Page 44 - English - Teaching Academic Esl Writing

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CHAPTER 2
1. How does the bourgeoisie gradually undermine its own existence according to Marx? (Philosophy) (Schoedinger, 2000, p. 215)
2. How do the elasticities of supply and demand affect the deadweight loss of a tax?Whydotheyhavethiseffect ?(Economics)(Mankiw,2001, p. 176)
3. If class,race,andgenderarepositionswithinsocialstructures,weshouldbe able to describe them in terms of power, prestige, privileges, role, identity, and perspective. Can you do this? (Sociology) (Charon, 1999, p. 86)
Argumentation assignments largely represent a form of exposition that includes an element of persuasion. Therefore, the rhetorical purpose of these writing tasks extends beyond the presentation, explanation, or discus- sion to convince the reader of a particular point of view. In argumentation tasks, the writers are required to recognize that issues have at least two sides and present the facts or information to develop a reasoned and logical con- clusion based on the presented evidence. In practically all assignments, pre- sentations of unsupported assertions are not considered to be argument- ation (Hale et al., 1996).
1. Human beings are social to their very core. How does the material covered in Chapter xxx/this termsofar support thisproposition?What doyou think of this argument? (Sociology) (Adapted from Charon, 1999)
2. What isfreedom? What is individuality? To what extent do you think hu- man beings arefree or individuals ? What do you think is the origin of free- dom and individuality? (Sociology) (Charon, 1999, p. 148)
3. Why would removing trade restrictions, such as a tariff, lead to more rapid economic growth? (Economics) (Mankiw, 2001, p. 262)
Less Common Rhetorical and Writing Tasks
Three types of writing tasks appear markedly less common than those dis- cussed earlier: definition, process description, and exemplification.
Expanded definition assignments consist of explanations of exact mean- ings or significance of a phrase or term. Usually these assignments consist of defining the term, listing the concept to which the term belongs, and specify- ing the attributes that distinguish it from others in its class. For example:
1. What is social order? (Sociology) (Charon, 1999, p. 147)
2. Explain the meaning of nominal interest rate and real interest rate. How
are they related? (Economics) (Mankiw, 2001, p. 237)
Process analysis involves directions on how someone should do some- thing or how something should be done, including chronological details in a series of steps/operations/ actions necessary to achieve a particular result or happening. In most cases, a discussion of reasons for the steps and nega- tive directions are needed. For example,
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