WRITING FOUNDATION 11/08/2019

Session 1: INTRODUCTION

INSTRUCTOR: MS LUU CAM HA 1

 WRITING FOUNDATION 11/08/2019

A. Introduction to English writing

1. Reasons for writing
- At school

- At work

 For the purpose of _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Do you write for yourself?

Essays are written for three major reasons

 To inform
 To explain
 To persuade
Depending on the result you hope to achieve, you can use various methods of writing, called
methods of development
_________________: tells a story
_________________: presents a picture
Process:
_________________: shows similarities and differences between two or more things
_________________: examines how one thing lead to another
Argument :

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WRITING FOUNDATION 11/08/2019

2. Parts of an essay
No matter which method of development you choose, every essay has three main
parts, each with a specific function in the essay

INTRODUCTION: grabs the readers’ interest and sets up your subject

BODY: develop your essay’s viewpoints. Each starts with a topic sentence that sets
up the point to be developed that paragraph.
CONCLUSION: reinforces or summarizes your points in a final paragraph.

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WRITING FOUNDATION 11/08/2019

3. 7 Steps to write an essay

Step 1: Narrow your focus and determine your thesis statement

Step 2: Choose your method of development
Step 3: Develop your outline
Step 4: Write your first draft
Step 5: Prepare for your final draft
Step 6: Revise and finalize your essay
Step 7: Proofread your essay

B. Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) Writing

1. What is the Advanced (CAE) Writing test like?
The test has two sections and takes 90 minutes:
Part 1 - Write an essay with a discursive focus
Some material to read (up to 150 words) which may include material taken from
advertisements, extracts from letters, emails, postcards, diaries, short articles, etc. Using this
information, write an essay with a discursive focus.
220–260 words.
Part 2 - Situationally based writing task
Choose one of four questions. You have to read some input material and write one of the
following: a letter/email, a proposal, a report or a review.
220–260 words.
Scoring
The Advanced (CAE) Writing Test makes up 20% of the entire exam.
Your writing is assessed using four criteria:
 Content - have you answered the question?
 Communicative Achievement - have you completed the task in the right sort of
language ?
 Organisation - have you structured your writing with paragraphs?
 Language - have you used a good range of grammar and vocabulary
How to prepare for the Advanced (CAE) Writing test ?

 Choose a question that you are interested in. You will write better if you know the
subject.
 Read the instructions carefully before you start. Make notes. You must include all the
points in the instructions.
 Make a plan before you start writing. Decide what information to put in each paragraph.
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WRITING FOUNDATION 11/08/2019

 Think about who you are writing to and use an appropriate style of language.
 Try to use a range of complex language.
 Leave enough time to check what you have written.

2. Sample test, assessment and model answer

3. Some tips
a. Time management
Planning – 10 minutes
Writing – 25 minutes
Checking – 10 minutes
b. Using template
Each genre of writing has a different style of development and language. Be sure
that you employ all templates skillfully to save time for planning as much as
possible.
c. Formal language
Which is better English:
“ Wasssssssup?!”
or
“Dear Sir or Madam”

Well, it depends who you're talking to! If your task is to write a report for your
'serious' organisation you should use a formal tone. If you're writing a magazine
article for teenagers you can be more informal.
The main tip is to be consistent - students often write a report that is 95% formal,
and then throw in some exclamation points, slang, contractions, and informal
vocabulary. That's bad! It suggest you don't have control over your tone.
Learn more about formal vs informal English:
on the Antimoon website (run by two Polish students who mastered English)
on the EngVid site
from the BBC

TASK TYPES
You should invest some time making sure you know the difference between a letter
and an essay, and between a report and a proposal. Here are a few quick tips:

Essay
You need to give your opinion in an interesting way. CAE essays are often academic
in tone, so practice of formal writing will be helpful.

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WRITING FOUNDATION 11/08/2019

Letter/email
Write an email with the same opening/closing as a letter. In these you write about
your personal experiences. Your writing will have a purpose, like responding to a
newspaper article you don't agree with.

Report/Proposal
Use headings for each paragraph. The task will tell you some of the content you
need to include and you'll be able to use your imagination to add some more ideas.
You may be asked to evaluate if some goal has been achieved and/or to suggest
alternative courses of action. A proposal will have more scope for making
suggestions and more need for polite persuasive language.

d. Organisation
Cambridge loves linking words and cohesive devices. These are bits of text like
'firstly', 'whereas', 'in addition', 'however', and so on. Properly used, they will make
your writing flow and make your text easier to read. You can't do well in CAE
without using these phrases.

e. Vocabulary
Organising a text, using linking words, and getting all the content points is a great
start, but for a high grade you'll need to use advanced vocabulary and more difficult
sentence structures.
In the planning stage of the exam think about which high-level words you know for
that topic and think in which paragraph you can use them. For example, if the topic
is about transport you might use phrases like 'mass transit system', 'to commute',
'congestion,' and 'pressed for time'.
Then you need to use a variety of structures - passives, inversions, cleft sentences,
questions, sentences with semi-colons. The more variety the better!

For example, instead of writing:

A lot of politicians say they will improve bus and train services. Having trains is good
for people who have to go to work. It means they don't have to take the car to
work. It is probably faster. If everyone takes a train to work there won't be any
traffic jams.

You can produce this:

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WRITING FOUNDATION 11/08/2019

Why do progressive politicians pledge to provide mass transit systems in their

cities? The answer is clear: Not only do pressed-for-time commuters benefit, but
there is also less pollution. Let congestion be a thing of the past; let flowers bloom
next to every tram stop.

INSTRUCTOR: MS LUU CAM HA 7