THE ESSAY PROCESS
(Conceptualising, Developing, Drafting & Organising Ideas in Essay
Form)
When you
have finished this section, you will be able to
§
analyse
an essay prompt;
§ integrate information from various sources
into your essay;
§ organise your ideas
according in essay form;
§ complete an essay in
draft form.
Resource List
1) Videos on globalisation:
1) Videos on globalisation:
- Goldin, I. (2009, July). Navigating our
global future [Video file]. Retrieved from
-van
Heerden, A. (2010). Making global labor fair [Video file]. Retrieved
from
http://www.ted.com/talks/auret_van_heerden_making_global_labor_fair.html
2) Article on inequality:
Stiglitz, J. E, (2013). Singapore’s
Lessons for an Unequal America. Retrieved from
3)
More on the American Psychological
Association. Basics of APA style tutorial
[Online
Key Concepts
§ The essay prompt
§ The problem-solution essay
§ The Anglo-American writer-responsible writing culture
§
Grammatical
features of academic writing
Procedure
A. Before class
1. Watch the Goldin video and read Stiglitz’ article on inequality, accessible through the
1. Watch the Goldin video and read Stiglitz’ article on inequality, accessible through the
urls in the Resource List. Review the APA
style (6th edition) if you need to.
B. In class
Complete Tasks
A to D in groups.
C. After class
Write a draft of your essay
in preparation for the peer review during the second tutorial
the week after Recess.
the week after Recess.
Use the grid
in Section 3 to help you do that. You will be asked to share your work with
your tutor
and your classmates in that tutorial.
Tasks
A. Read the Essay Prompt. Share your answers to the questions with
your group.
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ESSAY
PROMPT
In
his TED talk, Goldin mentions a number of problems that have resulted from
rapid globalisation, among them the collapse in biodiversity, climate change,
financial crisis and inequality (2009).
What
do you think is the most serious problem facing the world as a whole? Refer
to ONE of the problems mentioned by Goldin in his TED talk and describe some
actual or possible measures to alleviate this problem.
Your answer will be a 700-800-word essay for
your tutor and classmates. They will read your drafts and suggest how you can
improve your essay.
You are expected to support your points with
information from your readings and video sources, and to properly cite these
inside the text and in your list of references, using the APA style (6th
edition).
Questions to help you analyse the essay prompt:
1.
What is the
function of the first sentence in the prompt?
2.
Identify the
problem you need to focus on.
3.
Apart from
the problem, what other point(s) are you expected to discuss in your essay?
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B.
Organise your
problem-solution essay
This essay writing assignment is developed using a problem-solution
organisational
pattern. This pattern is a common structure in
academic writing; it involves organising
information in the following four parts
(Hoey, 1983, in Swales & Feak, 2004).
a. Description of a situation
b. Identification of a problem
c. Description of a solution
d. Evaluation of the solution
Below
is a short problem-solution text. Label
each sentence a, b, c, or d according to the list above. (One of them gets
repeated.) The first part has been done for you.
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(a)
Description of a situation ΠFor over 20 years now
biologists have been alarmed that certain populations of amphibians have
been declining.
These declines have occurred both in areas populated by humans as well as
areas seemingly undisturbed by people.
Ž
However, offering clear proof of the declining numbers of amphibians has
been difficult because in most cases there is no reliable data on past
population sizes with which to compare recent numbers.
Moreover, it is not entirely clear whether the declines are actually part
of a natural fluctuation in populations arising from droughts or a scarcity
of food.
To address this problem biologists are changing the way that they observe
amphibian populations. ‘
One good documentation method involves counting species over the course of
several years and under a variety of climatic conditions. ’
This method should yield reliable data that will help researchers
understand the extent to which amphibian populations are in danger and
begin to determine what can be done to stem the decline in populations.
(Swales
& Feak, 2004, pp. 14-15)
|
How
serious does the problem seem to be? How
does the author evaluate the solution?
What do you think of the solution?
C. Pre-writing Tasks
1. Having watched Ian Goldin’s TED video clip, answer
the following questions:
a. Why does Goldin say that “globalisation is
getting more complex”?
b. What is he highlighting when he juxtaposed the
opportunity with the
“underbelly” of globalisation?
globalisation?
d. Explain why he considers technology as a
crucial driving force for steering
innovation and development?
e.
What does he imply would be the future
global scenario should there be a runaway
globalisation without alternative
governance structures?
f.
Why do you think he ended his talk with
a personal experience, i.e., working in the
government of Nelson Mandela?
2. In response to Stiglitz’s article answer the following
questions:
a.
What is the author referring to when he
uses the term ‘inequality’?
b.
How was Singapore able to achieve its
‘Asian tiger’ status?
c. What does the author feel the US can learn
from the Singapore model in order to
promote greater equality?
d. What other countries does the author feel have
been able to balance prosperity
with economic fairness? Why does he see
these countries as more democratic?
e.
What does the author identify as the
main problems with American democracy?
possible
solutions can you think of? Is there any evidence to support your suggestions?
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Problem
|
Solution(s)
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4. As you
research solutions to the problem, your outline will most likely undergo
changes, and so expect to rewrite and
allow the points you raise in your draft to
evolve.
In
substantiating your ideas, you will be integrating paraphrased information or
summaries
of points from your sources. Here is a review
of acceptable and
unacceptable
writing practices that demonstrate academic integrity (Swales & Feak,
2004,
p. 173). Identify the practices you must follow (þ) and those you should avoid
(ý).
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(a)
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Copying a paragraph as
it is from the source without any acknowledgement
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(b)
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Copying a paragraph
and making only small changes, such as replacing a few verbs or adjectives
with synonyms
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(c)
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Cutting and pasting a paragraph
by using the sentences of the original but leaving one or two out, or by
putting one or two sentences in a different order
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(d)
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Composing a paragraph
by taking short standard phrases from a number of sources and putting them
together with some words of your own
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(e)
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Paraphrasing a
paragraph by rewriting with substantial changes in language and organisation,
amount of detail, and examples
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(f)
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Quoting (part of) a
paragraph by placing it in block format with the source cited
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5.
Prepare your draft
At
this stage of preparing your essay, you may have identified the problem you
will discuss in your essay and the
possible ways of mitigating or solving that problem. Read the guidelines outlined in the table below and
prepare your draft for next week’s peer review class.
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Introduction
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i. Background
- Briefly state the problem
- Briefly state one or two
solutions
ii.
Thesis statement and scope: 1 problem and 2 solutions
|
|
Body Paragraph
1
Problem > One solution
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A.
Topic sentence
B.
BRIEFLY describe problem [why
is it a problem?]
C.
Explain and support one solution.
1st Describe ONE existing solution
2nd EVALUATE its effectiveness
(evidence)
3rd Explain what evidence shows:
why effective/not effective in fixing the problem? Think about why the
solution may still be a problem.
4th If you can improve on existing
solution(s), propose your OWN solution. Think about the context in
which your proposed solution can be possible. What steps need to be taken to
make the solution(s) work?
5th Concluding sentence.
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Body Paragraph
2
Next
solution to problem
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A.
Topic sentence
B.
Explain and support one solution.
1st BRIEFLY describe ONE existing
solution
2nd EVALUATE its effectiveness
(evidence)
3rd Explain what evidence shows:
why effective/not effective in fixing the problem? Think about why the
solution may still be a problem.
4th If you can improve on existing
solution(s), propose your OWN solution. Think about the context in
which your proposed solution can be possible. What steps need to be taken to
make the solution(s) work?
5th Concluding sentence.
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Conclusion
or recommendation – sum it up
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A. restate problem
B. restate solution
C. Call to action- leave readers
with something to think
about
Please write four
paragraphs in this essay, or more if appropriate.
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Note
Another possible way to structure a
problem-solution essay:
You may BRIEFLY state the problem first,
then present solutions and evaluate the solutions together. You may then
suggest ways to improve existing solutions.
References
Stiglitz,
J. E, (2013). Singapore’s Lessons for an Unequal America. Retrieved from
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/18/singapores-lessons-for-an-unequal-america/
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