DHS HBL essay notes

DUNMANHIGHSCHOOLYearFour2023IdentifyingtheQuestionType Discursive ArgumentativePossiblequestionstems:● Whatare…● Howcan… Typicallythesequestionsfocuson:● Reasonsfor/against● Factorsfor● Solutions Possiblequestionstems:● Doyouagree?● Towhatextent…?● Howfaristhistrue?● Is…● Whatareyourviews? Typicallythesequestionsrequireyouto:● Takeastand● Acknowledgetheopposingviewpoint● Rebuttheopposingviewpoint Comparative AbsoluteAcomparativeessayasksthatyoucompareatleasttwo(possiblymore)items.Theseitemswill differdependingontheassignment.Youmightbeaskedtocompare:● variedpositionsonanissue(e.g.,responsestoeducationsystemsinFinlandandSingapore)● twodifferentideologies(e.g.,capitalismandcommunism)● existingplansversusideal plans(strengthen,improve)● acrosstime(e.g.,educationalpoliciesinthepastvseducationalpoliciesinthepresent Theuseofspecifickeywordsmaymarktheabsolutestatement:● Only,● Always● Never● Every● Deathof● Banned● Noplaceinsociety Questionswithabsolutestatementsoftenpresentverystrongopinionswhichtypicallyshowanextremestance. Note:Questionscanbeamixofdifferenttypes,e.g.comparativediscursivequestionorabsoluteargumentativequestion. Y4EL2022

DUNMANHIGHSCHOOLYear42023EnglishLanguageExpositoryWritingQuestionAnalysis(AbsoluteTerms) Questionswithabsolutestatementsoftenpresentverystrongopinionswhichtypicallyshowanextremestance.Theuseofspecifickeywordsmaymarktheabsolutestatement.Forexample: a) Geneticengineeringwillonlybenefitmankind.Doyouagree?❖ Thestatementsuggeststhattherearenothingbutbenefitsduetogeneticengineering.Thisisanabsolutestanceonthematter;toagreewiththestatementwouldmeanthatyouagreethatgeneticengineeringwouldbringnodetrimentstomankind.Isthisafeasiblestand? b) Technologyalwaysgivesushopeforthefuture.Doyouagree?❖ Thestatementsuggeststhattechnologyisonlypromising.Again,ifyouagreewiththisabsolute,youwouldbesuggestingthattherearenocasesinwhichtechnologymaycauseanythingotherthanhopeforthefuture.Isthistrue? c) Thekeytosolvingpovertyismoney. Doyouagree?❖ Whilemoresubtlethantheprevioustwo,thisstatementisalsoanabsoluteone.Useofthedeterminer“the”in“thekey”suggeststhatthereisonlyonesolution(theuseofmoney)toresolvingpoverty.Agreeingwiththisstatementwouldbetoagreethattherearenootherviablesolutionstoapproachingpoverty.Doyoufeelthisistrue? Inunpackingtheabsolutestatements,youwillrealisethatagreeingwiththeabsolutesmaypresentaverylimitedandshort-sightedviewofthetopicofdiscussion.Insomecases,itislogicallyunsoundtoagreewiththestatements. Werecommendthatwhenfacedwithabsolutestatements,takinganopposingstance/disagreeingwiththeabsolutegivesyouabetterchancetowriteaconvincing,well-roundedessayonthetopic. Disagreeingwithabsolutesdoesnotmeanthatthereisnoshredoftruthwithinthem.Evenwhenyoudisagreewiththeabsolutestatement,youshouldacknowledgewhysomepeoplemaybeinclinedtoagree.Forexample: Y4EL2022

Q:Geneticengineeringwillonlybenefitmankind.Doyouagree? ● Toagreewiththestatementwouldmeanthatyouagreethatgeneticengineeringwouldbringnodetrimentstomankind.Takingthisstancewouldonlyshowashallowunderstandingofthetopic.● Indisagreeingwiththestatement,youcandiscussawidervarietyofideas:○ Howgeneticengineeringdoesbenefitmankind(i.e.whysomemightsaythatthereareonlybenefits)inyourcounterargument○ Howgeneticengineeringmayalsocreateproblemsformankindinthemainpointsofyourargument Whiletherearemanywaystorespondtoanyessayquestion,sometimesacknowledgingwhysomewouldagreewiththestatement(i.e.yourcounterargument)earlyoninyouressayisaneffectivewaytostructureyourargument. Y4EL2022

DUNMANHIGHSCHOOLYearFour2022EnglishLanguageExpositoryWritingQuestionAnalysis(ComparativeTerms) Acomparativeessayasksthatyoucomparetwoormoreitems(e.g.leadersvsfollowers),oroneitemacrosstwoormoreparameters(e.g.pastvspresent) Takeforexample:Q:Howcanwebeamoretolerantsociety?Totacklethisquestion,youmust- Acknowledgewhathasbeenalreadydonetocreateatolerantsociety.- BuildonthesemeasuresORSuggestnewmeasures→Buildon:Howcantheybeimproved?Suggestionsforimprovementcouldbeanextensionoradaptationofcurrentmeasuresoranadoptionofmeasuresusedinsimilarsituations→ Suggest:Aretheregapsbetweentheproblemandsolution?Whataresomesolutionsthatcouldaddresstheissue? Ignoranceofpastandcurrentmeasureswouldresultinnotansweringthisquestionadequately EssaystructureWewillusethequestionabovetoshowthestructureyoucanuse: Q:Howcanyoursocietybeamoretolerantone? Point-by-pointpattern(Alternating) In thismethod,youfindrelatedpointscommontoyourcentralsubjectsA (presentmeasurestocreatea tolerantsociety)andB (improvementstocurrentmeasuresorsuggestnewmeasures),andalternatebetweenAandBonthebasisofthesepoints(ABABAB…). Thealternatingsystemgenerallydoesa betterjobof highlightingsimilaritiesanddifferencesbyjuxtaposingyourpointsaboutAandB.Italsotendstoproduceamoretightlyintegratedandanalyticalpaper.ConsiderthealternatingmethodifyouareabletoidentifyclearlyrelatedpointsbetweenAandB.Otherwise,ifyouattempttoimposethealternatingmethod,youwillprobablyfinditcounterproductive. Y4EL2022

DUNMANHIGHSCHOOLYearFour2023WaystoAnalysetheQuestion EXAMPLES:Q1.WhataresomewayssocietycanbettersupportyoungSingaporeanswhowishtobecomefull-timeathletes?(2013Y4EOY)QuestionType-Discursive, Comparative(oldvsnewways)Whatarethekeywordsinthequestionthatyouhavetopayattentionto? • WhataresomewayssocietycanbettersupportyoungSingaporeanswhowishtobecomefull-timeathletes?(2013Y4EOY)Morethan1 InSingapore Thereisalreadysupport(existingpolicies)-howdoweBETTERsupport(newpolicies/ideas)? Professional Y4EL2022

Q2.Theteacherwillneverbereplaced.Doyouagree?Questiontype-Argumentative,AbsoluteKeywords/Scope:• “Theteacher”:HumanbeingswhotakeupteachingasaprofessionandarepartofastructurededucationsystemOR• anyentitythatiscapableofimpartingknowledge(parents,lifeexperiences,nature,videos,books,onlinecourses,useofartificial intelligence)• “will neverbe”:Absoluteterm.Nopossibilityeveninthecontextofthefuture.• “replaced”:Thesamefunction(s)carriedoutbytheteachertobefulfilledbyanyone/anythingelse(elementofcomparison) Q3.MenandWomenareofferedequalopportunitiesinlifetoday.DoYouAgree?Questiontype-Argumentative,Comparative(menvswomen) Y4EL2022

DUNMANHIGHSCHOOLYearFour2022Handout : Connectors- WritingwithPersuasionAdaptedfromPresentPerfect(2018). TheEssayIssue.SG:ThinkTank Transitionwordsorconnectorsareonewaytoenhancethecoherenceofyourwriting.Byusingconnectors,youcreaterelationshipsbetweenyourideasforyourreader’sunderstanding.Belowisalistofconnectorsthatyoumayemployinyourwriting. Tolist ideas Tobuildonideas ToconcludeFirstly,secondly,thirdly Additionally Therefore/HenceFirstandforemost Furthermore UltimatelyTobeginwith Indeed Giventhesepoints…Lastofall Moreover Asaresult/consequenceInitially Justas…so… ThusSubsequently TosumupApartfromthis All inallConsequentlyBecauseToshowsimilarity Tosignal achangeindirectionof argument Tosignal disagreementwhileacknowledgingotherviewsLikewise/Inlikemanner However DespiteX,IbelievethatYis…Bythesametoken Ontheotherhand AlthoughXmaybetrue,Yis…Inthesamemanner Incontrast/Bycontrast/Bycomparison NotwithstandingX,itissometimesY… Y4EL2022

Inasimilarvein Conversely WhileXismoreoftenthannot….,Yis…Justas/like Nevertheless/nonetheless NodoubtXis…butYis…Similarly Yet ItistruethatXis…however,Yis…Also Although Admittedly,Xis…butYis…Correspondingly OnthecontraryEqually Instead/Alternatively DUNMANHIGHSCHOOLYearFour2022EssayPlanningTemplate EssayQuestion What typeof questionisthis?What arethekeytermsinthequestion? What doI needtodotoaddressthem? What will mystandbe? Howwill I openmyessay? Howwill I endtheessay? POINTS(TopicSentences) Y4EL2022

POSSIBLEARGUMENTS COUNTER-ARGUMENTS(forargumentativeonly) Sample:Home-basedlearningisbetterthanclassroomteaching. Doyouagree?WuZekai Justin20Y4K“Howdidyoudoit Frank?Howdidyoucheat inthebarexaminLouisiana?” “Ididn’tcheat.Istudiedfortwoweeksandpassed”. Thisisarguablyoneofthemosticonicscenesinthe2001filmCatchMeIfYouCan,basedontheexploitsofyoungconartistFrank Abagnale Jr. Thebrilliant Abagnaleisdepictedtohavepassed the Louisiana bar exam after only two weeks ofself-directedstudying