ESP-Communication

Skills
What is ESP?
 It is an acronym that stands for English for
Specific Purposes
 While English is a universal language ,
 Its application differs from situation to

situation depending on the circumstances

and the environment in which speakers find
themselves.
What are communication skills
 This refers to the ability and competence of
expressing one’s ideas in whatever form it is
 There are four skills that we shall focus on

THESE ARE:
 Reading
 Writing
 Speaking and
 Listening
Why- Study ESP _Communication
Skills
 It emphasizes on the rules of language use
according to various social context
 It enables one gain competence in language

use
Topic one-Academic Writing

 What is an Academic Essay?

 A piece of writing focusing on a particular

topic which is carefully framed

Why write essays?
 They are an academic requirement
 They help in social and academic interaction
between students and lecturers
 They help students to interact with reading material
 They enable critical thinking
 They broaden one’s horizon
 They improve writing skills
 They help in revisions in preparation for
examinations
 They help learners and lecturers to measure
progress
Differences between essay and
compositions
 Essays are factual while compositions are
fictitious in nature
 There is need for reference and citations in

essay writing while is not required in

compositions
 Research is required in essay while in

compositions this is not required

 Essays have page limit while composition

have word limit

Steps in Academic Essay
Writing
1. Understand the Question
 Tabulate it
 Command
 Subject matter/Topic
 Focus
 Limitation
2. Paraphrase question
 Put question in your own words
3. Brainstorm
 Write down as many points as possible on the
topic
4. Research
 Before using a book gather the following
information
 Title
 Year of publication
 Page number
 Publisher
 Town of publication
 Authors surname and initials
 Edition number
5. Blending of points
 Pick the most important points from your
research and brainstorming ,at least 5-8
 List the points in order of importance
 These will form your paragraphs
6. Drafting the essay
 An academic consists of three parts
 1. introduction
 Main Body
 Conclusion
Introduction
 It has three parts
 Background
 Definition of key terms
 scope
Scope
 The introductory paragraph should also
include the thesis statement, a kind of mini-
outline for the essay
 This is where the writer grabs the reader's

attention. It tells the reader what the paper is

about
What Is A Paragraph?
          A paragraph is a piece of writing that
consists of several sentences.
 A paragraph should always have complete,

correct, and concise sentences.

 It should be easy to read and it must be

well organized.
 The paragraph itself should focus on one

subject, theme, or central idea.

How to write a paragraph
 1.A Topic sentence- motivates the reader to want to read more.

 2.The First main point- proves, backs up, or explains the topic
sentence.

 3.The Second main point- usually provides a reason for the

first point made.

 4.The Third main point- can help prove the topic sentence or
back up the first or second main point of the paragraph. This is
where you put your citation

 5.The Conclusion- sums up the main points or ideas and it

usually completes the topic
Example
The Topic Sentence:

The poodle makes a perfect pet because poodles offer their owners
a companionship for life, not to mention that they have a loveable
personality.

·This could be your topic sentence. It tells the reader that poodles
are in fact perfect pets. This may or may not be true and so you
would need to provide proofs as to why this could be true. However,
it is an interesting statement and catchy because the reader wants
to hear why the author thinks so, or what justifies this statement.


2. The First Main Point:

Poodles are sweet, smart, playful, and well mannered and they
love to be around people. They are always willing to lend their
unquestionable love and loyalty when you need the most and
they are yours for life.

· This main point talks about the dogs’ personality and their
companionship relating to the topic sentence, helping prove that
poodles are ideal pets. Although, most likely a reader would need
more convincing.
 3. The Second Main Point:

Apart from being a happy spirited dog and a great

companion, the poodle is small and doesn’t require a lot of
room, so they are ideal for apartments or city settings.

· This is more convincing now. Most of the people that live

in cities or small apartments are looking for a small dog that
is suited to their city lifestyle and this sentence proves that
these dogs are ideal as pets. However, you still need more
proof of this fact because not all of us live in the city.
 .4. The Third Main Point:

The poodle is suited to most environments and lifestyles; whether

it'll be living in the suburbs or downtown, with one person or a
couple, or even living with a family and children, the poodle fits right
in.

· This point backs up the topic sentence that the poodle is the
perfect pet because it mentions that this dog will fit into any type of
family. This third point helps prove that this breed of dog is suited
for most lifestyles and settings. (include your in text citation by
putting the name last of the author, year and
page(Chinyama,2009,P.12 or Chinyama,2009 :12 )
 5. Conclusion:

The poodle is a dog that warms your heart with its character. It
becomes a part of your family no matter where you live and it can
provide you with love and companionship that you won’t want to
do without. In fact, you can’t ask for a better dog.

· The conclusion sums up all the other points made and ties all the
points nicely together. After reading the paragraph and all its
elements as a unit the reader should feel a sense of unity. Often a
well written paragraph will feel complete and it will seem natural to
stop reading when the paragraph closes. So keep in mind for every
great piece of writing there are great paragraphs put together.
   Now if you read all the sentences you will see
how nicely this paragraph flows together
because it contains all the elements of a
paragraph. It demonstrates the topic sentence,
discusses one main idea (a poodle), and
concludes without leaving any loose ends:
         The poodle makes a perfect pet because poodles offer their owners a
companionship for life, not to mention that they have a loveable personality.
Poodles are sweet, smart, playful, and well-mannered and they love to be
around people. They are always willing to lend their unquestionable love and
loyalty when you need the most and they are yours for life. Apart from being
a happy spirited dog and a great companion, the poodle is small and doesn’t
require a lot of room, so they are ideal for apartments or city settings. The
poodle is suited to most environments and lifestyles; whether it be living in
the suburbs or downtown, with one person or a couple, or even living with a
family and children, the poodle fits right in. The poodle is a dog that warms
your heart with its character. It becomes a part of your family no matter
where you live and it can provide you with love and companionship that you
won’t want to do without. In fact, you can’t ask for a better dog.
Now let us Apply it to Nouns
 Sentence 1. State that you will talk about
nouns in the paragraph
 Sentence 2. Explain the topic sentence.

(Explain what nouns are)

 Sentence 3.Give a reason for the first point

made. Example
 Sentence 4.citation
 Sentence 5. sums up the main points or ideas

and it usually completes the topic.

Elements of Paragraph
 Unity
 The entire paragraph should concern itself

with a single focus. If it begins with one focus

or major point of discussion, it should not
end with another or wander within different
ideas.
Elements of Paragraph
 Coherence
 Coherence is the trait that makes the

paragraph easily understandable to a reader.

You can help create coherence in your
paragraphs by creating logical bridges and
verbal bridges.
Elements of Paragraph
 Logical bridges
 The same idea of a topic is carried over from

sentence to sentence
 Successive sentences can be constructed in

parallel form
Elements of Paragraph
 Verbal bridges
 Key words can be repeated in several

sentences
 Synonymous words can be repeated in several

sentences
 Pronouns can refer to nouns in previous

sentences
 Transition words can be used to link ideas

from different sentences

Elements of Paragraph
 A topic sentence
 A topic sentence is a sentence that indicates

in a general way what idea or thesis the

paragraph is going to deal with.
 you should be able to easily summarize what

the paragraph is about.

Elements of Paragraph
 Adequate development
 The topic (which is introduced by the topic

sentence) should be discussed fully and

adequately. Again, this varies from paragraph
to paragraph, depending on the author's
purpose, but writers should be wary
Citations
 When the citation is short integrate it into the
paragraphs you are writing using quotation
marks
 When the quotation is long ,indent it

separately and do nt use quotation marks