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ZNO practice. Learning to write for-and-against essay. Pros and cons of distance learning.

Level – upper –intermediate.

Grade: 11

Type of the lesson: developing skills. Writing. Speaking.

Objectives:

• to refresh the vocabulary on the topic
•  to revise types of essays
• to learn creative thinking
• to integrate common knowledge into the frames of a particular school discipline
• to teach the skill of planning the  time and organising effective work while taking a test in English

Materials and equipment: class-board and leaflets with a sample essay.

The Procedure:

1. Greeting. Presenting the plan of the lesson

T: Good morning, children! Today we are to revise all we know about for-and-against essay. You are school –leavers and you have to take an exam to get your certificate. First, let us revise the types of essays we have already learnt. Who wants to give me the words to be written on the class-board?

2. Warm-up. Refreshing the vocabulary. Speech practice

S1: If am not mistaken, we have recently written a letter of complaint.

T: Right you are! What else?

S2: An email to your friend asking for advice.

T: That’s great! Any other ideas?

S3: An article to a scientific magazine about the endangered species.

T: Good. What else?

S4: A review on the film you have recently seen.

T: Well done! Is that all?

3. Consolidating the knowledge about types of essays. Brainstorm. Discussion

S5: For-and-against essay and opinion essay. They seem to be the same to me. Is it true?

T: That’s a good question! They seem to be alike, but not in every detail. Let’s remember the structure of these two types of writing. How many parts does a for-and-against essay consist of ?

S1: As far as I know, a for-and-against essay consists of four parts.

T: To be exact, three parts, but usually the second part has two paragraphs. What are they?

S2: An introduction, a main body and, of course, conclusion.

T: Well. What will you write in the introduction?

S3: As a rule, you present the given topic without giving your opinion.

T: Right you are! And here lies the main difference between a  for-and-against essay and an opinion essay. The latter states the author’s clear opinion in the very first paragraph.

S3: I will go on. The main part gives the points’ for’ and ‘against’ some thesis, and the conclusion can give the author’s opinion or give a balanced consideration on the given problem.

T: Perfect! And what does the second paragraph contain: for- or against-supporting ideas?

S4: positive arguments, as a rule. You give arguments in favour of the stated topic.

T: Right. Can you give the example of set phrases used in such piece of writing?

4. Revising the vocabulary. Linkers.

S1: Sure. To present the arguments ‘for’, it’s a good idea to use : To begin with, firstly, without a doubt.

T: Well. What can we use to add points or enumerate the arguments?

S2: Secondly, moreover, in addition to that.

T: And the words to introduce contrasting ideas?

S4: The simplest way to contrast ideas is ‘but’ or ‘however’. But if you strive for writing an excellent essay, to show perfect knowledge of vocabulary, you’d rather use ‘on the other hand’, ‘another disadvantage’ or ‘another argument against’.

5. Reading for finding  peculiar information

T: I see, that you learnt the structure of a for-and-against essay consist of even better that me. There is nothing to add. But would you be so kind as to find such linkers in the given model? ( You can see it in your leaflets).

<Sample>

What are the pros and cons of shopping at large supermarkets?

Some people argue  that nowadays people in big cities have to do shopping for food, clothes and other goods. There is a wide choice of supermarkets to choose from. But have you ever thought about advantages and disadvantages of large supermarkets?

Of course, there are many advantages of large supermarkets. Firstly, they have a wide variety of products. You do not have to visit different shops, which are often located in opposite directions from your home. Therefore, you save time. In addition to that, supermarkets work longer hours, than small shops. Moreover, you can find some additional facilities and services, such as cafes, packing presents, child – minding centres, where parents can leave their kids for an hour or two, etc. Thus, shopping in a supermarket is time-saving and comfortable.

On the other hand, supermarkets surely have some disadvantages. To begin with, they are sometimes situated out of town. Therefore, you cannot  get there if you have not got a car. Besides, supermarkets offer you impersonal services. It is not a secret, that most older people prefer chatting to shop assistants to just buying things. Furthermore, the staff of the  supermarkets are not supposed to give your advice what should be the best purchase personally for you. In contrast, the customers of small local shops are good acquaintances , relatives or neighbours of their staff. So, the buyers will not get  some out-of-date youghurt without being aware of the consequences.

All in all ,supermarkets have both advantages and disadvantages. But like it or not we cannot live without them. As for me , they are a perfect choice for young people, like me.

<Ss study the model>

S 3: In addition to that, Thus, On the other hand, Therefore, What is more, So, All in all.

6. Transformation exercises

T: Can you substitute the words you ‘ve found for their synonyms from the following list?

I believe, to begin with, to sum up, Of course, another argument against Some people argue  furthermore, in conclusion, to start with, To begin with, Moreover.

T: You can use other variants as well.

<Ss do the work.>

T: What is the result of your work? Can you present it to the students?

S4:

<Sample>

There is no doubt that nowadays people in big cities have to do shopping for food, clothes and other goods. There is a wide choice of supermarkets to choose from. But have you ever thought about advantages and disadvantages of large supermarkets?

There is no doubt there are many advantages of large supermarkets. To begin with, they have a wide variety of products. You do not have to visit different shops, which are often located in opposite directions from your home. Thus, you save time. In addition to that, supermarkets work longer hours, than small shops. Moreover, you can find some additional facilities and services, such as cafes, packing presents, child – minding centres, where parents can leave their kids for an hour or two, etc. Thus, shopping in a supermarket is time-saving and comfortable.

On the other hand, supermarkets surely have some disadvantages. To begin with, they are sometimes situated out of town. So, you cannot  get there if you have not got a car. Besides, supermarkets offer you impersonal services. It is not a secret, that most older people prefer chatting to shop assistants to just buying things. What is more, the staff of the  supermarkets are not supposed to give your advice what should be the best purchase personally for you. In contrast, the customers of small local shops are good acquaintances , relatives or neighbours of their staff. So, the buyers will not get  some out-of-date youghurt without being aware of the consequences.

In conclusion, I believe supermarkets have both advantages and disadvantages. However, like it or not we cannot live without them. As for me, they are a perfect choice for young people, like me.

T: That sounds even better than the model.

7. Brainstorm

T: But what essay are we supposed to write at this lesson? Nowadays, there is a lot of discussion as for distance learning. A lot of educational institutions speak up in favour of introducing distant learning instead of learning in classroom. Before starting writing let’s think of any advantages and disadvantages that come to mind. First, pros.

Ss: feel comfortable, online resources are easy to access, choost the appropriate time for learning, students are free to use the time , the course, the pace of learning, a lot of options to choose from.

T: I see, that you have found mostly pro’s. What about the drawbacks?

Ss:  That’s easy. First of, all,  online learning requires special computer skills, equipment and software. You  need to have  free access to the Internet at any time. Moreover, poor Internet can spoil everything. What is more important,  students lack live communication.

T: Great! I believe that you will manage with the task easily!

So write a short essay (150-180) words giving pros and cons on distance learning.Use the appropriate style and linking words.

8. Writing the essay

Sample essay

These days, a lot of students choose distance - learning to classroom learning.

Without a doubt, there are a lot of advantages to online learning. Firstly, students feel comfortable as for choosing the appropriate time for fulfilling the tasks. In this way, a person’s psychological and physiological peculiarities  are taken into consideration. Moreover, online resources are easy to access,  there are a lot of options to choose from. Therefore, students are free to use what suits them better.

On the other hand, there are a lot of disadvantages to learning from home. To begin with, one needs to have special ( and rather expensive) equipment and software. It is a piece of common knowledge, that poor Internet can spoil you the pleasure to enjoy various facilities provided by the on-line school. Next, distant learning requires special computer skills. In addition to that, students lack live communication and feel rather isolated.

All things considered, I would rather attend a full-time school and live the full life of a teenager, and not be tied to a computer and be dependent on the quality of the Internet.

9. Giving marks. Feedback. Evaluation.
10. Saying Good-bye.