Cambridge English Exams: The Writing Paper (IH Bydgoszcz Cambridge Training Day 2016)
•Download as PPTX, PDF•
4 likes•7,887 views
Activities to help teachers prepare students for the writing paper of the Cambridge First and Cambridge Advanced exams. For all links please see: http://sandymillin.wordpress.com/examwriting
Recommended
Recommended
More Related Content
What's hot
What's hot (18)
Viewers also liked
Viewers also liked (11)
Similar to Cambridge English Exams: The Writing Paper (IH Bydgoszcz Cambridge Training Day 2016)
Similar to Cambridge English Exams: The Writing Paper (IH Bydgoszcz Cambridge Training Day 2016) (20)
More from Sandy Millin
More from Sandy Millin (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Cambridge English Exams: The Writing Paper (IH Bydgoszcz Cambridge Training Day 2016)
- 1. Cambridge English Exams The Writing Paper Sandy Millin IH Bydgoszcz, Director of Studies http://sandymillin.wordpress.com/examwriting Success with Cambridge English 13th February 2016
- 2. What problems do your learners have with writing? What do you think they need to know?
- 3. Nice Not nice Sue O’Connell, Think Smart – Developing Thinking Skills for IELTS students (IATEFL Liverpool 2013)
- 4. Idea generation Photo from ELTpics by @acliltoclimb, under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial license PotatoTalksfromThinkingintheEFLClass
- 5. Rubric role plays Writer You’re a writer and you’re meeting the editor of Theatre World magazine to discuss a review they want you to write. Think about what information you need from the editor to make sure you write the review they want to see. Reader You’re the editor of Theatre World magazine and you’re meeting a writer to discuss a review you want them to write. Think about what you want to see in the review and what will make you publish it in your magazine. IdeafromDavidPetrie
- 6. Rubric role plays Reviews needed! Have you been to the theatre recently? If so, could you write us a review of the play you saw? Include information on the characters, costumes and story and say whether you would recommend the play to other people. The best reviews will be published next month.
- 8. Essay structure Travel broadens the mind and widens our horizons (FCE) Travel abroad is no longer a luxury and nowadays most people in my country have had at least one foreign holiday. Personally, I think this has benefited our society in a number of ways. Firstly, it enables us to observe and value other cultures and to understand that ours is not the only way of life. Consequently, this helps combat ignorance and narrow-mindedness, which so often lead to racial prejudice and even violence. Secondly, foreign tourists can learn from and ‘borrow’ those aspects of other cultures which are better than in their own country. It seems to me that the improvement in my country’s eating habits owes a great deal to foreign travel. Another benefit is that more people can now see the world’s most spectacular natural sights and visit its most important historic monuments. As a result, we discover our planet and become more knowledgeable in a way which is simply not possible with the Internet or television. To conclude, I strongly believe that if we travel with an open mind, our horizons will be widened even further. ReadyforFCE,SBp120
- 9. Intro • Most people think that… • However,… • Personally, I think this has benefited our society in a number of ways. Paragraph 1 • Firstly,… • Consequently,… Paragraph 2 • Secondly,… • Another benefit is that… • As a result, … Conclusion • To conclude,… Linking words
- 10. Linking words My dog had died that morning. I wasn’t as sad as I expected. He did not plan to. He had not discussed the matter with her. I’m studying English. I want to travel. and but because
- 11. Linking words • He had not discussed the matter with her and he did not plan to. • My dog had died that morning, but I wasn’t as sad as I expected to be. • I’m studying English because I want to travel. Now rewrite the sentences with other linking words.
- 12. Manipulating sentences Technology has improved a lot. Telescopic Text
- 13. Checklists • Does your introduction include your main argument and indicate the topics of your paragraphs? • Does your conclusion refer back to the introduction? • Is the register consistent and formal/neutral? • Have you included suitable linking words? (If any of your sentences start with But ....., And...., Because..... , please change them by using the linking your teacher gave you ) • Have you supported your arguments by examples/justification? Will the reader be generally informed about your view on the topic? Pavla Milerski, Exam Writing seminar
- 14. Feedback ideas • Choose your battles! • Record writing comments
- 15. Useful websites Useful FCE websites Flo Joe Cambridge Write and Improve Quizlet
- 17. Cambridge English Exams The Writing Paper Sandy Millin IH Bydgoszcz, Director of Studies http://sandymillin.wordpress.com/examwriting Success with Cambridge English 13th February 2016
Editor's Notes
- Questions from David Petrie
- Take a piece of paper, draw the table. Listen and write the seven words. Decide quickly! Dictate list quickly! computer, shopping, competition, drama, writing, disco, snow Compare to a partner. Then justify. Activity shows students that the same thing can be seen in different ways – not just one right way to do things.
- Need a potato! Do this activity: http://www.helblinglanguages.com/images/stories/book/thinking/potato_talks.pdf - Potato talks / Thinking in the EFL Classroom by Tessa Woodward p174-175 Other ideas: http://sandymillin.wordpress.com/2013/04/11/think-smart-developing-thinking-skills-for-ielts-students-sue-oconnell-iatefl-2013/ She said: “If you let students work for five minutes or so on an activity, for the first third of the time, the ideas are fairly routine, the next third are more unusual, and the final third are more original and complex. Therefore, you must encourage students to defer editing (ideas first, then monitor) and don’t stop the idea generation process. There are two stages: possibility (all possible) and practical (what is actually relevant). It’s useful to have a quota and a time limit.“
- Stole this idea from David Petrie Works especially well with teenage students, by putting them in the shoes of the reader and writer Do role play before they see the rubric
- By doing the role play first, it: Gives you different ideas of what to write Gives you a better idea of the target reader Makes you ‘experience’ the abstract – especially good for younger students who don’t have such a range of life experience Lets students express attitudes and feelings Provides a break from routine
- Also stolen from David Petrie These are the five FCE text types. I’ll show you two. What are they? How do you know? essay report Draw two more. Compare to the pictures
- What goes into each paragraph? Pavla Milerski’s activity Put the essay in order Check on screen Analyse structure further – what is the function of each paragraph? Intro 1st benefit 2nd benefit Conclusion – no new ideas! How are the benefits paragraphs structured? Main idea of paragraph, supporting points, (summarising the idea of the paragraph) Steal useful phrases
- Could teach them a fixed structure…
- Or teach them more about different linking words. Link the sentence halves using and/but/because
- Then: What others do you know? Encourage students to rewrite the sentences using other linkers in the same category (addition, contrast, reason). Don’t forget to look at punctuation. For more on linking words of contrast: http://sandymillin.wordpress.com/2013/11/16/contrast-linkers/
- How can you make this sentence longer and raise the level of the language? 2 minutes to make as many changes as you can. Share. Can also manipulate sample paragraphs or whole pieces of writing, perhaps using samples from the handbook and looking at the comments http://www.telescopictext.com/ can be used to add an extra level of challenge
- Give students a checklist to check their writing – what would you include in an essay checklist? If you’ve done the rubric roleplay, you can also refer back to that.
- 3-4 general areas to work on – highlight places in the text. Get SS to correct it and give it back to you. Correct other things yourself for them. Keep a record of writing comments – give students a copy, and use criteria
- What are your ideas? Did any of these activities help you with any of the problems your students are having?