A4 Generation and Development of Ideas

Students need to learn how to generate ideas and develop ideas at sentence level
and in paragraphs before writing the full essay.

4.1 Sentence Expansion

Purpose: To enable students to improve sentences by adding ideas to a simple sentence to
make them sound better.
Instructions:
Students can start with simple sentences and slowly add on ideas to make the sentences more
informative and interesting to read
Teachers notes:
By taking a simple sentence and expanding it step by step, students are able to create
sentences that are impressive and informative. In sentence expansion, a simple sentence (one
noun and a verb) can gradually be expanded until you have a beautiful sentence.
Students can add descriptive words on phrases to these sentences. Sentences can be shown
on an LCD/an overhead projector or typed and handed out to each student.
Examples:
I like cakes

The sun rises slowly.

I like yellow cakes with white frosting

He walked away.

The sun rises slowly, lighting up the world.

He ate his dinner.

He walked away dejectedly.

He gobbled up his dinner quickly.

He walked away dejectedly and without

turning back.
She started to cry.

He gobbled up his dinner so quickly that he

almost choked himself.
She left the room.

She sat down and tears began to flow

down her cheeks.

She stormed out of the room.

She sat down on the wooden chair with

tears rolling down her wrinkled cheeks.

She stormed out of the room, knocking

over a chair in her haste.

Practice:
Expand the following simple sentences gradually to give a more vivid picture
1. We watched an exciting show
2. Robert turned around.
3. Jenny went home.
4. Puan Rosnah was angry.
5. Selva smiled at him.
6. She heard Amy calling her.
4.2 Developing Ideas
Purposes:
1. To train students to develop ideas fluently so that writing a 350-word essay is a
manageable task for them.
2. To use wh-questions effectively in generating details.
3. To encourage students to develop each idea well and systematically.
Sample paragraph:
My birthday party was very great. [How many attended?] It was attended by more than 200
people. [Who were they?] All my classmates, teachers and relatives came. [Where was it held?]
My parents organised the party at a five-star hotel. In fact, the party was beside a huge
swimming pool. [What was special?] My classmates conducted a few fun and interesting
games. There was also a karaoke singing session. My father sang his favourite evergreen song
to all the guests. [How many presents?] Before the party ended, I thanked all my guests for their
presence and kindness. I received 88 wonderful gifts. [When did it end?] By 6.50 p.m., the party
came to an end. [How was my feeling?] Though I felt a bit tired, I was extremely happy.

Practice 1:
Develop the main idea given by answering the following wh-questions.
Main idea: Jays first day in his new school was not bad at all.

When did he arrive in

school?
Where was his class?

How many students

were there in his class?
Who was his first friend?

Who were his other new

friends?
What did Jay feel?

What was the first

lesson?

Practice 2:
1. Divide the class into two groups. Based on the main idea given below, Group 1 will ask
wh-questions and Group 2 will answer those questions.
2. Record all the questions and their answers on a piece of paper.
3. Select only 7 questions and arrange them in an appropriate order in the table below.
Main idea: My holiday in Penang was memorable.

Wh-questions

Answers / Details

Practice 3:
1. Students stay in the same group (as in Practice 1). Based on the main idea given below,
Group 2 will ask wh-questions and Group 1 will answer them.
2. Record all the questions and their answers on a piece of paper.
3. Select only 7 questions and arrange them in an appropriate order in the table below.
Main idea: Pak Mat was a person that I really admired.

Wh-questions

Answers / Details

Practice 4:
Either in small groups or pairs, develop the main idea below. Write a paragraph of not less than
60 words. You must use suitable wh-questions but you do not have to write them down.
Main idea: My friends and I had a hard time during our camping in the forest.

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Enrichment Practices:

Individually, write a 60 to 100-word paragraph based on each of the following main ideas. Focus
on the accurate use of past tense verbs and the application of the sophisticated adjectives in
each paragraph.
1. Lina was really a true friend.
2. A short stay at my grandfathers house was a great experience.
3. I lived in the city for ten years and I had a horrible life.
4. My classmates had made my life colourful.
5. Our gotong royong project to clean Sungai Batu was a success.
6. Kamal, the youngest in his family, had been giving problems to his parents lately.
7. Mega Shopping Mall was the best mall that we visited in Jakarta.
8. Lisa was a very busy businesswoman.
9. My wife and I had a romantic honeymoon in Langkawi Island.
10. On her way home from school, Nur saw a tragic accident.