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Tài liệu "Paragraph-Writing".
P ARA GRAPH WRITING PARAGRAPH WRITING PARAGRAPH ORGANIZATION What is a paragraph? A paragraph is a group of related sentences that develop one main idea It is made up of three kinds of sentences that develop the writer’s main idea, opinion, or feeling about a subject These sentences are: a Topic sentence b Supporting sentences c Concluding sentence Topic Sentence Supporting sentences Supporting sentences Supporting sentences Concluding sentences The number of sentences is unimportant in a paragraph; however, the paragraph should be long enough to develop the main idea clearly A paragraph may also be one part of a longer piece of writing such as a chapter of a book or an essay A TOPIC SENTENCE main idea nce e sent ence nce e sent sent e tenc n e s A topic sentence has several important functions: A A topic sentence should always be a complete sentence The following are not complete sentences Driving on freeways The importance of money How to register for college classes B A topic sentence supports the idea of the paragraph subject There are several advantages to growing up in a small town Idea of the paragraph subject C It directs the order of the sentences and it briefly indicates what the paragraph is going to discuss Most US universities require a 550 point TOEFL score for a number of reasons the paragraph is going to discuss D It is a complete sentence and has three parts: a subject 2 a verb a controlling idea 1-2: Subject - Verb Samples: a Telephones / intrude into / the privacy of our daily lives Subject / verb / controlling idea b Most adults / find / learning a foreign language difficult Subject / verb / controlling idea c My roommate, John, / helps / me to speak English correctly Subject / verb / controlling idea NOTE: The topic sentence is to the paragraph what the thesis statement is to the essay Controlling Idea: The controlling idea of a topic sentence is a word or phrase that controls the information in the rest of the paragraph Usually, the topic comes first and the controlling idea comes second in the topic sentence However, the controlling idea may come first a Violence in Turkey society has several causes Topic controlling idea b There are several causes of violence in Turkish society controlling idea Topic c A good architect is both an artist and a mathematician Topic Controlling idea d Artistic talent and mathematical ability are two qualities of a good architect Controlling idea Topic A sample Paragraph: Parents can help their children be successful in school by encouraging them Children usually enjoy playing games Topic Controlling idea instead of studying Therefore, parents should take the responsibility to monitor their studying They should also remind their children to their homework at home after school Moreover, parents can encourage them to study by buying story books with pictures, or they can buy text books or tapes that help children learn to spell or read The best way to encourage children to study efficiently is to reward them when they get an “A” As a child, I experienced this My parents gave me a gift when I got ‘A’ in my math lesson I was very excited As result, if parents really want their children to succeed in school, they need to pay attention to their children’s studies and encourage them In the paragraph above, the topic sentence is the following: Parents can help their children be successful in school by encouraging them The topic of the sentence is how parents can help children succeed in school; the controlling idea is encouraging The reader might ask the following questions and expect the paragraph to answer them: How can parents encourage their children? What specific things should parents to encourage their children? How will this encouragement lead to success? The topic sentence gives the writer’s attitude, opinion or idea about the topic In the topic sentence, the writer makes a judgment PRACTICE: Choose the best topic sentence a Too general: My neighborhood is a nice place to live A good topic sentence: My neighborhood is fascinating because people from many countries live in it b Too general: Sports are exciting Still too general: Watching a soccer game keeps me involved Much better: Watching 2002 the Istanbul derby between Fenerbahỗe and Galatasaray kept me on the edge of the chair Topic: “My room” a ……… My room is a perfect place for one person to live b ……….Many people live in single rooms Topic: a ……… psychology b ……… “Watching a Movie” The most important influence of watching a movie is that it destroys human’s Watching movie influence adults, teenagers, and children NOTE: Ask yourself questions as you narrow down/restrict the ideas: Why……….? What………? Which…… ? When………? Where…… ? How……… ? F The topic sentence can come at the beginning or at the end of a paragraph (As a beginning writer, you should write your topic sentence as the first sentence of your paragraph: It will tell the reader what you are going to say and you can look back at the topic sentence often as you write the supporting sentences.) Here is an example of a paragraph with a topic sentence stated at the beginning The subject is " The educational systems of Europe and the United States ": THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS OF EUROPE AND THE UNITED STATES The educational systems of Europe and the United States are similar in a number of ways To begin with, elementary school classes look the same everywhere: There are about twenty to twenty-two pupils per class, and the classes are coeducational * Also, there is one teacher for all subjects for each grade (except in Scandinavia), and the majority of elementary school teachers are women In addition, the subjects which are taught at the elementary level are basically the same everywhere: reading and writing, mathematics, introductions to the sciences, music, sports, and art The only major difference in the elementary curriculum* is that most Europeans study a foreign language in elementary school, but most American children not Coeducational: attended by members of both sexes Here is an example of a paragraph with the topic sentence found at the end The subject is "Cancer affects everybody": CANCER AFFECTS EVERYBODY My grandfather contracted* lung cancer a few months ago The doctors now say that he only has a few weeks to live My family's situation is not unique Millions of Americans are going through a similar experience At least three members of every extended family will contract terminal* disease before the age of sixty At least one out of every three nuclear families will have a member who will die of cancer before the age of fifty From these statistics and from personal experience it is obvious that no one is unaffected by cancer Contract: hastalık kapmak terminal: fatal, ölümcül G The topic sentence is most general statement and the main idea of the paragraph It should not be too general, too vague or too specific You should narrow down your subject When you start to write about a very general topic, such as university, vacations, or nuclear power, you must narrow down it down to a limited topic that can be discussed in one paragraph For example, there are many specific things about university, such as classes, students, teachers, and the campus, that you can discuss You may narrow down the subject of college to the more specific subject of her roommate, Murat UNIVERSITY-F.University-dormitory living-roommates- my roommates - Murat Samples: Topic Sentence: "Many television cartoons contain an unhealthy amount of violence." Notice that this sentence clearly identifies that the key topic of the paragraph is violence in television cartoons It also indicates that the remainder of the paragraph will discuss how much violence cartoons typically contain, and how/why this violence is unhealthy for viewers Topic Sentence: "An increasing number of people in the world are enjoying the benefits of organically grown fruits and vegetables." This topic sentence indicates that the remainder of the paragraph will cover the trend in the world toward eating organic foods The reader can also expect learning more in this paragraph about the specific benefits of organic foods PRACTICE: Narrowing Subjects from General to Specific Fill in the space in each funnel until you arrive at a specific subject Try to add at least three or four ideas to each group ENTERTAINMENT-singers - rock singer – superstar - Madonna FRIENDS - my best friend…………………………………………………………….……………………… SPORTS - individual sports …………………………………………………………………….… ………… DIVORCE – children ……………………………….………………………………………… …………… CLASSES - my best/worst class …… …………….…………………………………… …………… VACATIONS……………………………….…………………………………… ……………….…………… MUSIC……………………………….…………………………………… ………………………………… G Don’t begin paragraphs with “ I’m going to write about ” or “This paragraph is about ” PRACTICE a Read the following topic sentences and then write your own topic sentence COMPUTERS Computers are unnecessary and make our life complicated Topic Controlling idea Computers save us time and make our lives easier Topic Controlling idea Computers are a necessary part of modern life Topic Controlling idea Your Topic Sentence _ MUSIC Playing a musical instrument helps children to develop in discipline and self confidence Music can teach children to understand their own culture as well as other culture Your Topic Sentence _ TELEVISION Television gives free and interesting entertainment to people of all ages Television advertising is far more effective than advertising in magazines or newspapers Television has enormous influence on politics Your Topic Sentence _ PRACTICE b: Write specific topic sentences for possible paragraphs on the following topics Be sure to provide both the subject and the key word(s) Example: Teenagers and drugs Topic sentence: Drug addiction has caused a huge increase in crimes of violence which is committed/done by teenagers Writing Topic sentence: _ Television Topic sentence: _ Movie Topic sentence: _ A favorite teacher Topic sentence: _ Attending summer courses Topic sentence: _ Using mobile phones Topic sentence: _ Getting married Topic sentence: _ Shopping by TV Topic sentence: _ Learning a foreign language Topic sentence: _ 10 Being wealthy Topic sentence: _ 11 Being a famous person Topic sentence: _ 12 technology Topic sentence: _ 13 Credit cards Topic sentence: _ 14 benefits of being young Topic sentence: _ 15 Benefits of watching TV Topic sentence: _ 16 Owning a car Topic sentence: _ PRACTICE 1: A Write a topic sentence for the following paragraphs Using Internet Topic: Firstly, all of the latest information is available to you; in your home, at any hour of the day or night Also, on-line shopping makes it possible to search through catalogues to find exactly what you want at the best price, so you can save both time and money By joining a newsgroup or chat group, you can share your hobbies and special interests, and perhaps make friends all over the world Finally, e-mail is popular because it is faster than sending a letter and cheaper than a telephone conversation Topic: Divorce This leads some conflicts in family life Due to difficult life conditions, people are more aggressive towards each other Couples not tolerate a few mistakes In addition, women think that life is always difficult unless they have their own economics independence Being economically independent is the desire of many women They want to earn money and spend it as they wish Nowadays, there are many women working outside their homes and are independent As a result, some regard divorce as the best way to get this independence They hope to be free and stand without one’s help Conflict: struggle, argument regard: consider, think about stand: resist, position Topic: My Father’s Death First of all, I felt great sadness and loneliness For the firs few months, my loneliness was so great that I often dreamed that my father would miraculously return In addition, throughout the rest of my childhood, I was afraid of losing someone else whom I loved Whenever my mother was away from home, I was nervous until she returned Finally, the loss of my father caused me to develop a greater sense of responsibility For example, I believed that with my father gone I was responsible for helping my mother with her chores My father’s death, therefore, left me lonely, frightened, and responsible – a young child with adult feelings Topic: Teenagers Smoking Teenagers tent to be curious about new things They smoke for the sake of knowing how it feels Unfortunately, once they started to smoke their first cigarette, they would have the second, the third, and then become accustomed to it eventually! Just like the addiction of taking drugs (mere: only, sake: cause) Topic: Space Technology Firstly, telecommunication satellites have greatly improved global communications Meteorological satellites also provide advance information Furthermore, some special satellites register the earth’s resources and military information Scientists are working to develop space technology to use in different areas Topic: Tourism Nearly three million people depend, directly or indirectly, upon tourism for their jobs Tourism employs twenty times as many people as the car industry, and earns four as much money as agriculture We need tourists’ money in fact they provide more jobs for all of us UNITY and COHERENCE in WRITING: A good paragraph and essay has the elements of unity and coherence COHERENCE Coherence means that your paragraph is easy to read and understand because (1) your supporting sentences are in some kind of logical order and (2) your ideas are connected by the use of appropriate transition signals (3) Coherence in writing means that all the ideas in a paragraph flow smoothly from one sentence to the next sentence With coherence, the reader has an easy time understanding the ideas that you wish to express Consider the following paragraph: My hometown is famous for several amazing natural features First, it is noted for the Wheaton River, which is very wide and beautiful On either side of this river, which is 175 feet wide, are many willow* trees which have long branches that can move gracefully in the wind In autumn the leaves of these trees fall and cover the riverbanks like golden snow Second, on the other side of the town is Wheaton Hill, which is unusual because it is very steep Even though it is steep, climbing this hill is not dangerous, because there are some firm rocks along the sides that can be used as stairs There are no trees around this hill, so it stands clearly against the sky and can be seen from many miles away The third amazing feature is the Big Old Tree This tree stands two hundred feet tall and is probably about six hundred years old These three landmarks are truly amazing and make my hometown a famous place Willow: söğüt ağacı gracefully: charmingly, büyülüyeci Analyzing the paragraph: Major Connectors Look at the words in bold font Do you see how they help guide the reader? For example, consider the words, First, Second, and The third amazing feature We can call these words major connectors Major connectors help organize the main parts of your paragraph This paragraph has three main parts: (1) a part about the Wheaton River, (2) a part about Wheaton Hill, and (3) a part about the Big Old Tree Another way of saying this is that this paragraph has three main points which are indicated by the major connectors Using such major connectors is an important way of providing coherence in a paragraph UNITY Unity is a very important characteristic of good paragraph writing Unity means that you discuss only one main idea in a paragraph That is, all the sentences the topic, supporting sentences, the detail sentences, and (sometimes) the concluding sentence are all telling the reader about ONE main topic If your paragraph contains a sentence or some sentences that are NOT related to the main topic, then we say that the paragraph "lacks unity," or that the sentence is "off-topic." Look at the following paragraph, which is similar to the paragraph that we have studied above Does it have perfect unity? Try to find the sentence that is off-topic: Each of the Russian carried out space exploration projects had specific major goals For example, the Vostok project was designed to test whether or not human beings could survive and function in outer space For another example, the Voshkhod project was intended to find out whether people could work in the weightless environment of space One Voshkhod cosmonaut experimented with weightlessness by taking a "spacewalk." That is, he floated in a spacesuit outside his Voshkhod spacecraft, connected to it by a tether The cosmonaut to this was Alexei Leonov Several weeks later, Leonov's spacewalk was followed by that of U.S astronaut Ed White Finally, the Soyuz project, with three cosmonauts, had goals of testing spacecraft and space flight skills so that people could fly long missions in Earth orbit This paragraph is generally good, but the sentence, Several weeks later, Leonov's spacewalk was followed by that of U.S astronaut Ed White, does not have anything to with the major goals of the various Russian space projects That is, it is an "off-topic" sentence, so we can say that the paragraph somewhat lacks unity In order to improve the paragraph, we should omit this sentence, even though it is historically accurate THE CONCLUDING SENTENCE In formal paragraphs you will sometimes see a sentence at the end of the paragraph which summarizes the information that has been presented This is the concluding sentence You can think of a concluding sentence as a sort of topic sentence in reverse You can understand concluding sentences with this example Consider a hamburger that you can buy at a fast-food restaurant A hamburger has a top bun (a kind of bread), meat, cheese, lettuce, and other elements in the middle of the hamburger, and a bottom bun Note how the top bun and the bottom bun are very similar The top bun, in a way, is like a TOPIC SENTENCE, and the bottom bun is like the CONCLUDING SENTENCE Both buns "hold" the meat, onions, and so on Similarly, the topic sentence and concluding sentence "hold" the supporting sentences in the paragraph Let's see how a concluding sentence (in bold font) might look in our sample paragraph about Wheaton: My hometown is famous for several amazing natural features First, it is noted for the Wheaton River, which is very wide and beautiful Also, on the other side of the town is Wheaton Hill, which is unusual because it is very steep The third amazing feature is the Big Old Tree This tree stands two hundred feet tall and is probably about six hundred years old These three landmarks are truly amazing and make my hometown a famous place Notice how the concluding sentence, These three landmarks are truly amazing and make my hometown a famous place, summarizes the information in the paragraph Notice also how the concluding sentence is similar to, but not exactly the same as, the topic sentence Not all academic paragraphs contain concluding sentences, especially if the paragraph is very short However, if your paragraph is very long, it is a good idea to use a concluding sentence PARAGRAPH TITLE Single paragraphs not usually have titles Giving your practice paragraphs titles, however, may help you to organize and limit your thoughts For longer essays or reports, though, the use of titles will become more necessary TIPS FOR WRITING A PARAGRAPH What is the prewriting stage? The prewriting stage is when you think carefully and organize your ideas for your paragraph before you begin writing Six Prewriting Steps: Think carefully about what you are going to write Ask yourself: What question am I going to answer in this paragraph or essay? How can I best answer this question? What is the most important part of my answer? How can I make a topic sentence (or thesis statement) from the most important part of my answer? What facts or ideas can I use to support my introductory sentence? How can I make this paragraph or essay interesting? Do I need more facts on this topic? Where can I find more facts on this topic? Open your notebook Write out your answers to the above questions You not need to spend a lot of time doing this; just write enough to help you remember why and how you are going to write your paragraph or essay Collect facts related to your paragraph or essay topic Look for and write down facts that will help you to answer your question Timesaving hint: make sure the facts you are writing are related to the exact question you are going to answer in your paragraph or essay Write down your own ideas Ask yourself: What else I want to say about this topic? Why should people be interested in this topic? Why is this topic important? Find the main idea of your paragraph or essay Choose the most important point you are going to present If you cannot decide which point is the most important, just choose one point and stick to it throughout your paragraph or essay Organize your facts and ideas in a way that develops your main idea Once you have chosen the most important point of your paragraph or essay, you must find the best way to tell your reader about it Look at the facts you have written Look at your own ideas on the topic Decide which facts and ideas will best support the main idea of your paragraph Once you have chosen the facts and ideas you plan to use, ask yourself which order to put them in the paragraph Write down your own note set that you can use to guide yourself as you write your paragraph or essay WRITING PARAGRAPHS What is the writing stage? The writing stage is when you turn your ideas into sentences Five Writing Steps: Open your notebook and word processor Write the topic sentence, supporting sentences, and closing sentence Write clear and simple sentences to express your meaning Focus on the main idea of your paragraph Use the dictionary to help you find additional words to express your ideas EDITING PARAGRAPHS What is the editing stage? The editing stage is when you check your paragraph for mistakes and correct them Grammar and Spelling Check your spelling Check your grammar Read your essay again Make sure each sentence has a subject See if your subjects and verbs agree with each other Check the verb tenses of each sentence Make sure that each sentence makes sense Style and Organization Make sure your paragraph has a topic sentence Make sure your supporting sentences focus on the main idea Make sure you have a closing sentence Check that all your sentences focus on the main idea See if your paragraph is interesting Publishing Paragraphs What is the publishing stage? The publishing stage is when you produce a final copy of your paragraph to hand in Three Publishing Steps: Make a paper copy of your paragraph Show your work to your teacher, tutor, or parents Ask them for hints on how to improve your writing CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD PARAGRAPH • • • • Topic sentence, which includes the topic and a controlling idea Supporting ideas (usually - 6), which support the topic sentence Reasons, examples, names, numbers, and senses give details for and further explain the supporting ideas Optional concluding sentence, which leaves the reading with something to think about and may summarize the supporting ideas if the paragraph is long • Unity, which means that all sentences in the paragraph directly support the topic sentence o Coherenence, which means that all the information of the paragraph is well-organized, logically ordered and easy to follow Process of Writing a Paragraph: Compose your topic sentence Think of a topic and a controlling idea that will narrow the topic enough to support it well in one paragraph Brainstorm supporting ideas Choose - supporting ideas that a good job supporting your topic sentence Write your paragraph in topic outline form as follows Don't actually write sentences in the outline, except for the topic sentence Topic sentence: A Supporting idea 10 Advantages Advantages of Wearing the Same Uniform Wearing uniforms give all students equality, identity and pride Primarily, uniforms give students equality All students not have the same financial resources and can't afford expensive clothes Therefore, uniforms make it more equal among the rich and poor students For example, student may want to wear designer clothes which some can afford but others can't Secondly, uniforms give identity Students feel a sense of belonging when everyone has the same uniform Students can tell who is from their school and who is not according to the uniform Others can tell which students are from which schools and if someone is not behaving well, others will know which school that person is from Moreover, uniforms give pride If a sports team does well, students can feel proud together of that accomplishment In addition to this, if a student is a good musician, others can feel proud that they are his/her classmates Hence, students can "advertise" their school just by wearing their uniforms and be proud of the school they attend Overall, I think wearing uniforms is a good thing Students can feel equal to one an other They can fee[ a sense of identity and pride that they wouldn't be able to feel as well if they didn't wear uniforms 13 Advantages Advantages to Living at a Dorm I would prefer to live in an apartment for a number of reasons First of all, you don't have to cook for yourself The most important one is that there are always a lot of people around so you won't feel lonely Moreover, there is usually a laundry room in the basement so you don’t have to go anywhere else to laundry Furthermore; the dormitory is usually very safe since almost all dormitories have security guards Overall, I prefer to live at a dormitory because I not need to cook and wash my clothes for myself and there will be a lot of people around me B CAUSE and EFFECT PARAGRAPH SAMPLES Effect Alcoholism Alcoholism is a disease that affects many people in the world today It not only affects the alcoholic, but also their family, friends, and co-workers strangers Alcoholics may become angry and argumentive, or quiet and withdrawn or depressed They may also feel more anxious, sad, tense, and confused As a result, the effects alcoholism can have on the different aspects of a person's life Therefore, we should help the number of alcoholics in Turkey and all over the world Cause Alcoholism There are some reasons of using alcohol First of all, the cause of alcoholism can be biological It is often associated with a family history of manic-depressive illness If parents are alcoholics, children may take alcohol later on The second reason is alcoholism has psychological reasons It can be related to emotional changeability For example, alcoholics often drink hoping to drown their depressed feelings Some of them also want to reduce strong negative feelings Moreover, social and cultural factors play important roles in development of alcoholism 17 In some cultures, there is conflict between refusing and accepting the use of alcohol to be a social person As a result, it is extremely important that whatever the reasons are we should avoid drinking alcohol Effects Effects of Parents on Children Parents can help their children be successful in school by encouraging them Children usually enjoy playing games instead of studying their boring lessons, so parents have to take the responsibility to monitor their studying and to remind them to their homework at home after school Parents should also encourage their children to study by buying story books with pictures, or they can buy text books or tapes that help children learn to spell or read The best way to encourage children to study efficiently is to reward them when they get an “A” As a child, I experienced this My parents gave me a gift if I had studied well, and then I was very excited So, if parents really want their children to succeed in school, they need to pay attention to their children’s studies and encourage them Effects Negative Effects of Televisions Television negatively influences people's behavior in a number of ways First of all, advertisements force people to buy things they may not need For example, those who buy camping equipment, but they never go camping Someone who buys a new car but can't really afford it Also, someone who buys a new computer even though his or her old computer works fine The most important negative effect is that television may lead to violence When children see terrible things on TV and sometimes act them out They may not be able to understand right from wrong and think that violence is ok In conclusion, television influences everybody’s behavior in negative ways Therefore, people should consider those effects before they start to watch television programs Question: Why some students study abroad? Use specific reasons and details to explain your answer Causes Studying Outside There are many reasons students choose to this why students choose to attend schools or universities outside their home countries To get a college degree from a university outside their home country may be 18 prestigious for students Many people think that students may get a better education outside their home country Moreover, students may get more money in their job if they have a degree from outside the country Furthermore, some students may get scholarships to study abroad Therefore, they may pay less to study abroad and the programs can be better abroad In short, students study abroad for a number of reasons Most students get a good education wherever they go if they are strong-minded to achieve something in their studies Question: Movies are popular all over the world Explain why movies are so popular Use reasons and specific examples to support your answer Causes Watching Movies There are many reasons why people all over the world enjoy watching movies To begin with, they offer an escape For that reason, some people go to the movies to see how others live If you are poor, it is a way to escape that life for a few hours Next, movies provide entertainment Because, they are fun to watch andlet you imagine what other people's lives are like Finally, movies are available everywhere Movie theaters can be found in almost every town, all over the world If there is no theater, there is usually a video store with movies As a result, watching movie is one of the important activities of people Question: Many parts of the world are losing important natural resources, such as forests, animals, or dean water Choose one resource that is disappearing and explain why it needs to be saved Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion Causes World is in Danger Many parts of the world are losing important natural resources, such as forests, animals, or clean water First of all, nature is a home for animals There are thousands of species that live in forests and when the forests die, they die too Moreover, rain forests also are habitat of many insects, birds, animals depend on it for survival Finally, forests are beautiful to look at, walk through, hike in the forest, and look at all the flowers Furthermore, you can take exciting photographs In short, forests are natural resources that must be saved because they provide so much good for so many people and animals C COMPARE and CONTRAST PARAGRAPH SAMPLES Similarity and Differences 19 Classroom Behavior Rules There are some similarities and differences in the classroom behavior rules between North America and my country, Turkey First, there is the student’s right to speak In North America, students can ask the teacher questions They can even ask questions when the teacher is giving a lesson Similarly, in my country students have the right to ask questions However, they can only ask questions at the end of the class Next, students respect their teachers In North America students look up to teachers and respect them For example, when the teacher asks them to speak they must look into the teacher’s eyes to show respect Likewise, in my country, Turkey, students respect teachers; however, when a teacher asks us to speak we look down to show respect We not look into their eyes In conclusion, there are both similarities and differences in the way students behave toward their teachers in the classroom Compare and Contrast Two English Teachers There are both some similarities and differences between my old English teacher in high school and my present English teacher Both my English teachers control the class well If a student makes trouble in the classroom, we are all responsible and had extra work This makes the student unpopular (alone, without friend) and nobody wants to be unpopular Both my teachers know their subject well They both make sure we know the rules of the language very well Although my teachers have these similarities, they also have differences on these same points When a student is always troublesome in class, my old teacher would go to the parents because my school is small and everybody would know each other in the city In contrast, my present teacher sends the troublesome student to a counselor Then the counselor sends the students to the assistant principal and so on Also, the way my two teachers teaching method of English is different My teacher back home would teach us a rule of grammar and then give examples In contrast, my present if we need a rule we work it out from the examples, teacher gives us examples first, In conclusion, both my English teachers with their similarities and differences are excellent teachers Compare Two Different Educational Systems The educational systems of Europe and the United States are similar in a number of ways To begin with, elementary school classes look the same everywhere There are about twenty to twenty-two pupils per class, and the classes are coeducational Also, there is one teacher for all subjects for each grade (except in Scandinavia), and the majority of elementary school teachers are women In addition, the subjects which are taught at the elementary level are basically the same everywhere: reading and writing, mathematics, introductions to the sciences, music, sports, and art The only major difference in the elementary curriculum is that most Europeans study a foreign language in elementary school, but most American children not As a result, American and European educational systems differ in some ways 20