Lesson Plan
IELTS Writing Task 2
An Advantages and disadvantages essay
Level: low Intermediate- intermediate; 12 students; 90-minute class.
Learning objectives:
By the end of this session the learners will be able to:
-
Brainstorm a typical essay topic;
-
Be aware of the use of comparison/contrasting connectors;
-
Plan and draft sentences by effectively using comparison/contrasting
connectors;
-
Edit their text using a concordancer.
1. Introduction: Preparing the task.
Time
5mins
1.1. In IELTS writing task 2 learners can be asked to write a discursive essay
which looks at the advantages and disadvantages of a particular issue. Here
is a typical example:
More and more colleges and universities are offering courses via
distance learning. Distance learning has many benefits, but there are
also drawbacks, and not every learner will be suited to this mode of
study.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of distance learning
courses?
Have you ever studied online? What do you think of this type of
learning? Would you like to study by online? (small talk)
Before you begin writing, what should you do? (Elicit ss’ responses.
Answer: think what ideas the essay should include)
2. Generating ideas
1.2.
Read the example writing task again and in small groups make a list
15
mins
of the ideas your essay should include (ss brainstorm the topic and
note down ideas in the forms discussed in previous lessons;
nominate a team “captain” to draw up a list of advantages and
disadvantages).
1.3.
Read the ideas below and answer yes if you think they should be
included in your essay. (Appendix 2, handout 2.3)
1.4.
Compare your “yes” answers with your group.
2.5.
Check the correct answers (list advantages/disadvantages on
board).
4. Organising your ideas
3.1.
15
mins
There is never any single “correct” way to organise an essay, but it
must be logical. Look at these two lesson plans. Some items
are missing. Use the words from the box to complete the lesson
plans. Compare your answers with your neighbour. (Appendix 2,
handout 3.1)
3.2
Form new groups. Choose one of the plans and discuss the ideas
for each rubric of the plan. Write down the ideas.
3.3
Listen to “Teleworking and distance learning” from Linch, T (2004)
Write down the ideas you have not mentioned under the correct
rubric of the plan. (CD, unit 4, part of the lecture)
3.2.
Compare the ideas in your groups. (T takes verbal feedback from
class).
4. Structuring and connecting your ideas.
4.1
Now we have to build our ideas into sentences. There are two ways
to do that. Read these two sentences and work out the first way
and the second way. (Ss work out the difference between linking
supporting ideas and linking opposing ideas; appendix 2, handout
4.1; T elicits feedback).
4.2
Here are some useful phrases to link ideas. We are going to use a
concordance output to analyse the use of the phrases in the
concordances and put each phrase into the appropriate group:
Linking supporting ideas or Linking opposing ideas .
25
mins
[Teacher is explaining that the keywords are at the centre, the
sentences are not complete, they have to look at the right and left
from the word to figure out the meaning. Students work with the
teacher on although, then work in two groups.] Appendix 2,
handout 4.2.; Ss are given pre-printed handouts from a
concordancer. Feedback on board.
4.3
Gapfill concordance activity. Fill in the gaps with the appropriate
connector. Compare your findings with your neighbour. (Check
together).
4.4
Use the contrasting/comparing connectors to link the ideas in your
plan.
5. Translating or ‘putting pen to paper’
10
mins
5. 1. Choose one paragraph from a plan and write it. Use the
appropriate connectors. (T reads out some examples).
6. Reviewing and editing.
6.1 It is difficult to write everything down perfectly the first time. We
have to revise and edit. We are going to use a concordancer. Go to
http://www.lextutor.ca/concordancers/.
(The teacher is demonstrating a sample student’ s text and then a
concordancer on the screen [a projector is needed] to show how to
use a concordancer for error correction, the students are following
the instructions on their computers. They discuss their findings and
draw the conclusion together.)
6.2. What should you improve in your own writing? (Elicit what ss’
weaknesses might be. Possible answers: prepositions, use of
connectors, collocations, punctuation, spelling). Read through your
text and underline what you consider wrong. Use the concordancer
to correct it. Discuss with your neighbour your new findings about the
language.
6. 3. What do you think about a concordancer as a tool for editing?
15
mins
7. Home task
7.1. a) Answer the essay question.
b) Use a concordancer (http://www.lextutor.ca/concordancers/) to edit
your
text.
c) Fill in a feedback form to show what mistakes you have
corrected.
5
mins
APPENDIX II: Handouts
Before you begin writing you should take a few moments to consider what
your answer should include - and what it should not include! Read the example
writing task again, and then answer the questions below. When answering the
question, answer YES if you think that the idea should be in this essay and NO if
the idea is irrelevant.
You should:
1. Discuss reasons why distance learning can be good for learners.
2. Discuss reasons why distance learning is good for colleges and
universities.
3. Discuss the history of distance learning.
4. Discuss the problems associated with distance learning.
5. Discuss reasons why distance learning is not suitable for some learners.
6. Give a detailed account of the types of course that can be followed by
distance learning.
7. Discuss reasons why distance learning is bad for colleges and
universities.
8. Describe the kind of learner that would be suitable for distance learning.
9. Come to a logical conclusion about the value of distance learning in
your view.
10. Say what you would like to learn by distance if you had time.
Answer Key
1. Yes
2. No
3. No
4. Yes
5. Yes
6. No
7. No
8. Yes
9. Yes
10. No
Handout for activity 3.1
There is never any single “correct” way to organise an essay, but it must be
logical. Look at these two lesson plans. Some items are missing. Use the words
from the box to complete the lesson plans. Compare your answers with your
neighbour.
Advantages for suitable learners
Conclusion
Introduction
Suitable and unsuitable learners
for distance learning
Answer Key
1.
2.
3.
4.
Advantages for suitable learners
Conclusion
Introduction
Suitable and unsuitable learners for distance learning
Handout for the activity 4.1
Now we have to build the ideas into a structured argument. There are two ways
to do that. Read these two sentences and work out the first way and the second
way.
1. Distance learning allows you to study from home. Furthermore, it
means you can study at your own pace.
2. Presentation of distance learning material through the Internet or television
broadcasts can often be more interesting than classroom presentations.
However, not all learners are comfortable using computer technology.
Handout for activity 4.2
Here are some useful phrases for linking ideas. Which phrases are for linking
supporting ideas and which are for linking opposing ideas? Analyze the usage of
the connectors in the concordances. Put each phrase into the correct group.
Linking supporting ideas
Linking opposing ideas
also
furthermore
however
in addition
in contrast
moreover
nevertheless
on the other hand
Answer key
Supporting ideas
Opposing ideas
also
however
furthermore
in contrast
in addition
on the other hand
moreover
nevertheless
APPENDIX III: Feedback form 7.1 (c)
1. Explain what correction has been made based on a concordancer
2. Note down the errors you could not correct with a concordancer.
Rationale for the lesson plan
IELTS writing Task 2: A discursive essay
Level: Low intermediate - intermediate; 90-minute class; computer room.
This is the fourth lesson of an IELTS Writing preparation course. The previous
lessons focused on general information about the writing task 2: brainstorming
an essay topic; different ways of organising ideas; how to write an introductory
paragraph.
The learning objectives of this lesson are to:
1. practice generating ideas for an essay and organise them into a plan;
2. learn how to use comparison/contrasting connectors;
3. draft sentences by effectively using comparison/contrasting connectors;
4. edit the text using a concordance.
The lesson is organised according to Flower & Hayes’ scheme of composing,
which will help learners to raise the correct schema of a writing process.
1.
Introduction.
After introducing the learning objectives of the lesson the teacher presents the
example task for a discursive essay. As the topic is “distance learning” she asks
the students about their experience and opinion of distance learning to activate
their schemata of the topic. This will help students to generate ideas for writing.
2 & 3. Generating and organising ideas.
The students work in groups and brainstorm ideas for the essay. After they
make their list, the teacher scaffolds them with additional ideas (2.3). As the
level of students is not very high, the teacher suggests using ready-made plans
with gaps, in order to help students to organize the ideas into a plan. As Flower
& Hayes (1980) state, the processes of writing are not linear; they can be
embedded into each other. The students must need some more ideas for the
essay, so the listening task (3.3) could help them.
4.Structuring and connecting your ideas. Introduction to the Inductive
Approach.
When students have enough ideas, they learn how to use connectors to link their
ideas together. The presentation of the example connectors in the context (4.1)
will enable students to induce the meaning of the words. The inductive learning
approach is introduced here in a familiar format, that is in the form of complete
sentences. This will help learners to get used to the inductive method of learning
which will be used in the following activity.
Activity 4.2 is the first students’ encounter with a concordance KWIC format.
Students should be scaffolded closely. Firstly, as Stevens (1991) suggests, they
are offered the concordance output on paper first. This will reduce the
technology overload. Then the teacher focuses on concordancing strategies.
She explains to them what a concordancer is, that the words are offered in a
KWIC format, and that the sentences are not complete. She suggests analysing
the use of the first word together. This will enable students to develop strategies
for working on a concordancer output. Kennedy & Miceli (2001: 81) point out the
importance of teaching students to observe the examples and select relevant
ones to draw conclusions for effective strategy development. Sun (2006) also
states that concordancer skills will facilitate searching, analysing and making
references.
Another scaffolding element is that learners can be familiarised with some of the
words or guess their meaning and concordance information will enable them to
verify their predictions and provide confirmation (Sun, 2006). Group work will
also enable students to scaffold each other.
It is important to get their feedback after this session about concordancing as a
tool and how useful it was, and ascertains what problems they have encountered
in order to eradicate them in the next activity.
Before starting activity 4.3 the teacher must be sure that the students know the
meaning of the target words, the connectors. This activity is a bit more
challenging, but the format is by now familiar to the learners. Moreover, they
have completed the gap fill exercises before. However, it is necessary to give
them enough time for this activity and receive their feedback.
5. Translating or ‘putting pen to paper’
After students have practiced using the targeted connectors with the ideas for
the essay, they write a paragraph. This is important to give students time to
write in class. According to Hedge (2000: 317), while writing in the classroom
students “become accountable in the way that writers are in real life, and this
accountability is a strong incentive for clear and effective writing”.
6. Reviewing and Editing.
The aim of this stage is to demonstrate the potential of hands-on concordancing
for editing. Two factors are important here: a suitable concordancer and teacher
intervention. The Complete Lexical Tutor website is used in this lesson. It is free
and has a considerable choice of corpora. Moreover, it enables to examine the
key word not only in KWIC and but in completed sentences. The teacher’s role
is to guide students closely. The demonstration of the whole process of editing
using a sample learner’s text is necessary in the class. As Stevens (1991:39)
notes, “[the learners] need to know exactly how to use the program”. Beginning
from underlining errors and selecting ones for correction, looking for the
examples in the concordancer and making the decision how to improve the text
will enable them to develop successful concordancing strategies (Gaskell and
Cobb, 2004).
Hands-on practice for improving their own texts will need much teacher
intervention too. Her role is to be a research coordinator and facilitator. It will
help the students to gain confidence in dealing with this new tool.
Another important feature is completing the form with corrected errors and
problem issues. This will provide the teacher with the material for analysing
students’ research issues, which will be discussed in class for the benefit of other
students (Yoon, 2008).
In conclusion, students’ feedback should be elicited for developing further
strategies in using concordances. It is important to solve students’ problems as
they arise, so as to promote positive approach to using this tool.
Concluding this assignment, I should like to confess that I myself have never
used a concordancer in my teaching practice. Although all these thoughts are
theoretical for now, I look forward to gaining some hands-on practice.