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GUIDE TO TEACH AND TEST WRITING SKILLS AT B1 LEVEL

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 GUIDE TO TEACH AND TEST WRITING SKILLS AT B1 LEVEL

Aims:

 Become familiar with different tips to teach and test writing skills at B1 level.
 Understand how this guide can be used to help learners improve this skill in
meaningful ways.

Appropriate for: Experienced professors.

Threshold or intermediate learners (CEFR)

1. Introducing information to learners about the writing process

a) Learners have to know the most relevant elements to communicate

something (a subject), to someone (an audience), in a way to say it (a
language).

b) Also, they need to know the writing components:

 Pre-writing: brainstorming (subject, ideas, and details) using graphic

organizers.
 Writing: sentences and paragraphs following a plan for presenting ideas
in a first draft.
 Evaluating and revising: making changes to make the draft better.
 Proofreading and publishing: fixing mistakes and making a final copy
and sharing it with an audience.

c) Finally, they need to know the aims of writing, which are: to inform, to
persuade, to express themselves and to be creative.

2. Writing strategies to practice in the classroom

 Ask learners to write a personal essay with the objective of expressing

themselves.
 Ask learners to write a long paragraph about a known character with the
objective of informing
 Ask learners to write a short story with the objective of being creative.
 Ask learners to write a persuasive essay with the objective of persuading the
audience

3. Noun phrases in Academic Writings

According to Carter & McCarthy (2006) “a noun can potentially be made up of

four elements: determiner, premodifier, head noun, postmodifier” (p. 318)

e.g.:
The availability of more supermarkets in neighbourhoods has been linked to
greater fruit and vegetable consumption.

determiner premodifier Head noun postmodifer

The Availability Of more
supermarkets in
neighbourhoods
Great fruit and Consumption
vegetable

LCDA. JESSICA GARZÓN B., ESP. (2017)

 GUIDE TO TEACH AND TEST WRITING SKILLS AT B1 LEVEL

4. Formative assessment

 Make an essay question which help learners to discuss in group. While they
discuss, they should note down the main points of their discussion and cover
all the notes in the essay task.
e.g.

Essay question:
Being famous as a film star has both advantages and disadvantages. Do you
agree?
Notes
Write about:
1. Media attention
2. Lifestyle
3. …….(Your own idea)

5. Autonomous work

 Learners can practice the writing skill at home in “Cambridge English Write &
Improve” site using the following link: https://writeandimprove.com/

6. Publishing

 Learners can publish their writings through their blogs in the OFFICE 365.

e.g.
https://ugye.sharepoint.com/portals/personal/myrkacastilloj/_layouts/15/Poin
tPublishing.aspx?storyid=1

LCDA. JESSICA GARZÓN B., ESP. (2017)

 GUIDE TO TEACH AND TEST WRITING SKILLS AT B1 LEVEL

EVALUATION GUIDE CONTENT FOR PROFESSORS (Use this checklist

for writing assignments)
N QUESTIONS Strong Agree Neith Disagr Stron
o. ly er ee gly
Agree Agree Disag
or ree
Disag
ree
5 4 3 2 1
1 Is the writing interesting?
2 Are unfamiliar terms explained
or defined?
3 Are ideas and details arranged
in the best possible order?
4 Are the connections between
ideas and sentences clear?
5 Is the meaning clear?
6 Does the language fit the
audience and purpose?

Suggestions for learners, in case of the professor puts a tick in

disagree or strongly disagree

1. Add examples, an anecdote and details

2. Explain or replace unknown term with familiar ones.
3. Reorder ideas and details to make the meaning clear
4. Add transitional words to link ideas.
5. Replace vague or unclear wording. Use precise words and phrases
and easy to understand
6. a) Replace formal words with less formal ones to create an informal
tone, or feeling.
b) To create a more formal tone, replace slang and contractions.

LCDA. JESSICA GARZÓN B., ESP. (2017)

 GUIDE TO TEACH AND TEST WRITING SKILLS AT B1 LEVEL

CORRECTION CODE FOR WRITING (Use these codes to proofread

writing assignments)

GR Mistake in grammar. e.g. He eats a GR ice-cream. an

XXX Mistake in spelling. e.g. ice-crem  cream

WO Words in wrong sequence. e.g. Ice-cream he eats. WO 

He eats ice-cream
WW Wrong choice of word. e.g. He reads WW ice-cream.  eats

XXX Unclear, incomprehensible. e.g. ice-cream eat him.  He

eats ice-cream.
AGR Verb does not agree with referent. e.g. He eat AGR ice-
cream.  He eats
// Break the sentence
e.g. He eats ice-cream // he likes it.  He eats ice-cream.
He likes it.
ʌ Missing word. e.g. He reads ʌ book.  a book

WF Wrong form of the word. e.g. He reads bookings WF -

books
XXX Irrelevant / repetitive word or idea.
e.g. He likes ice-cream. He loves ice-cream.
P Wrong punctuation or punctuation necessary.
e.g. He likes ice-cream P  He likes ice-cream.
PREP Wrong preposition. e.g. He likes for PREP read.  to read

 Good idea or good use of grammar or vocabulary.

Link ideas / sentences. e.g. He bought ice-cream. And

books.
/ Split the word into two.
e.g. He looked forward/to eating ice-cream. forward to
FRAG Fragment; incomplete sentence.
e.g. He eats ice-cream. Because he is hungry. FRAG He eats
ice-cream because he is hungry.
COLL Mistake in collocation; two words do not go together.
e.g. absolutely interesting COLL  very interesting
S/ST Wrong sentence structure. e.g. He eats ice-cream he reads
R books. S/STR
He eats ice-cream. He reads books. OR He eats ice-cream
and reads books
VF Wrong form of the verb. e.g. He eat VF ice-cream.  eats

REF Unclear what the word refers to

e.g. He eats ice-cream. He likes them. REF  it

LCDA. JESSICA GARZÓN B., ESP. (2017)

 GUIDE TO TEACH AND TEST WRITING SKILLS AT B1 LEVEL

TRANSITIONAL WORDS AND PHRASES

Comparing ideas/Classification Also, and, another, moreover,

and definition
Contrasting ideas /
Classification and definition
Showing cause and effect /
Narration
Showing time / Narration
Showing place / Description
Showing importance /
Evaluation
similarly, too.
Although, but, however, in spite of,
instead, nevertheless, on the other
hand, still, yet.
As a result, because, consequently,
for, since, so, so that, therefore.
After, at last, at once, before,
eventually, finally, first, meanwhile,
next, then, therefore, when.
Above, across, around, before,
behind, beyond, down, here, in,
inside, into, next, over, there,
under.
First, last, mainly, more important,
then, to begin with.

GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS FOR PRE-WRITING AND WRITING

COMPONENTS

There are many kinds of graphic organizers to different purposes:

a) Story maps: They are used to analyse stories.

e.g.:
Fishbone

LCDA. JESSICA GARZÓN B., ESP. (2017)

GUIDE TO TEACH AND TEST WRITING SKILLS AT B1 LEVEL

Honeycomb

Flowchart

LCDA. JESSICA GARZÓN B., ESP. (2017)

 GUIDE TO TEACH AND TEST WRITING SKILLS AT B1 LEVEL

b) T-charts: They are used to consider two sides of a topic.

e.g:

ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

PROBLEMS SOLUTIONS

FACTS OPINIONS

PROS CONS

FOR AGAINST

MAIN IDEAS DETAILS

POSITIVE NEGATIVE

Also, they can help learners make connections between the text they read
and other texts or Works, their experiences, etc.

e.g.:

THE TEXT MY OWN EXPERIENCE

THE TEXT ANOTHER TEXT/WORKS/FILMS,

ETC.

LCDA. JESSICA GARZÓN B., ESP. (2017)

 GUIDE TO TEACH AND TEST WRITING SKILLS AT B1 LEVEL

c) Chain diagram: It is used to compare how characters, real people,

books, events, articles on the same news from different papers, etc.
are similar and different.

d) Mothership: It is used to write essays, articles, reports, reviews and

letters.
e.g.:

REFERENCES

Carter, R. and McCarthy, M. (2006) Cambridge Grammar of English, Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.

http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/

Kinneavy, J. & Warriner, J. (1993) Elements of Writing. Holt, Rinehart and Winston,
Inc. United States of America. ISBN 0-03-0471443

LCDA. JESSICA GARZÓN B., ESP. (2017)

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