IYR: LECTURE - 7
B.Sc. 4-Year Programme
Scientific Communication:
Improve Your Writing
The Composition
Dr. Min Pun
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Unit III: Selected topics from “Improve Your
Writing”
1. The Sentence
- The Effect of Scientific Temperament on Man (by
Bertrand Russell)
2. The Paragraph
- Gods in the Godless Universe (by Russell)
- Pollution and Superpollution (by Gordon Rattray)
- Science and Survival (by Barry Commoner)
3. The Composition
- Man and Nature (by J. Bronowoski)
- Man and His Environment (by Robert Arvill)
- The Cost of Solar Heat (by H.A. Bethe)
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4. The Composition
A composition is a piece of writing into full length.
This is an act of putting together a whole by
combining words and sentences.
There are different kinds of composition. For
example, letter writing, essay writing, dialogue
writing, story writing, report writing, etc. are all
compositions.
When a topic is given to you for composition, the
first thing we should remember is the kind of
reader you are writing for.
Secondly, we should choose the style: formal or
informal. If you are writing a letter to your close
friend, then you should use informal language.
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Thirdly, you should think about the purpose
of composition. You should be clear about
whether you are writing to convince or to
entertain the readers.
Fourthly, after you know the purpose of
writing, then you should collect the
materials on the subject that you will write.
In this way, after you choose the audience,
decide on the purpose of writing and collect
the materials on the subject, then you
should start writing. The first thing you will
do is starting with the outline. For example,
if the given topic is “Students’ Protest –
Purposeful or Harmful”, the outline can like
this:
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Students’ protest purposeful, not harmful.
How it was purposeful in the past.
What students’ protest is achieving now.
What it can achieve in the future.
Therefore, conclusion justifying the writer’s
point of view.
The outline could also be like this:
1. Students’ protest more purposeful than
harmful.
2. How this protest is purposeful.
3. How it can be harmful.
4. Your conclusion, showing the advantages of
students’ protest over its disadvantages.
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PRACTICE (MAKING OUTLINES)
TOPICS:
1) Radio – Gift or Curse
2) Pollution in Fewa Lake
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Three Parts of Composition
Just as words are linked together to make sentences,
and sentences are linked together to make
paragraphs, the paragraphs also linked together to
compose a piece of writing or to have composition.
In the composition, we should keep in mind the
requirements of a good sentence such as clarity,
consistency and economy. Similarly, we should also
maintain the principles of a good paragraph such as
unity, coherence and emphasis.
All kinds of composition have three main parts:
1. the introduction
2. the body and
3. the conclusion
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4. The Structure of An Essay
Title
Introduction
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 2
Body
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 4
Conclusion
Paragraph 5
Writing the Introduction
The introductory paragraph should catch the attention of the
reader, announce the subject of the composition and make
clear the stand the writer is going to take.
You can choose any one of the following techniques to write
the introduction:
1. A concrete illustration of the thesis may be given. This
can be done by giving relevant incident or explanation of
the thesis.
2. A relevant quotation may also be used. The quotation
may be given in the beginning or at the end.
3. A simple, factual statement related to the topic may
also be made. This technique can be used in short
compositions.
4. A sentence that shocks or startles the reader may also
begin the introduction. This technique will arouse the
curiosity of the readers and motivate them to read all. 9
Example: (relevant quotation)
To achieve a continuous improvement in the
quality of the environment demands perception,
education, economic strength, research, plus
policies and administration geared to the right
aims. A process of constant appraisal and
adjustment is necessary, for as the scope of
existing problems is reduced new ones will arise.
Fresh discoveries will bring fresh difficulties – and
will always do so. As Goethe said, ‘Every solution
of a problem is a new problem.’
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Example: (relevant quotation)
‘No one is allowed to marry outside his own caste
or exercise any calling or art except his own.’ This
unexceptional and commonplace remark of an
ambassador new to India is the kind of rough
generalization innumerable visitors make on their first
encounter with the operation of the caste system. The
interesting point about it is that this comment was
written roughly two thousand three hundred years ago
by Megasthenes, envoy of Seleucus to the court of
Chandragupta in the early days of the Mauryan empire.
As far as it goes it is still true today of the majority of
Hindus, particularly in the rural areas.
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Writing the Body
The body paragraphs also called as the middle paragraphs
because they come between the introductory and the concluding
paragraphs. The body paragraphs should deal with the central
idea of the composition. The writer provides details, explanations
and examples to support his/her idea.
The following are the ways to develop the body paragraphs:
1. Classification: In this method of development, the topic is
divided into several sub-sections, giving one or two
paragraphs to each sub-division. The writer uses classification
to divide general concepts into a number of different types.
2. Comparison and Contrast: When the composition is about
two subjects, we can use this technique of development. It
deals with the similarities and differences of these two
subjects. One paragraph can deal with one subject and the
next paragraph with comparisons and contrasts. Sometimes,
the first half of the composition deals with one subject and
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the second half deals with comparisons and contrasts.
3. Definition: This method of development defines
and explains a particular idea or subject that the
readers may not be familiar with. This technique of
writing does not refer to a dictionary meaning only;
it is more elaboration on a particular idea or
subject.
4. Cause and Effect: This method of writing the
composition is very popular. This technique deals
with the cause of something first and then deals
with the effects of that event. Sometimes, it is
used to explain the cause of any particular event
that may have taken place.
5. Narration: By telling a story, we can also express
our ideas. So the writer has a story to tell to
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support his idea in the composition.
6. Argument: This method of writing is
useful when the writer wants to emphasize
the importance of his/her idea. The writer
provides logical reasons to prove his point
of view.
7. Description: This method of composition
is used to describe people and places. In
this way, the writer provides a vivid picture
of them as if they are alive.
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Writing the Conclusion
The concluding paragraph should bring the composition to an
end, provide no new evidence and sum up what has been said
in the composition.
You can choose any one of the following techniques to write
the conclusion:
1. Signal phrases like ‘To sum up,’, ‘In conclusion,’ ‘When all
the evidence is examined, it is obvious..’ or ‘finally’ can be
used to start the concluding paragraph.
2. The length of the sentence may be reduced in the last
paragraph. This technique is used to make the sentences
grow shorter and to end the paragraph with a short
sentence.
3. Re-introduction technique can be used to write a
conclusion. In this technique, we return to the introductory
paragraph and restate what has been said in the
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introduction.
Dr. Min Pun
Lecturer, Department of English
Tribhuvan University, PN Campus, Pokhara
[email protected]
www.minpun.com.np
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