BBI 3421 EXPOSITORY WRITING

Step 1 (Selecting a Subject)

Identify a potential topic for each of the following general subject.a) Your special interest

๑ Collecting coins/ magnets/match boxesb) Things you learned through your readings

๑ Setting your own websitec) Places you have visited

๑ Bukit Merah Lake Town Resort / The Mines Wonderlandd) Current, social, political, and environmental issues

๑ The East Asia Summit / Child Abuse / Sex harassment in the work

placee) Topics on health, business, sports, arts, and education

๑ Health is wealth / Education opportunities for working adults

Step 2 (Prewriting Activities)

After selecting a subject, you need todevelop ideas to support your points. Thereare a number of ways you can get ideas tohelp you write.They are as follows:

A. BrainstormingB. FreewritingC. ClusteringD. Keeping a Journal

A. Brainstorming

1. Begin with a broad topic.2. Write down as many associations as you can

in ten minutes.3. Add more items to your list by answering the

questions what, how, when, where, why, and who.

4. Group the items on the list that go together.5. Cross out items that do no belong.

TOPIC: SUPERSTITIONS

Friday 13th

breaking a mirroralways wear pearl

necklace for testslook for four-leaf

cloversdon’t stay on 13th floor

ina hotelsit in centre of room fortestswear lucky t-shirt forgamesfinding a penny

eat scrambled eggs forbreakfast on day of

gamedon’t walk under

laddersdon’t step on crackswear green when I flyuse lucky shoelaces intennis shoesswitch watch to right

Wrist for testsnever start a trip on

Friday

SUPERSTITIONS

SCHOOL:◊ always wear pearl

necklace◊ sit in centre of room for

tests◊ switch watch to right wrist

for tests

TRAVEL:◊ never start a trip

on Friday◊ don’t stay on 13th

floor in a hotel◊ wear green when I

fly

SPORTS:◊ wear lucky t-shirt

for games◊ use lucky shoelaces

intennis shoes

◊ eat scrambled eggs forbreakfast on day ofgame

B. Freewriting1. Write your general topic at the top of your page.2. Start writing, and write as much as you can, as fast as you

can, for 10 minutes.3. Don’t stop for any reason. Don’t worry if your mind

wanders away from your original idea. Don’t worry about mistakes. Just keep writing. You can go back later and revise. Let your ideas flow.

4. If you can’t think of anything, write “my mind is blank, my mind is blank,” or something similar, over and over again until a new thought comes into your mind.

5. Read your freewriting and see if there are any ideas you can develop into a paragraph.

(Freewriting)Computers

I love computers. They make my life so much easier than it was when I had to use a typewriter every time I wanted to type something. Back then I had to start all over again whenever I made a mistake. I really don’t understand computers very well. Whenever I have a problem, I have to get someone else to help me . I’m always afraid to try to fix it myself. I guess I’m a computer-phobic. My mind just went blank. It went blank. Just like my computer screen does when I have a problem. And I have

Computers

so many problems with my computer. There are always technical problems with computers. The whole world worries about technical problems They are so unpredictable and unreliable. What else can I say about computers! I only use them for word processing and e-mail. I enjoy communicating with my friends by e-mail. That’s all. I know there are lots of other uses but I’ll never get involved in them. I don’t understand computers.

Some suggested sentences to begin your paragraphs.

1. There are several reasons why I love computers.2. I really don’t understand computers very well.3. I guess I’m a computer-phobic.4. I have so many problems with my

computer. 5. There are always technical problems with

computers. 6. Computers are so unpredictable and unreliable. 7. I enjoy communicating with my friends by e-mail.

Kenex Company

GoodMaterials

From Taiwan to World

GoodQuality

FamilyEnterprise

CheapWorkers

Expand Company

Good Reputation

Produce On Time

ProduceEverything

C. ClusteringThe Kenex Company

The Kenex CompanyThere are three reasons that the Kenex Tennis

Company is so successful. First, the company was started as a family enterprise. The family all worked, so they saved a lot of money in salaries. That money allowed them to expand the company rapidly. Second, the Kenex Tennis Company buys good raw materials, so the products – tennis shoes, tennis balls, and tennis rackets – are high quality. That quality makes Kenex’s products marketable all over the world because the company has a good reputation. Third, the company produces on time, and it delivers the products quickly and efficiently. For these reasons, I believe that the Kenex company will grow even bigger and better in the future.

D. Keeping a Journal

Some people find keeping a journal is helpful. When you are not given a specific subject to write on, you can refer to your journal for possible topics. If you decide to keep a journal, start by buying a notebook and writing in it for a few minutes every day. Use your journal as a record of your daily thoughts and activities, as a means of self-expression, or as a way of understanding yourself better. You will find avaluable source of material in your future writing and thinking.

An example of a journal entryNovember 19

I just got back from an ice hockey game.Ray had an extra ticket and asked me if Iwanted it. The Boston Bruins beat St LouisBlues 5-2. Our seats were really high up,almost to the roof, but we could still see morethan if we had watched it on television. It’s somuch easier to see the puck when you are there than when you watch a game on TV. I started talking to the old man sitting next to me about hockey in “the good old Days.” He went to his first hockey game in 1939.

Journal entry- Cup World Championship! He talked on and on about the changes he has seen in the kinds of the game when the Bruins won the Stanley equipment, rules, and the style of play since his day. He remembers when players weren’t required to wear helmets, but he said that the play was less rough back then. There weren’t as many fights. I wonder if that’s really true. Hockey has always been a pretty physical game, I bet emotions have always run high among the players. It was a good game. I hope Ray can get me tickets to more games this season. It looks like the Bruins might be good this year.

Some suggested sentences to begin your paragraphs

1. It’s more interesting to watch an ice hockey game life at the stadium than when you watch it on TV.

2. There are some changes in the kinds ofequipment, rules, and the style of playing ice hockey since the year 1939.

3. An ice hockey game before was less rough compared to today’s game.

4. Ice hockey has always been a pretty physical game.

Step 3: Organizing

Careful planning is essential to producea well-written piece of work. If you organizeyour ideas before you write, they will appearin a logical sequence.

You can organize your ideas like this:a) Jot down your ideas in point form.b) Group your ideas according to categories and

order of importance.

Step 4: Writing the First Draft

☼Writing a rough draft is a rehearsal.☼It gives you an opportunity to explore various

possibilities of expressing your ideas.(Notice that it contains many errors)

The time I spend at Sunshine Holiday Camp was fulfilling because I make new friends, have plenty of exercise, and learned to be independence. First of all, make new friends is a good experience. Eventhough the campers and I lived in different parts of the country, but all of us found that we shared many things in common. Many of us like listening pop music and going to movies. We like also outdoor activities such as hiking, fishing and canoeing. Finally, the most valuable part of the camp is learned to be independence. I made my own bed and tend to my other camping work which include cooking, washing and clean the floor outside . Another reason was that we have many exercise. We have participit in many activities like jungle-treking, hiking and rowing boat. Every one would be exhausting at the end of the day. Therefore, make new friends, exercise daily, and become independence make my stay at the camp fulfilling.

Student’s Rough Draft

(Refer to the module for a rough draft of a student’s composition on camping. Pay attention to the errors made.)

Edited paragraphThe time I spent at Sunshine Holiday Camp was fulfilling

because I made new friends, had plenty of exercise, and learned to be independence. First of all, making new friends is a good experience. Even though the campers and I live in different parts of the country, all of us found that we share many things in common. Many of us like listening to pop music and going to movies. We also like outdoor activities such as hiking, fishing and canoeing. Finally, the most valuable part of the camp is learning to be independent. I made my own bed and tended to my other camping work which includes cooking, washing and cleaning the floor outside . Another reason is that we had many exercise. We had participated in many activities like jungle-trekking, hiking and canoeing. Every one would be exhausted at the end of the day. Therefore, making new friends, exercising daily, and becoming independent made my stay at the camp fulfilling.

Review

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