Discursive Writing

1. Discursive Writing National 5

2. The Big Picture • In this unit you will : • learn about the folio at National 5 • come up with your own Success Criteria • learn how to structure a balanced discursive essay • discuss possible ideas for your discursive essay • learn about connectives and linking words • write you own discursive essay. • complete: reading, writing, talking and listening tasks .

3. Introduction to Folio • This portfolio is worth 30 marks out of a total of 100 marks. This is 30% of the overall marks for the Course assessment. The Course will be graded A–D. • This portfolio (writing) will have 30 marks and will contain two essays. • Up to fifteen marks will be awarded for each essay chosen for the portfolio. • Your folio is marked externally.

4. Introduction to Folio • The portfolio consists of two written pieces which will be the evidence for assessment. This portfolio will give candidates an opportunity to demonstrate the following skills, knowledge and understanding: •  skills in writing in different genres •  skills writing for different purposes and audiences • The portfolio will comprise two written texts that address the main language purposes, namely creative and discursive writing. • The assessor (your teacher) will support the candidate to choose the focus, theme and genre for his/her writing.

5. Introduction to Folio • This assessment has two stages: •  a portfolio planning and development stage which should be completed over a period of time •  a writing stage • The written texts must be of no more than 1,000 wordseach, but full marks can be achieved in a shorter piece, if appropriate to purpose.

6. Your Essay • Reasonable assistance may be given to a class or group of candidates, for example, advice on how to find information for a discursive essay. It may also be given to candidates on an individual basis. • It is acceptable for the assessor or a third party to provide: •  an initial discussion with the candidate on the selection of the topic leading to an outline plan •  oral or written suggestions for improvements to a first draft • Once work on the assessment has begun, the candidate should be working independently.

7. How will I be graded?

8. Prior Learning Before we begin to look at possible topics, we will quickly recap on the techniques used when writing a report or argumentative essay. Think: • What do you know about discursive writing?

9. The Fishbowl • Pupils should note down on a piece of paper anything they can remember or know about discursive writing. Pupils’ pieces of paper will be collected and put into bowl. We will then pick them out and discuss them and note down anything which we think is important.

10. Discursive writing must do the following: • communicate a clear and balanced line of argument • present both sides of an argument • distinguish between facts and opinions • convey a tone which is reasonable yet carries personal conviction • has a clear sense that the writer has weighed up different aspects of the argument before reaching conclusions. • have a bibliography that lists all the sources you used to research your topic.

11. Discursive WritingSuccess Criteria • Having now discussed what discursive writing actually is, you are going to come up with your own Success Criteria that you will use to measure how well you have done. • I will be successful if I can…

12. Discursive Writing • This type of writing means that you are expected to discuss a given topic and to present an argument related to it. • Organising a discursive essay • You will argue in your essay about a discussion topic in a balanced way.

14. Finding Information Where can I find the information I need? • any relevant books from any library you can reach (check the non-fiction and reference sections) • the internet • magazines and newspapers • television and DVDs • It is important that you keep a note of where all your information comes from as you must include a bibliography (a list of sources) at the end of your essay.

15. Good research is the key to success !

16. Planning a Discursive Essay • Use the following structure: • Interesting introduction that clearly states the issue you are going to explore. • Present your first argument with evidence. • Present your second argument with evidence. • Present you third and final argument with evidence.

17. Planning a Discursive Essay • Now explain that there is another side to the issue. • Present your first argument on the other side with evidence. • Present your second argument with evidence. • Present your third and final argument with evidence. • State your position and conclude your essay. • Write your bibliography on a separate page(s) at the end.

18. Using your own words • It is vitally important that you always use your own words and do not copy chunks from the passage. When you include a quotation from someone, you must acknowledge it and include a footnote about where you found it (website or newspaper etc). If you are found to have plagiarised any of your essay, there are very serious consequences.

19. Using your own words • Think about the close reading skills you have learned . • Question: How do you translate part of the passage into your own words? • Answer: Pick out the key wordsfrom the passage and change them into your own words. You must do this throughout your essay.

20. Getting Started • Introducing a discursive essay • The opening of an essay is important. It should capture the reader's attention in some way or another. It should avoid being bland or dull. It should invite the reader to read on and create a sense of interest. If the beginning is flat, it will not inspire your audience. • Methods of Opening a Discursive Essay • The following methods are suggestions (for a discursive essay about fox hunting). It is up to you to decide which style suits your writing best.

21. Getting Started • Provocative • e.g."It is difficult to see how anyone can approve of fox hunting.“ • OR • e.g."I have always detested fox hunting since I was almost physically sick while watching a television film of the kill at the end of a hunt."

22. Getting Started • Balanced • e.g."Fox hunting is a subject about which people hold strongly contrasting views." • Quotation • e.g."Oscar Wilde once described fox hunting as 'The unspeakable in pursuit of the uneatable.'." • Illustration • e.g."On a glorious autumn morning a terrified, exhausted animal is savaged to death by a pack of baying dogs while a group of expensively dressed humans encourage the dogs in their bloody work.“ • Or you could even start with a statistic or a question.

23. Discursive • Do not include your own opinion until the conclusion. • Your introduction should be either: provocative, balanced, illustrative, begin with a quotation, or a statistic/question. • You should state that this is a popular topic for debate/controversial issue/something that provokes strong feelings on both sides • What has recently brought this topic into/back into the publics’ attention – recently brought this into the news? • What is your intention in this essay – to examine for and against in an attempt to answer the question, “Should weight loss surgery be provided on the NHS?”

24. Linking your ideas together • Linking ideas in a discursive essay • Any well-written piece of discursive writing will flow as one continuous piece despite being made up of three or four different arguments. One of the techniques which can help you to achieve this effectively is the use of linking words. These words are usually used at the beginning of a new paragraph but can also be used to link ideas within a paragraph.

25. Linking Words and Phrases It is important that your essay is well linked. The following linking words and phrases may help you: • To sequence points • initially, firstly, secondly, next, meanwhile, then, later, finally, eventually, in the end.

26. Linking Words and Phrases To show contrast yet, however, but, nevertheless, whereas, although, on the other hand, alternatively To add a point in addition, moreover, also , again, furthermore, moreover, as well as, what is more

27. Linking Words and Phrases To show the link between cause and effect As a result, therefore, accordingly, thus, consequently, for this reason, owing to this To emphasise a point – In particular, indeed, most importantly, significantly, especially, in fact

28. Tone • Use a formal tone in a discursive essay. • It is important when you write a discursive essay to write in a proper formal way. • In simple terms, this means the following - • write in proper, complete sentences • use abbreviations (i.e./e.g./etc./UK/&) (isn't/don't/won't) • use colloquial language (slang) • use emotional language (language to try to influence your audience) Do Do Not

29. Structure • Discursive essay example • On the next slide is an example of a discursive essay. Read the essay over carefully. • Whilst reading the essay, consider the following questions: • (1) What is the main (overall) idea the writer is arguing about? • (2) What are the arguments explained in each paragraph? • (3) How does the writer expand on those ideas • (4) How does the writer exemplify (give evidence)?

30. Explain, expand, exemplify How do we focus? • First, we explainour point/argument • Then, we expandon the reasons why some people hold this view. • Finally, we exemplifyour point with an example from real life and/or a piece of evidence (statistics).

31. Structure

32. Structure • Also think about the following: Are linking words/phrases used? Is personal stance/opinion given? Is overall argument clear? Is the essay balanced?

33. Sample Essay • 1 A subject which always arouses strong feelings on both sides of the argument is the use of animals in medical research. I believe that, though this may have been necessary in the past, other ways can be developed to test drugs and, in the future, animals should not be used. • 2 One of my main reasons for saying this is that living tissues can be grown in test tubes and new drugs can be tested on these. Computers can also be programmed to show how medicines will react in the human body. • 3 Moreover, animals are not always like humans. They do not suffer from all human diseases, so scientists have to give them the illnesses artificially. The joints in rabbit legs are inflamed with chemicals to help research in rheumatism. These tests do not always work because animals do not react to drugs in the same way as humans. Aspirin, for example, damages pregnant mice and dogs, but not pregnant women. Arsenic, which is a deadly poison for humans, has no effect on sheep, while penicillin, which is so valuable to humans, kills guinea pigs.

34. Sample Essay • 4 In addition, I believe that animal experiments should not be used because of the unnecessary pain that they cause to animals. The government introduced new rules about the use of animals in experiments in 1986. Scientists claim that these rules safeguard animals because they state that discomfort must be kept to a minimum and that painkillers must be used where necessary and appropriate. Surely this means, however, that scientists can still decide not to use painkillers in the animal experiments because they do not consider them appropriate. The British Union against Vivisection claims that 75% of animals experimented on are given no anaesthetic. • 5 In spite of the claims of some scientists about the effectiveness of animal research, the death rate in this country has stayed the same over the last thirty years. There is also more long-term sickness, even though greater numbers of animals are being used in research.

35. Sample Essay • 6 On the other hand, scientists claim that some experiments are so small, for example giving an injection, that painkillers are not needed. They also argue that experiments on animals have been very useful in the past. For instance, the lives of ten million human diabetics have been saved because of experiments with insulin on dogs. Dogs also benefited, as the same drug can be used on them. In fact, a third of medicines used by vets are the same as those used by doctors. • 7 It is argued by researchers that the use of animals in experiments cannot be replaced by methods using living tissue which has been grown in test tubes. These tests do not show how the drugs work on whole animals and so they only have limited effectiveness.

36. Sample Essay • 8 Although I accept that some drugs can be used on animals and humans, this does not mean that they have to be tested on animals in the first place when alternative methods are available. Alternative methods do work. Various groups have been set up to put money into other ways of researching. For example the Dr. Hadwen Trust has shown how human cartilage can be grown in test tubes to study rheumatism. Similar research is being done into cancer and multiple sclerosis. Tests can be done on bacteria to see whether a chemical will cause cancer. There is even a programme of volunteer human researchers, where people suffering from illnesses offer to help in research.

37. Sample Essay • 9 In conclusion, I accept that animal experiments have brought great benefits in the past, but now money needs to be spent on developing other methods of testing drugs and medical procedures, so that the use of animals can be phased out altogether.

38. Over to You! • You are now going to decide on a topic for your own discursive writing. • A good idea is to choose something that you are genuinely interested in. • Remember that you have to give a balanced view.

39. Possible Topics Politics Animals Teenagers Environmental Issues Local Issues Equality/Rights

40. Choosing Your Topic • Something you like/interested in. • Something you already know a lot about. • Feel strongly about it (like you could argue about it with someone). • You’ve studied it already.

41. Topics • Gun ownership • The death penalty • Scottish Independence • Marijuana being legalised • Nuclear weapons • Immigration in Scotland • Gangs • Prison sentences • Gay/lesbian/Bi-sexual rights/legalising marriage • War

42. Jig-saw Task • Each group is going to be given a topic to think about. As a group I want you to try to come up with as many possible discursive titles as possible. You do not have to choose one from your group. You will have a chance to hear all ideas from other groups. There is an example on the next slide.

43. Animals Should people be allowed to keep pets? Should people be allowed to keep exotic animals as pets? Are zoos acceptable? Should we experiment on animals? Should we spend money trying to stop animals from becoming extinct?

44. Time to Move Time to Move ! • Time to move! You will now move to a new group and each pupil will have a chance to teach the rest of the group about the area they looked at. Everyone should take a note of the main heading, for example ‘Animals’ and then the list of discursive essay questions.

45. Choosing your topic and question • It is now time to choose your topic and your question. You can team up with another person (or persons) who have chosen similar topics. In pairs or small groups you are going to start to plan the two sides of your essays. Aim for three points on each side of the argument. You will have to present your ideas to another group who will ask you questions about your plan.

46. Group Presentations • You will now take it in turns to listen to another group’s ideas. It is important that you take good notes because you will be assessed on how well you give feedback to the person/group you are listening to. Put the heading ‘Listening’ in your jotter and copy the following grid into your jotter:

47. Listening

48. Listening Also write down any questions you would like to ask or any more suggestions for essay questions/statements that you can think of.

49. Feedback:Talking

50. Reading We have discussed ‘Animals’ as one of the possible topics you might choose. To test your close reading skills you are now going to complete a close reading paper about koalas. If you are planning on making your discursive essay about animals, this might also be of use to you later on.