Types of writing
Assignments
Students can expect to encounter a variety
of writing types in upper-level courses including:
journaling
short paragraph
short essay (1-3 pages) or long essay (4-6 pages)
summary
reaction paper
explication de texte
book review
research paper
letter (post card, personal letter, business letter)
c.v. and job application letter
creative piece (poem, song, fairy tale, short story, pastiche)
translation
phonetic transcription
lesson or unit plan
portfolio
web site or PowerPoint
The requirements for each of these types will vary according
to language level, course, and instructor, but certain basic features
of the types, and good samples, can be found below.
For anything related to French literature, Magister has it all!
Specificially refer to descriptions of several different French writing
forms, literary terms, movements, etc : http://www.site-magister.com/
For help expressing literary ideas in French and English,
the University of Exeter has a bilingual appendix of literary terms and
expressions:
http://www.departments.ex.ac.uk/french/lexique/appendice.html
Word lists and definitions for literary terms in
French: http://www.departments.ex.ac.uk/french/lexique/intro.html
Journaling
As opposed to a diary entry that
passively records events and feelings, a journal entry might include
but always goes beyond summarizing events and reporting feelings. The
purpose of journaling is to think through something you have read or
experienced by raising questions, trying out new ideas, and making connections
with other academic or everyday experiences. Journaling is a form of
an active intellectual conversation where finding the “right” answer
is less important than experimenting with all sorts of ideas.
Another important aspect is that a journal, like a diary,
is a safe place for exploring ideas that eventually may or may not be
substantiated. In other words, do not dismiss an idea as invalid/“stupid” until
you have explored whether the evidence supports or refutes that idea.
For a deeper explanation, see journals as writer-based prose: http://www.engl.niu.edu/wac/wr_base.html
Directed free writing ideas
- Describe from memory one of the readings we have done
in class.
- Put a few vocabulary words you’ve learned in
class at the top of your paper. Write about anything they bring to
mind—associations, ideas, feelings—whatever they conjure
up in your mind.
- Take a color, or a food, or a place and write about
it, what it means to you, what words you associate with it.
- Describe a situation when a stranger did something
to you (in a crowd or not) that you found totally rude and tell me
why it was rude.
- List the relative pronouns at the top of your page
and try to include them in as many sentences as you can.
- Think of a famous person (or a friend) and describe
them (both portrait physique—physical description and portrait
moral—personality description); talk about why they are interesting
to you.
- People--Describe a person you know (ie: a friend,
a parent), a political personality (un personage politique), a star
(une vedette), etc.
- Events--Describe an event: une manifestation (a demonstration),
une cérémonie, un concert, une présentation que
vous avez vue.
- Feelings--write a paragraph beginning with :
Je me fâche quand… ; Je suis déprimée
quand ; Je suis contente quand ; Je me sens bien quand…etc.
- Experiences—describe a film you saw, a conversation
you had, an accident you had, etc.
- Fêtes—describe the best holiday you ever
had (or the worst).
- Le quotidien—describe your daily activities
- Les cours—describe one of your classes and tell
what you like or dislike about it.
REMEMBER:
Do not use English. If you
can’t think of a word in French, just
draw a line ______________ and move on. (it may come to you later…)
This is good practice for thinking about how to express your ideas in
other ways.
You do not have to write perfect, complete sentences.
Sometimes it is ok to use fragments or have gaps in your thinking.
Many of these ideas were adapted from Elbow, Peter. Writing
Without Teachers. New York: Oxford UP, 1973. Consult Elbow for
a more complete explanation of free writing. Or, visit quickly this
good summary of his book by law professor James Elkins:
http://www.wvu.edu/~lawfac/jelkins/writeshop/elbow.html
Summary
A summary is a short paper that
describes what someone else has written. Students need to identify the
main purpose/thesis of the text and elaborate on (i.e. explain and provide
examples for) the most important ideas. Students should not discuss every
aspect of the writing, but only the most salient ideas.
How to write a summary in French, 3 examples of the summary writing process
and 2 exercises for practice: http://www.georgetown.edu/faculty/spielmag/courses/txt/resume.htm
Letter Writing
General tips for differences
in French and English letter writing can be found at: http://www.askoxford.com/languages/fr/french_letters/?view=uk
Sample letters re: personal correspondence, traveling,
and the job search http://www.askoxford.com/languages/fr/french_letters/specimen/?view=uk
Commentaire composé:
an
analysis of a textual piece that focuses more on how the text is written
than on its message. The commentaire seeks to reveal the piece’s
impact or implications (for the work as a whole, as compared to other
texts, for a literary “movement,” for a period of time,
etc).
