TYPES OF COMPOSITION/WRITING by Samson Mwita

TYPES OF COMPOSITION/WRITING

There are different types of compositions/essays writing

a.       Narrative composition.

b.      Expository/Explanatory composition

c.       Descriptive composition

d.      Argumentative/persuasive composition

NARRATIVE COMPOSITION

A narrative is a story or an account of an event. There are historical narratives, fictional narratives and real life narratives. When you write a story or narrate, you answer the question “What happened?” your story needs to have the beginning, middle and end. It will also need to have a setting (a conflict and solution), characters, (and perhaps dialogue).

Ø  PLOT –

 This is the arrangement of events in a story. You tell what happened through a series of events.

Ø  CHARACTERS –

These are people or animals who take part in the events.

Ø  SETTING –

This refers to the place where and time when the events are taking place. Stories can be set in the present, past or future. What happens in the story and how characters look and act often depends on the time when the event took place.

Ø  ESTABLISHING YOUR POINT OF VIEW –

Point of view refers to the vantage point from which the story is told, or it refers to who tells the story. In narrative writing, stories can be told by the main character in the first person – using I, or we. First person narratives tell only what the narrator witnessed or thinks. Other stories are told by an observer in the third person using he, she, or they. The narrator of the third person may describe events from a single character’s view or may reveal the thoughts and feelings of all the characters.

EXPLORING NARRATIVE IDEAS. The plot of most good stories centres on a problem faced by a character; that needs solving. Once you have an idea you like, you can develop it into a full-length story. You may need to ask yourself the following questions; ·         What is the problem? ·         What characters are involved? ·         What happened before? ·         What happened next? ·         What is the solution to the problem?

A successful narrative should

v  Include descriptive details and dialogue to develop the characters, setting and plot.

v  Have a clear beginning, middle and end

v  Have a logical organisation with clues and transitions to help the reader understand the order of events.

v  Maintain a consistent tone and point of view.

v  Use language that is appropriate for the audience.

WRITING YOUR STORY

Your narrative will eventually bring together plot, setting, and characters. Start writing about one of the three elements and notice how others find their way into the story.

Writing tips.

1.      Start writing and keep writing

2.      Let your story tell itself

3.      Try to see and hear your story as you write. Imagine your story as a movie unfolding before your eyes.

4.      Take a break if you get stuck.

Ø  BEGINNING OF THE STORY.

The beginning of the story must grab the reader’s attention. Most good writers work and rework the beginning of a story until they get it just the way they want it. Other writers draft the entire story first then they look for the catchiest line and move it to the beginning. This is what keeps your reader reading.

Ø  KEEPING A STORY ON TRACK

To avoid going off track choose only the details that are essential to your story. If you do this your readers won’t get confused by ideas that don’t really matter. Sometimes you may need to cut out some details in order to keep the most important details clear.

Ø  PUTTING EVENTS IN ORDER

When telling a story events and details must be arranged in logical order. Chronological order is an effective way to organize your story. When you use time order you tell what happened first, second and so on. You may use words like then, next, later, or in the morning, in the meantime, about nine o’clock that night... etc. You may also use flashback at times.

Ø  WRITING DIALOGUE

Dialogue is the words spoken by the characters in the narrative. Well written dialogue can help to bring the events and characters to life. It can help show the moods, interests and personalities of different characters. You can use slangs, sentence fragments, contractions, and description of facial expression, and body language. Help your readers to keep track of who is speaking when writing a dialogue.

·         Enclose the exact words of the speaker in quotation marks “      ”

E.g. “where are you heading to?”

·         Use phrases such as Marwa said or Neema replied.

·         E.g. “where to Charlie?”, she asked with a perfect feminine voice.

“I’m just gonna say hello to my mom”, I replied while starting the engine. “Cheerio!”, I said while waving at her.

·         Begin a new paragraph for each speaker.

Ø  ENDING YOUR NARRATIVE.

Every well-written narrative has a conclusion. The conclusion should give your audience a feeling that the story is complete.

Example of a narrative composition is given below.

A GRAIN OF WHEAT. By Clyde Bulla I wanted to be a writer. I was sure of that. “I’m going to write books,” I said. My mother said, “Castles in the air.” “What does that mean?” I asked. “It means you’re having daydreams,” she said. “You’ll dream of doing a lot of different things, but you probably won’t do any of them. As you get older, you’ll change.” I went from the second grade to the third to the fourth, and I hadn’t changed. I still knew what I wanted to be. I thought about writing and talked about it. I talked too much. My father told me he was tired of listening to me. “You can’t be a writer,” he said. “What do you know about people? What have you ever done? You don’t have anything to write about.” When I thought over what he had said, it seemed to me he was right. I stopped writing. But not for long. The city nearest us was St. Joseph Missouri. Our newspaper came from there. In the paper I read about the contest for boys and girls – “write the story of a grain of wheat in five hundred words or less.” First prize was a hundred dollars. There were five second prizes of twenty dollars each. After that there were one hundred prizes of one dollar each. I began to write my story. It went something like this: “I am a grain of wheat. I grew in the field where the sun shone and the rain fell.” I didn’t tell anyone what I was doing. When my story was finished I made a neat copy. I mailed it in our mailbox down the road. Time went by. I began to look for the newspaper that would tell who had won the contest. At last it came. There was a whole page about the contest. I saw I hadn’t won the first prize. I hadn’t won a second prize either. That was a disappointment. I had thought I might win one of the second prizes. I read down the long list at the bottom of the page – the names and addresses of the boys and girls who had won the one dollar prizes. Surely my name would be there it had to be! I read more and more slowly. Only a few names were left. And one of them was mine! “Clyde Bulla, King City, Missouri.” “I won!” I shouted. My mother looked at my name. “That’s nice,” she said. Nice? Was that all she could say? I started to show the paper to my father. There was something to his face that stopped me. I could see he wasn’t happy that I had won a prize. My sister Corrine was there. I could see she wasn’t happy either. She was sorry for me because all I had won was a dollar. Didn’t they know it wasn’t a dollar that mattered? I had written a story that was all mine. No one had helped me. I had sent it off by myself. How many other boys and girls had sent their stories? May be a thousand or more. But my story had won a prize and my name was here in the paper. I was a writer. No matter what anyone else might say, I was a writer.

EXPOSITORY COMPOSITION

An expository composition is a prose that explains or describes a process. The goal of expository composition is to explain or inform. It can also be used to explain an idea or a theory. There are four approaches to expository writing. These approaches can be used alone or they can be combined.

APPROACH	EXAMPLE
PROBLEM -SOLUTION	Pregnant school girls should be expelled from school.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST	Both Juliette and Wanjiro are young girls representing young generation that opposes outdated customs. However, Juliette is educated while Wanjiro is not and this affects the approaches they use to solve their problems.
CLASSIFICATION AND ANALYSIS	The writing process can be roughly divided into series of stages; pre writing, drafting, revising/editing proofreading and publishing/presenting
CAUSE – EFFECT	The discovery of natural gas in Mtwara – Tanzania led to the rapid development in the southern part of the country.

1.    PROBLEM –SOLUTION

Problem –solution writing clearly states a problem, analyses the problem, and proposes a solution to the problem.

Successful problem-solution writing should:

ü  Identify the problem and help the reader understand the issues involved.

ü  Present a workable solution and include details that explain and support it.

ü  Conclude by restating the problem.

OPTIONS FOR ORGANIZATION

Your organisation will depend on the goal of your writing, your intended audience, and the specific problem you choose to address. Thus you may use any of these options

2.    COMPARING AND CONTRASTING.

T

his is another kind of expository writing. Comparing and contrasting two items can be a useful way of explain them. In this approach first think about one subject and list all the descriptive details about it then make the list of the same details for the other subject.

At this point some writers use a Venn diagram. This is made of two ovals/circles each containing the details of one of the subjects. Details that the two subjects have in common go where the circles overlap.

For example comparing and contrasting Happy Kananga and Fred Mwakyusa

OPTIONS FOR ORGANISATION

There are different ways to organize a comparison – contrast piece.

i.            One way is by subject. In this method you discuss the details/features about one subject first and then move to all the features about the other subject.
ii.            The second way is by feature. In this method you choose one feature and discuss the similarities and differences for both subjects. You do the same to other features until you have covered all the features.

3.      CLASSIFICATION AND ANALYSIS

1.1  Process analysis.

A process analysis is usually organised chronologically, with steps or stages in the order they count. Before you write about a process, gather information through research, observation or interviews. List the steps of the process in a chronological order. Use transitional words like first, then, after, later, while, finally, etc.

MODEL
INTRODUCTION	Insect metamorphosis
BACKGROUND	Many insects grow through a four-step life cycle.
EXPLAIN STEPS	Step 1: Egg Step 2: Larva Step 3: Pupa Step 4: Adult

1.2 Definition analysis.

This is one approach to expository writing in which you can give a formal definition or a personal definition. When you write your draft try different orders of organization.

You might start with the basic definition and move to a broader sense of the term or you could begin with details and example and conclude with a definition.

You can also organise the details in a definition or parts analysis in the order of importance or impression.

MODEL
Introduce term	What is an insect?
General definition	An insect is an animal with an external skeleton, three body segments, and three pairs of legs.
Explain features.	Feature 1. External skeleton. Feature 2. Three body segments. Feature 3. Three pairs of legs.

1.3 Parts analysis.

The following parts analysis describes the major parts of an insect.

MODEL
Introduce subject	An insect’s body is divided into three main parts.
Explain parts	Part 1: The head includes eyes, mouth and antennae Part 2: The thorax has the legs and wings attached to it. Part 3: The abdomen contains organs for digesting food, eliminating waste and reproducing.

1.4 Classification/division

The following classification divides insects into groups based on certain characteristics

MODEL

One way the scientists classify insects is as species that are social insects and those that are not. Most insects are not social insects. The parents get together simply to mate. The female lays her eggs near a source of food and then abandons them. Social insects on the other hand, live in organised communities in which members depend on one another. Individual insects have special roles within the community. All termites and ants are social. Many bees and some wasps are social insects.

4.    USING CAUSE – EFFECT RELATIONSHIP

Cause-And-Effect writing explains why something happened, why certain conditions exist, or what resulted from an action or a condition. A cause is a condition or event and effect is something that happens as a direct result of that condition or event.

A successful cause and effect writing should.

·         Clearly state a cause and effect relationship.

·         Show clear connections between causes and effects.

·         Present causes and effects in a logical order and use transitions effectively.

·         Use facts, examples, and other details to illustrate each cause and effect.

·         Use language and details appropriate to the audience.

OPTIONS FOR ORGANISATION

You can organize your cause and effect explanations in one of the three ways:

When you finish, review your work and use transitional words like so, if, then, since, because, therefore, as a result, etc to clarify the relationship.

An example of expository composition

PROCEDURES TO FOLLOW WHEN DRAWING MONEY FROM THE ATM First of all you must have an ATM card that you will use to operate the ATM although nowadays there are cardless transactions. First of all, you have to insert your card. Once you enter an ATM room, you will see the words “Welcome and insert your card” – that again may vary from one bank to another. You should insert your card observing the direction of the arrow or chip on your card. Next, choose the language. After inserting your card you will be required to select the language you want to use. In Tanzania the options are for Kiswahili or English. Press the button next to the language you want. Then, enter your password/PIN. Immediately after choosing the language of your choice you will have to enter your password to prove that you are the card owner. If you mistake the password three times the card will be blocked or swallowed by the machine. So be careful when typing your password then press ENTER. After that, choose the service you want.  Some ATMs give options: Withdraw cash, balance inquiry, mini statement, or display different amounts of figures for you to choose. If the amount you want to withdraw does not appear then press OTHER and type the amount you want then press ENTER. The machine will ask you if you need a receipt or not. Press YES if you want it or NO if you don’t. Lastly, take your cash, card and receipt. After you have commanded the given amount you will have to wait for a few seconds while the transaction goes on. Most ATMs now eject the Card first, followed by the money and lastly the receipt. Be sure you take all the three things. THEN YOU ARE DONE!

DESCRIPTIVE COMPOSITION.

To describe is to say what something or somebody is like. An effective written description is the one that presents a clear picture to the reader. The aim of descriptive writing is to create the object, event or the person you are describing so that someone can experience it the same way you did. Good descriptive writing involves these skills.

·         Using your senses to observe.

·         Selecting precise details.

·         Organizing your ideas.

OBSERVING AND TAKING NOTES.

A good descriptive writing begins with careful observation using your sense of sight, touch, smell, hearing and taste; to experience the world. These add richness to your description of people, places, things, and experiences. Before you take notes close your eyes and picture what you want to describe. Then jot down all the sensory details. The details that make someone or something stay in your mind become the raw materials for composing a description.

WRITING THE DESCRIPTION.

·         USING SPECIFIC WORDS.

A good description includes specific nouns, vivid verbs and exact adjectives.

ü  Specific Nouns – Nouns are specific when they refer to individual or particular things. They help readers identify the who, what, and where. The basket was filled to capacity with oranges, apples, and some guavas. This is more informative than the general word fruits.

ü  Specific Verb – verbs are the most powerful words in a sentence. They convey actions, and movements. Words like march, tramp, tiptoe, toddle, stagger, or hike tell the reader more than a pale verb like walk.

ü  Specific Adjective –use modifiers to specify and describe the nouns. He ate 22 eggs rather than many eggs, she was skinny, bony, gaunt, gangling and lanky are more informative than thin.

·         ORDERING DESCRIPTIVE DETAILS.

Options for organisation.

Writers like painters arrange the details of a scene in a certain order and for a particular reason. Describing a skyscraper from bottom to top emphasize the building’s height. You can organize your descriptive details in different ways or from different angles.

v  Spatial order.

ü  One way is to start at the front and move toward the back.

ü  Another way is to start at one side and move toward another side. E.g. from Left to right.

ü  Still another way is to start from a far point and move to a near one and vice versa.

ü  You can also start from outside the move inside.

The order you use should be one that will make sense to your readers.

v  Order of impression

This means how you notice details. What catches your attention first then moving toward what you see next and end with what you focus on lastly.

v  Order of importance.

In this organisation structure you may start with the least important, then more important and end with the most important.

·         USING TRANSITIONS.

Transitional words such as under, to the right, behind etc help link the details so that readers can follow the path you have made. They also make the description easier to follow. Examples of transitional words and phrases that can help you.

In back of,

in front of,

to the left of,

during

first

to the right of, in the distance, over,

under,

beside,

above,

below,

behind,

 nearby, around,

 among,

near,

before, between,

 past,

overhead, inside,

beyond,

on top

etc

ARGUMENTATIVE/PERSUASIVE COMPOSITION

A

n argumentative essay or composition looks like a debate in written form. In argumentative essay a topic is discussed by looking at the opposing views about the subject. One purpose of argumentative or persuasive writing is to make the readers, listeners, or viewers think or feel a certain way about an idea or a product. Another purpose is to make people take action.

PREPARING TO WRITE.

Before beginning to write, you can first list as many points as you can. Make a list of points supporting the topic and a list of points opposing the topic. A table can help you simplify the task. One column may contain supporting details and another contains opposing details. In order to balance your essay, it is important that both your supporting and opposing arguments have equal strength.

ORGANIZING YOUR ARGUMENTS

Write your essay beginning with introduction to define the topic and your opinion on it. Then write the body providing evidence to support your opinion, while giving each point a new paragraph.

There are three patterns you can use to write your argumentative composition.

a)      You begin with all the supporting points then you go to opposing points.

b)      You can alternate the points. If one paragraph supports the point, the next opposes it.

c)      You can have a supporting and opposing point in each paragraph. In this case half of the paragraph supports the idea and the other half opposes it.

USING TRANSITIONS.

Transitional words are very powerful tools to help you not only to begin and conclude your essay but also to compare and contrast your points easily. These include; while, in contrast, however, nevertheless, notwithstanding, but, whereas, on the other hand, unlike, although, even though, despite, in spite of....

Read the points in this chart/table and write an argumentative composition of not more than 300 and not less than 250 words about the topic “BOARDING FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS”
SUPPORTING POINTS		OPPOSING POINTS
1	They give students a better study environment far from the distractions of home.	1	They cost more than day schools
2	They teach students how to cope with other people from different backgrounds.	2	Students are more exposed to peer pressure from classmates since they spend all their time together.
3	They teach students independence and prepare them for adult life.	3	They rob the parents’ authority as students depend on their teachers
4	They reduce siblings’ rivalry since younger siblings are left at home.	4	Longer separation during the term can affect a family close relationship.
5	They make students stronger since the conditions are not as comfortable as their home life.	5	Many boarding schools have many cases of bullying.