Introduction
The main objective of teaching English is to
enable students to understand it when read or spoken and to express their
thoughts in writing or in speech. Another aim is to enable pupils to produce
original expression in the form of stories, books, letters to editors, reports,
and so on. Thus, the teaching of composition has an important place in English
teaching. The process of writing is
divided into four stages: structuring, copying transcribing and composition. Structuring requires teaching the
child how to write the letters of the alphabet. The student has to be shown
where to begin each letter, which side to move and how to connect the strokes
and the letters. This can be taught with the help of arrows. When the student’s
acquire sufficient practice to write the letters of the alphabet automatically
without any difficulty, the next step is that of copying. Students should be
encouraged to copy large pieces of the material that they have read in their
text-books. Transcribing is a more advanced practice than copying. This
includes the practice of writing without any help of the text. Composition is a further advanced stage of learning to write on some topics of interest
in a systematic way.
Meaning
of Composition
According
to Thompson and Wyatt, “The power of expression in a language is a matter of
skill rather than of knowledge. ’’The
word ‘composition’ is derived from
the Latin word ‘compose’ which means to put together. Thus composition
means putting words and sentences together to expresses one’s own ideas. It
requires thinking of ideas and expressing them in the language. It is the
expression of thoughts, ideas, feelings and observations. Simple story writing,
essay writing, letter writing, dialogue writing, etc. can be some of the forms
of composition. Proper organization, clarity and effectiveness of the
subject-matter are some of the important points that should be kept in mind by
the students while writing composition as its main theme is to communicate in
an organized way.
Definition of Composition
v “Composition is a kind of language
exercise for enabling the students to complete a given sentence for the sake of
practice.”
v Composition is another word for
writing – the act of writing or the piece of writing that results. It also
refers to what something is made of.
-Vocabulary Dictionary
Aims of Teaching Composition
1. To
give listening practice to the students.
2. To
give speaking practice to the students.
3. To
give reading practice to the students.
4. To
give writing practice to the students.
5. To
improve the spoken English of the students.
6. To
help the students to think freely.
7. To
enable the students to organize their ideas logically and in continuation.
8. To
develop the imagination of the students.
Objectives of Teaching Composition
1. To
encourage the students to express their ideas in writing in an organized and
systematic way.
2. To
communicate information that could be followed readily by the intended reader.
3. To
enable the students to arrange their ideas in writing at a reasonable speed and
with accuracy.
4. To
enable them to recall appropriate vocabulary and use it in sentence.
5. To
enable them to make use of appropriate punctuation marks for clarity of ideas.
6. To
enable them to fix the structures and vocabulary already learnt by them orally.
7. To
develop among students the communicative competence through writing.
Characteristics of Composition
1. Composition is fourth or last stage of writing
process.
2. Composition
is an advanced stage of learning or writing process even without any help of
the text.
3. Composition
is the expression of student’s thoughts, feelings, ideas, observations,
experiences in written form.
4. Composition
refers to the process of collecting thoughts or information, arranging them in
a sequence and express them in accordance with recognized standard etc.
5. Composition
is the process as well as product. The product may take the shape of a letter,
an application, a story, an essay, a poem, a description, or narration etc.
6. Composition
means to write on some topic of his own interest in a systematic way. Simple
essay writing, story writing, letter writing, dialogue writing, writing a poem,
etc., are some of the forms of composition.
7. Composition
is the proper organization. Clarity and effectiveness of the subject-matter are
some of the important points or the theme, are kept in mind while writing
composition.
8. In
composition, the main theme is communicated in an organized and systematic
order.
Principles of Teaching Composition
1.
Principle of Proper Selection: Only
such topics should be selected as are
of interest. Topics should be meaningful and experience based.
2.
Principle of Gradation: It
implies that the selection of topics should be made in accordance with the age,
ability, and class-level of the students.
3.
Principle of Utility: The
topics selected for composition should be related to day to day life of the
students.
4.
Principle of Group Involvement: The
composition work should involve the whole class so that group thinking could
take place. The involvement of all
classmates in thinking will help the students to exchange their views and
suggest new ideas through mutual discussion.
5.
Principle of Oral Practice: Oral-Composition-
Practice should be given to students before asking them to write anything. This
will reduce the chances of doing mistakes in the written work.
6.
Principle of Sequence: The
subject- matter should have some sequence. It should not look disconnected
collection of ideas.
7.
Principle of Timely Correction: The
written work of students should be
corrected within reasonable time limit otherwise students will carry the
mistakes with them till the time of correction.
8.
Principle of Follow Up: After
knowing the difficulties and problems of students, the teacher should find
suitable remedial measures to remove their difficulties and mistakes.
Types of Composition
There are two
types of composition:
1. Oral
Composition and
2. Written
Composition
Oral
composition is of immense importance, as is clear by Laurie’s remark “The habit
of oral composition should be kept up during the whole school period”. It
should always precede written composition. Composition should begin with the
power of speech and should be oral long before it is written.
There
are two types of oral composition:
1. Guided
Composition
Guided composition is
also known as controlled or directed
composition. Guided compositions are written exercises in which utterances
are already known to the students orally but they are asked to write them down.
2. Free
Composition
In free composition
students are free to use vocabulary and structure of their own for expressing
their own views and thoughts related to a given topic. This is also known as creative or imaginative writing.
Written
composition is also divided into two groups:
· Guided composition
· Free composition
CONTROLLED COMPOSITION
Subject
matter may be strictly controlled in the early stage and they have no freedom
to add anything of their own. Grammar, syntax and mechanics of writing where
stressed to help the Students Develop Composition skills. The students were not
given freedom to construct sentences of
their choice. The vocabulary was strictly controlled.
Types of
controlled compositions
1. Jumbled
sentences
2. Matching
the sentence
3. Fill
up the blanks
4. Simple
exercise in conversion of sentences
5. Answers
to questions
6. Parallel
sentences
1. Jumbled
sentences
It should be related to an incident
or daily routine or any interesting topic which the students are well known.
2. Matching
the sentence
Vocabulary and its synonyms or
antonyms may be given in two columns and the students are expected to match.
3. Fill
in the blanks
This type of question will be very helpful
to test their vocabulary and grammatical knowledge (i.e.) prepositions,
articles and pronouns, etc.,
4. Answer
to questions
Comprehending power can be
tested.
5. Conversion
Some passage may be given to students and
they be asked to change the tenses from past to present and vice versa, or
positive to negative.
6. Parallel
sentences
Some model sentences may be given to the
children with slight alteration they may be asked to produce parallel sentences
a. Kavitha
knows Malayalam
(The student has to alter the under lined word
)
b. Rejitha
knows Hindi
Rejitha knows Malayalam
(Replace by I) I know
Malayalam
While guiding students to
practice controlled composition the teacher may use paper cuttings, flash
cards, instruction cards, rolling charts, word inserting boards, flannel
boards, models and realia.
GUIDED
COMPOSITION
Guided
composition is also known as controlled or directed composition. In guided
composition pupils are supplied with the necessary vocabulary and structures to
be used for expressing their thoughts and ideas in writing. The teacher guides
them with the help of controlled vocabulary and structural words what to write
and how to write. Guided composition includes those written exercises in which
utterances already known to the students orally but they are asked to write
them down. In controlled composition exercise the aim should not be to restrict
pupils writing to a few specified utterances, but they should be left free to
use the words and structure in their own language. The teacher should give
directions and not put restrictions . He should make necessary correction in
the composition. If the attempt of the students is correct, he may be
encouraged to proceed to the next step. If there are mistakes in it , he should
be asked to repeat the same step by giving him proper direction.
It is said that guided
composition is mechanical for the students . Unless the student understands
what he is going to write , it is likely to result in a incorrect composition.
According to Allen and Campbell, “Guided
composition is not a panacea for all the problems of teaching composition to
foreign students. There is still much that needs further exploration and
experimentation.”
Principles of Guided Composition
Guided composition is based on some
principles which are briefly explained here under.
1. The
topic is chosen according to the mental level of the learner. That way they
will be interested in it.
2. The
teacher explains to the students the details of the topic so that they may be
fully familiar with it.
3. The
teacher prepares a guideline according to which the students move on without
facing any sort of problem.
4. Vocabulary,
structures are given by the teacher. The learner has to use them the way it is
required by the teacher. The teacher is putting forth the string and the
students go on putting vocabulary and structures along with the lines.
5. All
work is done orally and them writing work is carried on. Drills are given if
need arises there to.
6. Condition
of guidance;
a) The
topic for the composition is carefully selected by the teachers.
b) The
various details of the topic are given to students by the teachers.
c) The
teacher also decides the procedure for the practical completion of the topic.
d) The
vocabulary and structure to be used in thought over by the teacher.
e) The
teacher is always ready to guide students in the composition work.
Exercise for Guided Composition
1. Substitution
tables
2. Transcription
3. Transformation
of sentences
eg: She is walking (Change the gender)
He is walking (Change into past tense)
He was walking
4. Dictation
5. Composition
of incomplete sentence
6. Reproduction
a) Reproducing
a situation
b) Reproducing
answers and
c) Reproducing
a story
d) Reproducing
a picture description.
Advantages
of Guided Composition
1) Guided
composition paves the way for the composition.
2) The
teacher can correct the mistakes of students.
3) He
makes composition writing.
4) Guided
composition also corrects grammatical mistakes.
5) Students
learn structures too
FREE COMPOSITION
Meaning
Free composition is a higher level
of writing activity in which students express their ideas in the form of a
piece of writing independently and little support from the teacher.
It is called free composition
because students are free to use vocabulary and structures of their own to
express their views and thoughts related to a given topic.
Definition
According
to Champion, “The ultimate aim of composition is to enable the pupil to arrange
his own way freely, to choose his own words to express his own ideas freely.
According to French “Free
composition in which the child has to make up his own thought has no place in
the first three years of six or seven years course.
Importance of Free Composition
1.
Free composition helps in logical thinking.
2.
It explores the creativity and imagination of the students.
3.
It enables the students to select, arrange and present their ideas freely.
4.
It does not restrict the use of mother tongue. The child may first think in his
mother tongue before he translates his thought in English.
5.
It helps the students at the higher stage of learning.
Types of Free Composition
(i)
Paragraph Construction
(ii)
Paraphrasing
(iii)
Letter writing
(iv)
Application writing
(v)
Essay writing
(vi)
Descriptive writing
(vii)
Narrative writing
(viii) Story
writing
(ix)
Precise writing
1. Paragraph Construction
Sentence is formed out
of words so a paragraph is formed out of sentences. Paragraph is unit of
composition in connected piece of writing which represents a logical
organization of ideas or thoughts. A long piece of composition may have many
paragraphs for example, if we write an essay on a cow, we can write many
paragraph, describing in the first the appearance of the cow, in the second its
habits and in the last its usefulness. Thus the most essential requirement of a
paragraph is the unit of the sentence related to the subject. But unity is not
all. A good paragraph should also be coherent, that is the sentences in it
should be arranged in an orderly way.
Techniques of a Good Paragraph
(i) Mutual
relationship of sentence
The
most common practice for this is to use certain conjunctions, adverbs or other
connectives.
(ii)
Emphasis on important points
This can be done
treating the important idea at greater length than the less importance ideas.
The important statements should occupy the central place in the paragraph.
(iii)
Emphasis on the theme of paragraph
The beginning is the
most prominent place of theme to be mentioned. The sentence that depicts the
theme is called the ‘Topical Sentence’ i.e. the sentence that states the topic
or theme of the paragraph.
(iv)Novelty
Some signals indicate that the new paragraph
is intended to give a new point of view related to the topic. The beginning and
the end of the paragraph are separated by leaving blank spaces that it begins a
little space away from the left side hand leaves enough blank space at the
concluding right hand side.
(v) Length
of a paragraph
No hard and fast rule can be laid down. Some
writers are fond or writing long paragraphs.
(vi)
Mutual relation of paragraphs
Mutual
relation of the paragraphs must be maintained. Transition from one paragraph to
another should be indicated by the single word or phrases of sentences like
‘moreover’ ‘furthermore’.
2.
Paraphrasing
To paraphrase is to
express the meaning of a passage in one’s own words. It is like translating
only style of expression into another in the same language. It aims at
explaining its meaning and interpreting it in clear language. Passage of poetry
is interpreted in prose. Paraphrasing adds to the student’s vocabulary because
they are required to find suitable synonyms for difficult words.
Techniques of Paraphrasing
1.
Read the passage carefully in order to find out its complete sense.
2.
Paraphrase all difficult expressions in simple words.
3.
Express meaning of the passage as accurately as possible.
4.
Do not introduce fresh idea in paraphrasing.
5.
Maintain the order in which the ideas occur in the original passage.
6.
Do not attempt word by paraphrasing. But no ideas should be omitted.
7.
Do not make a passage short in a paraphrase nor expand it too much.
8.
Good traits interrelation, fullness, unity and readability are the good traits
of a good paraphrase.
3.
Letter Writing
Letters are meant not
only to convey information, but to communicate the pleasant warmth of
friendliness. Letter writing is a commonly taught from a composition at the
school level. But it is not essay to write a good letter. Indian student often
find it difficult to write a letter in English.
A good letter must be
simple because the aim is not to show one’s scholarships and command over English
its style should be attractive without being showy.
Classification of letters
1. Friendly
letters including personal letters
2. Business
letters
3. Social
letters- invitation, Replies, etc.
(i) Address
The writer should write his address
at the right hand side on the top of the page.
(ii)
Date
The date should be put immediately
under the address.
(iii)
Salutation
The opening salutation should begin
from the left hand side. All relative should be address as ‘My dear- The
relationship with elder must be indicated as My dear Father or My dear Mother.
(iv)
The body of the letter
It should not be bookish. Its style should be
simple and conversational. Brevity, clarity and conciseness are the qualities
of a good business letter. Humor is most welcome in a friendly letter.
(v)
Subscription
In letters to relative the
subscription should be – your affectionately or your most affectionate.
(vi)
The closing letter
(i) With best wishes
(ii) With kind regards
(iii) With affectionate regards
4.
Application Writing
Business letters include (a)
official letters, news paper and (d) ordinary business correspondence.
Application should begin with ‘Sir’
to address the officer concerned.The student should begin from simple
applications to be addressed to the Headmasters. Principle of their school
requesting for the solutions of their problems related to any school area.
5.
Essay Writing
An important from of
free composition in it the students give a proof of their language ability as
well as their ability to observe keenly and attentively. The students of higher
class may be helped to write descriptive essays like An Indian village, narrative
essay like ‘A house of Fire, reflective essays like Friendship expository
essays like . The uses of Science and simple argumentative and imaginative
essays like ‘Villages Life vs Town Life If I were the chief Ministers of the
state.
6.
Descriptive writing
We have to describe so
many things and events to others in our day to day life. When we describe
ordinarily, we do it casually in haphazard way, but descriptive writings is an
art which has to be learnt. Descriptions may deal with any object. Organs of
sense and stages of mind to which objects, acts and ideas may rise.
Technique of Description
i.
Observation and Collection of Facts
If you wish to describe an object
observe all its features carefully. Careful observation of things is very
essential her collection of facts. All great descriptive writers possessed
seeing eye. The important facts observed by you should be noted down on a
paper.
ii.
Proper selection
Everything that is observed cannot
be described. One has to select the significant characteristics of the observed
material. Suppose we have to describe a postman.
iii.
Proper Arrangement
A
good descriptive writing depends on its arrangement. There should be some
system i.e., from head to foot or some foot to head.
iv.
Proper language
Precision is very important to make the
description impressive and clear. A student may not possess a Milton’s aptitude
but he can do well without similies.
v.
Proper from of Description
Description
can be made either in the first person or in the third person. Students should
practice both the methods. Both are good at their own places.
vi.
Qualities
Fullness,
vividness and clarity are the qualities of a good descriptive and live writing.
7. Narrative
Writing
It
is said that we narrate an even and describe an object. The boundary line
between narration and description is very thin. In narration the write moves
from point to point in time and in description he moves from point to point in
spaces. In narration one has to deal
with particular things and represent them as moving from one point in time to
another point time. But while to describing something about a building or a
movement we move from point to point in space.
Techniques of Narrative Writing
i.
Plot
Plot
is the first requisite of a narrative. If there is a plot, there can be a
beginning ,a middle and an end. So plot is very essential for movement of
ideas.
ii.
Movement
Movements
are those incidents which provide an attractive turn to the story. I other words,
movements are series of situations in a story that are unstable and compel the
actors of move on and the story moves from one point to another.
iii.
Order:
iv.
Orderliness develops interest of the
reader. Orderly arrangements of events should end a climax, which is the
attractive goal desired by the readers.
v.
Description
Description
makes the story colorful and interesting.Dialogues can also be introduced
wherever necessary.
8. Story
Writing
Narrative writing also includes the development of
stories. Students are given the bare outlines of a story and asked to make
complete story out of it. They read the given hints of the story carefully and
try to fill in the gaps by giving details on a paper giving proper order to the
major points of the story. A story has become clear, they begin writing the
story.
The students may be asked to write a complete story
with the help of the outline. There requires a logical thinking on this part.
Sometimes incomplete outlines are given and students are asked to complete the
story with the help of students.
Sometimes students are given to write a story
illustrating a proverb. The story should illustrate proverb. They should think
over the proverb and find out its exact meaning.
9.Precis Writing
Precis is the summary of paragraph of a speech of, a
chapter, even of a book. Writing a good précis requires the ability to select
the essential elements of passage and reject what is unimportant.
Traits
of a good precis
i. It contains all the
important ideas of the given passage.
ii. It is concise.
iii. It is lucid without
any ambiguity.
iv. It avoids
illustrations that appear to be unnecessary.
Techniques
of Precis Writing
i.
Reading and understanding
First the students read the passage carefully in
order to understand the contents.
ii.
Noting the main points
The
leading ideas of the passage are carefully noted by understanding the
significant points.
iii.
Arrangement of ideas
Now, the précis writer arranges the ideas in such a way as
would make the précis appear like a connected whole.
iv.
One Paragraph
Precise is not be written in more than one paragraph. The
language as much one’s own as possible. The Precise is one-third length of the
given passage.
v.
Conclusion
Make
your final appeal to the reader a finishing, all encompassing statement that
wraps up your presentation in a powerful or even dramatic fashion. Normally a
single paragraph, brief concise, will suffice. The purpose of the conclusion is
to leave the reader with an idea or thought that captures the essence of the
body while provoking further reflection and consideration.
Conclusion
Composition
is an essential part of language teaching. Without having enough efficiency in
composition skill, we cannot able to excel in writing skills. All the other
parts of writing come under this composition. So it necessary to take proper
measures in order to enhance the comprehension and composition level of each student.
It ensures in the hands of the teachers. Like good handwriting, composition
also influences academic achievements of the students.
Bibliography
Sharma, R.A. (2007). Teaching of English. Meerut: Lal Book Depot.
Pahuja, S.
(2007). Teaching of English. Meerut:
Lal Book Depot.
Sachdeva, M.S. (2003). Teaching of English in India. Ludhiana:
Tandon Publications.
Rai,
G. (2007). Teaching of English.
Meerut: R . Lall Book Depot.
Sharma,
R . A. (2007) . Teaching of English. Meerut: R . Lall Book Depot.
Sharma,
R. (2007). Fundamentals of teaching
English. Meerut: R. Lall Book Depot.
Khatri,
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