Writing skill

Writing skill

1. Types

   • Part 2 - Situationally based writing task
     • Activities
       • Letter
         • is written in response to the situation given in the task
       • A proposal
         • Candidates will be expected to make one or more suggestions, supported by factual information and evaluation, in order to persuade the reader of a course of action.
       • A report
         • The content of a report is to some extent factual and draws on the prompt material, but there will be scope for candidates to make use of their own ideas and experience.
       • A review
         • A review in the Writing paper does not merely ask for a general description of the thing reviewed, but requires an evaluation of its suitability for a particular purpose or audience.
     • Task format
       • Part 2 consists of three tasks from which candidates must choose one. Each task in Part 2 specifies a context, a purpose for writing and a target reader
     • Task type and focus
       • Part 2 tasks may include any of the following: a letter, a proposal, a report or a review. The different task types are intended to provide frameworks in which candidates can put together and develop their ideas on a topic, with a specific purpose for writing and target reader in mind.
   • Part 1 - Write an essay with a discursive focus
     • An essay
       • In Writing, the paper is usually written for an academic tutor and may be written as a followup to a class activity, such as attending a seminar or watching a documentary. The main purpose of the task is to underline relevant salient issues on the stated topic, and to support an argument with subsidiary points and the reasons
     • Task format
       • The task will outline a topic which is to be written about as a follow-up to an academic activity, such as attending a panel discussion or watching a documentary. A set of notes on the topic will be provided, consisting of three bullet points plus three short opinions related to the bullet points.
     • Task type and focus
       • Candidates are required to write an essay based on two of the bullet points. They will be asked to explain which of the two points is more important in a given respect, and to give reasons for their opinion

2. Tips

   • Part 1
     • Train your students to read the whole of the task before they move on to planning their answer.
     • . Candidates should select two of the bullet points and base their essay on those two points.
     • Candidates may, if they wish, use the opinions in the task input to help develop their essay, but they should do so in their own words as far as possible.
   • part 2
     • It is important that your students familiarise themselves with the different task types that appear on the paper, and are confident that they know the differences between them.
     • It is worth giving your students some practice in selecting which task to do in Part 2. They should be encouraged to look at the task types and topic areas and to consider which register, functions, grammatical structures and vocabulary are required by each task.
     • Your students need to think carefully about who the target reader is for each task and try to write in an appropriate way.