Welcome to Part 3 of the writing pages! From Part 2, let's now go step-by-step in developing our compositional writing.
In this part, we'll look at another kind of composition - processes (手順) - writing about the steps or order (順番) of how to do something.
Compositional writing - processes/作文の書いて：手順
Let's look at the example of the composition from Part 2:
University is a whole new world for me, and I will tell you how. My life at my university is good and I have made many friends here. The classes are hard, but so far I enjoy this school. But it is more than just about studying. It is a life unlike the one I had in high school.
In high school, I went to school with kids I grew up with from my elementary school days. In my university, however, I go to classes with all different kinds of people, and even some from other countries. For example, in my history class I sit next to a student from Malaysia. I have never met anyone from Malaysia before, so I am learning as much about culture as I am about history in that class. It is incredible! In my Japanese class, there are students from eight different countries, and each one of them speak great English. Some of them could already speak two or three other languages before they came to this university.
Right now, the university is preparing for the school festival, and I cannot wait to see the food stands they will have and all the different kinds food from all over the world they serve. I can sample Indian curry, Turkish kebabs, souvlaki from Greece, and roast pork from Nigeria. Even more, I can also see an Ethiopian coffee ceremony, and try Korean herb tea with some great Thai sweets.
Now let's imagine we want to change that last paragraph. Let's say we want to show that the university festival is already over and that you learned how to do something there. Maybe it might look something like this - showing a process or procedure!
In processes, we can show steps of a procedure, or how something works. This is useful for anything from a recipe to the mechanics of a device or other piece of equipment.
University is a whole new world for me, and I will tell you how. My life at my university is good and I have made many friends here. The classes are hard, but so far I enjoy this school. But it is more than just about studying. It is a life unlike the one I had in high school.
In high school, I went to school with kids I grew up with from my elementary school days. In my university, however, I go to classes with all different kinds of people, and even some from other countries. For example, in my history class I sit next to a student from Malaysia. I have never met anyone from Malaysia before, so I am learning as much about culture as I am about history in that class. It is incredible! In my Japanese class, there are students from eight different countries, and each one of them speak great English. Some of them could already speak two or three other languages before they came to this university.
Right now, the university is preparing for the school festival, and I cannot wait to see the food stands they will have and all the different kinds food from all over the world they serve. I can sample Indian curry, Turkish kebabs, souvlaki from Greece, and roast pork from Nigeria. Even more, I can also see an Ethiopian coffee ceremony, and try Korean herb tea with some great Thai sweets.
Now let's imagine we want to change that last paragraph. Let's say we want to show that the university festival is already over and that you learned how to do something there. Maybe it might look something like this - showing a process or procedure!
In processes, we can show steps of a procedure, or how something works. This is useful for anything from a recipe to the mechanics of a device or other piece of equipment.
For our sample composition above, we could do something like this:
(…) Right now, the university festival has just finished. I had such a great time there, and learned so much as well as making many new friends. But one of the best things about it was learning how to make a dish I really like - Thai green chicken curry. Here is what I learned about how to make it.
From here, begin by showing the things you need to make the dish:
I am so excited about making this that I will show how to make it. First, you need green curry paste, which you can get at any supermarket. You also need coconut milk, plus whole or soy milk, a little water, cut chicken pieces, bamboo shoots, cut eggplant, cut red and yellow peppers, basil, and as an option an extra vegetable, like potatoes, or perhaps something like okra.
Now show how to make the dish:
To begin with, fry up the green curry paste on moderate heat in a pot until you can smell it. Then lower the heat, and carefully add one can of the coconut milk. Stir constantly until you see a thin film of oil on the top. Spoon it off, then carefully add the chicken pieces and slowly raise the heat back to moderate level. When it starts to boil, lower the heat slightly and add one-half to one whole cup of the whole or soy milk, then the bamboo shoots, eggplant, peppers, plus any extra vegetable such as the potatoes or okra. Next, add one-quarter of a cup of water.
Keep stirring for around 10-12 minutes, or until you can see that the chicken is done and the bamboo shoots and vegetables are getting soft. At this point the coconut and other milk and water mixture should be slowly boiling. Lower the heat further, and let simmer for an extra 3-4 minutes.
After that, serve in a bowl or soup cup, and add the basil. It is great to go with Thai-style rice, or even regular Japanese rice if you do not have Thai rice. Finally, you are ready to eat!
Now here's how it would fit with our sample composition:
University is a whole new world for me, and I will tell you how. My life at my university is good and I have made many friends here. The classes are hard, but so far I enjoy this school. But it is more than just about studying. It is a life unlike the one I had in high school.
In high school, I went to school with kids I grew up with from my elementary school days. In my university, however, I go to classes with all different kinds of people, and even some from other countries. For example, in my history class I sit next to a student from Malaysia. I have never met anyone from Malaysia before, so I am learning as much about culture as I am about history in that class. It is incredible! In my Japanese class, there are students from eight different countries, and each one of them speak great English. Some of them could already speak two or three other languages before they came to this university.
Right now, the university festival has just finished. I had such a great time there, and learned so much as well as making many new friends. But one of the best things about it was learning how to make a dish I really like - Thai green chicken curry. Here is what I learned about how to make it.
I am so excited about making this that I will show how to make it. First, you need green curry paste, which you can get at any supermarket. You also need coconut milk, plus whole or soy milk, a little water, cut chicken pieces, bamboo shoots, cut eggplant, cut red and yellow peppers, basil, and as an option an extra vegetable, like potatoes, or perhaps something like okra.
I hope this can help you as a model with how to explain a process. Go to Part 4 for more on compositional writing!
In high school, I went to school with kids I grew up with from my elementary school days. In my university, however, I go to classes with all different kinds of people, and even some from other countries. For example, in my history class I sit next to a student from Malaysia. I have never met anyone from Malaysia before, so I am learning as much about culture as I am about history in that class. It is incredible! In my Japanese class, there are students from eight different countries, and each one of them speak great English. Some of them could already speak two or three other languages before they came to this university.
Right now, the university festival has just finished. I had such a great time there, and learned so much as well as making many new friends. But one of the best things about it was learning how to make a dish I really like - Thai green chicken curry. Here is what I learned about how to make it.
I am so excited about making this that I will show how to make it. First, you need green curry paste, which you can get at any supermarket. You also need coconut milk, plus whole or soy milk, a little water, cut chicken pieces, bamboo shoots, cut eggplant, cut red and yellow peppers, basil, and as an option an extra vegetable, like potatoes, or perhaps something like okra.
To begin with, fry up the green curry paste on moderate heat in a pot until you can smell it. Then lower the heat, and carefully add one can of the coconut milk. Stir constantly until you see a thin film of oil on the top. Spoon it off, then carefully add the chicken pieces and slowly raise the heat back to moderate level. When it starts to boil, lower the heat slightly and add one-half to one whole cup of the whole or soy milk, then the bamboo shoots, eggplant, peppers, plus any extra vegetable such as the potatoes or okra. Next, add one-quarter of a cup of water.
Keep stirring for around 10-12 minutes, or until you can see that the chicken is done and the bamboo shoots and vegetables are getting soft. At this point the coconut and other milk and water mixture should be slowly boiling. Lower the heat further, and let simmer for an extra 3-4 minutes.
After that, serve in a bowl or soup cup, and add the basil. It is great to go with Thai-style rice, or even regular Japanese rice if you do not have Thai rice. Finally, you are ready to eat!
IMPORTANT NOTE: One way to help organize the steps of the process is to use signal words - these are words that show one step to another in an order (順番).
First/To begin with…
Then…
Next…
After that…
Finally…
そしたら・・・
First, you need green curry paste…
To begin with, fry up the green curry paste…
Then lower the heat…
…then carefully add the chicken pieces…
…then the bamboo shoots, eggplant, peppers…
Next, add one-quarter of a cup of water…
After that, serve in a bowl or soup cup…
Finally, you are ready to eat!
IMPORTANT NOTE: One way to help organize the steps of the process is to use signal words - these are words that show one step to another in an order (順番).
First/To begin with…
Then…
Next…
After that…
Finally…
そしたら・・・
First, you need green curry paste…
To begin with, fry up the green curry paste…
Then lower the heat…
…then carefully add the chicken pieces…
…then the bamboo shoots, eggplant, peppers…
Next, add one-quarter of a cup of water…
After that, serve in a bowl or soup cup…
Finally, you are ready to eat!
I hope this can help you as a model with how to explain a process. Go to Part 4 for more on compositional writing!
Image: "Green Curry" (courtesy of tiverylucky)/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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