By Mubarak Abdessalami
We, teachers, do not really know what the students need exactly when they ask for teaching them writing. Maybe they hunt for a miraculous solution to definitively get rid of the phobia they usually have whenever testing writing makes its apparition. They know inside that what they are seeking is impracticable unless they endeavour themselves to find their way taking their teacher's guidance seriously. In this paper, I'll try to show how a part of their enigmatic question could be dealt with.
2. Fred thinks seriously about (get) married soon. COMPARE
3. Fred decided (get) married. COMPARE
4. Fred is looking forward to (get) married soon. COMPARE
| Fred wants to get married soon because |
| he is old enough. |
| his parents said so. |
| he is single |
| he is a bachelor. |
| he has met a serious girl recently. |
| he has a good job. |
| all his friends are married. |
| he loves someone. |
| he is crazy. |
| Fred wants to get married soon so as to |
| leave his parents' house. |
| feel independent and free. |
| be happy. |
| live long. |
| have kids. |
| have someone to divorce. |
| have someone to do the housework. |
| have someone to help him financially. |
| give up smoking. |
| give up on bad habits. |
| to know what nagging is. |
There are two basic ways to invite the students to engage into writing the paragraph depending of course on their level of proficiency.
- The learners could take one of the sentences at the warm up stage as the topic sentence and elaborate on it giving arguments enough from the brainstorming stage to support it. Here they have to pay close attention lest they should mix causes with purposes.
- The teacher may want to read one of the following paragraphs and ask students to copy down the supporting details provided, but after the teacher has finished reading. Then ask them to read them out for the other students to recuperate the information they could have missed. After that the teacher may want to ask them to give alternative supporting details and finally ask them to write the paragraph in their own styles.
As for the students who choose to write a paragraph about the causes have to use appropriate linking words such as, "because", "since" and "as" and so on in order to stress the reasons why Ted wants to get married soon. However, those who choose the purpose paragraph have to use the appropriate connectors showing the purposes why Ted needs to get married like, "in order to", "so as to", “"in order that", "so that" and so on.
(1) When he is obliged to do that
Fred should get married for several reasons. One reason is that because his parents insist on him to have a wife. Second, because he is an old bachelor. Third, Fred has to get married since all his friends are married. These are the reasons why Fred is forced to enter the golden cage soon.
(2) When it is his choice
Fred has decided to get married for these reasons. First, he loves a serious girl. Second, he has got a job and a nice apartment. Third, Fred has decided to get married because all his friends are married and he didn't want to be the odd-one-out any longer. These are the reasons why Fred takes getting married seriously.
Fred is looking forward to getting married soon for three basic goals; First, to have a family and kids of his own. Second, Fred can't just wait to get married in order to please his parents. Finally, Fred is eager to get married so that he can have someone to take care of him. These are generally the urgent goals that make Fred impatient to get married.
