Module One Essay
Module One Essay
Module One Essay
This week’s essay is called the Module One essay because it is based
on Module One: Gathering and Processing Information. It
is an analytical essay which requires a discussion on the main idea,
writer’s purpose and writer’s tone. It also requires an analysis of
the writer’s organizational strategies and language techniques. It is
usually an essay of about 500 words; sometimes 300. This essay helps
to sharpen your analytical and critical thinking skills.
The form and structure of the module one essay is very simple. Below are the
guidelines to help you with the essay
o start with a synopsis of the piece: title and author and main idea
o add the writer’s purpose
o end the intro with a clear thesis statement
For a 500 word essay we suggest that you choose two organizational strategies and
two language techniques and use one paragraph to discuss each one fully
• avoid overloading paragraphs. Use one paragraph to fully
develop one idea or point.
• demonstrate maturity of thought
• demonstrate maturity of expression
• vary sentence structure and avoid sentence errors
• use punctuation and capitalization correctly
• use appropriate vocabulary expected for your level (A level)
• use transitional words and discourse markers correctly
Below, we go into more details with guidelines to help you write and format the
essay.
Usually, the examiner will require that you state the main idea of the piece, and the
writer’s purpose. It is advisable that you include them in your introduction. Also,
every expository introduction ends with a thesis statement.
Main idea:
From a previous lesson, we remember that the main idea is the message that the
writer is conveying to the audience about the subject. Your main idea should look
like this.
❖ The main idea of the piece is that some students have problems writing the
module one essay since it requires critical thinking skills.
❖ The author’s main idea is that although essays are challenging to write, many
students excel in that area.”
Writer’s purpose:
On the other hand the writer’s purpose is always stated as a verb. It is what the
writer hopes to happen as a result of your reading the piece. So the writer wants
to “inform the reader of...”, “to entertain the reader...”, “to criticise...” “to argue
that...”. An example is:
❖ The writer’s intent or aim is to convince readers that the module one essay should
be included in the syllabus because it enables students to develop or master
analytical and critical thinking skills.
End the introduction with a clear thesis statement. See examples below.
Note
REMEMBER to start the introductory paragraph with a synopsis of the piece: title
and author and main idea. This means that the you should include a brief
statement of what the passage/extract is about ensuring that you reference the title
and author of the piece.
Then comment on whether you thought the tone was appropriate, based on the
writer’s purpose or the subject that he is discussing. Is the tone too humorous for a
subject like cancer, or, was the critical tone useful in demonstrating how important the
subject matter is….
Body Paragraph
Commenting on writer’s organizational strategies and language
techniques.
Two thirds of the essay are about identifying and discussing the organizational
strategies and language techniques that the writer employed to help her convey
the main Idea and achieve her purpose.
Organizational strategies
Organizational strategies help writers organise their ideas and develop their
points within the paragraph. Using them in your writing will help you to
communicate an idea in a clear, intelligible manner.
These are some organizational strategies or tools that help writers achieve
their goals.
• Cause and effect-A cause and effect essay is a composition where the writer’s
purpose is to identify the circumstances that led to a particular occurrence and the
result of the occurrence. The purpose of a cause and effect essay is also to suggest
how the occurrence can be avoided if it has a negative effect, or it can be repeated if
it has a positive effect.
• Process explanation- A process analysis essay is an expository essay that lists all
the steps that one must take, in chronological order, to achieve a specific objective.
It explains how to do something, how something works, or how something
happens. A process analysis essay is a composition in which the writer explains
step by step how to do something.
• Listing
• Spatial patterns- Objects may be described in terms of the specific pattern that they
appear in reality: left to right, top to bottom, near to far and vice versa. In an essay
on the difference between an Inline car engine and a V car engine, the discussion
on the layout of these engines would follow a spatial pattern or description of the
parts which are seen first to last.
• Statistical reports-
• Historical data
• News reports
• Eye-witness accounts
• Expert opinions- scientists and technocrats etc
• Experiential knowledge
• Examples and illustrations
• Definitions and logical descriptions
• Analogy
• Humour
• Famous quotations or sayings
• Order of importance- Commonly used in single topic essays, writers may choose to
begin discussing the most pressing point to grab the reader's attention, and
culminate with the least critical idea.
• Moving from general to specific- This strategy involves moving from general
information on a topic in the first body paragraph, to specific information on this
topic in subsequent paragraphs. For example, in an article on the problem of
climate change in Saint Lucia, a writer may choose to discuss the effects of common
worldwide practices on the global level and by extension Saint Lucia and then
zoom in on the specific practices in Saint Lucia that contribute to the problem of
climate change.
Language Techniques
In order to achieve his or her goal or purpose, a writer employs certain language
techniques. Language techniques help writers use words in specific ways that
enable them to express their ideas effectively. The list of language techniques
seems inexhaustible. Nevertheless, there are some common ones that are worth
remembering:
Figurative devices
• Metaphors
• Hyperbole
• Alliteration
• Paradox
• Satire
• Satire
• Irony (satire)
• Onomatopoeia
Rhetorical Devices
• Rhetorical question
• Repetition
• Emotive language
Personal pronouns
Other
• Colloquial language
• Slang
• Creole
• Academic language
• Tone
• Simple and short sentences
Once you have identified a organizational strategy or language
technique:
1. you need to state what it is and write out an example from the passage
2. then you must write about the effectiveness of the device; in other words,
3. what is this device adding to the piece?
4. how does it appeal to the senses and therefore to your understanding?
5. how is it aiding the author to achieve her/his purpose and expand her/his
main point?
• Historical data add or lend credibility to what is said, as a reader can easily
check the records
• Humour usually helps to capture the reader’s interest help him retain the
information for further consideration
• Illustrations and examples allow the reader to create a vivid picture in his
mind that allows him to appreciate how genial or severe a situation is
• Cause and effect allows a writer to explain the situation that leads to an
issue and further discuss the results or effects to deepen a reader’s
understanding of the implications of a behaviour, policy or decision
SECTION A
Read the extract below and then answer the questions that follow.
Look at them behind their counters – young, neatly outfitted in their starched fast
food uniforms or their linen and polyester clerk suits. They quickly and effortlessly
tap the keys on their cash registers and computers, answer phones, and look quite
efficient, don’t they? They seem as if they can think, don’t they? Don’t let the
pressed clothes and technology fool you; many of them can’t. Let there be a glitch
or a breakdown and then you’ll see what lies beneath the suits and uniforms and
beyond the counters – operators of broken-down cash registers and computers who
will fumble to spell and calculate. And you, older than they, will wonder what they
spent their primary and secondary school years learning.
You can spot them every day, everywhere. Last week, for example, I saw the brain of
a young attendant at a fast-food outlet shut down the instant his computer crashed.
Before the crash, he had appeared capable as he punched the appropriate keys for
the orders. But when he was faced with having to write down what his customers
wanted, he could only operate in slow motion. I know because, to my misfortune, I
was about to order a tuna sandwich and a large orange juice when the system failed.
After a minute or two of trying to spell the two items, he scrunched up the piece of
paper and started writing afresh on a second sheet. I was not sure I’d get the correct
meal.
Two days after this calamity, I encountered one of Mr. Illiteracy’s pals, a Miss
Innumeracy, in a store downtown when I was trying to pay a bill of $26.05 with two
twenty-dollar bills. Because of a mix-up, the cash register was closed, and so the
young girl had to calculate on paper how much change to give me. After an eternity
of scratching her head and calculating on a sheet of paper, she handed me $14.05,
but, thanks to my Standard Five teacher, I had already calculated in my head that I
should have received $13.95. When I told her so, she seemed mentally paralysed.
Luckily, another suited girl, who looked senior in age and rank, came to her rescue.
She whipped out a calculator, pressed a few keys, and, presto, gave me the right
change, scolding Miss Innumeracy for her bad math!
I left, thinking sadly that there was nothing I could do to help them make up for the
years they had spent in their classrooms not bothering to learn how to read, write,
count, or think.
Adapted from Suzanne Mills, “Between the Lines”,
Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, June 2, 2004, p.11.
Write an ESSAY in no more than 500 words in which you include reference
to the following:
[Total 25 marks]
Now that you have answered the questions on the Essay, let us discuss and
compare answers.
Young adults in the workplace, both male and female, are frustratingly illiterate and
innumerate, having squandered their learning opportunities in school.
(b) 2 marks for the writer’s purpose, something like the following:
To draw public attention to the illiteracy and innumeracy of primary and secondary school
graduates in the workplace in hope, perhaps, of motivating corrective action.
(c) 1 mark for each of TWO of the following organizational strategies such as:
• Use of humour-
SAMPLE ANSWER
Suzanna Mills’ main point in the extract Between the Lines is that the younger
generation has become heavily dependent on modern technology due to wasted
years during primary and secondary school. Her purpose is highlighted in the
extract’s title Between the Lines. She wants to show that beneath the younger
generation’s “uniforms” and “polyester suits”, there is very little education and
skills and that modern technology serves as a camouflage. She makes use of varied
organizational strategies and language techniques to help her achieve her purpose.
To give credibility to her purpose, she gives specific anecdotal evidence. The
examples are to convince the reader(s) that what she is claiming is actually true. To
heighten these two examples, she employs the use of exaggeration, for example, in
the lines, “I saw the brain of a young attendant” and taking “an eternity” of trying to
figure out the correct change. These ‘brainless’ attendants are the perfect
metaphorical embodiment of “Mr. Illiterate” and “Ms. Innumerate.”
In addition, the writer uses illustration to build her argument. The writer uses these
two examples to sustain the irony- which now explains the title Between the Lines– of
what appears to be and what is. Both this device and the anecdote give credence to
the opening paragraph and the remaining portion of the piece.
She employs a conversational tone sustained by sarcasm and ridicule. This style of
writing allows her to use a kind of story-like quality, that is, narrative exposition
aiding the dominant discourse, persuasion. This kind of direct speech to the reader
makes the register informal and helps her bond with the reader, especially in her
repeated rhetorical question, “…don’t they?” But it serves another purpose: it
provides her with the perfect opportunity of mocking or name-calling the
‘uniformed workers’.
This mockery (and ‘dialogue’ between herself and the reader) comes to the fore in
the first line, “Look at them…neatly dressed,” and is sustained later in the line,
“don’t let [them] fool you.” Their appearance is both a mockery and a sham, masked
by formality, computers and cash registers. What these things are really hiding is
their total dependence on modern technology and their illiteracy and innumeracy.
Her sarcastic colloquial tone is appropriate because it allows her to use the first-
person-construct. This only makes the extract and or its content seems believable,
and also enables her to build trust in the reader, since she is giving a first-hand
account. This overall dominant tone underscores her later ‘sympathy’ in the last
paragraph, making it (seem) rather disingenuous. It however suggests a bigger issue
or purpose: something needs to be done to address illiteracy and innumeracy among
young people who have squandered their time in primary and secondary school.
MODULE 1:
GATHERING AND PROCESSING
Okay, okay. I agree. I actually agree now with the position of a local
editor who posits that environmentalists are anti-people.
It's taken me a couple of weeks. I think all the tree hugging makes me
a little slow. I accept it. Environmentalists are definitely anti - people.
I mean now that I see the light, I totally get where he's coming from.
Thank goodness some among us in this society still have the good
sense to point out our shortcomings to us. Thank Jah for the people
who are pro- people. [Those] who want to make sure we're all getting
what we deserve from our government that loves us enough to want to
give us a smelter.
Attilah Springer
Source: Lord et al. (2012). Cape Communication Studies. Pearson.
Write an essay of no more than 500 words in which you include
reference to the following:
MARK SCHEME
A. Content 10 marks
• Main idea
• Writer’s purpose
• Tone
• Two organizational strategies
• Two language techniques
B. Organisation 7 marks
C. Expression 8 marks
Total 25 marks
WRITING AIDS
Below are some resources/ writers’ aids such as discourse markers, transitional
words and sentence structure. Go through them and as much as possible, use them in
your writing.
Discourse markers
Discourse markers help ideas flow within a paragraph. Here are some common ones.
'However...' 'although...', 'if so...', 'and so...', 'but...', 'clearly...', 'on the other hand...',
'therefore...', 'supposing that...', 'furthermore...', 'looked at another way...', 'in
contrast...', 'on the contrary...', etc.
Transitional words
Transitional words also help ideas flow from idea to idea or from paragraph to
paragraph. Here are some words used to indicate add, emphasize, contrast or order.
Simple Sentence
Let’s consider the standard simple sentence; the sentence in its simplest form. The
simple sentence consists of one INDEPENDENT clause made up of a subject and a
predicate.
For example:
Complex Sentence
For example:
Compound Sentence
A compound sentence is formed when two INDEPENDENT clauses are joined
together to form one sentenced. Independent clauses can stand alone as sentences but
to form a compound sentence they must be joined by a coordinating conjunction such
as therefore, and, nor, but, or, yet, so,
For example:
3. There was traffic congestion in town; therefore, all roads were impassable.
Some sentences contain errors that undermine your writing and distort the intended
meaning of your sentence. These errors can make sentences choppy, string, run- on or
fragmented, so you must always avoid them when you write. Here are some examples
below.
Choppy Sentences – are sentences that are too short. Short sentences can be effective in
certain situations. However, many short sentences in succession make it appear that a
Example:
Incorrect: 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.
Correct: Both wind and water are enduring sources of power. Dams have produced hydraulic
Stringy Sentences – are sentences with too many clauses, usually connected with a
comma or a coordinating conjunction (often and, but, so, and because). It often results
from writing the way you speak, going on and on like a string without an end.
Example:
Incorrect: Many students attend classes all morning, and then they work all afternoon, and they
also have to study at night so they are usually exhausted by the weekend.
Correct: Many students attend classes all morning and work all afternoon. Since they also have
Example:
complete sentence must contain at least one main or independent clause. A sentence
Example:
Incorrect: Because some students work part-time while taking a full load of classes. And
they have no free time.
Correct: Some students work part-time while taking on full loads of classes; therefore,
they have no free time. OR
Some students have no free time because they work part-time while taking on full loads.