Topnotchenglish hughes john etpedia 1 000 ideas for english language teacher

Using their notes, the students can start to make a proper plan. Planning is one of those things that many students do not spend enough (or any) time on. However, it is especially important for very structured text types, such as reports or academic essays, which students might have to write for examinations. Students who don’t plan and just start writing tend to get halfway through and run out of ideas; they suddenly realise that they don’t know what to write next and their writing is unstructured and often left unfinished. When your students do a writing task, tell them to plan the text for five or 10 minutes before they start. They need to think how many main points they plan to make and list these.

Then they need to think of any supporting points for each main point. Once they have done this, they’ll find that the actual writing becomes much easier.

4. Studying target model versions If your students are to write texts such as letters for work or essays for an exam, spend time with them looking at good examples of these text types. Identify what the key features are of the model versions.

For example: What is the structure? How has it been divided into paragraphs? What kind of fixed expressions and phrases does the writer use?

5. Borrowing useful phrases Following on from 4 above, encourage your students to underline and copy useful phrases from model texts and then reuse them in their own writing. This is especially true for any more formal texts such as formal letters which includes set expressions and phrases (eg. With regards to … If you have any further questions, do not hesitate to contact us, etc.)

6. Timed writing In examinations, the worst situation is when a student runs out of time and fails to complete the writing. To avoid this, students need to experience time limits before they take the exam, so it is useful to set rigorous time limits for writing tasks in class. Even in non-exam classes, time limits can also have the effect of motivating the students to write.

7. Collaborative writing It can also be beneficial to have students working together on a writing task, as it can be helpful to share and generate ideas with others. If you do this, the students will also be talking about the topic, so it is highly communicative and can be motivating for students who aren’t keen on writing.

8. Checking As well as setting aside time before the actual writing in order to plan, students also need to make sure that they have time at the end for checking their writing. In particular, they should take the opportunity to check for basic errors, to improve word choices, insert some punctuation. In the case of writing for an exam, this can save a few marks which might otherwise be lost.

9. Peer feedback