Post 4: Choosing topics for discussion

Dear All,

 I'd like to share with you two resources, which both list a variety of engaging (I hope) topics for discusion and expressing your opinions about them in your works. What I am inviting you to do is look through them and choose 4-5 you personally will be interested in discussing. Here you are:

 25 Creative Prompts: https://patch.com/pennsylvania/peters/25-creative-college-essay-prompts

 100 Inspirational Essay Topics: https://myassignmenthelp.com/blog/response-essay-topics/

 In the thread below let us know what you have chosen and possibly explain what made you interested in these topics.

 Also, later today I'll share with you a list of topics covering the writing theory, which I'de like you to look through and list the ones you think you'd like to learn more about or revise.

 After you have chosen the topics do the following:

 1. Think of the arguments
2. Collect the resources to support your arguments
3. Decide how to organize it:
--what type of essay is suitable for the discussion of the topic you want to discuss? W
--what would be the order of your points
4. Start working on the draft of your essay

 Things to Remember

 Patterns of organization: can help you revise the main patterns of essay organisation

 https://www.thoughtco.com/essay-organization-patterns-1857330


Here is a helpful resource with information about the things to remember when writing different types of essays:

 https://www.bestcustomwriting.com/blog/types-of-academic-writing 

 Also, here is a reminder about the essay organization patterns:

 Patterns of organization

More about writing an Opinion essay: Opinion Essay

 More about an Argumentative essay: Argumentative Essay

 Also, a useful resource to help you write your essay draft better: https://eslflow.com/acargumentativessay.html

I found this particular section of it useful: http://writefix.com/?page_id=1672 as it contains sample essays, explains several patterns of organisation and revises some common problems that you can have when writing your essay.

Comments

  1. crab666March 14, 2019 at 7:30 PM

    Hello everybody! I have chosen the most relevent topics in my view. I try to select the most interesting ones for modern people.
    1.The advantages and drawbacks of school uniforms.
    2.Are fashion and style the same thing?
    3.Money matters a lot” – How far is it relevant? Your response on this matter
    4.Should the basic necessities be made free of cost for the downtrodden?
    5.How has the invention of computer changed our lifestyle?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Natalia EydelmanMarch 14, 2019 at 7:37 PM

      Arina,

      thanks for your prompt reply. Now decide which of these 5 topics you would like to start writing your essay on and do the following:

      1. Think of the arguments
      2. Collect the resources to support your arguments
      3. Decide how to organise it:
      --what type of essay is suitable for the discussion of the topic you want to discuss? W
      --what would be the order of your points
      4. Start working on the draft of your essay

      Delete
    2. Dr.NatsonMarch 14, 2019 at 7:40 PM

      Good morning, everyone!
      I'd like to share with you these 5 topics that i've chosen:
      1. If you had the chance to have a 30-minute conversation with any person in human history (either living or deceased), who would be the person you choose? Why? What topics would you discuss with this person?
      2. If you were given the capability to travel back in time to any period in history, where would you head to and why?
      3. How Smartphone affects the psychology of young adults?
      4. Can academic classes be held outside classrooms, under the sky?
      5. How has the invention of computer changed our lifestyle?
      I found these topics the most interesting for me.

      Delete
    3. Natalia EydelmanMarch 14, 2019 at 8:06 PM

      Hello Natasha,

      I hope you will enjoy writing on the topics of your choice, so the the next step to make is to start working on the first one from the list. You do not necessarily need to start with the the first topic on your list, just the one you feel like working on now

      Delete
  2. Meylin SheMarch 14, 2019 at 7:42 PM

    I've chosen these topics: "What movie, poem, musical composition, or novel has most influenced your life and the way that you view the world? Why?", "If you had the chance to have a 30-minute conversation with any person in human history (either living or deceased), who would be the person you choose? Why? What topics would you discuss with this person?", "You reaction on a famous speech related to the world history", "Should human judge each other and to what extent?". I found them interesting to discuss, because they may help us think more about ourselves and be more attentive to each other. Moreover, essays on such topics might help someone, who will read our works, in their life journey. Readers will be able to find something new, see another point of view and analize their behaviour.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Natalia EydelmanMarch 14, 2019 at 7:56 PM

      Thanks for your explanation. I quite agree with you that these topics can help your readers to look inside themselves and understand something about themselves better. Have you decided which topic you would like to work on first?

      Delete
    2. Meylin SheMarch 14, 2019 at 8:06 PM

      Yes, I've decided to write about my reaction on a famous speech related to the world history.

      Delete
    3. Natalia EydelmanMarch 14, 2019 at 8:32 PM

      It'd be really interesting! Have you decided whose speech you are going to discuss in your essay? My suggestion is to google "famous speeches" and choose one you would consider. There are sites with collections of famous speeches: e.g., --https://www.americanrhetoric.com/top100speechesall.html
      --https://www.englishtrackers.com/english-blog/10-famous-speeches-in-english-and-what-you-can-learn-from-them/

      So you should choose one that you think['s made the greatest impact on you and discuss why in your essay. It'd be good if you also found some information about what made this speech so memorable and included this information in your essay

      Delete
  3. Krasnova NatashaMarch 14, 2019 at 7:45 PM

    Hello everyone!

    The topics I've got interested in are the following:
    •What psychological effects do an individual suffer on staying at a place away from human civilization?
    •Should people be more open and welcoming in the acceptance of homosexuality in society?
    •Analysis of human behavior and how people react on various situations.
    •Are fashion and style the same thing?
    •The effect of emotional stress on humans.

    The chosen topics mostly relate to the theme of a human's inner world and ways of expressing his/her personality, emotions, views, and I find it fascinating to learn more about a human's nature and things like that.

    All of them I've taken from the second link given above.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Natalia EydelmanMarch 14, 2019 at 8:07 PM

      Hello Natasha,

      thanks for the explanation. I hope you will enjoy writing on the topics of your choice, so the the next step to make is to start working on the first one from the list. You do not necessarily need to start with the the first topic on your list, just the one you feel like working on now

      Delete
  4. Kirill KrыжanovskiйMarch 14, 2019 at 8:21 PM

    Howdy!

    There are the topics I've chosen:
    1) If you had the ability to read other people's minds (a.k.a. telepathy), would you use this ability or not? Why?
    2) If you could be any animal in recorded history, what animal would you choose? Why?
    3) If you were given the ability to change one moment in your life, would you do so? Why or why not? If so, what moment would you change and why?
    4) Describe an experience where you were unsuccessful in achieving your goal. What lessons did you learn from this experience?

    I've chosen them because I think that it will be easy to write an essay on these topics.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Natalia EydelmanMarch 14, 2019 at 8:36 PM

    Thanks for an honest explanation: I mean choosing the topics that are easy for you to write about. Maybe, it'd be a good idea to choose a couple of more challenging topics in addition to the easier ones?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Natalia EydelmanMarch 15, 2019 at 12:39 AM

      and on another matter: consider the difference between the following 2 sentences:

      The are several topcics I have chosen

      and

      These are the topics I have chosen

      Now check whethehr your variant above is correct

      Delete
  6. Natalia EydelmanMarch 17, 2019 at 6:47 AM

    Dear All,

    Here is a note about the usage of the words "topic" and "theme". I've decided to help you understand the difference bw them because you often use the latter instead of the former. I think it's partly to do with the "theme" being a cognate ("a false friend") for the Russian speakers of English. I hope the information from https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/109940/what-is-the-difference-between-theme-and-topic will help you remember the difference

    ReplyDelete
  7. Natalia EydelmanMarch 21, 2019 at 6:01 PM

    Dear All,

    I expected to see you first drafts published by our scheduled class March 22

    ReplyDelete
  8. Krasnova NatashaMarch 21, 2019 at 8:00 PM

    Hello everyone!

    I've found a really interesting resource on techniques for writing better conclusions.
    I hope you'll check it out and find it useful.

    http://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb/conclude.html

    ReplyDelete
  9. Natalia EydelmanMarch 24, 2019 at 4:22 AM

    Dear All,

    this is just a reminder for you to share the drafts of your works in your blogs a day before your next class, i.e., March 27. It would be great if you posted the link to your draft in the thread. Thanks

    ReplyDelete

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