Writing skills exercises

A. Which of the following statements do you think is a good thesis statement/argument?

1.    This paper discusses the history of development projects in the community of Allpalumichico, Peru.

2.    I argue here whether or not development has helped the people of Allpalumichico, Peru.

3.    Intentional development projects with the goal of helping women may in fact hurt them.

4.    Women now tend to have greater responsibility for household income provision. Furthermore, local forms of political organization, which used to be the institutional structure through which projects were enacted, are now bypassed, with potentially negative implications for local political expression

5.    Specifically, I argue that the trend toward focussing on women has had two important effects: first, women now tend to have greater responsibility for household income provision; second, local forms of political organization, which used to be the institutional structure through which projects were enacted, are now bypassed, with potentially negative implications for local political expression

B. Which of the following shows clear straightforward writing?

1. Only regions designated as in extreme poverty are eligible for certain programs of assistance and those which are not must find other sources of assistance for the provision of water and sewage so that since they are not recognized as in extreme poverty they might be expected to contribute more to the financing of the project.

2. Women and returned migrants in the debate were the ones who approved in the majority to try to get the water project.

3. Jaime complained of the excessive number of days of work that the project demanded even though he had supported water, as well as of the poor technical assistance given by the NGO.

4. This work suggests that, potentially, there are conditions that mean that projects will not reach their objectives if these are only developed in relation to the objectives of the financing of the project and if they do not also take into account the reality and perspectives – heterogeneous and complex – of the actors who will be the beneficiaries of this project.

5. This work suggests that projects, the objectives of which have been developed to meet the needs of financing, rather than taking into account the realities and perspectives of the diverse beneficiaries, will probably fail.

C. Which of the following is information? Which is argumentation? Which is evidence?

1. The NGO in charge of the water project donated the technical assistance and the industrial materials, such as pipes and cement. The NGO engineer refused to incorporate beneficiaries’ suggestions about changing the design or materials on the basis that any changes would compromise the durability of the system.

2. NGOs place themselves in control of project beneficiaries and undermine community empowerment.

3. The NGO donated the technical assistance and the industrial materials, such as pipes and cement. The NGO engineer refused to incorporate beneficiaries’ suggestions about changing the design or materials on the basis that any changes would compromise the durability of the system The donation and assertion of authority framed the NGO as a charitable patron which was providing help to supplicating clients. The resulting political inequality undermined the stated project goal of empowering the beneficiaries who were clearly powerless in this situation. This failure helps to support my argument that the project hurt community identity, even while it provided a needed service.

D. Which of the following provides a theoretical stance that could be used to evaluate information?

1.. Development is a process called into being by capitalism and only serves to exploit the poor.

2. NGOs are staffed by well-intentioned people but they may not have the training to understand the complexities of local political and economic reality.

3. This paper is based on the premise that economic dominance also grants political dominance.