Exercises on Noting Details, Locating the Topic Sentence, And Outlining. Teachers Guide

EXERCISES ON NOTING DETAILS, LOCATING THE TOPIC SENTENCE, OUTLINING (TEACHERS’ GUIDE) NOTING DETAILS. Read the essay below & answer the questions that follow. Money is one of the greatest inventions made by man. Money came into use in response to the need for a better system of transacting goods other than barter. The earliest forms of money consisted of commodities, gold and silver coins and paper notes. With the emergence of a modern banking system, paper money came to be accepted as true money as well as bank drafts or checks. Any form of money should meet the following characteristics if it is to become generally acceptable: portability, homogeneity, durability, recognizability, divisibility, malleability, elasticity of supply and stability of value. There are many reasons why money is important to all of us. From its main function as a medium of exchange and a standard of value, money is now a standard of deferred payments and a store of value. A.

What are the five forms of money? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

B.

What are the uses of money? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

C.

commodities gold and silver coins paper notes / money bank drafts checks

system of transacting goods other than barter medium of exchange standard of value standard of deferred payments store of value

What are the characteristics of money? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

portability homogeneity durability recognizability divisibility malleability elasticity of supply stability of value

LOCATING THE TOPIC SENTENCE. Read each paragraph as fast as you can. Locate the main idea. Write down the topic sentence in your own words if it is not directly stated.

(Note: Review the students on the different positions of topic sentences: first, middle, last or implied, in which case the topic sentence must be formulated) Example:

Man communicates with his Creator in varied ways. He may fall on his knees and lift his heart and mind to heaven through prayer and supplication. He may perform rituals. He may illustrate religious sentiments effectively through the medium of music. Topic Sentence: Man communicates with his Creator in varied ways. STUDENTS MAY VARY IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THEIR TOPIC SENTENCES 1. Soybean is a very good source of protein in the form of milk, flour and green vegetables. When used as a green manure, it is excellent for enriching the soil. In industry, it is an essential raw materials for the manufacture of oil for paints and cooking oil, soy sauce, plastic celluloid and rubber substitute. Soybean production can be a very profitable industry in the Philippines. Soybean production can be a very profitable industry in the Philippines. 2. Christ taught the world the essence of forgiveness and boundless compassion for mankind. He bore all sorts of insults and humiliations and ended up forgiving all those who brought sorrows upon Him. If we are to live a truly Christian life, there is no reason why we must not have exercise the virtue of forgiveness. We must always have a heart to forgive one erring brother and sister. Christ taught the world the essence of forgiveness and boundless compassion for mankind. 3. Adolescence is the most trying stage in a person’s life. It is the time when one is no longer a child but is not yet a man or a woman. One is in quandary whether to act like a kid or like an adult. Indeed at this stage one is too old to sit in father’s lap, but too young to be in love. Adolescence is the most trying stage in a person’s life 4. Progressive walking is a great exercise which can get you into shape. It is easy to do. It does not require any medical assistance either. You can start at your own pace, gradually increasing the time and distance. People are in good shape when they cover three miles in forty-five miles. If you can achieve this – well, you are perfectly in good health. Progressive walking is a great exercise which can get you into shape. 5. You are furious. Your first reaction is likely to “kill”. Do not thwart this for you will feel better faster if you follow your instinct. However, keep it constructive and use your energy in doing a job you have been postponing. If you feel too angry to do something constructive, beat your pillow to death and tear up the newspaper. If the anger has not simmered down after that, then work physically and mentally, whichever suits you better. Make a conscious effort not to do anything involving the person you are angry with until you can handle the situation rationally.

Make a conscious effort not to do anything involving the person you are angry with until you can handle the situation rationally. OUTLINING/ORGANIZING IDEAS. Below are some paragraphs for you to read. Based on each paragraph, answer the questions that follow. 1.

The opium poppy is an ideal crop for underdeveloped countries. It has a high economic yield per hectare. The seeds are eaten and crushed for oil. The residue from the crushing makes good cattle fodder. The straw of the plant is suitable for wearing and light basket work. For small farmers, the poppy is a reliable cash crop with almost unfailing demand. A. B.

What is an ideal crop for underdeveloped countries? Opium poppy The economic benefits derived from opium poppy are: 1. The seeds are eaten and crushed for oil 2. The residue from the crushing makes good cattle fodder 3. The plant straw is suitable for wearing & light basket work. 4. It is a reliable cash crop with almost unfailing demand

2. The war on drugs is simultaneously waged on three fronts – production, trafficking and demand. Despite massive national, bilateral and international programs to stem the drug tide, it is doubtful that opium traffic can be completely eliminated. Indeed, there is no will to eliminate the poppy fields completely, at least until science finds acceptable medical substitutes for opium-derived substances. So long as there are enormous profits to be made from trafficking in narcotics, the smugglers and the dealers will continue to ply their trade. A. Why is there no will to completely eliminate the poppy fields? i. Science has not found acceptable medical substitutes for opim-derived substances ii. There are enormous profits to be made from trafficking. B. The war on drugs is staged on three fronts, namely: i. Production ii. Trafficking iii. Demand C. So long as there are enormous profits from drug trafficking, these people will continue to ply their trade. i. Smugglers ii. Dealers iii. Producers/Farmers (implied) 3. Read “The Bully Episode” (an excerpt from A Precocious Autobiography by Yevgeny Yevtushenko [translated by Andrew McAndrew]) and do your own sentence outline of the short story. In 1944 I was living in an empty apartment in a small quiet Moscow street, Chetvertaya Meschanskaya.

My parents were divorced. My father was somewhere in Kazakhstan with his new wife and their two children. I seldom received letters from him. My mother was at the front. She had given up her work as a geologist to become a singer and was giving concerts for the troops. My education was left to the street. The street taught me to swear, smoke, spit elegantly through my teeth, and to keep my fists up, always ready for a fight---a habit which I have kept to this day. The street taught me not to be afraid of anything or anyone---this is another habit I have kept. I realized that what mattered in the struggle for existence was to overcome my fear for those who were stronger. The ruler of the street, Chetvertaya Meschanskaya, was a boy of about 16 who was nicknamed Red. Red’s shoulders were incredibly broad for a boy of his age. Red walked masterfully up and down our street, his legs wide apart and with a slightly rolling gait, like a seaman on the deck of his ship. From under his peaked cap, always worn back to front, his forelock tumbled down in a fiery cascade, and out of his round pockmarked face, green eyes, like a cat’s, sparkled with scorn for everything and everyone crossing his path. Two or three lieutenants, in peaked caps back to front like Red’s trotted at his heels. Red could stop any boy and say impressively the one word “money”. His lieutenants would turn out the boy’s pockets, and if he resisted they gave him a real beating. Everyone was afraid of Red. I, too, was afraid. I knew he carried heavy brass knuckles in his pocket. I wanted to conquer my fear of Red. So, I wrote a poem about him. This was my first piece of journalism in verse. By the next day the whole street knew the piece by heart and relished it with triumphant hatred. One morning on my way to school I suddenly came upon Red and his lieutenants. His eyes seemed to bore through me. “Ah, the poet,” he drawled, smiling crookedly. “So you write verses. Do they rhyme?”

Red’s hands darted into his pocket and came out armed with its brass knuckles; it flashed like lightning and struck my head. I fell down streaming with blood and lost consciousness. This was my first payment as a poet. I spent several days in bed. When I went out, with my head still bandaged, I again saw Red. I struggled with instinctive fear but lost and took to my heels. I ran all the way home. There I rolled on my bed, biting my pillow and pounding it with my fists in shame and impotent fury at my cowardice. But then I made up my mind to vanquish it at whatever cost. I went into training with parallel bars and weights, and after every session I would feel my muscles. They were getting harder, but slowly. Then I remembered something I had read in a book about a miraculous Japanese method of wrestling which gave an advantage to the weak over a strong. I sacrificed a week’s ration card for a textbook on jujitsu. For three weeks I hardly left home---I trained with two other boys. Finally, I felt I was ready and went out. Red was sitting on the lawn in our yard, playing Twenty-one with his lieutenants. He was absorbed in the game. Fear was till in me and it ordered me to turn back. But I went up to the players and kicked the cards aside with my foot. Red looked up, surprised at my impudence after my recent flight. He got up slowly. “You looking for more?” he asked menacingly. As before, his hands dived into his pocket for the brass knuckles. But I made a quick jabbing movement, and Red, howling with pain, rolled on the ground. Bewildered, he got up and came at me, swinging his head furiously from side to side like a bull. I caught his wrist and squeezed slowly, as I had read in the book, until the brass knuckles dropped from his limp fingers. Nursing his hand, Red fell down again. He was sobbing and smearing the tears over his pockmarked face with his grimy fists. His lieutenants discreetly withdrew. That day Red ceased to rule our street. From that day on I knew for certain that there is no need to fear the strong. All one needs is to know the method of overcoming them. There is s special jujitsu for every strong man.

What I also learned that day was that, if I wish to be a poet, I must not only write poems but also know how to stand up for what I have written. (reprinted from English CV for High Schools, Communciation Values, Dadufalza, Dela Rosa, Fallorina and De Vera / Dadufalza and Bautista, eds. 2000)

DO A FULL OUTLINE (INCLUSIVE OF A THESIS/TOPIC STATEMENT) OF THE SELECTION YOU JUST READ.