WRITING LESSON

ACTIVITY 1: Look at the pictures and guess the topic

I think the topic is about: ________________,

because ______________________________

ACTIVITY 2: In pairs, discuss the questions below:

 Do you believe in Love at first sight?  Have you been in the “Friend Zone”?
 Have your fallen in love (platonic love/ teenage love)?  Which are good places to meet a couple?
 What do you think of Same Sex Marriage?  What are some dating costumes in your country?

ACTIVITY 3: Read the text below, then answer the questions.

1Why do people get divorced? 2In my opinion married couples today are getting divorced
because of three main reasons. 3First, they have poor communication skills. 4For example, they
may not talk about their goals or values before they get married because they are just focusing
on romantic feelings. 5They may not find out until much later that they have different ideas about
spending money, time or raising children. 6Additionally, many couples get married before they
are mature enough. 7Many young people who get married end up getting divorced because
they change after getting married. 8An 18 years old person changes a lot by the time he or she is
25. 9Two people who got married young may realize they are not compatible after some years.
10The last reason that couples divorce is the lack of responsibility. 11Many men and some women

don’t like to do house cleaning or cooking. 12If one person in the marriage has to do all the work,
the other person may feel annoyed and wish to get out of the marriage. 13Therefore, people
should think twice about this important step in their life before accepting to marry.

a. What is the general topic? a. What types of supporting details does the text have?
1. Family  Numerical information
2. Relationships  Explanations
3. Personality  Examples
 Factual information
b. How does the writer start the paragraph?  Other: _____________
1. With a quote. b. How does the author conclude the text?
2. Questioning to the reader. 1. Giving suggestions
3. Telling an anecdote. 2. Summarizing ideas
3. Warning the reader
c. Where is the topic sentence located? c. In general, what is the writer’s opinion?
1. In the beginning of the text 1. The writer is against of divorce
2. In the middle of the text 2. The writer is in favor of divorce
3. At the end of the text 3. The writer is neutral and states both points of view

ACTIVITY 4: Complete the Outline from the text. Identify the ideas and rewrite them

Topic sentence: ____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________
Supporting
sentences: ____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Concluding
sentence: ____________________________________________________________________________

Master in Teaching English as a Foreign Language -Wilmer F Zambrana.

ACTIVITY 5: Read the text below and do the activities:
a. Underline the writer opinion
b. Compare the text with the previous text in activity 3. Does it have the same structure?
c. Discuss with a partner what the main idea and details are.

Does a virtual relationship work? There is a 50% that it will and 50% it will not. From my point of
view, having an online couple has many disadvantages. One issue is that there is not physical
contact. Couples are not able to kiss each other, hold hands or hug. It can be frustrating when
facing a hard moment within the relationship. Another issue is that It can alter your budget. You may
spend much money to pay internet service in phones or at home. Sometimes there is not an
immediate communication and couples would need to adapt to each other schedule. A final issue
is that both partners can meet another person close to where they are and fall in love with him/her.
Some partners can betray their couple and have two relationships at the same time. General
speaking, while online dating can work in some cases, the majority of people will be rather
disappointed with the results.

ACTIVITY 6: Choose one of the topics below or One of your preference about Relationships, then
complete the mind map with ideas related to your topics

Toxic Relationships Same Sex Marriage Breaking up Arranged Marriage

Online Relationships Dating costumes Blind dates Best friends

01
03

02
04

Master in Teaching English as a Foreign Language -Wilmer F Zambrana.

ACTIVITY 7: Read the phrases to express opinion. Then, use them to write sentences with your own
ideas from the topics in activity 6.

In my point of view… I personally believe… I consider… I think…

I strongly believe… Speaking personally … From my perspective… I’d like to point out that…

1. ______________________________________________________________________________________

2. _______________________________________________________________________________________

3. _______________________________________________________________________________________

ACTIVITY 8: Organize your ideas before writing your text. Use the outline below.
Topic: ____________________________________________________________________________
Topic sentence: ____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________
Supporting
sentences: ____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Concluding
sentence: ____________________________________________________________________________

ACTIVITY 9: Exchange your outline with a partner. Provide some feedback on your partner’s work.
You may use the checklist below. Then make corrections on your outline if it is needed.

OUTLINE CHECKLIST  YES NO Comments

1. The outline contains main idea, details and conclusion.
2. Main idea is clear (topic and controlling idea is present).
3. Details are connected to the main idea.
4. Conclusion summarizes the topic, suggest or warm to the reader
5. Sentences are free of grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors.

ACTIVITY 10: Draft your paragraph. You are going to write an 8-10-line opinion paragraph about
relationships. Use Markers (connector words) to connect ideas. You may add much information to
support your main idea and details.

___________________________________________________________________________________________
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___________________________________________________________________________________________

Master in Teaching English as a Foreign Language -Wilmer F Zambrana.

ACTIVITY 11: Exchange your 1st paragraph draft with a classmate. You may revise your classmate’s
work too. Read the text aloud and ask questions if something is not clear. Use the rating scale below
to revise your classmate’s text.

ACTIVITY 12: Make necessary changes to your first draft and write your Final paragraph.

___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
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ACTIVITY 13: Use the Self Evaluation checklist to see your progress.

OUTLINE CHECKLIST  YES NO Comments

1. I can write clear topic sentences
2. I can support the main idea with at least three details
3. I can summarize the text, suggest or warm to the reader
4. I can use punctuation marks properly
5. I can use connector words to join ideas properly.

Master in Teaching English as a Foreign Language -Wilmer F Zambrana.