COM200: Composition

Introduction
 Course contents
What is a composition? What
features make a good composition?
Some common genres and rhetorical
organizations
Language use accuracy and
appropriateness
 References
Grabe, W. (2009). Reading in a second
language: Moving from theory to practice.
Cambridge University Press: New York.
University of Essex (2008). How to
improve academic writing. www.essex
.ac.uk/outreach/documents/how-to-
improve-academic-writing.pdf
Anderson, P. V. (2014). Technical
communication. Delhi: Cengage.
 What is a composition?
Composition things arranged in a
systematic order based on some
rules and practices
Composition of a group
A music composition
A students composition oral or
written
Instead of breaking into a jog too quickly
and risking injury, take a relaxed and slow
approach. Before taking a step, spend at
least ten minutes stretching and warming
up, using any exercises you find
comfortable. When youve completed your
warm-up, start a brisk pace walking.
Increase the distance between steps
gradually, and swinging your arms briskly
and loosely. After you have walked for a
hundred yards, you should feel ready to
jog. Immediately break into a very slow
trot. Do not bolt out like a sprinter!
Remember to keep your shoulders straight
Instead of breaking into a jog too quickly
and risking injury, take a relaxed and Topic sentence
deliberate approach.
Before taking a step, spend at least ten
minutes stretching and warming up,
using any exercises you find
comfortable. When youve completed Details
your warm-up, set a brisk pace walking.
Exaggerate the distance between steps,
and swinging your arms briskly and
loosely. After you have walked for a
hundred yards, you should feel ready to
jog. Immediately break into a very slow
trot. Do not bolt out like a sprinter!
Remember to keep your shoulders Conclusion
straight and your head up.
Connectors/
One final word, do not forget to Cohesive
Coherenc enjoy
the sceneryearound after all, it is one of
devices
the joys of jogging!
 Ideas, information, details
With a specific purpose for a specific
audience
Carefully selected and systematically
arranged
Bound together so that it appears as
one whole piece
Rules of words, grammar, and writing
 Steps in writing a composition

Understand essay title/requirements

Assess reading texts choose most
appropriate
Select relevant areas of texts - Keep record
for
references
Make notes on relevant areas, using
paraphrasing & summarising skills -
Combine a variety of
sources where necessary
Select appropriate structure for essay/plan
Organise & write - main body, introduction,
conclusion
Interpreting the essay
topic
Most written work begins with a title, and
we must be quite clear what question the
title is asking before starting to plan the
essay and read around the topic.
When preparing to write an essay, it is
essential to identify the main
requirements of the title. You must be
clear about what areas you are required
to cover. This will then determine the
organisation of the essay.
 It is essential that you interpret the topic
correctly. This can be achieved by
brainstorming to generate ideas, and then
formulating a point of view, even if it is a
very rough one.
Some people have found that reading
around the topic, by looking up some of
the key words on the Internet or books, is
helpful in familiarising themselves with the
question.
You also need to stay on track essay
writers often waste words on background
or side issues instead of directing their
entire essay to answering the question.
 There are 3 things you need to look for
when interpreting an essay topic:
Command - tells you what to do
Topic - the general area of discussion
Focus - the specific area of discussion

Lets look at an example:

Universities should not be run like
businesses. Discuss.
topic focus topic
command
 For this essay topic, the general area of
discussion is universities being run like
businesses. The specific area of
discussion is whether or not it is OK for
universities to be run like businesses.
The command word discuss means
that you are to investigate and present
the different aspects of a problem or
subject and come to some conclusion.
Match the command words with
their definitions on the right.
Give a clear and simple
Analyse account
Make a proposal and
Describe support it
Examine Deal with a complex subject
by giving the main points
State Divide into sections and
discuss each critically
Suggest
Give a detailed account
Summarise Look at various parts and
their relationships
Analyse Look at various parts and their
relationship
Describe Give a detailed account

Examine Divide into sections and discuss

each critically
State Give a clear and simple account

Suggest Make a proposal and support it

Summarise Deal with a complex subject by

giving the main points
Some more command words
Account for: To give reasons, explain why
something has happened
Assess: To judge the value of a subject critically
Comment on: To discuss, explain, and give your
opinion on the ideas expressed
Compare: To show the similarities and
differences between two or more subjects
Criticise: To make your judgement about the
views expressed and support your judgement
with evidence
Define: To give the meaning of a word term,
distinguishing it from closely related subjects,
sometimes with examples and illustrations.
 Discuss: To investigate and present the
different aspects of a problem or subject
and come to some conclusion
Evaluate: To appraise or estimate the
worth of something, to some extent an
explained personal opinion
Explain: To account for a subjects
character, causes, results, implications, etc.,
by clearly stating and interpreting the
relevant details
Generate: To propose new ideas or new
interpretations of available subjects
Illustrate: To explain or clarify a problem
using concrete examples, diagrams, or
 Interpret: To explain the meaning of
something, to make it clear and explicit,
and to evaluate it in terms of your own
knowledge
Justify: To provide the reasons for your
conclusions or for the statement made in
the question
Outline: To give the main features or
general principles of a subject leaving out
minor details
Prove: To show the truth of a statement
by argument, experiment, or test
Relate: To establish the connection
between one thing and another
Discover important sources
Be selective.
Only read information which is relevant
to your topic.
You may only need to read a particular
section or part of a chapter from a book.
Checking the contents page and the
index of a book will help you here.
Assess the importance of what you read.
How reliable is the information? What is
the relevance for your chosen topic?
 Planning the basic
organisation
Almost all essays, reports and articles
have the same basic pattern of
organisation:
Introduction
Main body
Conclusion
The structure of the main body depends
on what the title is asking you to do.
Lets look at an example.
 Academic qualifications are of little practical
benefit in the real world Discuss.

Introduction: variety of different

qualifications; different methods of
assessment
Why necessary: international standards for
professions, e.g. doctors; qualifications lead
to better salaries and promotion
Drawbacks: many successful people dont
have qualifications; many qualified people
dont have jobs
Conclusion: qualifications are useful but do
 Steps in planning
Analyse the question and the keywords.
Note the main topics that you are going to
cover.
Divide any notes and ideas you already
have into separate topics using a separate
sheet for each topic relevant. These
separate notes should lead to different
paragraphs of your write-up
Rearrange your notes. Look at what you
have and group related information and
arrange them in a logical order
 Write an outline plan using the topics you
have arranged. Write your first plan before
you have done any research and that will
help you to be more selective and
constructive in taking notes. It will focus
your reading and you can adapt your plan
as you go along.