Guided Writing (PBSMR)

How do we write an essay?

Purpose of writing an essay

• An essay can have many purposes,

- writing an essay to argue for a particular point of view or

- writing to explain a process of making a kite.

• …. but the basic structure is the same no matter what. (same basic format)
• An essay consists of a number of paragraphs

– 5 paragraphs

- 7 paragraphs

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What is a paragraph?

• It is a group of RELATED sentences
• Expressing one central idea
• Consists of several sentences
• Part of a composition

Elements of a good paragraph

• A topic sentence
• Development
• Logical Order
• Closing

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Topic Sentence -

• Introduces the main idea or topic of the paragraph
• A general idea
• Indicate what the paragraph is about
• Eg.
• There are many benefits of reading
• Many students are very keen on computer games. What makes these games so popular.

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Development / Supporting details

• Develop and support the main idea
• Describe and give more details about the main idea
• Use example/ illustrations
• Give facts, statistic ,evidence
• Use an anecdote/ story
• Define terms
• Compare/contrast
• Evaluate cause/ reasons
• Examine effects & consequences

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Logical Order

• The sentences have to be put together in a way that makes sense.
• You also have to make sure all the sentences are about the main idea.

Closing

• This is where your reader reads a conclusion or ending to your main idea

Supporting Details - story

Topic sentence

• My friends and I arrived in Pulau Langkawi

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• (give more details – time of arrival)
• feelings

Elaboration

• My friends and I arrived in Pulau Langkawi at 3 pm.

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• Even though we felt tired after the long journey, we were very excited about the trip.

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Topic sentence

• Cigarette smoking is hazardous to your health.

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• Give one reason why smoking is hazardous to your health,

Elaboration

• This is because it causes many types of cancer and heart diseases.

Topic sentence

• There are many types of exercises which are beneficial to our health.

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• Give examples

Elaboration

• For example, jogging strengthens the leg muscles and improves cardiovascular functions.

Practice

• Write a good paragraph with the folowing topic sentences .
• Add 3 or 4 more sentences.

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• Example
• I like hot and spicy dish. (Give examples and a reason)

Topic Sentence

• I like hot and spicy dishes. (Give examples and a reason)

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Elaboration

• I like hot and spicy dishes such as asam laksa and chicken curry.
• I also cannot resist a bowl of hot tomyam, a sweet and sour dish.
• These dishes never fail to lift up a dull and boring day.

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Further Practice

1. Playing computer games is a good pastime ( explain or give reasons)
2. Homework is a waste of time (explain)
3. School life can sometimes be very boring. (give examples)

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Extra exercise

4. Cigarette smoking is hazardous to health (give facts)
5. Boys should learn how to cook (give reasons)
6. I dislike people who cannot keep a secret (describe or give examples)
7. There are many benefits of reading.

Writing Good Paragraphs

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• P1 focus on main idea, topic sentence, or thesis statement
• P2 major supporting ideas (describe P1)
• P3 details, elaboration, examples (describe P2)

POWER WRITING

How do I write a good paragraph?

A GOOD PARAGRAPH USUALLY HAS

• P1- MAIN IDEA
• P2- MAJOR DETAIL
• First, second , third , lastly, finally,
• another , moreover, in addition, in my opinion,
• besides, apart from that, next
• P3- MINOR DETAIL
• for example , for instance , in such cases,
• in other words, because of…
• P4- CONCLUDING SENTENCE
• In conclusion, In summary,
• These are the reasons..

Example 1

• P1
• P2

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• P3

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• P4

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• Smoking is harmful to our health
• The first reason is because it causes lung cancer.
• For example, cigarette smoke contains 4000 chemicals which will destroy our lungs.
• So, stay away from cigarettes

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Example 1

• P1
• P2

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• P3

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• P4

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• There are many benefits of reading.
• The first benefit is that it improves the command of your language.
• For example, if you read a lot of English story books, you will definitely enrich your vocabulary as well as improve your essay writing.
• (No P4… why?)

• P1

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• P2

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• P1

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• P2

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• P4

• The second benefit of reading is….

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• For Instance, ….

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• Another benefit of reading is…

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• In such cases,…..

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• Thus, we can see that reading indeed brings a lot of benefits.

Complete this essay�The Benefits of Co-curricular Activities.

• Co-curricular activities bring a lot of benefits.
• First and foremost, the activities keep us healthy. (P2)
• For example, when we play hockey, we keep ourselves fit. (p3)

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• Besides that, co-curricular activities help to develop our leadership abilities..(P…)
• In many cases, many successful leaders nowadays are actually leaders themselves at school level. (P….)

Sample Essay 2

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• P1
• P2

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• P1
• P2

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• There are many school rules and regulations which you have to obey.
• Firstly, we must wear the school uniform. The length of the pinafore should be two inches below the knees.

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• Besides , only black ribbons are allowed. You are not allowed to….

Use this organizer !

• Page 29, Complete writing guide for PMR, Arah Pendidikan.

The End

Thank You!!!

• http://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/lessons/adjective-word-order

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• Adjective word order
• The use of adjectives is essential when trying to describe a noun or pronoun.  Good writers and speakers are able to use adjectives to create clear, mental images for the reader or listener.  As you continue to work on your English, don’t be afraid to use multiple adjectives to describe something. Using more than three physically descriptive type adjectives in sequence to describe one noun or pronoun would sound a little awkward.   When using multiple adjectives in a sequence, you must be aware of the correct adjective order.  The proper order of adjectives is listed below along with some examples for each category.
• Determiners – a, an, the, my, your, several, etc.
• Observations – lovely, boring, stimulating, etc.
• Size – tiny, small, huge, etc.
• Shape – round, square, rectangular, etc.
• Age – old, new, ancient, etc.
• Color – red, blue, green, etc.
• Origin – British, American, Mexican, etc.
• Material – gold, copper, silk, etc.
• Qualifier – limiters for compound nouns.
• Here are some examples:
• "The interesting, small, rectangular, blue car is parked in my space."�"I bought a beautiful, long, red, Italian, silk tie." �"My father lives in a lovely, gigantic, ancient, brick house." �"I have an annoying, small, circular, American, tin, alarm clock that wakes me up."�"Let’s order a delicious, huge, rectangular, pepperoni pizza."�"We all love our smart, petite, British teacher." �"They all received several dazzling, small, ancient, gold coins."�"She owns a stunning, large, old, brown dog named Boris."

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Now, try writing an article

• How students can reduce the amount of time they spend on computer
• I. Introduction
• A. Questions
• B. Dialogues
• C. Idioms
• D. Story

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• II. Body
• A. Effects
• i. Study time is reduced
• Ii. Lack of exercise
• Iii. Health problems – backache, eye strain
• Iv. Social problems – less family interaction, fewer

friends.

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• B. Suggestions
• i. Prepare timetable
• Ii. Allow time for study and recreation

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• C. Benefits
• i. study time organized
• Ii. More time with family
• Iii. Have new hobbies
• Iv. Stay healthy and alert

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III. Conclusions

• State the result if one reduce the amount of time spent on computer.

Now try writing an essay entitled “Benefits of co-curricular activities”

Draw a mind map before writing

VOCABULARY POWER

• Vocabulary is a weak area for many students.
• Do this exercise in your journal to increase your vocabulary.

• Complete the mind map below with 10 words that describe feelings

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• Give 10 words that describe size

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• List 9 words used to link sentences together.

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• List 10 words to describe a town

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• List 10 words to describe a person

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• List 10 words to describe a nice place

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• List 10 words to replace the word “bad”

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Vocabulary power

• If you follow a few simple steps, you will find that the essay almost writes itself.
• You will be responsible only for supplying ideas, which are the important part of the essay anyway.
• Don't let the thought of putting pen to paper daunt you.

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• Get started!
• These simple steps will guide you through the essay writing process:
• Decide on your topic.
• Prepare an outline or diagram of your ideas.
• Write your thesis statement.
• Write the body.
• Write the main points.
• Write the subpoints.
• Elaborate on the subpoints.
• Write the introduction.
• Write the conclusion.
• Add the finishing touches.

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WRITING GOOD PARAGRAPH

• What is a good paragraph?
• It is a group of related sentences..
• .. expressing one central idea.
• It usually consists of several sentences
• It is a part of a composition.

A good paragraph usually contains the following elements…

• A topic sentence
• Development
• Logical order
• closing

Topic sentence (P1)

• This is the main idea or
• Subject of the writing
• It usually appears at the beginning of the paragraph

Development (P2)

• These are the sentences that describe the main idea; giving more details
• Elaboration of the topic sentence (P1)

Methods used to make sure your paragraph is well-developed :

• Use examples and illustration
• Give facts, statistics,evidence, details
• Quotation of people
• Use anecdotes / story
• Define terms
• Compare and contrast

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Methods used to make sure your paragraph is well-developed :

• Evaluate cause and reasons
• Examine effects and consequences
• Analyse the topic

Logical order

• The sentences have to be put together in a way to make sense
• All sentences have to be about the main idea.

Closing

• The conclusion or ending to your idea

WHAT IS A TOPIC SENTENCE

• Topic sentence:
• introduces the topic of your paragraph
• it introduces the main idea of the paragraph.
• To write a ts : just say something general about the topic
• Eg. Many students are very keen on computer games. What makes these games so popular?
• Indicate to your reader what your paragraph will be about.
• Eg. There are many benefits of reading. (..you are indicating that you are going to write about the benefits of reading)

What are supporting details?

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Give details to develop and support the main idea of the paragraph.

How to write supporting details:

(details to develop and support the main idea of the paragraph)

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• i. give details:
• Eg. my friends and I arrive in pulau langkawi. Even though we felt tired after the long journey, we were excited about the trip.
• (give more details – time of arrival, your feeling)

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How to write supporting details?

• (details that develop and support the main idea of the paragraph)
• ii. give reasons:
• cigarette smoking is hazardous to your health. This is because it causes many types of cancer and heart diseases.

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How to write supporting details

• (Give details to develop and support the main idea of the paragraph)
• (give one reason why smoking is hazardous)
• iii. Give examples: There are many types of exercises which are beneficial to our health. For example, jogging strengthens the leg muscles and improves cardiovascular functions.

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• Exercise for you….

Practice 1�Continue writing the paragraphs below.�

• Last week, we were busy preparing to celebrate Teacher’s Day. Firstly, we…
• Smoking is harmful to our health.
• I like my English teacher.
• Playing games is good for health.

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