Christmas gifts

What do you prefer to give or to receive presents?

Listen to some people answering the question.

And what about you? what do you prefer?

Tell me in a comment.

Informal Letters

Informal Letters Writing

Formal Letters

Formal Letter Writing

THE WRITING PROCESS

THE WRITING PROCESS

STEP 1.  (5 min)

Think about what you want to write and how you are going to write it.

Make notes of your ideas and write down the language you might need.

STEP 2.  (5 min)

Organise your ideas.

Plan your writing.

STEP 3.  (20 min)

Write your first draft taking into account your previous notes.

STEP 4.  (5 min)

Check your first draft.

Do not rewrite it, just correct your mistakes (spelling, verb tenses…) and think about the assessment criteria below:

Competencia Pragmática			Competencia Lingüística			Registro (1)
Consigna (1)	Formato (1)	Organización (2)	Ortografía (1)	Léxico (2)	Gramática (2)

STEP 5.  (15 min)

Write your final draft.

Do not change anything at this stage, just write your final draft in a tidy and neat manner.

Strategies for Developing Writing Skills

Strategies for Developing Writing Skills

PROBLEM: I can’t see my own mistakes

Have someone else look at your writing

PROBLEM: Sometimes people do not understand what I have written

Use what you know

Avoid excessive reliance on the dictionary

Imitate

Plan before writing

Revise

PROBLEM: My grammar is terrible

Check your grammar

Enlist your teacher’s cooperation

PROBLEM: I have the worst time spelling words in the foreign language

Look for regular patterns in spelling

Avoid misspelling the same word over and over again

Use a spell-checker

PROBLEM: I never know how to punctuate in the foreign language

Find out similarities and differences between your own and the foreign language

Learn the rules

Find out how native speakers feel about punctuation

Rubin & Thompson (1994: 113-116)

WRITING ERROR CORRECTION CODE

WRITING ERROR CORRECTION CODE

T             tense
Prep        preposition
Gr           grammar
WO          word order
WW         wrong word
P            punctuation
Sp          spelling
^             missing word
\           new sentence needed
\\        new paragraph needed

WRITING TIPS

WRITING TIPS

1.    Read the question carefully.

2.    Decide the register.

Think about what you are writing (a letter, article, report, etc…) and who is it for.

3.    Work out a clear and logical plan.

Make notes on the ideas you are planning to include and the language you will need.

4.    Check how much time you are allowed.

Allow enough time for planning, and keep an eye on the clock as you write.

5.    Write straight on to the paper in ink, as you may not have enough time to write a rough draft in pencil first.

6.    When writing and doing other activities in class or at home keep a checklist of your common mistakes. Check your compositions for these mistakes before handing them in.

7.    You will NOT be allowed to use your dictionary in the exam so don’t become too reliant on your dictionary.

8.    Mistakes should be neatly crossed out with one pen stroke.

Try to present your work as tidily as possible. If your handwriting is too difficult to read, make sure it is at least legible.

9.    Write in clearly-defined paragraphs, which should be indented or separated by a line space.

Each new topic should be written in a different paragraph, but paragraphs should be connected with linking words.

10. Count the words you use.

      Try to keep close to the required number of words.