Teaching writing

TEACHING WRITING 
Shape of a writing lesson 
Techniques for while (controlled) writing 
 (Adopted from English Language Teaching Methodology- 
BA upgrading course-The Ministry of Education & Training -2003) 
Shape of a writing lesson 
Revision 
Word Cue Drill 
Pre-Writing Stage 
- Establishing who, what, why.. 
- Making use of words, structures needed for the writing task 
- Drafting & Redrafting 
While-Writing Stage 
- Performing the writing 
Post-Writing Stage 
 Sharing & Comparing 
 Feedback & correction 
Techniques for while –(controlled) writing 
Substitution boxes 
Transformation writing 
Questions and answers 
Write - it – up 
Recall 
1. Substitution boxes 
The teacher puts a box full of words on the board. The words fit together to either make one long sentence or lots of short sentences. The class is divided into strong groups and weak groups. The strong groups write down one long sentence while the weak ones write down as many different short sentences as possible. For stronger groups, the sentence with the most words in the given time is the winner. For weaker groups, the group with the most sentences is the winner. 
2. Transformation writing 
The teacher gives the students handouts with a 
short paragraph or a letter. The students 
rewrite the paragraph or letter as required by the 
 teacher. The teacher can change information in 
the paragraph in three different ways: change the 
grammar (e.g. from the future to the past or from ‘I’ 
to ‘he’); change the facts (e.g. from England to 
Vietnam); change the meaning (e.g. from ‘sad’ to 
‘happy’). 
3. Questions and answers 
The teacher gives students a series of questions. The students answer the questions in full sentences. The students have to, where possible, combine two sentences into one and then put the sentences together to form a coherent paragraph. 
4. Write - it – up  
The students write notes or fill in grids using the information collected from any speaking, listening or reading activities. Then, they ‘write it up’ in full sentences, or as a paragraph. 
5. Recall  
This technique is used in the final stage of the lesson. After listening to /reading a story, students are asked to rewrite it, using their own language. Students can work in pair or group.