ENG001 Handouts Lectures 1-30

LECTURE 1

INTRODUCTION TO JOURNALISTIC WRITING

“The invention of writing is probably the most important tool for human advancement, making it possible for each new generation to build upon the work of the previous, to transmit knowledge from person to person, across cultures and time.“ Donald Norman – Stanford University

You must be ready to learn from the first day of school. Don’t you want to:

Do well in your studies

Enjoy self-expression

Become more self-reliant

You know how important writing will be to you and in your life. It will be important from first-grade through college and throughout adulthood. Writing is:

Practical

Most of us make lists, jot down reminders, and write notes and instructions at least occasionally.

Job-Related

Professional and white-collar workers write frequently--preparing memos, letters, briefing papers, sales reports, articles, research reports, proposals, and the like. Most workers do "some" writing on the job.

Stimulating

Writing helps to provoke thoughts and to organize them logically and concisely.

Social

Most of us write thank-you notes and letters to friends at least now and then.

Therapeutic

It can be helpful to express feelings in writing that cannot be expressed so easily by speaking.

Unfortunately, many schools are unable to give children sufficient instruction in writing." There are various reasons: teachers aren't trained to teach writing skills, writing classes may be too large, it's often difficult to measure writing skills, etc. Study after study shows that student’ writing lacks clarity, coherence, and organization. Only a few students can write persuasive essays or competent business letters. As many as one out of four have serious writing difficulties. And students say they like writing less and less as they go through school.

THINGS TO KNOW

Writing is more than putting words on paper. It's a final stage in the complex process of communicating that begins with "thinking." Writing is an especially important stage in communication, the intent being to leave no room for doubt.

Writing well requires:

Clear thinking. Sometimes you need to have your memory refreshed about a past event in order to

write about it. Sufficient time. You may have `stories in their heads' but need time to think them through and

write them down.

Reading. Reading can stimulate you to write about your own family or school life. If you read

good books, you will be a better writer.

A Meaningful Task. You need meaningful, not artificial writing tasks. You'll find suggestions for

such tasks in the section, " Things To Do."

Interest. All the time in the world won't help if there is nothing to write, nothing to say. Some of

the reasons for writing include: sending messages, keeping records, expressing feelings, or relaying

information.

Practice. And more practice.

Revising. Students need experience in revising their work-- i.e., seeing what they can do to make it

clearer, more descriptive, more concise, etc.

POINTERS FOR YOU

Remember that your goal is to make your writing easier and more enjoyable.

Make it real. You need to do real writing. It's more important for the child to write a letter to a relative than it is to write a one-line note on a greeting card.

Suggest note-taking. Take notes on trips or outings and describe what you saw. This could include a description of nature walks, a boat ride, a car trip, or other events that lend you to note-taking.

Brainstorm. Do it as much as possible about your impressions and describe people and events to you.

Encourage keeping a journal. This is excellent writing practice as well as a good outlet for venting feelings. Write about things that happen at home and school, about people you like or dislike and why, things to remember or things you want to do. Especially write about personal feelings--pleasures as well as disappointments.

Use games. There are numerous games and puzzles that help you to increase vocabulary and make more fluent in speaking and writing. Remember, building a vocabulary builds confidence. Try crossword puzzles, word games, anagrams and cryptograms designed especially for this purpose. Flash cards are good, too, and they're easy to make at home.

Suggest making lists. Making lists is good practice and helps to become more organized. You might make lists of your records, tapes, baseball cards, dolls, furniture in a room, etc. You could include items you want. It's also good practice to make lists of things to do, schoolwork, dates for tests, social events, and other reminders.

Encourage copying. If you like a particular song, learn the words by writing them down--replaying the song on your stereo/tape player or jotting down the words whenever the song is played on a radio program. Also copy favourite poems or quotations from books and plays.

Source: Learn to write; US Department of Education.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SPEAKING AND WRITING

There are many differences between the processes of speaking and writing. Writing is not simply speech written down on paper. Learning to write is not a natural extension of learning to speak. Unlike speech, writing requires systematic instruction and practice. Here are some of the differences between speaking and writing that may clarify things for you and help you in your efforts as a writer and speaker.

SPEECH

1. Universal, everybody acquires it
2. Spoken language has dialect variations that represent a region
3. Speakers use their voices (pitch, rhythm, stress) and their bodies to communicate their message
4. Speakers use pauses and intonation
5. Speakers pronounce
6. Speaking is often spontaneous and unplanned.
7. Speakers have immediate audiences who nod, interrupt, question and comment
8. Speech is usually informal and repetitive
9. Speakers use simpler sentences connected by lots of ands and buts.
10. Speakers draw on their listeners reactions to know how or whether to continue
11. Speakers can gauge the attitudes, beliefs, and feelings of their audience by their verbal and non-verbal reactions

WRITING

1. Not everyone learns to read and write

2. Written language is more restricted and generally follows a standardised form of grammar, structure, organization, and vocabulary

3. Writers rely on the words on the page to express meaning and their ideas

4. Writers use punctuation

5. Writers spell

6. Most writing is planned and can be changed through editing and revision before an audience reads it

7. Writers have a delayed response from audiences or none at all and have only one opportunity to convey their message, be interesting, informative, accurate and hold their reader’s attention

8. Writing on the other hand is more formal and compact. It progresses more logically with fewer explanations and digressions.

9. Writers use more complex sentences with connecting words like however, who, although, and in addition.

10. Writers are often solitary in their process

11. Writers must consider what and how much their audience needs to know about a given topic