Writing Assessment Student’s Guide
TOP NOTCH 1 WRITING ASSESSMENT 1
Olympic Games
Tokyo 2020: Sports addicts’ edition! Communicative goals: ✓ Write simple sentences about personal skills ✓ Write short texts about their likes and dislikes using basic fixed expressions. ✓ Give an example of something in a very simple text using “like” or “for example”
1. Think about… 1. Which famous athletes do you know? 2. What sports do you like the most? 3. Do you know some famous sport venues? Venues: Places, locations.
2. Words matter! To do well in this lesson you need to become familiar with a number of words. Complete the following exercise to learn more vocabulary.
2.1. Underline the expression that best matches the idea of the boldfaced word or phrase. Have a dictionary at hand. a. I don’t like it when men wear speedos. I prefer long shorts for the beach. - Tight swimming clothes for men
- A hat you wear for swimming
b. I broke my arm one year ago. I fell because the floor was slippery. - Difficult to stand firmly on a surface.
- Shining
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Writing Assessment Student’s Guide
c. There are things that you always have to use if you want to be a professional swimmer; nose clips are one of those.
- Something to put on your feet
- Something to avoid water get into your nose
d. After a long day of work I just want to be at home and rest in my bed. - Eat
-Relax
2.2. Match the word on the left with the meaning on the right. Write in the parenthesis the corresponding letter. 1 2 3 4 5 6
Word Meaning Track ( ) A Preparation for a sportive event. Weightlifting ( ) B The area and place for practicing a sport. Training ( ) C Extend a body part to its full length. Fencing ( ) D Circuit for athletes to run. Field ( ) E The sport of fighting with special swords. Stretch ( ) F The sport or activity of lifting barbells or other heavy weights.
3. Read a bit! Read the following text about “Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Sport addicts’ edition!” Three of the most famous athletes of the world talk about their personal experiences in previous competitions, give advice to new athletes, and more! Usain Bolt: When I was a kid, I was very good at running. I was the fastest kid that you could ever imagine and my mom decided to take me to a local track. There, I started to practice every day with kids older than me, who set the bar higher and pushed me to do better. I love to run when it is sunny because it gives me a sense of peace, but I hate it when it is raining because the track gets slippery. Michael Phelps: I practiced weightlifting for almost 3 years which made me strong. I really liked to be the strongest guy in the neighborhood, but one day when I was going to the gym, I saw some guys at the local pool; they were having so much fun there, so I decided to
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Writing Assessment Student’s Guide
go after training. From the first time I was in the water, I loved it. I couldn’t stop swimming and it became my biggest passion. However, I hate to use nose clips and speedos. Serena Williams: My family is crazy about sports; my siblings are athletes too. My brother practices fencing and my sister and I tennis. When I am on the court I feel powerful, I can run, jump and scream. When I am at home I like to be quiet; I can cook different recipes like spiced carrot soup, mustard chicken and lemon pie. To compete in a major event like this I recommend athletes to have a routine, for example: get up early, eat breakfast, stretch, go out and train, then have a good lunch, rest and eat small portions until 6pm.
4. Tips for composition: In this session, you will find grammar elements and composition strategies that will help you improve your writing skills. Read the explanation, this is important for the next step!
Write about likes and dislikes: Let’s take a look at this helpful chart with some expressions that you can use when writing or speaking about likes and dislikes.
Remember that when these expressions are followed by a verb, it is important to write the second verb in “ing” form. Read the following examples: • • • •
I love jogging in the park every weekend! I am crazy about going watching soccer games! I enjoy listening to the soccer narrators when they cry out “goal”! I hate practicing sports because I sweat!
Extra tip: You can use the expressions “a lot” and “so much” after expressing things you like; when using “I love, I like, I hate; for example: I hate swimming so much!
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Writing Assessment Student’s Guide
4.1. Write 4 sentences using verbs to express likes and dislikes. Be careful with the “ing” form in the second verb. 1.______________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________. 2.______________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________. 3.______________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________. 4.______________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________. 5.______________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________.
Skills and Abilities. Now that you know how to express your different tastes, let’s write about your personal skills. In order to do so, it is important to know what this means.
Think about personal skills you were born with and the ones you have developed with practice through the years. Now that you have some ideas, let’s put them on paper. Remember that when you are going to talk about skills, you can use the modal verb can/can’t or expressions such as “I am able to…” “I am capable of…” “I am good/ not good at…”
Extra tip: When using “good at” or “capable of”, conjugate the verb in present participle “-ing”. After a preposition, these verbs always need to be in this form. Now, look at the following examples applying both tips mentioned above. •
I’m good at doing exercise. I&D Team 2019
Writing Assessment Student’s Guide
• •
I was capable of lifting a 100 kg weight. Tim can run 6 miles in 40 minutes. (No -ing needed with modal verbs.)
4.2. Write 4 sentences mentioning abilities you have when practicing any physical activity or sport. Try to give examples in both present and past tense. 1. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. ___________________________________________________________________________________________
Giving examples and pointing out references. When you need to give an example or point out a reference, use the expressions: like, for instance, for example, such as. Look at the following sentences: • • •
I was good at sports like soccer, basketball and tennis but I didn’t like things such as jogging or swimming. My family is very competitive, for example, my uncle Raul has three gold medals he won in rowing. Many Colombian athletes are very famous abroad, for instance Katherine Ibarguen, Mariana Pajón, among others.
4.3. Write 4 sentences in which you state examples and point out references by using the expressions shown above. 1. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. _____________________________________________________________________________________________
So now you are ready for your final composition. Let’s write something!
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