Unit 3: WRITING TASK 2 - LEXICAL RESOURCE

1. Objective

● Understand the difference between common advanced vocabulary and

context-specific advanced vocabulary and how to use them effectively

● Common mistakes in terms of Lexical Resource and how to fix them

1. Knowledge

● There are TWO types of “uncommon lexical items” you can use in Writing
Task 2

There are many advantages/upsides/merits to Children who were raised by dismissive and
attending college. neglectful parents will have difficulty
empathizing with other people

There are many/ several/ a handful of/ People can reduce their carbon footprint by
numerous advantages to attending college. changing to plant-based diets.

● Unnatural phrasing is often caused by:

i) Using too many words when you don’t need to

DON’T DO

On the other hand, including art subjects in schools’
syllabus could result in more stress for students
from schoolwork. In fact, the greater the number of
subjects that learners have to study, the more
pressure that they would feel. Simply put, in that
scenario where art subjects are added, not only
would students need to attend more classes at
school, but they also need to invest more effort to
On the other hand, including art subjects in schools’
syllabus could result in more stress for students
from increased workload. Simply put, when
students have more classes at school, it will be
more difficult for them to balance having a social life
with school time, assignments and exams,
especially for students who aim to have a high
overall GPA. This can be a huge source of stress for
students.
perfect their academic records as well as their GPA,
and thus more stress would be caused.
On the one hand, making students focus on certain
subjects could not only help reduce the amount of
stress from school work but also minimize the
range of research areas that learners have to cover.
Indeed, the majority of academic tasks such as
homeworks given to the learners would focus
primarily on those subjects, hence, less work from
the areas of study would be provided, which could
lessen the level of stress caused by the students’
school work. Furthermore, less subjects to
concentrate on means a smaller range of research
areas that students have to cover.
ii) Overuse or misuse of “uncommon lexical items”
DON’T
As a matter of fact, if the teaching method is
developed, students will be able to exploit more
out of their studies at school.
Furthermore, it is tangible that human’s food
production could become vulnerable due to the
extinction of particular species.
In fact, the loss of species such as cows and pigs
could negatively affect the sustainability of beef
and pork production, which are what human’s
diets depend on. Humans will need to change
their food sources to other species of animals or
plants to consolidate the food production for their
On the one hand, focusing on a small number of
subjects can help students reduce stress and focus
better on their fields of study. In other words, having
less homework from taking fewer classes will allow
students to get more sleep, enjoy themselves more
with outside activities and in turn, experience less
stress. Furthermore, not having to focus on a wide
range of subjects means that students can focus
more intensively on their major.
DO
If teachers can make their lessons more engaging
through students’ feedback, students can get more
out of every lesson and develop a better learning
attitude.
It is tangible that human’s food production could
be disrupted when a species becomes extinct.
Simply put, humans rely heavily on meat from
chickens, cows and pigs to have a balanced diet
and if these species go extinct, we will have to look
for other food sources that are as nutritious and
affordable. Should people not be able to find
meals. Should it be unsuccessful to supersede the suitable alternatives for these foods, widespread
components of their dishes, in some places in the famine can occur around the world.
world, famine could be caused among human’s
society.

iii) Inappropriate nominalization

DON’T DO

The most obvious effect caused by long-hours of Working long hours is detrimental to people’s
work is the poorness in humans’ physical and physical and mental health.
mental health state.

Furthermore, not only do public celebrations Furthermore, public celebrations not only
benefit the local people but they are also an benefit the local people but also the tourism
advantage to the country’s development of industry of a country.
tourism

An experienced teacher can be beneficial for their An experienced teacher will know effective
students from their optimized methodology and teaching methods and intensive knowledge to
intensive knowledge help students.

Good or bad attitude contributes to the children’ Students’ learning attitude determines how
ability to retain the information for a long-term long they retain knowledge.

● Resources: ozdic.com, e.vnexpress.net, r/changemyview (reddit)

● Hedging language: hedging language is used to express certainty and

uncertainty in your Writing. In your Writing Task 2 essay, most of your claims
will NOT always be true and it is important to use precise language to convey
this.
● Use hedging languages will show the readers you are aware that what you
are saying is not always correct, which shows maturity in your thinking and
precision in your language use.
 COMMON HEDGING WORDS

often/sometimes may/might

tend to + Verb likely/unlikely

generally arguably

Students who do not spend a lot of time Students who do not spend a lot of time
studying tend to have poorer academic studying have poorer academic
performance. performance.

Boys are generally better at science Boys are better at science subjects than
subjects than girls girls.

2. In class activities

Exercise 1: Determine whether the highlighted word is a common advanced

vocabulary or context-specific advanced vocabulary. Find all hedging words used
in the essay

Advanced technology has brought many beneficial changes to the world.

However, some old people today struggle with the use of technologies such as
mobile phones and the Internet.
How can the elderly benefit from using advanced technologies?
How can the elderly be encouraged to use consumer electronics more often?

Despite the myriad of benefits that cutting-edge technology brings, many

people from the older generation still find it hard to make use of them. From my
perspective, the use of high end technologies can bridge the generational gap
between people and designing more user-friendly devices is the key to include older
people in our increasingly digitized world.
 The ability to form stronger relationships with the younger generation is
arguably the biggest advantage that advanced technology has to offer for the
elderly. The reason is that technological devices, such as smartphones and tablets,
have had tremendous impacts on virtually all aspects of young people’s lives, from
working, studying to dating. It stands to reason that if old people want to be able to
hold a conversation and empathize with their children and grandchildren, being
computer-literate is a must. Furthermore, many revolutionary features on high-end
devices could make old people’s lives more convenient. For example, learning to
make the most of their smartphones will allow old people to not only pay for
anything instantaneously but also to travel the world and communicate with
foreigners with ease thanks to instant translation apps. It is safe to say that using
advanced technologies can open up many doors of opportunities for the elderly to
improve their living standard.

Tech companies should put an emphasis on designing friendly and intuitive

user interfaces to encourage senior citizens to use electronic devices. Simply put,
people from the older generations often find these items intimidating because they
find them clunky and difficult to navigate. Should engineers take this into
consideration and provide digestible instructions for features on their products, old
people will be less likely to be averse to them. For example, it is not uncommon to
see old people with Apple devices nowadays thanks to Apple’s iOS with its
incredibly intuitive icons and a wide range of built-in accessibility features, such as
larger font sizes or hearing aids compatibility. Designing user-friendly devices with
features to accommodate older users is therefore one of the best ways to help them
break the mental barrier to use electronics.

In conclusion, I believe that old people feeling more comfortable with using
tech gadgets will bring them closer to the young and in order to facilitate this,
intuitive designs on electronics should be prioritized.

Exercise 2: Find the appropriate advanced vocabulary for the following

paragraphs
1. Giới chức trách Hà Nội plan to re-establish "sidewalk order" this month by
removing obstacles like biển quảng cáo and bạt che that lấn chiếm on
streets; sự không tuân theo will be met with forced removal.

The Hanoi People's Committee on Friday said the plan will be triển khai in

three phases.

The first phase, which was already completed on Feb. 28, thông báo and

encourages people to tuân theo các chính sách and khôi phục streets and

sidewalks to their original state.

During the second phase, which will be carried out until the end of this month,

the chính quyền will perform thanh tra and will deal with các vi phạm

regarding urban and public order, including responding to behaviors that lấn

chiếm upon streets and sidewalks for different purposes, such as selling

things or parking vehicles.

The third phase, to be áp dụng until Nov. 1, involves authorities tuần tra areas

to đảm bảo các vi phạm do not xảy ra again.

2. Travel magazine Tripzilla has named Hanoi one of the eight safest Asian

destinations for solo female travelers, where "tội phạm bạo lực đối với du

khách are hiếm and most locals are friendly."

It advised tourists to visit St. Joseph's Cathedral on Nha Chung Street in Hoan

Kiem District, which was built during thời Pháp thuộc and which xây theo a

Gothic Revival style to mô phỏng the Notre Dame de Paris.

 For those hứng thú about Vietnam's history, the Temple of Literature, an

11th-century Confucian temple dedicated to scholars, and Ngoc Son Temple,

which vinh danh three important figures in the country's history, are both

worth a visit.

Hanoi is also a/an giá rẻ destination for solo travelers, with a night's stay at a

luxury hotel costing around US$150 and meals around $10 per day, according

to Tripzilla.

Exercise 3: Rewrite the following sentences & paragraphs to improve natural flow
and clarity.

DON’T DO

1. On the one hand, streaming services are Streaming services are more convenient because
successful in offering more conveniences they save time and money.
to the viewers by saving their time and
money as well.

2. On the other hand, watching films at the

cinema still encourages many people to
go and gain a better movie watching
experience than that of online watching.

3. Secondly, children have a right to live

with the pressure of their age rather than
living with higher pressure. This is
because the children’s mentality is still
weak, and having too many
responsibilities could lead them to
depression or suicidal.
4. Moving to the first consequence, people
could squander the amount of money on
shopping as long as their time for
shopping keeps increasing. This is
because when the consumers are
addicted to going shopping, they can not
control themselves on buying new things,
and sometimes, they could bring home
with many useless things. As a result,
these shopping behaviours will lead the
people to the depletion of budget for
emergency situations.

5. Additionally, shopping addicts will waste

a lot of their valuable time to focus on
improving themselves or at least finding
ways to make money.
SAMPLE ESSAY BAND 8.0+ (Uncommon lexical items are highlighted)

In some parts of the world traditional festivals and celebrations have disappeared or
are disappearing.
What problems is this causing?
What measures could be taken to counter this situation?

The fact that many traditional and historical events are no longer being
celebrated in different parts of the world is a matter of great concern. This essay will
point to weakened communities as the main problem caused by this phenomenon
and outline a number of initiatives, both on a local and national scale, to address
this problem.

The loss of community can be a direct consequence of this trend. In other

words, traditional and cultural events are usually occasions when people gather and
spend quality time with their families and neighbors so without these opportunities,
people will feel more isolated and lonely. More importantly, these celebrations are a
means to educate the younger generations about their own histories and their
ancestors’ way of living, which is instrumental in developing a strong sense of
belonging. When these events start to become things of the past, the young will no
longer feel strongly rooted and anchored. This will lead to declining communities
and an overall decrease in quality of life and in the ability to overcome life challenges
for many.

Fortunately, I believe there are several measures which can be taken to help
mitigate this problem. On a local level, young people should be encouraged to
become members of planning committees for these celebrations. The reason is that
trendy younger members are more likely to come up with activities and marketing
ideas that appeal to the younger audience. If traditional festivals are to be
preserved, the youth need to become much more invested in them and thus, their
ideas and involvement are indispensable. On a national level, the government
should increase the budget for these celebrations because with more fundings, the
planning committees can have effective marketing campaigns to reach more people
and organize engaging activities that get people to look forward to these important
celebrations in a year.
 In conclusion, while the decrease in popularity of important traditional
celebrations can slowly break down our communities, I believe that as long as the
youth are included in the planning process and the government allocates more
fundings for these events, this negative effect can be countered.