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Unit 2: Different Types of Texts

Tutorial 2:
Saturday (20.8.16)

By the end of Unit 2, you should be


able to:
Recognise the characteristics and
keywords in different types of texts.
Communicate ideas effectively and
coherently in a variety of texts.
Write ideas effectively in the various types
of essays.

2.1 Discussion Essays


By the end of this section, you should be
able to:
Identify the features of discussion essays.
Prepare an outline for discussion essays.
Write thesis statements and topic
sentences for discussion essays.
Write a discussion essay.

What do you write in a discussion


essay?
A single view.
Two views " one view for, and the other
view against.
Your view.

Introduction
Opening sentence: Begin your outline by drafting your
opening sentence " will it be an announcement, refutation,
question, quotation, or a definition?
Background information: Next, decide what background
information you want to give on advertising. Keep it short " just
enough so that your readers know what advertising is.
Thesis statement: Finally, you complete your introduction
with a thesis statement that tells your readers what you intend to
discuss in your essay. You can simply state that you will discuss
the two opposing views followed by your own personal view"
three views in all. You will need three body paragraphs for each
of the three different views.

Body

Body paragraph 1: In your first body paragraph,


your topic sentence will announce what will be
discussed: Some people believe that advertising
is useful and informative. Provide supporting
details to support this main idea. Provide facts,
evidence, statistics, or quotations to support the
topic sentence.

Body paragraph 2: In your second body paragraph, state


in your topic sentence that you will discuss the other view,
i.e. Other people believe advertising gives false information
and increases the prices of goods. Similarly, you provide
supporting sentences to back up why this group of people
are of this second view.
Body paragraph 3: In your third body paragraph, you
give your opinion. You can choose to support one of the
two views discussed, or agree with both views that
advertising is useful, increases the prices of goods, and
informative as well as gives false information.

Conclusion
The conclusion is almost similar to the
introduction. However, you should avoid repeating
the exact words.
Restatement: Restate the thesis statement
with different words " consult your dictionary or
thesaurus for synonyms. Your restatement need
not be in a single sentence. It is basically a
summary of the thesis statement, or a brief
summary of what were discussed in the body
paragraphs.

Summary: Provide a very brief summary of what


was discussed, but do not introduce any new
ideas. Any ideas should be in the body
paragraphs, not the conclusion. If your restatement
provides a sufficient summary of what your essay
is about, it is not necessary to add any further
sentences.
Closing statement: In your final statement, you
make a prediction on what advertising is going to
be like in future, or offer advice on how advertising
can be improved. You may even ask a question to
get your readers thinking. You can close it with a
thought-provoking quotation if you like.

Work upon a prompt.

Research the topic

Organise your problematic


questions.

Build an outline.

Add the supporting material

Re-read your essay.

2.2 Argumentative Essays


By the end of this section, you should be
able to:
Identify the features of argumentative
essays.
Prepare an outline for argumentative
essays.
Write thesis statements and topic
sentences for argumentative essays.
Write an argumentative essay.

Do you think euthanasia should be legalised?


The Malaysian government provides free primary and
secondary education.
Do you think tertiary education should be free too?
I can write whatever I want on my personal Facebook
page. Do you agree with this statement?
Is the death penalty an effective deterrent to crime?
Should smartphones be allowed in the classroom?
Mathematics and Science should be taught in English.
Do you agree?
Paper books are better than digital books.
Should athletes who fail doping tests be banned for life?

2.3 Cause and Effect Essays


By the end of this section, you should be
able to:
Identify the features of cause and effect
essays.
Prepare an outline for cause and effect
essays.
Write thesis statements and topic
sentences for cause and effect essays.
Write a cause and effect essay.

1. Block Organisation
In a block organisation, you discuss all your causes as a
single block " i.e. all your body paragraphs are about only
the causes. Of course, all your body paragraphs can also
be about effects only. Your choice of what you write in a
block organisation depends on the question. Obviously,
you can write about both the causes and effects in your
essay. You may write about the causes in several
paragraphs in the first block, and the effects in the following
paragraphs in the second block. You decide whether what
you want to discuss first " the causes or the effects.

2. Chain organisation
In a chain organisation, all the causes and effects
are linked or connected to each other. You can
have all the linked causes and effects in a single
paragraph, or you can discuss the individual links
in separate paragraphs.
For example, you can do this:
Discuss all the five links in one single paragraph,
or
Discuss all the five links in five separate
paragraphs.

2.4 Compare and Contrast Essays


By the end of this section, you should be able
to:
Identify the features of compare and contrast
essays.
Prepare an outline for compare and contrast
essays.
Write thesis statements and topic sentences
for compare and contrast essays.
Write a compare and contrast essay.

1. Block organisation
In a block organisation, you discuss all
the similarities in one block, and all the
differences in another block.
2. Point-by-point organisation
In a point-by-point organisation, you
devote a paragraph for each point or
feature.

Formulating a Thesis
Statement
Identify not only the subjects to be
compared and contrasted in your
essay, but the point you will make about
them.
Also indicate whether you will focus on
similarities or differences, or balance the
two.

Remember
Comparative essays could be a
comparison between:
1. Two things.
2. Different views.
3. Events.
4. People

2.5 Definition Essays


By the end of this section, you should be
able to:
Identify the features of definition essays.
Prepare an outline for definition essays.
Write thesis statements and topic
sentences for definition essays.
Write a definition essay.

What is a definition essay?


The purpose of a definition essay is to define.
This type of essay explains in depth the
meaning of a word, a term, a concept, an idea,
or a theory.
Most of the time, we can define a word or term
in a sentence or two.
However, if an idea is complex, an extended
definition may be required.
An extended definition may take up several
sentences, paragraphs " or even pages to
explain a concept.

Planning the essay


Let your reader know what term is being
defined.
Let your reader know the category or group the
term belongs to (Is it an animal, object, quality,
belief, theory, festival?).
Tell your reader about the special characteristics
or distinctive traits of this item you are defining.
Make the explanation interesting by using facts,
examples, and stories that will help your readers
understand, as well as enjoy. You can add
humour to your writing if you like.

Essay pattern
Your topic sentence should identify your
topic (the term being defined) and the
controlling idea (category of term, and its
characteristic).

See you in your


next tutorial..

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