practising ielts general training writing task 1

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Practising IELTS General Training Writ ing Task 1

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Practising Practising IELTS General Training Writing Task 1 www.teachers.cambridgeesol.org Page 1 of 11

Contents

A. TEACHERS’ NOTES ...........................................................................................................2

A1. ...............................................................................................................2 Lesson Plan

A2. ................................................................................................5

Classroom Handout 1

A3. ................................................................................................6

Classroom Handout 2

A4. ...................................................7

Classroom Handout 2 – Answer key (suggestions)

A4. ................................................................................................8 Classroom Handout 3

A5. ...................................................9 Classroom Handout 3 – Answer key (suggestions)

B. GUIDANCE FOR FOLLOW UP ACTIVITIES.....................................................................10


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A. TEACHERS’ NOTES

Description

Time required: 60 minutes + homework and follow-up in a subsequent lesson

Materials

required:

Classroom Handout 1 (1 per student)

Classroom Handout 2 (1 per student)

Classroom Handout 3 (optional: 1 per student)

Classroom Handout 3 – Answer key (optional: 1 per student)

Aims: To prepare students for IELTS General Training Writing Task 1 by

raising students’ awareness of register when writing transactional

letters

practising alternating between formal and informal register and

using formal/informal expressions.

A1. Lesson Plan

1. Discuss with the class if anyone has studied English in an English-speaking country

before. Questions could include:

Where?

When?

What was the experience like? Positive/ Negative?

Would they recommend it?

If no-one has studied in an English-speaking country, then ask what they imagine the

experience would be like, or if family members or friends have.

Explain that in this lesson, they’re going to imagine they have just finished a course in

an English-speaking country.

Timing: 5 minutes

2. Give out A2 Classroom Handout 1, or show the situations on the board.

Look at situation A. Divide the class in two. Half the class are students, half are

teachers. Explain to the class that instead of writing the letter they will have a meeting

with the teacher and so they will be discussing the points from situation A.

Allow 5 minutes for students to work in pairs to brainstorm ideas for what they are

going to say at the meeting. The ‘students’ should plan what they are going to say for

each point. The ‘teachers’ should prepare some questions they would like to ask the

‘students’ about the course and plan how they are going to lead the conversation.

Timing: 8 minutes


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3. Re-organise the class so that you have one ‘student’ meeting one ‘teacher’. They

should keep their notes/questions with them.

Allow 5 minutes to role-play the situation. Monitor, making a note of typical informallanguage used by the students. This should include vocabulary, functional language,

contractions and structures that are considered more informal.

Timing: 8 minutes

4. Discuss the following questions with specific pairs and the class as a whole:

Was your meeting successful? Why/ Why not? (answers depend on each

pair’s experience)

Was it easy to talk to the teacher? (the answer should be yes)

Was the situation formal or informal? (informal)

Do you think you would know the principal of the school well? What would you

relationship be with him/her? (they probably wouldn’t know the principal well;

the relationship would be more formal, less relaxed)

How would this make the situation different when you speak to the principal?

(the student would feel more constrained and would try harder to be more

polite; the register of the language would be more formal)

Would the content of what you say be different? (no, probably not)

Timing: 5 minutes

5. Write on the board some of the informal words, phrases and sentences you noted

down while monitoring the students’ role-plays.

Alternatively, give out A5 Classroom Handout 3.

Elicit what makes the first word or phrase informal rather than informal. Students work

in pairs to identify and underline the words which are more informal.

After a few minutes, elicit some of the answers to check that students have identified

the same aspects of the language. Elicit some of the key features of formal and

informal language (see A3 Classroom Handout 2 for key points).

Timing: 7 minutes

6. Give out A3 Classroom Handout 2, which summarises the key differences between

formal and informal language. Allow a few minutes for students to read through the

worksheet.

Point out that only some examples are given. In pairs, students find examples for the

other aspects of language given in the table.

Feed back ideas, accepting all that are appropriate. (See A4 Classroom Handout 2 –

Answer key suggestions).

Timing: 7 minutes


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7. Ask students to look back at the informal language they worked on in Step 5, and to

work in pairs to decide how they could express the same ideas in a more formal way,

using the guidelines on Classroom Handout 2.

Feed back their suggestions, accepting any that are suitable.

If you are using Classroom Handout 3, give out A6 Classroom Handout 3 – Answer

key for students to compare their answers to those given. Point out that these are just

suggestions, and there is more than one way to express yourself formally.

Timing: 10 minutes

8. Focus on A2 Classroom Handout 1 again, situation B.

In the same pairs as Step 3, students role play the meeting between the student and

the principal. Students may swap roles, or keep the same roles as previously.

Encourage students to use as much formal language as possible.

Monitor, noting down good uses of formal language, and any difficulties students

encounter to work on in a future class.

Allow 5 minutes to role play the situation.

Feed back on the experience of this second role play. Remind students that in Part 1

of General Writing, they will be asked to write either an informal or formal letter.

Timing: 7 minutes

9. As homework, students draft a letter covering the same points as their role-plays. You

may want to specify if the letter is for Situation A (informal) or for Situation B (formal),or allow students to choose.

Allow some time in a subsequent lesson for editing, redrafting and finalising the

letters (see B. Guidance for Follow-up Activities).

Timing: 3 minutes


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A2. Classroom Handout 1

AYou recently completed an English language course in a school in England. Yourexperience at the school was a very positive one.

Write a letter to your teacher on the course. In your letter

• thank the teacher for all his/her help

• explain why your experience was important to you

• suggest what he/she can do to make the experience even better for future

students.

B

You recently completed an English language course in a school in England. Yourexperience at the school was a very positive one.

Write a letter to the principal of the school. In your letter

• thank the principal and staff for all their help

• explain why your experience was important to you

• suggest what he/she can do to make the experience even better for future

students.


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Informal language Formal language

Aspect o flanguage

Examples Aspect oflanguage

Examples

Commonly usedwords

get, really, good Less commonlyused words

receive, extremely,pleasant

Phrasal verbs Words with Frenchand Latin origins(often longer

words)

Repetition of thesame words

Synonyms and awide vocabulary,avoiding repetition

Abbreviations andcontractions

Full words andverb forms (writtenEnglish)

Active verb forms Passive verb forms

Immediate andpersonal, e.g.modals

have to, can Remote andindirect, e.g. pasttenses of modals

should, could

Verb phrases We learned a lotthrough the games…

Noun phrases The games providedgood learningopportunities

Simple sentencesand conjunctions

Complexsentences andconjunctions


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A4. Classroom Handout 2 – Answer key (suggestions)

Informal language Formal language

Aspect o flanguage

Examples Aspect oflanguage

Examples

Commonly usedwords

get, really, good Less commonlyused words

receive, extremely,pleasant

Phrasal verbs get over, set up Words with Frenchand Latin origins(often longer

words)

recover, initiate

Repetition of thesame words

I liked …, I reallyliked.., I didn’t like…

Synonyms and awide vocabulary,avoiding repetition

I enjoyed…, I verymuch appreciated…, Iwas unimpressed by…

Abbreviations andcontractions

He won’t, I’ve, We’dlove to..;

etc, e.g.,

Full words andverb forms (writtenEnglish)

He will not; I have; Wewould love to;

and so on, forexample/such as

Active verb forms She took us to amuseum

Passive verb forms We were taken to themuseum

Immediate andpersonal, e.g.modals

have to, can Remote andindirect, e.g. pasttenses of modals

should, could

Verb phrases We learned a lotthrough the games…

Noun phrases The games providedgood learningopportunities

Simple sentencesand conjunctions

I enjoyed the classesand improved myEnglish

Complexsentences andconjunctions

As well as enjoying theclasses, my Englishimproved significantly


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1. I really liked ...

2. I wanted to say ...

3. It was really good when ...

4. I learnt a lot from the writing exercises.

5. When we started, I didn’t like all the reading. But then I realised my vocabulary

was getting better.

6. You’re a really kind teacher.

7. I think I’m ready to study in English now.

8. I couldn’t have passed the exam without this course.

9. It’d be good to meet some students who are already studying at university

here.

10. Perhaps you could have some extra classes to help with difficult things like

phrasal verbs.


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A5. Classroom Handout 3 – Answer key (suggestions)

Informal Formal

1. I really liked ... 1. I very much enjoyed .../ X was very

enjoyable

2. I wanted to say ... 2. I would like to tell you ...

3. It was really good when ... 3. A highlight was ...

4. I learnt a lot from the writing exercises. 4. The writing activities were extremely

instructive.

5. When we started, I didn’t like all the

reading. But then I realised myvocabulary was getting better.

5. Initially, the reading load was very

demanding. However, it led to anoticeable improvement in my

vocabulary.

6. You’re a really kind teacher. 6. You are a very supportive and patient

teacher.

7. I think I’m ready to study in English now. 7. I now feel well-prepared to begin my

university course.

8. I couldn’t have passed the exam without

this course.

8. If I had not followed this course, I would

not have achieved the same high score in

the exam.

9. It’d be good to meet some students who

are already studying at university here.

9. One suggestion is to arrange a meeting

with some overseas students already

studying at university here.

10. Perhaps you could have some extra

classes to help with difficult things like

phrasal verbs.

10. Additional classes to help students with

areas of specific difficulty, such as

phrasal verbs, would be very welcome.


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B. GUIDANCE FOR FOLLOW UP ACTIVITIES

1. In this lesson, the situations on A2 Classroom Handout 1 were performed orallybefore students needed to write. Combining speaking and writing skills not only gives

practice in two skills areas, but also helps to prepare students ideas for writing tasks.

It is especially helpful for students who find it hard to think of ideas for their writing.

You can also try:

discussions about topical or controversial issues

debates based on a reading or listening text

brainstorming activities, e.g. advantages and disadvantages, problems and

solutions, causes and effects

ranking activities, e.g. greatest advantages, most common problems

describing or narrating personal experiences.

2. The situation on A2 Classroom Handout 1 was of a student giving feedback to a

school. Other situations can be found in course books, IELTS past papers and

practice papers, and websites aimed at ESL teaching. Here are some other

situations:

writing/speaking to a college accommodation officer about requirements for

accommodation

writing/speaking to a new employer about time management problems theyare having

writing to a local newspaper/speaking to a local radio station about a plan to

lower the speed limit in the town/ build a new out-of-town supermarket/

increase the prices at the local sports’ centre

writing/speaking to a friend about how to choose accommodation at university

writing/speaking to a rental agency to sort out problems with a rented

flat/house.

Some situations may adapt easily to more formal and more informal registers, while

others may be more suitable for one specific register. Make sure students get practice

in a range of formal, semi-formal and informal letters.

3. When you create your own situations, make sure that the following information is

made clear:

who the students are writing or speaking to. This should make clear the level

of formality that they must use

the information that students must include. There should be 3 separate points

to cover.


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the functions that are required, e.g. informing, requesting, explaining,

suggesting, complaining, etc.

4. Good writing is a process. Most writers need to write and rewrite their work to achievea good result. Encourage your students to take the same approach to their writing in

English.

In the lesson following this one, students swap the letter they drafted for

homework.

Students read their partner’s letter and check that the letter has an

appropriate beginning and ending and answers each of the bullet points.

Pairs discuss any changes and redraft their letters.

Swap letters with a different partner. This time, they focus on the language

used and consider if the letter is too formal or too informal.

Again, pairs discuss any changes or suggestions and then write a final draft of

their letter.

5. The features of informal and formal language on A3 Classroom Handout 2 can be

referred to for further work on this area. To focus on the changes between formal and

informal language, ask students to write an informal letter, e.g. for situation A. They

should now think about adapting this to a more formal context, e.g. situation B.

Students highlight/underline the parts of their informal letter they will have to change

in order to write the formal letter, e.g. to the principal.

Remind them of the features of formal language on A3 Classroom Handout 2.

Students write the formal letter, and follow the editing process described above.

6. You can also use A3 Classroom Handout 2 when working on listening or reading

texts, asking students to identify examples of the features of informal or formal

language listed on the worksheet. The act of noticing these examples will increase

their awareness and ability to use appropriate register.

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