English Listening and Composition

English Listening and Composition

• Prof. Shao Guangqing
• Shaoguangqing@gmail.com

Text-book

• Alice Savage, Patricia Mayer, Masoud Shafiei, Rhonda Liss, and Jason Davis. Effective Academic Writing 1: the Paragraph. Oxford University Press, 2007.
• ISBN: 978-0-19-430922-6
• Binding: Paperback

Contents

• Unit one The Sentence and the paragraph
• Part 1 Stimulating ideas
• Warm-up: Legal Age for Marriage
• The paragraph
• Part 2 Developing a paragraph
• Paragraph organization
• The topic sentence
• Supporting sentences
• Concluding sentences

Warm-up

• Speaking topic
• Legal Age for Marriage
• In the U.S.
• In your country

• The legal age of marriage
• Marriage license
• The fees and ceremony
• The physical examination, such as a blood test
• The waiting period before the license is issued

The paragraph

• Red
• I love the color red. No other color symbolizes so many different emotions and experiences. Life would be very boring without the color red. Fires would not burn in the same way. The sunset would not be interesting, and blood would not be so surprisingly beautiful. Red is powerful when it appears in nature, and it is also powerful when it appears in our emotions. Red is love. Red is anger. Red is beauty. I like to live life in a strong way, so I think I will always admire the color red.

The paragraph

• A paragraph is ____________________________
• In a ____________ paragraph, the writer describes a person, a place of a thing.
• In an ____________ paragraph, the writer explains a topic by giving examples.
• In a ____________ paragraph, the writer explains how to do something step by step.
• In an ____________ paragraph, the writer expresses his/her feelings, emotions, opinions about a topic.
• In a ____________ paragraph, the writer tells a story.

• a group of sentences about a topic.

• descriptive

• example

• process

• opinion

• narrative

The paragraph

• Red
• I love the color red. No other color symbolizes so many different emotions and experiences. Life would be very boring without the color red. Fires would not burn in the same way. The sunset would not be interesting, and blood would not be so surprisingly beautiful. Red is powerful when it appears in nature, and it is also powerful when it appears in our emotions. Red is love. Red is anger. Red is beauty. I like to live life in a strong way, so I think I will always admire the color red.

• Indenting
• The first sentence must be indented.

Paragraph organization

• A typical paragraph has a _______________,
• __________________ and a ______________.
• The _______________ introduces the topic and tells what the writer will say about the topic.
• The sentences that follow further explain and support the topic sentence. They are called _________________.
• The _________________ often repeats the information in the topic sentence in a different way.

• ①topic sentence

• ②supporting sentences

• ③concluding sentence

• ①

• ②

• ③

• Red
• I love the color red. No other color symbolizes so many different emotions and experiences. Life would be very boring without the color red. Fires would not burn in the same way. The sunset would not be interesting, and blood would not be so surprisingly beautiful. Red is powerful when it appears in nature, and it is also powerful when it appears in our emotions. Red is love. Red is anger. Red is beauty. I like to live life in a strong way, so I think I will always admire the color red.

The topic sentence

• It introduces a new idea. It presents the topic and explains what the writer will say about the topic. This explanation is called the
• _______________.

• Controlling idea

• Topic

• Controlling idea

Are they effective topic sentences?

• A surprise party is a kind of party.
• NO! (TOO GENERAL)
• There were 14 guests at my surprise birthday party.
• NO! (TOO SPECIFIC)
• My classmates gave me an unforgettable surprise birthday party for my 18th birthday.
• YES!

Practice: Identifying effective topic sentences

• 1. ____My doctor is very kind to his patients.
• _____________________________________
• _____________.
• 2. _____ Fried rice is easy to prepare if you follow some simple steps.
• _____________________________________.
• 3. _____ I am going to write about my country.
• _____________________________________.

• √

• The writer will give examples of ways in which his doctor is

• kind to his patients

• √

• The writer will tell the steps for making fried rice.

• ×

Practice: Identifying effective topic sentences

• 4. _____ I had an adventure in the jungle last year.
• ______________________________________.
• 5. _____ Video games are not bad for children.
• ______________________________________.

• The writer will describe the adventure.

• √

• √

• The writer will give reasons why video games are not bad for children.

Practice: Writing topic sentences

• 1. Pets
• Pets are good companions for older people.
• 2. A first date
• ___________________________________
• ___________________________________.
• 3. A terrible teacher
• ___________________________________.
• 4. Tennis
• ___________________________________.

• In order to have a successful first date,

• a person must do the following things.

• I have a terrible teacher when I was in middle school.

• Tennis is a really boring sport to watch.

Supporting sentences

• Supporting sentences add information about the topic and the controlling idea.

• Supporting sentences:
• _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.

Supporting sentences

• Type 1
• Dependency on computers means that young people cannot perform the normal tasks and functions of daily life without them.

• Supporting definition

Supporting sentences

• Type 2
• In the old days, people memorized important information, but today’s youth rely on their computers, cell phones, and PDA’s to do assignments, record numbers, and save important information. As a result, they can find themselves unprepared in an emergency such as an electrical blackout. Once their batteries die, these people will not be able to communicate.

• Supporting explanation

Supporting sentences

• Type 3
• For example, I do all my schoolwork on my computer. When my computer crashed last week, I lost my only draft of an essay that was due the next day. As a result, I got a bad grade.

• Supporting example

Practice: Identifying topic sentences and supporting sentences

• 1. _____ a. Mosquitoes are attracted to heat.
• _____ b. Mosquitoes will fly several miles
• to find flood.
• _____ c. Only the female mosquito bites.
• _____ d. Mosquitoes are interesting
• insects.

• SS

• SS

• SS

• TS

Practice: Identifying topic sentences and supporting sentences

• 2. _____ a. One of my hobbies is listening to
• international music.
• _____ b. I have a large collection of world
• music recordings.
• _____ c. My friends and I like to introduce each
• other to new international artists we
• discover.
• _____ d. I enjoy going to concerts by musicians
• from different countries.

• TS

• SS

• SS

• SS

Practice: Identifying topic sentences and supporting sentences

• 3. _____ a. I like the way people decorate
• their homes and stores.
• _____ b. I enjoy going shopping in cold
• weather.
• _____ c. I enjoy the parties and
• celebrations of the winter holiday.
• _____ d. I really like the winter holidays.

• SS

• SS

• SS

• TS

Practice: Identifying topic sentences and supporting sentences

• 4. _____ a. My new apartment has big
• closets.
• _____ b. My new apartment is perfect for
• my roommate and me.
• _____ c. My new apartment is close to
• school and work.
• _____ d. My new apartment is not too
• expensive for students.

• SS

• TS

• SS

• SS

The concluding sentence

• The concluding sentence usually reminds the reader of the topic and controlling idea of the paragraph.
• The concluding sentence restates the main idea.
• Topic sentence: I love the color red.
• The concluding sentence: I like to live life in a strong way, so I think I will always admire the color red.

The concluding sentence

• Warn the reader:
• If you do not follow these steps, you may not get the grade that you want.
• Make a prediction:
• The automotive industry will change, and soon everyone will be driving pollution-free cars.
• Give an opinion about the topic:
• Some people might disagree, but I think lamb is the best meat for grilling.
• Using In conclusion:
• In conclusion, learning a second language has many advantages.

Practice: Identifying supporting sentences and concluding sentences

• 1. The best way to see San Francisco is by walking.
• ___ a. When you explore San Francisco by foot, you can experience all the city has to offer.
• ___ b. When you walk, you experience the different smells of the restaurants, the plants and sometimes the ocean.
• ___ c. You can stop and look in the windows of shops or sit on a bench for a short while and look at interesting people.
• ___ d. In a car or a bus, you cannot stop easily if you see something interesting because parking is difficult.

• CS

• SS

• SS

• SS

Practice: Identifying supporting sentences and concluding sentences

• 2. An egg taco takes only five minutes to make.
• ___ a. Your delicious egg taco is ready to eat in just a few minutes.
• ___ b. Heat a flour tortilla in a small amount of water.
• ___ c. Scramble two eggs with a little salt and pepper.
• ___ d. When the eggs are done, slide them into the warm tortilla and fold it over.

• CS

• SS

• SS

• SS

Practice: Identifying supporting sentences and concluding sentences

• 3. My paper is late because something happened to my computer.
• ___ a. I was almost finished writing my paper, and I was checking it for errors.
• ___ b. Suddenly, my computer screen went blank, and the power was gone.
• ___ c. The accident made me lose many hours of work, so I could not turn in my essay on time.
• ___ d. Later, I learned that a squirrel got on the power line and disrupted the electricity.

• CS

• SS

• SS

• SS

Practice: Identifying supporting sentences and concluding sentences

• 4. I enjoy the riverwalk in San Antonio.
• ___ a. The riverwalk is lower than the streets of the city.
• ___ b. You can walk down stairs to a canal with a stone path and plants on each side.
• ___ c. There are many shops, restaurants and hotels along the path.
• ___ d. The riverwalk is a pleasant place to spend an afternoon or evening in San Antonio.

• CS

• SS

• SS

• SS

Practice: Examining concluding sentences

• Circle the word that best describes each of the concluding sentences below.
• 1. If you follow these steps, you will never lose your keys again.
• A. prediction
• B. opinion
• C. warning

Practice: Examining concluding sentences

• 2. Students who are not careful with credit cards can go into debt quickly.
• A. prediction
• B. opinion
• C. warning
• 3. Venice, Italy, is the most beautiful city in the world.
• A. prediction
• B. opinion
• C. warning

Practice: Examining concluding sentences

• 4. You will be able to produce a beautiful paper crane with only a little bit of practice.
• A. prediction
• B. opinion
• C. warning
• 5. There are many reasons why movie stars make poor politicians.
• A. prediction
• B. opinion
• C. warning

Practice: Examining concluding sentences

• 6. The desert is a beautiful but dangerous place to hike, so do your research and take time to prepare carefully.
• A. prediction
• B. opinion
• C. warning

• THANK YOU