TEACHING WRITING doc

TEACHING WRITING
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Shape of a writing lesson
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Techniques for while (controlled) writing
(Adopted from English Language Teaching Methodology-
BA upgrading course-The Ministry of Education & Training -2003)

Shape of a writing lesson
Revision
Word Cue Drill
Pre-Writing Stage
- Establishing who, what, why…
- Making use of words, structures
needed for the writing task
- Drafting & Redrafting
While-Writing Stage
- Performing the writing
Post-Writing Stage
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Sharing & Comparing
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Feedback & correction

Techniques for while –
(controlled) writing
1. Substitution boxes
2. Transformation writing
3. Questions and answers
4. Write - it – up

5. Recall

1. Substitution boxes

The teacher puts a box full of words on the
board. The words fit together to either make one
long sentence or lots of short sentences. The
class is divided into strong groups and weak
groups. The strong groups write down one long
sentence while the weak ones write down as
many different short sentences as possible. For
stronger groups, the sentence with the most
words in the given time is the winner. For
weaker groups, the group with the most
sentences is the winner.

2. Transformation writing
The teacher gives the students handouts with a
short paragraph or a letter. The students
rewrite the paragraph or letter as required by the
teacher. The teacher can change information in
the paragraph in three different ways: change the
grammar (e.g. from the future to the past or from ‘I’
to ‘he’); change the facts (e.g. from England to
Vietnam); change the meaning (e.g. from ‘sad’ to
‘happy’).

3. Questions and answers

The teacher gives students a series of

questions. The students answer the
questions in full sentences. The students
have to, where possible, combine two
sentences into one and then put the
sentences together to form a coherent
paragraph.

4. Write - it – up

The students write notes or fill in grids
using the information collected from any
speaking, listening or reading activities.
Then, they ‘write it up’ in full sentences, or
as a paragraph.

5. Recall

This technique is used in the final stage of
the lesson. After listening to /reading a
story, students are asked to rewrite it,
using their own language. Students can
work in pair or group.