WRITING COURSE OUTLINES
TIME FRAME: 9 levels
8 classes for each level (02 lessons for each chapter)
COURSE BOOKS:
1. INTERACTIONS 1 – WRITING BOOK
(Third edition) for levels 1-3
* Notes: Chapter 6 is skipped. Teachers feel free to find
supplementary from others resources. (Suggested resources
from the Internet could be found at this website
www.owl.english.purdue.edu . Teachers can find excellent
handouts and exercises on teaching writing skills at this
site.)
2. INTERACTIONS 2 – WRITING BOOK
(Third edition) for levels 4-6
3. MOSAIC 1 – WRITING BOOK
(Third edition) for levels 7-9
* Types of essays should be taught in this writing course:
> Advantages and disadvantages.
> Cause and effect
> Process
> Classification
> Argumentation
> Description
* The definition essay should be optional (not to be used for
exams as mentioned in the chart above).
* PART FOUR in every chapter in the writing book should
be omitted.
* Teachers can use their own supplementary materials.
CFL_SYLLABI
WRITING COURSE
35
LEVEL 1
CLASS
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
CFL_SYLLABI
CONTENT
LANGUAGE
FOCUS
Introduction to sentence
Basic sentence
patterns and types
patterns and sentence
types
Introduction to paragraph
How to write a wellwriting
developed paragraph
Chapter 1
- Exploring ideas
Writing task
- Organizing ideas
Writing an article about a
- Developing
classmate for a class newsletter cohesion and style
- Editing practice
Chapter 2
- Exploring ideas
Writing task
- Organizing ideas
Writing a description of a
- Developing
painting
cohesion and style
- Editing practice
Chapter 3
- Exploring ideas
Writing task
- Organizing ideas
Writing a description of
- Developing
holiday foods
cohesion and style
- Editing practice
WRITING COURSE
SUPPLEMENTS
36
LEVEL 2
CLASS
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
CFL_SYLLABI
CONTENT
Chapter 4
Writing task
Writing an informal letter
describing tourist activities
Chapter 5
Writing task
Writing about a part of your
life
Chapter 7
Writing task
Writing about traditional
treatments
Chapter 8
Writing task
Writing a summary of a movie
plot
LANGUAGE
FOCUS
- Exploring ideas
- Organizing ideas
- Developing
cohesion and style
- Editing practice
- Exploring ideas
- Organizing ideas
- Developing
cohesion and style
- Editing practice
- Exploring ideas
- Organizing ideas
- Developing
cohesion and style
- Editing practice
- Exploring ideas
- Organizing ideas
- Developing
cohesion and style
- Editing practice
WRITING COURSE
SUPPLEMENTS
37
LEVEL 3
CLASS
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
CFL_SYLLABI
CONTENT
Chapter 9
Writing task
Writing about a classmate’s
life in the past year
Chapter 10
Writing task
Writing about holidays
Chapter 11
Writing task
Writing a message to a
computer newsgroup
Chapter 12
Writing task
Writing a formal business
letter of complaint
LANGUAGE
FOCUS
- Exploring ideas
- Organizing ideas
- Developing
cohesion and style
- Editing practice
- Exploring ideas
- Organizing ideas
- Developing
cohesion and style
- Editing practice
- Exploring ideas
- Organizing ideas
- Developing
cohesion and style
- Editing practice
- Exploring ideas
- Organizing ideas
- Developing
cohesion and style
- Editing practice
WRITING COURSE
SUPPLEMENTS
38
LEVEL 4
CLASS
1
2
CFL_SYLLABI
CONTENT
Chapter 1: Education and
Student Life
Writing task
Writing about the advantages
and disadvantages of a large
and small college (argument)
LANGUAGE
FOCUS
Part 1:
Exploring
Ideas
Discussion: Reasons
to consider when
choosing a school/
college/ university/
center
Vocabulary building:
expressions of
describing advantages
and disadvantages
Part 2:
Organizing
Ideas
- Arranging ideas in
order of
importance
- Giving reasons
- Writing the topic
sentence
Part 3: Developing
Cohesion and Style
Grammar focus:
- Transition words
- Adverbs of
frequency and
quantifiers
Part 4:
Writing
Practice
- Using the present
tense
- Using the correct
paragraph format
WRITING COURSE
SUPPLEMENTS
Reading: The
differences
between a college
and a university
( Special English,
No. 33, pp.9-10)
39
3
Chapter 2: City Life
Writing task Writing about a
place where you live
(description of place)
4
5
6
CFL_SYLLABI
Chapter 3: Business and
Money
Writing task
Writing a formal letter to the
authority (e.g. the director of
CFL)
Part 1:
Discussion:
Describing scenes
(nature, city street)
Free-writing: Your
favourite place
including sense
details
Vocabulary building:
descriptive words
Part 2:
- Writing the topic
sentence
- Writing the
concluding sentence
- Adding details
Part 3:
- Varying word order
- Combining
sentences
Part 4: Avoiding
run-on sentences
Part 1:
Discussion: Money
attitudes, Expressions
of money
Reading for ideas:
Luck or Thievery?
Vocabulary building:
explanations of new
words from the
reading
Part 2:
- Writing reactions to
a reading selection
- Organizing a
persuasive letter
Part 3:
- Modal verbs of
obligations
- Making general
statements
Part 4:
- Avoiding faulty
reasoning
WRITING COURSE
Samples of
descriptive
paragraphs/
essays
Readings:
- The Witch of
Wall Street
( Lifelines/ Preintermediate,
pp.26-27)
- Some articles
related to
community
problems
40
7
8
CFL_SYLLABI
Chapter 4: Jobs and
Professions
Writing task
Writing about a personal
accomplishment
(autobiographical narration)
Part 1:
Discussion: Fields of
success,
Accomplishments
Interview: Your
friends’ past
experience
Vocabulary:
structures to describe
accomplishment,
adjectives to describe
positive
characteristics
Part 2:
- Limiting
information
- Writing the topic
sentence
- Writing the
concluding sentence
Part 3:
- Using correct tenses
(review of tenses)
- Making predictions
- Using
demonstrative to
unify a paragraph
Part 4: Editing:
Omitting unimportant
ideas, Using correct
capitalization
WRITING COURSE
- Articles about
the successful
people (artists,
football players,
business people)
- Job application
forms
41
LEVEL 5
CLASS
1
CONTENT
Chapter 5: Lifestyles
Writing task
Writing about an experience
that taught you a lesson (
anecdote)
2
3
4
CFL_SYLLABI
Chapter 6: Travel and
Transportation
Writing task
Writing about advantages and
disadvantages of a means of
transportation (composition of
advantages and disadvantages)
LANGUAGE
FOCUS
Part 1:
Discussing lessons
people learn from
experience
Analyzing the moral
of a story
Part 2: Writing an
anecdote
Part 3: Using the past
perfect tense vs. the
past tense
Part 4: Omitting
digressions and
unimportant details
Part 1:
Discussing long –
distance
transportation
Vocabulary building:
review of the
expressions of
advantages and
disadvantages
Part 2:
- Analyzing the
organization of a
composition
- Choosing a title
Part 3: Choosing the
right part of speech
Part 4:
- Correcting sentence
fragments
-Writing draft
WRITING COURSE
SUPPLEMENTS
-Lists of story
events
-Writing
reflections
Advertisements of
some products (
vehicle,
shampoo)
Copy of chapter
6
(Int2-2nd ed)
42
5
6
7
8
CFL_SYLLABI
Chapter 7: North
America: The Land
and the People
Writing task
Writing about an immigrant’s
experiences (narration)
Part 1:
Interviewing
someone who has
changed his/her
living environment
Vocabulary building:
verbal adjectives
Part 2:
- Writing a narrative
essay
- Paragraphing
- Keeping to the
subject
Part 3:
- Using gerunds,
parallel constructions
- Choosing would or
used to
Part 4:
- Omitting irrelevant
details
- Sharing stories
Chapter 8: Tastes
Part 1:
and Preferences
- Discussing the
Writing task
similarities and
Writing a comparison of two
differences of the two
types of housing (comparison) types of housing
- Vocabulary
building: finding the
opposites
Part 2:
- Analyzing the
organization of a
comparative essay
- Writing the topic
sentence
Part 3: Structures of
similarities and
differences
Part 4:
- Using comparatives
and superlatives
- Editing the
paragraph errors
WRITING COURSE
- Reading of
American styles
(Culturally
Speaking, 2nd ed.)
- Inviting a
foreigner to class/
interviewing a
foreign teacher
Discussing wellknown people
Essay sample:
Comparing
Michael Jackson
and Prince
( Int. II, Writing
book, 2nd
ed.,p.110)
43
LEVEL 6
CLASS
1
CFL_SYLLABI
CONTENT
Chapter 9: The Sky above Us
Writing task
Writing about a planet
(description)
LANGUAGE
FOCUS
Part 1:
- Discussing the solar
system through
pictures, charts, and
tables
- Explaining special
terms, expressions to
describe the planet’s
position, movements,
and composition
Part 2: Writing a
description ( a
planet): making
comparisons,
ordering information
Part 3:
- Using the active/
passive voice
- Varying word order
- Giving reasons with
because, because of
Part 4: Writing,
Editing
WRITING COURSE
SUPPLEMENTS
Pictures of the
solar system
44
2
Chapter 10: Medicine, Myths
and Magic
Writing task
Writing about an argument on
a controversial issue
(argumentative essay)
3
4
5
CFL_SYLLABI
Chapter 11: Media
Writing task
Writing an article about an
event (newspaper article)
Part 1:
- Discussing medical
issues (e.g. traditional
remedy vs. modern
treatment)
- Reading for ideas
- Lists of nouns,
verbs of medical
terms
Part 2:
- Writing about moral
issues
- Supporting an
argument with
examples
Part 3:
-Using restrictive
adjective clauses
- Using transitions,
quotations
- Making
generalization
Part 4: Writing,
Editing
Part 1:
- Discussing a news
event: earthquake,
fire, tsunami…
- Vocabulary
building:
Part 2:
- Writing an article
- Adding a title
Part 3:
- Using relative
clauses ( review)
- Using reduced
clauses
Part 4:
- Distinguishing fact
from opinion
- Writing practice,
sharing notes
WRITING COURSE
Names of herbs,
or diseases (
medical
dictionary)
- English/
Vietnamese
articles about
some hot news
- Grammar
exercises
45
6
Chapter 12: North America:
The Land and the People
Writing task
Writing a proposal to solve a
community problem
(persuasive essay)
7
8
CFL_SYLLABI
Revision and writing practice
Part 1:
- Discussing
community problems
- Vocabulary
building: explaining
new words
Part 2:
- Determining the
audience
- Giving countering
objections
- Outlining a proposal
- Writing a
concluding paragraph
Part 3:
- Using the
conditional mood
- Using linking
expressions and
transitions
- Using expressions
of countering
objections
Part 4:
- Revising and editing
a proposal
- Group-work for
editing writing
pieces, or writing
games
- Testing writing
skills,
WRITING COURSE
Writing samples
Extra exercises,
writing topics,
vocabulary games
46
LEVEL 7
CLASS
CONTENT
1&2
1. New Challenges
3&4
2. Looking at Learning
5&6
3. Relationships
7&8
4. Health
CFL_SYLLABI
LANGUAGE
FOCUS
The Paragraph &
Topic Sentence
Paragraph Unity &
Organization
Essay Organization
(Essays showing
Advantages &
Disadvantages)
The Thesis Statement
&
Cause-Effect Essays
WRITING COURSE
SUPPLEMENTS
(From Paragraph
to Essay)
47
LEVEL 8
CLASS
CONTENT
1&2
5. High Tech, Low Tech
3&4
6. Money Matters
5&6
7. Leisure Time
7&8
8. Creativity
CFL_SYLLABI
LANGUAGE
SUPPLEMENTS
FOCUS
Introduction to
Paraphrasing & Essay
Development
Paragraph Coherence,
Essay Conclusions, &
Process Essays
Well-developed
Paragraphs &
Classification Essays
Organization of
Comparison
Paragraphs &
Comparison Essays
WRITING COURSE
48
LEVEL 9
CLASS
CONTENT
1&2
9. Human Behavior
3&4
10. Crime and Punishment
5&6
7&8
11. The Physical World
12. Together on a Small Planet
CFL_SYLLABI
LANGUAGE
FOCUS
Paragraph
Development (topdown & divided
organizational
patterns)
Argumentative
Essays (Writing a
Summary and a
Summary-andReaction Essay)
Descriptive Essays
Definition Essays &
Revision
WRITING COURSE
SUPPLEMENTS
suggested Chapter
10 (2nd Edition)
Optional ( not to
be used for exams
49