Level I

Chapter 7
Writing

English | Vietnamese Section

English | Vietnamese
IC3, IT, TOEFL, Best Answer
Self- and Teacher Evaluation

Topic:

Regional and Global Trade: Handicraft for Export, Tourism & Village Identity

Thương mại khu vực và toàn cầu

Guiding Question

What assets does your country bring to regional and global trade,
and what benefits does it expect from this trade?  

Câu hỏi hướng dẫn:

Những năng lực nào mà nước bạn có để tham gia thương mại khu vực và toàn cầu?
Những lợi gì nước bạn mong đợi từ việc tham gia thương mại này?

Skills:
In this chapter you will do these things:

• Writing Techniques: Description, Exposition, Narration, Persuasion, Comparison and Contrast
• An Introduction to Essay Writing
• The Expository Essay
• Writing an Expository Essay
• From Freewriting to Mindmap to Outline to Composing the Essay
• Spell Check

  Vietnamese Language Skills:

  • Bằng
  • Email Messages

English Language Lesson

Back to Top

Introductory Motivation and Focus: Vietnam is a country rich in handicrafts. Recent government policy wants to capitalize on this asset by encouraging the development and enhancement of craft villages for purposes of creating products for export and for tourism.

Read the two short articles that follow:

Stone Comes Alive in Non Nuoc
04/08/2003

Excerpts from:
http://www.vneconomy.com.vn/eng/index.php?param=article&catid=0610&id=030804151634

A village with a long history of artwork continues to produce objects that visitors find beautiful and full of fantasy about 1 km southeast of Danang City is the Ngu Hanh Son Marble Mountains), a popular tourist spot. Here, there is a handicraft village with a 400 year history. Some 300 households in the village make a living by creating artistic products from rock and stone. This craft is passed down in each family.

Long ago, villagers used mountain rock and stone to make objects close to their everyday life such as a woodcutter, fisherman, toad, fish, lion, and Kwan Yin Bodhisattva. These products were lively and ingenious. The practice, which served as a hobby and then a livelihood, gradually became popular and developed into a craft.

In the village, the majority of craftspeople are locals. Most of them have inborn dexterity; others have to receive training. A craftsperson is required to have patience, a sense of beauty, creativeness and especially clever hands. There are three classes of craftspeople. The first group of unskilled laborers specializes in processing raw rock and stone into certain images and forms, the second group shapes products, and the captain workers undertake the final step of production, with their clever hands determining the perfection of designs and lines.

Over the past few years, Viet Kieu, overseas Vietnamese, and foreign visitors to the Marble Mountains have been increasingly buying Non Nuoc rock and stone products as souvenirs. Some of them order the goods for shipping home to display.

The artisans of the Non Nuoc Stone Village need special mention, as they are a decisive factor in the development of this traditional craft village. The most famous artisan of all is sculptor Nguyen Long Buu. He was born into a family which has had seven generations involved in rock sculpture. Buu is the only person from the village to go abroad many times, attending international fairs and rock sculpture competitions and has had his works displayed at parks or entertainment sites in New Zealand, Australia, and the United States.

Before 1975, products from Non Nuoc rock, like lions and eagles, were sold mostly to rich people in Saigon for display in villas or gardens. Statues of dragons, lions, Chain dancers or Buddha were placed in parks or big pagodas. Today, Non Nuoc rock statues are installed in the lobbies of big hotels, embassies or law courts. Products are made to customers' orders or adapted from paintings, so their designs are diverse. These two lines of products include tea sets, sets of table and chairs, single vases, statues of the Goddess of Liberty, statues of red skinned tribal chiefs, and Renaissance-style statues.

People are now prohibited from using rock from the Marble Mountains since the Danang authorities wait to protect this scenic spot. Workshop owners have, therefore, to buy materials from Quang Ninh, Thanh Hoa, Quang Binh and Khanh Hoa provinces, so their products are no longer called "Non Nuoc stone objects" but "Stone products made in Non Nuoc." Whatever the name, Non Nuoc made rock and stone products are highly favored by customers and sales are increasing.

Source: SGT Weekly

Potentiality of Vietnam craft villages
http://www.vietnam-tourism.com/vietnam_gov/e_pages/Kinhte/thucong-langnghe/tcln_craftvillage03.htm

Export revenue from crafts villages across Viet Nam reached more than half a billion USD a year, showed a recent survey.

The survey conducted by the Institute of Science, Technology and Environment showed that major hard currency earners in those villages are handicrafts, covering wickerwork, lacquer work, porcelain, embroideries, clothes, wooden furniture, stoneware, folk paintings and engineering products.

Viet Nam now boasts 1,439 craft villages, employing an estimated 14,000 work hands or 29 percent of the rural workforce. More than 79 percent of the national craft villages are located in Northern provinces.

Those villages have made a considerable contribution to preserving the traditional culture plus using the raw materials and natural resources available within Vietnam.

Freewriting: Is there a craft village near your home? Or is there a handicraft industry near your home? Write all you know about the craft, the village and “que hunong,” the craftspeople, the village genie, and the tradition. Look at the pictures below for some ideas or some inspiration. In class, make a list on the board of some of the crafts in your town, village and city. Then write for twenty minutes without stopping. Do not worry about grammar or spelling.

Introduction to Skill(s):

Writing Techniques

Writing is an important form of communication. Good writers use different writing techniques to fit their purpose for writing. To be a good writer, you must master each of the following writing techniques.

1. Description

Through description, a writer helps the reader use the senses of feeling, seeing, hearing, smelling, and tasting to experience what the writer experiences. Description helps the reader more clearly understand the people, places, and things about which the writer is writing. It is the most common form of writing. You will find descriptive writing in newspapers, magazines, books, and most other forms of written communication.

2. Exposition

Through exposition, a writer informs, explains, and clarifies his/her ideas and thoughts. Exposition goes beyond description to help the reader understand with greater clarity and depth the ideas and thoughts of the writer. Expository writing, like descriptive writing, is commonly found in newspapers, magazines, books, and most other forms of written communication.

3. Narration

Through narration, a writer tells a story. A story has characters, a setting, a time, a problem, attempts at solving the problem, and a solution to the problem. Bedtime stories are examples of short stories while novels are examples of long stories. The scripts written for movies and plays are further examples of narrative writing.

4. Persuasion

Through persuasion, a writer tries to change a reader's point of view on a topic, subject, or position. The writer presents facts and opinions to get the reader to understand why something is right, wrong, or in between. Editorials, letters to the editor in newspapers and magazines, and the text for a political speech are examples of persuasive writing.

5. Comparison and Contrast

Through comparison and contrast, a writer points out the similarities and differences about a topic. Comparison is used to show what is alike or in common. Contrast is used to show what is not alike or not in common. Describing living conditions in 1900 and living conditions today would allow for much comparison and contrast.

By using the writing technique that fits your purpose, you will be able to communicate your ideas effectively.

(source: www.how-to-study.com)

An Introduction to Essay Writing

The word "essay" is from the French “essai” which means “a try or an attempt.” The essay is an attempt to communicate information and to express an opinion or feeling. In an academic setting, an assignment to write an essay offers the student the opportunity to explore and clarify their thoughts about a subject. More generally, the essay appears in newspaper and magazine articles. These are often essays that report news items, express opinions through editorials and commentary, and reviews that give information and opinion about books, film, performance, and the food in a restaurant. Learning to write essays teaches students the skills of thinking, organizing, researching and writing.

Students writing essays must answer three questions before the writing begins:

• What am I writing about?
• Who will be reading my essay?
• What do I want to tell them about my topic?

The Expository Essay

An expository essay is written to explain or inform the reader about a topic. The writer shares knowledge with the reader. The writer demonstrates their knowledge of the topic through the essay. The topic can be abstract or concrete; that is, the essay may be about an idea (“que huong,” for example) or about a real subject (how to make an “ao dai,” for example).

An expository essay will show the student’s knowledge of a topic. This knowledge may be gained through experience or it may require research. It will be based on fact and not opinion. An expository essay does not focus on self, so it is written without first- and second-person pronouns.

Explanations can be presented in a variety of methods, such as the following:

• Explain a step-by-step process
• Compare and/or contrast two items
• Explain with examples
• Divide and classify
• Identify a cause-effect relationship (causal analysis)

(Sources: http://web.uvic.ca/wguide/Pages/essayIntro.html, Brenda B. Covert:
http://www.edhelper.com/ReadingComprehension_33_34.html,
http://www.howtowriteanessay.com/)

---

Writing Assignment:

Write an expository essay that will explain to students outside Vietnam what “que huong” is and the craft of the village (the genie, or “tien” of the village perhaps).

• Brainstorm on the topic. You may use the freewriting from the beginning of this chapter.
• Do research if necessary—from literature or from online sources.
• Organize your essay by using an outline that includes an introductory paragraph, body paragraph, and concluding paragraph.
• Compose the essay by the step-by-step instructions that follow the essay outline.

Vocabulary:

This chapter’s assignment asks you to explain a part of Vietnamese culture to people who are not Vietnamese. Vocabulary for such an assignment can be difficult, because words that describe culture may not have English equivalents. For example, what English words would best describe “que huong”?

In Small Groups of 3 or 4: After you have had time to brainstorm on the topic of your essay, make a list of Vietnamese words that you find do not have an English equivalent. In small groups, discuss these words and see what English vocabulary you can come up with by which you can translate the ideas of the words.

Passage(s) in English:

Exercises and Activities for Comprehension and Analyzing Content:

Getting Your Ideas on the Paper

Use the mind map below to generate your ideas for the essay. You may have many ideas in the freewriting you did at the beginning of the chapter. Can these ideas be part of the mind map?

Exercises and Activities for Developing Content of Student Writing:

Transfer your ideas in the mind map to this five-paragraph outline. This outline uses three supporting ideas. If you want more supporting ideas in your essay, add them to the body of the essay. At this point, you may want to start composing complete sentences, but it is not yet necessary. Focus on organizing your ideas here.

Note that there is a line for a title. Choosing a title for your essay will be discussed in later chapters. Many writers choose titles after the essay is written. For now, do not spend time thinking about your title.

Also note that there is a thesis statement. A thesis statement, like a topic sentence, states the main idea. The topic sentence states the main idea of a paragraph. The thesis statement states the main idea of the entire essay. Following the outline is information about composing the essay. Look to that section to help you write a thesis statement.

Five –Paragraph Outline For Your Essay

Essay Title: __________________________________________________________

I. Introduction

A. Introductory statement­_________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

B. Thesis statement _____________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

II. Body

A. First Supporting Idea: (Topic Sentence): ___________________________

1. ______________________________________________________

2. ______________________________________________________

3. ______________________________________________________

B. Second Supporting Idea: (Topic Sentence): _________________________

1. ______________________________________________________

2. ______________________________________________________

3. ______________________________________________________

C. Third Supporting Idea: (Topic Sentence): __________________________

1. ______________________________________________________

2. ______________________________________________________

3. ______________________________________________________

III. Conclusion

A. Closing statement ________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

B. Restate thesis: _____________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Writing First Draft:

Follow these step-by-step instructions to write your essay using the outline.

Composing the Essay Step-by-Step

Step #1: Composing a Thesis Statement

The thesis statement states two things: what the essay is about, and what point you, the writer, will be making. Look at your outline and decide what point you want to make.

Your thesis statement will have two parts:

• The first part states the topic
  • The “que huong” . . .
  • The Vietnamese village . . .
  • The craft tradition in Vietnam . . .
• The second part states the point of the essay
  • . . . is the “soul” of the Vietnamese people
  • . . . is a part of each Vietnamese person’s identity
  • . . . is worth preserving

Step #2: Write the Body Paragraphs

Each main idea that you wrote down in your outline will become one of the body paragraphs. If you had three or four main ideas, you will have three or four body paragraphs.

Each body paragraph will have the same basic structure.

1. Begin by writing down one of your main ideas, in sentence form.
   If your main idea is "the ‘dinh’ is the center of the village," you might say this:
   
   The ‘dinh’ is the center of the Vietnamese village both physically and psychologically.
   
2. Next, write down each of your supporting points for that main idea, but leave four or five lines in between each point.
3. In the space under each point, write down some elaboration for that point.
4. Elaboration can be further description or explanation or discussion.

Supporting Point: The ‘dinh’ is the center of the Vietnamese village both physically and psychologically.

Elaboration :

When you learned about writing a paragraph, you learned to write a summary sentence at the end of the paragraph. In an essay, however, this is not generally needed. Sometimes a summary sentence can make the essay feel too formal and constructed. Be careful to make the main idea flow from one paragraph to the other.

Step #3 Write the Introduction and Conclusion

Now your essay needs only two paragraphs: the introduction and the conclusion. These paragraphs will give the reader a point of entry to and a point of exit from your essay.

Introduction

The introduction should be designed to attract the reader's attention. It gives an idea of the essay's focus.

1. Begin with something that attracts attention.

Here are some ideas:

• Startling information
• This information must be true and verifiable. It could simply be a fact that explains and illustrates the point you wish to make.
• If you use a piece of startling information, follow it with a sentence or two of elaboration.
• Anecdote
  • An anecdote is a story that illustrates a point.
  • Be sure your anecdote is short, to the point, and relevant to your topic. This can be a very effective opener for your essay, but use it carefully.
• Dialogue
  • An appropriate dialogue does not have to identify the speakers, but the reader must understand the point you are trying to convey. Use only two or three exchanges between speakers to make your point.
  • Follow dialogue with a sentence or two of elaboration.
• Summary Information
  • A few sentences explaining your topic in general terms can lead the reader gently to your thesis. Each sentence should become gradually more specific, until you reach your thesis.

2. If the attention grabber was only a sentence or two, add one or two more sentences that will lead the reader from your opening to your thesis statement.

3. Finish the paragraph with your thesis statement.

Conclusion

The conclusion brings closure to the reader, summing up your points or providing a final perspective on your topic.

All the conclusion needs is three or four strong sentences which do not need to follow any set formula. Simply review the main points (being careful not to restate them exactly) or briefly describe your feelings about the topic. Even an anecdote can end your essay in a useful way.

http://members.tripod.com/~lklivingston/essay/intro.html

IT Exercises and Activities for Developing Ideas:

If you are writing your essay on a computer, it should become a habit to check your spelling and your grammar with the programs on the computer. Before printing your essay and preparing it for the teacher, be sure to spell check.

Editing Process and Exercises:

Add the Finishing Touches

You have now completed all of the paragraphs of your essay. Before you can consider this a finished product, however, you must give some thought to the formatting of your paper.

Check the order of your paragraphs.

Look at your paragraphs. Which one is the strongest? You might want to start with the strongest paragraph, end with the second strongest, and put the weakest in the middle. Whatever order you decide on, be sure it makes sense. If your paper is describing a process, you will probably need to stick to the order in which the steps must be completed.

Check your writing.

Nothing can substitute for revision of your work. By reviewing what you have done, you can improve weak points that otherwise would be missed. Read and reread your paper.

• Does it make logical sense?
  Leave it for a few hours and then read it again. Does it still make logical sense?
• Do the sentences flow smoothly from one another?
  If not, try to add some words and phrases to help connect them. Transition words, such as "therefore" or "however," sometimes help. Also, you might refer in one sentence to a thought in the previous sentence. This is especially useful when you move from one paragraph to another.
• Have you run a spell checker or a grammar checker?
  These aids cannot catch every error, but they might catch errors that you have missed.

http://members.tripod.com/~lklivingston/essay/finish.html

Writing Second/Final Draft:

Re-write your essay, check spelling and grammar, and then turn it in to your teacher.

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