AULA 2

ESTUDOS AVANÇADOS DE
LÍNGUA INGLESA –
COMUNICAÇÃO ESCRITA
E ESCRITA ACADÊMICA

Profª Dra. Thereza Cristina de Souza Lima

CONVERSA INICIAL

In this lesson we are going to deal with texts in which the writer discusses a
subject, gives his/her opinion about it and defends his/her point of view, that is to
say, the argumentative text.
If we think about the purpose of writing, we may notice that we write to
express our ideas, to convey a message to the reader, so the information must
have coherence and cohesion. On the other hand, it is also necessary to pay
attention to the formal aspects: correct spelling, punctuation, grammar, and
selected vocabulary.
According to Ur (1996, p. 162), “much higher standards of language are
demanded in writing than in speech: more careful constructions, more precise and
varied vocabulary, and more correctness of expression in general”.
Considering both points mentioned above, the purpose and the formal
aspect of writing, the objective of this lesson is to help the teacher find a fair
balance when defining requirements, as well as when assessing the student’s
piece of writing. In other words, the lesson is meant to show students how they
may produce pieces of writing coherently, well planned and organized, which will
enable effective communication between the reader and the writer.

CONTEXTUALIZANDO

One of the biggest problems students face when they have to write a text is
related to motivation. In order to solve this problem, it is important to observe the
etymology of the word motivation: it comes from the Latin movere, which means to
move, to change places. So it is possible to infer that when someone has the
motivation to do something, he wants to move or to get going in order to reach an
objective.
In relation to education, motivation may be seen as a process rather than a
product. As a process, we do not observe motivation directly but rather we infer it
from actions such as choice of tasks, effort, and persistence1. This is the reason
why motivation is related to autonomy: when there is motivation, there is an
autonomous search to reach a goal.

1
Available at: <https://www.education.com/reference/article/motivation/>. Access on: 15 Jan.
2018.
02
 Concerning writing in a foreign language, the student will strive to do it well
if he/she actually feels motivated. So it plays a significant role in the learning and,
more specifically, in the writing process. According to Zoltan Dornyei and Kata
Czizer2, mentioned in an article entitled “Young Foreign Language Learners’
Motivation – a Slovenian experience”3, there are ten commandments for motivating
language learners, which are:

Table 1 – Ten commandments

1. Set a personal example with your own behavior

2. Develop a good relationship with the learners
3. Increase the learners’ linguistic self-confidence
4. Make the language classes interesting
5. Promote learner autonomy
6. Personalize the learning process
7. Increase the learners’ goal-orientedness
8. Familiarize learners with the target culture
9. Create a pleasant relaxed atmosphere in the classroom
10. Present the tasks properly

Although some of the commandments may seem rather vague, such as

making the language classes interesting, there is no doubt that they are very useful
to motivating students. For instance, when a teacher increases the learners’
linguistic self-confidence or when the teacher helps learners to set goals that are
realistic in relation to their level and to their learning.
Besides, it is worth remembering that after being generated, motivation
needs to be maintained. One of the ways to maintain students’ motivation is to
present the tasks properly. Let us have a look at an effective proper way to write a
paragraph to be developed in an essay. This way is called brainstorming.

2
Dörnyei, Z. & Csizér, K. (1998). Motivational strategies in the language classroom.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
3
Published in Porta Linguarum 19, enero 2013, pp. 179-198.

03
TEMA 1 – BRAINSTORMING: WHAT IS THIS?

Picture 1 – Brainstorming map

Source: The University of Queensland.

Frequently, students comment that it is rather difficult to start a piece of

writing and after getting started, it is again hard to keep it going in an interesting
way until the end. Considering this difficulty, it is usual to tell students to use
brainstorming techniques, as it is an effective way to start a composition. But, what
is brainstorming and how can it be done?
According to the article entitled Infinite Innovations Ltd4, “to brainstorm is to
use a set of specific rules and techniques which encourage and spark off new
ideas which would never have happened under normal circumstances”, so it is a
process of generating new ideas. In order to do it, it is necessary to write, in note
form, whatever comes to one’s mind in relation to a certain topic. Only after the
process of brainstorming is over, the ideas that are not related to the topic should
be discarded.
Then, when a list of words that have things in common is left, it is time to
decide the order that they will be approached. This allows the writer to organize
the writing, to select only relevant themes to be used in the text, as well as to follow
a suitable sequence and it prevents him/her from getting lost. It is worth noticing
that brainstorming is usually done by a group of people, but it may be done
individually as well.

4
Available at: <http://www.brainstorming.co.uk/tutorials/whatisbrainstorming.html>. Access on: 15
Jan. 2018.
04
 Some of the rules are5:

• No criticism or debate. Absolutely no negative talk allowed. Focus on the

problem. Suspend judgment until later.
• The sky is the limit. The wilder the ideas the better. Crazy ideas often lead
to useful ideas.
• Quantity rather than quality. The more ideas you have, the more chance of
a useful one appearing.
• Mutate and combine. Change and mix existing ideas in order to create new
ones. Even slight variations or 'misinterpretations' are valid.

A good example may be seen in the image below:

Picture 1 – Clustering

Should someone write a description of his/her mother, the image of

brainstorming above is a good example.

5
Available at: <http://www.syque.com/quality_tools/toolbook/Brainstorm/do.htm>. Access on: 15
Jan. 2018.
05
TEMA 2 – TOPIC SENTENCE AND PARAGRAPH WRITING

After brainstorming, it is time to start the writing itself, so we come to

paragraph writing. Firstly, what is a paragraph?
The word paragraph comes from the Latin paragraphus, which means “a
sign that designates a separate part” (Winkler, 2001), so that the whole is
composed of a collection of separate parts and the paragraph is each of these
separate parts. Put another way, words are grouped into phrases, phrases into
clauses, clauses into sentences, sentences into paragraphs, paragraphs into
sections and sections into chapters.
Here, we are going to approach paragraph writing and later argumentative
texts. Paragraphs usually signal a new idea that is frequently introduced by a topic
sentence. This sentence introduces a main idea that will be discussed afterwards
in the paragraph and the text development.
After the topic sentence, supporting details are then given in the following
sentences. These following sentences should start with a connective that aims to
tell the reader that you are going further or you are justifying what has been stated
in the topic sentence. Some of them are:

● Firstly… Secondly… Thirdly…

● To start with... Besides... In addition...
● In addition... Furthermore... Moreover...

Picture 2 – Example 1

Source: Chapman, s.d.

06
 In the example above, the topic sentence starts the text, the supporting
sentences mention the unreliability of the public transportation; the fact that the
buses are not stopping at the bus stop (this one starting with a connective –
moreover) and the concluding sentence, which is related to the topic sentence.
In fact, in the conclusion, the idea contained in the topic sentence is re-
stated, but, of course, with different words. Here are some connectives, which
show the reader that the text is going to be concluded:

● In conclusion…
● In brief…
● In short…

Other examples may be seen in the paragraphs below, which were based
on the following situations, extracted from a dating site:

Picture 3 – First situation

Crédito: Popcorner/Shutterstock.

Alice is an art and music teacher, aged 25, who likes going to concerts, to
the movies, attending good restaurants, talking about politics, reading good books
and listening to classical music. She would like to find a non-smoking partner, with
a good sense of humor, who “is willing to get married and have children”.

012
Picture 4 – Second situation

Crédito: G-stockstudio/Shutterstock.

Bernie is the owner of a sportswear shop, aged 29, who likes watching
football and cowboy films on TV. His favorite pastime is going to pubs to drink beer
and eat hot-dogs. He would like a woman who “is a real partner and appreciates
the same things I do”. He is a heavy smoker, got divorced 3 years ago, but is willing
to get married again and have children, “as long as I don’t have to change nappies”.
He doesn’t tolerate talkative women.

Picture 5 – Third situation

Crédito: goodluz/Shutterstock

Sebastian is a researcher, aged 35, who likes gardening, reading, listening

to good music and staying home to cook exotic food. He would like an intelligent
woman who wants to have children. He doesn’t smoke and prefers not wasting

012
money on things like restaurants, cinema, etc.
Here are 2 paragraphs about the most suitable partner for Alice:

1. Bernie and Alice probably would not suit each other for several reasons
(topic sentence). First of all, they enjoy different things. For example: he
likes having old-fashioned food and she would rather go to good restaurants.
Besides, his favorite pastime is going out to pubs and watching cowboy films
whereas she enjoys listening to classical music and discussing politics. Moreover,
he smokes and can't stand women who talk too much and she would like to find a
non-smoker partner and seems to be a very talkative person. In conclusion, their
marriage would be a disaster.
2. In some ways, Alice and Sebastian could get on well because they have
some things in common (topic sentence). Firstly, both of them seem to be
educated people, as he is a researcher and she is a teacher. In addition,
neither of them smoke, which is very important for both of them. However,
he hates spending money on going out and prefers spending the weekend
at home, whereas she loves going to expensive restaurants. In short,
although they share some points of view. He is not the ideal husband for
her, but perhaps he might be a good choice.

In paragraph 1, the topic sentence is: Bernie and Alice probably would not
suit each other for several reasons, which is where the idea is presented and the
opinion is given. Then, 3 supporting reasons are presented, introduced by
connectives. Finally, the conclusion, related to the topic sentence is also given.
Paragraph 2 follows the same pattern, but the opposite point of view is
presented, so the connective used is “However”. Other ones could be used, such
as: on the one hand… on the other hand; nevertheless (more formal); yet...

TEMA 3 – PARAGRAPH DEVELOPMENT

In order to develop a paragraph so as to change it to an argumentative

prose, it is necessary to follow some steps related to the introduction of the text,
the supporting details, the opposite point of view (if there is one) and the
conclusion. Here is the introduction:

3.1 The introduction

The introduction of an argumentative text is quite similar to the one

012
suggested for a simple paragraph, but now it is advisable to start it with a general
idea and then come to a more specific one. The graphic below is quite useful to
see how the introduction should be:

Picture 6 – How the introduction should be

General idea

Linking idea

Specific
idea

People who choose to live in big cities nowadays have to face big
problems (topic sentence and general idea). Living in Curitiba is no exception
(Linking sentence). Firstly, the several means of public transportation available are
becoming less and less efficient. Besides, violence is everywhere, which makes
life very difficult and unsafe. In addition, there has been a significant increase in
the level of pollution in Curitiba.
In this case, there is no conclusion here, as the text is to be continued.

3.2 Development

In the development, the writer develops every supporting idea given in the
introduction. This way, the second paragraph refers to the first supporting idea –
in this case: public transportation – and should give further information about it; the
third paragraph refers to the second supporting idea and the fourth one refers to
the third supporting idea. So far, there are 4 paragraphs: the first is the introduction
and the next three are related to the development of each supporting idea. For
example:
Second paragraph:
With the increasing number of vehicles, the traffic has become rather slow
and going anywhere by car or by bus is getting more and more difficult. This makes
drivers anxious and nervous, which makes them argue and disrespect the simple
rules of good manners. Unfortunately, nowadays it is common to see drivers risking
their lives and fighting against each other over nothing.
Third paragraph:
012
 Another problem is related to violence, which has been worrying
increasingly the population. Some examples of violent behavior can be seen
outside the stadiums on days of soccer matches when rival supporters confront
and hurt each other aggressively. Also, prisoners live a very complex situation due
to overcrowding, where some of them even kill others in dispute for power and
drugs.
Fourth paragraph:
Moreover, environmental issues are constantly worrying the population due
to excessive pollution caused by cars and buses. Another problem is the garbage
which is dumped in areas that should be environmentally protected, but,
unfortunately, are not.

TEMA 4 – CONCLUSION

It is very important to write a good conclusion as it is the closing of the text.

Certainly, a good idea is connecting the conclusion to the introduction, but
repeating words should always be avoided. An example could be:
All the factors mentioned above show that the image of Curitiba, spread
everywhere by the local media and by its governmental representatives is
questionable, as it dissimulates the reality of the city. For the population, the only
attitude to be taken is to vote critically, so that the next politicians elected may help
to improve the situation of our city.

TEMA 5 – THE ARGUMENTATIVE TEXT ITSELF

People who choose to live in big cities nowadays have to face big problems.
Living in Curitiba is no exception. Firstly, the several means of public
transportation available are becoming less and less efficient. Besides, violence is
everywhere, which makes life very difficult and unsafe. In addition, there has been
a significant increase in the level of pollution in in our town.
Firstly, with the increasing number of vehicles, the traffic has become rather
slow and going anywhere by car or by bus is getting more and more difficult. This
makes drivers anxious and nervous, which makes them argue and disrespect the
simple rules of good manners. Unfortunately, nowadays it is common to see drivers
risking their lives and fighting against each other for nothing. Besides, it is usual to
see the population who live on the outskirts and depend on buses waiting in long
queues in order to commute in and out every day.

012
 Another problem is related to violence, which has been worrying the
population more and more. Some examples of violent behavior can be seen
outside the stadiums on days of soccer matches, when rival supporters confront
and hurt each other aggressively. Also, prisoners live a very complex situation due
to overcrowding where some of them even kill others in dispute for power and
drugs.
Moreover, environmental issues are constantly worrying the population due
to excessive pollution caused by the increasing number of cars and buses. In
addition, there is the garbage, which is dumped out in areas that should be
environmentally protected, but, unfortunately, are not. These areas become
extremely polluted and may cause terrible diseases to people who live nearby.
In conclusion, all the factors mentioned above show that the image of
Curitiba, spread by the local media and by its governmental representatives is
questionable as it dissimulates the reality of the city. For the population, the only
attitude to take is to vote critically, so that the next politicians elected may help to
improve the situation of our city.

FINALIZANDO

As we can see, writing a paragraph and later developing it into a

composition is not a very hard task. It is necessary to:

• Brainstorm.
• Cross out irrelevant information.
• Organize the ideas.
• Plan the writing.
• Follow definite structure.
• Use suitable connectives.
• Not mix ideas.
• Develop every idea in a different paragraph.
• Write an adequate conclusion.
• Reread the text several times.
• Make sure it is coherent.

012
REFERÊNCIAS

BRAINSTORMING. What is brainstorming? Disponível em:

<http://www.brainstorming.co.uk/tutorials/whatisbrainstorming.html>. Acesso em:
4 jan. 2018.

BRAINSTORMING. Disponível em: <http://www.uq.edu.au/student-

services/learning/brainstorming>. Acesso em: 4 jan. 2018.

DÖRNYEI, Z. & Csizér, K. (1998). Motivational strategies in the language

classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001.

EDUCATION. Motivation. Disponível em:

<https://www.education.com/reference/article/motivation/>. Acesso em: 4 jan.
2018.

SYQYE. Brainstorming: how to do it. Disponível em:

<http://www.syque.com/quality_tools/toolbook/Brainstorm/do.htm>. Acesso em: 4
jan. 2018.

TOPIC sentence. Disponível em: <http://slideplayer.com/slide/5306292/>. Acesso

em: 4 jan. 2018.

UR, P. A course in language teaching: practice and theory. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press, 1996.

WINKE, P. Promoting motivation in the foreign language classroom. Clear news,

v. 9, issue 2, fall 2005.

013