Writing - Thesis Statement

Creating a thesis statement is not easy, but it contributes in two principal goals every work has: 

• For the readers: a proper identification of the main idea
• For the writer: an organization of the written work 

The following detailed checklist will help you in the brainstorming of establishing your thesis statement:

• Chronology: think in the relevant data you have already gathered so you can identify an order of events or patterns. 
• Procedure: is there any information about an existent scheme on your topic?
• Cause: what is the person, place, or thing that is causing your topic to exist? 
• Effect: how is your topic affecting others?
• Problem: what is happening with your topic that it became an issue? 
• Solution: what can be done to solve the problem your topic is causing? 
• Comparison: are there any statistics or evidences of other cases in another place?
• Contrast: how does those cases differ? 
• Similarity: how does those cases resemble? 
• Advantages: pros
• Disadvantages: cons
• Analysis: considering the above elements, how is your topic interesting to your audience?

Writing - Introduction

Writing is a productive language skill that requires a lot of creativity and art to some extent because it does not allow immediate feedback like speaking does. That is why the impression we generate in our audience is vital for keeping it interested in the ideas we want to spread with our text. In that context, the introduction of any paper is essential and it should include:

1) Hook: interesting but specific description that leads the reader into the paper topic. 

Example: Study of the Current Disability Situation in Ecuador" (ESADE) published by the National Council on Disabilities (CONADIS), found that people with disabilities number 13.2 percent of the population in Ecuador (2009). Referring to special educations individuals no studies have been conducted yet, but the need of equity in SLA for this population is imperative based on the Ecuadorian's Constitution. SLA is a complex process which is developed over an extended period of time and it will vary depending on the student and also it is contingent on many factors that can affect the process.

2) Transition: sentence that connects the hook with the thesis.

Example: Since language depends largely on the context in which it takes place and is acquired in varying degrees of proficiency; it is useful to examine the various factors that affect it as they relate to the individual student’s learning and academic growth.

3) Thesis statement: Sentence (or two) that summarizes the overall main point of the paper. 

Example: People with special needs have bigger difficulties learning a second language not only because of their cognitive problems but also because Ecuador lacks of specialized centers in this area. The following booklet will discuss the importance of creating a curriculum for special education professionals teaching SLA in Guayaquil.

If you are ready to start writing, watch this video to help you with the outline that will support your whole work

Connectors

Also called discourse markers, connectors guide readers through the piece of writing by emphasizing the important elements and connecting ideas, sentences, and paragraphs. If these connectors are not present in the text, readers may have to spend too much time trying to understand the message the author wants to express, thus making the literary work ineffective at its ultimate objective: to communicate. As English learners, we are still developing our writing style, so it is time to widen our vision of the tools we can use in our works. The following categorization of discourse markers will give us a hint on how to use them.

ADDING

and

also

as well as

moreover

too

furthermore

additionally

SEQUENCING

first, second, third…

finally

next

meanwhile

after

then

subsequently   

ILLUSTRATING

for example

such as

for instance

in the case of

as revealed by…

illustrated by

CAUSE and EFFECT

because

so

therefore

thus

consequently

hence

COMPARING

similarly

likewise

as with

like

equally

in the same way..

QUALIFYING

but

however

although

unless

except

apart from

as long as

if            

CONTRASTING

whereas

instead of

alternatively

otherwise

unlike

on the other hand..

conversely        

EMPHASISING

above all

in particular

especially

significantly

indeed

notably

Now let's try with these exercises:

There is no more food left. ______ there is plenty of drinks.

Wash the potatoes first. ______ you can boil them.

We have been trying to contact Michael for the past few days. ______ we managed to trace him to a hotel in town.

Life in the country may not be as exciting as life in the city. ______ you are close to nature which provides peace and quietness.

Lopez has experienced poverty and hardship before. ______ he has a sympathetic heart towards the poor and needy.

Here is a more didactic explanation of some of the words shown before:

False friends

With thousands of words, meanings, and translations, some languages share pairs of words or phrases that look or sound similar, but differ in meaning. These are called false friends. On the other hand, those words that have the same linguistic derivation are cognates. We have to be very careful with these situations because we could cause confusion inside or outside the classroom.

Many Spanish words are similar to English words, like:

abbreviation - abreviación

education - educación

ignorant - ignorante

ocean - océano

urgent - urgente

However, some Spanish words look like English words but they have a very different meaning, like: 

Spanish 

asistir

English translation

attend

Confusion with

assist: to help

Spanish 

dirección

English translation

address

Confusion with

direction: a course along which someone or something moves

Spanish 

éxito

English translation

success

Confusion with

exit: salida

Spanish 

decepción

English translation

dissapointment  

Confusion with

deception: engaño

Spanish 

pretender

English translation

to expect

Confusion with

to pretend: fingir

The exercise #9 from the link of Oxford University Press can help us with these confusions.

http://www.oxfordlanguagedictionaries.com/view/Document.html?filename=/oldo/resources/es/swordgames.pdf

This video can also guide us with more examples:

Parts of Speech - Part 2

Continuing with English parts of speech, we will go through the other 4 categories.

5. Adverb: modifies verbs, adverbs, or adjectives and it usually answers questions like where, when, or how. In writing, adverbs are vital because they give the reader a more descriptive narration. It is easy to identify them because they are usually built by adding -ly to an adjective. However, there are some exceptions, like:

afterward

already

almost

back

even

often

far

quick

fast

rather

hard

slow

here

so

how

soon

late

still

long

then

low

today

more

tomorrow

near

too

never

when

next

where

now

yesterday

• Conjunctive Adverbs: also called transitions because they link ideas, words, or paragraphs. Some of them are: 
                   
accordingly
however
again
indeed
also
moreover
besides
nevertheless
consequently
on the other hand
finally
otherwise
for example
then
furthermore


therefore

6. Preposition: links a noun to another word. It can be difficult for non native speakers to use them because of their idiomatic use, but here we can find some guidelines: 

• Use "in" before seasons of the year, months and years not followed by specific dates.

in the winter

in June

in 2014

• Use "on" before days of the week, holidays, and months, if the date follows.

on Saturday

on Christmas 

on January 3rd 

• "Like" means “similar to”, so it is followed by an object.

like Andrea

like me

• Use "of" to show possession of using the possessive form of a pronoun.

I hear a puppy's bark = I hear the bark of a puppy.

Incorrect: I wore the dress of Nina.

Correct: I wore Nina's dress.

The most common prepositions are:

about

between

above

beyond

across

but

after

by

against

despite

along

down

amid

during

around

except

as

for

at

from

before

in

behind

inside

below

into

beneath

like

beside

near

of

since

off

through

on

toward

onto

under

opposite

underneath

out

until

outside

upon

over

with

past

within

7. Conjunction: word that links other words, phrases or clauses, and decides the importance of the various other words in the sentence. 

• Coordinating conjunctions connect two words or groups of words with similar values. the seven coordinating conjunction in English are: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.

 Connects two words: Anne and Sally went to the park. 

Connects two phrases: The band rocked all night and made the people get crazy. 

Connects two clauses: I just gave him food when I came back from the supermarket, and he still wants more.  

• Subordinating conjunctions connect two groups of words by making one into a subordinating clause that answers when or why about the main clause, or imposing conditions or opposition on it.

I can finally take vacation after I finish this project. (when)

The morning was cold, so the dogs did not want to take a walk. (why)

• Correlative conjunctions are always used in pairs. They are similar to coordinating conjunctions because they join sentence elements that are similar in importance.

both = and

either = or

neither = nor

not only = but also

whether = or

8. Interjection: short exclamation inserted into a sentence but not grammatically related to it.

Wow! You arrived on time, that is a miracle!

Parts of Speech - Part 1

Besides understanding some basic punctuation tips for writing, it is important to learn the role that each word plays in a sentence. With an infinite world of possibilities, a language always needs an organization and English is not the exception. There are many ways to categorize all the words, but the most traditional method is in 8 parts. In this post we will revise 4 and complete an exercise.

1. Noun: a person, a place, or a thing.

• Common nouns are non-specific, like woman, city, or dog.
• Proper nouns are specific, like Mirella, Milan, Candy.
• Collective nouns refer to groups of people, places, or things, like audience, crowd, or pack (group of dogs).
• Possessive nouns manifest ownership, like Charles' keyboard, or a girl's purse. 

2. Pronoun: replaces a noun.

• Relative pronouns are words that introduce adjective clauses: who, whom, whose, that, which.
• Possessive pronouns show ownership: my, mine, your, yours, his, her, hers, its, our, ours, your, yours, their, theirs.
• Reflexive pronouns are used to refer to the subject of the sentence. For example: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.
• Intensive pronouns emphasize another noun or pronoun, like in the sentence: She danced with the General Manager himself.
• Indefinite pronouns do not refer to an specific noun and they replace it: each, everything, one, everyone, someone, anything, both, many, several, few, all, most, none, some, much.

3. Verb: action or state.

• Action verbs tell what the subject does, like jump, kiss, laugh.
• Transitive action verbs need a direct object, like in the sentence: Nicole drank the water.
• Intransitive verbs do not need a direct object, like in t6he question: Who came?
• Verb phrases are made of one main verb and one or more helping verbs.
• Helping verbs join another verb to make the meaning clearer: do, does, did, have, has, had, shall, should, will, would, can, could, may, might, must.
• Linking verbs are added to the subject and the predicate and do not express action, but help the words at the end of the sentence name and describe the subject: be, feel, grow, seem, smell, remain, appear, sound, stay, look, taste, turn, become.

4. Adjective: describes nouns.

• Common adjectives describe nouns or pronouns, like pretty girl or small box.
• Compound adjectives are are built with more than one word, like English-speaking country.
• Proper adjectives are formed from proper nouns, like Ecuadorian bananas.
• Articles are a special type of adjective. There are definite: a, an, the; and indefinite: all, either, another, few, any, many, both, more, each, most, neither, several, other, some.

Exercise

Write which parts of speech are the underlined words

You have to take out the garbage. 

We traveled to Africa. 

I was very hungry and she just ignored my needs.

That guitar is mine and Bob has to return it.

Surveys show that many people is going to vote for that candidate.

He will propose at the dinner this evening.

Stephanie was really happy for the job promotion.

In addition, choose a classmate and without saying its name, write a short summary about those things you know about him or her, with the following format:

Noun: bold
Pronoun: underlined
Verb: Italics
Adjective: UPPERCASE

Present that text to your class and they will have to guess who you are talking about. If the person you chose was already mentioned by someone else, you will be given 10 minutes to rewrite your story and make your classmates guess again; until the activity has been completed by everybody. Good luck!