Striving For Success:

Focus on Writing

A presentation to Lower
Secondary Teachers
by
Jeremy Bishop & Ron Coveney
(The Tapah DELC) (The Dungun DELC)
 Process Writing
• It is a myth that all it takes to write is to sit
down in front of a blank page, to begin at
the beginning and write through to the end,
with no planning, break, editing, or
changes in between.
• And yet, this is sometimes what we ask our
students to do.

<www.teachingenglish.org.uk>
 What is process writing?
The process approach treats all writing as a
creative act which requires time and
positive feedback to be done well. In
process writing, the teacher moves away
from being someone who sets students a
writing topic and receives the finished
product for correction without any
intervention in the writing process itself.
Format follows function
but
Process precedes product
Anna & Sofia (1)
24st October
 Anna & Sofia (2)
20th October 21st October
 PICTURE STORY
Put these pictures into the correct order and write the story.

1. (c) Last night Frank

woke up.
2. (i) He heard a noise.
1. Last night Frank woke up.
2. He heard a noise.
3. He switched on the light.
4. He got out of bed.
5. He put on his dressing gown.
6. He opened the bedroom door.
7. He went downstairs.
8. He listened at the door.
9. He opened the door.
10. He saw a cat outside the
window.
11. He went back upstairs.
12. He took off his dressing
gown.
13. He got back into bed.
14. He switched off the light.
15. He went back to sleep.
 Why should teachers be interested in a
process approach to writing?
White and Arntd say that focusing on language
errors 'improves neither grammatical accuracy
nor writing fluency' and they suggest instead that
paying attention to what the students say will
show an improvement in writing.
Research also shows that feedback is more useful
between drafts, not when it is done at the end of
the task after the students hand in their
composition to be marked. Corrections written on
compositions returned to the student after the
process has finished seem to do little to improve
student writing.
 The changing roles of teacher
and students
The teacher needs to move away from being
a marker to a reader, responding to the
content of student writing more than the
form. Students should be encouraged to
think about audience: Who is the writing
for? What does this reader need to know?
Students also need to realise that what they
put down on paper can be changed: things
can be deleted, added, restructured,
reorganised, etc.
 Process Writing Rap
By Cathy Lesperance

Creative Writing is here to stay.

The Writing Process will show you the way.
The Writing Process is five steps long.
Know them at the end of our song.

Chorus: Creative Writing is here to stay.

The Writing Process will show you the way.
Pre-writing activities are step number one
Visualizing-Mapping-Listing.
Relax, have fun!
Chorus
Actual writing is step number two.
This part is done just by you.
Sloppy copy, it's O.K.
Worry about spelling another day.
Chorus
Revising is step number three.
The chance to make our writing the best it can be.
Change, improve, make it your best.
A Chance to put your skills to the test.
Chorus
Editing is step number four.
By now you've accomplished most of your chore.
Capitals, spelling, are part of this phase.
Polishing the writing for all to praise.
Chorus
Publishing is step number five.
Now we've made our writing come alive.
It's time to share our work with a friend.
Our creative writing lesson has come to an end.
 Order of Adjectives
We can use a number of adjectives to
describe a noun but they must be put in the
right order.

Opinions usually come first, EG beautiful,

nice, and heavy. And are then followed by
facts about the noun. The facts usually go
in the following order:
Size big small

Shape round square

Age old new

Colour brown green

Origin Malaysian Indian

Material wooden silk

Noun table scarf

 Exercises
Put the adjectives in brackets in the correct order.

1 The ………… cat (Persian, old, grey)

2 A …………… restaurant (new, wonderful, Indian)
3 An ………….. car (old, exclusive, European)
4 The ………... bridge (metal, enormous, modern)
5 A ……………. purse (leather, little, cute)
 Writing Poems
How to write a 5W poem.
• A 5W poem is a good way to teach pupils to
identify and focus on the five W’s of a story or an
event.
• Line 1: Who
• Line 2: What
• Line 3: Where
• Line 4: When
• Line 5: Why
 Example:
Aziani
rode her bicycle
to the shop
after school
because she wanted to buy some sweets.
 How to write a Cinquain.

• At the most basic level a cinquain is a five-line

poem.
• Line 1: A one-word title.
• Line 2: A two-word phrase that describes the title.
• Line 3: A three-word phrase that describes an
action relating to the title.
• Line 4: A four-word phrase that describes a
feeling relating to your topic.
• Line 5: One word that refers back to your title.
 Example:
Tapah
Sleepy Town
Nothing to do
Don’t like it here
Leave
How to write a Diamond Poem.
An aid in teaching the use of adjectives, verbs
and nouns.
Line 1: A one-word noun
Line 2: Two adjectives that describe the noun
Line 3: Three verbs that the noun does
Line 4: Four things (nouns) that the top noun and
the bottom noun have
Line 5: Three verbs that the bottom noun does
Line 6: Two adjectives that describe the bottom
noun
Line 7: A one-word noun that is opposite to the
top noun.
 Example:
Cat
furry, silky
sleeping, purring, meowing
tail, fur, tongue, collar
barking, playing, licking
friendly, big
Dog
HAIKU (Japanese 3 line poem)

• There are many rules for haikus, some of which

contradict each other, but basically they are a
three-line poem with five syllables in the first
line, seven syllables in the second line and five
again in the third line.
• It is usual to go from a wide angled view of
things (the big picture), to a medium view and
then to a close-up or specific point.
• Use of ‘I’ should be avoided.
• They are often broken into two parts.
• You should try to avoid ‘run-on sentences’.
 Some examples:

The radish puller

pointing with a radish root
teaches me the way. Issa

Road from Banbury

a man spilled from his crushed car
dead eyes full of rain. Jane K. Lambert
He’s in Malaysia
working for CfBT
he’s the Tapah DELC. Ron Coveney

In an English class
studying some poetry
it doesn’t make sense. Ron Coveney
•Some material taken from
www.ahapoetry.com/haiku.htm
by Jane Reichhold
“No kid ever learnt to be a better ball player
by sitting on the bench” unknown
 PMR Question 1
You are advised to spend about 35 minutes
on this question.
During the last school holidays, you went for
a day-long picnic beside a river with a few
friends. … Make your description as
interesting as possible. You should also add
any other interesting information. (>100
words)
Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3
Picture 4
 The Picnic (Suggested answer)
During the last school holiday I wented for the
picnic beside a river with a few fiends. We swim
in the river. It’s water was blue. It’s water was
cool. The river named slim river.
Then we unpacked our breakfast My mother make
some nasi lemak for us. Then we go fishing with
some fishing rods. Then in the afternoon I caught
two fish and we cooked. It taste very nice Then
we had lunch. then we sang a song. And we have
lot of fun. I like picnic.
Jeremy
 How Writing is Assessed
• Reading With the emphasis on:
comprehension skills • How well the
• Thinking skills response fulfills the
task and level of
• Language skills language used.
• Accuracy of language
• Creativity
• Clarity of presentation
 What do we expect from
students?
• Identify the key words
• Identify and provide appropriate content
• Use an appropriate format
• Identify the appropriate tenses
• Use paragraphs effectively
• Use a variety of sentence patterns
• Elaborate and develop ideas
• Style of presentation of ideas
 A Reminder to Examiners

Examiners should not penalize students

excessively for slight shifts in idiom,
problems with articles and confusion over
prepositions and occasional misuse of verb
tense and verb form so long as such errors
do not obscure meaning.
 PMR Question 2
With the help of the pictures and notes
below, write a story. Give a suitable title
to your story and make it as interesting as
possible.
You may begin your story like this: Last
night Mahmud………………..
Your story should be more than 100 words
Picture 1:

• What other things do you see in the picture?

• What was the weather like?
• Why do you think Mahmud was with the tourists?
• How long do you think they waited?
Picture 2:

• Why do you think Mahmud pointed?

• Why do you think they were excited?
• Why do you think they tiptoed?
Picture 3:

• What do you think the angry tourists said and did?

• Why do you think the tourists were angry?
• What do you think Mahmud said when he apologized?
 Writing Exercises 1 & 2
1. Rearranging words and phrases into coherent
sentences.
e.g. to the shops – he wants – he’s going – to buy –
some fruit – because
> He’s going to the shops because he wants to buy
some fruit.

2. Copying oral compositions from the blackboard.

Students can fill in gaps left by the teacher. The
teacher supplies linking words for passive
recognition by students.
 Writing Exercises 3
3. Linked sentences with variable keywords to be
used in conjunction with a visual aid to ensure
meaningful selection.
e.g.
It was five to nine/a quarter to eight/half past eight. Tom
was having dinner/lunch/breakfast. Just then, Mary, his
mother/sister/cousin, pointed to the clock on the
table/wall/desk and said “Hurry up/Wake up/Stand up,
Tom! You’ll be late for school/work/the bus.
 Writing Exercises 4

4. Linked sentences with variable keywords. Free

initial choices will determine later ones.
e.g.
The other day/Last week/One afternoon, Mrs./Mr. Smith
took his/her children to the theatre/cinema to see a
play/film. Luckily/Unfortunately, they were able
to/couldn’t get a good seat because the theatre/cinema
was almost empty/very full, so they had/didn’t have a
very nice time.
 Writing Exercises 5
5. Expansion of sentences
e.g.
A man walked along the road.
Students discuss the words or phrases which could
be added to give a fuller picture. So a more
expanded sentence might read:
• A tall man with sunglasses walked rapidly along
the narrow road.
 Writing Exercises 6

6. Parallel writing
Students write own dialogues based on a model
one, just substituting simple phrases.
Example:
A. A. Come to the cinema tonight.
B. B. I was thinking of washing my hair.
A. A. Oh, do that tomorrow instead.
B. B. Alright.
 Writing Exercises 7

7. Paragraph to be completed with words or

groups of words
Mr. Smith had a big ……in his …… with a lot of
fruit on it. His … Mr. Jones, had …… too, but there
was …… on it. Mr. Smith looked at Mr. Jones’
……… and laughed. “There aren’t …… this year,”
he ………,” I’ve got …… on mine.”
 Writing Exercises 8
8. Paragraph to be constructed by re-ordering
of sentences.
Opening and closing sentences are given.
a. One day Mr. and Mrs. Brown took their children,
John and Mary, to the zoo.
b. Next they went to the lions’ cage.
c. The monkeys were doing tricks.
d. John liked the lions and stood near the cage with
his father.
e. First of all the watched the monkeys in their
cages.
f. But Mary didn’t like the lions, so she hid behind
her mother.
 Writing Exercises 9

9. Students construct paragraphs by answering

a series of oral or written questions set by the
teacher. A wall chart or other visual aids could be
used to control students’ answers.
What day was it yesterday?
What time did he get up?
What did he do first?
And then what did he do?
 Writing Exercises 10 & 11
10. Give half a dialogue. Students fill in the other
half.
11. Paragraph to be rewritten using linking words
(e.g. and, so, while etc.)
One windy day Mr. Smith went for a walk by the river.
He was walking along the bank. Suddenly the wind
blew his hat up into the air. It fell between two
branches of a tree. Mr. Smith was an old man. He
couldn’t climb the tree to get his hat back. He left it
up there. He went home. Later two birds came to the
tree. They saw Mr. Smith’s hat. They made their nest
in it.
 Writing Exercises 12 & 13

12. Paragraph to be completed (with clauses)

James and Peter got into their boat and …………… .
Their sister, Mary, wanted to go with them, but
……………… . When they reached the other bank,
……………………… and began to play football.
13. Story completion
Students are given the first and last paragraph of a
story and have to supply the middle paragraph.
 Writing Exercises 14
14. Dialogue for register and mood
a. Students have to change the register of a
dialogue through lexical or structural multiple
choice – or with oral preparatory work in class.
b. Having taught expressions of mood (e.g.
anger, apology, persuasion etc) and
incorporated them into a dialogue, the teacher
sets similar situations and students write their
own dialogues.
 Grammar Auction 1 - 5
1. English is spoke by 350 million people in the world.
2. I go to work by bus and it only takes five minutes
because I live very near the office.
3. I like play football but I’ve broken my leg so I can’t do
any sport at the moment.
4. I never went to America, but I would like to go there
soon.
5. Did you write any postcards when you were on holiday?
 Grammar Auction 6 - 10
6. My new car is more fast than my old one, but it’s also
more expensive.
7. He has visited China ten years ago.
8. He’s usually wearing jeans but today he’s wearing a suit
because he’s going for a job interview.
9. I’m going to live in Japan for six months to learn
Japanese
10. They’ve got one daughter and she’s doctor.
WORD ………..
Something bigger ……………
Something smaller …………...
A verb that goes with it ……………
A word that comes earlier in the dictionary …………
A longer word beginning with the same letter ………….
A shorter word beginning with the same letter ………….
An adjective to describe it …………..
The opposite of that adjective ………….
Another word the adjective goes with …………
 Results and Reasons
Match the sentences that logically go together.
A.I needed some fresh air.
1.I had to get up early.
B. She takes evening
2.I'm hungry.
courses.
3.She wants to speak
C. Their friend had a
Spanish.
birthday.
4.We needed a
D.We went to the seaside.
vacation.
E.I had an early meeting at
5.They're going to visit
work.
us soon.
F.He bought a new house.
6.I went for a walk.
G.We haven't seen them in
7.Jack won the lottery.
a long time.
8.They bought a CD.
H.I'm cooking dinner.
Now join each pair of sentences using ‘so’ or ‘because’.
 Writing A Short Story
Quickly answer the questions below and
then use the information to write your
short story. Use your imagination to make
the story as enjoyable as possible!
•Which man? (nationality, age)
•Loved who? (nationality, age)
•Where did they meet? (place, when, situation)
•Why did the man fall in love?
•What did he do next?
•What did the two do together that day?
•What did they do after that day?
•Why did they continue to see each other?
•How does the story end? Do they get married,
do they separate?
•Is your story a sad or happy story?
 CLOSURE ACTIVITY
• Take a piece of paper and write your name at the bottom.
• Hand your paper to the person on your right.
• At the top of the page, write one sentence that says
something positive about that person. NO NEGATIVE
COMMENTS!
• Fold the top down so the next person can’t see what you
have written.
• Pass the paper to the person on your right.
• Continue the process until you get your paper back.
• Read what people have said about you and thank them.
 Thank You!
Jeremy and Ron would like to thank you all for your
participation over the last two days.

We’ve had fun and we hope you have too!

But most of all, we hope that we have given you lots of

ideas that you can try out in your classrooms to make
learning English fun for your students.

Happy writing!!!!!!