ҚОНУНИ АСОСИИ КИШВАР - КАФИЛИ ҲУҚУҚИИ ҶОМЕАИ ОЗОД

Конститутсияи Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон аз ҷумлаи дастовардҳои бузурги мардуми Тоҷикистон буда, заминаи ҳуқуқии бунёди давлати соҳибихтиёри тоҷикон, шакли ифодаи ҳуқуқии ормонҳои давлатдории миллӣ, ҳимояи ҳадафҳо ва манфиатҳои миллӣ, осори таърихӣ ва фарҳанги миллӣ мебошад. Дар Конститутсия соҳибихтиёрӣ, истиқлол ва тамомияти арзии Тоҷикистон, дахлнопазирии ҳудуди кишвар, моҳият ва вазифаҳои давлат, ҳуқуқу озодиҳои инсон ва шаҳрванд, забони давлатӣ, рамзҳои давлатӣ ва шакли давлатдории Тоҷикистон, ҳадафҳои сиёсии дохилӣ ва хориҷии кишвар, асосҳои иқтисодиву сиёсӣ, иҷтимоиву фарҳангии давлат ва ҷомеаи Тоҷикистон эълон шудаанд.

TEACHING PERSUASIVE ESSAY STRATEGIES IN UPPER CLASSES OF SECONDARY COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOLS

Russian methodologists Svetlana Suсhkova and Gulnara Dudnikova in their article “Learning to teach writing through writing” stated that mastering writing skills is crucial not only to students’ success at the university, but also for getting a good job after graduation. Acquiring this skill is of paramount importance, especially now, in the internet era.” [2, p. 159-170]. I support this view, and I think that teaching students writing skills should start as early as at high school. Since admission to universities, particularly to foreign colleges, requires students to fill out an application form and submit a personal/study objective statement that outlines their reasons and interests in the program, students should be aware of different forms of writing and given an opportunity to practice writing on a regular basis. Through the essays, the selection committee can see and evaluate the applicant’s ability to express his/her objectives in writing as well as assess the skills such as fluency, content, vocabulary, syntax, and conventions. There are different types of essays, but this article will focus on persuasive essay, which is also called “argumentative essay”, and there will be provided some tips for teachers to consider while teaching writing.Persuasive essay is important to be taught as it develops in students critical and analytical thinking skills, promotes English language learning, provides an opportunity to prepare students from an early age to engage in research work, and gives students the opportunity to take a maximum score in TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) and in IELTs (The International English Language Testing System). In a persuasive essay, the writer is required to take a stance on a debatable topic and prove his/her stance by providing reasons and convincing arguments. The position the writer takes on the topic is expressed through a thesis statement, which is usually the last sentence of the introductory paragraph.

A thesis statement is like a map to help the writer stay focused and the readers to understand what they expect to read and learn from the essay. That is why writing a clear thesis statement is important as it supports to draft a good outline for body paragraphs. In each paragraph, after each topic sentence, the author of the essay provides reasons to show that his/her idea or point of view is more valid than someone else’s and through this way the writer generates ideas in paragraphs. It should be pointed out that developing writing skills does not happen in one day in upper classes and it takes time for students to understand it. It can be improved by writing several essays or practicing regularly. The structure of a persuasive essay is explained in books in different ways. Most of the methodologists explain it to students and practice it with them using the easiest way.

The structure of a persuasive essay requires that, in the first stage, easy-to-understand oral exercises need to be conducted for students. Writing an essay takes a lot of time and the following oral exercise takes less time. It also allows readers to quickly understand the structure of a persuasive essay:

It is beneficial if the teacher conducts this oral exercise with students before writing a persuasive essay. By practicing to generate ideas for the topic sentence, students will be able to write a well-structured essay because this technique will help students to stay focused on the main idea of the topic and avoid writing irrelevant information.

Another tip to writing a strong persuasive/argumentative essay is to read texts and articles about the pros and cons of a certain topic. When students look at both sides of the issue and learn more information they did not know or did not think of before, they will have a better understanding of the topic, thereby acquiring more confidence to claim their position and to argue for it. For instance, the text about “Сhildhood – the best time of your life?” is provided in the textbook of John and Liz Soars. New Headway. Intermediate Student’s Book. Fourth edition. – UK: Oxford University Press - 2013 [1, p.112-113] in which pros and cons of childhood are given with facts. Before starting to write an essay, students can read the text from the book, share the information on pros and cons in pairs, discuss them in groups or as an open class; thus, they can generate more ideas for their essay.

In conclusion, teaching persuasive essay in upper classes is important and provides an opportunity for students to improve their critical thinking, creative and inference skills, and, in general, enhance their language skill to the extent possible.

References:

1. Soar, J. and Soar, L. New Headway. Intermediate Student’s Book. Fourth edition./ John and Liz Soars. – UK: Oxford University Press – 2013 – 159 p.
2. Suchkova, S., Dudnikova, G. Learning to teach writing through writing/ Svetlana Suchkova, Gulnara Dudnikova//English Review: Journal of English Education -2013 - 1(2). – p. 159-170.

Mirato Komilov, Candidate of Philosophical Sciences, Deputy Dean for Scientific Affairs at Faculty of English and Eastern Languages