DAO Writing skills U.. - Delta Publishing

Study tip
It is important, as you
learn a new writing skill,
to develop criteria to
evaluate your application
of that skill. This will
enable you to use your
new knowledge in future
writing.
5 a Look at this opinion and use your notes from Exercise 4 to create a paraphrase
that supports it.
Consumption of products does not necessarily lead to an increased standard of living.
b Look at your partner’s paraphrase and answer these questions.
1 Does the paraphrase sound like their own style of writing?
2 Is the paraphrase different enough from the original?
3 If it is too similar to the original, how could they change it, e.g. vocabulary, word
formation, word order?
4 Does it clearly support the statement?
6 Read this paragraph. What is the function of each sentence?
Achieving a work–life balance not only helps to lower consumption levels, it can also
impact on life satisfaction. According to a recent study, countries such as Denmark, the
Netherlands, Finland and Sweden all pay attention to work–life balance and are also the
four happiest countries in the world (De Graaf, 2010). Thus the benefits in reducing
hours of work are not only environmental but also personal satisfaction.
7 Create a similarly structured paragraph using your paraphrase from Exercise 5.
Evaluating writing: self-editing
1aRead this checklist for question analysis.
l Have I identified all the sections to the question?
l Have I identified the specific focus of the question?
l What is the meaning of the instruction word?
l What style of writing is the essay looking for, e.g. evaluative/descriptive?
l Is it clear what is expected of me in this essay?
b Below is a student’s evaluation of this essay question. Do you agree with their
evaluation according to the above checklist?
The world has reached its capacity in terms of the number of people it can
support. Unless people dramatically change their behaviour, we are in danger of
destroying the world. To what extent do you agree?
The essay is asking for an evaluation of the opinion stated in the question.
The main body will look at two main halves – has the world reached its
capacity? If it has, do people need to change their behaviour, or is there
another way?
Study tip
Work often needs to be
proofread and checked a
number of times. If you try
to check too many things
at once, then you are more
likely to miss things.
3 a Look back at the work you did on these topics. For each one, write a list of four
things you think you should check.
1 paraphrasing 2 summary writing 3 logical arguments
b Compare your checklist with a partner. Could you use your partner’s checklist?
Why? / Why not?
4 List these topics in the order you would check them. Then discuss with a partner why
you would check in this order.
a content is relevant to the question
b grammar, spelling and vocabulary
c essay structure
d paragraph logic
e use of sources and bibliography
Unit extension
1 Find a text related to this essay question.
Changing to renewable energy is not enough; people also need to change their
energy consumption. To what extent do you agree?
2 Select two parts of the text you have found that you think you could include in the
essay and write suitable paraphrases of them.
3 Develop your paraphrases into full paragraphs.
4 Write a suitable introduction to the essay question.
5 Bring the text you found, your two paragraphs and your introduction to the next
class. Work with a partner and answer these questions.
1 Is the paraphrase introduced?
2 Does the paraphrase support the opening sentence?
3 Has your partner commented on the significance of the paraphrase?
4 Does the introduction go from general to specific?
5 Is there a clear thesis statement?
2 Use this checklist for evaluating an introduction to review the introductions you
wrote in Exercise 8 on page 36.
l Does the introduction go from general to specific?
l It is engaging to the reader? (Underline the part you think is particularly engaging.)
l Is there a thesis statement? (Underline it.)
l Is the opinion in the thesis statement clear? (Try to express this in another way.)
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4 Sustainability
4 Sustainability 41