"Like finely prepared food which not only nourishes but also gives pleasure, writing well and with pleasure nourishes the mind and gives satisfaction to the writer." Gabriele Rico
You probably find writing a hard task but when you come to think of it... the writing process forces you to organize your ideas, take stands, connect concepts and it definitely enhances knowledge of yourself and the world around you.
When you sit down to write, it's not only a question of WHAT to say but also HOW to say it.
Surfing the net, I came across a web page that I would like you to:
A) Have a look at, mainly the sections that deal with formal and informal language, though you are welcome to see the rest of it.
http://www2.elc.polyu.edu.hk/CILL/eap/matching-formality.htm
http://www2.elc.polyu.edu.hk/CILL/eap/matching-errors-formality.htm
And also this one which deals with Introductory Paragraph Techniques:
http://www2.elc.polyu.edu.hk/CILL/eap/essayintrotype.htm
B) Comment (on the blog) about your writing process. How do you feel when you have to deal with a task? What do you think about Gabriele Rico's quotation? Do you believe writing adds something to your personal growth? You are welcome to include anything you would like to express as long as it's personal.
C) Writing assignment: Comparison and contrast. To be e-mailed. Due September 16.
In Unit 12 (from the coursebook), we've been dealing with time and talked quite a bit about the Futuro House. I would like you to do some research at home and find out what houses were like 50 to 70 years ago and compare them with dwellings in the XXI Century. In what ways have they changed? You can also think of the stuff we have in our houses that make our life easier... or not?? Please, include some of the expressions from the web pages you have to look at first and underline them. Also, pay attention to the differente paragraph introductions to make your essay interesting from the beginning.
Hi everybody! How are you??
ResponderEliminarLiliana, the pages are really useful for me, I will take them into account for my next essay. Thank you for publishing them!!!
I really liked Gabriele Rico’s quotation. I agree with the last part which says that writing well and with pleasure nourishes the mind and gives satisfaction to the writer because it happens to me. When I started the profesorado I didn’t know how to write and I didn’t even like it!!! Now, that I’ve been practicing a lot of writing during these three years I can say that I like it and it gives me satisfaction when I finish writing my compositions, and passing them gives me satisfaction too.
I really believe that writing adds something to your personal growth because I learn a lot when I write about something that I didn’t know or didn’t pay attention before. I also believe that reading and writing give you a lot of knowledge and help you a lot when you have to deal with other activities.
Yes Florencia! You are right when you say that reading and writing teach you a lot! I'm glad to hear you enjoy writing. Way to go!
ResponderEliminarComment from Noe Marengo
ResponderEliminarHello everybody!
I think the web pages will be really useful for me because we, as learners need good exampkes and models to take into account to improve our writings.
I remember when I started the profesorado it was really hard for to get my ideas across and that was really frustrating, it still is. In that moment I realised the importance of language. Sometimes, when I'm writing an essay I have in my mind clearly what I want to say but when I have to put it down is very difficult because many times I do not find the exact words. In those moments I use my dictionary, the internet but if I still can't find THAT word or expression I try to say my idea with other words.
I totally agree with the idea that writing well and with pleasure nourishes the mind and gives satisfaction to the writer and also is a personal growth. In my opinion, When you are writing you can express your ideas in a clearer way than when you are speaking because you have more time to think how to back up your opinions. You have to reflect a lot about a topic and in those moments (while you are talking to yourself) you get to you better...
Well tha's my opinion... See you in class
Hello everybody! How are you?
ResponderEliminarFor me, the web pages are really useful. I promise to take them into account for the following essay. I have already written down some new expressions in my notebooks.
Well, I think that in order to write you have to think about what you want to say in your essay so as to be understood by the reader. For me, not only is writing extremely important in my development and learning of the language, but is also a hard task. It obliges me to think deeply about what I am going to write and the way in which I am going to organize the ideas in my essay. Writing helps me learn and internalize more structures as well as vocabulary.
Considering Gabriele Rico´s quotation, I totally agree with the idea that “writing well and with pleasure nourishes the mind and gives satisfaction to the writer” because it is really satisfying for me to pass an essay and to receive a good answer about it.
See you soon! Lucila.
comment from Mile
ResponderEliminarHi everybody! Considering Gabriele Rico's quotation, I agree with the fact that writing nourishes the mind and gives satisfaction to the writer, because that’s what I feel when I finish a writing task. Honestly, I don’t like writing very much, but I take it as a challenge every time I have to write something. In addition, I consider that writing helps me to find different ways to express what I want to say, it’s a good way to learn new vocabulary and it also makes me feel happy and satisfied when what I have written is correct.
I believe that writing adds something to my personal growth, because it allows me to think about what I want to write and how I want to do it, but the most important thing about writing is that if I really want a job well done, I have to give the best of me in order to succeed.
Hi people!
ResponderEliminarI find the web pages really interesting and helpful for our next writing tasks.
Well, I agree with Gabriel Rico’s quotation when he says that writing well and with pleasure nourishes your mind, because when you sit to write you are bringing back what you have learnt and you make good use of it. It also gives satisfaction to the writer because you realize that you are capable of producing a good work.
As to my experience about writing, I’ve seen that I’ve improved on this area though I need to continue. At first, it was not something that I enjoyed, so I didn’t make an effort to write well. Besides it was hard for me to get my ideas across, so I didn’t feel that what I was writing was what I meant.
But as we know, practice helps a lot and reading has widened my knowledge, so now every time I have to write, it’s a challenge for me but in a positive way and it gives great satisfaction when you pass them and I really believe that writing as well as reading has contributed to my personal growth.
Hello class!How are you?I hope all of them are fine!
ResponderEliminarThe web pages contain really useful information for our next writing tasks and thanks Liliana for sharing them with your students.
I completely agree with Gabriel Rico´s quotation in the sense that it is true the fact that writing is like cooking.You need the ingredients to make something nice to eat.If you prepare something that tastes good, it menas that you have used the right ingredinets in a proper way,so the same happens in writing.
Personally,when I sit down to write I find it a bit difficult to organise ideas correctly and to think of not only what to say but also how to say it.Besides, I also bear in mind how to make the writing easy to understand and interesting, so as to prevent readers from not falling asleep.
I heard that the more we read, the better we write and that´s true.Both process keep our brain working and enhance our knowlegde of ourselves and of the world.
See you tomorrow,bye!!
Hi People! As I’m the last one, I’ll have the opportunity of comment about your posts :P
ResponderEliminarI read the pages. I’ll try to take them into account in my next essays.
Now, I have to talk about my Writing Process... well, I like writing and I used to write a lot when I was younger because writing really helps us to organize our ideas. What’s more, writing gives Life to our ideas. Otherwise, they will stay always in our minds and they will die with us. In “Harry Potter”, they have an object that is called “Pensieve” in which you put your thoughts and memories, and you can see them from different perspectives and analyze them taking into account different aspects. Writing has more or less the same function for me. And, as Gabriele Rico says, it does add something to our personal growth. My big problem is the tasks jajjaja. Writing becomes a hard task when I don’t like the topic I have to talk about, or when it’s not relevant for me. What is important about the tasks that teachers propose us at the Profesorado is that sometimes we have to think about something we have never put much attention, and we are obliged to build up an opinion about it.
When I have to write, I never write the whole essay the same day. I start writing it, then I stop and I take it later and it helps me to see if my ideas are presented clearly for someone who is not me and who has not been dealing with the topic. And I am also very interactive while writing. I can be writing, and listening to music, and reading something different, everything at the same time. Otherwise, I get bored and my mind blocks itself.
In his Comment, Cristain said that he goes along with the idea that the more we read, the better we write. Well, I have to disagree with that! I like reading very much and I have read a lot, and my Essays are not the best. The thing is, while I’m reading I focus too much in the content and never put attention to the way it’s written. Sometimes, I do not even realize about spelling mistakes! That is not good. If I were more aware about that, my essays would probably be better.
Well, that’s all I think... See u People!
what nice comments! I found it so useful to learn a little about the way you feel about writing and your personal processes.
ResponderEliminarIt is true that some people pay attention not only to what a piece of writing communicates but also to how it is written . That helps a lot when you have to write. But, if like Alejandra you concentrate very much on the plot and little on the form, don't worry, reading always helps your writing style in the end. Structures and vocabulary stick to you, whether you are conscious of it or not. So... keep reading!
It's also good to know that even if it is hard to write, you all think that it helps your personal growth. Way to go class!!!