segunda-feira, 25 de outubro de 2010

Useful language in discursive texts

DISCURSIVE WRITING IN AN ACADEMIC WRITING CONTEXT







Discursive writing is outlining the arguments for and against a particular issue or point of view. The following are examples of discursive composition titles:

 
'Outline the advantages and disadvantages of having children'

'It is duty of parents to look after their children in whatever circumstances'

'Children should be guided and corrected, but never punished'. Discuss.


HOW TO WRITE A DISCURSIVE COMPOSITION

 
I) Always read the composition title very carefully. This may seem obvious, but it is very important that your composition should be 100% relevant to the title.

 
II) Plan your composition. That is, before you start to write the composition,

a) write notes of the main points you wish to make;

b) work out what order you wish to make these points in;

c) divide your points into paragraphs.

 
A typical plan for the first composition above ('Outline the advantages and disadvantages of having children.' ) might be as follows:


Paragraph 1: General introduction to the subject

Paragraph 2: Advantages - security in old age

- companionship

- pleasure in creating and raising life

- help to strengthen a marriage

- prevent couples becoming too selfish

Paragraph 3 Disadvantages - expensive

- risky; children may turn out 'badly'

- time-consuming; stop you doing other things

- difficult to combine with career(s)

Paragraph 4: Conclusion - weigh advantages against disadvantages, with

own opinion

 
REMEMBER:


a) A plan is just a note or reminder to yourself, so it only needs to include the main points which you will then expand upon in the composition itself.


b) The contents of the plan must only reflect opinion if the title asks for it.


c) When presenting points of view, remember to justify and explain them.


d) The plan above follows a basic discursive composition pattern:


INTRODUCTION.......DEVELOPMENT.......CONCLUSION


Although this may not fit every composition or may not always suit your own personal style of writing, it provides a very useful outline for a discursive composition.


III) Write the composition. When you have planned your composition carefully, write it, remembering to connect the points in your plan well. The following two sections contain language which can be used for this:


i) Useful expressions

As far as X is concerned/As for X/As regards X/Regarding X,...

Generally speaking,...

It is often claimed/argued/said/thought etc. that...

It is undeniable that.../There can be no doubt that...

It is said/considered/believed/thought/supposed that...

It is worth pointing out that...

It is of course regrettable that...

One could/can argue that...

The point can be made that...

 
ii) Discourse markers

 
'Discourse' is a term used by grammarians to talk about ' larger ' pieces of speech and writing: stretches of language longer than a sentence. There are a lot of words and expressions that we use to show the structure of discourse. Some of these make clear the connection between what we are going to say and what came before (for instance talking about ..., anyway, however). Some of them shown our attitude to the truth of what we are saying (for example frankly).
And others show what kind of communication is going on (like the use of after all in persuading or actually in ' breaking news'). Expressions like these can be called 'discourse markers'. The following are a few of the most useful ones.


1) LINKING expressions show a connection between what you want to say and what was said before.
talking about... with reference to

2) FOCUSING expressions are used to 'focus' attention - to announce what we are going to talk about.
regarding as regards as far as.... is concerned as for

3) STRUCTURING expressions can be used to show the structure of what we are saying. Most of them are more common in a formal style (for instance, in speeches, lectures, or reports).


a) Divisions
firstly......secondly......thirdly......finally.........
first of all....... to begin with..............
to start with....(less formal)
in the first place........
for one thing........for another thing.........(less formal)
another thing is........(informal)
moreover / in addition / similarly
as well as (less normal) on top of that (informal)
besides (introducing a stronger argument than the one before).


b) Contrast with what came before


all the same / yet / and yet / still
on the other hand / however


c) Logical consequence






thus (very formal) / therefore (formal) / so (less formal)


d) Exemplifying and excepting


for instance / for example / such as / including
in particular / apart from / except(ing)
with the exception of / and so on and so forth

e) Generalizing

 
On the whole / in general / as a rule

in most cases / in many cases / broadly speaking

to some extent / mostly


f) Clarifying


This means / that is to say / in other words


4) DISMISSAL OF PREVIOUS DISCOURSE expressions are often used to mean 'what was said


before doesn't really matter - the main point is as follows'.




at any rate / anyway / anyhow


5) CHANGE OF SUBJECT expressions are used to introduce a new subject that has no connection with the previous discourse.


by the way / incidentally

6) SHOWING OUR ATTITUDE TO WHAT WE ARE SAYING expressions

 
"frankly" and "honestly" are often used to introduce critical remarks.

"So to speak", "sort of" (informal), "kind of" (informal) and "more or less" are ways of making an opinion sound much less definite.


7) SHOWING ONE'S ATTITUDE TO THE OTHER PERSON expressions

 
"After all" is used in persuading; it suggests ' this is a strong argument that you haven't taken into consideration'.

"No doubt" can be used to make a suggestion.


8) REFERRING TO THE OTHER PERSON'S EXPECTATIONS expressions are used when we show whether somebody's expectations have been fulfilled or not.

"actually", "in fact" and "as a matter of fact" can all be used to say that somebody 'guessed right'.

The three expressions above and "to tell the truth" are all also used when we say that expectations were not fulfilled.

"Actually" is especially used when introducing a correction to something somebody has said before.


7.2 EXERCISES


Replace the gaps in each of the following sentences with a suitable 'discourse marker'.


1) He's not doing a very good job. _____, you've got to admit that he's doing his best.
2) ______ marketing _____, I think the best is to have a meeting with the Sales manager.
3) She was ____ unable to avoid an unwelcome marriage.
4) "Peter's written another book." "Oh, yes? Clever chap! _____, have you heard from Anne recently?
5) _____ you're very busy at the moment.

6) ______ making her bed every day, she didn't do a thing.

7) He can buy just about anything he wants. ____, he's very wealthy.

8) "What do you think of my hair?" "____, dear, it's a disaster."

9) _____, students found it an easy examination.

10) What a terrible experience! ____, you're safe, that's the main thing.


IV) Check it. When you have written your composition, check it very carefully - looking at the following:


Grammar, Spelling, Punctuation, Vocabulary.


All students tend to make their own particular mistakes, so it is useful for you to establish exactly what your weaknesses are, and then to watch out for them and correct them when they occur.

Relevance, Style, Length.
Everything in the composition must be relevant to the title



7.3 COMPOSITION PLANNING

1) Write a plan for this composition:
'It is the duty of parents to look after their children in whatever circumstances.'
In pairs examine your composition plans together and decide:
a) Are all the contents relevant?
b) Are the plans sufficiently comprehensive, or too full or incomplete?
c) Are the plans well ordered?




2) In pairs, write a plan for this composition:
'Children should be guided and corrected, but never punished.'
Discuss the issues among yourselves before writing the plan.


7.4 GUIDED COMPOSITIONS


I) 'The whole idea of formal education is wrong'. Discuss
Arguments in favour
1) Education should be a preparation for life - only a small proportion of time should be given to purely academic subjects.
2) Children should be encouraged to experience things for themselves.
3) Examinations encourage uniformity and success is almost entirely a matter of luck.
4) Success in the formal education system leaves children with aspirations which cannot be satisfied.
Arguments against
1) Education should only be based on academic standards which should be sufficiently high to ensure that only the best people get further education of some kind.
2) Maintaining academic standards and selectivity is the only way to make sure that the money the state puts into the education of the people is well spent.
3) Examinations are necessary in order to test that pupils have learnt what they should have learnt; to select people for further study or for employment; to provide an incentive.


A. Discuss the implications of the above mentioned arguments and elaborate on them if you can. Are there other relevant arguments you can think of? How does the concept of mass unemployment and consequently increased leisure time affect these arguments?


B. Plan the composition. Devise an introduction, a conclusion and the points you are going to include.


Consider the following:


a) Are you at any time in the composition going to state opinion, and if so, where?
b) Are you going to present the arguments in favour and then the arguments against or are you going to mix them up?
c) What style will you adopt?
d) How often can you avoid using the personal pronoun 'I' or the expression ' I think'? How is this to be achieved?
e) When the composition is written, check it systematically for mistakes.
Is it concise and organised and does it read like English?




II) Read the following article:


Heaven's Union, a California firm, sends messages to the dead.
Dead relatives, dead celebrities, anyone you want, according to Heavens Union founder Gabe Gabor, who has a stable of terminally ill messengers to get the mail through to the hereafter.
Since December, Gabor has sent over 500 messages to the dead for his clients. The messengers were four terminally ill people, though three of them carried most of the load, after the first one "departed", as Gabor says, in early January, "with just a few messages".
In his office in Granada Hills, a suburb of Los Angeles, he says, in a light Hungarian accent: "We're a legitimate organization. We're officially registered."


'Write a composition giving your opinions on this kind of enterprise'.
Arguments in favour
a) the right of free enterprise
b) fulfils an emotional need
c) impossible to prove that it is bogus
Arguments against
a) exploitation of people's suffering
b) potential psychological dangers
c) a bogus and deceitful enterprise
d) greed for money disguised as human concern


III) 'Discuss opinions on many people's current interest in the 'unorthodox' (e.g. the paranormal, ghosts, life after life, homoeopathy etc).'
Arguments in favour
a) encourages a healthy interest in unexplained phenomena
b) breaks down the barriers of science
c) harmless
d) healthy reaction to over-materialistic world
Arguments against
a) superstition that masquerades as science
b) encourages people to escape from reality
c) irrational - no proof
d) has no place in modern world





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