Writing the Body
We saw in the last lesson that before you write the body of the speech/essay, you need to organise your thoughts, and the process was described as the 'Bones of the Speech'.
Once you know what things will be included, you then begin the process of writing. This is where your ability to construct the various types of Sentences comes to the fore.
These sentences of course form paragraphs.
Paragraph Order
Note: When writing your first draft don't be overly concerned about formal 'Structure'. The first task is to write. When you are happy that you have said what you want to say, then concentrate on the structure and grammar. The final draft is the one totally devoted to grammatical correction.
There are however several things of which to be aware when writing the paragraphs to your essay or speech.
1. Each paragraph has some sort of order to it.
Space Order for a descriptive paragraph.
When we describe someone we do it in the same order as the person actually comes to our attention. Firstly from the distance to finally standing before our face. From far away to close up.
Time Order in a narrative paragraph.
Recounting events in the order in which they occurred eg: Morning, Afternoon, Evening.
Cause and Effect Order in discussing actions.
Firstly talking about the cause then the effect or vice versa.
2. Sentences serve a technical purpose.
Topic Sentence
A paragraph has a central idea. To guarantee that a paragraph has unity, the writer often states the 'idea' of the paragraph in the first sentence, i.e. topic sentence.
Supporting Sentences.
Supporting sentences are sentences that support the central idea of the paragraph and are logically connected to or related to the Topic Sentence.
Concluding Sentences.
Concluding sentences are those that close the paragraph bearing some relationship to the topic and supporting sentences. They signify that the idea and paragraph are complete.
In the last lesson Bones of a Speech there was a photograph on the right side of the page showing a diagram of what was to be included in the topic of 'Toilets'. The story created from those points are recorded on the right side of this page. Each paragraph starts with a sentence connected to the overall topic.
Para 1: Toilets are a necessity of life.
Para 2: Toilets are breeding grounds for all types of germs
Para 3: Public Hygiene is important in China
Each paragraph contains sentences that support the theme and the Topic Sentence and each contains a concluding sentence connected to the topic sentence.
Para 1: This is what is called an 'open toilet'
Para 2: To avoid illness and promote good health
Para 3: Without the risk of becoming ill.
3. Sentence and Paragraph Transitions
Transitional Expressions are words and phrases which connect one sentence or paragraph to another, or form a bridge between sentences and paragraphs.
Neither sentences nor paragraphs should appear as isolated thoughts. Sentences and paragraphs must be connected and coherent. Both should form a 'step by step' procession leading to some idea, concept or conclusion. .
Key Word Transition:
Repetition of key words and phrases keeps both sentences and paragraphs connected. [Key words also change topics.]
Notice transitions in the article on Toilets:
Para 1 opens and closes with reference to toilets.
Para 2 opens with 'toilets' but closes with 'health'
Para 3 opens with reference to health, i.e. 'hygiene' and closes with reference to 'illness', i.e. health.
Other ways to link sentences and therefore paragraphs.
Time Transitions: Linking words that indicate 'time relationship' between events. For example: (a sentence about work) then - After I finished work I went to see.......
Space Transitions: Space transitions are used to indicate 'spatial relationships' among objects we are describing. For Example: In the Corner of the room there was......
Logic Transitions: Used in situations where there is a cause and an effect. For example: Because he did that, I did this - or - Due to the unavailability of bus tickets, I was forced to take a train.
Synonyms as Transitions: Synonyms are words with the same or similar meaning. (Antonyms are words of the opposite meaning. - see: Thesaurus)
Parallel Structure as Transition: As a writer / As a scholar / As a statesman.....
Sentence Consistency: The ideas in a sentence or paragraph must flow freely. In a sentence, tenses should not be mixed up. For example: "Last Semester I work for this company". It should be: 'Last semester I worked for this company".
You should also be careful about time and space order.
Example: Last year I commenced at this university and one day I want to work in Shanghai. I graduated from No. 1 Middle school before coming here.
[Last year, after graduating from No.1. Middle School, I came to study at this university, and one day I hope to work in Shanghai.]
A Final Point to Watch out for: Avoid Monotonous Repetition
A pronoun takes the place of a noun and so avoids monotonous repetition of a noun. Repetitious example: Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Smith - or The Teacher, The Teacher, The Teacher.
| Multiple Drafts: More than One Draft.
If it is worth doing it is worth doing well!
Even for the simplest article, one draft is never enough. Your first draft is merely putting your ideas onto paper. You then read it and correct it and Read it again.
First Draft:
We already have the raw material that we think we need for our essay, speech or article. We begin to write. We don't worry about mistakes, but just concentrate on expressing ourselves.
We just put our ideas into some sort of organisation.
Second Draft:
When we read the first draft, we ask ourselves some questions:
Did we make ourselves understood in the first draft?
How might people challenge us over what we wrote?
Do we need to research some things?
Are there different points of view to consider?
Did we consider our audience / readers?
Do the paragraphs follow logical order?
Is the transition from paragraph to paragraph successful?
Do we need to narrow the topic?
Is there some material that doesn't belong there?
Is there something that we forgot to put there?
Third Draft:
We now try to 'smooth out' the passage.
Does it read well?
Does it make sense? (Coherent)
Is our position supportable within the text? (Justifiable)
Is each sentence grammatically correct?
Can some sentences be combined (compound-complex)
Have we mixed tenses?
Did we accomplish what we set out to do?
Have we read it slowly and carefully looking for mistakes?
Have we asked a friend for comments and suggestions?
Do we need to write a 4th draft?
Is it now as perfect as we can make it?
If so, then it is time to write the introduction and conclusion.
A..... Daily Living
Toilets are a necessity of life. We all need them and we use them at least once a day. Most of us have our own personal toilet at home, but in China, particularly in the poorer areas, people do not have their own toilet, and must leave their home to walk a little distance to the public toilet. Whilst most of us who have our own private toilets have modern 'flushing' toilets, traditionally, our toilets emptied directly into the ground. This is what we call an 'open toilet'.
B..... Hygiene
Toilets, especially the traditional type, are breeding grounds for all types of germs which lead to sickness, and so it is necessary that after using the toilet, that we thoroughly clean our hands. For those of us with our own private toilets, we should make sure that we regularly clean and sterilize our toilet and the room it is in. We do this to avoid illness and to promote good health.
C..... China The issue of public hygiene is extremely important in China. We have the second largest number of 'open toilets' in the world, and this can have a detrimental effect on public health. It is for this reason that the Beijing Government built 400 brand new hygenic public toilets in preparation for the upcoming Olympic Games. We will have a lot of foreign tourists here at that time, and they expect to be able to attend to the natural bodily functions without the risk of becoming ill.
For More Technical Information Read:
College English Composition: Expressing an Idea : 2002
大学英文写作 第一册 编委： 丁言仁 刘海平 王守仁 编者： 赵文书 康文凯 南京大学出版社 The Topics discussed in the left column can be found in the Text Book referenced above, and the Page numbers listed here, are listed according to their first appearance in the left column.
P. 5 Space Order
P. 72 Time Order
P.203 Cause and Effect Order
P.206 Mixed Orders
P. 23 Topic Sentence
P. 28 Supporting sentences
P. 30 Concluding Sentence P.116 times when there is not a topic sentence.
P. 31 Transitional sentences
P.138 Key Word Transition:
P. 94 Time Transitions
P. 31 Space Transitions
P.214 Logic Transitions
P.214 Synonyms as Transitions
P.186 Parallel Structure as Transition
P.171 Coherence
P.177 Sentence Consistency
P.164 Pronouns:
Remember
First decide upon the points you are going to put into each paragraph. [Bones of the article}
Then start writing out your thoughts. When you have finished, start making the story sound a little better.
Then check it for grammatical and spelling errors.
Then write your introduction and conclusion.
Text Box |
|
Introduction > Lesson One: Basic Oral Skills > Lesson 2: Speaking and Writing > Planning to Write an Essay, Speech or Thesis >
Body of a Speech or Essay
Subpages (1):
Reading and Listening
|
