Impresso Total 5b

Disciplina

Língua Inglesa VB – Compreensão e Produção Escrita

Coordenador da Disciplina

Prof.ª Andréia Turolo

Edição 2013.1

Copyright © 2010. Todos os direitos reservados desta edição ao Instituto UFC Virtual. Nenhuma parte deste material poderá ser reproduzida, transmitida e gravada por qualquer meio eletrônico, por fotocópia e outros, sem a prévia autorização, por escrito, dos autores.

Créditos desta disciplina

Coordenação

Coordenador UAB Prof. Mauro Pequeno

Coordenador Adjunto UAB Prof. Henrique Pequeno

Coordenador do Curso Prof.ª Sâmia Carvalho

Coordenador de Tutoria Prof. João Tobias Lima Sales

Coordenador da Disciplina Prof.ª Andréia Turolo da Silva

Conteúdo

Autor da Disciplina Prof.ª Andréia Turolo da Silva

Setor TecnologiasDigitais - STD

Coordenador do Setor Prof. Henrique Sergio Lima Pequeno

Centro de Produção I - (Material Didático)

Gerente: Nídia Maria Barone

Subgerente: Paulo André Lima / José André Loureiro

Transição Didática Elen Cristina S. Bezerra Elicélia Lima Gomes Fátima Silva e Souza José Adriano de Oliveira Karla Colares Kamille de Oliveira Thiago Alencar

Formatação Camilo Cavalcante Damis Iuri Garcia Elilia Rocha Emerson Oliveira Francisco Ribeiro Givanildo Pereira Sued de Deus Stephan Capistrano Publicação João Ciro Saraiva

Design, Impressão e 3D Andrei Bosco Eduardo Ferreira Fred Lima Iranilson Pereira Luiz Fernando Soares Marllon Lima Onofre Paiva

Gerentes

Audiovisual: Andrea Pinheiro

Desenvolvimento: Wellington Wagner Sarmento

Suporte: Paulo de Tarso Cavalcante

Sumário Class 01: Giving your opinion .................................................................................................................. 01 Topic 01: Building argument ................................................................................................................. 01 Topic 02: Arguments for and against ..................................................................................................... 06 Topic 03: Expanding your argument ...................................................................................................... 11 Class 02: Reviews ...................................................................................................................................... 15 Topic 01: Defining Review .................................................................................................................... 15 Topic 02: Identifying Reviews ............................................................................................................... 19 Topic 03: Writing Book Reviews........................................................................................................... 24 Class 03: Discursive Composition ............................................................................................................ 27 Topic 01: Building Topic Sentences ...................................................................................................... 27 Topic 02: Giving details ......................................................................................................................... 31 Topic 03: Connecting paragraphs .......................................................................................................... 35 Class 04: Magazine Articles ..................................................................................................................... 42 Topic 01: Focus on register and style ..................................................................................................... 42 Topic 02: Writing openings.................................................................................................................... 49 Topic 03: Writing closings ..................................................................................................................... 52 Class 05: Recommendation reports ......................................................................................................... 57 Topic 01: Focus on the generic structure ............................................................................................... 57 Topic 02: Collecting information ........................................................................................................... 63

TOPIC 01: BUILDING ARGUMENT

MULTIMEDIA

Ligue o som do seu computador!

OBS.: Alguns recursos de multimídia utilizados em nossas aulas, como vídeos legendados e animações, requerem a instalação da versão

mais atualizada do programa Adobe Flash Player©. Para baixar a versão mais recente do programa Adobe Flash Player, clique aqui! [1]

PALAVRA DA COORDENADORA DE LÍNGUA INGLESA VB –COMPREENSÃO E PRODUÇÃO ESCRITA

DESCRIÇÃO DO VIDEO.

Dear student,

Welcome to English 5B Reading and Writing Skills.

My name is Andreia Turolo da Silva.

I am the subject co-coordinator

and will be here to monitor and support

the teaching and learning actions,

as well as offer any help you need along the course.

The material

consists of five units compounded by three topics.

Each unit has a Forum and a Portfolio, totalizing 10 activities online.

The aim of this course is to help develop your writing skills,

especially the ones concerned with giving opinions

within some practiced text genres in the academic community.

Some of them are magazine articles, reviews, essays, reports, and opinion articles.

For this, you will have a lot of reading and writing tasks,

which demand attention, hard work and autonomy for research and study.

You will have several reading and writing activities along the five units,

but not all of them should be sent to the portfolio.

LÍNGUA INGLESA VB – COMPREENSÃO E PRODUÇÃO ESCRITA

CLASS 01: GIVING YOUR OPINION

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However, all of them must be done!

You should send to your portfolio only the activities under the heading: Portfolio.

You will also see that most of the portfolio activities

contain two parts with several steps.

These steps require that you also play the role as the reader/evaluator

in a collaborative writing work with your classmates.

Thus, responsibility and punctuality are crucial to help your classmates

and to keep up with the agenda, as a social commitment.

To help you with these tasks we propose here,

we have developed an extra material to be used as reference.

It is called Writing Strategies

and we strongly recommend

you use it as a companion for all the activities you should do throughout this course.

All in all, we hope you have a very profitable moment developing your writing skills.

Once again, welcome to English 5B and have a nice learning time!

VERSÃO TEXTUAL

The aim of this course is to help develop your writing skills, especially the ones concerned with giving opinions within some practiced text genres in the academic community. Some of them are magazine articles, reviews, essays, reports, opinion articles.

For this, you will have a lot of reading and writing tasks, which demand attention, hard work and autonomy for research and study. You will have several reading and writing activities in each of the six lessons and all of them should be done and sent to the individual portfolio.

You will also play the role as the reader/evaluator in a collaborative writing work with your classmates. Thus, responsibility and punctuality are necessary to help your classmates to keep up with the agenda, as a social commitment.

To help you with these tasks we propose here, we develop an extra material to be used as reference. It is called Writing Strategies and we strongly recommend you use it as a companion throughout this course.

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All in all, we hope you have a very profitable moment developing your writing in English and stress that you can count on us for whatever you need! Have a nice learning time!

Have a nice learning time!

The objective of this lesson is to build a suitable definition for the term “argument” in what concerns discourse sequences and text genre.

WHAT IS AN ARGUMENT?

In the Wikipedia, we may read that:

In logic, an ARGUMENT is a set of one or more meaningful declarative sentences (or "propositions") known as the premises along with another meaningful declarative sentence (or "proposition") known as the conclusion. A deductive argument asserts that the truth of the conclusion is a logical consequence of the premises; an inductive argument asserts that the truth of the conclusion is supported by the premises. Deductive arguments are valid or invalid, and sound or not sound. An argument is valid if and only if the truth of the conclusion is a logical consequence of the premises and (consequently) its corresponding conditional is a necessary truth. A sound argument is a valid argument with true premises.

Each premise and the conclusion are only either true or false, i.e. are truth bearers. The sentences composing an argument are referred to as being either true or false, not as being valid or invalid; deductive arguments are referred to as being valid or invalid, not as being true or false. Some authors refer to the premises and conclusion using the terms declarative sentence, statement, proposition, sentence, or even indicative utterance. The reason for the variety is concern about the ontological significance of the terms, proposition in particular. Whichever term is used, each premise and the conclusion must be capable of being true or false and nothing else: they are truthbearers.

(Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument [3])

Other good definitions for argument are the following:

• a process of reasoning; series of reasons: I couldn't follow his argument.

• a statement, reason, or fact for or against a point: This is a strong argument in favor of her theory.

• an address or composition intended to convince or persuade; persuasive discourse.

• subject matter; theme: The central argument of his paper was presented clearly.

• an abstract or summary of the major points in a work of prose or poetry, or of sections of such a work.

(Available at: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/argument [4])

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FORUM 1

1. Look for other definitions for the word “argument” and/or try to write down your own definition. Post it in the Forum and discuss with your friends the best definition for the word “argument” found and/or built and its importance in this course.2. Try to find different text genre, in the contemporary news media (online or print newspapers and magazines, blogs, etc.) to illustrate your definition in #1 as examples.3. Comment your classmates’ contributions.

PRACTICE 1

Now that you know more about what an “argument” is, try to spot the “arguments” in each of the following extracts:

CLICK HERE TO CHECK YOUR ANSWERS

A. Mum and Dad were against my wedding because we both are too young and haven’t finished college or got a job yet.

B. Buying cars privately is cheaper than buying from a dealer, but it is not as safe.

C. Besides the use of technology, the music hasn’t improved.

D. Besides the negative critics made about the Jericho Hospital, I had a positive experience when had a liver transplant there.

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E. Both mother and father have their responsibility in family relationship and you should not take anyone’s side.

F. It is more important to be concerned with the humanity than the animals.

G. Louis Sarno’s story is not very good.

(Available in: CORY, Hugh. Advanced Writing with English in Use. Oxford: OUP, 1999, p. 68).

PRACTICE 2

Now that you spotted the arguments, let’s try to identify the text genres to which these extracts belong? Match them with the contexts from which they were taken.

1. A concert review2. A magazine article3. Consumer advice in a consumer magazine4. A book review5. An informal letter6. The advice page of a magazine7. A letter to a newspaper


1. C2. F3. B4. G5. A6. E7. D

FONTES DAS IMAGENS

1. http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/2. http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument4. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/argument

Responsável: Professora Andréia Turolo

Universidade Federal do Ceará - Instituto UFC Virtual

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TOPIC 02: ARGUMENTS FOR AND AGAINST

In this topic, we look at the type of writing where the writer argues a case, or expresses an opinion, by looking at a problem from two sides –arguments for and against.

The way ideas are connected is very important and this is achieved by the use of connecting words, by the way ideas are grouped together into paragraphs, and by the way the paragraphs themselves are ordered.

The following “minicomposition” is an example of the basic structure. While you read this “minicomposition”, try to answer this question:

LOOKING CLOSELY

WHAT ARE THE ARGUMENTS FOR AND AGAINST IN THIS

“MINICOMPOSITION”?

Read the paragraph again and identify the following:

1. The topic statement, that is the one which brings the topic discussed in the whole paragraph;2. The two sides of the argument: the one in favor (for) and the one against it3. After that, try to identify the connectors that link the arguments.


The topic is “telling the truth”. In green you see the arguments for, in red the arguments against the topic, and the connectors are in yellow.



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The text above is called “minicomposition” because it expresses the whole argument in four sentences:

SENTENCE 1: Telling the truth may be a virtue, but is it not more important to know how to tell lies?

SENTENCE 2: Obviously, modern civilizes society couldn’t exist if everybody lied all the time.

SENTENCE 3: But at the same time, would it not be equally disastrous if everybody always told the truth?

SENTENCE 4: So it seems to me that lying is an essential skill, and that schools are quite right to teach children how to do it.

SENTENCE 1 is the thesis statement. It informs the reader the topic and focus that will be treated in the text. As it is a two-sided argument we expect that the text will bring arguments for and against telling the truth, as shown in SENTENCES 2 AND 3. The SENTENCE 4 brings the author’s side after his argumentation, in a concluding way.

WHAT IS THE AUTHOR’S SIDE OF THE TOPIC? IS HE IN FAVOR OR

AGAINST TELLING THE TRUTH?

SUPPORT

You see that the conclusive connector SO introduces a final argument against the topic “telling the truth”: IT SEEMS TO ME THAT LYING IS ANESSENTIAL SKILL. That is the importance of connectors!

A longer piece of writing would develop the ideas in each of these sentences into four (or more) paragraphs, but the same basic structure would be retained.

PRACTICE

LET’S PRACTICE MORE? READ THE FOLLOWING

“MINICOMPOSITIONS” AND DO THE SAME AS YOU DID BEFORE:

- identify the topic statement, that is the one which brings the topic discussed in the whole paragraph;

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- identify the two sides of the argument: the one in favor (for) and the one against it.

- identify the connectors that link the arguments.

PORTFOLIO ACTIVITY (PART 1)

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Portfolio (part 1): you should follow the instructions below and post your “minicompositions” on your individual portfolio.

Now use your imagination and creativity, as well as background or researched information, and complete the sentences in the “minicompositions” below. Note that A-E look at both sides of the argument, whereas F and G are one-sided and simply list reasons.

Students often wonder whether it’s worth going to Britain to study English

I would say it depends on…

Some students…

Others, however,…

All in all,…

This is only the third time I’ve and I still don’t know if I

really enjoyed it.

In some ways, …

Also, …

But at the same time, …

By and large, I think …

I am often told I am lucky to be married, but in fact it’s a mixed blessing.

While it is true to say that …

, I nevertheless …

On balance, I suppose …

Many young Brazilian boys dream of becoming football stars, but in reality stardom has its drawbacks as well as its attractions.

On the one hand, …

Also, …

On the other hand, …

Not only that, but …

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Ultimately …

FURTHER READING

Read the article Why sports figures are failing as role models, by Marcia Studltey, at Why sports figures are failing as role models [1]

• What is the general topic?

• What are some arguments in favor of the topic? What are some arguments against it?

• What is the author’s point of view and conclusion?

FONTES DAS IMAGENS

1. http://www.helium.com/items/1450632-why-sports-figures-are-failing-as-role-models



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TOPIC 03: EXPANDING YOUR ARGUMENT

The objective of this topic is to have a first experience in expanding initial ideas obtained through prewriting strategies into a full magazine article, and to be aware of the importance of logical connectors.

LOGICAL CONNECTORS

The “minicomposition” you read in the topic 02 is in its full version below, developed into a magazine article. You may notice that there are some gaps in the text. This is because the connecting words that signal the structure of the argument have been removed. For each of the numbers (1, 2, 3) which four of the following adverbials would be appropriate?

(Available in: CORY, Hugh. Advanced Writing with English in Use. Oxford: OUP, 1999, p. 71).

PRACTICE



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You can find more activities with logical connectors by clicking on the link below: Logical Connectors [1]


Now it is your turn. Choose one of the “minicompositions” you have done in topic 02 and develop it into a full-length magazine article (about 250 words).

Use The importance of not being earnest as a model for text structure and the prewriting strategies below as helping material.

Your magazine article should contain arguments for and against. Use the first paragraph to introduce the arguments in a clear thesis statement. Write at least two more paragraphs to develop the arguments, one in favor and other against, with details, comparisons, facts and examples that support that argument. It is advisable that you show your side, if it is for or against, in the last paragraph.

Do not forget the logical connectors and have a nice writing moment!

PREWRITING STRATEGIES

QUICKWRITING

Quickwriting is a good way to collect ideas for writing. Follow these instructions when you quickwrite.

■ Write fast, as fast as you can.■ Don’t worry about grammar or spelling.■ If your mind goes blank, write: “I can’t think of anything to write. I can’t think of anything to write.”■ Re-read your quickwriting and circle the ideas you might want to use in your writing.

Example: We asked one person to quickwrite about television. Here’s a small part of what he wrote.

I don’t know what my opinions about television are. I watch a little TV but I don’t like to watch TV a lot. I really hate it when I go to someone’s house and they leave the TV on. I don’t know what to write. I don’t know what to write. It makes me feel like they don’t want to talk. I think a lot of the TV programs are pretty dumb. They are really a waste of time. It’s one thing it a progarm is really funny. I mean, I’m not against watching TV just for the laughs, but most of the programs aren’t even funny. Tehre are some…

QUESTIONING

Forming questions can help you come up with ideas for writing. Just think about your topic and write down any questions that come to mind. Afterward you can go back and underline the questions that you would like to explore further.

Example:

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WHY do people watch TV?

WHY is there so much violence on TV?

WHAT makes a successful program?

MAKING A CLUSTER DIAGRAM

Making a cluster diagram is a useful way to collect ideas and details to use in your writing. You can also use a cluster diagram to explore different ways to organize your ideas. Follow these steps to make a cluster diagram.

STEP 1: Write your topic in the center of your paper and circle it.

STEP 2: Think about your topic and write down any words that come to mind. Circle each word and connect it to the closest related word in your cluster diagram.

STEP 3: Study your cluster diagram to find ideas to use in your writing.

BRAINSTORMING

Brainstorming is a good way to collect ideas for writing. To brainstorm, think about your topic and write down every idea that comes to mind. Don’t evaluate your ideas. Just write.

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Example: We spent a minute brainstorming a list of things to do when you feel sad or depressed. You can see that some of our ideas were pretty silly, but we wrote them down anyway. When we finished brainstorming, we went back and put a check mark next to the ideas we liked best.

REFERENCES

CORY, Hugh. Advanced Writing with English in Use. Oxford: OUP, 1999.

GREENALL, Simon; SWAN, Michael. Effective Reading –Reading Skills for advanced students. Cambridge: CUP, 1986.LEE, Linda. Integrated English: Transitions. Oxford: OUP, 2000.

NUMRICH, Carol. Raise the Issues – An integrated approach to critical thinking. New York: Longman, 1994.

FONTES DAS IMAGENS

1. http://vlc.polyu.edu.hk/common/logical_connectors.htm



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TOPIC 01: DEFINING REVIEW

The objective of this topic is to identify and experience writing the text genre review, giving opinions of books, movies, and other pieces of arts of interest.

REFLECTION

Questioning: What is a review?

• reappraisal: a new appraisal or evaluation

• an essay or article that gives a critical evaluation (as of a book or play)

• follow-up: a subsequent examination of a patient for the purpose of monitoring earlier treatment

• (accounting) a service (less exhaustive than an audit) that provides some assurance to interested parties as to the reliability of financial data

• revue: a variety show with topical sketches and songs and dancing and comedians

• look at again; examine again; "let's review your situation"

• a periodical that publishes critical essays on current affairs or literature or art

• appraise critically; "She reviews books for the New York Times"; "Please critique this performance"

• recapitulation: a summary at the end that repeats the substance of a longer discussion

• hold a review (of troops)

• (law) a judicial reexamination of the proceedings of a court (especially by an appellate court)

• practice intended to polish performance or refresh the memory

• look back upon (a period of time, sequence of events); remember; "she reviewed her achievements with pride"

• inspection: a formal or official examination; "the platoon stood ready for review"; "we had to wait for the inspection before we could use the elevator"

LITERATURE REVIEW

A literature review can be just a simple summary of the sources, but it usually has an organizational pattern and combines both summary and synthesis. A summary is a recap of the important information of the source,


CLASS 02: REVIEWS

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but a synthesis is a re-organization, or a reshuffling, of that information. It might give a new interpretation of old material or combine new with old interpretations. Or it might trace the intellectual progression of the field, including major debates. And depending on the situation, the literature review may evaluate the sources and advise the reader on the most pertinent or relevant.

FURTHER READING

CLICK HERE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT LITERATURE REVIEW:

The Writing Center [2]

REVIEW ARTICLES

Review Articles are virtual gold mines if you want to find out what the key articles are for a given topic. If you read and thoroughly digest a good review article, you should be able to “talk the talk” about a given topic. Unlike research articles, review articles are good places to get a basic idea about a topic.

FURTHER READING

CLICK HERE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT REVIEW ARTICLES:

What’s a Review Article? [3]

FILM REVIEW

A book review gives information about a film and offers critical appraisal.

STRUCTURE

■ Lead-in sentence to state the topic and capture interest ■ Introduction identifies the title, type of film and maybe the actors■ Introduction should include signposts the rest of the review■ Brief plot summary: only main events and a few details for interest■ May include a summary of theme■ May include a discussion of the actors■ Do not divulge the ending■ Includes a recommendation

FURTHER READING

CLICK HERE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT FILM REVIEW:

Catharine MC Auley Library - Film Review [4]

¨ BOOK REVIEW

A book review offers information about a book and critical appraisal.

STRUCTURE

■ Lead-in sentence to state the topic and capture interest ■ Introduction identifies the title, author and type of book■ Brief plot summary: only main events and a few details for interest

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■ May include a summary of theme■ May include a discussion of characters■ Comment on author’s style■ Conclusion includes a recommendation

FURTHER READING

CLICK HERE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT BOOK REVIEW:

Catharine MC Auley Library - Book Review [5]

FORUM

1. Look for other definitions for the word “review” and/or try to write down your own definition. Post it in the Forum and discuss with your friends the best definition for the word “argument” found and/or built and its importance in this course.2. Try to find examples of the text genre “review”, in the contemporary news media (online or print newspapers and magazines, blogs, etc.) to illustrate your definition in #1.3. Comment classmates’ contributions.

PRACTICE

A FILM REVIEW

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Could you notice that this film review is mainly the writer’s opinion? Besides that, he never says ‘I’ or ‘in my opinion’. How does he convey such a strong opinion without using the first person?


The gaps may be filled out with these suggestions:

1. However2. Which3. Which4. Such5. Also6. Their7. Same8. Nor 9. In 10. Too 11. Despite12. It 13. Hardly14. But 15. By

One way that the author uses for giving opinion without using the first person is by using understatement, and by contrasting this film to previous films by the same director.

FURTHER READING

Read movie reviews at this website:

Movies.com [6]

Read book reviews at this website:

Books [7]

Booksreview.com [8]

FONTES DAS IMAGENS

1. http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer2. http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/literature_review.html3. http://www.lib.utexas.edu/lsl/help/modules/review.html4. http://www.sac.sa.edu.au/Library/Library/Topics/Literacy/film_review.htm5. http://www.sac.sa.edu.au/Library/Library/Topics/Literacy/book_review.htm6. http://www.movies.com/movie-reviews7. http://www.nytimes.com/pages/books/index.html8. http://www.bookreview.com/$spindb.query.bottom.booknew

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TOPIC 02: IDENTIFYING REVIEWS

The objective of this topic is to identify the macrostructure of reviews, the writers’ moves and the rhetorical aspects.

In the former topic you saw that a review is a text genre which aims at summarizing and evaluating, according to the writer (or reviewer)’s opinion of the object under analysis. This is usually a piece of arts: music, movies, painting, book etc. But it could be other objects like consumer products, which has become common with the internet websites like “reclame aqui”. Other common reviews are about restaurants and its cuisine, events, like festivals, concerts…

MULTIMEDIA

CLICK HERE TO READ THE LETTER.

ERIC CLAPTON

Composição: Eric Clapton / Will Jennings

Would you know my nameIf I saw you in Heaven?Will you be the sameIf I saw you in Heaven?I must be strongAnd carry on'Cause I know I don't belongHere in HeavenWould you hold my handIf I saw you in Heaven?Would you help me standIf I saw you in Heaven?I'll find my wayThrough night and day


CLASS 02: REVIEWS

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'Cause I know I just can't stayHere in Heaven

Time can bring you downTime can bend your kneesTime can break your heartHave you begging pleaseBegging please

Beyond the darkThere's peaceI'm sureAnd I know there'll be no moreTears in Heaven

Would you know my nameIf I saw you in Heaven?Will you be the sameIf I saw you in Heaven?

Below you can see a concert review. You may notice that there are six sentences missing in the text. They have been removed from this extract from a review and you can write them back in the correct gap by matching them (1-6) to the sentences given below (A-H). Note that two of the suggested sentences do not fit at all.

PRACTICE


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1-D; 2-F; 3-B; 4-H; 5-A; 6-E

CHALLENGE

Come back to the concert review about an Eric Clapton show and give it a good title!

1.WRITE FOR THE READER

2.DON’T TALK ABOUT YOURSELF

3.WRITE IN AN IMPERSONAL STYLE

4.USE PRECISE, DESCRIPTIVE VOCABULARY

1.WRITE FOR THE READER

Who is your reader? You have to have a good picture of your possible reader.

Always bear in mind who you are writing for. If you are writing for a magazine, think of the kind of people who read that particular magazine.

A book review is intended for people who have not read the book, so don’t assume that your readers already know the story.

2.DON’T TALK ABOUT YOURSELF

Your reader wants to know about the book, not you!

When giving your opinion, whether in a review or elsewhere, be careful not to fall into the trap of talking about yourself. Try to be objective.

One way of testing for objectivity is to check your writing for the words: I, ME, MY, MYSELF. Similarly, phrases such as IN MY OPINION, TO MY MIND, I THINK should be used as little as possible; any more than once in the first paragraph and once in the last, and your review seems to focus on yourself, not your subject.

3.WRITE IN AN IMPERSONAL STYLE

Mind your language!

Many students spoil their articles and reviews by writing in a chatty, informal style as if they were talking to a friend.

On the contrary, essays, articles and reviews should be relatively impersonal. Your readers are not particularly interested in you: they need information, description and narrative more that they need your opinion.

Finally, you don’t know your reader, so be careful about using the word YOU.

4.USE PRECISE, DESCRIPTIVE VOCABULARY

Give information!

Generalizations such as THIS BOOK IS BORING communicate very little to the reader. Specific observations and concrete facts, on the other hand, help the reader to share your experience.

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If you have strong feelings about your subject, this should make your writing more interesting – but be careful! Strong feelings must be given form and coldly translated into precise words.

“A writer of genius… a writer of world class – a master storyteller…” it says on the dustjacket. Can they really be talking about the same writer, the same book? Personally, I can’t see what distinguishes Heat and Dust from any of those cheap romantic novels that you get at railway stations.

What on earth is so remarkable about the story of a bored expatriate who leaves a dull husband for someone richer, more intelligent and totally exotic? In my opinion, if Jhabvala was really a good writer she would have written instead about a much more interesting phenomenon, the typical colonial who clings absurdly to the behavior, traditions and even dress of his mother country. Alternatively, Olivia could have really ‘gone native’, instead of just being seduced by a Nawab with a Rolls-Royce, an Alfa-Romeo and an intimate knowledge of the best hotels of Paris and London.

The plot too is corny: the idea of someone retracing someone else’s life, and then (surprise, surprise!) finding parallel events happening in their own lives. Thousands of writers have used this device, and to much better effect. So what makes Jhabvala such a great writer? It can’t be her prose, surely, which is quite boring. The words ‘heat’ and ‘dust’ appear frequently, but I for one certainly never get any impression of heat and dust. I don’t know about you, but the impression I get is of a very literary, upper-class woman sitting at her typewriter drinking tea.

Finally, what really annoys me personally about this book is the writer’s morality. You can see she’s a romantic and a moralist: she looks down on her narrator with a patronizing attitude, and paints a degrading picture of modern love by giving her narrator a kind of abject promiscuity in the place of a love and life. And incredibly, the message of the book seems to be that the best thing that can happen to a woman even an unmarried woman, without a boyfriend, travelling abroad – is to get pregnant. I’m sorry, but if you think that, your’re living in another world. (Source: CORY, 1999,p. 75).

• What is your opinion about this review? Is it positive or negative?

• What about the writer’s moves? See the checklist below:

Writer’s moves Think about it Here are the answers

1. Write for the reader Does it write for the reader? Sometimes

2. Don’t talk about yourself

Does the reviewer talk about him/herself? Yes!

3. Write in an impersonal style

Does the reviewer write in an impersonal style? Sometimes

Does the reviewer use precise and descriptive vocabulary?

Yes, that’s ok.

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4. Use precise, descriptive vocabulary


Click here (Visite a aula online para realizar download deste arquivo.)to see problem areas in the text:

HEAT AND DUST

Based on the Suggested Writer’s Moves, rewrite this review “Heat and Dust”, changing the colored parts, and post your final version onto your individual portfolio.

Use the information in the following webpages to have more ideas about the book.

Have a nice work!

FURTHER READING

Click on the links below to read other reviews:

http://www.book-review-circle.com/heat-and-dust-ruth-prawer-jhabvala.html [1]

http://www.mouthshut.com/review/Heat-And-Dust-Ruth-Prawer-Jhabvala-srtmqpusr [2]

Click here to know more about the author:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Prawer_Jhabvala [3]

Click here to know more about the book:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_and_Dust [4]

FONTES DAS IMAGENS

1. http://www.book-review-circle.com/heat-and-dust-ruth-prawer-jhabvala.html2. http://www.mouthshut.com/review/Heat-And-Dust-Ruth-Prawer-Jhabvala-srtmqpusr3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Prawer_Jhabvala4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_and_Dust



23

TOPIC 03: WRITING BOOK REVIEWS

The objective of this topic is to write book reviews and publish them in internet websites, such as relationship websites or blogs.

WHAT IS A REVIEW?

Magazines and newspapers publish a wide range of reviews, covering all the arts as well as other areas. Most reviews have two functions: description and information on the one hand, judgement, opinions and recommendations on the other.

We saw in the former topics that the reviews have these characteristics:

1. The object of the review is clear

2. There is essencial information (What? Who? Where? Whe? How much?)

3. There is a detailed analysis

4. It includes the reviewer’s opinions (avoid first person, though!)

5. It summarizes the object

6. There is a conclusion, with a recommendation

What have you read recently?

Do you recommend the books you’ve read? Which ones?

Keep these questions in mind, because in the end of this lesson, you will be able to do that!

NOW LET’S REVISE PUNCTUATION?CAPITAL LETTERS

INVERTED COMMAS

BRACKETS

CAPITAL LETTERS

INVERTED COMMAS


CLASS 02: REVIEWS

24

BRACKETS

PRACTICE

These are all conclusions of film reviews. Punctuate them:

1. this is a film for every age bracket and is highly recommended for all those who enjoyed julie andrews earlier film the sound of music.2. if you like your thrillers moody atmospheric pessimistic and spine chillingly bloodthirsty then this is the film for you.3. the piano is essential viewing as diverse and tuneful as the instrument of its title.4. youll laugh youll cry youll love every second of sleepless in seattle sentimental who cares.5. this is the most tedious of road movies and when the fugitive lovers finally come to the end of the road shot dead by cynical detective eddie mars clint eastwood the few people in the cinema still awake applauded recommended for insomniacs only.6. overall however the films faults do not spoil an exciting and stylish piece of film making well served by an intense script and fine performances from its cast.


1. This is a film for every age bracket(,) and is highly recommended for all those who enjoyed Julie Andrews’ earlier film, ‘ The Sound of Music’.2. If you like your thrillers moody, atmospheric, pessimistic and spine-chillingly bloodthirsty, then this is the film for you.3. ‘The Piano’ is essential viewing, as diverse and tuneful as the instrument of its title. 4. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry. You’ll love every second of ‘Sleepless in Seattle’. Sentimental? Who cares?5. This is the most tedious of road movies and when the fugitive lovers finally come to the end of the road, shot dead by cynical

25

detective Eddie Mars (Clint Eastwood), the few people in the cinema still awake applauded. Recommended for insomniacs only.6. Overall, however, the film’s faults do not spoil an exciting and stylish piece of film-making, well served by an intense script and fine performances from its cast.


The coordinator of this course is running a series of review articles in which all the students choose one book they would take with them if they were going to spend the rest of their life living alone on a desert island.

This article will be published on the course blog. So, do not be apart -take part in this collective writing!

Follow these steps to get it:

STEP 1

You have to write a review article of about 250 words describing the book you would take and explaining why. It could be any book that you liked and feel comfortable to write a review about.

STEP 2

After writing the first draft, send it to your buddy for peer revision (with copy to your tutor).

STEP 3

At the same time you will get your buddy’s review to help with revision. Revise it using the REVIEW TOOL of your WORD PROCESSING.

STEP 4

Send your buddy’s revised review back to him/her with a copy to your tutor.

STEP 5

Use your buddy’s suggestions and write the final draft of your review. Post it on the public area of your portfolio.

Have a great writing moment!!

REFERENCES



26

TOPIC 01: BUILDING TOPIC SENTENCES

The objective of this topic is to identify the general structure of paragraphs in discursive compositions and practice writing topic sentences.

INITIAL CHALLENGE

A common question that we ask ourselves when we are writing is:

SHOULD I START OR NOT START A NEW PARAGRAPH HERE…?

Do you know when to start a new paragraph when you are writing? To answer it, it is necessary to understand the general structure of a good paragraph. Let’s see?

Each paragraph of your composition must bring a different topic about the main idea that your writing, as a whole, deals with. So, your composition should look like this image:

LOOK CLOSELY

Focus on paragraph

The topic is contained in the topic sentence, which is usually, but not always, the first sentence of the paragraph. The function of the topic sentence is to state or summarize the main idea of the paragraph.

A good topic sentence is not too general, covering areas broader than those in the paragraph, or too specific, only referring to some of the areas covered in the paragraph. A good topic sentence should summarize or introduce the main points of the paragraph appropriately. Details about the topic are given in other sentences in the same paragraph.

PRACTICE 1

Read the following three paragraphs and the three alternative topic sentences for each. Decide which alternative is:

■ Too general


CLASS 03: DISCURSIVE COMPOSITION

27

■ Too specific■ Correct

Write the letter of the correct topic sentence in the gap provided in the paragraph.

Mark had not enjoyed his childhood. . He was only

five when his parents were forced to leave the country and had to send him away to boarding school. This was difficult enough, but two years later his father went bankrupt and Mark was sent to live with his grandparents. Then, at the age of sixteen, he had a serious riding accident and had to spend six months in hospital.

1. It had been an unhappy time for him on the whole.2. The routines of school life had been particularly unpleasant for him.3. It had been spoilt by a number of unfortunate incidents.


1. Too general2. Too specific3. Correct!

. For one thing, I had to work much longer hours. I

often worked from six in the morning until eight at night. Another thing which was different was my social life. In England I had had a very active social life, whereas in Africa I found that there was little for me to do after work. Compared to my previous existence, I suppose my life in Africa was much healthier but it was not so much fun.

1. It took me a long time to get used to living abroad. 2. My job in Africa was a new experience for me.3. May things changed when I left England to go and live in Africa.


1. Too specific2. Too general3. Correct!

. One group consisted of those who had learned a

second language as children. The other consisted of people who learned their second language later in life. When placed inside the MRI scanner, which allowed Kim and Hirsch to see which parts of the brain where getting more blood and were thus more active, people from both groups asked to think about what they had done the day before, first in one language and then the other. They couldn’t speak out loud, because any movement would disrupt the scanning.

1. The researchers used an instrument called a functional magnet resonance imager to study the brains of two groups of bilingual people.2. Research was done with bilingual people.

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3. Children and adults don’t use the same parts of the brain when learning a second language.


1. Correct!2. Too general3. Too specific!

PRACTICE 2

Now, write the topic sentences for the paragraphs below. To help you build the topic sentence, we left two questions to think about. You don’t need to write an answer for them. They are just to help you find the topic.

1.

. During the autumn months, wooded areas across

the nation are invaded by men driving pickups and carrying rifles, in search of anything from large gear to small grouse. The most popular haunted animal, though, is the white-tail deer.

1. What do men do to animals with riffles?2. Is hunting legal in the United States?


The removed topic sentence of this paragraph is:

Hunting has always been a popular sport in the United States.

2.

.This is because, when people lived together in

small communities, the supply of names was large enough so that none had to be repeated in the same tribe or group. Most first names are very old. Girls have been named Mary (“star of the sea”) and boys John (“gift of God”) for many centuries, and these remain, despite fads, the most popular first names in English-speaking countries.

1. How many names most of Americans and British people you know have? (Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes, Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson,…)2. Do you remember that the full name is compounded by the first name and the last name, or surname?


The removed topic sentence of this paragraph is:

The pattern of naming in the English language is single names.

FORUM

29

For this forum you should base your considerations on the materials studied in the lesson and other information sources that you may find to do the following:

- Answer the question: How are paragraphs organized in different text genre? - Mention the genre and explain the paragraph organization. - Comment your friends’ contributions.

FONTES DAS IMAGENS



30

TOPIC 02: GIVING DETAILS

The objective of this topic is to identify the general structure of paragraphs in discursive compositions and practice writing details.

In the topic 01 of this lesson, we saw that the general discursive writing has this broad image:

We also saw that each paragraph contains one topic sentence, and other sentences with details about the topic of the paragraph. Each paragraph should then look like this scheme:

It is important that all the details you include in a paragraph are relevant and support the topic of the paragraph (expressed in the topic sentence). Below, you are going to see that the topic sentence is underlined, and the other sentences should bring details about the topic, but not all the details are relevant. In fact, they make the text confusing.

Let’s help to solve this problem? Cross out the sentences and clauses which you consider irrelevant.



31


TIP

The details supporting a topic sentence should always be organized clearly.

There are four common ways of organizing details. Take a look!

METHODS OF ORGANIZING PARAGRAPHS

COMPARISON/CONSTRAST

The writer provides details which show similarities and/or differences.

EXAMPLE

The writer uses a listo f examples or na illustration in support of the main Idea.

EMPHASIS

The writer organizes the details in ordre of their importance, normally with the most significant detail last.

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CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

The writer presents details in the order in which they happened.

LET’S PRACTICE

Indicate which one was used in each of the five paragraphs below.

Write A (comparison/contrast), B (example), C (emphasis) or D (chronological order) in the correspondent paragraph indication.

After that, check your answers!

Paragraph 1

Mark had not enjoyed his childhood. . He was only

five when his parents were forced to leave the country and had to send him away to boarding school. This was difficult enough, but two years later his father went bankrupt and Mark was sent to live with his grandparents. Then, at the age of sixteen, he had a serious riding accident and had to spend six months in hospital.

Paragraph 2



Paragraph 3

. One group consisted of those who had learned a

second language as children. The other consisted of people who learned their second language later in life. When placed inside the MRI scanner, which allowed Kim and Hirsch to see which parts of the brain where getting more blood and were thus more active, people from both groups asked to think about what they had done the day before, first in one language and then the other. They couldn’t speak out loud, because any movement would disrupt the scanning.

Paragraph 4

. During the autumn months, wooded areas across

the nation are invaded by men driving pickups and carrying rifles, in search of anything from large gear to small grouse. The most popular haunted animal, though, is the white-tail deer.

Paragraph 5

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Para 1 - DPara 2 - APara 3 - CPara 4 - APara 5 - B

PORTFOLIO – PART I:

Choose two of the topics below and write a paragraph of 120-150 words for each one.

Organize the details, linking them with appropriate connectors. For each question, a suitable method of paragraph organization from the list A-D above has been suggested for you.

1. Describe how you first met a close friend. Put the details of your paragraph in chronological order (D).2. Explain how two people you know are similar or different. Provide details which show these similarities and differences clearly (A).3. Explain what makes a good friendship. Put the details in order of emphasis (C).4. Describe how parents or teachers could reach a better understanding of young people. Provide examples or an anecdote to explain your meaning clearly or put the details in order of emphasis (B or D).

Post your paragraphs on your portfolio.

HELP

Whenever you have to produce a piece of writing, you should plan the sequence of your paragraphs carefully, making sure one leads on naturally to the next.

For each paragraph you should:

1. Write a clear TOPIC SENTENCE, which expresses the main idea of the paragraph.2. Support the topic sentence with RELEVANT DETAILS.3. Make sure your details are WELL-ORGANIZED.

Use linking words ( -- BUT, ALSO, HOWEVER, NEVERTHELESS, ON THE OTHER HAND, SIMILARLY, FOR EXAMPLE, ETC.) to connect the details of the paragraph.

34

TOPIC 03: CONNECTING PARAGRAPHS

The objective of this topic is to connect paragraphs as the text unfolds, with the help of the outlining strategy and the use of logical connectors.

WHEN YOU WRITE, WHAT DO YOU DO FIRST?

1. Look for information?2. Read other pieces of writing about the same topic?3. Talk to people?4. Start writing?5. Brainstorm your ideas?6. Write freely?7. Outline your text?

OUTLINING

In this topic, we are going to practice outlining. An outline is a type of sketch, describing roughly or briefly or giving the main points or a summary.

It is good to help you delineate the text, to think about the text shape before put it to paper, that is, plan the shape of your text. So an outline is a schematic or preliminary plan.

Outlining is most helpful to visualize the unfolding text and the connection of your ideas. Let’s see it?

A GOOD DISCURSIVE COMPOSITION HAS

INTRODUCTION

Give some general information about the general idea (or main idea) of your text and introduce the discussion; using a rhetorical question is one common way of doing this;

DEVELOPMENT

Bring one topic in each paragraph and details, or evidences, to support your topics. Pay special attention to the connectors you will use to link them.

CONCLUSION

Summarize your argument and, if possible, refers back to the composition title and your introduction. Be careful: do not bring any new information in your conclusion!

Read the following writing proposal and underline the key words:



35

SOURCE OF IMAGES

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0MCm1_dmQII/TGmJPxtxovI/AAAAAA

http://www.abril.com.br/imagem/adolescentes-basquete.jpg

http://nutricionistagiovanaguido.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/futeb-com-criancas-2.jpg

http://www.academicadaamadora.pt/Roller-hockey.co.uk.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9BcNcUO3F6c/SrOzDUbuv-I/AAAAAAAAABE/5pqUj8TCPYU/s320/Veloseme.bmp

http://perlbal.hi-pi.com/blog-images/732274/gd/129622187945/Handebol-de-Utinga-Bahia.jpg

Encouraging children to take part in team sports at school is the best way of developing their characters.

- Do you agree with the statement above?

- What evidence you could use to support your view?

- Brainstorm your ideas.

- Note down at least three points which you could use to support your ideas

Read the following detailed outline written by a student preparing to answer the same task above. Are any of your ideas included?

INTRODUCTION

Opening comments. The situation as it is today

1. Children encouraged to take part in team sports, in some cases forced.2. Underlying philosophy of this participation = team sports good for the body, build character3. This may be true – true that it’s the best way?

First supporting paragraph

TOPIC: PROMOTING FOCUS AND SELF-SACRIFICE

Team sports involve lots of physical training

1. Children train hard before inter-school matches – physically fit for ‘big day’2. Such a rigorous program demands self-sacrifice

36

Other activities and non-team sports involve self sacrifice/perseverance – tennis, chess

SECOND SUPPORTING PARAGRAPH

Topic: developing co-operation

1. Team sports are character-building – encourage co-operation2. Success of team depends on co-operation of individuals3. Valuable training for later life – but not only activities which encourage this. Plays and concerts encourage co-operation between children

Third supporting paragraph

TOPIC: CRITICIZING COMPETITIVE ATTITUDES

1. Team sports are about winning – enhance the competitive spirit. Non-team sports do the same whether this is character-building or not is open to question.2. Many problems today – ‘me-first’ attitude.3. Teach children there’s more to life than winning?

Closing paragraph

1. Team sports one way of developing children’s characters – wrong to consider them to be the best way.2. Should encourage children to develop personalities in ways they think best.

CHALLENGE

Which method of organizing information in the paragraph was used in this outline?

ANSWER

method B – using examples

Now read the finished composition, and choose the best word or phrase from the list to fill each of the numbered gaps.

TIPS

Remember that you need to pay attention to the whole composition, not just the words immediately around each gap, in order to do this effectively.

In many schools in the world today children of all ages are encouraged, and (1) forced in some cases, to take part in

team sports. The underlying philosophy is that team sports are (2) good for the body that they build a child’s

character. This may well be true, but is the suggestion that team sports are the best way of developing a child’s character (3) true?

Participation in a team sport, (4) usually involves a lot

of physical training. Before important events children may have to train

37

very hard (5) be well prepared and physically fit for the ‘big

day’. (6) , such rigorous training demands dedication and

self-sacrifice on the part of the child. (7) , there are other

activities which also involve a high degree of perseverance. (8) , non-team sports such as tennis or even activities like chess

require equal preparation and discipline.

Team sports are also considered to be character-building, (9) encourage co-operation between individual team members.

(10) , the success or the failure of the team depends not so

much on the individual skills of the players as on their ability to co-operate. This is valuable training for later life, (11) , but team sports

are not the only activities which encourage children to do this. Plays and concerts, (12) , also encourage co-operation between

children.

Teachers frequently point out that team sports are about winning. They enhance the ‘competitive spirit’ of the boys and girls who take part. (13) that non-team sports do the same. Whether this is

character-building or not, (14) , is open to question. So many

of the problems we face in society nowadays (15) the ‘me-

first’ attitude found in so many people. (16) schools aim to

teach children that ther is much more to life than winning and being first?

(17) , clearly team sports are one way of developing

children’s characters, but it would be wrong to consider them to be the best way. (18) , we should encourage children to develop their

characters and personalities in ways they themselves feel are best.

A B1. indeed

whereas

2. on the one hand… on the other hand

not only… but also

3. actually basically

4. of course however

5. as a result in order to

6. without doubt nevertheless

7. however furthermore

8. not to mention for instance

9. so as to in that they

38

10. as a matter of fact oviously

11. of course similarly

12. for example such as

13. although it goes without saying

14. however in fact

15. result in are the direct result in

16. couldn’t shouldn’t

17. in conclusion in the final analysis

18. instead naturally


1. A) indeed 2. B) not only… but also3. A) actually 4. A) of course 5. B) in order to6. A) without doubt 7. A) however 8. B) for instance9. B) in that they10. B) oviously11. A) of course 12. A) for example 13. B) it goes without saying14. A) however 15. B) are the direct result in16. B) shouldn’t 17. A) in conclusion 18. A) instead

PORTFOLIO

Now it is your turn. You have to write a discursive composition in answer to the following task. In order to accomplish this task, you MUST

follow these steps, and post all of them on your portfolio.

1. Read the statement below.

2. Use the prewriting strategy: brainstorming

3. Use the prewriting strategy: outlining

4. Write your first drafts

5. Send your first draft to your buddy (with a copy to your tutor)

39

6. Revise your buddy’s draft while he does the same to you.

7. Send your buddy’s draft revised back to your friend (with a copy to your tutor)

8. Use your buddy’s contribution for editing your final draft

9. Post all the steps above on your portfolio (brainstorming, outlining, first draft, peer edition, your final edition)

There is no justification whatsoever for participation in dangerous sports. (about 350 words)

SOURCE OF IMAGES

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_d2hdgA88KhA/TEJYgO97prI/AAAAAAA-jumping-7.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_d2hdgA88KhA/TEJXTwUIzGI/AAAAAA

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_d2hdgA88KhA/TEJXAqndPTI/AAAAAA-wing-walking-425ds082009.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_d2hdgA88KhA/TEJW5zy481I/AAAAAA-big-wave-surfing-3.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_d2hdgA88KhA/TEJW0ezE6oI/AAAAAA

http://www.paraquedismoboituva.com.br/miniportal/galerias/05ad

http://www.guiadolitoral.uol.com.br/imgnoticia/Bombinhas_mergu

http://esportes.jangadeiroonline.com.br/files/2010/10/kitesurf2.jpg

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REFERENCES

Gold proficiency. Longman, 2000.

Available at: http://www.pearsonlongman.com/gold/pdf/pro_writing.pdf [1](Visite a aula online para realizar download deste arquivo.)

FONTES DAS IMAGENS1. http://www.pearsonlongman.com/gold/pdf/pro_writing.pdf



41

TOPIC 01: FOCUS ON REGISTER AND STYLE

The objective of this topic is to identify different types of register and style, to associate register and style to the appropriate written communicative situations and to experience them.

When planning your article, focus on these questions:

• What is the purpose of the article?

• What do I need to include?

TIPS FOR WRITING A GOOD ARTICLE

An indicator of why the article is being written, and who for, should appear in the task.

Think about the tone (e.g. light, persuasive, friendly, angry) you should adopt, and how formal your language needs to be.

An article needs an eye-catching title, and an introduction with impact. Try to conclude your piece too with a reflective comment which reinforces your purpose for writing.

Many articles include reported speech or ideas. Use a variety of methods of reporting, to maintain interest, and show your own views of the opinions expressed.

FORMAL AND INFORMAL REGISTER

One of the most important areas to master in terms of register is the difference between formal and informal English. Of course, there are many degrees of formality, and most written English (including newspapers, magazines and novels) is situated somewhere between the two extremes.

Here is a list of some of the most characteristics features that differentiate formal and informal English, followed by some preliminary exercises. Many further exercises to practice the use of different registers, and particularly to distinguish between formal and informal usage, occur throughout the rest of the book.

LINGUA INGLESA VB – COMPREENSÃO E PRODUÇÃO ESCRITA

CLASS 04: MAGAZINE ARTICLES

42

FORMAL INFORMAL

Words in Latin/French origin Words of Anglo-Saxon origin

Single-word verbs Phrasal verbs, idioms with get

Formal connecting words Informal connecting words

Impersonal constructions:

■ It is said that■ The price has been increased■ One never knows

Active constructions:

■ They say that■ They’ve put the price up■ You never know

Abstract nouns:

■ Is happiness possible during unemployment?■ After clarification of the problem areas…

Modal verbs, adjectives, clauses, etc.: - Can people be happy when they haven’t got a job?- when the bits everyone was getting wrong had been explained…

Not ending with preposition; use of whom:

■ To whom were you speaking?

Ending with preposition:

■ Who were you speaking to?

Complex sentences Simple sentences

Use of inversion for conditionals and emphasis:

■ Should you require further information, please contact…

Inversion sometimes used for emphasis:

■ Only then did I realize…

No contractions in writing:

■ I will, we would…

Contractions in writing:

■ I’ll, we’d…

DOUBTS

Why are some words considered to be more polite or refined, whereas others which mean the same thing are thought rude or vulgar?

English vocabulary comprises words taken from many languages, particularly Anglo-Saxon, French and Latin. In 1066, the Anglo-Saxon inhabitants of Britain were conquered by the French-speaking Normans. As French was the language of the ruling classes (and Latin the language of education), words derived from French or Latin have been considered more formal than those derived from the language of the Anglo-Saxons.

The table below compares relatively formal words of Latin/French origin with their less formal alternatives, many of Anglo-Saxon origin. Supply the missing words.

OBSERVATION

It is an illustration of a general tendency, not a conversion table: the choice of vocabulary always depends on the context!

43

FORMAL INFORMAL

VERBS NOUNS

To depart To go Carnivore 16.

To retain 1. Putrefaction 17.

To cease 2. Deficiency 18.

To function 3. Vision 19.

To masticate 4. Residence 20.

To demonstrate

5. Respiration 21.

To reside 6. Somnambulist 22.

7. To seem Comprehension 23.

8. To shorten Perspiration 24.

9. To end ADJECTIVES

10. To help Incorrect 25.

11. To begin Amiable 26.

12. To want Vacant 27.

13. To get Insane 28.

14. To free Inexpensive 29.

15. To eat animated 30.


1. to keep 16. meat-eater

44

2. to stop

3. to work

4. to chew

5. to show

6. to live

7. to appear

8. to abbreviate/reduce

9. to terminate

10. to assist/aid

11. to commence/initiate

12. to desire/require

13. to obtain

14. to liberate/release

15. to consume

17. rot

18. lack

19. sight

20. home

21. breathing

22. sleep-walker

23. understanding

24. sweat

25. wrong

26. friendly

27. empty

28. mad

29. cheap

30. lively

REPORTED SPEECH

Reported speech is often used in magazine articles. A careful choice of reporting expressions can convey your own feelings, as well as those of the person whose ideas are being reported. Read the following statements. There are two persons involved: the writer (I, first person) and the manager (he, third person): the manager and the writer have had a talk. The writer now is telling you his impression of the conversation. Are there any differences in tone between them?

1. I inferred from what he said that business was booming…

2. He implied that business was booming…

3. I was given to understand that business would soon be booming…

4. He claimed that business was booming…

5. He acknowledge that business was booming…

6. I detected in him a sense of pride that business was booming…

45

PRACTICE

Now match each of the statements above with one of the ‘attitudes’, (a) to (f), below. Remember that the manager is ‘he’ in the sentences above, as well as the writer is ‘I’ first person.

a) The manager admitted that this was true.

b) The manager said that this was true, but the writer has his doubts.

c) The manager didn’t actually say this, but it was the opinion formed by the writer.

d) This was the impression which the writer got, but we can’t be sure how he came to believe this.

e) The manager found this quite hard to conceal.

f) The manager suggested this, without actually saying so.


1. C

2. F

3. D

4. B

5. A

6. E

VOCABULARY

As in all texts, the vocabulary you use in a magazine article should be varied and rich. Rewrite the following sentences, which come from an article reviewing a restaurant. Use the words given in brackets and start your sentences with the words provided.

1. You won’t believe how amazing the place is if you don’t go and see for yourself. (seen)The place has to

2. The first thing that makes an impression on you as you enter is the sheer size of the place (strikes) The first

46

3. The restaurant is more like a warehouse than a place for eating and drinking in style. (wining) The restaurant is

4. It extends in all directions for a very long distance. (eye) The restaurant extends as far

5. The place is now making a lot of money. (handsome) The place is

Read the following magazine article. Ignore the numbered gaps for the moment. Check your answers for the exercise above.

FURTHER READING

Read other magazine articles at:

http://www.time.com/time/ [1] (Time Magazine)

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/magazine/index.html [2] (The NY Times Magazine)

http://www.education.com/magazine/articles/ [3] (education.com)

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FORUM

Click here to read about Writing Strategies especially pages 7 to 13, about:

- Writing a draft- Revising- Editing- Proofreading- Mixed peer response groups- Word processing

After reading Writing Strategies, discuss in the forum with your colleagues and tutor:

1. What must writers take into consideration when they write?2. What is the importance of revising the first draft?3. What activities do writers do when the edit their final drafts?4. What are some benefits of mixed peer response groups?5. What are some benefits of word processing?

FONTES DAS IMAGENS1. http://www.time.com/time/2. http://www.nytimes.com/pages/magazine/index.html3. http://www.education.com/magazine/articles/



48

TOPIC 02: WRITING OPENINGS

The objective of this topic is to identify the general structure of magazine articles with focus on the openings.

The opening (The first paragraph of an article, or the introduction of the article) of a magazine article has one or more purposes. Some of them are:

1. To catch readers’ attention and make them want to read the rest.

2. To tell readers what the article is going to be about (the topic).

3. To tell readers what the article is going to say (the content).

4. To tell readers how the article is going to be organized (the structure)

Read the magazine article openings below and decide:

■ Which of these openings is the most appealing?

■ Which of these openings is not very precise?

■ Which of these openings is best organized?

CASE

Which of these eight openings would you choose to begin an article entitled ‘Openings and Closings of Magazine Articles’

CLICK HERE TO CHECK YOUR ANSWER



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1, 6 and 7 – because the other good ones either refer to openings or closings and the article is about both.

TIPS FOR OPENING AN ARTICLE

A

A SURPRISING FACT Perhaps including statistics

B A SURPRISING, SHOCKING OR BIZARRE

STATEMENT

The reader keeps reading out of curiosity: how are you going to continue? Do you really believe that? What on earth are you talking about?

C A QUESTION This helps to define the subject of a piece of writing. It also starts readers thinking about the subject, making them what to read what you have to say.

D A QUOTATION A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal. (Oscar Wilde)

E A STORY That illustrates what you are going to say. It may be a story about the subject itself; it may be a story about another topic that has something in common with the subject of your article.

F A STATEMENT OF

THE TOPIC

The statement mentions what the topic is, and often summarizes what you are going to say. This opening is often the key to the organization and paragraphing of the article.

G A DEFINITION OF

THE TOPIC

Sometimes a dictionary definition. This opening may be appropriate, but is one of the least interesting.

H A DESCRIPTION OR

IMAGE

That evokes a suitable atmosphere or symbolizes the whole question.

I A REFERENCE TO A

WELL-KNOWN PHRASE

From literature, a song, a proverb, etc.; an allusion or ‘rewritten’ quotation.

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CHALLENGE

After reading the tips for opening an article above, try to match the openings in the beginning of the topic (1-8) to each of these tips (a-i). More than one match is possible for some openings.

CLICK HERE TO CHECK YOUR ANSWER

A) 6

B) 3

C) 8

D) 7

E) 2

F) 5

G) 1

H) 4

I) 3

FONTES DAS IMAGENS



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TOPIC 03: WRITING CLOSINGS

The objective of this topic is to identify the general structure of magazine articles with focus on the closings.

So, it should be: interesting, appealing, precise, and organized!

The following article appeared in the Radio Times magazine, to introduce a TV season of British films from the 1960s. The first and last paragraphs have been removed. Read the article, then choose the best first paragraph and last paragraph from those printed opposite. Make sure that the opening, the text and the closing all fit together.

Click on the correct

OPENINGS (FIRST PARAGRAPH)

CLOSINGS (LAST PARAGRAPH)



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The closing ( -- OVER (the last paragraph of an article, or end, or conclusion of the article)) of a magazine article is important because it shows that the text is complete. It is usually marked by these sentence markers:

These are some common ways of closing an article:

a) A return to the beginning: a conclusion paraphrasing the opening or a return to the imagery or words of the opening.

b) A summary or a conclusion

c) A question

d) A quotation

e) An image/picture: symbolizing the end (sunset, death) or a new beginning (dawn, birth)

f) A short sentence: to signal a break with what went before, or to indicate the intention to finish.

EXAMPLE

A piece of writing is like a film: a weak or unsatisfying spoils all the good things that went before. The ending of a good film gives you a feeling of satisfaction. The film feels whole, complete.

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How do we usually recognize the end of a film before the words THE END come up to the screen? What signals does the film give out to tell us it is finishing? What makes a film feel complete? Think of the plot, the musical score and the images.

Here is the opening of an article about hunting.

Hunting has always been a popular sport in the United States. During the autumn months, wooded areas across the nation are invaded by men driving pickups and carrying rifles, in search of anything from large bear to small grouse. The most popular hunted animal, thought, is the white-tail deer.

Here are some possible closings for the same article. Match them to the six different types of closings referred above. Some of them may have more than one match.

CLICK HERE TO CHECK ANSWERS

1. C

2. D, F

3. A, B

4. E

PORTFOLIO ACTIVITY

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PART 1

You have to write a magazine article of about 250 words as an answer to theWRITING PROPOSAL below.

Step 1: write the first draft of your article (follow the steps in Writing Strategies)

Step 2: After writing the first draft, send it to your buddy for peer revision (with copy to your tutor).

Step 3: At the same time you will get your buddy’s magazine article to help with revision. Revise it using the REVIEW TOOL of your WORD PROCESSING.

Step 4: Send your buddy’s revised review back to him/her with a copy to your tutor.

PART 2

Step 1: When you get the article revised by your buddy, consider his/her comments and suggestions and write a final draft.

Step 2: Send your final draft to the public area of your portfolio.

This portfolio activity contains two parts, which involve peer editing, so you must be responsible with deadlines and collaborate with your buddy, rather than disturb him/her. Follow the instructions below:

WRITING PROPOSAL

The problem of famine in the Third World is ever present – but easily forgotten from the comfort of our homes. What should we be doing as individuals to help the people who are dying of hunger? What should our governments be doing? Write an article of about 250 words for the local magazine

REFERENCES



Gold proficiency. Longman, 2000.

Available at: http://www.pearsonlongman.com/gold/pdf/pro_writing.pdf [3](Visite a aula online para realizar download deste arquivo.)

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FONTES DAS IMAGENS

1. http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer2. http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer3. http://www.pearsonlongman.com/gold/pdf/pro_writing.pdf



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TOPIC 01: FOCUS ON THE GENERIC STRUCTURE

The objective of this topic is to recognize the generic structure of the text genre: recommendation report.

WHAT IS A REPORT?

Find more definitions for report in Wikipedia, online dictionaries and other sources and post your findings in the discussion forum!

LOOK CLOSELY

Check the generic structure OF REPORTS here (Visite a aula online para realizar download deste arquivo.).

Or Learn English Free at:Learn English Free [2]

One possible generic structure

MANNER 1

STATING THE PURPOSE

The aim/ purpose of this report is/was to describe/evaluate/present….

In this report, I will describe/evaluate/present…

This report provides a description/evaluation/presentation…

MANNER 2

DESCRIBING HOW YOU GOT YOUR INFORMATION

I spoke to/interviewed several members of our sales staff…

Members of the local police force answered a questionnaire…

I visited three hotels: the Maritima; the Plage Royale, and the Shackelton…

I conducted a survey among college students…

Car owners were invited to attend a focus group…


CLASS 05: RECOMMENDATION REPORTS

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MANNER 3

REPORTING YOUR RESULTS

Most people said/expressed the opinion that…

According to Dr Ann Wilkilson, the funding is inadequate…

A high/small/significant proportion of those surveyed/respondents said that…

25% of the older residents…

A small group (6) felt that the situation had deteriorated…

MANNER 4

PRESENTING A LIST

The point is favour/against introducing genetically modified foods can be summarized as follows:

1….

2….

The following reasons were given for lack of participation in local festivals:

1…

2…

Arguments in favor of/against the introduction of a local television channel were:

1…

2…

There are a number of ways in which facilities for the parents of small children could be improved:

1…

2….

MANNER 5

MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS

In the light of the results of the survey/questionnaire the introduction of a small fee would seem to be the best choice/option/solution.

I would recommend, therefore, the purchase of five more computers and laser printers.

My recommendations are the following:

1…

2…

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PRACTICE

Read the example of a report below.

Write the headings using the parts of the generic structure of a recommendation report suggested above.

While you do that, you will find out that the following report does not contain all parts of the generic structure suggested above. Which parts are missing?

FACILITATORS MEETING REPORTWHO MEETINGS WITH MINISTRY OF HEALTH, SOUTH NATION NATIONALITIES & PEOPLES REGIONAL STATE HEALTH BUREAUFOR STRENGTHENING HEALTH OFFICERS TRAINING PROGRAM ONINTEGRATED MANAGEMENT FOR EMERGENCY AND ESSENTIAL SURGICAL CARE(IMEESC)22- 25 FEBRUARY 2005,

ADDIS ABABA AND AWASSA, ETHIOPIA

(a)

The WHO project "Emergency and Essential Surgical Care" aims to stretraining of health care personnel at primary health care facilities in emergenessential surgical skills and linked equipment. WHO developed an InteManagement for emergency and Essential Surgical Care (IMEESC) tools, bathe WHO manual Surgical Care at the District Hospital. This tool will emthem, to manage life threatening injuries from road traffic accidents, burndrowning, domestic violence, disasters, pregnancy related complicationtechniques for prevention of HIV transmission in all surgical procedures.

(b)

Field visits were made by a team comprising of WHO staff, country offHQ with key health providers. Discussions were held with the staff of thefacilities (regional, district hospitals and health centres) in Addis Ababa, AwasDilla in South Nation Nationalities & Peoples Region (SNNPR).

(c)

The main problems identified were lack of specialists (surgeons, obanaesthetists), inadequate training to perform emergency surgical procedurefor trauma, pregnancy related complications and anaesthesia, lack oemergency equipment linked to the emergency surgical procedures, inadtraining in use, maintenance and procurement of basic emergency equipmlack of standard protocols.

(d)

Regional Health Bureau will work in collaboration with the Health University to advise in the modification of training curriculum for health oWHO training materials will be incorporated in the existing THET basic emskills training course. Discussions with focal persons in Ministry of Health adthe need of strengthening training of medical, nursing students, techniciaclinical officers. MoH are in the process of training health officers in em

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obstetric care, which includes emergency surgical procedures and anaestheplanning to post at least 2 health officers at health centres.

(e)

Recommendations were made for preparation of a project propcollaboration with partners and MoH with teaching hospitals for strengcapacities in training of health personnel in life saving emergency and basic procedures and equipment in the identified 6 provinces. Prior to the health training, a training of trainers coordinated by WHO would be beCollaboration is envisaged with other partners such as SIDA, UNICEF, UJapan, World Bank, GTZ, for a coordinated comprehensive approach to redhigh maternal mortality in Ethiopia.


a) Stating the purpose

b) Describing how you got the information

c) Reporting your results

d) Reporting your results

e) Making recommendations

There is no 'presenting a list'.

MORE PRACTICE:

Let's work on the generic structure of a recommendation report? Follow the instructions below!

Read the recommendation report below and you will notice that its first paragraph is missing. So read the three paragraphs suggested below and choose the most appropriate one which suits the first paragraph.CLICK ON

THE CORRECT PARAGRAPH!

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FORUM

After reading the contents of this topic and searching more information from other sources, discuss in this Forum the following questions:

1. What is a report?

2. What is the purpose of a report?

3. What types of reports we may find in (what) different working or studying contexts?

4. What are some possible generic structures of reports?

Don't forget to mention the information sources you may find and acknowledge the writers and authors you use for citations.

Also, do not forget to collaborate with your classmates.

Have a go!!

MULTIMEDIA

Enjoy Writing Fun, by Jenny Eather, for more writing practice at:http://www.writingfun.com/ [4]

Check a powerpoint presentation about writing reports at:

http://www.samples-help.org.uk/report-writing/index.htm [5]

More examples of short recommendation reports:

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/4978518/simple-examples-of-report-writing [6]

FONTES DAS IMAGENS

1. http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer2. http://www.learnenglish.de/writing/reportwriting.htm3. http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer4. http://www.writingfun.com/5. http://www.samples-help.org.uk/report-writing/index.htm

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6. http://www.docstoc.com/docs/4978518/simple-examples-of-report-writing



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TOPIC 02: COLLECTING INFORMATION

The objective of this topic is to plan questionnaires, organize and conduct surveys as a form of collecting information which sustain recommendation reports.

What do you do when you want to know something?

How do you get the information you need or want?

BURGESS, S. Gold Exam Maximiser. Essex: Longman, 2001(p. 75).

SOURCE OF IMAGES

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5256/5423849058_ac0d156774_z.jpg

http://portalcampomaior.com.br/editor/images/DSC00632.JPG



http://www.uniritter.edu.br/biblioteca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/321_2314-biblioteca.jpg


CLASS 05: RECOMMENDATION REPORTS

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http://pt.dreamstime.com/grupo-de-estudo-adolescente-da-biblioteca-thumb1830708.jpg

There are many ways of collecting information, and a basic way is by asking questions. When the information collection is formal, the researchers can plan a survey, which is a type of research carried out by asking people questions planned in a formal questionnaire. See more definitions below:

WHAT IS A SURVEY?

A survey is a systematic method of collecting data from a population of interest. It tends to be quantitative in nature and aims to collect information from a sample of the population such that the results are representative of the population within a certain degree of error.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A SURVEY?

The purpose of a survey is to collect quantitative information, usually through the use of a structured and standardized questionnaire.

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF A SURVEY?

■ Can complete structured questions with many stakeholders within a relatively short time frame. ■ Can be completed by telephone, mail, fax, or in-person.■ It is quantifiable and generalizable to an entire population if the population is sampled appropriately. ■ Standardized, structured questionnaire minimizes interviewer bias.■ Tremendous volume of information can be collected in short period of time.■ Can take less time to analyse than qualitative data.

WHAT ARE THE DISADVANTAGES OF A SURVEY?

■ More difficult to collect a comprehensive understanding of respondents' perspective (in-depth information) compared to in-depth interviews or focus groups. ■ Can be very expensive. ■ Requires some statistical knowledge, sampling and other specialized skills to process and interpret results.

HOW CAN I CONDUCT A SURVEY?

In order to conduct a survey, you may follow these steps:

1. CLARIFY PURPOSE

Why conduct a Survey?

Who are the stakeholders?

Who is the population of interest?

What issues need to be explored?

2. ASSESS RESOURCES

What external resources will you need?

Which in-house resources can you make use of?

3. DECIDE ON METHODS

Select the method which is most appropriate

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4. WRITE QUESTIONNAIRE

Set the layout of the questionnaire

Decide on what questions to ask

Set the types of response formats

Set the layout of the questionnaire

5. PILOT TEST/REVISE QUESTIONNAIRE

Pilot test the questionnaire

Revise the questionnaire

6. COLLECT DATA/APPLY THE QUESTIONNARIES

7. PROCESS DATA/QUANTIFY AND QUALIFY THE ANSWERS

8. ANALYSE THE RESULTS

Try to understand what the results 'tell' you

Interpret and Disseminate Results

9. TAKE ACTION: WRITE A RECOMMENDATION REPORT!

WHY DO I NEED TO CONDUCT A SURVEY?

Think about why have you chosen to conduct a survey: shat did you want to learn from the results and/or what decisions need to be made from the results?

Clearly write down your survey research questions.

Some tips are:

Be very specific

Focus on the 'need' to knows, not the 'nice' to knows

Based on Conducting Survey Research Version 2.0 March 31, 1999, available at: http://www.esf-agentschap.be/uploadedFiles/Voor_ESF_promotoren/Zelfevaluatie_ES-project/niet%20experimenteel%20onderzoek.pdf [1] (Visite a aula online para realizar download deste arquivo.)

EXAMPLE

Your college magazine undertook a survey to find out whether students at your college make and keep New Year's Resolutions. You have agreed to write a 250-word report on the results of the survey for the college magazine saying why you think students responded as they did.

Below you can see the questionnaire with the answers quantified and the report based on that.

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LET'S PRACTICE?

Write the proposed report using the information obtained with the questionnaire!

MORE READING

Check these sites and documents available online to know more about designing a questionnaire and conducting a survey.

http://www.surveysystem.com/sdesign.htm [2]

http://www.dundee.ac.uk/medden/4th_year_project/resources/sBMJs[3] (Visite a aula online para realizar download deste arquivo.)

PORTFOLIO ACTIVITY

Now it is your turn to write a recommendation report!

The Federal University of Ceará – Open University of Brazil is evaluating the course (Letras - UFC-UAB) curriculum and the pedagogical project. Changes may be done according to the current needs and appropriateness presented on your report.

You are invited to participate in the discussions as students' spokesperson, by submitting a report to coordinators and professors appreciation.

Write a 250-word recommendation report about the Course of Letras, approaching these dimensions: curriculum, faculty members, materials, environment, support, administration etc.

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STEP 1

prepare questions to ask students (your classmates and students belonging to other semesters) and collect information about their opinions of the course and what should change.

STEP 2

group positive comments together, negative comments together, and recommendationsfor change together.

STEP 3

go writing your recommendation report following the generic structure you studied in this Lesson (do not forget to describe how you got the information!)

STEP 4

Post it on your portfolio.

Follow these steps:

TIP

the better the questions you ask, the more information you'll get and the more consistent your report will be!

REFERENCES

ACKLAM, R. Advanced Gold. Essex: Longman, 2001.

BURGESS, S. Gold Exam Maximiser. Essex: Longman, 2001(p. 75).


FONTES DAS IMAGENS

1. http://www.esf-agentschap.be/uploadedFiles/Voor_ESF_promotoren/Zelfevaluatie_ESF-project/niet%20experimenteel%20onderzoek.pdf2. http://www.surveysystem.com/sdesign.htm3. http://www.dundee.ac.uk/medden/4th_year_project/resources/sBMJsurvey.pdf



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