TEACHING LANGUAGES SKILLS

TOPIC 7: TEACHING WRITING

MAIN CONTENTS:

1. Definition of writing

2. Difference between spoken English and written English

3. Approaches to writing teaching: PRODUCT and PROCESS

4. Principles for teaching Writing

5. Stages in a Writing lesson

!Objectives:

After studying this topic, Ss will be able to

- Reflect what they know about writing and teaching writing

- Have basic understanding of teaching writing and distinguish spoken English and written

English

- Demonstrate the product writing and process writing and principles of teaching writing

- Recognize the stages and techniques in a writing lesson

- Demonstrate suitably and flexibly the techniques of teaching writing

- Apply writing techniques to give a writing lesson

- Evaluate writings of students with suitable criteria

!What writing is

Task 1: Brainstorming questions

1. What is writing? Express your understanding and give some examples of writing

2. Read the text about definition of writing and differences between spoken English and

written English !Writing has been defined in some ways as below

According to Byrne (1988), writing can be considered as the act of forming graphic symbols

such as letters or combination of letters. From this idea, any act that gives the forming of letters

with or without a meaning can be seen as writing.

On the other hand, Lannon (1989) supposes that writing as the process of transforming the

material discovered by research inspiration, accident, trial and error, or whatever into a message

with a definite meaning-writing is a process of deliberate decision. In the other words, writing

must convey a message with a meaning.

Writing a language skill involves not just a graphic representation of speech, but the

development and presentation of thoughts in a structured way (Tribble, 1996, p.3)

Besides, Sokolik defines writing with several contrasts (2003, p.88). First, writing is both a

physical and a mental act in the sense that it requires writers to commit words or ideas to some

medium and at the same time to invent ideas, thinks about how to express them, and organize

them into statements and paragraphs. Second, writing aims at expressing and impressing. Writers

try to express their ideas or feelings; meanwhile they need to impress their reads in certain ways.

Third, writing is a process and a product. Writers have to generate ideas, organize, draft, edit,

read, reread to produce a product - a paragraph, an essay or a report.

Differences between writing and speech

Written and spoken language differ in many ways. However some forms of writing are closer to

speech than others, and vice versa. Below are some of the ways in which these two forms of

language differ:

Writing is usually permanent and written texts cannot usually be changed once they have been

printed/written out.

Speech is usually transient, unless recorded, and speakers can correct themselves and change

their utterances as they go along.

A written text can communicate across time and space for as long as the particular language and

writing system is still understood.

Speech is usually used for immediate interactions.

Written language tends to be more complex and intricate than speech with longer sentences and

many subordinate clauses. The punctuation and layout of written texts also have no spoken

equivalent. However some forms of written language, such as instant messages and email, are

closer to spoken language.

Spoken language tends to be full of repetitions, incomplete sentences, corrections and

interruptions, with the exception of formal speeches and other scripted forms of speech, such as

news reports and scripts for plays and films.

Writers receive no immediate feedback from their readers, except in computer-based

communication. Therefore they cannot rely on context to clarify things so there is more need to

explain things clearly and unambiguously than in speech, except in written correspondence

between people who know one another well.

Speech is usually a dynamic interaction between two or more people. Context and shared

knowledge play a major role, so it is possible to leave much unsaid or indirectly implied.

Writers can make use of punctuation, headings, layout, colours and other graphical effects in

their written texts. Such things are not available in speech

Speech can use timing, tone, volume, and timbre to add emotional context.

Written material can be read repeatedly and closely analyzed, and notes can be made on the

writing surface. Only recorded speech can be used in this way.

Some grammatical constructions are only used in writing, as are some kinds of vocabulary, such

as some complex chemical and legal terms.

Some types of vocabulary are used only or mainly in speech. These include slang expressions,

and tags like y'know, like, etc.

!a. After reading the text, give your own idea about the definition of writing which can represent

the nature of writing to the fullest extent? Give your own reasons for your definition

b. Give the main points of differences between spoken English and written English with

suitable examples for them. Add some more differences if you recommend

!

APPROACHES TO WRITING TEACHING: PRODUCT AND PROCESS

Task 2: In teaching writing, there are two most commonly-used approaches: product-

oriented and process-oriented. Read the text below and pick up the most suitable

characteristics of these approaches to put them into the boxes

Process-oriented and product-oriented approaches to the teaching of writing.

The product-oriented approach to the teaching of writing emphasizes mechanical aspects of

writing, such as focusing on grammatical and syntactical structures and imitating models. This

approach is primarily concerned with "correctness" and form of the final product. Moreover, this

approach fails to recognize that people write for an audience and for a purpose and that ideas are

created and formulated during the process of writing. However,the process-oriented approach

emphasizes that writing itself is a developmental process that creates self-discovery and

meaning. While the mechanical aspects of writing are important,they should not interfere with

the composing process. This composing process requires much revision and rewriting. The

teacher intervenes and guides students during the composing process but initially does not

emphasize "correctness" and the final product; the emphasizes on "correctness" and the final

product comes only toward the very end of the writing process (and, often, a major concern with

"correctness" is put off until towards the middle or even end of the writing course). Instead of

worrying about form, students concentrate on conveying a written message. Hence the product of

writing will improve with the discovery involved in composing.

Product-oriented approaches to writing largely concern the forms of the written products that

students compose. The writing exercises applied in this approach typically deal with sentence-

level writing and paragraph-level organization. Students are often given a framework which

illustrates a pattern of rhetorical organization; then, they are asked to fit their ideas into this

framework. Both the content and the form which the students deal with are largely controlled by

the teacher. Since the main focus of these approaches is on written form, grammar is emphasized

and a particular effort is made to avoid errors.

Process-oriented approaches concern the process of how ideas are developed and formulated in

writing. Writing is considered a process through which meaning is created. This approach

characterizes writing as following a number of processes: First, a writer starts writing ideas as

drafts. Subsequently, he checks to see whether the writing and the organization makes sense to

him or not. After that, he checks whether the writing will be clear to the reader. This approach

focuses on how clearly and efficiently a student can express and organize his ideas, not on

correctness of form. Students are first asked to go through such writing processes, trying

organize and express their ideas clearly. The assumption is that what the student as a writer is

going to say will become clearer through these processes. Students are also taught writing

devices used in marking the organization and in making the general coherence clearer. Teaching

writing must involve both process and product. Teachers should first focus on the organization of

the writing. As the next step, they should deal with grammatical problems seen in writing. When

students are not good at organizing their ideas, the teacher should deal with this before moving

on to grammatical mistakes (presumably, later in the term). This is for several reasons, among

them that better organization often leads to the reduction of other errors and, of course, the clear

expression of ideas is the major point of writing.

(From http://www.csuchico.edu/~gthurgood/232/process_and_product.pdf)

Characteristics

A. Emphasizing creative process

B. Requiring only one draft

C. Being individual

D. Using the text as a resource for comparison

E. Requiring more than one draft

F. Using text as a model for imitation

G. Being more global, focusing on purpose, theme, text type, i.e. the reader is

emphasized

H. Being collaborative

I. Considering organization of ideas more important that ideas themselves

J. Having features highlighted including controlled practice of those features

K. Considering ideas as the staring point

!!

!!!!!!!!!!PRODUCT-ORIENTED APPROACH

Task 3: Read the text below to understand more about product-oriented approach to

teaching writing. You can check your answer above, discuss with your partners in your

groups to give some examples of the writing lessons that are used this approach. What are

strengths and weaknesses of product approach?

Product approach can be seen as prescriptive and product-centered way of teaching writing

(Applebee, 1986). In this approach, final outcome of a writing process is paid much attention and

just one writing version of the task need to be produced. The following model suggested by

Steele (2002) and Clenton (2004) reveals the stages in this approach

a. Stage 1: Model with highlighted features are provided at the beginning, which can help

students have chance to read the model and focus on the highlighted features. For example, if

studying a story, students will pay attention to the paragraphing, time expressions, components

of a story language used to narrate a story.

b. Stage 2: Practice activities are given to help students to drill and remember the highlighted

features they recognized after studying the model. These activities are controlled. Thus, if

students are working with writing a story, they can do with vivid verbs, time expressions like

first, after that or then, no later than, or finally; descriptive details, dialogues building or climax

creating.

Product-oriented approach

Process-oriented approach

c. Stage 3: Students work to organize ideas. Advocates of this approach believe that the

organization of ideas is more important than the ideas as as important as the control of language

(WHY?)

d. Stage 4: Students choose from a choice of comparable writing tasks. Individually, they use

skills, structures and vocabulary they have been taught to produce the product. At this stage, they

need to show what they can use language fluently and competently.

..

PROCESS-ORIENTED APPROACH

Task 4: Read the text below which talks more about process approach. Discuss to find out

the main ideas of this approach. What are strengths and weaknesses of process approach?

Process approach to writing came into play in the 1970s. This approach encourages studentss

communication of ideas, feelings and experiences (Stanley, 2002). Writing is now viewed as a

multistage process with teacher intervention as needed, and is evaluated according to how well it

fulfills the writers intentions (Reid, 1993). Also, teaching and learning writing focus on the

process rather than the final product. Steele (2002) comes up with a typical sequence of activities

following process approach

a. Stage 1: Students generate ideas by brainstorming and discussion. The teacher remains in the

background, only providing language support if needed, so as not to inhibit students in the

production of ideas.

b. Stage 2: Students extend ideas into note form, and judge quality and usefulness of ideas

c. Stage 3: Students organize ideas into a mind map, spider gram, or linear form. This stage

helps to make the hierarchal relationship of ideas more immediately obvious, which helps

students with the structure of their texts.

d. Stage 4: Students write the first draft. This is done in class and frequently in pairs or groups.

e. Stage 5: Drafts are exchanged, so that students become the readers of each others work. By

responding as readers, students develop an awareness of the fact that a writer is producing

something to be read by someone else, and thus can improve their own drafts

f. Stage 6: Drafts are returned and improvements are made based upon peer feedback

g. Stage 7: A final draft is written

h. Stage 8: Students once again, exchange and read each others work and perhaps even write a

response or reply. Finally, students may submit their writing to the teacher for assessment

!Do you think that integrating product into process writing to make up the most satisfactory

means to approach teaching writing? Why or why not?

Which approach are you more familiar with?

Read the following examples and identify which approach to teaching they use

In my writing lesson, first I often provide my students with a model of writing to

study. They are supposed to focus on the features of this

model, especially the language and the structures used. Then they have chance

to do some exercises to practice these features. Next, individually they will make an outline do arrange ideas

for the writing and complete their writing right after that to save time. At last, their

For teaching writing, i have some steps to guide my students write. Before writing, they are given a model to study and pay much attention to the typical features like language and structure of the model. Then they are allowed to work in pairs or groups to find out the ideas of the writing topic. They need to make an outline before working individually to produce their paper. After that, peer-correction is applied when they exchange their writing to g et co m m e nt s f r o m t h e i r partners. They will edit or have some changes for their writing based on the feedback from peers

if necessary. They may exchange their writing

again or give it to When

teaching writing, I usually ask my students to discuss to get ideas for their

writing first. Then, they choose the best ideas and write an outline. Then, they are asked to work in pairs to

produce the first draft. After that, they will work in groups to exchange their writings and give feed back to each

other. Finally, they write the final version based on the feedback from their friends. I may collect

their papers to assess.

Principles for teaching writing Task 5: In groups, discuss the following questions

a. Should teachers ask their students to practice writing in reading, listening and speaking

b. What should teachers do to make their feedback on studentss writings helpful and meaningful?

c. Is it necessary for students to be clear about how their writings are evaluated? why? why not?

d. How can the teacher play the role of a motivator and resource in writing class?

The following are a few principles that every teacher should consider while planning a course,

whether it is a writing course, or a course in which writing will play a part. These principles can

(and should) be adapted to the many different learning situations.

1. Understand your students reasons for writing.

The greatest dissatisfaction with writing instruction comes when the teachers goals do not match

the students, or when the teachers goals do not match those of the school or institution in which

the student works. It is important to understand both and to convey goals to students in ways that

make sense to them. Are the students required to take other courses? If so, which ones? Will

those courses require writing? If so, what kind of writing?

This is not to say that your course should only be in service to other cours- es. However, if your

curriculum includes a lot of personal writing, and the stu- dents other courses do not, what is

your justification for including this kind of writing? What benefit do you think it has? How do

the skills learned in per- sonal writing apply to other types of writing? Answering these questions

will help you to find a focus for the writing that is to be done in your class.

1. What are the ways in which you use writing? Make a list (think of everything from

shopping lists to research essays) of all the ways in which you use writing.

2. Review your list and think of which could be converted into writing activities. Create one activity related to an item on your list.

2. Provide many opportunities for students to write.

Writing almost always improves with practice. Evaluate your lesson plans: how much time is

spent reading or talking about writing, and how much is spent actually writing? My students

groan when they see how much writing is required, but I draw an analogy for them: Since

writing is in part a physical activity, it is like other physical activitiesit requires practice, and

lots of it. If someone wanted to become an excellent basketball player, would she read and

discuss basketball, or would she go out and shoot some baskets? Just as basketball players play

basketball, writers write. However, you can lower the

stakes. Not every piece of writing needs to be corrected or graded. You dont keep score when

youre practicing free throws, so teachers shouldnt grade practice writing. When practice

writing sessions are integrated regularly into your syllabus, students will become more

comfortable with the act of writing.

Practice writing should provide students with different types of writing as well. Short responses

to a reading, journal entries, letter writing, summaries, poetry, or any type of writing you find

useful in your class should be prac- ticed in class.

3. Make feedback helpful and meaningful.

Students crave feedback on their writing, yet it doesnt always have the intended effect. If you

write comments on students papers, make sure they understand the vocabulary or symbols you

use. Take time to discuss them in class. Be cautious about the tone of your comments. The

margins of a paper are small and can force you into short comments. When writing short com-

ments, we tend to leave out the words that soften our message. While you may think, Im not

sure I understand your point here, the limited space may cause you to write simply,

UNCLEAR or just ?. Students can see comments such as these as unkind and unhelpful.

Feedback need not always be written in the margins. You can experiment with different forms:

individual conferences, taped responses, typed summary responses, and so forth.

Finally, feedback should not entail correcting a students writing. In order to foster

independent writers, you can provide summary comments that instruct students to look for

problems and correct them on their own. So, instead of adding an s to the end of every first

person present tense verb, a comment at the end might say, There are several verbs that are

missing an -s at the end. Try to locate and correct these verbs in the next version of this paper.

With one of the sample student papers, experiment with writ- ten feedback.

1. Find one good idea the student has, and make an encouraging comment about it.

2. Find a place where the student wasnt clear, and write a comment that will help her/him clarify it.

3. Identify a grammar problem, and make a comment that will help the student see the problem in other places in the paper.

4. Which of these was easiest to do? Which was most difficult?

5. What other issues might you comment on in the paper you chose?

!4. Clarify for yourself, and for your students, how their writing will be evaluated.

Students often feel that the evaluation of their writing is completely subjective. Teachers often

hear, I just dont understand what you want. One way to combat that feeling is to first develop

a statement for yourself about what is valued in student writing, either in your classroom or in

your institution as a whole. Some questions you might ask are:

1. On a scale of 110, how important is creativity, or originality of ideas?

2. On a scale of 110, how important is following a particular written for- mat (such as a research report, book report, letter, etc.)?

3. On a scale of 110, how important is grammatical accuracy?

4. On a scale of 110, how important is it that the assignment include recently taught material?

5. On a scale of 110, how important is accuracy in spelling and punctuation? Answering these (and other questions that are relevant to your situation)

will help you to develop a rubric, a kind of scoring grid that elaborates the elements of writing

that are to be evaluated. This rubric should outline the weight of grammar and mechanics in

relationship to content and ideas, as well as other features of writing that you find important.

There are three general types of rubrics that you can develop for your assignments:

Non-weighted rubric This type of rubric provides descriptions of writing quality by level across

other writing criteria. A brief example of this type of rubric would look like the following:

!Figure 2 Non-weighted rubric

Excellent adequate inadaquate

content Description of what would be excellent content

Description of adequate development of content

Description of inadequate content

organization Description of superior organization

Description of adequate organization

Description of inadequate organization

grammar Statement of level of grammatical accuracy expected

Statement of an adequately grammatical paper

Statement of types of grammatical problems that lead to the papers inadequacy

comment: The instructors general comments on the students assignment

With this type of rubric, the teacher would circle or check the level the student had achieved in

each of the three categories, and then provide some written comments on the bottom of the page,

or on the students assignment.

Weighted rubric A weighted rubric is similar to the unweighted one, but it breaks the writing

skills into categories and sub-categories. A specific point value is assigned to each. Converting

the organization element of the non-weighted rubric on page 94 into an element in a weighted

rubric might look like this:

Organization: 10 points has a clear introduction

has separate paragraphs has a conclusion uses transitions to join paragraphs uses transitions when needed within paragraphs

For each element listed, for example, the instructor might assign up to two points, for the total of

ten.

Holistic rubric A holistic rubric describes in general terms the qualities of excellent, good, fair,

and unsatisfactory assignments. These descriptions can be tied to grades or stand on their own.

The instructor then chooses the description that fits the assignment. An example of one part of a

holistic rubric might look like this:

!!!!!!!

Students can help to form a rubric as well. Take class time to ask them what they value in

writing. Ask them what features make writing enjoyable to read and what features distract from

that enjoyment. This kind of discus- sion has two benefits: it not only gives students a voice in

the evaluation of their own work, it also provides a common vocabulary with which the entire

class can discuss their writing and the writing of others. To assist in this dis- cussion, give

students a piece of good writing and a piece of poor writing (from a different class than the one

they attend, of course). Ask them to state which is the good and which is the poor piece, with an

explanation. Then get them to say why one piece is good and the other piece is poor. In this way,

they generate the criteria for good writing.

1. Who are the learners that you are teaching (or imagine yourself to be teaching)? Consider

their ages, first languages, academic training and experience, proficiency level in English,

and learning goals, both person- al and as defined by the curriculum.

2. Given these learners, how will you select writing activities for the class?

GRADE DescriptionB The B paper shows:

an ability to interpret and develop ideas in the writers own words

a clear organizational pattern

vocabulary that is adequate in expressing ideas

generally correct use of punctuation or spelling, although with occasional errors

grammar that is usually accurate, and does not interfere with the readers understanding

5. Design or make writing activities communicative

Activities should indicate exactly what the students are expected to write, the reason for writing

and who is realistically likely to read the finished text. In other words, students should write with

answers to THREE questions in mindL what they are writing? (genre), for who (audience) and

why? (purpose). In this way, the writing activities in class tend to resemble communicative

writing tasks in the real life.

Read the following activity and identify whether it is communicative or not

(Adapted from http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/supergoal/Chapter5%20Section3.pdf

and Harmer, 2002; Sokolik, 2003, de Chazal, 2006, cited in To, et al, 2012)

!

!STAGES IN A WRITING LESSON

!Task 6: Discuss the following questions

1. How many stages are there in a writing lesson? What are they?

2. In your opinion, what are the aims of those stages?

3. What does your teacher usually ask you to do in the pre-writing, while-writing and post-

writings stage of your writing lesson?

4. In your opinion, what are the aims of the pre-writing stage?

5. Read the column of the activities below and put a tick in an appropriate stage

!PRE-WRITING WHILE-WRITING POST-WRITING

1. sharing and comparing

Writing activity B: A school sport day!Write about a school sport day. Then read it carefully. Are there any mistakes? Give it

to a friend to check

!Task 7: Read the text and do the tasks that follow

Pre-writing is any activity in the classroom that encourages students to write. It stimulates

thoughts for getting started. Pre-writing activities help students prepare raw materials for the

composing stage, and organize them in the best way (Coffin et al, 2003); therefore, they develop

students fluency (Byrne, 1988).

In the first place, it is necessary to help students students identify who they are going to write,

what kind of writing they are going to perform and what the purpose of the writing is.

In addition, teachers should introduce a variety of strategies for getting started with a writing task

to students and encourage them to work out which strategies are the best for them (Kriill, 1991).

Below are some techniques applied to help students generate ideas:

2. revising and writing

3. performing the

writing tasks

4. editing the writing

5. feedback and

correction

6. establish the who,

what and why

7. making use of

words and structures

needed for writing

task

8. evaluating

1. Brainstorming: this can be done individually, in pairs or in groups. Students list all the ideas

they can think of related to a topic, either in writing or aloud quickly and without much

planning.

2. Listing: this can be a quiet and essentially individual activity. Students are encouraged to

produce a list of all the subcategories that come to mind as they think about the topic

3. Clustering: Clustering goes by many names: webbing, mind-mapping, bubbling,

diagramming. It is an easy and graphic way to capture your ideas on paper while showing

how each idea is related to the others. Clustering is typically done with pen and paper or with

a chalk or dry-erase board . Begin by placing a topic in the center of the page and drawing

circle around it. Then, as related words, phrases, and ideas come to mind, write them, circle

them, and connect them to the circles that enclose related ideas. Continue as long as you like,

filling up the page with an increasingly complex map of your thoughts. Keep coming back to

the central idea before you wander too far off the original topic. What makes clustering so

helpful is that most of us dont think in straight lines. Our minds may start in one direction,

but one thought leads to a another that we might want to record before going back to the

original idea. Clustering allows the mind to wander down related lines of thought as long as

you like. Ideas spur ideas and the connections we make keep us from forgetting the idea we

started with.

4. Quick writing is a strategy that allows students to begin the writing process. It allows

students to collect data in a fast way. The student is to pick a topic to write about. Next, the

student will write as much as they know about the given topic. The teacher is supposed to

stress to the students that grammar and spelling do not matter in this portion of writing. This

portion of writing is to jog students mind with ideas to write about. This will provide

substance for the student to base their writings off

5. Wh-questions: students use questions Who, What, Why, Where, When, and How about a

topic. More such questions can be asked of answered to the first string of Wh-questions.

6. Model analysis: Students are provided with a model writing and have to analyze its

language, structure or typical features. Then based on the model, students generate ideas for

their writing.

After having the ideas to write, students develop them, choose the ones to keep and those to be

omitted and then arrange them in a suitable order. Then with the help of the peer or teacher, they

can make an outline for their writing

a. What are the strong points and weak points of each technique?

b. Match each technique with its example

A.

B. .

!

!!

!!!!!

!

1. Where can we go hiking? 2. What are the good points of hiking in the wilderness? 3. What should we bring when we go hiking? 4. When is the best time of the year for hiking? 5. How long should we go hiking for?

outdoor recreation

day hiking trips

sea beauty of area

kite flyingwonderful scenery and wildlife

trails marking

wild flowers

scenery

waterfall

mountains

C. .

!

!!!!

D.

wilderness hiking

wildlife

animals

trees

- can walk difficult or easy trails - go backpacking - family activity - suitable for all ages - productive and good for health - group fun activity

E.

F. .

c. Below are the topics for writing lessons in Grade 11. In groups, work to design pre-writing

activities for them, using one or more appropriate techniques that helps the students to

generate their ideas.

Task 8:

In this stage, there are THREE kinds of activities teachers can use to help students practice

writing. They can be CONTROLLED WRITING, GUIDED WRITING and FREE WRITING.

Controlled writing involves students in very mechanical activities under the control of the

teacher to practice certain vocabulary and sentence structures. Guided writing activities are less

Hiking in the wilderness is fun. It is good. good for all people. We can see many beautiful places with trees, animals and wild flowers in the forest or in the mountains. We also do a lot of activities in groups. we should bring umbrella, raincoat, food, tent, walking

Topic 1: (Unit 8- CELEBRATIONS)

Describe a celebration activities

Write a description of one of the popular celebrations in Vietnam

Topic 2: (Unit 13- HOBBIES)$Write about your collection, real or imaginary$

My name is Britney and

I am 16. I have three

brothers and we live in a

small house near the

centre of the village

My name is .

mechanical than controlled writing ones, but students still have to write under the teachers

control to some extent. For guided writing activities, teachers can design the tasks using

questions and answers, writing based on cued words and writing based on provided information.

while free writing allows students to express their ideas more freely. The teacher can ask students

to write about pictures or to write in response to a situation.

a. Study the descriptions of the controlled writing activities below and match each of them with

its example

!Controlled activities Examples

1. Gap-fill sentences/paragraphs: T writes on

the board/extra-board or prepares handouts

with several sentences or a paragraph with

some words left out. The missing words can

either be marked by a line or you can draw

picture cues. T may or may not provide words

to fill in the blanks

a. Arrange the words in the correct order

to make a complete sentence

like the in I friends

my river and the going

with afternoon to swimming

!

2. Sequencing jumble words: In this activities,

jumble words will be correct words but given

in the wrong order. T writes the words on the

board in random order. Ss have to put the

words in the right order and then write out the

correct sentence

b. Rewrite the sentences, using true

information about yourself

My name is Britney and I am 16. I have three

brothers and we live in a small house near the

centre of the village

!My name is .

.

3. Transformation writing: T gives Ss

handouts with a short paragraph or a letter. Ss

rewrite the paragraph or letter as required by

T. T can change information in the paragraph:

change grammar (tenses, personal pronoun),

change the facts (e.g. from England to

Vietnam) or change the meaning (e.g. sad->

happy)

c. Fill each blank with a suitable word

I two sisters and

.like going

..school, because we have

.. of friends and we like

. teacher

4. Completing sentences: T gives the

beginning of the sentences and Ss have to

complete those sentences. There may be more

than one correct suggestions and they all are

acceptable as long as they are correct in

grammar and language use

d. Rewrite the paragraph. Change from I

to She

My name is Hoai An and I am sixteen. I live in

Thai Nguyen with my family. I study at Chu

Van An High School. In my free time I like

listening to music and playing with my dog

!Her name is .

Task 8: Read the descriptions of the guided writing activities below and then match each of

those activities with its description

1. Questions and answers

2. Writing based on cued words

3. Writing based on provided information

!a. T provides Ss with a table of information. Ss write a paragraph, using the information

given

Example: Unit 9 - Undersea World, English 10

5. Parallel sentences: T writes correct

sentences on the board, and Ss re-write the

sentences making it true for themselves, using

the model sentences to get their grammar

right.

e. Complete the following sentences !I am .

I like .

I can .

I have ..

b. T asks Ss to answer a series of questions. Ss have to put the sentences together to form a

coherent paragraph

Example: Unit 5 - TECHNOLOGY, English 10

c. T provides Ss with cued words and phrases. Ss write a coherent paragraph, using these cues

Example: Test Yourself C, English 10

Task 9: With Free-Writing activity, the teacher can ask students to write about pictures or

to write in response to a situation

Read two examples below and write a description for each activity

Example 1:

WRITING ABOUT PICTURES

Adapted from Unit 14 - RECREATIONS, English 11 (cited in To, et al, 2012, p.73)

Last weekend, class 11A2 went to Ba Vi for a camping holiday. Below are some pictures

describing the students activities. Write a passage about the classs camping holiday based on

the pictures

Your description of the activity:

...

.

.

WRITE IN RESPONSE TO A SITUATION

Unit 6 - AN EXCURSION, English 10

Your description of the activity:

...

.

.

!Task 10: In groups, design two or three while-writing activities for one of the two topics in

part c of Task 7 above. Demonstrate the activities to the class

!Task 11: POST-WRITING STAGE

At this stage you start revising your text. You read and edit your text for clarity and

consistency. You should give yourself time to reread and edit your text several times. Look

for:

The overall argument: is it clear and logical?

The structure: is it helpful and clear?

Paragraphs: are they focused? Here you might also consider if things are

missing or

unclear do you need more examples or explanations? Or have you perhaps

included

stuff that is unnecessary and confuses you argument?2

Language: is the language stylistically and grammatically correct? Have you

documented your sources correctly?

Writing tip: When revising, it is a good idea to start on the more general levels of argument

and structure and then move to more detailed levels, in order to save time. Make notes in your

text when rereading about what to revise. You may also list the larger revisions you intend to

make in a separate document. It is also a very good idea to use readers ask a friend or form a

peer group with fellow students and read each others texts and give feedback.

The Text Triangle

The text triangle illustrates the different levels of the text. When revising a text, or

commenting on another writers text, try to start at the higher levels of content, argument and

structure, and then move down through the more detailed levels.

(Adapted from http://uadm.uu.se/digitalAssets/56/56677_The_Writing_Process.pdf)

In your opinion, in this stage, from whom can you get the feedback for your writing?

!!!!!!!