Increase the readability of your writing

Activity title:

Increase the readability of your writing

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Skill(s):

Reading, speaking and writing

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Level(s):

B2

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Exam part:

Paper 2 writing tasks

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Aim(s):

The Main aim

- to develop students' writing skills by raising their awareness of theme and rheme (given vs new) and of cohesion and coherence;

Subsidiary aim:

- to improve students' knowledge of Cambridge writing Assessment subscales for B2 First for schools;

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Materials needed:

B2 First for Schools: handbook for teachers; B2 First for Schools: assessing writing for Cambridge English Qualification: a guide for teachers.
Pre-prepared worksheets; PowerPoint presentation (if necessary);

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Preparation:

Teacher should prepare worksheets, which include: Cambridge writing Assessment subscales for B2 First for schools with gaps concerning content and organization; one of the writing tasks from exam past papers; two example paragraphs of the exam writing (one - coherent with clearly noticeable theme and rheme, another - without logical unity).
The same stuff can be used in PowerPoint presentation.

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Procedure:

Step 1. Highlight the importance of clarity and readability of the written texts. Elicit the students' ideas about aspects that influence the clarity and readability of the texts. Hand out worksheets to your students and allow them time to look through the gapped assessment scale.

Retrieved October 28, 2021 from: https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/images/600975-teacher-guide-for-writing-b2-first-for-schools.pdf

Step 2. Ask students which words are gapped, elicit their ideas.

Step 3. Fill in the gaps with the right answers and discuss the content of the scale.

Step 4. Introduce the past paper exam task, ask students to highlight the important aspects of the task.

Retrieved October 28, 2021 from: https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/images/600975-teacher-guide-for-writing-b2-first-for-schools.pdf

Step 5. Introduce the example paragraphs, ask which of them is easier to read, what influences the readability.

Step 6. Explain the concepts of theme and rheme (given vs new) and of cohesion and coherence. Ask students to define theme and rheme in example paragraph 2. Remind students of the linking words (cohesive devices) which help to organize the text.

Step 7. Ask students to rewrite the 1 paragraph, allow them time to do it. Check their answers.

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Variation(s)

All these tasks can be used during the preparation to writing parts of different levels and exams but with the appropriate language.

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Reflections

On the whole, such tasks help students to increase the clarity and readability of the written texts they produce. But probably it is necessary to think of different ways of grouping students during the work.