Teaching Writing on Socially Significant Topics

Abstract

Modern students are often required to be able to write an essay on a socially significant topic, which is important for their personal identification and future career. However, school or university curricula seldom provide special courses in creative writing. This article introduces a methodological training model for schools and universities based on a literary review and sample texts. The research focuses on the knowledge and skills that make up the content of teaching essay writing. Teaching social-topic essay skills includes several stages. Stage I develops the knowledge about personality and subjectivity. It teaches how to apply universal speech strategies, e.g., generalization of one's own life experience, opposition, contrast / continuity, self-contradiction, semantic interpretation, association, paradox, as-if strategy, epatage, etc. A similar list of universal tactics includes referencing and interpretation, illustrative proverbs, comparing different writers’ opinions, introducing scientific data / historical facts / biography details / examples from fiction and films / personal experience shared by many / facts about oneself and family, appeal, assumption, forecasting, expressing one’s personal impressions and feelings, etc. Another list includes mastering lexical, grammatical, and graphic means of expressing subjective modality. Stage II develops analytical skills based on sample texts with various linguistic means of self-expression. It also presupposes the task of writing a statement based on a combination of various speech and language means of self-expression. Stage III involves gaining experience in writing essays on socially significant topics: choosing speech strategies and tactics, applying linguistic means of subjective modality, etc. The research also clarifies the concept of personality as a category of self-expression, as well as determines effective speech strategies, tactics, and linguistic means of subjective modality in expressing one’s personality through an essay on a socially significant topic. In addition, the study offers a new methodology of speech development.