Genres

Discussion

Sat, 04 Jun 2005 18:28:55 +0200

Should we wear school uniform?

Is school uniform a good thing?

In some ways it is. It is very smart and it means that all the children are the same, and are equal in the way they dress. Children and their parents do not have to spend money on expensive or fashionable clothes to wear to school.

On the other hand, there are some bad points wearing school uniform. If a child’s parents are very poor, they may not be able to pay for the correct uniform. Besides, there are people who say that uniforms stop children from thinking for themselves. Children might ask, why should they have to wear uniforms when most adults can wear whatever they like?

What do you think?

Children, do you like wearing your uniform? Do you think it is good to wear uniform to school? Why? Why not? If you have many ideas or suggestions about this, you can probably write a discussion like the above writing.

The above shows a piece of discussion. A discussion is used to present arguments for or against an issue. In other words, you write down the good points or bad points about the topic. Honestly, you may find difficulties in this type of writing. The main reason is that it is difficult for you to think up the ideas.

In order to start writing a discussion, you can start a topic that you are familiar with, just like the above example ‘school uniform’. Before writing, you need to think up all the ideas and try to organize them first. While writing, remember to use present tense. After writing, it is better for you to check it once again. Check if you can understand your ideas or not; if the ideas presented clearly; if there are any grammatical or spelling mistakes?

Now, you can try to think up a topic you like first. For example, ‘Is computer games good for children?’ ‘Is it good to join activities after school?’ ‘Is it useful to study with a tutor?'

Try to write me a short discussion. If you have any problems during your writing, just ask me.

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Procedure

Sat, 04 Jun 2005 18:10:32 +0200

Dragon Boat Festival (Tu Ng Festival) is coming soon. Will you make rice dumplings with you Mum? I am not going to teach you how to make rice dumplings. I am going to make a rice dumpling-shaped fragrant bag with you. Are you ready? Let’s start." class="middle" border="0">

Making a rice-dumpling shaped fragrant bag

Materials:
1. a piece of cloth
2. needle and thread
3. cotton
4. fragrant powder

Procedures:
1. Cut a piece of triangle-shaped cloth with 14cm width.
2. Mark the three corners with A, B, C.
3. Sew the sides A and C
4. Sew the sides B and C
5. Put cotton and fragrant powder inside
6. Sew the sides A and B

Have you made your own fragrant bag? Is it beautiful? Are you going to make one for you Mum and Dad?

The above is a piece of procedure writing. A procedure is used to instruct someone how to do something. The most common type of procedures is recipe. I think you have already seen your Mum making dishes with the recipes. In a procedure, you need to write down the goal, the materials and the steps clearly. While writing the steps of the procedure, remember to put the verbs at the beginning.

What do you learn to make? Food? Art workd? Can you write a procedure to teach me something interesting?

Comments

Report

Mon, 30 May 2005 07:42:01 +0200

Coral

Coral is made by millions of tiny meat eating animals called polyps. Polyps live in groups called colonies. The polyps have one or more rings of tentacles surrounding a central mouth. We usually classify corals into stony corals, octocorals and hydrocorals, each type with different characteristics.

Children, did you think that coral is a type of plants before? After reading the above writing, I think you should understand that coral is a type of animals.

The above writing is a piece of report. A report always classifies or describes an event or object. You can usually get new inforamtion from a report. Actually, you can find different types of report in your daily life, such as weather reports, news reports, and book reports. While writing a report, we normally use present tense.

Do you have a pet at home? What is it? Can you write me a short report about your pet?

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Recount

Sat, 28 May 2005 05:27:36 +0200

A trip to Hoi Ha Village

Last Sunday, I went to Hoi Ha Wan in Sai Kung with my friends. First, we took a walk on the beach. The view was beautiful. Then, we went hiking for half an hour. It was really tiring. Finally, we travelled by a little boat to watch the coral. It was really fantastic. I didn't believe that we could watch that in Hong Kong. I enjoy the trip very much.

Do you write you diary every day? Do you write down anything special in your notebook? The above is a piece of writing about my trip to Sai Kung. It is actually a kind of recount writing.

We normally write a recount to retell a series of event, e.g. a school picnic, a trip to China with families, a happy day in school, etc. Since it is used to retell something, the verb should be written in past tense form, such as ‘went’ ‘was’ ‘travelled’. Moreover, we can use some time words to connect the events, like ‘first’ ‘then’ ‘after that’ ‘finally’.

What did you do last Sunday? Were there any special things? Write a recount to tell me what you did.

Comments

Writing tips for you

Thu, 26 May 2005 11:02:22 +0200

Hello Children!

Nice to meet you here!

I am Heidi. I am a student-teacher from HKIED.

I have just studied about the types of writing. I want to share what I've learnt with you.

Children, are you frighten of English writing?

Are you confused about different types of English writing?

Don't be afraid!!

I am here to give you some hints about writing.

Let's go and have a look.

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