Some guides to help grade 12 students know how to write a basic english paragraph well at Nhu Thanh high school

THANH HOA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
NHU THANH HIGH SCHOOL
INNOVATION IN TEACHING
SOME GUIDES TO HELP GRADE 12 STUDENTS KNOW HOW TO WRITE A BASIC ENGLISH PARAGRAPH WELL
AT NHU THANH HIGH SCHOOL
 The writer: Nguyen Thi Kim Lien
 The post: Teacher 
 Innovation of subject: English
 THANH HOA, 2016
PART ONE: INTRODUCTION
I. RATIONALE OF THE RESEARCH
Studying English nowadays has become an essential demand for everyone. Learning English is important. It is simple as English is one of the most popular international languages and it is most not only all over the world but also in all aspects of society. Therefore, learning and mastering it would greatly give advantages to the person concerned. Especially, since Vietnam became the 150th member of the World Trade Organization ( WTO), it has been required that we have to build the labour force who are skillful at work and use English well as an effective tool of communication.
Although many Vietnamese students get excellent certain qualifications, their ability of communicating in English is limited. As a result, they must give up their dream jobs. There is no doubt about that English is the optimum standard for applicants into foreign and state- owned companies. On account of the above demands, English is compulsory not only at school but also in examinations at certain stages of the school education system. According to the national curriculum, English is built with the aim of communicating. Creating the ability of communication in English for students is the most important target in the process of teaching. 
As teachers, I think we’d all agree that communication is important. In fact, it’s a necessary component of education, livelihood, and basic functionality in our society. It’s also fairly obvious that there are two main ways to communicate, although more obscure forms exist. Basically, we talk and we write. That’s how we let other people know what’s going on, and it’s an important skill to have. Just about every student can talk, but how many Vietnamese students can truly write well? Writing is important because it’s used extensively in higher education and in the workplace. If students don’t know how to express themselves in writing, they won’t be able to communicate well with friends, teachers, professors, employers, peers, or just about anyone else.
Much of professional communication is done in writing: proposals, memos, reports, applications, preliminary interviews, e-mails, and more are part of the daily life of a college student or successful graduate. Even if students manage to learn the material in their college classes without knowing how to write well, they won’t be able to express their knowledge to the people who are making the big decisions. Potential employers won’t know whether or not head knowledge can be applied to everyday demands unless it’s through a spoken interview. Even the majority of certifications and licensures require basic writing skills to obtain. The inability to write makes for a stillborn career.
At Nhu Thanh High school, my students often find it extremely hard to improve the writing skill, especially they have difficulties in learning how to write an academic paragraph effectively. Therefore, in this study I give some guides to help my students write a good basic paragraph and some ways of correcting it which I have applied successfully in my writing teaching to improve the students’ writing skill.
 II. AIMS OF THE RESEARCH
On the basis of surveying students’ ability of writing a basic paragraph in English at Nhu Thanh High School, I have given feasible solutions including innovating methods of teaching writing skill.
 III. SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH
Researching innovative techniques used in writing teaching and learning, and methods of assessing students’ study result of writing at Nhu Thanh High School.
 IV. THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS:
This study aims at finding the answer to the following research questions: How can guides help grade 12 students improve writing skill?
The question has been addressed to two of the classes ( 12C9, 12C10) that I have been teaching in Nhu Thanh High School with a view to examining how guides have taken an effect on the process of writing here.
 V. RESEARCHING METHODS
- The method of collecting and analyzing materials for the research: research for materials concerning about the subject, analyze and get certain knowledge from previous researches, finally give the foundation to the research.
- The method of talking to students: through talking to students, I have got to know real situation of students’ writing learning in language classes at Nhu Thanh High School.
- The method of surveying through answer sheets.
PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1 : LITERATURE REVIEW
I. The Basics of writing skills:
 What Is Writing?
"Writing" is the process of using symbols (letters of the alphabet, punctuation and spaces) to communicate thoughts and ideas in a readable form. To write clearly it is essential to understand the basic system of a language. In English this includes knowledge of grammar, punctuation and sentence structure. Vocabulary is also necessary, as is correct spelling and formatting. A writer may write for personal enjoyment or use, or for an audience of one person or more. The audience may be known (targeted) or unknown. Taking notes for study purposes is an example of writing for one's self. Blogging publicly is an example of writing for an unknown audience. A letter to a friend is an example of writing for a targeted audience. As with speaking, it is important to consider your audience when writing. There are many different styles of writing, from informal to formal.
II. What are the advantages of having great writing skills in real life?
Great writing skills translate to effective communication. Well-written memos and procedures help companies run more smoothly. If you want changes in the workplace, or maybe a higher salary for yourself, being able to write clearly and persuasively will increase the chances that you will get what you want.
 Do you have a complaint about products or services you have purchased? A well-written letter will be treated more seriously than a poorly written one.
In public affairs, do you want to influence the government, so they do things your way? If you write a well-crafted letter to your Congressman (in a U.S. context), your voice will be as influential as 50 or 100 people who simply forward an e-mail message written by an advocacy group.
 These are great advantages of written communication:
- Easy to preserve: The documents of written communication are easy to preserve. Oral and non-verbal communication cannot be preserved. If it is needed, important information can be collected from the preserved documents.
- Easy presentation of complex matter: Written communication is the best way to represent any complex matter easily and attractively.
- Permanent record: The documents of written communication act as a permanent record. When it is needed, important information can be easily collected from the preserved documents.
- Prevention of wastage of time and money: Written communication prevents the waste of money and time. Without meeting with each other the communicator and communicate can exchange their views.
- Accurate presentation: Through the documents of the written communication top executive can present the information more accurately and clearly. As it is a legal document everybody takes much care does draft it.
- Use as a reference: If it is needed, written communication can be used as future reference.
- Delegation of authority: Written communication can help the authority to delegate the power and authority to the subordinate. It is quite impossible to delegate power without a written document.
- Longevity: Written document can be preserved for a long time easily. That is why; all the important issues of an organization should be back and white.
- Effective communication: Written communication helps to make communication effective. It is more dependable and effective than those of other forms of communication.
- Maintaining image: Written communication helps to maintain the images of both the person and the organization. It also protects the images of the company or organization.
- Proper information: It is a proper and complete communication system. There is no opportunity to include any unnecessary information in a written document.
- Less distortion possibility: In this communication system information is recorded permanently. So, there is less possibility of distortion and alteration of the information.
- No opportunity to misinterpret: there is any opportunity to misinterpret the information or messages of written communication.
- Controlling tool: Written communication can help to control the organizational activity. The written document may be used as a tool for controlling.
- Easy to verify: The information and messages that are preserved can be verified easily. If there arises any misunderstanding any party can easily verify the information.
- Others: Clear understanding, Legal document, Acceptability, Reduction of risk, Creating confidence, Easy circulation, Wide access or coverage etc.
CHAPTER 2: PRACTICAL SITUATIONS
I. METHODS OF THE RESEARCH
I have done the research in the context of two English classes (12C9 and 12 C10)- at the beginning of the school year 2015-2016 at Nhu Thanh High School. In this survey, I have used the variety of questionares for students.
II. THE REALITY OF TEACHING AND LEARNING HOW TO WRITE AN ACADEMIC PARAGRAPH IN ENGLISH AT NHU THANH HIGH SCHOOL.
I have carried out the survey of real situations of teaching and learning how to write a basic paragraph in English in class 12C9 and 12C10 (the school year: 2015- 1016) and I have got the following result:
 Survey no.1
Practical Situation of learning how to write a basic paragraph in English at Nhu Thanh High School
Questionares for students
 A
B
C
D
1
How difficult do you find in learning how to write an English paragraph well?
Too easy 
5%
Not difficult
10%
Difficult
25%
Extremely difficult 60%
2
Do you think it is very neccesary to improve your writing skill in general and how to write a good paragraph in particular?
Very essential
10%
Essential 
15%
Not really essential
25%
Not essential at all
50%
3
What do you think of writing classes at Nhu Thanh High School?
Really interesting 
10%
Interesting
15%
Boring
40%
Very boring
35%
4
How often do you get used to making the outline form before you get down to writing an English paragraph?
Always 
10%
Occationally
20%
Rarely
30%
Never
40%
5
Do you think of the materials used in writing classes at Nhu Thanh High school?
Very stimulating 
10%
A little stimulating 20%
boring 
30%
Completely boring 40%
6
6
How are you contented with the teacher’s ways of correcting your written work? 
A little 
50%
Very much
10%
Not at all
20%
Always 
20%
From the above survey, it points out that teaching and learning writing skill in language classes at Nhu Thanh High School are ineffective and rather limited. Students are not fond of writing lessons. We can see that writing skill is little improved. 
CHAPTER 3: RECOMMENDATIONS TO HELP STUDENTS HOW TO WRITE A GOOD PARAGRAPH IN ENGLISH.
I. RECOMMEDATIONS: 
According to the data analysis from the survey no.1, it can be personally concluded that students need understand the processing of writing even the simplest steps and teacher must spend much time correcting their written works carefully and responsibly.
Therefore, I have given them some guides to help students how to write a good academic paragraph in English.
II. PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS.
 1. Supply students with general knowledge of the fundamental paragraph’s definition and outline form.
Through writing classes, I reliaze that the biggest problem of writing a basic paragraph to students is that they do not make the detailed outline form before they start writing. As a sequence, the ideas in three parts of one paragraph are arranged in the incorrect order. Therefore, during my language teaching in writing classes, I always emphasize the importance of making the detailed outline form in the process of writing a good parapraph to help them with an effective outline before they get down to writing an academic one. My students understand its definition more clearly and the main parts of a basic paragraph. They ensure that writing the outline of one paragraph is one of the most important and necessary steps in the writing process.
In many languages, the fundamental unit of composition is the paragraph.  A paragraph consists of several sentences that are grouped together.  This group of sentences together discuss one main subject.   In U.S. formal academic English, paragraphs have three principal parts.  These three parts are the topic sentence, the supporting sentences, and the concluding sentence.
Process of writing a paragraph:
- Compose your topic sentence. Think of a topic and a controlling idea that will narrow the topic enough to support it well in one paragraph.
- Brainstorm supporting ideas. Choose 2 - 6 supporting ideas that do a good job supporting your topic sentence.
- Write your paragraph in topic outline form as follows. 
- Put your supporting ideas in a logical order.
- For each supporting idea, think of RENNS that further explain the idea. For balance, each supporting idea should have about the same number of RENNS.
- Think of a concluding sentence.
- Write your paragraph using sentences. Use the coherence strategies to make your paragraph easy to follow.
Here are the network used for making the detailed outline form of any paragraphs in English:
THE OUTLINE
( THREE MAIN PARTS)
THE TOPIC SENTENCE
SUPPORTING SENTENCES
CONCLUDING SENTENCE
SUPPORTING IDEA 1
SUPPORTING IDEA 2
SUPPORTING IDEA 3
SUPPORTING IDEA 4
1.1 Guide students how to write a good topic sentence.
A topic sentence usually comes at the begining of a paragraph; that is, it is usually the first sentence in a formal academic paragraph.  Not only is a topic sentence the first sentence of a paragraph, but, more importantly, it is the most general sentence in a paragraph.  What does "most general" mean?  It means that there are not many details in the sentence, but that the sentence introduces an overall idea that you want to discuss later in the paragraph.  For example, suppose that you want to write a paragraph about the natural landmarks of your hometown.   The first part of your paragraph might look like this: 
       My hometown is well- known for several amazing natural features.  First, it is noted for the Wheaton River, which is very wide and beautiful. Also, on the other side of the town is Wheaton Hill, which is unusual because it is very steep.
Note how the first sentence, My hometown, Wheaton, is well- known for several amazing geographical features,is the most general statement. This sentence is different from the two sentences that follow it, since the second and third sentences mention specific details about the town's geography, and are not general statements.
Here are some examples of sentences that cannot be used as topic sentences. Can you figure out why they are inappropriate?  
2. My hometown is famous because it is located by Wheaton River, which is very wide, and because it is built near an unusually steep hill called Wheaton Hill.
3. There are two reasons why some people like to buy cars with automatic transmission and two reasons why others like cars with manual transmission.
The problem with sentence 2 is that it contains too many details. Topic sentences are general, and details should appear later in the paragraph. A better topic sentence would be like the one mentioned above, My hometown is famous for several amazing geographical features. Sentence 3 is not appropriate as a topic sentence because it mentions two topics, not just one. Paragraphs are usually about one main thing and so their topic sentences should also be about only one main thing. The problem with sentence 3 is that it is too general. It is also very boring! Therefore,We can rewrite sentences 3 in the following ways to make it better: 
There are two reasons why some people like to buy cars with automatic transmission.
  As I have made certain that my students know how to write a good topic sentence, I give them some topics and ask them to write the topic sentence for these topics. In order to help them write more effectively and academically, after correcting their work, I will provide them with the topic sentence models.
The suggested topic: “Write a paragragh about which your ideal world is you'd like to live in 2050 (about 140 words)
The topic sentence should be “According to the great development of our society, it is likely that human beings will witness the possitive changes of economic, peace, education and technology”
1. 2 Guide them how to write persuative supporting sentences.
I make sure that my students make out clearly about controlling ideas that support the topic sentence, using reasons, examples, names, numbers, senses to develop the supporting ideas by giving details and explanation. The ideas must be clear and be arranged logically in the correct order. At first, I have forced them to write supporting sentenses for a bit simple topics and they ought to be written through the network. By this way, my students can imagine how to write supporting sentences easily. For example, I give them the topic : “Write a paragragh about your ideal world you'd like to live in 2020 (about 140 words)”. With this topic, I will ask my students to write supporting sentences by themselves to make clear the suggested topic sentence: “According to the great development of our society, it is likely that human beings will witness the possitive changes of economic, peace, education, environment and technology”. They spend about five munites to think and write the supporting sentenses in the form of network. After correcting their work, I give the suggested outline.
Positive changes in the world in 2020
Economy
- Stable finance status
- No crises
Peace 
- No wars
- No terrorism, 
- Big happines
- Living in harmony
Education
- Be free, equal to everyone
- Be advanced
Technology
- Robot appreace, - Modern device
- Saving labour
Environment 
- Healthy one 
- Less noise
- Less polution
- More parks
- Protection of wildwife
1. 3 Guide them how to write concluding sentences effectively.
The concluding sentence is the last one of the paragraph. It can express the topic sentence in another way. It should be enough short, for instance, with the topic : “Write a paragraph of about 120 words to suggest measures to protect rare and endangered species from extinction”. The concluding sentence should be “In conclusion, If these measures are taken, our planet might be a peaceful and beauiful place for all kinds of beings to live.”
2. Practise making the detailed outline form based on given topics.
In writing classes, I give my students a certain writing topic, and ask them to write the outline before writing the required paragraph. This step is compulsory for all my students and then I will correct their work. For example, I give them the topic : “Write one paragraph (150 words) about measures of protecting endangered species”. I ask them to work in groups and show their detailed outline of the the given topic. After that, I and my students will work together to give the full outline. Here are one of suggestions:
 Measures of protecting endangered species
Raising people’s awareness
- Hold forums, conferences, seminars
- organize activities...
Protecting wildlife habitat 
- establish reserves
- have more parks 
Enacting the laws
- banning commercial trade and overhunting
Raising funds
- from agencies, international org