Language Faculty

Subject: English

Third Term Teacher: Sheena Hardaker

Name: Nicolas Moreno Duque Date: 09/05/2020

Goal 2: Writing and Usage

Learn how to write in a number of different forms for different audiences and purposes while using
effective language and varying sentence styles.

Exploring:
Some schools have begun to implement later start times. Do you think this is a
good idea? Write a persuasive paragraph with at least 3 pieces of evidence for
why you think we should or shouldn’t start school later:

As many schools began to implement school days earlier, it is very important that our
school follow the same pre-established measures so that the school process is not lost.
In the following text, I will explain the reasons why you should not start class later.
Firstly, a good reason to study early is because your brain has been refreshed with a
good night's sleep, you are more likely to feel refreshed and energized in the morning.
In addition, the morning study sessions do not interrupt a sleep schedule, ensuring you
have enough energy to get through the day. Finally, studying early can create a good
habit for students by taking on responsibilities when getting up early in the morning,
which is why the usual schedule should be followed.

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Language Faculty
Subject: English

Third Term Teacher: Sheena Hardaker

Building Up:
Paper 2’s “Directed Writing” has a similar format as Paper 1’s, but with one critical
difference: It asks you to ealuate then argue for one side of a specific idea. So while you
still have to find and develop ideas, you will also use the ideas (and inferences from
these ideas) to create an argument.

Let’s look at how the format usually looks:

The question usually asks you respond to 3 points surrounding an issue: Identifying and
evaluating the good point about an issue, the bad point about an issue, then picking a side and
arguing for it. Be careful – Even if a text doesn’t specifically tell you to look for the positives and
negatives it often implicity does. The example below only contains two points, but notice that
when it asks you to identify an evaluate the ‘ideas’ or ‘opinions’ it’s asking for both negatives
and positives.

There is no one required way to format the directed writing, but it usually has 5
paragraphs. A short introduction, 3 body paragraphs (positive, negative, your view) with
4 ideas each, and a short conclusion. Remember to pay attention to the register as this
can change the format.

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Language Faculty
Subject: English

Third Term Teacher: Sheena Hardaker

Development & Evaluation

For the first two paragraphs of your text, you should identify related ideas from the text
in your own words. You also need to develop & evaluate them, by looking for broader
implications and whether the idea is valid or not.

One of the ideas from the article above is the legality of graffiti. Let’s look at an example
of how this is developed and evaluated below.

“The legality of street art is still a heated issue with some graffiti artists like Banksy
celebrated in expensive art-galleries while other street artists are hauled before judges.
This hypocrisy shows how outdated and counterproductive these laws are.”

Your View
You need to first take a side on the issue. Therefore, your view paragraph should start
with a short thesis sentence where you give your opinion. After, you will use the ideas
from the reading passage to support your argument. You need to make an argument
from these ideas related to the task of your writing. For example, in the question above
you would take the opinions you found about graffiti from the passage and then infer
how they would affect the proposal for a designated street art area.

Here’s another example of how the idea of legality we evaluated above could be
incorporated into a positive argument for a designated street art zone:

The ambiguous nature of street art’s legality makes designated areas and workshops
even more necessary: creating a legal environment removes the anxiety of being
prosecuted while workshops would help combate the incorrect perceptions that
created these outdated laws.

Don’t forget that acknoweledging opposite ideas then attacking them can also be a
useful way to argue your side!

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Language Faculty
Subject: English

Third Term Teacher: Sheena Hardaker

Organization & Style

While identifying, evaluating, and incorporating ideas is important, aspects of style like
register, grammar, organization and writing style are actually worth slightly more points.
Since we have taken quite a bit of time looking at style and register before, we won’t
review it again. However, organization is a very important skill you will need to connect
ideas in a meaningful way that doesn’t just sound like a list.

One common mistake is over-using connectors. Try using different ways to start
sentences to keep your text interesting and flowing smoothly instead of using
connectors when you don’t need them.

PURPOSE EXAMPLES
So It was late, so I decided to take a taxi home.
Consequently / As a result / Therefore His wife left him. As a result, he became very depressed.
RESULT So / Such (a) ........... that The storm was so terrible that the roofs were ripped off.
He was such a handsome man that she fell in love
immediately.
CAUSE Because / Since / As Since we arrived late, all the best seats had been taken.
AND Because of / Due to We were unable to go by train because of the rail strike.
REASON
Although / Even though / But Although the car is old, it is still reliable.
CONTRAST Despite / In spite of Despite / In spite of the rain, I went for a walk.
However / Nevertheless/ On the other Buying a house is expensive. However, it is a good
hand investment.
TIME When / While / After / Before / As soon While I was driving home, I saw a terrible accident.
as / Until / By the time He went out after he had finished work.
And I don´t feel like going out tonight. Besides, there is a good
In addition / Furthermore / Moreover / film on.
ADDITION Besides She writes novels. In addition, she also writes poetry.
In addition to / As well as They robbed a bank as well as a post office.
Also / Too They adore Indian food. I like Indian food, too.
In order (not) to / So as (not) to + inf Anita phoned me in order to recommend a film she had just
PURPOSE So that + subject + modal verb + inf seen.
I left early so that I would meet Dan at the cinema on time.

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Language Faculty
Subject: English

Third Term Teacher: Sheena Hardaker

Practice:
1. Complete the sentences below with the connectors from the table above.

1. Due to their parents opposition, Tom and Ann decided to get married.
2. We’ll leave the note on the table so that he can see it.
3. Even though I have a great respect for him, I don´t particularly like him.
4. Tim isn´t suitable for the job. He´s too old. Besides, he isn´t interested.
5. Since there are no more questions to discuss, we can finish the meeting.
6. Brian is leaving the company because of his age.
7. The sweater was so big that I could not wear it.
8. He worked for the same company all his life until he retired.
9. Linkers are quite difficult to learn. However, they are worth studying.
10. The temperature in Saudi Arabia can reach 50º C. For so a lot of business is done early in the day.
11. I failed the exam precisely because I didn´t have time to study.
12. John, due to the fact you speak French, I wondered if I could ask you some words.
13. Nora eats green vegetables because they are good for her health.
14. It was such a wonderful view that we were left speechless.
15. While the teacher was out of the class, some pupils wrote a message on the board.

2. Use the text below to respond to the following questions:

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Language Faculty
Subject: English

Third Term Teacher: Sheena Hardaker

a. Identify at least 6 advantages of homeschooling.

1. Can go on visits, for example, to museums

2. Statistics suggest home-schooled students are higher academic achievers.
3. Allows more time for work experience.
4. Can follow own interests.
5. It is enjoyable for the child.
6. Avoids boredom.
b. Read the example paragraph below of the negatives to homeschooling.
Highlight/underline the ideas, evaluation/development and any connectors used.
Ideas/Evaluation/conectors

Home-schooling, however, may not be desireable to all. Homeschooling can create

additional costs and headaches considering things like exams if local schools refuse to
provide them. Many students may forgoe these exams entirely which puts them at risk of
being denied by universities because their lack of GCSE or A-Level makes judging an
applicant’s ability difficult. Also, schools are a good way to prepare a child for the future
when they have to work and have strict deadlines and timetables. On the other hand,
homeschooling may not provide this formation and discipline. Additionally, being at
home offers more distractions than school which could make education in general a
difficult task to accomplish in this environment.

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Language Faculty
Subject: English

Third Term Teacher: Sheena Hardaker

c. Now, imagine that your aunt and uncle are considering educating your cousin at home
and have asked your views. Your cousin is an only child and, in your opinion, rather
spoiled. Write an argumentative paragraph for or against. Don’t forget develop ideas
from the text within context of your task. Also, use connectors. When you are finished,
underline/highlight the ideas, the development and any connectors you used.

To my uncle and aunt I would like to say why not to homeeducate my cousin. To start
home schooling can have many advantages, but even though there are many advantages,
I do not recommend this type of education for my cousin. Some of its advantages are, it
is enjoyable as he is in a common place, he also can follow his own interests and
especialize in the areas that he like, he also can go on trips, for example, to galleries or
museaums and finally statistics advise home-schooled students are higher academic
achievers. But altough all this advantages some reasons of not to homeeducate are: it is
difficult to achieve a good education as it is difficult and expensive if not involved to a
school, also some universities do not accept home-schooled applicants. On the other hand
other reason why I don’t consider my cousin could be home educated is because it requires
self-discipline; no deadlines, homework, exams or timetable and also not all parents are
effective teachers. For my cousin I think that home-schooling is not recommended
because it exist a danger of disliking teachers who make requests, it could let him to fail
to develop independent research abilities. And finally he will remain immature and non-
achieving.

Feedback:

Feedback is important at every step of student learning in order to understand

strengths and limitations of writing in English and therefore take opportunities to
improve. The teacher will give feedback in the following occasions:

Formative feedback– As the student completes exercises and practice, the teacher will
give individual feedback to facilitate the learning process. Please send me the practice to
get formative feedback, and do not forget to post on the discussion forum to get teacher
and peer feedback. If necessary, homework will be given to give further practice and
feedback opportunities.

Summative feedback– After any CELEBRATIONS OF LEARNING, the following class will
be dedicated to analyzing how we did as a class (watching a feedback presentation)
which will include celebrating wins, and correcting common errors. Writing style and
organization will also be looked at an individual level. If you want to book a time for a
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Language Faculty
Subject: English

Third Term Teacher: Sheena Hardaker

video chat, send me an email

Rubrics:
These are the following rubrics for the Directed Writing question: Paper 2, 2020