Contents introduction chapter I methods of teaching writing in high school

First Sentences

1. 
   At night the main street of the town is brilliantly lit.
   
2. 
   The bus was so crowded I could hardly breathe.
   
3. 
   The house next door to ours is very large.
   
4. 
   The room was beautifully furnished.
   
5. 
   The flood-water reached its highest point next day.
   

Last Sentences

1. 
   It was the best game I had ever seen.
   
2. 
   The snow had now begun to melt.
   
3. 
   Just at this point I woke up.
   
4. 
   The ship had now become a dot on the horizon.
   
5. 
   Just missing the tree-tops, the plain landed in the field.
   

First and Last Sentences
1. (a) The voice was familiar but I could not recognize the face.
(b) His disguise was perfect.
2. (a) The water in the lake had frozen hard.
(b) Even children of two were trying to skate.
3. (a) It had not rained for six weeks.
(b) Now dark storm clouds gathered in the sky.
3. Exercises aimed at improving the skills and abilities of writing an essay "for and against" (Argumentative Essay or For and Against Essay).
High school students should be able to write argumentative essays. We focused the students' attention on the following points. Any creative work should,
firstly, arouse the reader's interest, touch on interesting topics, be written in a beautiful literary language;
- secondly, to be holistic, and all sentences and paragraphs should be related to each other;
- thirdly, to be proportional;
-fourth, match the content, be interesting, problematic;
- fifth, have a clear structure (before the event; the event; after the event).
It is necessary to follow clear rules here:
1.Make the topic as narrow as possible - the correct version of the topic (Selling and using marijuana in public places should be considered illegal).
2.The topic should include an argument – (If we are under the age of 30 and want a healthy life, we should definitely get a bicycle instead of a car.; cheating helps school children learn.; considering its geo-political role, we can clearly say that the EU cannot be without Turkey).
3. The topic should be supported by concrete facts (statistical examples, links to various reliable sources of information, etc.).
In the event that it seems to you that you cannot find enough arguments to prove your point of view or to refute the opposite, you can highlight one of the most controversial issues, for example:
Cheating is beneficial for schoolchildren.It is useful for schoolchildren to write off.
Stress is good for the human body. Stress has a positive effect on a person.
Polygamy is quite natural. Polygamy is a natural human need.
For women, there is no need for men. Women don't need men.
The structure of writing an essay "for and against", for high school students:
1. Quote.
2. The problem raised by the author; its relevance.
3. The meaning of the statement.
4. Own point of view.
5. Argumentation at the theoretical level.
6. At least two examples from social practice, history and/or literature confirming the correctness of the judgments expressed.
Exercise 1.
Read the closing paragraphs below and say whether they express a balanced consideration or the writer's opinion.
1. In conclusion, getting married has, to my mind, more advantages than disadvantages. After all, what can be more fulfilling than a steady relationship with the person you love that lasts for the rest of your life?
2. To sum up, camping holidays do have advantages, the main one being that they are far cheaper than other holidays. In my opinion, however, there is too much hard work involved for them to ever feel like a real holiday.
3. To conclude, by looking after animals and helping them to breed, zoos play an important part in protecting many species from becom­ing extinct. Therefore, the negative aspects of keeping animals in captivity are balanced out by the positive ones.
4. All in all, computers have both advantages and disadvantages. They may have replaced humans in many jobs, but they have also made our lives considerably easier, and it is now difficult to imagine life without them.
5. On the whole, while most people go on holiday to rest, this is one thing you are unlikely to do on an adventure holiday. In my opinion, this disadvantage outweighs all the advantages associated with this kind of holiday.
6. Taking everything into account, there are both advantages and disadvantages in keeping pets. In the end it is up to the individual to decide whether the pleasure associated with owning a pet is worth the work that goes with it.
Exercise 2.
Put these jumbled sentences in the correct order. Then write them out in two separate paragraphs, one including all the advantages, the other all the disadvantages. Finally, write a suitable beginning and ending for this topic.
Package holidays: Good or Bad?
A. However, there are disadvantages to going on a package holiday.
В. То start with, package holidays are cheaper than travelling on your own, as the price includes the air fare and hotel accommodation.
С. Another negative aspect is that as you have paid for your accommodation in advance, you often feel obliged to stay in that place rather than move around and explore.
D. Furthermore, the brochures from which most people select a package holiday usually give you a good idea of what the resort offers, therefore reducing the chances of disappointment.
E. Package holidays have several advantages.
F. In the first place, as package holidays are less expensive, the hotel is unlikely to be top-class.
G. Last but not least, when visiting a new place it is often much easier to have all the details arranged in advance as it can be rather con­fusing to plan everything by yourself.
H. Also package holiday destinations are usually popular tourist resorts, thus there is little opportunity to experience the true culture of the country you are visiting.
Exercise 3.
Underline the correct linking word/phrase.
1. Besides-Despite, television affects the way we think.
2. Many people are against-argue that we need advertisements in order to keep up to date with the latest products on the market.
3. One point of view against-in favour of travelling is that it allows you to meet people from different cultures.
4. Even though-Nevertheless most people nowadays use a computer at work, it will be a while before we stop putting our ideas down on paper.
5. For instance-Still, people who know how to play a musical instrument are usually popular and make friends more easily than others.
UMK "English in focus" / "Spotlight" contains more exercises for the development of writing skills, i.e. the necessary discourses for writing part C1-C2 of the Unified State Exam letter and essay. This is due to the fact that the textbook differs in its structure, where time is allocated for each type of speech activity in the lesson, including written speech. In addition, the UMC contains additional sources of formation of writing skills in the form of a language portfolio and meets all the requirements of new educational standards. But the result of teaching a foreign language in general and writing in particular depends on the teacher himself, who can choose a system of exercises in such a way as to achieve the desired result.
To form the ability to write an essay with elements of reasoning, you need to work with strategies for its implementation, training with the help of appropriate exercises. This set of exercises will contribute to the development of skills of independent creative thinking and written presentation of their own thoughts. Writing an essay is extremely useful because it allows the author to learn how to formulate thoughts clearly and competently, structure information, use the main categories of analysis, identify cause-and-effect relationships, illustrate concepts with appropriate examples, and argue their conclusions.