Warm-up Activities
1.
Give reasons to choose either
of the two sides of the four questions at the bottom of the first page.
2.
Give reasons for dismissing the
good points of the other side of each question.
3.
Answer the four questions by filling
in the following forms.
1.
Your Choice
2.
The Reason(s)
3.
Why You Dismiss the Good Points
of the Other Choice
1.
Your Choice
2.
The Reason(s)
3.
Why You Dismiss the Good Points
of the Other Choice
Question 3
1.
Your Choice
2.
The Reason(s)
3.
Why You Dismiss the Good Points
of the Other Choice
Question 4
1.
Your Choice
2.
The Reason(s)
3.
Why You Dismiss the Good Points
of the Other Choice
Writing Topic: Some educators and students believe that it should be
required for university students to go to classes. Other people think that
attending classes should be a choice that students have the right to make for
themselves. Which opinion do you share? Explain your opinion using specific
reasons.
☆Let’s Think
1.
What are the problems of
allowing students to skip classes?
2.
What kind of classes requires
full attendances?
3.
How does university differ from
junior high school as an educational institution other than the level of the
class contents?
4.
Do university students have the
right to make a choice on whether to attend a class or not?
☆ Hints for points
Students should be required to attend classes.
1.
Students who often skip classes
will often drop the course over time because they cannot keep up with the class
or lose touch with the professor and the class.
2.
Students cannot decide whether
they already know what is taught in class or not. Even if the content of the
text is familiar, the professor may say something different and provide you
with new information or inspire you to reach an insight by assigning you with a
task or an experiment that you have never done.
3.
Attendance is the first step of
the communication between professors and the other members of the class. People
tend to be fond of those whose faces they regularly see.
Students should not be required to attend classes.
1.
University leaves students
free. Unlike compulsory education, many things such as what subject to take are
left to individuals at university. Also, unlike high school, which is not
really compulsory but many things are decided by the school authority, university
allows more freedom and promotes self-discipline.
2.
It is waste of time if the
student is already familiar with the content of the class. Class contents are
set for the average level and those who have higher knowledge but are taking
the course because it is the prerequisite for the higher-level course should be
allowed to be absent for more productive usage of time.
3.
Free mental activity is
indispensable for creativity. Mind works in many ways. Very often, regular
attendance, or activities on schedule, is an obstacle of deep thought or
creative brain activities. Many people do their real work during their free
time because autonomy in studies contributes to the bloom of their studies.
After all, people tend to lose appetite for learning if they are forced to.
☆Sample Body Structures
Sample 1: You deal with the other choice as the counterargument.
(1) Point 1: The first reason why you prefer one to the
other
(2) Point 2: The second reason why you prefer one to the
other
(3) Counterargument-treatment: The reason why the
advantages of the other choice do not matter
Sample 2: You write about each of the two ideas in the question then
and make your choice by giving reasons.
(1) Advantages and disadvantages of the first idea of the
writing topic
(2) Advantages and disadvantages of the second idea of
the writing topic
(3) Your choice and reasons
Sample 3: You write deductively, starting with a general idea and
moving to the specific case
(1) About freedom of university
(2) About attendance policy
(3) About drawbacks and the solutions
☆ Paragraph Development
Read the following sample body paragraphs. Which would you find
easier to read? Which do you think is better developed? Discuss the reasons.
Sample 1
For instance, Descartes needed to sleep 10 hours a day. Young Bill
Gates’s dorm room was always open to anyone for late-night discussion. Takashi
Tachibana, an award-winning Japanese journalist, kept reading novels 24/7
without attending classes at all for eight years when he was a student of Tokyo
University. Also, people in creative industries are happy to work for a company
that has flexible working hours. In addition, there is a very good student in
my class who always sleeps in class. I once asked her why she sleeps in class,
and she said she cannot stay awake in the day time because she studies all
night. I understood her because I also sometimes stay awake studying and want
to skip the first class. Therefore, university should allow students to skip
classes so that they can learn better and be creative.
Sample 2
Requiring students to attend classes can disrupt studies. This is
because it ignores the nature of creativity. In other words, mind does not work
as orderly as class schedules. In fact, many creative
people had irregular lifestyles. Descartes needed to sleep 10 hours a day. Young Bill Gates’s
dorm room was always open to anyone for late-night discussion. Takashi Tachibana, who later became an
award-winning journalist, kept reading novels all day every day without
attending classes for eight years at Tokyo University. People
in creative industries also favor flexible working hours. There are
straight-A students who sleep in classes and study at home at night. As
you can see from these examples, people have their own learning styles, and so university
must respect them so that students can reach their full potential.
Many may find Sample 2 easier to read than Sample 1.
Sample 1 starts with specific examples before presenting the point
of the paragraph and this makes readers keep wondering what exactly the writer
wants to say till the conclusion of the paragraph.
Sample 2 presents the main idea, the topic sentence, at the
beginning, which makes it easier to see the point of the paragraph. It then gives
the reason for the main idea, and then puts a sentence that connects the main
idea to specific examples, after which it wraps up the idea to make it easier
to confirm the main idea.
Putting your main idea in a short and clear sentence at the
beginning of the paragraph, before you go into the details, would be a good
idea, especially when you are taking a test. It avoids misunderstandings for
both you and the rater. A main idea, or a topic sentence, is the pillar of the
paragraph to which you attach other parts, the details. Making it straight and
firm in the beginning is safe.
The structure of the development of Sample 2
【Main Idea】Requiring students to attend
classes can disrupt studies.
【Explanation】This is because it ignores the
nature of creativity. In other words, mind does not work as orderly as class
schedules.
【Example in General】In fact, many creative
people had irregular lifestyles.
【Specific Examples】Descartes needed to sleep
10 hours a day. Young Bill Gates’s dorm room was always open to anyone for
late-night discussion. Takashi Tachibana, who later became an award-winning
journalist, kept reading novels all day every day without attending classes for
eight years at Tokyo University. People in creative industries also favor
flexible working hours. There are straight-A students who sleep in classes and
study at home at night.
【Conclusion】As you can see from these
examples, people have their own learning styles, and so university must respect
them so that students can reach their full potential
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