Week 14 (December 22-26)

Dear All,
Hope you have all got the most out of the lesson.
It was great to know each of you and have lessons with you.
All the best
Hacer Şivil   :)

Your last task is below and the due date is December 28, 2014

Choose the topics below and write one cause and one effect paragraph!
1- What are the reasons of being an underdeveloped country?
2- What are the effects of being an underdeveloped country?
3- Why does the divorce rate increase?
4-What are the possible consequences of divorce?
5- Why do people bully at school?
6- What are the effects of bullying at school?
7- Why do we exploit nature?
8- What are the effects of exploiting nature?

WEEK 13 (DECEMBER 15-19)

Dear All,
Your Cause Paragraphs are getting much better. Besides, you can decode correction codes and correct your mistakes. This week, we have had the chance to write Cause Paragraphs and edit our own and each other's paragraphs.

Let me remind you what to pay attention to when we are required to do editing.
Ask yourselves the following questions:


Topic Sentence           - Does you paragraph have a main idea?

Supporting Ideas        - Are there at least two causes that support the topic sentence?
                                     - Are there appropriate connecting words?
                                     - Are there supporting details that explain and/or give examples?

Concluding Sentence   - Does your concluding sentence start with an appropriate connecting word?
                                                                            OR
                                       - Does it summarize the main points of the paragraph?
                                                                            OR
                                 - Does it paraphrase the topic sentence or provide an appropriate final comment?

Grammar    - Check for missing/incorrect prepositions
                      - Check for missing/incorrect articles
                      - Check for appropriate use of verb forms
                      - Check for appropriate use of connecting words

Vocabulary      -Check for connecting verbs and phrases related to cause paragraphs
                          -Check for appropriate word choice/word form
                         -Check for overused words


You may use some online dictionaries, which will be a great help while writing, some of which are given below:
www.tureng.com
www.visuword.com
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary
www.Idoceonline.com
www.thesaurus.com
......

Have a look at presentation below to see some invaluable vocabulary, phrases, and examples.

Cause effectparagraphpractice from hacersivil

Your progress is quite good. We finished Cause Paragraphs and started Chapter 3-Effect Paragraphs.
In this unit, we have focused on some previous words and phrases such as

cause                                      negative                                                             effect
lead to                                    adverse                                                               influence
result in                                 positive                                                                 impact
bring about                            significant
give rise to                             dramatic


Remember that there are different ways to construct your sentences with the same meaning

e.g: Workaholism is a serious type of addiction that leads to numerous problems.


        Work addiction has negative impacts on people's lives.
   
       Working overtime affects various aspects of people's lives negatively.

 

 

In this unit, we also focused on Mind Mapping before writing a paragraph. Besides, as you may know it is important to use the Editing Checklist after writing.

Effect Paragraphs are similar to Cause Paragraphs but you need to pay attention to wording.
See the examples in the presentation below:

 

 

Cause & effect paragraph from hacersivil

Write an effect paragraph on one or more of the topics on page 58 by 21.12.2014 Sunday evening.

Have a nice weekend:)

WEEK 12 (DECEMBER 9-12)

Dear All,

This week, we are focusing on Chapter 2: Cause Paragraphs. There are some useful words and phrases that indroduce causes. Let's remember what they are

 

 due to /  because of / on account of / as a result of / owing to

result from

stem from / due to / arise from

contribute to

result from

enable

as a result

therefore / thus / consequently

 

 

 

We are also learning how to draw an effective Mind Map before writing our paragraph

 

 

As you may know, a paragraph consists of a Topic Sentence, at least two Supporting Ideas together with details and examples and a Concluding Sentence. Thus, it must be easy for you to make an Outline.

Please make sure that you make an outline in advance, write coherent sentences and use sentence connectors.

 

1- Follow the feedback and instructions on page 33, and edit the paragraph
2- Scan the text on page 34 and list the reasons for using social networking sites. Then, draw your mind map, and write a paragraph (remember to go over editing checklist on page 36).
Best:)

WEEK 11 & 12 (NOVEMBER 24 - DECEMBER 5)

Special Thanks to Gül Ecem Halvaşi for her great performance on Evolution of Musicals.....:)
Here are some shots taken on the performance day. Good luck Ecem:)))

                                                                         

                                                                                     

Dear All,
We revised the parts of a paragraph, which are

1. Topic sentence
2. Supporing sentences together with details, facts, or examples
3. Concluding sentence                                                           

1) Please ideantify the parts of the following paragraph.
- What is the topic sentence?
- What are the supporting sentences, details, and examples.
- What is the concluding sentence?
-What are the linking words, connectors, etc?

Istanbul is the most attractive city in Turkey. Firstly, there are more job opportunities in Istanbul than other cities in Turkey. People can have a variety of professional careers in many fields like architecture, engineering, finance, and teaching.  Furthermore, big companies such as Sabancı and Koç have many firms and branches where you can find different kinds of well-paid jobs. Secondly, Istanbul has beautiful places to visit. More than a million tourists from all over the world visit Istanbul every year because of its historic places and picturesque views of the Bosphorus. Finally, the social and cultural life in this mega-city is another attraction for people. For example, there are hundreds of cinemas, theatres, restaurants, bars, and cafes to visit for a good time with friends. This makes it almost impossible to feel bored in this city.  In short, Istanbul is the best city in Turkey for working, living, and having fun.

 

 

2) Write a similar paragraph about a city, place, or a country.

WEEK 10 (NOVEMBER 17-22)

 

Thank you for your lovely visit :))

 

Dear All,
This week, we have written some paragraphs focusing on Topic Sentence, Supporting Ideas together with details and examples, and Concluding Sentence.
Your paragraphs are getting better and better:)

1- Page 99, Exercise 3
Topics are given to you. You need to norrow down one of the topics to make a topic sentence. Then write a paragraph referring to your outline. Do remember to use the checklist to edit your sentences.

2- Page 103
Find the mistakes about unity and coherence in the second paragraph. complete the blanks with an approppriate connector and find the 3 off-topic sentences.

3- Page 105
Choose two of the topic sentences and write outlines and paragraphs. Remember to use the editing checlist.
a- Pollution is one of the biggest problems in the world today.
b-Making friends is the best way to get used to somewhere new.
c- There are many causes of animal excinction,
d- Many young people enjoy playing a variety of computer games.
e- People can learn many things from owning a pet.


Good luck:)

WEEK 9 (NOVEMBER 10-14)

Dear All,

We have just started 'paragraph writing'. However, I still think you need  more practice on Coordinators, Subordinators, Sentence Connectors, and 'In addition to'.

1) Coordinators

Coordinators (and, but, so, or, nor, for*, yet*) connect elements of equal importance.

S + V , but S + V S + V and V S or S + V N and N Adj. and Adj. Phrase and Phrase Can be used in a series: A, B, C, or D

(A comma is normally used.) (No comma is necessary.)

 

Examples: He drinks coffee, but she drinks tea.

(S + V , coordinator S +V)

Gary lives in Ohio, and Deana lives in Michigan.
She loves to dance, so she bought a studio.
You could buy a car, or you could put the money in the bank.
When there is a new subject and verb, a comma is used before (not after) the coordinator.
I hate to sing but, I love to dance. (Incorrect)
I hate to sing, but I love to dance. (Correct)

John and George both play football. Paul listens to music and reads books. John, Paul, George, and Harry are classmates.

(two subjects) (two verbs) (series)

*For is also commonly used as a preposition. Yet can sometimes be used as an adverb.


2) Subordinators

Subordinators are linking words that are used to join clauses together. They are used at the beginning or in the middle of a sentence. A clause is a group of words that must contain a subject and predicate. There are two types of clauses:

• independent clauses - these can stand alone as a sentence by themselves
• dependent clauses - these make no sense by themselves.

Example

Common Subordinators

Below are some examples of commonly used subordinators.

Comparison & Contrast	Cause / effect	Time
Although Though Even though While Whereas	Since So that Because	After When Until Whenever Before
Possibility	Place & manner
if as if whether unless	Wherever Where How

3) Sentence connectors

Sentence connectors are used to link ideas from one sentence to the next and to give paragraphs coherence. Sentence connectors perform different functions and are placed at the beginning of a sentence. They are used to introduce, order, contrast, sequence ideas, theory, data etc. The following table lists useful connectors.

 Useful Sentence Connectors

Logical / sequential order Firstly, secondly, thirdly etc Next, last, finally In addition Furthermore Also At present / presently	Order of importance Most / more importantly Most significantly Above all Primarily It is essential / essentially
Contrast However On the other hand On the contrary By (in) comparison In contrast	Result As a result As a consequence Therefore Thus Consequently Hence
Comparison Similarily Likewise Also	Reason The cause of The reason for

4 ) Let's see some more examples for 'in addition to' and ' In addition'

In addition, additionally also

Anne and Alex act and sing.  In addition, they dance.

(= In addition to dancing, Anne and Alex act and sing.) Anne and Alex are very graceful dancers.  Also, they have years of experience dancing together.

(=In addition to having years of experience dancing together, Anne and Alex are graceful dancers/  Anne and Alex are graceful dancers. In addition/ Additionally/Also, they have years of experience dancing together. Anne and Alex will learn samba and cha cha.  Additionally, they will try merengue.

She must dance gracefully.  In addition, she must dance precisely.

She must follow the rules. Also, she must use proper dance technique.

The judges want her to extend her arms.  Additionally, they expect her to point her toes.

In addition to the recipe ingredients, you'll need a good saucepan.

In addition to being used as mixing bowls, the abalone shells served as storage containers.

In addition to exhibit descriptions, docents are on hand to expand on posted descriptions.

Choose one of the topics below. and write a paragraph using connectors you have learnt. Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion.

1. What do you think influences someone's personality more: 'environment or genetics'?
2. What are the most important characteristics of a good friend?
3. what do you like more: a good movie or a good play at the theatre? Why?
4. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? 'Grades (marks) encourage students to learn'.

 

WEEK 8 (3-7 NOVEMBER)

Dear All,
This week you had an exam. We had the class hour right after the exam, so we mostly focused on exam questions, which included sentences with connectors.
You need to pay more attention to your sentences. Thus, please submit the following homework by November 11th, 2014.
Have a nice weekend.

1- Use the information on page 76 and write about Sarajevo.
2- Write about another city you know or research another city and write about it.