genre/persuasive.asp “I suggest that we should have a law that tells us not to leave trash on beaches. If there is a law already in place, then I suggest we take strong measures to enforce the law. I think this because a lot of people leave trash on beaches and eventually the trash will get picked up by the tide. When this happens a lot of animals die. Some become or are close to becoming extinct. Every day and night tons of sea animals die because of trash!” http://library.thinkquest.org/J001156/forms%20of%20writing/em_persuasive.htm Personal writing “Dear journal, 5/2/2006 Today had it's not so great moments and it's great moments. It started out pretty good. I got up after what I thought was only a couple of minutes after my alarm clock went off. Should have looked to make sure but didn't. My cat was licking his empty bowl and meowing at me which made me laugh. So I fed him and then started making breakfast for myself. That's when I looked at the clock and thought 'Oh no!'. I knew I was going to be late for work, so I hurried to get ready. I got a little impatient with my cat for getting under my feet and my hair just wouldn't co-operate. Breakfast turned out to be just a bagel eaten in a rush. I really must start getting up earlier. I keep telling myself that.”

Technical writing Is to clearly communicate a select piece of information to a targeted reader or group of readers for a particular purpose in such a way that the subject can readily be understood. It is expository writing that requires a response from the reader. The general characteristics of technical writing may include: objective point of view, clear, concise language, factual information, uncomplicated structure, logical order, identified audience. Technical writing appears in reports such as lab, accidents or progress reports, directions to a destination, manuals, evaluation forms and questionnaires, business letters, resumes, presentations, descriptions of the design and features for new products, and instructions that help the reader visualize what they are doing and what they are working with. http://www.thewritingsite.org/resources/genre/technical.asp



RESEARCH QUESTION
A good research question is a question that’s worth asking. It poses a problem worth solving. “Dichotomous questions” – questions with simple yes or no answers – may have important practical significance but they don’t make good research questions. As discussed earlier1, a good research question requires more than looking something up. It reflects an underlying tension that does not simply turn on one or two missing facts. It should force you to weigh evidence and compare divergent opinions on your topic. It should allow you to develop an answer that your readers find both interesting and significant.

What techniques can be used to build multiple intelligences in elementary school students? What is the most effective way to motivate english language acquisition when using TV as an authentic material.

THESIS STATMENT
The thesis statement describes what the topic of the resume is. Most essays, term papers, books, or journal articles can be stated in one or two sentences. This is what a thesis statement does. It simply describes the essay in a sentence. Thesis statements usually do three things: They test the ideas of the writer. They help the writer organize and develop their essay. They provide a statement that informs the reader what the essay is about. It guides the reader as he reads the essay. Most essays can be designed in a question and the answer will be in the body of the essay. Most thesis statements express one central idea.

Eg: While one out of three women have eating disorders, most of these women began to have the eating disorder due to stress, depression, and anger. My eg Using video, might be the most effective way to motivate english language learning.

What is an independent variable?
The independent variable is the variable that is manipulated by the researcher. The independent variable is something that is hypothesized to influence the dependent variable. The researcher determines for the participant what level or condition of the independent variable that the participant in the experiment receives. eg:

What is a dependent variable?
The dependent variable is the variable that is simply measured by the researcher. It is the variable that reflects the influence of the independent variable.

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
•A bibliography, sometimes referred to as References or Works Cited, is an organized list of sources (e.g., books, journal/magazine articles, Web sites, etc.) consulted in the research process. •Each source in the bibliography is represented by a citation that includes the author (if given), title, and publication details of the source. •An annotated bibliography is a bibliography with an additional description or evaluation (i.e., annotation) of each source. The purpose of the annotation is to help the reader evaluate whether the work cited is relevant to a specific research topic or line of inquiry. eg “How We Survived Camp Living” Revolutionary War Camping. 12 Oct. 2008. 25 Oct. 2008  This site provided basic information about camp life. It does raise some important issues about gender and status that may be useful for the classroom. It is a commercial site rather than an academic site, so it provides some insight into the clothing that was used and may be useful for supplies. The impression I had from the title of the site was that it would have primary documents. It does list some primary sources. In general, I would not use this site in my research paper unless I could corroborate the information with another more trustworthy source.

My Annotated bibliographies. Wood,D.J.,(1999)"Aspects of video movie English Teaching".Journal of Chikushi Jogakuen University.

According to this book,good video can engange the imagination and interest of its viewers when eager to learn what happens next. It means that using video is very attractive and interesting for many people so it makes it helpful and useful for practicing english skills. It mentions different aspects related with video movie in english teaching, such as video history, kind of video most effective according to students characteristics, and, obiously, video movies in english teaching.

All these information is very helful for my research paper, because my topic is related with the use of TV as an authentic material for improving practice and motivation in english languuage. It mentions two points that I want to mention in it. Video movies in teaching english, that refers to use of movies in TV, and the origins of video in sections video history,so I want to include it in my background.

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY #2 Frank Tuzi & Keiko Mori Using TV commercials in ESL/ESF classes Tokyo Christian University (Chiba, Japan),from http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Tuzi-TVCommercials.html

In this article the authors mention several steps in using TV commercials in english classes, for example, the reason for using that kind of resource, choosing the appropiate commercials according with the objectives, developing activities with commercials, how useful is this resource.

This article provides very useful information for me. TV commercials are authentic material for english classes. There are many kind of commercials for all kind of audience, that is why advertising is attractive for different kind of tv audience, so commercials can be a resource tu use in english class in order to involve students in a real context.

MY ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY #3 AUTHENTIC MATERIALS: AN OVERVIEW This article mentions that there are many references to authentic material in the ELT. The definition of authentic materials used in this paper is taken from Peacock (1997): materials that have been produced to fulfill some social purpose in the language community. It also mentions the advantages of using authentic material in the classroom, even when not done in an authentic situation, and more.

I am going to base some of my information with this article because TV use in English language belongs to authentic material. It is helpful for me because I get a general idea about the use of authentic material as a resource for English classes. by Alejandro G. Martinez, M.A., Mexico City, Authentic Materials: An Overview

My ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY #4 ENGLISH LEARNING RESOURCES:VARIETY AND MOTIVATION This article will attempt to explain some of the more useful resources available. Knowing which type of material is most useful for which lesson is a matter of experience, but by combining authentic, non-authentic and the internet together, any English student can succeed in their search for English learning resources. In this article, I will get general information in how authentic material, in my research, the TV, can motivate any person who is studying English language in order to improve the practice of it. At the same time how it can be combined with the different varieties of non-authentic material. Holden, Luke, English Learning Resources:Variety and Motivation in http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/English_Learning_Resources_Variety_And_Motivation.html

MY ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY #5 THE OUTSIDE WORLD AS AN EXTENSION OF THE EFL/ESL CLASSROOM. This is a journal that describes how English students should be exposed to a real life in which they have the opportunity to practice English in a real context in real life. It also mentions that the student has to face real problems with English language and at the same time to find out the solution in understand meanings of the language. It shows some aspects of Krashen hypothesis related with the interaction of English students with the real world in order to use the language. It suggests different activities we can use for several purposes in we have to apply in a real situation outside the classroom. In spite of this journal mention that “… if teaching in an English-speaking country, take our students out into the world, effectively using it as an extension of the classroom”. We are not in a English-speaking country,. However globalization has invaded all the world and nowadays we can use English movies in DVD format, cable TV, satellite TV etc. As I mentioned before, the journal suggests different kind of activities, and one of them is “TV and Radio” and “Joining Studio Audience” so they are part of my research paper.

Mark A. Pegrum,” The outside World as an extension of the EFL/ESL Classroom”, Queen Margaret University College (Edinburgh, Scotland The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. VI, No. 8, August 2000, http://iteslj.org/ MY ANOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY # 6

RATIONALE The purpose of this research is to realize how TV affects and increases the development of practicing. It is because sometimes, when somebody wants to practice English language outside the classroom, she or he does not find a place or a moment to do it. Most of people like to watch TV. It is an authentic material that everyone can take advantage to practice in a free time, without pressure and without rules. I think it is a remarkable area to investigate in order to promote the use of TV as a resource for motivating English practice.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK EPISTEMOLOGICAL PEDAGOGICAL PSICOLOGICAL SOCIAL