Free English Lessons

Adverb Clause of Proportion

2018-07-27T22:10:00.000+07:00

Adverb clause of proportion or proportion clause shows the result of an action in relation to another action.
The most important subordinating conjunctions in this category are "as" and "the . . . the". For example,

As I listened to him speak, I slowly came to like him.

(At first I didn’t like him, but my opinion of him improved in proportion to the time I spent listening to him speak.)
The same effect is possible with the the... the :

The more I listened to him, the more I liked him

Here is another example using the same construction

The fatter I get, the more I want to eat.

Notice that in these examples a comparative adjective appears in both clauses of
each sentence. "The...the" can only be used when two such adjectives are present.

Adverb Clause of Comments

2017-11-15T10:54:00.001+07:00

Another type of subordinate clause is the adverb clause of comment or comment clause. An adverb clause of comment generally functions as a disjunct or a conjunct and makes some comment on what is said in the main clause:

This is, as you can see, a specimen of 3rd-century Roman pottery.
She was, as is well known, a member of the Republican Party.
What’s more, she was an active member of the party.
As you know, her husband is a well-known television personality.
What was worse, I was totally lost.
Foot-and-mouth disease is, as you probably already know, a highly infectious disease of cattle, sheep and pigs.
As I say, there's no harm done and we'd best just forget about it.

The comment clause can come without an introductory conjunction:

He is, I believe, a Buddhist.
It was, you see, the very last thing I had expected to happen.

Noun Clause Markers

2017-09-29T15:24:00.001+07:00

Noun clauses are derived from statement, yes/no question, or wh question. Hence, there are three groups of noun clause markers including THAT, WH WORDS, and IF/WHETHER.

THAT

That he is innocent is well supported.
We believe that no one is perfect.

WH WORDS

how

I want to know how we can promote our products.

however

However we did was not helpful.

what

His remark was what we didn’t expect.

whatever

Whatever they did was for their kids.

when

Could you tell when he will come back?

whenever

Whenever you come is OK for me.

where

I don’t know where he lives.

wherever

Wherever the criminal goes needs investigation.

which

I can’t remember which book is mine.

whichever

I will accept whichever phone you give.

who

Who broke the glass is unknown.

whoever

Send whoever subscribe our services the email.

whom

I am grateful to whom support me.

whose

I don’t know whose house it is.

why

Tell us why you were so sad.

IF / WHETHER

If and whether are used interchangeably with same meaning.

I don’t know if / whether you like apple.

Cause and Effect Paragraph

2016-11-05T13:07:00.000+07:00

What is Cause and Effect Paragraph?

Cause and effect paragraph shows either the causes or effects of a situation. Therefore, you can write about the:

Causes of a situation – what makes a situation happens.
Effects of a situation – what happens as the result of the situation.

We can write the cause and effect paragraph in two ways:

Cause-to-Effect method – You focus on Effects
Effect-to-Cause method – You focus on Causes

Development Techniques and Samples

Cause-to-Effect Method

The topic sentence introduces the situation and the effects of the situation. The supporting sentences support the topic sentence by explaining each effect with details. Finally, the concluding sentence closes the paragraph. Hence, we can organize it in the following way.

Title
Topic sentence = Situation + (causes/makes) EFFECTS (e.g. Road accidents three main problems.)
Supporting sentences =

SI1: Effect 1 (e.g. death and injury) + SD1: Details of Effect 1 (e.g. lost of lives, many become disabled...)
SI2: Effect 2 (e.g. damage properties) + SD2: Details of Effect 2 (e.g. repairing, compensation...)
SI3: Effect 3 (e.g. wasting time) + SD3: Details of Effect 3 (e.g. solve the problem, law suit...)

Concluding sentence= Restate / Summarize / Predict / Suggest

Here is the sample paragraph.
Road Accident
(1) Road accident causes three main problems. (2) First, it causes death and injury. (3) It has become one of the leading causes of death as it has claimed many lives so far and injured tens of people everyday. (4) Second, it damages the personal and public properties. (5) The damages do require repairing and compensating. (6) In some cases, it costs a lot of money. (7) Last, it wastes the time. (8) Those who are involved lose the time to work as well as to solve the cases or court cases. (9) These may last for years. (10) In brief, ones must try their best to avoid it.

Effect-to-Cause Method

The topic sentence introduces the situation and the causes of the situation. The supporting sentences support the topic sentence by explaining each cause with details. Finally, the concluding sentence closes the paragraph. Hence, we can organize it in the following way.

Title
Topic sentence = Situation + (is caused by/ is made by) CAUSES (e.g. Deforestation is caused by three main factors.)
Supporting sentences =

SI1: Cause 1 (e.g. drivers) + SD1: Details of Cause 1 (e.g.careless, drunk-driving, speeding...)
SI2: Cause 2 (e.g. vehicle) + SD2: Details of Cause 2 (e.g. too old, technical defects…)
SI3: Cause 3 (e.g. roads) + SD3: Details of Cause 3 (e.g. curving, slippery, no signs…)

Concluding sentence = Restate / Summarize / Predict / Suggest

Here is the sample paragraph.
Road Accident
(1) Road accidents are caused by three factors. (2) Firstly, they are brought about by drivers. (3) Being careless, drunk-driving, speeding, and abusing the laws are the best examples. (4) Secondly, vehicle conditions also lead to accidents. (5) Some vehicles are too old, have technical defects, or are not regularly checked. (6) Finally, the road conditions might also be one of the causes. (7) Some accidents happen due to poor, curving, or slippery roads. (8) In short, the drivers, vehicles, and roads are the main causes of accident.

***

Narrative Essays

2016-08-01T10:22:00.002+07:00

What is Narrative Essay?

Narrative essay is narrates or retells an event or story.

Development Techniques

A narrative is a story. It has an introduction that engages the reader’s interest, a body that gives details about the main event or action in the story, and a conclusion that describes the experience on the story.

Introductory Paragraph

LEAD – Gets the reader’s attention with a relevant quotation, question, fact, or definition.
LINK – Introduces an event (the action of the story) by providing background information about the people, the place, and the time. It sets the scene by telling what the story is about, when and where the story takes place, who are the main characters, or the writer.
LIST (Thesis statement) – Tells why the story or event was so important or so memorable. Normally, you can construct the thesis statement for narrative essay in this way:
→ LINK (Thesis statement): Story or event + Impression on/ Experience about the story

Look at the example. Supposed that you are going to write about a story "Ramayana". Here are the information you can add:

LEAD = Ramayana, a myth in Hinduism, is a story studied by many people across south and southeast Asia.
LINK = What? – War between goodness and devil When? – Long time ago Where? – India, Sri Lanka Who? – Rama and Ravana
LIST = The story provides educational values to most of the readers.

Below is the sample introductory paragraph.

Ramayana

^(Lead) Ramayana, a myth in Hinduism, is a story studied by many people across south and southeast Asia. ^(Link) The story talks about war between goodness, represented by Rama, and the devil, represented by Ravana. The war was said to happen at an ancient time in India and Sri Lanka. ^(List) The story provides educational values to most of the readers.

Body Paragraphs

The body paragraphs describe what happened in the story. They include details that bring the story to life. They often use time order to explain the event. The story is normally divided into 3 stages:

THE BEGINNING -- The beginning of the story tells what problem or conflict cause the story or event to happen.
THE MIDDLE -- The middle describes the problems or conflicts leading to the climax, which is the highest point of the story or event.
THE ENDING -- The ending reveals what happens after the climax. It finishes the story with the story resolution or how all the conflicts or problem are solved.

Concluding Paragraph

A conclusion restate your experience on the story. It often ends with a comment by the writer about what the event showed or taught.

Organizing Ideas

If you describe the event, it is good idea to organize your essays into 4 or five paragraphs as below.

Outline 1

Title

Introductory Paragraph

LEAD: A relevant quotation, question, fact, or definition (drawing attention).
LINK: What? Who? When? Where? (background information)
LIST: Story or event + Impression on/ Experience about the story

Body Paragraph 1

BEGINNING OF THE STORY

Body Paragraph 2

MIDDLE OF THE STORY

Body Paragraph 3

END OF THE STORY

Concluding Paragraph

Restatement + Final thoughts

Outline 2

Alternatively, if you know the plots of the story, you may organize the ideas in this way.

Title

Introductory Paragraph

Lead: A relevant quotation, question, fact, or definition (drawing attention).
Link: What? Who? When? Where? (background information)
List: Story + Impression on/Experience about the story

Body Paragraph 1 – BEGINNING

Rising Actions – what make the story happens

Body Paragraph 2 – MIDDLE

Complications – problems leading to climax
Climax – highest / most serious point of the problem

Body Paragraph 3 – ENDING

Falling actions – what happen after the climax
Resolutions – how problem/conflict is solved

Concluding Paragraph

Restatement/Summary + Final thoughts

Narrative Essay Samples

Below is a sample essay about a Khmer love story 'Tum and Teav'.

Outline

Tum and Teav
Introductory Paragraph

Lead: drawing attention
Link:
- What?: love tragedy
- Who?: Tum and Teav
- When?: 16th century
- Where?: Tbaung Khmum province
List: The story + is very interesting.

Body Paragraph 1 – BEGINNING

Rising Actions –
- Love at the first sight Tum and Teav
- Tum leaves monkshood
- Tum and Teav engage in a pre-marriage love affair

Body Paragraph 2 – MIDDLE

Complications –
- Teav's mother disagree their marriage.
- Teav’s mother arranges a marriage for Teav with a rich and powerful local guy, but fails.
- Teav is selected a concubine, and is sent to the capital.
- Tum follows;
- King offers a wedding.
- Teav’s mother doesn’t like, and she re-arranges the marriage.
- She cheats Teav to come back.
- Teav comes back, and Tum follows.

Climax –
- Tum is arrested and executed.
- Teav commits suicide.

Body Paragraph 3 – ENDING

Falling actions –
- what happen after the climax The news enrages the king.

Resolutions –
- how problem/conflict is solved He orders execution to those involved.

Concluding Paragraph

Restatement/Summary + Final thoughts

Sample Essay

Tum and Teav

^(Lead) Among many Khmer novels, Tum and Teav seems to be the most appealing one. Many people believe that the story was a real one. ^(Link) It is about a love tragedy of young couple Tum and Teav happened some time in the 16th century at presently Tbaung Khmum province. ^(List) The story is really interesting.
(Rising action) The story begins when a young monk Tum and young woman Teav fall in love at their first sight when Tum is invited to Teav's house for small ceremony. The love for Teav forces Tum to leave his monkshood even with the objection of his master. He then sets off for Teav. When they meet, they have engage in a love pre-marriage affair which is strongly prohibited in Khmer tradition.
^{(Complications)} Teav's mother, however, disagree with their marriage. She wants her daughter to have better husband, so she arranges a mrriage for Teav with a rich and powerful local guy, but fails. Because of her beauty, Teav is selected a concubine, and is sent to the capital. Tum follows her and disguise as a singer and musician. The king admires Teav, but later he learns that Teav and Tum, a singer who sings to entertain him, love each other, so he offers a wedding the couple. The wedding makes Teav's mother disappointed, and she re-arranges the the fail marriage. She cheats Teav to come back home and sits in a wedding. Worrying for his wife, Tum follows. ^(Climax) At first, he think that Teav agrees with her mother, so he disguises as a singer and sings to insult Teav. Being identified as Tum, he is arrested and executed. With sorrow, Teav commits suicide on Tum's body.
^{(Falling actions)} Tum's friend, who has accompanied him, manage to escape and informs the king. The news enrages the king. He decides that he must intervene in the case. ^(Resolution) He orders harsh punishment to those involved. The family of the powerful guy, Teav's mother, and other villagers are arrested and executed.
^{(Restatement)} The story reflects that even with traditional and social class barrier, there are people who dare stand against them. It has become a debate for the later century as well. ^{(Final thought)} It is one of the widely known Khmer story among Cambodian and scholars.

Reference

A. Savage & P. Mayer (2006). Effective Academic Writing 2. 2nd Edition. Oxford University Press. USA. P-?

Susan Anker (2010). Real Writing. Paragraph and Essays for College Work and Everyday Life. P-121

Kinds of Lesson Plans

2016-07-22T10:15:00.006+07:00

There are two commons kinds of lesson plans used by English teachers. They are PPP and PWP models.

What Is PPP Lesson Plan?

It is mainly used for teaching vocabulary, grammar, and writing. It stands for Presentation, Practice, and Production.This means that a lesson is divided into 3 stages.

Presentation --

In this stage, the teacher presents the item or content she wants her students to learn. For example, she wants her students to learn 'Present Simple', she will needs to introduce the form and use and provide as many examples to the students.

Practice --

In this stage, the teacher asks the students to practice what she has presented in the earlier stage. For example, she may ask her students to unscramble the sentences, fill in the gaps with correct form, or identify the usage.

Production --

In this stage, the teacher asks the students to use what they learned from the earlier stages.
Students need to personalize it, meaning they apply to their real life by writing or speaking.

What Is PWP Lesson Plan?

It is mainly used for teaching listening and reading . It stands for Pre-, While-, and Post-. This means that a lesson is divided into 3 stages.

Pre-Reading/Listening --

In this stage, the teacher draws the students' attention to the lesson and presents the item or content she wants her students to learn. For example, she wants her students to read a text, she will ask students to look at the picture, guess what the text will be about, and so on.

While-Reading/Listening --

In this stage, the teacher asks the students to read or listen and do some activities. For example, she may ask students to read and find some specific information, some general information, or the meaning of the whole text.

Post-Reading/Listening --

In this stage, the teacher asks the students to use what they learned from the earlier stages.
Students need to personalize it, meaning they apply to their real life by either writing or speaking.

What Is a Lesson Plan?

2016-07-22T09:58:00.004+07:00

A lesson plan is a detail guide for teaching a particular lesson. It tells a teacher which activity to be done from the beginning to the end. The lesson plan must include some of the following components:

A goal -- A teacher must determine what she wants her students to learn after the lesson being taught. For example, at the end of the lesson, she wants her students to know 'Present Simple'.

Techniques -- They are the procedures (series of steps or actions) or guidelines for any (teaching) activity. For example, with the goal of teaching 'Present Simple', the teacher may use a varieties techniques to get her students involved. She may start from Meaning to Form, Gap Filling, Drill, and Sentence Building.

Data -- They are the items or contents to be used in a lesson. For example, the teacher may need a lesson from the course book, an exercise in workbook, a list of questions for personalizing 'Present Simple', and so on.

Responses -- They are the ways the teacher wants her student to involved in each activity of the lesson. She may wants the students to answer the questions, read the texts, do the exercise, or write some sentences.

Classification Paragraphs

2016-07-14T16:28:00.000+07:00

What Is Classification Paragraph?

Classification paragraph organizes, or sorts, people or items into categories. For examples,

Techniques for Writing Classification Paragraphs

Topic Sentence

The topic sentence presents a topic and an organizing principle -- how things are classified; for examples, they are classified by kinds, by colors, by ages, by race, etc.

Topic Sentence = Topic + Organizing Principle

Look at the examples.
There are two kinds of students in my class.

Supporting Sentences

Supporting sentences support the topic sentence by telling each category and examples of things in the category.

Supporting Sentences = Categories + Examples in the categories

Look at the example.
Topic sentence = There are two kinds of students in my class.
Supporting Sentences =
    Category 1: Active students
        + Example of Category 1: work hard, proactive, rarely absent, involved...
    Category 2: Passive students
        + Example of Category 1:lazy, chat, do not do homework, absent...

Concluding Sentence

The concluding sentence closes the paragraph by restating the topic sentence, summarizing the main categories, making a prediction about the topic, or giving a suggestion about the topic.

Organizing Your Ideas in Classification Paragraphs

You may organize your ideas in this way.

Title
Topic Sentence =
      Topic + Organizing Principle
Supporting Sentences =
      Category 1 + Examples in the category 1
      Category 2 + Examples in the category 2
      Category 3 + Examples in the category 3
Concluding Sentence =
      Restate / Summarize / Predict / Suggest

Sample Classification Paragraphs

Students in My Class

There are two kinds of students in my class. First, some of them are classified into active students. These students work hard; they rarely absent. They are proactive and organized for the class. Also, they pay attention and are involved in class activities. Second, the rest of them are categorized as passive students. These kinds of students do not study by heart; they are often absent. During class, they do not really pay attention to teaching. Some even try to chat in the class. All in all, some of students are active, while the rest are passive.

Reference:

Susan Anker (2010). Real Writing. Paragraph and Essays for College, Work, and Everyday Life. 5th edition

Should, Ought to, Had Better, Be Supposed to

2016-07-14T15:56:00.002+07:00

Should and ought to are used to give advice or making recommendation. They have the same meaning (it is advisable to do something).
For examples:
• 'This soup is too salty!' 'You should / ought to send it back.'
• You'll catch cold if you go out like that. I think you should / ought to take a hat.

Should and ought to are also used to shows responsibility or duty.
For examples:
• People should / ought to be warned (= passive) of the danger of swimming off this beach.
• I should / ought to visit my parents more often.

We can use 'had better' instead of 'should / ought to' to say that we think it would be sensible or advisable to do something.
For examples:
• If you're not well, you should / ought to ask Ann to go instead, (or ...you'd better ask...)
• You should / ought to have caught a later train, (not You had better have...)
• I don't think parents should / ought to give their children sweets, (not ...had better...)

We can use (be) supposed to instead of should / ought to to talk about an obligation to do something. It is commonly used in spoken English to express a' less strong obligation:
For examples:
• I'm supposed to be there at 10.00.
• The work was supposed to start last week.

We use (be) supposed to when we report what many people think is true:
For example:
• Eating sweets is supposed to be bad for your teeth, (not ...should be bad for...)

Reference

Martin Hewings (1999). Advanced Grammar in Use. A Self-Study reference and practice book for advanced learners of English

Relative Adverbs

2016-07-12T09:46:00.001+07:00

Relative adverbs are when, where, and why. They are used in adjective clauses in a similar way to relative pronouns (who, whom, that, and which).

Using WHEN in Adjective Clauses

When is used in adjective clause which modifies the time noun. It replaces a preposition + noun (time). Look at the examples.
1. I never forget the day. I met you then (on the day).
→ I never forgot the day when I met you.
Alternatively, you can use 'which' to join these two clauses, too. Remember that 'which' is used instead of a noun, while 'when' is used instead of 'preposition + noun'.
→ I never forgot the day which I met you on.
→ I never forgot the day on which I met you.

2. Noon is the time. We eat lunch then (at the time).
→ Noon is the time when we eat lunch.
Alternatively, you can use 'which' to join these two clauses, too. Remember that 'which' is used instead of a noun, while 'when' is used instead of 'preposition + noun'.
→ Noon is the time which we eat lunch at.
→ Noon is the time at which we eat lunch.

3. I was born in the 1980s. Our country was so poor then (during the time).
→ I was born in the 1980s when our country was so poor.
Alternatively, you can use 'which' to join these two clauses, too. Remember that 'which' is used instead of a noun, while 'when' is used instead of 'preposition + noun'.
→ I was born in the 1980s during which our country was so poor.

Using WHERE in Adjective Clauses

Where is used in adjective clause which modifies the place noun. It replaces a preposition + noun (place). Look at the examples.
1. The building is very old. He lives there (in that building).
→ The building where he lives is very old.
Alternatively, you can use 'which' to join these two clauses, too. Remember that 'which' is used instead of a noun, while 'where' is used instead of 'preposition + noun'.
→ The building which he lives in is very old.
→ The building in which he lives is very old.

2. The city was beautiful. We spent our vacation there (in the city).
→ The city where we spent our vacation was beautiful.
Alternatively, you can use 'which' to join these two clauses, too. Remember that 'which' is used instead of a noun, while 'where' is used instead of 'preposition + noun'.
→ The city which we spent our vacation at was beautiful.
→ The city at which we spent our vacation was beautiful.

3. I went to the village. I was born there (in the village).
→ I went to the village where I was born.
Alternatively, you can use 'which' to join these two clauses, too. Remember that 'which' is used instead of a noun, while 'where' is used instead of 'preposition + noun'.
→ I went to the village which I was born in.
→ I went to the village in which I was born.

Using WHY in Adjective Clauses

When is used in adjective clause which modifies the time noun. It replaces a preposition + noun (time). Look at the examples.
1. He didn't tell us the reasons. He left the company for the reasons.
→ He didn't tell us the reasons why he left the company.
Alternatively, you can use 'which' to join these two clauses, too. Remember that 'which' is used instead of a noun, while 'why' is used instead of 'preposition + noun'.
→ He didn't tell us the reasons for which he left the company.

2. Do you know the reason? She cried because of the reason.
→ Do you know the reason why she cried?
Alternatively, you can use 'which' to join these two clauses, too. Remember that 'which' is used instead of a noun, while 'why' is used instead of 'preposition + noun'.
→ Do you know the reason because of which she cried?

3. Tell me the reason. You came home late due to the reason.
→ Tell me the reason why you came home late.
Alternatively, you can use 'which' to join these two clauses, too. Remember that 'which' is used instead of a noun, while 'why' is used instead of 'preposition + noun'.
→ Tell me the reason due to which you came home late.

Reference

Betty Schrampfer Azar (2002). Understanding and Using English Grammar. Third Edition. Pearson Education.

What is Apposition?

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Apposition is a word or group of words which adds extra information to a noun or pronoun. The appositive does not change the meaning of the sentence in case it is removed from the sentence. Look at the pair of examples (The first one of the pair has no appositive.).

You should study hard.
You students should study hard. ('student' is an appositive.)

Thida is very smart. ('student' is an appositive.)
Thida, our team leader, is very smart. ('our team leader' is an appositive.)

Be careful!

~~You are students should study hard.~~

It is a wrong sentence because you have two main verbs in this sentence. Instead, you can make it an adjective clause.

You who are students should study hard.

Definition Paragraph

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Definition

According to Folse et al (2010), definition paragraph defines something. Similarly, Anker (2010) stated that definition paragraph explains what a term or concept means.

The definition paragraph has two purposes; i.e.

tells what something is.
gives facts, details, and examples to make the definition clear to the reader.

Writing Techniques

How to Write Topic Sentence

The topic sentence of definition paragraph contains a term (topic), ther term's category or class, and the term's features or characteristics. Therefore,
→ Topic Sentence = Topic + Class/Category + features/characteristics
For examples,

Insomnia is a sleep disorder that prevents people from sleeping.
Stress is the response of the body to any changes happening.

How to Write Supporting Sentences

Supporting sentences in definition definition paragraph explain what a term or concept means by providing specific examples and giving details about the examples so that your readers understand what the writer means.Therefore,
→ Supporting Sentences = Examples + Details of the examples
Here are the examples:
Topic sentence: Insomnia is a sleep disorder that prevents people from sleeping.
Supporting sentences:

a. hard to fall asleep. + Details
b. wake up in the middle of the night + Details
c. wake up without feeling rested in the morning + Details

Topic sentence: Stress is the response of the body to any changes happening.
Supporting sentences:

a. when we have a lot of to do. + Details
b. when we are free. + Details
c. when we got sick. + Details

How to Write Concluding Sentence

The same as other types of paragraph, the writer may:

restate the topic sentence,
summarize the main ideas,
predict something about the topic,
or suggest something about the topic.

Reference

Folse et Al (2010). Great Paragraphs. 3rd edition. P- 99
Susan Anker (2010). Real Writing. Paragraph and Essays for College, Work, and Everyday Life. 5th edition. P-205

How to Write Concluding Paragraph

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What Is Concluding Paragraph?

Concluding paragraph or conclusion closes the essay and gives readers a sense of logical completeness and finality.

What to be put depends entirely on what have been written in the essay. However, it should have the following characteristics:

It should be brief, consisting of a single sentence or a group of two-five sentences.
It should summarize the main points discussed in the composition.
It should give a final statement showing that no more details are going to be discussed.

Keep in mind also that to end your essay reasonably, you should:

not present a new main idea in your concluding paragraph.
not make apologies for any opinions you have expressed, or even talk with the reader.

How to Develop It

A simple yet common technique to write a concluding paragraph is restating the thesis statement or summarizing the main points/ideas discussed in the body paragraphs and adding a final thought.

When you restate the thesis statement, you must not copy the thesis statement. You need to rewrite it in different words. In addition, the main points/ideas are usually stated in your topic sentence of each body paragraph.

A final thought can be a recommendation or your own belief about the topic. Hence, here is the summary:

Concluding Paragraph =

Close: Restatement of thesis statement Summary of main points
Final thought: Opinion/ Prediction/ Suggestion

Example

Introduction:

List: Some studies reveal that the applicant should have knowledge, skills, and proper attitude.

Concluding Paragraph:

Restate: Each applicant is supposed to know what to do, know how to do it, and have right belief and personalities. Final thought: Therefore, he or she should finish a bachelor degree in any field, earn some professional experiences, and behave in a professional manner.

How to write body paragraphs

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The body will typically consist of about three paragraphs, presenting points to support your thesis statement. Without sufficient support, your essay is not convincing. It is difficult to find ideas to support your thesis statement; hence, you need to work out the ideas in the planning stage (when organizing your brainstormed idea).

Technique

To make your paragraph convincing is the matter of presenting main ideas in each body paragraph. You have known that each body paragraph needs to have good internal organization – it must have topic sentence, supporting sentences, and optional concluding sentence.
RULES: You must make…

Each topic sentence supports the thesis statement.
Supporting sentences support each topic sentence.

Here is the outline.

Introductory paragraph	Lead:
	Link:
	List:	Specific topic +	Main point 1 Main point 2 Main point 3
Body paragraph 1	TS =	Main point 1 +	Controlling idea
	SS =	Supporting 1A +	Supporting details 1A
		Supporting 1B +	Supporting details 1B
		Supporting 1C +	Supporting details 1C
Body paragraph 2	TS =	Main point 2 +	Controlling idea
	SS =	Supporting 2A +	Supporting details 2A
		Supporting 2B +	Supporting details 2B
		Supporting 2C +	Supporting details 2C
Body paragraph 3	TS =	Main point 3 +	Controlling idea
	SS =	Supporting 3A +	Supporting details 3A
		Supporting 3B +	Supporting details 3B
		Supporting 3C +	Supporting details 3C

The topic sentence (of the body paragraphs)

Each topic sentence directly supports the thesis statement. You must use the main point/sub-topic as the topic and add your controlling idea, i.e.
Introductory Paragraph

Thesis statement = specific topic + {main point 1 + main point 2, main point 3}

Body Paragraphs

Topic Sentence 1 = Main point 1+ Controlling Idea
Topic Sentence 2 = Main point 2+ Controlling Idea
Topic Sentence 3 = Main point 3+ Controlling Idea

For examples:

Thesis statement: Pollution, waste, and climate change are threatening freshwater supplies.
Topic sentence 1: Freshwater is being polluted by dirty water from several sources.
Topic sentence 2: People are wasting fresh water.
Topic sentence 3: Changes in global weather patterns have affected supplies of fresh water.

Thesis statement: The main factors causing most road accidents are seen to be people, vehicle, and roads.
Topic sentence 1: People abuse the traffic laws.
Topic sentence 2: The vehicles are not properly checked or have technical defects.
Topic sentence 3: The roads also cause the accidents.

The supporting sentences (of the body paragraphs) –

The supporting sentences, which include supporting ideas and details, support each topic sentence. Follow the rules for writing paragraph (See the illustration below).

Write a Topic Sentence	→	Create a Topic Question	→	Answer the Topic Question
Use the main point in the thesis statement	→	Convert the topic sentence to topic question.	→	1st level answers are supporting ideas; 2nd level answers are supporting details.

Look at the examples.

Split Infinitives

2016-02-25T09:25:00.003+07:00

Split infinitive is one of the modifier errors which occurs when a modifier is placed between the infinitive (between 'to' and 'verb'). The modifier modifies either a preceding word or the word after it. Split infinitive used to be considered an error, but now it is becoming more acceptable even in formal writing. Cautious writers avoid splitting the infinitives or placing long disruptive modifiers between 'to' and 'verb'. Look at the examples.

Split infinitive: She asked me to carefully drive home.
Revised: She asked me to drive home carefully.
Split infinitive: I want to never practice the violin again.
Revised: I never want to practice the violin again.

We fix split infinitives by relocating the modifier which stands between 'to' and 'verb'. See more examples.

Split infinitive: My mother told me to never lie.
Revised: My mother told me never to lie.
Split infinitive: She intended to quickly leave a message.
Revised: She intended to leave a message quickly.

Disruptive Modifiers

2016-02-25T09:24:00.003+07:00

A disruptive modifier, which is always an adverb or adverbial phrase, is a sentence problem occurs when a modifier disrupts the logical connection between a subject and its verb, an auxiliary and its main verb, or a verb and its object. The disruption causes confusion in meaning. Look at the examples.

Disruptive modifier: The conductor, after wiping sweat from his brow, began the final movement.
Revised: After wiping sweat from his brow, the conductor, began the final movement.
Disruptive modifier: Children will, if they get too tired or hungry, become cranky.
Revised: Children will become cranky if they get too tired or hungry.

We fix disruptive modifiers by positioning the modifier which stands between the subject and verb. See more examples.

Disruptive modifier: He kicked hard the ball.
Revised: He kicked the ball hard.
Disruptive modifier: He was instructed to administer every two hours the dosage.
Revised: He was instructed to administer the dosage every two hours.

Persuasive Paragraph

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A paragraph is a group of sentences about one topic. There are four main kinds of paragraphs: descriptive, persuasive, narrative, and expository paragraph.

A persuasive paragraph aims to seek support for a writer’s opinion or argument. It convinces the readers to accept a particular point of view or take a specific action. Therefore, a writer needs to include reasons and examples to support his opinion. The reasons and examples can be opinions or facts (statistics, figures, result of study, survey, etc.).

The writer needs to include the three elements and information as follow:

Topic sentence	= topic + controlling idea = Concept + an opinion or argument about something
Supporting sentences	= supporting ideas + supporting details = Arguments (facts/opinions) + examples/explanations
Concluding sentence	= restate, summarize, predict, or suggest

Supposed that you are going to write about a topic about ‘change’, you may come up this brainstorming:

Topic sentence: If we want to change our world, we need to change ourselves first.
Supporting sentences:

Be a role model

Every person affects other people
People believe when they see
If we want a friendly smile from others, we smile first

Direct control

External things influence us less than ourselves
If you change how you think then you will change how you feel and what actions you take.

Value added

Changing your outer world without changing yourself is that you will still be you

See the paragraph:

Changing Our World

If we want to change our world, we need to change ourselves first. First, we have to be a role model. Everyone can affect other people, so what we do will influence others. People believe when they see, not just only hear. We have to prove that what we do is good or right so that they will follow. To be an example, if we want others smile at you, we may need to smile first. Secondly, we have direct control over ourselves only. Things happen to us are partly because we let them; external things influence us less than ourselves. If we change how we think, we will change how we feel and what actions to take. If we perform poorly in our study, we can’t blame the government, school, and teachers because blaming others is denying the reality. If we change by studying hard, the teachers will try more and the school will provide more services, too. Last, we will need to add values to ourselves. If we change the things around without changing ourselves, we will still be ourselves, the same person. We will still have the flaws, anger, negativity, self-sabotaging tendencies, etc. All in all, we should start from ourselves.

Illustration Paragraph

2015-06-09T15:01:00.002+07:00

Illustration paragraph (which is also called exemplification paragraph) uses examples to make an idea or generalization more specific and detailed.

As you have learned that a paragraph consists of topic sentence, supporting sentences, and concluding sentence, an illustration can be organized in this way.

TITLE
Topic Sentence = Idea/Generalization + Opinion on the idea/generalization
Supporting Sentence =
     Supporting Idea: Example 1 (Fact/Opinion) + Supporting Detail: Details/Explanation on example 1
     Supporting Idea: Example 2 (Fact/Opinion) + Supporting Detail: Details/Explanation on example 2
     Supporting Idea: Example 3 (Fact/Opinion) + Supporting Detail: Details/Explanation on example 3
Concluding Sentence = 1. Restate, 2. Summarize, 3. Predict, or 4. Suggest

Here is an example.

SMOKING
Smoking is not good. When you smoke, your health will be risk. You might be vulnerable to some cancers and lung complications. If you smoke, you will need to spend a lot of money. Supposed that a pack of cigarette cost one dollar, you may need to spend up to 33% of your GDP per capita. This is a huge amount of expense. Also, whenever you smoke, you will be a bad model for young people or children. They may think it is okay to smoke, which is wrong indeed. All in all, you should not smoke.

Cause and Effect Paragraph

2014-09-03T11:31:00.004+07:00

WHAT IS CAUSE AND EFFECT PARAGRAPH?

Cause and effect paragraph either shows what cause something to happen (causes) or what are the results caused by something (effects).

Cause: – something which brings some effects.
Effect: – Something which is brought about by a cause.

Hence, the basic principles of cause and effect paragraphs are:

CAUSE →	produces brings about leads to makes	→ EFFECTS
EFFECT ←	is produced by is brought about is driven by is made by	← CAUSES

ORGANIZING OF CAUSE AND EFFECT PARAGRAPH

Basing on the principles above, a writer may organize the cause and effect in two different approach: cause-to-effect or effect-to-cause approach.

Cause-to-effect approach

In this approach, a cause brings about an effect; hence, the topic sentence indicates that a cause leads to some effects. The supporting sentences discuss the effects in more details. Here is the basic layout:

Title
Topic sentence =	Topic + (Cause)	Controlling idea ([brings about few] Effects)
Supporting sentences =	Supporting ideas + (Effect 1 + (Effect 2 + (Effect 3+	Supporting details Explanation on effect 1 ) Explanation on effect 2 ) Explanation on effect 3)
Concluding sentence =	1. restate, 3. predict, or	2. summarize, 4. suggest

Look at the example below:
Coming soon

Effect-to-cause approach

In this approach, an effect is brought about by an cause; hence, the topic sentence indicates that an effect is produced by some causes. The supporting sentences discuss the effects in more details. Here is the basic layout:

Title
Topic sentence =	Topic + (Effect)	Controlling idea ([is brought about by few] Causes)
Supporting sentences =	Supporting ideas + (Cause 1 + (Cause 2 + (Cause 3+	Supporting details Explanation on cause 1 ) Explanation on cause 2 ) Explanation on cause 3)
Concluding sentence =	1. restate, 3. predict, or	2. summarize, 4. suggest

Look at the example below:
Coming soon

Orders of Adjectives

2013-12-31T09:08:00.002+07:00

In English, it is common to use more than one adjective before a noun — for example, “He's a silly young fool,” or “She's a smart energetic woman.” When you use more than one adjective, you have to put them in the right order, according to type.

1. The basic types of adjectives

Opinion: An opinion adjective explains what you think about something (other people may not agree with you).; e.g. silly, beautiful, horrible, difficult
Size: A size adjective, of course, tells you how big or small something is.; e.g. large, tiny, enormous, little
Age: An age adjective tells you how young or old something or someone is.; e.g. ancient, new, young, old
Shape: A shape adjective describes the shape of something.; e.g. square, round, flat, rectangular, oval, spiral
Color: A color adjective, of course, describes the color of something.; e.g. red, blue, green, pink
Origin: An origin adjective describes where something comes from.; French, lunar, American, eastern, Greek
Material: A material adjective describes what something is made from.; e.g. wooden, metal, cotton, paper
Purpose: A purpose adjective describes what something is used for. These adjectives often end with “-ing”.; e.g. sleeping (as in “sleeping bag”), roasting (as in “roasting tin”)

2. Some examples of adjective order

Opinion	Size	Age	Shape	Color	Origin	Material	Purpose	Noun
	small			brown		paper		bag
sexy	short			white				dress
lovely	long			blonde				hair
new				black	German		sports	car

Look at the examples below.

The shop assistant put the gift into a small brown paper bag.
I’m going to a party tonight. I bought a sexy short white dress to wear.
Paul sang a slow love song to his girlfriend.
It was so nice to come in from the cold and eat a delicious hot meal.
She was a beautiful woman with lovely long blonde hair.
I just bought a new, black, German sports car.
Watch out! There is a big black ferocious dog over there.

Note: It is very unusual to have more than three adjectives.

Possesive Case

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We usually use the possessive ’s structure when talking about something that belongs to people or other living things.

e.g. Have your seen my brother’s new car?
We’ll be at John’s soon. (John’s house)
The dog’s hind leg is hurt.

These are the key rules about what form of the possessive case to use:

’s is used with singular nouns and plural nouns not ending in s:

e.g. a man’s job, men’s work

a single apostrophe (’) is used with plural nouns ending in s:

e.g. a girls’ school, the Smiths’ car

classical names ending in susually add only the apostrophe (’):

e.g. Pythagoras’ Theorem, Keats’ poems

other proper names ending in scan take ’s or the apostrophe alone (’):

e.g. Mr. Jones’s (Mr. Jones’) house

with compounds, the last word takes ’s:

e.g. my brother-in-law’s guitar

if the possessive pattern consists of two or more nouns, ’s is added to the last word even if the word is not a noun:

e.g. Henry the Eighth’s wives, somebody else’s house, in an hour or so’s time

if the possessive pattern consists of two or more nouns which form a single team or group ’s is added to the last word only

e.g. Mary and Tom’s wedding

when the nouns do not form a single group ’s is used with both nouns

e.g. Mary’s and Tom’s cars

’s can also be used after abbreviations:

e.g. the MP’s briefcase

’scan be used with one, somebody, everybody, each other, etc

e.g. one’s house, each other’s notes

two possessive cases can be used together

e.g. our neighbour’s children’s loud music

Process Analysis Paragraph (2)

2013-12-23T10:30:00.001+07:00

A process analysis paragraph is written to tell how to do something or how something is done. It may be a recipe, or instructions on how to fix something, or directions to a place. There are two different types of process analysis — directive and informative.

Directive process analysis explains how to do something. It gives directions for the reader to follow. Informative process analysis explains how something is done by giving data (information). The difference is that the the directive process analysis tells you what to do in the future, while the informative process analysis tells you what has occurred or what is occurring.

HOW TO WRITE INFORMATIVE PROCESS ANALYSIS PARAGRAPHS

An informative process analysis paragraph may be simply organized as below.

Title

Topic sentence = Topic + Controlling Idea

Supporting sentences (1) = Supporting idea (1) + Supporting details (1)

Supporting sentences (2) = Supporting idea (2) + Supporting details (2)

Supporting sentences (3) = Supporting idea (3) + Supporting details (3)

Concluding sentence = Restate, summarize, predict, or suggest

Note: The supporting ideas are the steps or stages of how something is done while the supporting details are short explanations of each step or stage.

Look at the sample paragraph below.

Paragraph Writing Process Five steps are necessary for writing a good paragraph. First, a writer must choose a topic. The topic must not be two broad or too narrow. Second, she needs to draft a topic sentence; he needs to add a controlling idea to the topic. The controlling idea limits his writing. Third, he brainstorms and organizes supporting ideas and details. The supporting ideas are stages or steps of how to do something or how something is done. Next, he writes a first draft. The draft contains topic sentence sentence, supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence. All of the sentences must be complete sentences. Last, he needs to revises his draft. This stage requires proofreading and editing. He may ask a friend to proofread and edit it afterwards. In short, if you want to write a good paragraph, follow these steps.

How to Write Introductory Paragraphs

2013-12-11T09:36:00.002+07:00

Essay is a group of paragraphs talking about one topic — which is stated in the thesis statement. In contains three different types of paragraph: introductory, body, and concluding paragraphs.

The introductory paragraph, which usually has five or six sentences, contains background information and a thesis statement. It is the first paragraph of an essay.

Introduction = Background information + Thesis statement

Background information – You need to include two pieces of information: leading and liking information. Leading information is the general information about the topic which leads the audience to a topic; linking information gets more specific and links the general information to the topic or thesis statement.
Thesis statement – It is a short debatable statement, usually one sentence, that summarizes the main point or claim of an essay. It lists the specific topic or sub-topics of the essay.

For example
Supposed that you are going to write about a topic "Internet". A simple introductory paragraph will be:

Background information:

Lead: Internet is a technology which marks the new age, the age of internet or information, of human kind. It has been introduced since the early 1990s mainly for technicians. It has been getting more developed and standardized. The standard internet protocol attract web developers and users all over the world.

Link: More people and organizations have been using this technology, and it revolutionizes the ways in which people works.

Thesis statement
List (Thesis statement): From my observation, I think it changes the way we communicate, work, and learn.

Here is a simple introductory paragraph:

Internet

Internet is a technology which marks the new age, the age of internet or information, of human kind. It has been introduced since the early 1990s mainly for technicians. It has been getting more developed and standardized. The standard internet protocol attract web developers and users all over the world. More people and organizations have been using this technology, and it revolutionizes the ways in which people works. From my observation, I think it changes the way we communicate, work, and learn.

Wordy Sentences

2013-11-13T09:59:00.001+07:00

A wordy sentence contains too many words than you really need. The extra words do not make your writing sound better and, in fact, they can even interfere with your message. Look at the examples below.

Wordy: Viseth, who is an accountant, has been promoted.
Revised: Viseth, an accountant, has been promoted. [The clause 'who is an accountant' could be simply replaced by an appositive 'an accountant'.]

Wordy: The company is taking applications at this point in time.
Revised: The company is taking applications now. [The phrase 'at this point in time' could be simply replaced by a word 'now'.]

AVOIDING WORDINESS

Avoiding wordiness makes your sentences varied and sound more fluent. To do so, you may use one of the following methods:

[1] Remove unnecessarily repeated ideas or words.

Wordy: The teacher decided to give extra work to his students. The main reasons of giving extra work to his students was that students were so dependent on their teachers.
Revised: The teacher decided to give extra work to his students because they were so dependent on their teachers.

[2] Take out words that are already implied by other words in the same sentence.

Wordy: The round yellow sun shone brightly among the clouds in the sky. [The sun is understood to be round; the clouds too is understood to be in the sky.]
Revised: The sun shone brightly among the clouds.

[3] Replace wordy phrases with single words.

Wordy: It is hard to find a good job at the present time.
Revised: It is hard to find a good job now.

Wordy: Mary dropped her school due to the fact that she was poor.
Revised: Mary dropped her school because she was poor.

[4] Simplify your sentence structures.

Wordy: Kra-nhoung, which is a rare wood, is being logged and illegally traded.
Revised: Kra-nhoung, a rare wood, is being logged and illegally traded.

Wordy: He wears a watch which is made of gold.
Revised: He wears a gold watch.

[5] Remove or reword expletives (there is, there are, it is) and similar expressions which refer to nothing in particular.

Wordy: There are many factors causing poverty.
Revised: Many factors cause poverty.

Wordy: It is not known that my boss will decide to choose a new supplier.
Revised: My boss' decision to choose a new supplier is unknown.

[6] Limit or avoid phrases describing your attitudes and writing strategies.

Wordy: It seems to me that teachers should allow students to skip class.
Revised: Teachers should allow students to skip class.

Wordy: The purpose of this paper is to inform you of my opinion that all students need to study harder.
Revised: All students need to study harder.

Choppy Sentences

2013-11-11T14:53:00.003+07:00

Choppy sentences are too short sentences which come together. Words are repeated. They are tedious and hard to understand.

FIXING CHOPPY SENTENCES

We revise choppy sentences by using coordination, subordination, and embedding to combine them with adjacent sentences.

[1] Use coordination
Coordination pair similar elements -- words, phrases, or clauses, giving equal weight to each.

[2] Use subordination
Subordination place the more important idea in independent clause and less important one in dependent clause.

[3] Embedding
Embedding is the working of additional words and phrases into a sentence.

Look at the examples below:

Choppy: I like dogs. Dogs make good pets. Dogs are friendly. Dogs are loyal.
Revised: I like dogs because they are good pets. They are friendly and loyal.

Choppy: Vegetables taste good. Vegetables are easy to prepare. Vegetables are good for health.
Revised: Vegetables taste good and are easy to prepare, and they are good for health.

Choppy: Wind is an enduring source of power. Water is also an unlimited energy source. Dams produce hydraulic power. They have existed for a long time. Windmills are relatively new.
Revised: Both wind and water are enduring sources of power. Dams have produced hydraulic power for a long time, but windmills are relatively new.