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Table of Contents

Introduction....................................................................................................................1

1. Writing Instructions and practices.............................................................................2

2. Criteria for the writing lesson....................................................................................4

3. Writing lesson plan....................................................................................................4

4. Rationale about the proposed writing lesson plan......................................................6

5. Appendices.................................................................................................................7

6. Recourses.................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
Writing is viewed as a product of complicated processes of planning, drafting,
reviewing, and editing, and it is regarded as a challenging activity that corresponds to
some unique traits and phases. Writing is a difficult process of writing and redrafting
in order to attain coherence (Armengol-Castells, 2001) Writing creates meaning via
the use of printed words. Writing is a process that "involves many other talents,
including reading," making it "a challenging, anxiety-filled task." Both reading and
writing are regarded as acts of meaning formation and as two sides of the same coin.
The interaction between the writer and the reader is ongoing as the reader interprets
the writer's view of the world. (Armengol-Castells, 2001)

The process of writing in a second language (L2) is difficult task. It is a lifetime talent
that is required in academic settings. (Seow, 2002) Reading and writing are
considered to be interrelated. Writing therefore involves active thought and problem
solving, just like reading does. It is a dynamic, cyclical, creative, and interconnected
process that creates meaning and necessitates the mastery of many abilities, not just
reading.

The above assignment aims at the development of a writing lesson in accordance with
the writing principles learned, and also to compile a set of criteria for the above lesson
as well as provide justifications for the above choices on the writing lesson.

Hence, the above assignment aims at the development of a writing lesson to a certain
group of learners, in relation with reading activities. More specifically, the writing
lesson is designed for a group of learners at the Third Grade of Junior High School. In
accordance with the Common European Framework of Reference the students are at
the B1+/B2 level of competence and they are portrayed as advanced learners of the
English language. The specific group of learners consists of 8 boys and 9 girls, all of
them native Greek students. They have been learning English as a second language
for 6-7 years and they have a great command of the English language. The class is
goal-oriented and they like English a lot.

Thus, in relation to the Common European Framework of Reference the learners at

the specific level are able to:

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  Express viewpoints and develop arguments without much conspicuous
searching for words, using some complex sentence forms to do so.
 Can write notes conveying simple information of immediate relevance to
friends, service people, teachers and others who feature in his/her everyday
life, getting across comprehensibly the points he/she feels are important.

1. Writing Instructions and practices

Understanding the distinctions between the writing process and writing techniques is
crucial when examining the components involved in both. Planning, drafting,
rewriting, and editing are the four basic steps of the writing process as a personal
activity. (Seow, 2002) These steps are recursive and non-linear. Writing process is
described as a personal activity that authors engage in, whereas writing strategy is
defined as "any activities taken in the act of generating a document" and applies to
second language (L2) learners. (Manchon, De Larios, & Murphy, 2007)

In order to communicate successfully in a foreign language, writing is a crucial

ability. Writing is crucial in an EFL setting since many students take English classes
to prepare for college and careers that need proficient writing. According to Flower
& Hayes, (1981) the author at the heart of the writing process. To come up with
writing ideas, the author plans and participates in a variety of inventive activities
alone. This way of looking at writing allows the writer to go back and forth during the
entire writing process. For instance, the author can go back and do further planning
after the formulation (or writing) step to make modifications to the text. As a result,
process theory places a lot of focus on the writer's cognition or thinking and assumes
that the writer is isolated from his or her environment. (Manchón, 2011a). This
implies that the writer's thought processes are closely observed as they complete the
writing task, and it is generally agreed that writing instruction entails highlighting the
significance of the writing processes and having students go through each step of
these processes so that they can exert control over and manipulation over their
thinking when writing. (Lei, 2008).

In the academic setting, where students are expected to use this talent as a tool to
convey what they have learned, the necessity to write well has intensified. Writing is
regarded as a lifelong skill that helps students achieve three key goals: 1) writing as a
form of communication to express ideas, plans, recommendations, values, and
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commitment; 2) writing as a method of critical thinking and problem solving, where
writing enables students to think critically and confront values; and 3) writing as self-
actualization, where writing is used as a means of identifying and developing
students. (Armengol-Castells, 2001)

There has been a lot of theoretical research on the nature of writing since the 1980s.
(Brown, 2000:334). Text-based techniques, more particularly, concentrate on the
output of the writing input after reading texts, whether through formal aspects,
vocabulary ones, discourse structures, or grammatical ones. The two main
components of this strategy are "explicitness" and "accuracy." Writing seems to be
identical with proficiency in usage and structure, and it is assumed that these activities
will enhance students' compositional abilities, according to Zamel (1976).

Ideas regarding how language competency develops and should be taught have
changed along with theories of second language education, which have progressed
from the grammar translation approach to the audio-lingual technique to the more
communicative ways that are now widely utilized. The grammar-translation approach
and the audio-lingual method both employ writing as a support skill to help with
language structure memory and to reinforce grammar acquisition. Even
communicative techniques, which place a strong focus on oral skill, tended to
downplay writing until recently. However, the writing-to-learn, writing across the
curriculum, and writing for academic purposes trends in composition and English as a
Second Language (ESL) have all had an influence on how people view the role of
writing in society.

The genre approach to writing has had a significant impact, partially in response to
the process method. This method finds genres—or institutionalized forms of written
communication—that have similar social functions and aims to impart their textual
rules. One important theoretical contribution to this strategy is Michael Halliday's
systemic functional linguistic theory, which sees language generation as a collection
of situationally dependent taxonomic decisions.

Give focus to correctness and well-formedness when using text-based techniques,

especially those that regard texts as autonomous objects. Contrarily, discourse and
genre-related techniques pay more attention to the linguistic characteristics of the text
to meet reader expectations.

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Models of the writing process have been produced by several academics from the
1980s to the 2000s. These academics suggested that a model of the writing process
includes several developmental stages that are not linear but rather recursive and
cyclical in nature. This means that authors revise, edit, and reread their thoughts
again. (Williams, 2005) . Williams' (2003) phase model for the writing process, which
also asserts that writing has a random or cyclical character and the final product is
“the result of the complex interaction of activities that include several stages of
development” This means that authors engage in activities that may vary from writer
to writer at every level of the process.

Second, the model contends that when students edit their drafts, plan how to edit their
work, and other such activities, the influential states of planning, drafting, and
revising of the writing process are continually altered. Furthermore, the process
model, according to Hyland (2002), fails to acknowledge writing as a social activity
and instead focuses on the writer as a lone individual engaged in the battle to develop
and transmit personal meaning. The data, which are the results of the writing process,
demonstrate inaccuracy in understanding the structure of a certain text. The model of
Bereiter and Scardamalia (1987) is criticized for being simply cognitive and for
failing to take into account how context and social variables affect writing.

Prewriting, planning, drafting, pausing, reading, revising, editing, and publishing are
the eight steps in Williams' writing process model. (Williams, 2003) Each step
includes a variety of actions related to good writing and the cyclical structure of the
writing process. For instance, the prewriting stage includes a variety of activities,
including as conversation, talk-writing, free writing, journaling, and metaphor
building, that may help authors develop their ideas. Questions about the audience, the
writer's perspective, the purpose of the paper, organization, and writing style are vital
throughout the planning stage. During the drafting stage, good drafting is influenced
by time management, planning, and attention to related concepts. Writers are advised
to ponder and review their work at the halting stage to see whether it still adheres to
their original plan. In a similar vein, authors are required to pause when reading and
consider the process. Writers should consider their function and that of their readers in
relation to the subject while rewriting. After that comes editing (Williams, 2003).

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Hence, the procedure, which was described above, will be followed in the writing
lesson plan later on

1.1. Evaluation of a current writing lesson

As it can be seen in the Appendix section, the students have to write a blog entry in
relation to their preferences. More specifically, the above coursebook is taken from a
the book series “Real English” and according to the Common European Framework
of Reference, it is for the B1 level of competence.

At is can be seen, the writing section is separated into two sections. In the First
section, the students are engaged with a writing model in which the only thing they
have to do, is to put the heading. Then, they have to read the topic (which is more or
less the same with the writing model) and they have to write their own entry in
accordance with the given writing plan.

The above writing section is not in relation with the writing requirements. The
students are not free to construct their own writing but they are given more or less the
language and the topic. It fails to engage students in the actual writing engagement as
it does not let them free to construct their own writing.

2. Criteria for the writing lesson

In the above writing lesson the criteria are:

 In relation to reading comprehension, the students are expected to use

skimming and scanting to find the relevant information
 In relation to the writing process the learners are expected to give their opinion
in an opinion essay

3. Writing lesson plan

Initial Information

Duration: 45 minutes
Class size: 17 learners
Class: Third Grade of Junior High School
Student’s Age: 15-16 years old
Level: B2
Lesson Aims: Construction of an opinion essay

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Lesson Objectives: The learners are expected to:

 Use bottom up and top down procedure to locate the information needed
 Synthesize information in order to express their view

3.1. Lesson plan

In the activity 1 the students are expected to brainstorm by looking at the pictures.
They have to think of the advantages and the disadvantages of the online shopping.
In the second activity, the students in pairs have to read the text, and find the missing
sentences from the text.
Then, the students are familiarized with the process of writing as they are expected to
write the introductory part of their opinion essay in accordance with the teacher’s
instructions. In fourth activity the students are expected to write the second and the
third paragraph of their essay, in accordance with the teacher’s instructions. Then
they have to give it to their peer and read and exchange views. Lastly, the students are
expected to correct the mistakes of their peers. Each student has to read and correct
the mistakes of their peers.

4. Rationale about the proposed writing lesson plan

The specific lesson plan is about to be implemented on the Third Grade of Junior
High School Students. More specifically, the class consists of 17 students (8 boys and
9 girls) and according to the Common European Framework of Reference the students
are B2-/B2+ level of competence. The above writing lesson plan has incorporated
reading and speaking skills as well.

Prior to beginning the first draft of a paper, prewriting exercises are completed. They
consist of dialogue, planning, free writing, journaling, talk-writing, and metaphor
construction. Hence, in the Activity 1 the students are expected to generate concepts,
tactics, and data for the specific writing assignment later on. In the above activity the
students are expected to brainstorm by looking at the pictures. They have to think of
the advantages and the disadvantages of the online shopping. According to Darayseh
(2003), teaching writing no longer just entails having students complete grammar
exercises in writing or producing writing that is error-free in terms of grammar,
punctuation, and spelling; rather, we aim to have students write about topics that

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interest them, convey ideas they want to make to the reader, and explain how they
came to their final writing products. Additionally, because they involve students in
activities like linking, analyzing, and evaluating ideas, the writing phases of pre-
writing, while writing, and post-writing are anticipated to aid in improving students'
thinking abilities. Hence, as Manktelow (2003) points, brainstorming activities before
the actual writing task, are essential in order to develop the points of view.

Activity 2 engages students with a reading text and they have to read it in pairs and
find the missing sentences. To respond to the question, the students must employ top-
down and bottom-up procedures, as well as skimming and scanning. The following
task requires the students to elaborate with their classmates on the image that is shown
above the text in order to gain greater insight into their own work. In the Activities 4
and 5 the students are expected to write the remaining paragraphs of their essay in
accordance with the teachers’ guidance. Then, the learners have to share their writing
piece with their pair, in order to exchange views.

A task that is too challenging for one person to complete successfully alone may be
completed successfully by a duo or group. A well-known instance is group
composition, in which three or four students collaborate to create a superior writing
product than any individual member of the group could produce on their own. This
occurs for a number of reasons, particularly while learning a second language. First,
even if learners may have about comparable proficiency, they will undoubtedly have
picked up different language skills (Saragi et al., 1978). Second, even if learners are
familiar with a certain language construct, they could have trouble using it. They
might be able to do this with others' encouragement and assistance.

The students' real writing assignment requires them to develop an opinion essay in
which they are now permitted to utilize concepts from the article but they must also
use ideas from the image and build on them in order to construct their viewpoint. The
pupils must be formal in their essay and should create a logical and cohesive
composition based on the information they have. The most effective and efficient
approach to grasp writing duties and processes is through the writing process and a
reading passage. To build their skills and grasp the writing assignment, students need
to get understandable input. (Williams, 2003)

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In relation to their assessment, the students are expected to be involved into peer
correction practices. More specifically, the students have to read their pair’s essay and
correct it. Peer feedback shifts the emphasis away from the teacher and starts the
process of shifting power from the teacher to the students. Peer correction practices
support learner’s autonomy because it gives students opportunity to take charge of
their own learning. (Harmer, 2004)

The pupils are involved in producing an opinion essay. More precisely, the students
are involved in process writing from the beginning, where they are required to build
an opinion and create phrases that will be utilized in the writing itself. The teacher
serves as the "facilitator" while the pupils use drafting and redrafting procedures and
cooperate with one another.

5. Conclusion
Writing is seen as a difficult activity with certain characteristics and phases that
results from complex planning, drafting, reviewing, and editing procedures. Writing is
a challenging process that requires redrafting in order to achieve coherence. Since the
1980s, there has been a great deal of theoretical investigation into the nature of
writing. More specifically, text-based strategies focus on the output of the writing
input following the reading of texts, whether through formal characteristics,
vocabulary, discourse structures, or grammatical ones. Explicitness and precision are
this strategy's two major building blocks. It is expected that these exercises will
improve students' compositional skills because writing seems to be synonymous with
competency in use and organization. Thus, the writing scenario which was created,
provided the learners with the opportunity to draft, and re-draft their writing, in order
to construct an opinion essay.

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6. Appendices
1.1. Writing book https://www.burlingtonbooks.com/Cyprus/Page.aspx?
PageID=1933

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 2. Stages of the lesson

Stage Activity Procedure Time Purpose Collaboration

Pattern
The teacher 1min Teacher-students
Opening/ Warm up welcomes the
students
Students=students
Activity 1 In the above activity the 4 minutes
Pre- Writing students are expected to
brainstorm by looking at To brainstorm and to make a
the pictures. They have to relation to the actual writing
think of the advantages and task
the disadvantages of the
online shopping.

In the above activity, the 8min Students=students

While- Writing Activity 2 students in pairs have to Use bottom up and top down

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 read the text, and find the processes, cooperate
missing sentences from
the text.

In the above activity, the

Activity 4 students are familiarized Students=students
with the process of writing 8 min To establish a purpose for
as they are expected to wiring met the requirements
write the introductory part of the actual writing
of their opinion essay in
accordance with the
teacher’s instructions
Activity 5 In the above activity the
students are expected to 17min
write the second and the
third paragraph of their
essay, in accordance with
the teacher’s instructions.
Then they have to give it to
their peer and read and
exchange views.

In the above activity the 7 min To assess their peer’s essay Students-students
Post- Writing Activity 5 and make corrections
students are expected to
correct the mistakes of
their peers. Each student
has to read and correct the
mistakes of their peers.

Activity 1

Do you like online shopping? Look at the pictures and think some of the
advantages and some of the disadvantages of the online shopping with a partner.

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Activity 2

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/what-are-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-
online-shopping

Online Shopping

Online stores do not have space constraints and a wide variety of products can be
displayed on websites. It helps the analytical buyers to purchase a product after a
good search.

1. Convenience of online shopping

Customers can purchase items from the comfort of their own homes or work place.
Shopping is made easier and convenient for the customer through internet. 1……

2. No pressure shopping

Generally, in physical stores, the sales representatives try to influence the buyers to
buy the product. There can be some kind of pressure, whereas the customers are not
pressurized in any way in online stores.

3. Online shopping saves time

Customers do not have to stand in queues in cash counters to pay for the products
that have been purchased by them.2……. The customers can also look for the
products that are required by them by entering the key words or using search engines.

4. Comparisons

Companies display the whole range of products offered by them to attract customers
with different tastes and needs. This enables the buyers to choose from a variety of
models after comparing the finish, features and price of the products on display,.3…..

5. Online shopping saves money

To attract customers to shop online, e-tailers and marketers offer discounts to the
customers.4…... Sometimes, large online shopping sites offer store comparison.

Ease of use is the prime reason that drives the success of e-commerce. Though
internet provides a quick and easy way to purchase a product, some people prefer to
use this technology only in a limited way. They regard internet as a means for
gathering more information about a product before buying it in a shop. Some people
also fear that they might get addicted to online shopping.

The major disadvantages of online shopping are as follows.

1. Delay in delivery

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Long duration and lack of proper inventory management result in delays in shipment.
Though the duration of selecting, buying and paying for an online product may not
take more than 15 minutes; the delivery of the product to customer’ s doorstep takes
about 1-3 weeks. 5…..

2. Lack of significant discounts in online shops

Physical stores offer discounts to customers and attract them so this makes it difficult
for e-tailers to compete with the offline platforms.

3. Lack of touch and feel of merchandise in online shopping

Lack of touch-feel-try creates concerns over the quality of the product on offer.
Online shopping is not quite suitable for clothes as the customers cannot try them on.

4. Lack of interactivity in online shopping

Physical stores allow price negotiations between buyers and the seller. The show
room sales attendant representatives provide personal attention to customers and
help them in purchasing goods. 6….

5. Lack of close examination in online shopping

A customer has to buy a product without seeing actually how it looks like. 7……The
electronic images of a product are sometimes misleading. The colour, appearance in
real may not match with the electronic images.

People like to visit physical stores and prefer to have close examination of good,
though it consumes time. 8….

Missing sentences:

1. It is also easy to cancel the transactions.

2. Sometimes, price comparisons are also available online

3. Due to elimination of maintenance, real-estate cost, the retailers are able to sell
the products with attractive discounts through online

4. They can shop from their home or work place and do not have to spend time
traveling

5. This frustrates the customer and prevents them from shopping online.

6. Customers may click and buy some product that is not really required by them.

7. The electronic images vary from physical appearance when people buy goods
based on electronic images.

8. Certain online shopping mart offers service to talk to a sales representative,

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Activity 4 and 5

Nowadays, many people prefer doing their purchases online. Write an essay
about this latest shopping trend, expressing your opinion.

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7. Recourses
Brown, S. (2006).Teaching Listening. Cambridge University Press. 1-11

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Armengol-Castells, L. (2001). Text-generating strategies of three multilingual writers:
A protocol-based study. Language Awareness, 10(2- 3), 91–106

Bereiter, C., & Scardamalia, M. (1987). The psychology of written composition.

Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum

Darayseh, A. (2003). The Effect of a Proposed Program Based on Semantic Mapping

and Brainstorming Strategies on Developing the English Writing Ability and
Attitudes of the First Scientific Secondary Students, Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis,
Amman Arab University for Graduate Studies, Amman, Jordan

Flower, L., & Hayes, J. (1981). A cognitive process theory of writing. College
Composition and Communication, 32(4), 365–387. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/356600

Harmer. J. (2004) How to Teach English. London: Longman.

Hyland, K. (2002). Authority and invisibility: Authorial identity in academic writing.

Journal of Pragmatics, 34(8), 1091–1112

Lee, I. (2008). Understanding teachers’ written feedback practices in Hong Kong

secondary classrooms. Journal of Second Language Writing, 17(2), 69–85.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2007.10.001

Manchón, R. M. (2011a). Situating the learning-to-write and writing-to-learn

dimensions of L2 writing. In R. M. Manchón (Ed.), Learning-to-write and writing-to-
learn in an additional language (pp. 3–14). John Benjamins

Manktelow, J. (2003). Creativity Tools, Station Rd. UK, 18-25.

Saragi, T., Nation, I.S.P. and Meister, G. 1978. Vocabulary learning and reading.
System 6, 2: 72–78.

Williams, J. (2005). Teaching writing in second and foreign language classrooms.

New York: McGraw-Hill.

Williams, J. D. (2003). Preparing to teach writing: Research, theory, and practice (3rd
ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum

Zamel, V. (1983) ‘The composing process of advanced ESL students: six case
studies” TESOL Quarterly 17:165-187

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