OPEN TUTORING SESSION WRITING CENTRO COLOMBO AMERICANO JULY 2012

REFLECTION What are some difficulties you usually face when writing about any given topic? What strategies do you use when you write? How do you think writing helps your English learning process?

OBJECTIVES Highlight the importance of following concrete steps to write a good text. Get familiar with some strategies you can use to improve writing. Identify the main characteristics a good composition has.

THE WRITING PROCESS … Pre-writing Writing Polishing Choose a topic and narrow it down Collect information and / or brainstorm ideas Writing Organize ideas and write the first draft Polishing Check organization, vocabulary, grammar, punctuation

Strategies to generate ideas: STEP ONE: PRE-WRITING Strategies to generate ideas: Journal entries Free-writing Listing Mindmaping

EXERCISE Topic: Living in a big city has many benefits. There are many job opportu-nities. You can do many different activities. There is culture and night life. You can get all kinds of products and things. It’s great to live in a big city. Ask students to do their list of ideas on the topic and then elicit ideas to compare with our suggestions and highlighting their connections with the topic again (animation)

STEP TWO: WRITING Strategies to organize ideas Outline ideas establish a logical sequence Elaborate ideas add examples, reasons, details, … Connect ideas use connectors and discourse markers Wrap up ideas sum up or create transitions Remember to elicit ideas for each strategy as many students are supposed to be familiar with them (animation)

use examples, reasons, explanations, and details EXERCISE use examples, reasons, explanations, and details TOPIC SENTENCE : Living in a big city has many benefits to get a comfortable and good quality life. There are many job opportunities in all areas. Many companies and factories are growing and being created. They need people to work with them. You can enjoy the multiple and varied activities for entertainment. There are concerts, theater plays, movies, malls, amusement parks, night clubs, restaurants and many more. You can find all sorts of stores and businesses. It’s easy to buy clothes, food, gadgets, furniture, personal care products and any other thing you can think of. There are many job opportunities in all areas. _______________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ______ You can enjoy the multiple and varied activities for entertainment. _________ ____________________________________________ You can find all sorts of stores and businesses. _______________________________________________________ Show the basic ideas first, then have students do the exercise with their list and elicit their details and examples to later compare with our suggestions (animation). Highlight the connection between them. CONCLUSION OR TRANSITION: It’s great to live in a big city.

use connectors and discourse markers EXERCISE use connectors and discourse markers TOPIC SENTENCE : Living in a big city has many benefits to get a comfortable and good quality life. There are many job opportunities in all areas. Many companies and factories are growing and being created. That’s why they need people to work with them. Additionally, you can enjoy the multiple and varied activities for entertainment. For example, there are concerts, theater plays, movies, malls, amusement parks, night clubs, restaurants and many more. You can also find all sorts of stores and businesses. So, it’s easy to buy clothes, food, gadgets, furniture, personal care products and any other thing you can think of. There are many job opportunities in all areas. Many companies and factories are growing and being created. ___________, they need people to work with them. ____________, you can enjoy the multiple and varied activities for entertainment. _____________, there are concerts, theater plays, movies, malls, amusement parks, night clubs, restaurants and many more. You can __________ find all sorts of stores and businesses. _________, it’s easy to buy clothes, food, gadgets, furniture, personal care products and any other thing you can think of. Elicit possible connector for the blanks to later compare with our suggestions. Then have them add connectors to their paragraphs. CONCLUSION OR TRANSITION: It’s great to live in a big city.

EXERCISE sum up or create transitions TOPIC SENTENCE : Living in a big city has many benefits to get a comfortable and good quality life. There are many job opportunities in all areas. Many companies and factories are growing and being created. That’s why they need people to work with them. Additionally, you can enjoy the multiple and varied activities for entertainment. For example, there are concerts, theater plays, movies, malls, amusement parks, night clubs, restaurants and many more. You can also find all sorts of stores and businesses. So, it’s easy to buy clothes, food, gadgets, furniture, personal care products and any other thing you can think of. Elicit some possible conclusions to later compare with our suggestions. Then have them do the conclusion for their paragraphs. CONCLUSION OR TRANSITION: It’s great to live in a big city; I would not live anywhere else. CONCLUSION OR TRANSITION: It’s great to live in a big city.

THE FINAL DRAFT Now read your classmate’s draft and answer the following questions… 1. Is the sequence of ideas clear for you? 2. Are there sufficient examples and details to explain his ideas? If not, what do you suggest? 3. What connectors and/or transitions can you identify? Are they appropriate? 4. Is there a clear conclusion? What is it? Ask students to exchange paragraph to assess them and give peer feedback using the criteria presented.

Polishing the text is another important step REMEMBER … Polishing the text is another important step Check gramar, spelling, word order, word choice, and puctuation. Remind them about the last step/strategy and the aspects they should take into account.

CHECK POINT How can the steps in the Writing Process help you solve your difficulties to write? What strategies for the Writing Stage can you remember? Assess the complete presentation by eliciting answers to these questions. What do you think are key characteristics of a good composition?

ONLINE RESOURCES http://www.merriam-webster.com/ http://esl.about.com/ http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/essaymap/ http://www.merriam-webster.com/ Assess the complete presentation by eliciting answers to these questions. http://esl.about.com/

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