Writing

First person occurs primarily through the use of the pronoun “I” when a writer is writing about himself. Example: I should join sports club in college. Second person involves the use of the pronoun “you” to refer to the reader. Example: All college students join sports club. Doing so will allow you to get chance to learn new things. Third Person involves directly stating who is being written about without using the words I, me, we, us, or you. Example: All college students join sports club. Doing so will allow them to get chance to learn new things.

 Writers can support their point of view by using modals such as:  Must, must not, have to, not have to, should, should not, ought to  Stating point of view can be strong and moderate.  Examples: I believe, I strongly agree…  Point of view as well can be supported using general statements, examples or predictions.

Read the following paragraphs and state the writer’s point of view. Provide the reasons given by the writer to support his point of view. 1. We are living in a very capitalistic world. The same goes for Malaysia, where almost everything is judged based on its monetary value. If asked, not many will say that they are doing or studying what they want because they love it. Instead, they choose the field of study that can give them the assurance of a good life in the future. And in a capitalistic society, a good life is commonly measured according to its monetary value and worldly possessions. Point of View:_____________________________________________________________________ Reasons :_____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________

2. The teaching profession in Malaysia has always favored seniority. Teachers who work longer get higher salaries. The percentage of teachers who are promoted, too, increase with the teacher’s age. This, however, does not attract the youth, especially those who are motivated and are willing to go the extra mile. What is the point of going the extra mile when you know that you will not reap any benefits from it? Well, you’d still need to wait for another 3 to 5 years before you would be ‘qualified’ to climb the income ladder. Youth with great potentials are sadly chased away by this situation. Teaching profession should favor meritocracy over seniority to provide good, motivated and passionate young teachers the chance to be promoted too. If that were so in reality, then this profession would be a competition between teachers with regards to teaching styles and methods, and would thus produce more teachers who are able and committed to be the best. This would also prevent teachers who prefer to be ‘contented’ and ‘stagnant’ in doing their jobs from moving up. Such teachers cannot and should not have bright futures in our education system. Point of View:_____________________________________________________________________ Reasons :_____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________

3. I am a simple youth, studying to become a teacher, just like my parents during their time. However if you decide to ask me how we can make teaching a dream job in Malaysia, the answer is simple: Raise teacher pay. Add up the monetary value of this profession and give teachers extra bonuses. If this is done, the reputation of this profession will rise too, thus making it the dream job for many students. Point of View:_____________________________________________________________________ Reasons : _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ 4.An excellent teacher is not interchangeable with the students’ results in examination. I’ve personally seen cases where teachers are rewarded according to the final results of their class. Oftentimes such a system would either neglect the less-capable students who perform poorly in exams or lead to a conspiracy between teachers and students. It is easy to see that teachers can always provide their students with a glimpse of what is to arise in their examinations. After all, the teachers themselves are the ones who set the questions. This would provide leverage for teachers who are elected to become members of the board of examiners. Point of View:_____________________________________________________________________ Reasons : _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________

Read the following expression and indicate “STRONG” or “MODERATE” in the given space. 1. I agree with ___________ 2. … is definitely unacceptable. ___________ 3. I believe that… ___________ 4. … is the most suitable solution. ___________ 5. In my opinion… ___________ 6. … is totally ridiculous. ___________ 7. I totally disagree… ___________ 8. Only a fool would agree with… ___________ 9. I strongly believe that… ___________

Make sentences using must, must not, have to, not have to, should, should not or ought to about the following topics, depending on how strong you think the obligation is. 1. Be punctual ______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ 2. Listen to opinions from others _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________

3.Paying taxes __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 4.Drinking alcohol __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 5.Use company property for personal reason __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

Baker, L. R., Church, M. M., Hartmann, P., Hyzer, K., Kirn, E., Nelson, J. P., et al (2002). Interactions 2: Integrated Skills Edition. New York: McGrawHill. Mohd Faiez Mohd Ali (2011). Teaching in Malaysia: Why is Teaching Not a Dream Job? Retrieved from