7) References

1. Jordan R.R. Academic Writing Skills. Nelson 1992

2. Zemach D. E., Rumisek L.A.. Academic Writing. MacMillan 2003

3. O’Conner F.H. (1990) Express Yourself in Writing English. Illinois: NTC Publishing Group

4. Deng Xudong. Writing an Introduction for an essay. Retrieved August 15, 2010 from http://www.cdtl.nus.edu.sg/success/sl25.htm

5. Essay. Retrieved January 25, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essay

6. Essay writing feedback. Retrieved October 15, 2010, from http://www.essayforum.com/essay-writing-feedback-3/essay-financial-aid-developing-countries-17035/

6. IELTS Preparation Hints. Skills for the Writing Module. Retrieved March 3, 2010 from

http ://www.askynz.com/ielts/preparation.htm

7. IELTS Sample Essays (Writing Task Two). Retrieved December 15, 2009, from http://www.ieltsexam.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=7&id=15&Itemid=69

8. Reading and Thinking in English. Oxford University Press 1985

9. Sentence Structure. Patterns. Retrieved August 12, 2010 from http://annex.ncwc.edu/writing_lab/nc/handouts/setiii/prints/SETIII7P.html

10. Twenty tips for IELTS success. Retrieved January 21, 2010, from http://www.ielts-exam.net/ielts-preparation-tips/twenty_tips_for_IELTS_success.htm

11. University Writing Center. Faulty parallelism worksheet. Retrieved August 21, 2010, from http://class.georgiasouthern.edu/writingc/handouts/parallel1key.htm

12. What to avoid in concluding paragraphs. Retrieved January 10, 2011 from

http://class.georgiasouthern.edu/writingc/handouts/concludingparagraphs.htm

13. Writing interesting sentences. Retrieved August 28, 2010 from

http://msyorksclass.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/Expanding-Sentences.pdf

8) Exercises

Exercise 1 There are five parallelism mistakes in each of the following passages. Identify the faulty sentences and rewrite them correctly.

Passage A

For the 10 percent of the American population that is left-handed, life is not easy. Using a pair of scissors or to write in a spiral notebook can be very difficult. The scissors and the notebook are two items designed for right-handers. Also, have you ever seen a “southpaw” take notes or writing an exam at one of those right-handed half-desks? The poor “lefty” has to twist like a yoga devotee or in the style of a circus acrobat in order to reach the paper. But a recent study proves that being left-handed can be psychologically damaging as well as tax a person physically. A survey of 2,300 people showed that 20 percent more left-handers than right-handers smoked. Could lefties smoke to relieve the tension or forgetting the problems of living in a right-handed world?

Passage B Some people today are “survivalists.” These people, because they fear some great disaster in the near future (like economic collapse or nuclear war), are preparing for a catastrophe. Hoarding food, stockpiling weapons, and the achievement of self-sufficiency are some of the activities of survivalists. In Arkansas, for example, one group has built a mountain fortress to defend its supplies and staying safe. Arkansas, the group feels, is the best place to be for several reasons: it is an unlikely target for nuclear attack; it offers plentiful supplies of food and water; a good climate. Some Americans feel that the attitude of survivalists is selfish and greed. These people say that such a philosophy turns society into a “dog-eat-dog” race for life. Other people believe that after a nuclear war, the world, with radiation and where there would be disease, wouldn’t be worth living in.

Exercise 2. Make the sentences longer:

The cat is sleeping.

The dirty, big, black cat is sleeping soundly in the corner of the room.

During … classes we do many things

My sister loves reading.

Kazakhstan is undergoing changes.

Exercise 3 . Rewrite the following paragraphs by joining together the simple sentences into complex and compound ones.

1. The rock star was young. He was dressed in a pink satin shirt and purple jeans. Everyone looked at him. He knew they were looking at him. He smiled shyly. He grasped the microphone. He sang two songs. He wrote these songs himself. His fans were delighted. They greeted him with cheers and screams.

2. A pep meeting was held last Friday night. Memorial Stadium was the scene of the meeting. The meeting was attended by thousands of students. Over a hundred faculty members were there too. It rained Friday night. There was also some sleet. Everyone stayed for two hours.

Exercise 4. Read the following passage and fill in the numbered blanks with appropriate sentences listed below:

Topic Sentence:……………………………………………………………………….

1………………………………………………………………………………………

1.1………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………….

2……………………………………………………………………………………...

2.1 ………………………………………………………………………………...

2.2 ………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………..

3…………………………………………………………………………………….

3.1…………………………………………………………………………………

3.2…………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………

Conclusion: …………………………………………………………………………

(A) The boss should be an example and a teacher.

(B) The most important quality is fairness.

(C) That way the workers know what to expect each day

(D) There are three important qualities necessary in a good boss.

(E) I would hire a boss with these qualities for myself.

(F) This allows workers to learn from a boss so that they can increase their job skills and get promoted.

(G) The third most important factor is that the boss act with consistency.

(H) If the boss is fair, workers can feel that if they do a good job, their work will be appreciated, and their efforts will be rewarded.

(I) They know how they will be treated and what their share of workload will be.

(J) The second most important quality is leadership.

Exercise 5 . Match the essay beginnings with the corresponding type:

Beginning type	Essay beginning
1. Relate a dramatic anecdote.	A Do you know that one in 14 Americans has no passport?...
2. Expose a commonly held belief.	B It is generally admitted that…
3. Present surprising facts and statistics.	C In a famous dialogue between two great American writers, F. Scott Fitzgerald once told Ernest Hemingway that… In my opinion…
4. Use a fitting quotation.	D Have you ever noticed that …
5. Ask a provocative question.	E It was only three years ago that …Though this is an extreme example,….it sparked off a heated argument on…
6. Define a key term.	F Democracy is a form of government in which the ultimate authority is given to and exercised by the people. This may be so in theory, but…
7. Present an interesting observation.	G In Elizabeth Johnson’s article “Will the Real Donald Trump Please Stand Up!” the author argues that many people create images in their heads of what people who are fabulously wealthy must be like, images that are many times far from the truth. In my opinion…
8. Relate to the recent news	H Have you ever killed a man? If you were called upon tomorrow to go to Iraq knowing that you might have to kill another person, could you do it? These same questions faced …almost 40 years ago when …

Exercise 6. Fill in the blanks to outline a cause/effect essay

I Intro:

Lead:……………………………………………………………………….…..

Thesis Statement:

………………………………is a big problem in modern society life.

II Body

1 There are three main reasons why people like to……………………………….,

________________, ________________, and___________

2 One cause of/ reason why……………………………………………

A. Support/example 1

B. Support/example 2

3 Another cause of /reason why…………………………………………

A. Support/example 1

B. Support/example 2

III. Conclusion. The most effective solution to this problem seems to be… (suggest a solution).

Exercise 7 Make an outline for an argumentative essay

I Introduction:

Lead:……………………………………………………………………….…..

Thesis Statement:

………………………………is a big controversial issue.

II Body

1 Argument 1

A. Support/example 1

B. Support/example 2

III. Conclusion

Having weighed all pros and cons, it may be concluded that…

Exercise 8. Mark the given criteria as relevant or irrelevant for essay evaluation:

Task response, critical thinking, coverage, interactivity, syntactical range, grammar accuracy, coherence, cohesion, logical consistency, volume, structure, grammatical range, lexical resource

Exercise 9. Assess the essay below under the chosen criteria

In this modern world, news spread faster than air. Reporters and journalists bring news from all over the world regarding current affairs and news editor decides which news is important and to be relayed either in television or newspapers considering many factors in mind.

The most important one is circulation of newspapers. Usually, news editor aims to make some money while increasing the circulation and tries to beat the competition. Often reporters use yellow journalism as a tool just to increase the turnover of newspapers. Secondly, by broadcasting unbiased opinion towards present happenings editors print the news that gives popularity to the newspapers...In addition to that nature of news, invading privacy of the people are good factors to note. In newspapers and television most of the times news is involved around bad happenings either violence such as mass strikes, shootings or war situation. People are so used to these type of news and tend to imitate the same and doing things in an unmoral way. This affects them psychologically especially in children and adolescents. Yet, there are some good news such as discoveries all over the world and inventions that nourish the human brain. For example, I recently saw the solar eclipse in television which can be seen only in 200 years and it was so amazing. To conclude, though we cannot deny or fully exclude bad news in newspapers and television it is better to have good news. At least, people should choose to watch only good news in order to be happy.