By chance I was struggling to improve a written account of a recent trip. I have "spoken" this personal update several times, and I was beginning to bore myself with dull transitions that added nothing to the pacing of the narrative. This is exactly what I needed! In addition, I teach English composition in an international context, and while I have learned a lot over the years about cultural differences in argument structure and style, this is the first time I've learned about the different in Mandarin essay conclusions and the "no introducing new material in the conclusion" rule that stems from the Aristotelian tradition. This makes sense of the wincing faces I get when I work with Mandarin-first language students who are skeptical about the "recap all previous points" requirements of the basic North American Freshman essay. Now I can work on this as a cultural difference rather than an "argument problem." Thanks for improving my approach to narrative and essays! 裴新老師
Posted on: Using Transition Words For Better Story Telling
July 1, 2016 at 9:25 PMBy chance I was struggling to improve a written account of a recent trip. I have "spoken" this personal update several times, and I was beginning to bore myself with dull transitions that added nothing to the pacing of the narrative. This is exactly what I needed! In addition, I teach English composition in an international context, and while I have learned a lot over the years about cultural differences in argument structure and style, this is the first time I've learned about the different in Mandarin essay conclusions and the "no introducing new material in the conclusion" rule that stems from the Aristotelian tradition. This makes sense of the wincing faces I get when I work with Mandarin-first language students who are skeptical about the "recap all previous points" requirements of the basic North American Freshman essay. Now I can work on this as a cultural difference rather than an "argument problem." Thanks for improving my approach to narrative and essays! 裴新老師