Some guides to help grade 12 students know how to write a basic english paragraph well at nhu thanh high scholl

THANH HOA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND
TRAINING
NHU THANH HIGH SCHOOL

INNOVATION IN TEACHING

SOME GUIDES TO HELP GRADE 12 STUDENTS KNOW HOW
TO WRITE A BASIC ENGLISH PARAGRAPH WELL
AT NHU THANH HIGH SCHOOL

The writer: Nguyen Thi Kim Lien
The post: Teacher
Innovation of subject: English

THANH HOA, 2016


PART ONE: INTRODUCTION
I. RATIONALE OF THE RESEARCH
Studying English nowadays has become an essential demand for
everyone. Learning English is important. It is simple as English is one of the
most popular international languages and it is most not only all over the world
but also in all aspects of society. Therefore, learning and mastering it would
greatly give advantages to the person concerned. Especially, since Vietnam
became the 150th member of the World Trade Organization ( WTO), it has been
required that we have to build the labour force who are skillful at work and use
English well as an effective tool of communication.
Although many Vietnamese students get excellent certain qualifications,
their ability of communicating in English is limited. As a result, they must give
up their dream jobs. There is no doubt about that English is the optimum
standard for applicants into foreign and state- owned companies. On account of

the above demands, English is compulsory not only at school but also in
examinations at certain stages of the school education system. According to the
national curriculum, English is built with the aim of communicating. Creating
the ability of communication in English for students is the most important target
in the process of teaching.
As teachers, I think we’d all agree that communication is important. In
fact, it’s a necessary component of education, livelihood, and basic functionality
in our society. It’s also fairly obvious that there are two main ways to
communicate, although more obscure forms exist. Basically, we talk and we
write. That’s how we let other people know what’s going on, and it’s an
important skill to have. Just about every student can talk, but how many
Vietnamese students can truly write well? Writing is important because it’s used
extensively in higher education and in the workplace. If students don’t know
how to express themselves in writing, they won’t be able to communicate well
with friends, teachers, professors, employers, peers, or just about anyone else.
Much of professional communication is done in writing: proposals,
memos, reports, applications, preliminary interviews, e-mails, and more are part
of the daily life of a college student or successful graduate. Even if students
manage to learn the material in their college classes without knowing how to
write well, they won’t be able to express their knowledge to the people who are
making the big decisions. Potential employers won’t know whether or not head
knowledge can be applied to everyday demands unless it’s through a spoken
interview. Even the majority of certifications and licensures require basic writing
skills to obtain. The inability to write makes for a stillborn career.
At Nhu Thanh High school, my students often find it extremely hard to
improve the writing skill, especially they have difficulties in learning how to
write an academic paragraph effectively. Therefore, in this study I give some
guides to help my students write a good basic paragraph and some ways of
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correcting it which I have applied successfully in my writing teaching to
improve the students’ writing skill.
II. AIMS OF THE RESEARCH
On the basis of surveying students’ ability of writing a basic paragraph in
English at Nhu Thanh High School, I have given feasible solutions including
innovating methods of teaching writing skill.
III. SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH
Researching innovative techniques used in writing teaching and learning,
and methods of assessing students’ study result of writing at Nhu Thanh High
School.
IV. THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS:
This study aims at finding the answer to the following research questions:
How can guides help grade 12 students improve writing skill?
The question has been addressed to two of the classes ( 12C9, 12C10) that
I have been teaching in Nhu Thanh High School with a view to examining how
guides have taken an effect on the process of writing here.
V. RESEARCHING METHODS
- The method of collecting and analyzing materials for the research:
research for materials concerning about the subject, analyze and get certain
knowledge from previous researches, finally give the foundation to the research.
- The method of talking to students: through talking to students, I have got
to know real situation of students’ writing learning in language classes at Nhu
Thanh High School.
- The method of surveying through answer sheets.

PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT
3

CHAPTER 1 : LITERATURE REVIEW
I. The Basics of writing skills:
What Is Writing?
"Writing" is the process of using symbols (letters of the alphabet,
punctuation and spaces) to communicate thoughts and ideas in a readable form.
To write clearly it is essential to understand the basic system of a language. In
English this includes knowledge of grammar, punctuation and sentence
structure. Vocabulary is also necessary, as is correct spelling and formatting. A
writer may write for personal enjoyment or use, or for an audience of one person
or more. The audience may be known (targeted) or unknown. Taking notes for
study purposes is an example of writing for one's self. Blogging publicly is an
example of writing for an unknown audience. A letter to a friend is an example
of writing for a targeted audience. As with speaking, it is important to consider
your audience when writing. There are many different styles of writing, from
informal to formal.
II. What are the advantages of having great writing skills in real life?
Great writing skills translate to effective communication. Well-written
memos and procedures help companies run more smoothly. If you want changes
in the workplace, or maybe a higher salary for yourself, being able to write
clearly and persuasively will increase the chances that you will get what you
want.
Do you have a complaint about products or services you have purchased?
A well-written letter will be treated more seriously than a poorly written one.
In public affairs, do you want to influence the government, so they do things
your way? If you write a well-crafted letter to your Congressman (in a U.S.
context), your voice will be as influential as 50 or 100 people who simply
forward an e-mail message written by an advocacy group.
These are great advantages of written communication:
- Easy to preserve: The documents of written communication are easy to
preserve. Oral and non-verbal communication cannot be preserved. If it is

needed, important information can be collected from the preserved documents.
- Easy presentation of complex matter: Written communication is the best way
to represent any complex matter easily and attractively.
- Permanent record: The documents of written communication act as a
permanent record. When it is needed, important information can be easily
collected from the preserved documents.
- Prevention of wastage of time and money: Written communication prevents
the waste of money and time. Without meeting with each other the
communicator and communicate can exchange their views.
- Accurate presentation: Through the documents of the written communication
top executive can present the information more accurately and clearly. As it is a
legal document everybody takes much care does draft it.
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- Use as a reference: If it is needed, written communication can be used as
future reference.
- Delegation of authority: Written communication can help the authority to
delegate the power and authority to the subordinate. It is quite impossible to
delegate power without a written document.
- Longevity: Written document can be preserved for a long time easily. That is
why; all the important issues of an organization should be back and white.
- Effective communication: Written communication helps to make
communication effective. It is more dependable and effective than those of other
forms of communication.
- Maintaining image: Written communication helps to maintain the images of
both the person and the organization. It also protects the images of the company
or organization.
- Proper information: It is a proper and complete communication system. There
is no opportunity to include any unnecessary information in a written document.

- Less distortion possibility: In this communication system information is
recorded permanently. So, there is less possibility of distortion and alteration of
the information.
- No opportunity to misinterpret: there is any opportunity to misinterpret the
information or messages of written communication.
- Controlling tool: Written communication can help to control the organizational
activity. The written document may be used as a tool for controlling.
- Easy to verify: The information and messages that are preserved can be
verified easily. If there arises any misunderstanding any party can easily verify
the information.
- Others: Clear understanding, Legal document, Acceptability, Reduction of
risk, Creating confidence, Easy circulation, Wide access or coverage etc.

CHAPTER 2: PRACTICAL SITUATIONS
I. METHODS OF THE RESEARCH

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I have done the research in the context of two English classes (12C9 and
12 C10)- at the beginning of the school year 2015-2016 at Nhu Thanh High
School. In this survey, I have used the variety of questionares for students.
II. THE REALITY OF TEACHING AND LEARNING HOW TO
WRITE AN ACADEMIC PARAGRAPH IN ENGLISH AT NHU THANH
HIGH SCHOOL.
I have carried out the survey of real situations of teaching and learning
how to write a basic paragraph in English in class 12C9 and 12C10 (the school
year: 2015- 1016) and I have got the following result:
Survey no.1
Practical Situation of learning how to write a basic paragraph in English at Nhu Thanh High

School

Questionares
for
students
A
B
C
D
1 How difficult do you Too easy
Not difficult Difficult
Extremely
find in learning how to 5%
10%
25%
difficult
write
an
English
60%
paragraph well?
2 Do you think it is very
Very
Essential
Not really Not
neccesary to improve
essential
15%
essential
essential at

your writing skill in
10%
25%
all
general and how to
50%
write a good paragraph
in particular?
3 What do you think of Really
Interesting
Boring
Very boring
writing classes at Nhu interesting 15%
40%
35%
Thanh High School?
10%
4 How often do you get Always
Occationall Rarely
Never
used to making the 10%
y
30%
40%
outline form before you
20%
get down to writing an
English paragraph?
5 Do you think of the Very
A

little boring
Completely
materials
used
in stimulating stimulating 30%
boring 40%
writing classes at Nhu 10%
20%
Thanh High school?
6 How are you contented A little
Very much
Not at all Always
6 with the teacher’s ways
50%
10%
20
20%
of
correcting
your
%
written work?
From the above survey, it points out that teaching and learning writing
skill in language classes at Nhu Thanh High School are ineffective and rather

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limited. Students are not fond of writing lessons. We can see that writing skill is
little improved.

CHAPTER 3: RECOMMENDATIONS TO HELP STUDENTS HOW
TO WRITE A GOOD PARAGRAPH IN ENGLISH.
I. RECOMMEDATIONS:
According to the data analysis from the survey no.1, it can be personally
concluded that students need understand the processing of writing even the
simplest steps and teacher must spend much time correcting their written works
carefully and responsibly.
Therefore, I have given them some guides to help students how to write a
good academic paragraph in English.
II. PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS.
1. Supply students with general knowledge of the fundamental
paragraph’s definition and outline form.
Through writing classes, I reliaze that the biggest problem of writing a
basic paragraph to students is that they do not make the detailed outline form
before they start writing. As a sequence, the ideas in three parts of one paragraph
are arranged in the incorrect order. Therefore, during my language teaching in
writing classes, I always emphasize the importance of making the detailed
outline form in the process of writing a good parapraph to help them with an
effective outline before they get down to writing an academic one. My students
understand its definition more clearly and the main parts of a basic paragraph.
They ensure that writing the outline of one paragraph is one of the most
important and necessary steps in the writing process.
In many languages, the fundamental unit of composition is the paragraph.
A paragraph consists of several sentences that are grouped together. This group
of sentences together discuss one main subject. In U.S. formal academic
English, paragraphs have three principal parts. These three parts are the topic
sentence, the supporting sentences, and the concluding sentence.
Process of writing a paragraph:
- Compose your topic sentence. Think of a topic and a controlling idea
that will narrow the topic enough to support it well in one paragraph.

- Brainstorm supporting ideas. Choose 2 - 6 supporting ideas that do a
good job supporting your topic sentence.
- Write your paragraph in topic outline form as follows.
- Put your supporting ideas in a logical order.
- For each supporting idea, think of RENNS that further explain the idea.
For balance, each supporting idea should have about the same number of
RENNS.
- Think of a concluding sentence.
- Write your paragraph using sentences. Use the coherence strategies to
make your paragraph easy to follow.
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Here are the network used for making the detailed outline form of any
paragraphs in English:
THE OUTLINE
( THREE MAIN
PARTS)

THE TOPIC
SENTENCE

SUPPORTING
IDEA 1

SUPPORTING
SENTENCES

SUPPORTING
IDEA 2

CONCLUDING
SENTENCE

SUPPORTING
IDEA 3

SUPPORTING
IDEA 4

1.1 Guide students how to write a good topic sentence.
A topic sentence usually comes at the begining of a paragraph; that is, it is
usually the first sentence in a formal academic paragraph. Not only is a topic
sentence the first sentence of a paragraph, but, more importantly, it is the most
general sentence in a paragraph. What does "most general" mean? It means
that there are not many details in the sentence, but that the sentence introduces
an overall idea that you want to discuss later in the paragraph. For example,
suppose that you want to write a paragraph about the natural landmarks of your
hometown. The first part of your paragraph might look like this:
My hometown is well- known for
several amazing natural features. First, it is
noted for the Wheaton River, which is very
wide and beautiful. Also, on the other side of
the town is Wheaton Hill, which is unusual
because it is very steep.
Note how the first sentence, My hometown, Wheaton, is well- known for
several amazing geographical features,is the most general statement. This
sentence is different from the two sentences that follow it, since the second and
third sentences mention specific details about the town's geography, and are not
general statements.

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Here are some examples of sentences that cannot be used as topic
sentences. Can you figure out why they are inappropriate?

2. My hometown is famous because it is located by
Wheaton River, which is very wide, and because it is built near
an unusually steep hill called Wheaton Hill.

3. There are two reasons why some people like to buy cars
with automatic transmission and two reasons why others like
cars with manual transmission.
The problem with sentence 2 is that it contains too many details. Topic
sentences are general, and details should appear later in the paragraph. A better
topic sentence would be like the one mentioned above, My hometown is famous
for several amazing geographical features. Sentence 3 is not appropriate as a
topic sentence because it mentions two topics, not just one. Paragraphs are
usually about one main thing and so their topic sentences should also be about
only one main thing. The problem with sentence 3 is that it is too general. It is
also very boring! Therefore,We can rewrite sentences 3 in the following ways to
make it better:
There are two reasons why some people like to buy cars with automatic
transmission.
As I have made certain that my students know how to write a good topic
sentence, I give them some topics and ask them to write the topic sentence for
these topics. In order to help them write more effectively and academically, after
correcting their work, I will provide them with the topic sentence models.
The suggested topic: “Write a paragragh about which your ideal world

is you'd like to live in 2050 (about 140 words)
The topic sentence should be “According to the great development of
our society, it is likely that human beings will witness the possitive changes of
economic, peace, education and technology”
1. 2 Guide them how to write persuative supporting sentences.
I make sure that my students make out clearly about controlling ideas that
support the topic sentence, using reasons, examples, names, numbers, senses to
9


develop the supporting ideas by giving details and explanation. The ideas must
be clear and be arranged logically in the correct order. At first, I have forced
them to write supporting sentenses for a bit simple topics and they ought to be
written through the network. By this way, my students can imagine how to write
supporting sentences easily.
For example, I give them the topic : “Write a
paragragh about your ideal world you'd like to live in 2020 (about 140
words)”. With this topic, I will ask my students to write supporting sentences by
themselves to make clear the suggested topic sentence: “According to the great
development of our society, it is likely that human beings will witness the
possitive changes of economic, peace, education, environment and
technology”. They spend about five munites to think and write the supporting
sentenses in the form of network. After correcting their work, I give the
suggested outline.

Positive changes
in the world in
2020

Economy

- Stable finance
status
- No crises

Peace
- No wars
- No terrorism,
- Big happines
- Living in
harmony

Education
- Be free, equal
to everyone
- Be advanced

Environme
- Healthy one
- Less noise
- Less polutio
- More parks
- Protection o
wildwife

Technology
- Robot appreace,
- Modern device
- Saving labour

1. 3 Guide them how to write concluding sentences effectively.

The concluding sentence is the last one of the paragraph. It can express
the topic sentence in another way. It should be enough short, for instance, with
the topic : “Write a paragraph of about 120 words to suggest measures to
protect rare and endangered species from extinction”. The concluding sentence
10


should be “In conclusion, If these measures are taken, our planet might be a
peaceful and beauiful place for all kinds of beings to live.”
2. Practise making the detailed outline form based on given topics.
In writing classes, I give my students a certain writing topic, and ask
them to write the outline before writing the required paragraph. This step is
compulsory for all my students and then I will correct their work. For
example, I give them the topic : “Write one paragraph (150 words) about
measures of protecting endangered species”. I ask them to work in groups
and show their detailed outline of the the given topic. After that, I and my
students will work together to give the full outline. Here are one of
suggestions:

Measures of
protecting
endangered
species

Raising people’s
awareness
- Hold forums,
conferences,
seminars
- organize

activities...

Protecting
wildlife habitat
- establish
reserves
- have more parks

Enacting the
laws
- banning
commercial trade
and overhunting

Raising funds
- from agencies,
international
organizations, …

3. Practise writing the full paragraph weekly based on the well –
prepared outline.
I ask students to do the writing tasks in the writing classes and choose
the typical works and correct them but occasionally, the writing reqirement can
be made at home. After that they can hand in and I can correct individually.
To the grade 12 students, I focus on the following topics that are derived
from the main theme in 12 English textbook and every one or two weeks all the
students are compulsory to hand in their outline and writing works with the aim
of giving them as many chances as possible to practise writing.

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4. Apply some techniques of corecting students’ writing works
effectively.
Correcting is the extremely important step in helping students improve
their writing skill. Correcting carefully and responsibly assists students in
knowing that what the weakness and strength of their works are. During
teaching the writing skill, I have applied the following correcting methods:
Students find out their mistakes by themselves based on teacher’s given
suggestions on their work.
I give my students common writing mistakes they often make and I stand
for these mistakes through signs and ask them to learn these signs by heart.
- tense mistakes are signed
TM
- word form mistakes are signed
WM
- vocabulary mistakes are signed
VM
- grammartical structure mistakes
GM
- mistakes of expressing ideas
EIM
- spelling mistakes
SM
- mistakes of straying from the subjects SSM
- the outline mistakes
OM
- mistakes of repeating many times
RM

- mistakes of being influenced by the mother tounge MM
Here are some my students’ typical written works which have been
correted through the way of giving mistake signs and the writer has to correct
it by himself based on the suggested signs.
With the first written work, my student can recognize easily their own
mistakes based on my signs and she must correct them on her own and finally I
will check them. Here are mistakes that are corrected:
1. In 2020, we witness the positive changes of economic, peace,
TM
WM
technology and enviroment.”
SM
It must be corrected : In 2020, we will witness the positive changes of
economics, peace, technology and environment.”
2. The poor can be provided for the advanced knowledge.
GM
It must be corrected : The poor can be provided with the advanced
knowledge.

The first written work
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And some other typical written works I have corrected in the similar way:

13


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CHAPTER 4: RESULT
To sum up, guides of making the detailed outline form before writing and
practising writing as much as possible based on the suggested outline is an
15


affective way to improve student’s writing skill. Through this way, I have got the
positive results in writing classes. It has encouraged my students to take part in
writing classes enthusistically and motivated them write english paragraphs with
a variety of topics even with the advanced level. Here are the detailed result:
Class

12C9
12C1
0

Before
applying
innovative
writing techniques, students are
able to write an academic
paragraph in English……….
( According to the figures at the
beginning of the school- year 2015
– 2016)

After applying innovative writing
techniques, students are able to
write an academic paragraph in

English……….
( According to the figures at the
end of the school- year 2015 –
2016)

%
Excellentl
y
0%
0%

%
Excellentl
y
7%
7%

%
Wel
l
5%
8%

%
Fairl
y
25%
27%

%

Poorl
y
70%
65%

%
Wel
l
25%
30%

%
Fairl
y
40%
40%

%
Poorl
y
28%
23%

PART THREE: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
I. CONCLUSION
After having applied the above techniques in writing lessons, I have got
positive results in teaching and learning writing skill, especially guiding them
how to write an acedamic paragraph well at Nhu Thanh High School. First and
foremost, students participate in writing classes more enthusiastically. They are
used to making the detailed outline form before writing a basic paragraph. They

are able to express their thoughts and ideas more scholarly in writing. At the end
of the school- year 2015-2016, most of the students in class 12c9 and 12c10 can
be able to write an academic paragraph in English at the simple level, some at
the advanced level.
II. SUGGESTION
It is very necessary to finance more material facilities, tools of teaching
aids for English teaching and learning.

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The Headmaster’s identification

Thanh Hoa, the tenth of April, 2016
I make sure that this study is my own
work.
The writer:

Nguyen Thi Kim Lien

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INDEX
CONTENT
PART ONE: INTRODUCTION
I. Rationale of the research
II. Aims of the research
III. Scope of the research
IV. Research questions

V. Researching methods
PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
CHAPTER 2: PRACTICAL SITUATIONS
I. Methods of research
II. The reality of teaching and learning how to write an
academic paragraph in English at Nhu Thanh High School.
CHAPTER 3: RECOMMENDATIONS .
I. RECOMMENDATIONS
II. PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS
CHAPTER 4: RESULT
PART THREE: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS
I. Conclusion
II. Suggestions
INDEX
REFERENCES

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REFERENCE BOOKS
1. David Cross (1994): Practical handbook of language teaching
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2. Penny Ur ( 1998) A course in language teaching - Practical and Theory
Cambrige university press
4. Nguyen Hanh Dung Methods of teaching English at Secondary education

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