Unit 6 · Writing

Writing is one of the four language skills and, like speaking, it is a productive skill: it involves producing language rather than receiving it. Writing means communicating a message by making signs on a page — forming letters and words, joining them into sentences and linking those sentences so that the message gets across.

◆What is writing?

Writing is one of the four language skillsThe four language skills are listening, speaking, reading and writing. See develop skills, subskills, receptive skills, productive skills. click to keep open · see glossary: reading, writing, listening and speaking. Writing and speaking are productive skillsIn language teaching we talk about the four skills: reading, listening, speaking and writing. Speaking and writing are productive skills because learners produce language. Reading and listening and not productive skills. See receptive skills. click to keep open · see glossary. That means they involve producing language rather than receiving it, as in listening and reading. Very simply, we can say that writing involves communicating a message by making signs on a page. To write we need to have something to communicate, and usually someone to communicate it to. We also need to be able to form letters and words, to join these together to make sentences or a series of sentences that link together and to communicate our message in such a way as to get our message across. We will look at how we do this.

◆Key concepts — text types and writing subskills

Make a list of what you have written in your language in the past week.

Maybe you haven't written anything in the past week! But perhaps you have written a shopping list, a postcard, a birthday card, some emails, your diary, some text messages, or maybe a story. If you are studying, perhaps you have written an essay. All of these are examples of written text typesText types is something else good readers can do. click to keep open · see glossary. You can see from this list that text types involve different kinds of writing, as each text type has different characteristics, e.g. single words only, short sentences or longer sentences; use or non-use of note form, addresses or paragraphs; different degrees of formalitySee register. click to keep open · see glossary; different layoutsThe ways in which text is placed on the page click to keep open · see glossary; different ways of ordering information, i.e. structuring the text. When we learn to write, we need to learn how to produce these characteristics for each text type we write and to know how to vary the characteristics within text types depending on who we are writing to. For example, if you write a letter to a close friend, you will probably use a different layout, and different levels of complexityComplicated, not simple; e.g. some English grammar is easy to understand, some grammar is more complex. click to keep open · see glossary of grammar, registerThe formality or informality of language used in a particular situation. Formal register or formal language is language which is used in serious or important situations, e.g. in a job application. Informal register or informal language is language used in rela… click to keep open · see glossary and range of vocabulary from those you use in a job application letter.

Writing also involves using writing subskillsEach of the four language skills can be divided into smaller subskills that are all part of the main skill; e.g. identifying text organisation is a subskill of reading; identifying word stress is a listening subskill. See detail, gist, global understanding, sc… click to keep open · see glossary. Some of these are related to accuracyThe ability to do something without making mistakes. Accuracy is the use of correct forms of grammar, vocabulary, spelling and pronunciation. In an accuracy activity, teachers and learners usually focus on using and producing language correctly. See fluency. click to keep open · see glossary, i.e. using the correct forms of language. The others relate to communicating our ideas.

The writing subskills related to accuracy are spelling correctly, forming letters correctly, joining letters together correctly, writing legibly, punctuating correctly, using correct layouts, choosing the right vocabulary, using grammar correctly, joining sentences correctly and correctly using paragraphsA word in which the letters are not in the correct order, a sentence in which the words are not in the correct order, a text in which the paragraphs or sentences are not in the correct order, or a series of pictures that are not in the correct order. The learn… click to keep open · see glossary (a part of a longer piece of writing, which starts on a new line and usually focuses on one idea).

The writing subskills related to communicating our ideas include using appropriate style and register, organising ideas in a helpful way, using the featuresFeatures such as speed of delivery and accent are part of connected speech click to keep open · see glossary typical of the text type we are writing, joining our words and sentences clearly and using appropriate functions to express our meaning, e.g. narratingThe language function of telling a story or saying what happened, e.g. in a letter to a friend about a holiday. click to keep open · see glossary (telling a story), complaining, requestingTo ask someone (politely) to do something, e.g. Please could you open the window? click to keep open · see glossary, thanking, summarisingExpressing main points or ideas in a few clear words click to keep open · see glossary (expressing main points or ideas in a few clear words), concluding.

◆Cohesion and cohesive devices

Look at this extractPart of a text which is removed from an original, longer text. Newspaper articles can be very long, so teachers sometimes choose just a few of the paragraphs from an article for learners to read in class. This gives learners practice in reading extracts from a… click to keep open · see glossary (part of a text) from the contents page of a pre-intermediate coursebook. It shows the writing syllabusThis describes the language and skills to be covered on a course, and the order in which they will be taught. The content of a syllabus will be based on the writer’s beliefs about language learning. See curriculum. click to keep open · see glossary. Note on the right the different aspects of writing it focuses on.

(adapted from New Cutting Edge Pre-Intermediate by Sarah Cunningham and Peter Moor, Longman 2005)

The writers of this coursebook have chosen to focus here on two aspects of cohesionThe way spoken or written texts are joined together with grammar or lexis, e.g. conjunctions (Firstly, secondly), topic related vocabulary, pronouns (e.g. it, them, this). click to keep open · see glossary: making use of linkers to link ideas and writing a paragraph. Other ways of making a text cohesiveThe way spoken or written texts are joined together with grammar or lexis, e.g. conjunctions (Firstly, secondly), topic related vocabulary, pronouns (e.g. it, them, this). click to keep open · see glossary (linked together) include the use of reference words to refer backwards or forwards to other words in the text, the use of a logicalConnecting ideas in a sensible way. A lesson is logical if the stages follow an order which makes sense and if one stage leads clearly and obviously to another. click to keep open · see glossary way of organising the information in a text and the use of paragraphs and topic sentencesA sentence that gives the main point or subject of a paragraph click to keep open · see glossary (a sentence that gives the main point or subject of a paragraph). There are many examples of these cohesive devicesThe ways of linking a text together, e.g. linkers, pronouns that refer back, paragraphs and topic sentences. click to keep open · see glossary (ways of linking a text) in this extract from an article entitled 'My favourite lesson', written by a teacher of English. Some are highlighted.

◆Cohesive devices in 'My favourite lesson'

(a) I'm not sure I could say what my favourite lesson was. I sort of liked everything. I liked academic subjects, and chose to take exams in (b) them, but I also liked practical subjects like woodwork and cookery.

I suppose history must have been my favourite, (c) because it's what I chose to do at college. Maybe it sounds strange (d) but I wanted to understand the world and I think history helps. It's definitely a way of understanding the world around you. Twenty years ago the map of Europe was shaped by the Second World War, and how would you know (e) that if you didn't know history?

(f) I studied French at school, too, and I'm much more interested in languages now than I was then. I like the way that language reflects culture, and the other way round. I taught English in Guatemala for a year, and I found that Spanish in South America is much softer than in Spain.

I don't see my job as spreading English round the world — I would not want that to happen. (f) But I do enjoy meeting the different nationalities that I teach and watching them interacting. The other day I had a French Catholic priest, Muslims from Iran and Turkey and Buddhists in one class and they were all very respectful of one another.

The national stereotypes do come out though, and they're often true: getting the Italians or Spanish, for example, to stop talking and the Japanese and Koreans to say something.

The best thing about teaching English is that (g) it gives you the opportunity to get out there and learn about the world.

('My favourite lesson' by Arlo Kitchingman from the Guardian 15.03.05)

The highlighted cohesive devices

• (a) Topic sentence
• (b) Pronoun referring back to 'academic subjects'
• (c) Conjunction of reason
• (d) Conjunction of contrast
• (e) Pronoun referring back to the previous sentence
• (f) Topic sentence
• (g) Pronoun referring back to 'teaching English'

◆The writing process

A writer not only employs various subskills when writing, but also goes through a number of stages of writing. These often involve, particularly for longer or more important pieces of writing, the stages of:

• working out what you want to say, i.e. getting or developing ideas
• working out the order in which you want to say it, i.e. planning/organising ideas
• drafting/writing the first draftA draft is a piece of writing that is not yet finished, and may be changed. A writer drafts a piece of writing – that is, they write it for the first time but it is not exactly as it will be when it is finished and they might change it or have to make correcti… click to keep open · see glossary (the first versionA particular form of something, e.g. a learner's own version of the second language, called interlanguage. click to keep open · see glossary (or form) of a piece of writing, that may well be changed)
• editingTo shorten or change or correct the words or content of some parts of a written text to make it clearer or easier to understand; e.g. learners might edit the first draft of a text they have written to correct the mistakes. See process writing. click to keep open · see glossary (correcting and improving the content of the text)
• proofreadingTo read a text in order to check whether there are any mistakes in spelling, grammar, punctuation etc. Teachers encourage learners to proofread their homework and correct their mistakes before they hand it in. See process writing. click to keep open · see glossary (checking for mistakes in accuracy and correcting)
• re-draftingWhen a piece of writing is changed with the intention of improving it. A writer’s first draft may be re-drafted. Many teachers encourage learners to write a first draft quickly to get their ideas down on paper, then to go back and re-draft the text, correcting… click to keep open · see glossary (writing a second/final version of your piece of writing).

These stages form part of the writing processThe stages writers go through: planning, drafting, editing, proofreading and re-drafting a text. click to keep open · see glossary. We can see from them that writing in fact begins before we put pen to paper or start word processing, and that it involves the writer in carrying out several steps which each lead in to the next one and aimAims are not the same as procedures. click to keep open · see glossary to improve the quality of the final product.

◆Key concepts and the language teaching classroom

Read these tips and tick the ones which are most important for you:

• The subskills of writing that we choose to teach will vary, depending on our learners' age and needs. At primary level we may spend a lot of time teaching learners how to form letters and words, how to join them together and how to write short texts of a few words or sentences, often by copying. Learners at primary level are not just learning how to write in English but also how to write letters and words. This may also be true for learners whose first language does not use the Roman alphabet.
• At secondary level we may need to focus more on other kinds of accuracy and the communication skills required to write longer texts such as letters, emails or compositions.
• Before they start writing it's useful to encourage1. To give someone confidence to do something. When a teacher helps learners to succeed by giving them confidence, e.g. Of course you can do it! You’re doing very well. See confidence. 2. To tell someone to do something that you think would be good for them to… click to keep open · see glossary learners to think about why they are writing (their reason for writing) and who they are writing to (their audience). This helps them focus on what they want to say (content) and how to say it (register and style).
• Many activities exist to help learners practise accuracy in writing, e.g. labelling, copying, sentence completion, gap-filling, sentence transformationTests knowledge of grammatical structures and the relationships between them click to keep open · see glossary exercises, dividing texts into paragraphs, putting punctuationThe symbols or marks used to organise writing into clauses, phrases and sentences to make the meaning clear. click to keep open · see glossary into an unpunctuated text, proofreading exercises to correct errors in texts.
• Many activities exist to help learners practise communicating through writing, e.g. story completion, jumbled picture stories, writing birthday cards, writing emails of invitation.
• We can support learners in their writing by moving on to writing after doing some listening, reading or speaking on a topic. In this way, learners have already worked on the language of the topic and may have developed ideas about it.
• Teachers sometimes work with models1. A clear example of the target language for learners to repeat or write down or save as a record. If a teacher is focusing on the target language of a lesson, he/she usually chooses a model sentence and writes it on the board. The teacher often models the la… click to keep open · see glossary (clear examples) of text types when teaching writing. Models can show learners what patterns of language, vocabulary, register or layout to use, or how to structure their writing. They can also help learners get ideas about what to write. Models are used in guided/product writingAn approach to writing which involves analysing and then reproducing models of particular text types. For example, learners read a restaurant review, analyse the way it is written, then produce their own review. See guided writing and process writing. click to keep open · see glossary.
• We can also guideHelp and advice about how to do something. Teachers give learners guidance with learning, or with doing a task. click to keep open · see glossary or support learners in their writing through the use of a process writingAn approach to writing, which thinks of writing as a process which includes different stages of writing such as planning, drafting, re-drafting, editing, proofreading. See guided writing and product writing. click to keep open · see glossary approach. With this approach the teacher gives learners the opportunity to work through the stages in the writing process. They move from planning their work, to drafting it, and then on to editing, re-drafting and proofreading. This approach allows learners to focus on different aspects of writing at different times. At the planning stage they focus on developing ideas and organising them. At the drafting stage they focus on finding the language to express themselves, and at the editing, re-drafting and proofreading stages they focus on evaluating (looking at the strengths and weaknesses of) their ideas, the organisation of their writing and the accuracy of their language.

✎Follow-up activity

💡Reflect

🔍Discovery activities

✎TKT practice tasks

These multiple-choice tasks are exactly as in the book, but interactive: pick your answers, check your score, and retry anytime. The scoring uses the official answer key from the back of the book.

📖Glossary terms in this unit

Key terms highlighted in this unit — study them on the flashcards page.