Macro-Skills in English

Macro-Skills in English

• Reading: Involves consistent practice.
• Writing: Focuses on ideas, thoughts, and written language.
• Listening: Involves understanding spoken words.
• Speaking: Involves producing spoken words.

Reading Strategies

• Skimming: Understanding the general ideas of a text.
• Scanning: Quickly reading to find specific information.
• Identifying: Recognizing key concepts and information in a text.
• Summarizing: Condensing main points into a concise version.
• Reflecting: Critically thinking about a text and connecting it to personal experiences.

Reading Stages

• Pre-reading: Preparing oneself before reading.
• Intensive Reading: Carefully reading a text for detailed understanding.
• Extensive Reading: Reading for pleasure and general comprehension.
• Post-reading: Summarizing and concluding from the reading.

Discourse Markers

• Words or phrases used to connect ideas and show relationships between sentences, like:
  • For example
  • Furthermore
  • However
  • And
  • So
  • Not only… but also
  • Although
  • After

Brainstorming & Graphic Organizers

• Brainstorming: A tool for generating creative ideas.
• Graphic Organizers: Visual representations of concepts like:
  • Venn diagrams
  • Pie charts
  • Bar graphs
  • Fishbone diagrams
  • Concept maps

Topic & Sentence Outline

• Outline: A tool for organizing ideas, pre-writing, and post-reading activities.
• Topic Outline: Arranges ideas hierarchically, using topics and subtopics.
• Sentence Outline: Uses complete sentences, often including a thesis statement.
• Thesis Statement: A sentence stating the controlling idea and position on a topic.

Outline Paper Components

• Paper title/thesis statement
• Major topics (I, II, III, IV, V)
• Subtopics (A, B, C, D)

Writing Patterns

• Narration: Telling a story, factual or fictional.
  • Structure: Plot, characters, conflicts, theme
• Description: Visually representing ideas with details.
• Definition: Explaining concepts and characteristics.
  • Types: Formal (dictionaries), Informal (operational definitions, synonyms, connotation)
• Persuasion: Convincing the reader.
• Classification: Grouping things based on shared characteristics.
• Comparison: Examining similarities and differences.
• Problem-Solution: Presenting a problem and suggesting solutions.
• Cause and Effect: Connecting events with their causes and results.

Properties of Well-Written Text

• Organization: Structure and arrangement of ideas.
• Coherence/Cohesion: Unity and clarity of writing, connecting sentences and paragraphs.
• Language Use: Choice of words and phrases.
• Mechanics: Grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization.

Alice Through the Looking Glass (Sequencing/Structure)

• Characters: Alice, White Rabbit, Hatter, Red Queen, White Queen, Absolem, Humpty Dumpty, Red King, White/Black Knight
• Introduction: Alice follows a butterfly (No. 10)
• Exposition: Learning about an event (No. 8)
• Rising Action:
  • Wonderland adventures (No. 1)
  • Encounter with the White Queen (No. 2)
  • Discovering the Hatter's condition (No. 9)
• Climax: Using a chronosphere (No. 3), outrunning events (No. 4)
• Falling Action: Hatter reunites (No. 5), return to present (No. 6), Alice confronts time (No. 7)