ENTRY #11 Argumentative Writing.

Step-by-step to teach how to write an argumentative/persuasive writing.

Step 1: Watch how it's done. 

In order to improve student writing, we, as teacher, need to show them mentor texts, examples of excellent writing within the genre students are about to attempt themselves. Then, students would read these texts, compare them and find where the authors used evidence to backup their assertions.

Step 2: Informal argument, freestyle.

First, the teacher will choose an interesting topic. Second, students will take a position, students who agree will be on one side of the classroom, and the ones who desagree will be on the other side of it. Finally, they will take turns explaining why they are in that position. The porpuse of arguing verbally is to make a connection with writing an effective argument.

Step 3: Informal argument, not so freestyle.
This step is similar to the previous one but it is more formal because the teacher gives some texts and articles to students. From those articles, students will be able to find some evidence to back up their points and try to persuade others. They argue still orally but also they could practise how to write the thesis stamentent by transfering their thoughts from the discussion.

Step 4: Introduction of the performance assessment.
In this step, the teacher will show students the major assigment on which they will work on for a couple of weeks. It is important that students can see what is expected of them, we can do that by showing them a model of a piece of writing, this sample could be something teacher-created or a model from a previous year student.

Step 5: Building the base.
Teachers should make sure that students have a solid base. For this reason, the teacher will spend a lot of time in pre-writing. Before students go directly to write the essay, they should make some drafts of the thesis statement and plan the main points in a graphic organizer. It is very important that students make a decent thesis statement in order to create a well-done essay. After accomplishing this, they will move into the following step.

Step 6: Writer's workshop.
After students have a decent thesis statement, they will work on their own writing. In this period, they will work independently on their writing and the teacher will help them by offering feedback. Moreover, they could share their work with peers and give and receive feebdback, too. However, in this step, grammatical mistakes are not corrected.

Step 7: Final assessment.
Finally, the essay is ready to hand in and to receive a grade. At this point, the teacher is familiarized with each student's writing and s/he has already given them a verbal or written feedback.

ENTRY #10 Literary Essay. Belonging to Segregated Minorities.

BELONGING TO SEGREGATED MINORITIES.

SABOR, CLAUDIA.

ISFD N°18 LANGUAGE AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION IV.

PROFESSOR SAUBIDET, STELLA.

Belonging to Segregated Minorities.

   Elton John, Sting and Bono from U2 are recognized singers who are famous not only for their unique voices but also for their commitment to human rights. These artists are extremely concerned about people who belong to segregated minorities such as sexual, religious, political or even cultural ones. For that reason, these singers are closely related to the organization Amnesty International, which is a global movement where people campaign for a world where human rights are enjoyed by all. In order to create awareness of this, the singers have captured these issues in the lyrics of three songs with the aim of transmitting messages and encouraging people to help and accept those who belong to these segregated groups. I am going to analyze them in the following paragraphs.

    In the song "Where the streets have no names" by U2, Bono reflects how people are isolated from the rest because of their beliefs, religion or income. "I want to tear down the walls, which hold me inside, I want to reach out" (Lines 3, 4, and 5). These lines refer to the fact that in Ireland, many cities are divided according to people’s wealth, values and mainly beliefs. That means that if you know the address of a person in this country, you are able to know these facts. He wants to put a stop to the isolating of people who differ from the rest due to the standards established by society.

    In "An Englishman in New York" Sting presents a harsh life of a gay author who moved from London to New York and reports his experiences as an outcast. This author, Quentin Crips defined himself as an "alien", "I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien, I'm an Englishman in New York." (Lines 9 and 10). This man was left aside for his customs and for his homosexuality. "I don't drink coffee I take tea my dear. I like my toast done on the side. And you can hear it in my accent when I talk." (Lines 1, 2 and 3). He felt like he did not belong to the American society. For this reason, he suffered. Although he was ignored by other people, he tried to be himself. "It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile. Be yourself no matter what they say." (Lines 15 and 16). Similar to the other songs, this lyric reflects how people have been judged by their sexual orientation and how they are segregated.

   "All the girls love Alice", written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, represents the tragic life of a 16-year-old English lesbian who slept with married women, and also who was unaccepted by society. This young girl was seduced by naughty ladies, they said that they were in love with Alice but they forced her to keep the relationships as a secret due to the fact that they had husbands. "All the young girls love Alice Tender young Alice, they say if I give you my number, Will you promised to call me? Wait till my husband's away." (Lines 9 to 13). Finally, Alice was found dead in the subway. "And it was only last Tuesday they found you in the subway dead." (Line 22) Like the other characters, her behavior was unaccepted by society.

   To conclude, these songs are intended for people who think differently. The authors want them to reflect on how they treat and segregate groups just because they do not follow the standards established by society. Differences could make others feel like they do not belong to a group or even a place. However, these songs transmit messages to those who should learn to tolerate other people even if they have different thoughts.

Sources:

Amnesty International (1961). Retrieved July 11, 2018 from the Web site: https://www.amnesty.org/en/who-we-are/

All the Young Girls Love Alice (1973) By Elton John and Bernie Taupin. Album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Retrieved July 11, 2018 from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=ea95D2VJ7OU

Where the Street Have No Names (1987) By U2. Album: The Joshua Tree. Retrieved July 11, 2018 from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=3FsrPEUt2Dg

An Englishman in New York (1987) By Sting. Album: Nothing Like the Sun. Retrieved July 11, 2018 from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d27gTrPPAyk

Bono Charity Work, Events and Causes (2018). Retrieved July 11, 2018 from Look to the Stars Web site: https://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/bono

Sting Charity Work, Events and Causes (2018). Retrieved July 11, 2018 from Look to the Stars Web site: https://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/sting

Elton John Charity Work, Events and Causes (2018). Retrieved July 11, 2018 from Look to the Stars Web site: https://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/elton-john

ENTRY #9 Book Review.

ENTRY #6 How To Write A Five-Paragraph Essay.

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ENTRY #8 More On Thesis Stament.

Thesis Stament: How to improve them?

Writing a thesis statement is all about figuring out the main idea for your paper, and then explain the main idea for your reader.

Four steps to a great essay:

Step 1: Begin with the question you are answering with your essay.

Step 2: Refine your answer. Make sure you have answered all parts of the question. Give your reader a little bit more direction.
Step 3: Focus with examples. Refine your answer into a more focused thesis statement by including reference to the examples you plan to use.
Step 4 (optional): Go deeper. Refine your thesis so that it answeres the questions not just in a focused way but also in a creative, thoughtful way and even profound way. 

ENTRY #5 Thesis Statement

How to write a thesis statement?

• What is a thesis statement?

1. It is the single, specific claim that your essay supports.
2. It includes a topic, a precise opinion and reasoning.

• Parts of a thesis statement.

Both videos state that a thesis statement should include three pieces of information.

1. The subject: the topic of your essay.
2. The precise opinion: the opinion of your essay.
3. The blueprint of reasons: where you show your reader how you plan to argue and prove your opinion.

• The thesis statement tells your reader:

1. where you are going in your essay.
2. how you plan in getting there.

• When you are composing Thesis Statements, you need to know the following:

1. Your topic: what your paper will deal with.
2. Your claim: what you think about the topic.
3. Reasons that support your claim: 3 points: a) Points at the beginning of the thesis statement. b) Points at the end of the thesis statement. c) Points listed in the sentences after the thesis statement. (You can also have a thesis with no points listed.) 

Sources: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HePQWodWiQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfUkhdh8Z08

ENTRY #4: Topic Sentence.

Summary of the video.

• A paragraph is made up of a topic sentence, a body and a closing sentence.

• Topic sentence: It refers to what you are reading about, in others words, what is the subject you are reading about.

• The body: It contains all the supporting details and all the supporting arguments of the topic sentence.
• 2 ways to order the body: 

1. Order of importance.
2. Chronology order.

• The closing sentence: It has two functions:

1. Remain the audience what they are reading about.
2. Keep readers thinking after finishing reading.

• The closing sentence restates the topic sentence by paraphrasing it. 

Bibliography:

Alex (2009), Parts of a paragraph-English academic writing introduction. Retrieved June 1, 2018 from Youtube: Learn English with Alex [EngVid] web site: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=cCuExRE6N-4

1. I saw around Velva a release from what was like slavery to the tyrannical soil, release from the ignorance that darkens the soul and from the loneliness that corrodes it. In this generation my Velva friends have rejoined the general American society that their pioneering fathers left behind when they first made the barren trek in the days of the wheat rush. As I sit here in Washington writing this, I can feel their nearness. (from Eric Sevareid, "Velva, North Dakota")

Answer:- None -Family-sized farms are not productive.I grew up on a family-sized farm, near a town called Velva.Many politicians deplore the passing of the old family-sized farm, but I'm not so sure.People moved away from the cities in the late nineteenth century, in search of fertile land for farming.

Good Work!

Answer:

The answer Many politicians deplore the passing of the old family-sized farm, but I'm not so sure. is correct.

Explanation:

Sevareid argues that farming is destructive as a way of life, no matter what romantic notions are attached to it. He is not writing about the productivity of farms, about his own life story ("I grew up on a family-sized farm..."), and his main point is not that people moved away from the cities in the late the nineteenth century.

2. The first is the wear-and-tear hypothesis that suggests the body eventually succumbs to the environmental insults of life. The second is the notion that we have an internal clock which is genetically programmed to run down. Supporters of the wear-and-tear theory maintain that the very practice of breathing causes us to age because inhaled oxygen produces toxic by-products. Advocates of the internal clock theory believe that individual cells are told to stop dividing and thus eventually to die by, for example, hormones produced by the brain or by their own genes. (from Debra Blank, "The Eternal Quest" [edited]).

Answer:- None -There are two broad theories concerning what triggers a human's inevitable decline to death.Some scientists believe that humans contain an "internal time clock" which forces them eventually to die.We all must die some day.My biology professor gave an interesting lecture Thursday.

Good Work!

Answer:

The answer There are two broad theories concerning what triggers a human's inevitable decline to death. is correct.

Explanation:

This paragraph is a straightforward description of two possibilities, neither of which is preferred over the other. In this case, it would be wrong to mention only one of the possibilities (the "internal time clock") in the topic sentence, or to treat it as a philosophical discussion of death itself ("we all must die..."). As for the biology professor, He or she might very well have given an interesting lecture, but that has nothing to do with the content of the paragraph.

3. The strictest military discipline imaginable is still looser than that prevailing in the average assembly-line. The soldier, at worst, is still able to exercise the highest conceivable functions of freedom -- that is, he or she is permitted to steal and to kill. No discipline prevailing in peace gives him or her anything remotely resembling this. The soldier is, in war, in the position of a free adult; in peace he or she is almost always in the position of a child. In war all things are excused by success, even violations of discipline. In peace, speaking generally, success is inconceivable except as a function of discipline. (from H.L. Mencken, "Reflections on War" [edited]).

Answer:- None -Soldiers need discipline.We commonly look on the discipline of war as vastly more rigid than any discipline necessary in time of peace, but this is an error.Although soldiers are not always disciplined, they serve an important social function in wartime.In times of peace, soldiers often convert easily from wartime pursuits to the discipline necessary successfully to compete in even the most competitive marketplace.

Good Work!

Answer:

The answer We commonly look on the discipline of war as vastly more rigid than any discipline necessary in time of peace, but this is an error. is correct.

Explanation:

The topic sentence must emphasise the comparative nature of the paragraph. Mencken does argue that soldiers need discipline, but this is not all he argues in this paragraph. Likewise, while soldiers may well serve an important function in wartime, and while they may well be able to compete well in peacetime, neither of these points is discussed in the paragraph.

4. In Montreal, a flashing red traffic light instructs drivers to careen even more wildly through intersections heavily populated with pedestrians and oncoming vehicles. In startling contrast, an amber light in Calgary warns drivers to scream to a halt on the off chance that there might be a pedestrian within 500 meters who might consider crossing at some unspecified time within the current day. In my home town in New Brunswick, finally, traffic lights (along with painted lines and posted speed limits) do not apply to tractors, all terrain vehicles, or pickup trucks, which together account for most vehicles on the road. In fact, were any observant Canadian dropped from an alien space vessel at an unspecified intersection anywhere in this vast land, he or she could almost certainly orient him-or-herself according to the surrounding traffic patterns.

Answer:- None -People in Calgary are careful of pedestrians.Although the interpretation of traffic signals may seem highly standardized, close observation reveals regional variations across this country, distinguishing the East Coast from Central Canada and the West as surely as dominant dialects or political inclinations.People in Montreal drive faster than people in Alberta, and Maritimers generally don't pay any attention to traffic signals at all.Canadians do not follow traffic signals properly.

Good Work!

Answer:

The answer Although the interpretation of traffic signals may seem highly standardized, close observation reveals regional variations across this country, distinguishing the East Coast from Central Canada and the West as surely as dominant dialects or political inclinations. is correct.

Explanation:

It is not enough simply to list all of the arguments in the paragraph ("People in Montreal drive faster..."), or to pick only one point to hilight ("People in Calgary are careful of pedestrians"). Instead, the topic sentence should highlight the interpretative nature of driving habits and their regional variations. Since the paragraph stresses the differences among drivers in different parts of the country, it would be entirely wrong simply to state in the topic sentence that "Canadians do not follow traffic signals properly."