Filologiya məsələləri, № 7, 2017
113
such as a chronological development, a cause-effect relationship, a purpose
relationship and a condition relationship.
The teacher can introduce this kind of construction by the following
steps. First, briefly explain the meaning of a subordinate clause. A
subordinate clause (or dependent clause )is a clause that cannot stand alone
as a complete sentence because it does not express a complete thought.
Subordinate clauses can act as adjectives, adverbs, or nouns.
Second, give the students a list of complex sentences. Ask them to
identify the subordinate clauses and the subordinating conjunctions, as well
as to explain the relationship expressed in each sentence. The next step is
practice. Ask the students to combine two sentences or a set of isolated ideas
into one sentence by using appropriate subordinating conjunctions. For
example:Copper is highly conductive. It is used for electric wiring.
(As copper is highly conductive it is used for electric wiring)
The water is heated. It reaches a pre-set temperature. (The water is
heated when it reaches a pre-set temperature.)Introduction of relative
clauses. Technical writing often includes detailed definition of a particular
term. Relative clauses can substitute a long list of technical nouns or
adjectives before a noun. In this case they are useful tools for defining and
qualifying nouns. The "where" clause is also useful for describing the
location of stages described in a process. We use defining relative clauses to
give essential information about someone or something-information that we
need in order to understand what or who is being referred to. A defining
relative clause usually comes immediately after the noun it describes.
Relative pronoun ( who, that, which, whose and whom) is usually used
to introduce a defining relative clause. In this stage the teacher gives
students a list of sentences that contain clauses introduced by a relative
pronoun and asks the students to identify the relative clauses and explain
their functions.
For example:
Here are some cells which have been affected.
Here are some cells which/that the researcher has identified. (some
cells is the object).
In writing, we don’t use commas in defining relative clauses:
This is a man who takes his responsibilities seriously.
In the next step the teacher tells about the possibility of replacing
relative clauses by infinitives or participles after the students have become
acquainted with relative clauses.
For example:
Gold, ___, is used to make jewels.
The new technique, ___ ,is faster than the previous one.
Filologiya məsələləri, № 7, 2017
114
People like to live in areas ___.
c)Parallelism.
Parallelism is the use of components in a sentence that are
grammatically the same, or similar in their construction. This method adds
symmetry, effectiveness and balance to the written piece.
For example:
You need to work quickly and decisively.
The problem was not in planning or in development, but rather in
production.
Repetition of the same structure allows the reader to recognize the
ideas more readily. Long sentences can be made clearer and easier to
understand if they are grammatically parallel. This is also a useful tool when
writing comparison and contrast.
The concept of parallelism can be introduced by giving a list of sample
sentences which use different grammatical constructions like prepositions,
conjunctions, clauses, infinitives to make similar ideas parallel and then ask
the students to practice by rewriting sentences parallel.
For example:
We are looking for engineers with realistic decision-making
capabilities, who can think logically, and who have the ability to analyze
situations carefully.
Advances in technology have made our life more convenient, comfort
has been added to our lives, and safety is also important.
The third stage is condensing of the text.
In this stage the students try to write summaries. It is a transition
stage for the subsequent composition stage. When students write summaries,
they can focus more on the practice of language skills, they don’t worry
much on the content part. Summary writing requires good skills on concise
writing i.e. writing clearly, using precise language, that is using the fewest
possible words without sacrificing meaning. Thus the ideas can be expressed
in a limited number of words. The chosen text is to be not too difficult to
comprehend. The students can also start writing in paragraphs. Before they
start writing summaries, the teacher should introduce the following
techniques.1.Conciseness,2.Coherence,3. Summary writing
Conciseness is the resource which helps to write clearly by eliminating
unnecessary words and rearranging the phrases. Concise writing is a skill,
which can be achieved by applying the general guidelines into the writing
practice. They are:
• removing redundant and unnecessary material,
• reducing clauses and phrases to shorter constructions like an adjective
phrase or a single word without losing the needed emphasis.
Filologiya məsələləri, № 7, 2017
115
• eliminating any words or phrases that can be removed without damaging
the meaning of the sentence or paragraph.
• Replacing several vague words with more powerful and specific words.
For example:
Our Web site has made available many of the things you can use for making
a decision on the best dentist (wordy: 20 words)
Our Web site presents criteria for determining the best dentist. (Concise: 9
words)
Coherence in writing is a logical bridge between words, sentences, and
paragraphs. Coherent writing uses devices to connect ideas within each sentence
and paragraph. All sentences should be logically related in one paragraph.
Coherence is achieved by using transition words or phrases, pronouns that refer to
nouns in previous sentences, or repetition of words previously mentioned.In this
stage the teacher illustrates the effects of coherence by comparing example
paragraphs with coherence destroyed with the ones that are written coherently.
Then ask the students to fill in appropriate transition words missed in a given text as
a practice.Summary writing contains only source ideas, and nothing more. But
students usually copy sentences exactly from the original article and put them
together when they write summaries. In that case, they lose the opportunity in fully
utilizing their practice of writing skills. Furthermore, it is unlikely that they can
include all the important ideas mentioned. A summary should be clear and balanced
so that the reader can grasp the main ideas of the original article without reading it.
A better way to make a summary is to jot down the main points in note form and
then link them clearly into concise sentences in the students' own words. Following
that, link the sentences into coherent paragraphs. Good writing requires a lot of
practice. It is unrealistic to expect great writers after taking a semester or year
course. Moreover, the basic techniques taught can serve as a foundation for further
training or self training should there arise a need for frequent technical writing in
their future career.
References
1. Georges, T.M. 1996; A course in Analytical Writing for Science and
Technology,
http://www.mspiggy.etl.noaa.gov/write/
2. Yalden, J. 1987; Principles of Course Design for Language Teaching,
Cambridge University Press
3. The internet Dictionary.cambridge.org
4. The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. V, No. 5, May 1999 http://iteslj.org/
Dostları ilə paylaş: |