All or both participants should spak in balance. If a participant speaks more and the next one only listens and say 'yes' or 'no' , it will not be a good dialogue. So a dialogue should be balanced.
Agreement between the characters and roles
The role of the characters should be made appropriate. We should be aware of the roles of the characters. for example, an uneducated man cannot have same kind of talk to that of a university professor. So, there must be fitness between the characters and their roles.
Naturalness
Informal dialogues are more natural than the formal ones. Informal dialogues certainly possess the naturalness of a conversation. Colloquialisms, slangs etc. can be used, but only to a permissible limitation, to make the dialogue life-like.
Characteristics of a good Dialogue
A good dialogue is supposed to have particular characteristics. Some common characteristics which all kinds of writing share are also thought to be found in a dialogue. Some of the characteristics which determine the quality of a paragraph can be mentioned as below:
Types of Dialogue
On the basis of the formality introduced in the dialogues, they can be classified as formal and informal.
Formal Dialogue: Formal dialogue takes place in formal situations such as seminars, programmes, classes etc. As regards language forms, full and normative structures are used in the formal dialogues. The relation between the characters is also formal. Sir/ Madam/ Miss/Mrs/ etc are used to address the participants. Formal speech or behaviour is very correct and serious rather than relaxed and friendly, and is used especially in officially situations.
Informal dialogue: Informal dialogue takes place in informal situations suh as 'talk' between two friends about their study, exam, game etc. In informal dialogues, contracted forms seem to be more suitable because they make the dialogues life-like. The characters converse informally addressing by the first name or relation.
Writing Dialogues
The literal meaning of 'dialogue' is the conversation or talk between two people; but there can be more than two participants or characters in a conversation, involved. Dialogue takes place in real life situations. There must be a topic or subject for a dialogue. We never converse without any purpose. So a dialogue is a conversation or a talk on a topic for a particular purpose between two or among more characters."A dialogue literally means 'talk between two people."According to Oxford advanced Learner's Dictionary, a dialogue is a conversation or talk. For example:
(Ram and hari are closed friends and they are talking about their study.
Ram: I have a great problem with maths. Do you have any, Hari?
Hari: Yes, I can't understand geometry.
Ram: But I think algebra is difficult.
Hari: Don't you have any problem with geometry?
Ram: Perhaps but I'm not sure.
Hari would you mind helping me with geometry?
Ram: why not.
Hari: thank you.
Lexical Cohesion
The sentence connectedness of the lexical items or units in a paragraph is simply known as lexical cohesion. It can be said semanticity of a text. It can be introduced by using some connectives and by repeating the key words and sentences. lexical cohesion is the result of chains of related words that contribute to the continuity of lexical meaning. Lexical cohesion is the cohesion that arises from semantic relationships between words. All that is required is that there be some recognizable relation between the words. The lexical chains also provide a semantic context for interpreting words, concepts, and sentences. Determining the structure of text is an essential step in determining the deep meaning of the text.Halliday and Hasan have provided a classification of lexical cohesion based on the type of dependency relationship that exists between words. There are five basic classes:
1. Reiteration with identity of refere
Example: 1.Mary bit into a peach. 2. Unfortunately the peach wasn't ripe.
2. Reiteration without identity of reference:
Example 2
1. Mary ate some peaches. 2. She likes peaches very much.
3. Reiteration by means of superordinate:
Example 3
1. Mary ate a peach. 2. She likes fruit.
4. Systematic semantic relation (systematically classifiable):
Example 4
1. Mary likes green apples. 2. She does not like red ones.
5. Nonsystematic semantic relation (not systematically classifiable):
Example 5
1. Mary spent three hours in the garden yesterday. 2. She was digging potatoes.
The above mentioned two types of cohesion cannot be said to be the unique classification because we donot have, to some extent, airtight demacration to do so. Further more, the same cohesive devices can be used to introduce both grammatical and lexical cohesion. In fact, cohesive devices are the means by which parts of a text are put closely together to maintain unity in writing.
Grammatical cohesion
The connectedness of the grammaticality of a paragraph refers to the grammatical cohesion This can be obtained or introduced in a paragraph by introducing grammatically cohesive devices. Grammatical cohesion is the relation of grammatical elements that include references, adjunct, substitutions, determiners and conjunctions. They are mentioned below:
Substitution: Normally pronouns instead of nouns and phrases instead of clauses.
e.g. She bought a car. I like it .
They like it and so do I.
Reference: Using who , whose, which where, etc.
e.g. The man who is sitting under the tree is my son.
Determiners: Using the, this, that, these,etc.
e.g. I met a man. The man is very tall.
Sentence conjunctions/connectives: Using because, although, in order to, if, etc.
e.g. She passed her exam because of her talent.
Sentence adjuncts: Using however, therefore, on the other hand, moreover, furthermore, besides, etc.
e.g .Raju is polite, helpful and generous. Furthermore, he is talented.
Cohesion
Cohesion is a feature required for all types of texts. Cohesion refers to how parts of a text are connected together. A paragraph cannot be an exception. We know that any kind of text must have a certain structure which depends on factors quite different from those required in the structure of a single sentence. Some of those factors are described in terms of cohesion or the ties and connections which exist within texts.Cohesion literally means 'sticking together', and it's a term from the field of physics that refers to the way water molecules stick to each other. In English, it refers to the way we use 'cohesive devices' to stick our ideas and words together so they flow. Cohesive devices have different definitions, but at REW we mean special words or phrases that do this job or things that we do to connect our ideas. In other words, it's how we use words or grammar to connect everything in our writing and speaking.
Leech says, "By this (cohesion) is meant the intra-textual relations of a grammatical and lexical kind which knit the parts of a text together into a complete unit of discourse and which, therefore, convey the meaning of the text as a whole."
We can conclude that coheswion refers to the intra- textual relations of the grammatical and lexical items that make the parts of the text together as a whole to convey the complete meaning of a text. Thus, the lexical connectedness between or among the lexical items and the grammatical connectedness between/ among the grammatical kind can be termed as cohesion.Cohesion is an important feature of academic writing. It can help ensure that your writing coheres or 'sticks together', which will make it easier for the reader to follow the main ideas in your essay or report. You can achieve good cohesion by paying attention to five important features. The first of these is repeated words. The second key feature is reference words. The third one is transition signals. The fourth is substitution. The final important aspect is ellipsis. We can classify cohesion under two headings. They are ;
Logical order
The central idea is expessed in a statement and then supported by means of examples and other supporting details . All the sentences or expressions are directed or led to the conclusion. reasons are given leading to a conclusion; or a cause and effect relation is also presented. In this order, the controlling idea is developed by means of supporting details leading to a conclusion.For example:
"Two hundred and fifty years ago the population of Great Britain was about seven millions roughly one seventh of the present figure. It was probably increasing, but only slowly. Though we have little statistical information about birth and deaths at that time , we can be fairly confident about the genreal picture. Both the birth rate and death rate were high, and there cannot have a great difference between them. The general standard of living was relatively low, The general standard of living was relatively low, the techniques of agriculture, manufacture and communication being far inferior to those of modern society; medical men were few medical knowledge scanty, And medical institutions such as hospitals hardly existed. In this circumstances morality was inevitably very heavy. When ther were out breaks of epidemic disease deaths may have exceeded births, but this was not normally the case. In most years births exceeded deaths,and the population therefore grew, but only slowly."
The central idea of the above paragraph is that the population of Great Britain was increasing slowly. The reaason for the slow population growth is mentioned in the middle of the paragraph. The central idea is then repeated at the end. Thus there is the logical order of the material.
According to Narayanaswami, there are other metyods of arranging the materials of a paragraph. They can be statements leading to a climax, comparison and contrast, enumeration or classification,and definition. But the three above mentioned are the basic ones.
In order to obtain coherence in a paragraph, different types of connectives can be used. Connectives are also called transitional words or phrases. Some of them are given below:
- Reason connectives: because, because of, as, since etc
- Purpose connectives:to, in order to, so that,etc.
- For a cause effect relation: If, unless, accordingly, as a result, thus, hence, therefore,etc
- To introduce contrast: but, however, nevertheless, on the other hand, on the contrary, although, in spite of, etc
- To introduce semantic relation:who, which that, what, where, etc.
- By the use of pronouns and other reference words.
- By repeating the key words and sentences
Spatial /spacial order
The word 'spacial' belongs to space. This is the order of presenting the material in the paragraph according to the position. When we follow spatial arrangement , we can arrange our material from near to far or from far to near, from outside to inside or from inside to outside, from more prominent to less prominent or from less prominent to more prominent. for example:
"She led me into a cold dark room, rough and very gloomy, although with two candles burning in it, though I marked that the window was open. That which I need was an old man, very stern and comely, with death upon his countenance; yet not lying in his bed, but set upright in a chair, with a lose red cloak thrown over him. Upon this his white hair fell, and his pale finger lay in a ghostly fashion, without a sign of life or movement, or of the power that kept him up, all rapid, calm, relentless. Only in his great black eyes, fixed upon me solemnly, all the power of his body dwelt, all the life of his soul was burning"
Here the author gazes at 'cold dark room', 'the candles', the windows. Then he watches'the man, his posture and his dress'. After that he cares'his hair and fingers', and finally his most striking eyes in which 'his soul was burning'. Then the author, regarding 'the man', in the centre, describes the peripheral elements of the room at the begining and gradually moves to the centre,'the man', and at last he reaches at the soul of the man. Therefore we can claim that he has followed from outside to inside order.
Chronological order
It is the time order. The material is presented according to the order of time. It is the simplest way of arranging the material.
For example:
Man has existed for about a million years. He has possessed writing for about 6000 years agriculture somewhat longer, but perhaps not much longer. Science as a dominant factor in determining the beliefs of educated men has existed for about 300 years;as a source of economic technique, for about 150 years. In this brief period it has proved itself an incredibly powerful revolutionary force. When one consider how recently it has risen to power, we find ourselves forced to believe that we are at a very beginning of its work in transforming human life. What its future effects will be is a matter of conjecture, but possibly on study of its effects hithertomay make the conjecture a little less hazardous.
Coherence
The thought in a paragraph should be connected and developed in a logical order to maintain coherence. The paragraph should be so constructed that one sentence leads on naturally to the next, and there should be a regular logical progression of thought. The logical sense relation between lexical items in a text is simply referred to as coherence. The material of a paragraph can be ordered in many ways, but the appropriate methods can be noted as chronological order, spatial order, logical order, climax, comparison and so on. These methods are mentioned as below:
Main theme not always expressed
Sometimes the topic sentence is not mentioned directly, i.e. the main theme is not expressed but implied. It doesnot mean that the paragraph doesnot have the central idea. It is said"no central idea, no paragraph".
The topic sentence in two places
Some paragraphs are found with the topic sentence, the controlling idea , in two places, usually at the beginning and at the end. In order to add clarity of our writing on a complex topic, the topic sentence is repeated at the end of the paragraph. It doesnot mean that the same sentence is repeated , only the' theme 'of these two sentences must be same. for example:
"The Youth Hostel Movement has, during the last half-century, contributed to international understanding and racial equality. One of the principles emboided in the constitution of the International Youth Hostel Federation is that in the hostels 'there shall be no distinction of race, nationality, colour,religion, class or political opinion'. In the youth hostel of the world, young men and women from different countries meet and make friends making no distinction between rich and poor, white and coloured, conservative and radical, young people from all parts of the world share their experiences in an atmosphere of informality and friendliness. In these hostels, equality and brotherhood are practised in a real sense and mutual understanding and trust fostered"
The topic sentence at the end
Sometimes the topic sentence appears at the end of the paragraph. Facts related or the supporting details are presented one after another leading to a summping up in the topic sentence at the end. While writing such a paragraph, the last sentence is presented to sum up the central idea of the whole writing For example:
"Recently there were reports in the newspapers on violent incidents in Bangladesh during a football match .The fans supporting the two teams clashed openly in the streets, and stones and acid bombs were hurled at the spectators and at the police who were trying to control the crowds. In latin American countries, too, passions run high during football matches, and large-scale violence erupts during the matches. English football fans have indulged in violence during the European cup matches. Such incidents leads us to conclude that our belief in supports as a means of establishing friendship among nations is misplaced"
The topic sentence in the middle.
Sometimes the topic sentence appears in the middle of the paragraph with the supporting details after and before it. in such a paragraph, the reader will have to face with problem of getting the central idea of the paragraph. for example:
"When the motorcar was first introduced, it was a clumsy, noisy machine that laboured along the street at pace no faster than that of a trotting horse. People looked at it with suspicion and fear. Since then the motor car has come a long way, and is today a combination of beauty, luxury, and efficiency. the modern automobile, sleek and streamlined, with its brilliant hues, is an aesthetically appealing object, almost a work of art. you can travel in it in absolute comfort at an incredible speed, and yet feel no fatigue at the end of the day's journey. the engine is a master piece of mechanical ingenuity, and seldom lets you down if you maintain it in good condition".
The topic sentence at the beginning
The topic sentence written at the beginning of the paragraph is clarified by means of supporting details. It is regarded as the most usual system of writing a paragraph. There are some advantages in placing the topic sentence or pilot sentence at the begining that contains the central or controlling idea of the paragraph. the witer will ease himself to plan the paragraph properly. On the other hand, the reader will be faciliated to grasp the information imparted by the paragraph. for example:
" Geographers have found that there are some important differences between the northern and southern polar regions of the earth. The Arctic region, in the north, is mostly sea, surrounded by masses of land. the south pole , on the other hand , is situated in a land mass surrounded by the oceans; in fact, Antarctica is regarded as a continent by itself. Both the regions have a very cold climate, but the winter in the arctic is not so severe or so long as that in the Antarctic. Antarctica is snowbound almost throughout the year, the snow in the Arctic melts in summer."
Placement of the topic sentence
The topic sentence contains the central/ controlling idea that is developed and explained in the rest part of the paragraph. While writing a paragraph, the topic sentence can be placed in any position in the paragraph: at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end. Furthermore, the central idea of a paragraph is found to have been stated in two places: at the beginning, or in the middle and at the end of the paragraph. So does the writer in order to clarify the thought and to sum up the writing obviously to ease the reader for complete understanding.
There are no any particular norms, systems and rules about where to place the topic sentence of a paragraph. (Chaplen 1970) Chaplen thinks that the topic sentence should be placed at the beginning of a paragraph is a very useful guide for both the writer and the reader.The writer can more easily see what information to include in the paragraph, and what information to exclude .The reader knows immediately what the paragraph is going to be about; and he will concentrate his attention to the further explanations and the other supporting details as well. As the result , the reader understands the paragraph readily what the writer intends to impart. Placement of the topic sentence is done:
The topic sentence
The central idea or the controlling idea of a paragraph is expressed in a single sentence which is called the topic or topical sentence. The topic sentence is also called the pilot sentence. The controlling idea is the central idea which is developed in a paragraph; that's why the controlling idea is the summary of the the whole information contained in its paragraph. Consequently, no information that cannot be summarized by the controlling idea can be included in a paragraph. Thus, the central or controlling idea is a restricting idea because it limits the information that can be included in its paragraph.
The topic sentence is the key sentence that draws the reader's attention. It is known as the most important as well as the most powerful sentence of a paragraph. The topic sentence which conveys the central idea or the theme of a paragraph is developed by means of supporting details. The explanation of the paragraph is to be limited depending upon the central idea of the topic sentence. Thus the topic sentence always controls or limits the area of the explanation. unless apiece of writing has the pilot sentence, it will not be a good paragraph, rather a pile of words, because the writing cannot express the central idea of it. Therefore, while producing a paragraph, we should be very careful about what to write in the place of the topic sentence.The controlling idea must be completely developed and explained in its paragraph. Having read a paragraph, the reader should not have any problems in understanding. All the answers to the questions that can be asked by the reader should be overtly explained in the paragraph. Each sentence in a good paragraph must add a piece of information until the central idea expressed in the topic sentence is completely explained and clarified. A good paragraph, like a good story, must have a beginning, a middle and an end. All these three steps are controlled by the topic sentence because the two essential factors to be considered before starting to write any piece of writing are the topic sentence and