Writing a composition
How do you make it interesting?
Decide whether your approach is
- argumentative
- reflective
- descriptive
- letters, speeches
- narration, a story of past events
Please read the guidelines carefully! (If you do not follow these
guidelines, your score will be lowered by 10 -50 points. Even a zero has
been given. If you read "DON`T" , it means that YOU DON`T.
CHOICE OF WORDS
Like all other languages, English is used at different levels ( called
registers) for different purposes. We may easily distinguish colloquial
English from formal written English and journalese from the language of
legal writing. The English used in reporting scientific research is more
formal than the English used in review articles.
When you are writing
1. Choose the correct word.
2. Prefer the simple, familiar word to the pompous, rare word. For
example, prefer hands , feet, ankles and wrists to extremities, which
includes ears and nose; prefer took the view or suggested to hypothesized
3. Prefer the concrete to the abstract.
4. Avoid phrases when a single word can be used, for example
first/firstly not in the first place; slight rather than of minor
extent.
5. Use a short word rather than a long one e.g. prefer show to
demonstrate.
6. Write with nouns and verbs rather than with adjectives and adverbs
7. When describing acts, use verbs of m otion rather than nouns ending in
-tion, -sion
Accuracy
(oikeakielisyys)
- use the appropriate register. (tyyli)
- write sentences which vary in length, remembering linkers
- avoid repetition
- make yourself clear, remembering that simple sentence structure
is usually the best, nothing wrong with ordinary
words! Avoid fancy
words and idioms that might be ridiculous.
- Word Order = SPOTPA
- SP ( have you got the verb right?) = SP-suhde
Man makes
mistakes. People make mistakes.
- Indirect speech (=epäsuora kerronta) Do you know? = suora I wonder if
you know. = epäs.
- The tenses ( erot / yhteen sovittaminen) I would like to know why he
was late.
He had bought the flowers before he came home. I will know why he is
late.
I will go, if you go, too.
I would go if you went, too.
I would have gone, if you hade gone,too.
Ehtovirke.
Take an umbrella in case it rains.
He took an umbrella in case it should rain. =sattuisi satamaan
You can come provided you behave yourself. = edellyttäen,että = jos
I will leave when I am ready.
Will you wait for me until I finish this,please?
Aikaa ilm. Sivulause=
preesens, ei fut.
- Irregular verbs ( Ulkoa!)
- The passive ...(by) Hamlet was written by Shakespeare. Hamlet on
Shakespearen kirjoittama. ( mennyt aika!) I was born in 1986. ( =olen
syntynyt) He was chosen director of the company.
- The relative pronouns who/ which / that / what ( erot! Erityisesti
what-pron.= se, mikä)
- articles (TEST YOURSELF) Sanat joiden kanssa ei tule art.
(ainesana/abstraktio/poikkeukset)
- such a many/
too difficult a test / as interesting a film as the one
I saw/ quite a funny person
such=niin jos mukana subst.
- He/she
his/her
viittaussuhde oikein
; itse-pron. Myself
.....themselves
- genetiivi : yks. ´s ( sekä women´s, men´s, people´s, children´s)
mon. pelkkä heittom. Jos tavallinen monikko ;
asiat/esineet
of-gen. ( obs. pron. its) a woman´s role in modern society / children´s
rights / a girls´ school
The Finnish flag
The kitchen table
A teacher of English
Finland´s education system= the Finnish school system
TEST YOURSELF / MAKING CONNECTION
What is wrong with the following texts ?
b) man and woman were walking up hill. man wore shorts, T-shirt and
sneakers. woman wore a print dress. hill was slippery slope.
b) In 1973 he went on caravan holiday. At
to experience pain in chest.
c) "What are we going to do?" - "That is
beginning of
holiday he began
good question."
More money is being pumped into education system, and we assume this will
continue.
Answer: There are
no articles.
a) ____man and ____woman were walking up hill. ____ man wore ___
shorts,___ T-shirt and sneakers. ____woman wore ___print dress. ____hill
was ____slippery slope.
b) In 1973 he went on ____ caravan holiday. At ___beginning of ____
holiday he began to experience ___ pain in ____ chest.
a) A man and a woman were walking up a hill. The man wore shorts, a Tshirt and sneakers. The woman wore a print dress. The hill was a
slippery slope.
= by using determiners (a/an, the) and
(he,she;they;it) correctly
personal pronouns
b) In 1973 he went on caravan holiday. At the beginning of this holiday
he began to experience a pain in his chest.
c) "What are we going to do?" - "That is a good question."
More money is being pumped into the education system, and we assume this
will continue.
(this refers back)
These are the topics we will be looking at next week.
( These refers forward)
d)) My car is the blue one. = the blue car
Are the new curtains longer than the old ones? = the old curtains
-one/ones viittaa edellä mainittuun C-sanaan
1)
I was really wrong then
About five years ago, when I was 8, I got into trouble at school for
doing something that I shouldn´t have done. Now, when I look back at what
I did, it seems like someone my age would be almost expected to do.
Anyway, my teacher said she would call my mother and tell her everyhting.
I was so scared my mother would be really angry with me. After some
thinking, I decided it would be better if I told my mother myself, in my
own words, what had happened. I went home and without making eye contact,
I told her everything.
She sat me down and we had a long talk. She told me I should think
before act. She really made me think of things differently and see
things from a different point of view. Once we had had our talk, I felt
relieved. Mo mother was not angry at all. I realised how wrong I had been
and learned that you shouldn´t assume things and that you should if you
get into trouble always tell your parents yourself and always tell them
the truth.
192 words
a story
/ events
of the past
2)
Double Standards
It is a truth universally acknowledged that adolescent boys have double
standards. In other words, they change their behaviour depending on
whether they are talking to their mothers or best friends. Unfortunately,
this may lead to bad language, which can demean girls.
What makes pubescent boys behave like that? As I see it, one of the
biggest reasons for it is peer pressure. Boys need to boast about their
"feats" in order to be a member of the group. Still, it is not today's
problem. I think that puberty has always affected young boys in a way
that makes them say inappropriate things.
However, teenage boys are not the only ones to blame. The way I look at
this is that our whole society is based on double standards. And in my
experience, girls are not any different. In some cases, their behaviour
may be even worse than boys'.
In addition, double standards have consequences. I hate to tell you this,
but the gap between men and women will remain because of this and the
problem will pass on to our children. But then again, what ought to be
done?
I honestly cannot imagine a concrete way to get rid of double standards.
I can only suggest that we should start respecting each other and be
understanding. Making people feel bad is not an option.
Perhaps, the day will come when men and women are truly equal. Then the
problem of double standards and demeaning behaviour might be a thing of
the past.
reflective
= personal
opinions . Basically how you feel and what you think of
something. Give examples to prove you point.
Reflective writing:
a personal story
"Strangely enough, instead of being academically inferior to my American
high school, the Irish convent school was superior. In my class at home,"
Love Story "was considered pretty heavy reading, so imagine my surprise
at finding Irish students who could recite passages from "War and Peace".
In high school we complained about having to study" Romeo and Juliet" in
one semester, whereas in Ireland we simultaneously studied "Macbeth" and
Dickens´ s "Hard Times", in addition to writing a composition a day in
English class. In high school, I didn´t even begin algebra until the
ninth grade, while at the convent seventh graders (or their Irish
equivalent) were doing calculus and trigonometry."
Happiness
Yesterday, I saw an old couple who were holding hands it made me smile
and it made me fill up with joy and happiness. Being loved makes me feel
happy. It's the thing that everybody needs. It's the thing that makes you
smile.
Knowing that you have friends all over the world who will always
be there for you makes me happy. It's funny to notice that even though
you are from different cultures and live half a world away you have the
same souls and you enjoy the same things. It makes me feel secure and
safe to wherever I travel in the future.
My family means the world to me and their love is something I need
as it makes me feel happy. When my mum calls me I know I am near her
heart although we are on different sides of the world. When my dad called
me the other day and cried on the telephone it made me feel sad but at
the same time happy because then I really knew that he missed me and I am
the most important thing in his life.
Music for me is a form of happiness because it allows me to
express myself. I borrowed a Japanese CD from a Japanese exchange girl. I
don't understand the lyrics however it doesn't matter because I am able
to feel the emotions and happiness which comes through the singer.
Singing makes me feel happy. It's the thing that I really love. Some days
when I'm upset, I find that singing helps me release the pains and stress
that I'm feeling. I love the feeling when I sing to other people. I can
make them smile and know that they really enjoy it.
Throughout my exchange year I have had many ups and downs but the
negative aspects have made me appreciate the good things even more. I
have survived through the year by myself and I have grown up. I have
shown people that I am strong and that I have made it through everything.
Through my experiences and my exchange year I have learned that happiness
is knowing who you are and enjoying life as it is.
3) descriptive
What can you see, hear, smell, taste? What does it sound like?
Take the reader with to share an experience through the senses
with you.
A Perfect Christmas
Personally, I consider Christmas the most wonderful time of the year.
People are warm-hearted and more considerate towards each other. Besides,
the Christmas spirit is simply magical. But when it comes to a perfect
Christmas, the family comes first of all. Therefore, it would be nice to
have all the family members together even if some of the eldest family
members may not live at home anymore. Another thing that matters to me,
especially at Christmas, is that there should be snow. I believe that
nature is even more beautiful when covered with snow. To make it all
complete, there should be lots of delicious food to eat, as well.
Finally, what could be nicer than eating good food and enjoying Christmas
carols and spending time with your loved ones.
As you can imagine, I prefer a traditional Christmas. I guess some people
don`t appreciate old traditions but I`m convinced that nothing makes my
Christmas better than these yearly rituals. A good example of this would
be the decoration of the Christmas tree together with my sister.
The only thing I don`t like about Christmas is the commercialism. During
the Christmas season people are all stressed out because they are in a
hurry buying more and more things, which strikes me as strange. As a
result of this, the main idea of the holiday is disappearing bit by bit.
As I see it, people should - instead of buying things - concentrate on
good thoughts, and remembering their loved ones.
4) Our values
In my opinion freedom is one of the most important things in life.
Freedom to be who you are, to stand for your opinions and live life the
way you want. Everyone has the right to this. And everyone should be
proud of themselves. But it's not always easy to be who you are.
There's just so much intolerance in the world. To tell the truth,
intolerance makes me sick. There's nothing I dislike more than narrowminded people.
I think it's just lovely when there's so many different people. It would
be boring if we all belonged to the same culture, wouldn't it?
But some people are just so narrow-minded and conservative that they
don't tolerate anything different or new. And that's sad.
There has been a lot of discussion about gay people . I really don't
understand what the big deal is about it ! It's just love between the
same sexes. And in my opinion, it's as normal as love between different
sexes.
I believe nothing is more important than the freedom to be who you are.
It would be so much easier if all the narrow-minded people tolerated
differences. But I guess it's too much to ask. But it's great to know
there are people who are tolerant They make my day!
= argumentative
5)
In 1989 a movie called "Dead Poets´ Society" was released. It was
directed by Peter Weir and the music was by Maurice Jarre. In brief the
Dead Poets Society tells a story about a couple of boys in the
schoolworld of the 50´ s and a teacher, who teaches them to think for
themselves, which ofcourse was forbidden.
The movie isn´t that rich in events, but it is a dramatic and emotional
piece of work, that arouses thoughts and feelings. It seems to be that
the boys´ lives are all about what their parents want and what their
principal expects of them. Or atleast until the new teacher appears.
Robin Williams plays this unforgettable role of mr. Keating or if you
dare "my captain, oh captain". Inspired by mr. Keatings teaching, the
boys start to show interest in poetry and even acting. Every now then
they gather in a secret meeting place to read and make poetry. It gives
the boys the courage to fulfil their dreams, even if they were different
from their parents´.
All the characters are thoughtfully planned and unique with their
interesting personalities. There were no stunts or flashbacks used, the
movie simply followed the plot. The music in the movie went well together
with the scenes and it left a nice overall picture of the film.
"Dead Poets´ Society" is more for a mature taste in films. It has quite a
suprising ending, which leaves a bittersweet atmosphere lingering in the
mind. All in all it´s a "must see" for those who like drama.
= film review