eslwriter

Rob Whyte is a university teacher, teacher trainer and writer.

Politics Week 1

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Politics Week 1 Instructional Plan

This week

  1. course introduction, syllabus and website format (syllabus pdf file)
  2. what is politics?
  3. what is an argument? (workshop)

For next week

  1. read chapter 2 in textbook
  2. complete Chapter 2 discussion questions and vocabulary or get the pdf file.
  3. review optional material

Added Material

Today we begin a series of lessons that will help you think and speak more clearly, logically and precisely.

This is the beginning of our lesson on critical thinking.

  1. The first step in that learning is to understand arguments.
  2. The second step for today is to understand the difference between facts and inferences.

Inference and Facts

Here is a quick exercise to understand inferences. Look at this photo.

Read these statements and mark, true, false or can’t answer.

  1. This is graduation day for the Thomas family.
  2. The father is proud of his son.
  3. The sister looks up to her brother.
  4. This is a prosperous family.
  5. The son has just graduated from law school.

1. Course Introduction

Readings in Political Science

Busan University of Foreign Studies

Instructor Information

Rob Whyte B.A. M.Sc. Office: D570, Office hours: TBA

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#13 Teaching Writing – Fix Run On Sentences

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Teaching Writing – Fix Run On Sentences

Main Idea

Run on sentences, a common problem in first drafts, are easy to fix with two possible solutions. Once English students learn the meaning of run on sentence they will be able to find and repair those errors by themselves. Therefore, studying run on sentences helps ESL students develop the skills they need to become independent English writers.

What is a Run On Sentence?

A run on sentence happens when two independent clauses have not been joined in the right way. What’s an independent clause?

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#14 Teaching Writing – Avoid Choppy Sentences

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Teaching Writing – Avoid Choppy Sentences

Main Idea

ESL students can improve their writing style by learning how to notice and fix choppy sentences with combined clauses that create smooth text with an elegant flow.

Choppy Sentences

Grammatically, there is nothing wrong with choppy sentences. Stylistically, they read poorly. Choppy sentences are commonly written by young children and older students who did not learn how to combine sentences with conjunctions. Here are some examples:

  • Choppy:  I like dogs. Dogs make good pets. Dogs are friendly and loyal.
  • Better:  I like dogs because they are friendly and loyal. That’s why they make good pets.

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#15 Teaching Writing – Avoid Wordy Sentences

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Teach Writing: Editing Sentences

Writing Skills: sentence fluency, editing, word choice

What comes after ESL students write the first draft? Editing.

Learning how to edit their own work is an important English writing skill.

“Edit what?” students might ask.

One answer is to look for two kinds of writing problems in the first draft: wordy sentences and empty phrases. Helping students improve their writing skills by recognizing and fixing these problems is the purpose of this lesson. 

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