Improving Your English Writing-An OverviewTutor- Isabel .pptVIP

Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man. - Sir Francis Bacon: Of Studies 阅读使人充实，交谈使人机智，写作使人严谨。 Why do I need to improve my English writing? Writing to express: to share and exchange information or opinions through writing on a daily basis. Writing as a thinking tool: the writing process helps clarify our thinking. Agenda The Writing Process (写作过程) English Writing Conventions (英语写作规范) Pitfalls to Avoid in English Writing (写作误区) Useful Resources (有用资源) Common Problems Writer’s Block: A blank mind in front of a blank piece of paper; Brief essays with general statements only but little substance; Language problems: grammar, vocabulary, style Step 1: Consider Your Audience Their Interest Their Knowledge Their Purpose Audience-awareness Who is going to read what I write? Why will my readers care about this issue? What will my readers want or need to know about this issue? What do my readers already know about this issue? What do I want my readers to learn about the issue? If I am trying to persuade my readers of something, how easily will they be persuaded? What will my readers use my writing for? Step 2: Select Your Purpose Possible Purposes: to express or share to entertain or give aesthetic pleasure to inform to persuade Step 3: Invention 1 To invent: to develop a topic (to narrow the general topic down and to identify a manageable topic to work on) Brainstorming: Getting your ideas on paper so you can give yourself the widest range of topics possible Brainstorming Techniques: Listing Clustering Free-writing Step 3: Invention 2 Asking journalists’ questions about the assigned general topic: Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? Step 3: Invention 3 Rhetoric devices: Compare and contrast Cause and effect Problem and solution Analysis Classification Step 4: Collection Gathering ideas: books, magazines, the Internet, and discussions Locating and evaluating research Conducting interviews Step 5: Organiz