Writing Writing is a very important part of communication. In many ways it is through writing that we can best express ourselves. Two main forms are structured writing exercises and creative writing exercises. Though structured writing exercises are helpful, free and creative writing should be highly encouraged.　It is helpful for both the students and the teacher:　 • Students are not limited by shyness (as when speaking). • Students are forced to use vocabulary, correct spelling, grammar patterns, punctuation, and structure. (Be sure to encourage students to use the English they already know.) • It is easy for the teacher to evaluate the English proficiency of the writer. • Students get an indication of their own ability. • Students can use dictionaries to learn extra expressions. (Caution: don’t let students use the dictionary to look up every word. Dictionary use should be kept to a minimum. • Students get practice expressing themselves and their ideas. • It encourages use of their imagination. Students are able to write about what interests them. (i.e. clubs, boyfriends, girlfriends, music, movies, etc.) • If students can write effective English, then they can speak English. Both skills are 'output' functions. 　 To encourage creative writing, choose topics that are interesting (e.g. "My Favorite Singer” or “If I had One Million Dollars”).　Of course, write encouraging comments so that students will be proud of their work.　By giving your class regular writing tasks, their ability will gradually improve.　 Here are some suggested writing activities: Writing Activities • Diaries or journals collected regularly • Compositions (suggest a new topic every 2 weeks) • Write an English newsletter. • Class or sports reports in English. • Essay contests with prizes. • Make books or comics in pairs or groups. A Note on Translation Changing Japanese into English is not writing.　It's merely translation.　Answering a question by rewriting the passage onto the answer sheet is not writing, either.　That's only copying. 　 Most students have few chances to write freely in English.　Even SHS composition classes are often devoted to translation.　Without free or creative writing practice, students cannot gain competence at written expression! Essay Writing Essays remain an important method of assessment and enable examiners to discriminate between candidates, while also enabling candidates to display the skills and abilities which they possess. As the essay paper has evolved it has become more demanding with much more emphasis on posing questions which allow candidates to display the higher order skills. Professor Roy Wilkinson of Sheffield University has identified a pyramid of skills which A level examinations try to test. The pyramid of skills: the bottom two layers are 'Lower-order skills', while the top four layers are 'Higher-order skills'. As there is now less emphasis on testing the lower order skills this implies that it is not possible for candidates to perform well in the essay paper by rote learning of notes. Command words in essay titles Examiners report that many candidates underperform because they fail to interpret the key words of an essay title. Below is a glossary of some of the most frequently used command words with suggestions for interpretation: 'Account for ...' Explain how a particular event or situation came about i.e. 'Which factors would have led a large retailing company to...' 'Analyse ...' Break down an argument or information into component parts and identify ways in which these parts are related. Always recognise the underlying assumptions. 'Analyse the extent to which ...' Show judgement over the relevant importance of different arguments or events. 'Assess ... 'Make some kind of judgement on the relative importance of a particular aspect of business studies, discussing the influence of other factors or events that influence the topic. 'Compare ...' Describe two or more situations and show the difference and similarities between them. 'Criticise ...' Present a view on a particular argument, point of view or theory, based on the evidence available. 'Define ...' A simple statement is not enough. Use appropriate examples or formulae to illustrate and elaborate on your precise definition of a concept. 'Describe ...' Usually more than a mere description is expected, instead a critical review of some particular set of circumstances or events is usually expected. 'Discuss ...' Consider the arguments for and against the issue raised in the question. 'Distinguish ...' Candidates need to show that they understand the differences between two (probably frequently confused) concepts. Similarities and differences need to be discussed and illustrated in distinguishing between the two concepts. 'Do ...' or 'Does ...' Make a judgement on whether on set of circumstances is preferable to another. 'Evaluate ...' Make reasoned judgements about the validity of a particular argument or statement, presenting evidence and reasoned argument of all relevant issues involved. 'Examine ...' Candidates need to unravel the events that led to a particular set of circumstances or the validity of the reasoning that underlies a particular point of view. Stress the relative importance of the different arguments and their relevance to the basic issue under consideration. 'Explain ...' Interpret the meaning of a particular concept with an example to illustrate understanding. 'Outline ...' Only a brief description is required. Usually there are follow up parts to this question. 'To what extent ...' This implies there is no definite answer to the question posed. Present both sides of the argument and exercise judgement by stressing the strength of some arguments over others. How to improve your technique: some general principles • Essays need a structure o jot down a simple plan o make sure you know where the essay is going before you start writing, i.e. your conclusion • Essays must be a response to a specific title o avoid writing everything you know on a given topic, irrelevant material gains no marks o respond to the command words in the question • Do not forget the essay title o refer back to the question regularly - probably at the end of every paragraph o every paragraph should answer the question set, aim for one theme per paragraph • Avoid one-sided essays o usually the only questions that A level examiners will set are ones which can provoke differing viewpoints o always consider what your argument depends upon, i.e. the factors or assumptions inherent in your argument • Demonstrate your depth of knowledge o analyse the question with care to show your understanding of the subject content o avoid paragraphs of textbook description o use appropriate graphs which must be accurate o use topical examples to back up your points o make references to other writers if appropriate • Remember the higher order skills of analysis and evaluation o break down the material in a way that helps reveal the issues involved o use relevant business concepts to explore causes and effects o examine arguments critically o state which arguments you believe to be the most important and why • Try to please the examiners! o use appropriate concepts and terminology o avoid slang e.g. 'The firm will go bust...' o be concise and relevant o leave enough time to write a conclusion The essay plan - a suggested model Report Writing Businesses are increasingly demanding well-produced documentation with a specific corporate style. In order to fit in with this trend, you should ensure that all reports submitted on your course meet the following requirements: Front Page - This will include title, to, from, date, and perhaps a diagram. Contents - This is possibly the last thing you will complete. (Optional - Executive Summary - Bullet-pointed summary of whole report on one page.) At this point you will use a clear numbering system - here is a suggested way: 1.0 Introduction - this section will be an overview of the task set and what you intend to cover (sometimes you may have to use Terms of Reference). 2.0 Findings - Within this main body of the report there will be numbered sections with emboldened or underlined headings (e.g. 2.1 Location, 2.2 Production, 2.3 Marketing, etc). You should also embolden or underline sub-headings; it is rare in a report to have a page with no numbered or headed sections in it. 3.0 Conclusion - A summary of your main findings. 4.0 Recommendations - If required. References - In the past this was referred to as a bibliography - use the Harvard referencing system and list all Web sites. Appendices - Graphs, tables, etc, should be within the Findings section if they need to be looked at whilst reading the text; appendices should only include information that may possibly be referred to out of interest or is required as evidence. All graphs, charts, figures, quotations, must be clearly referenced beside or beneath. Where possible they should not be on separate pages but should be incorporated within the text - inserting them into a text box can often make this easier. Other Stylistic Points Reports tend to be in sans-serif font - use Tahoma or Arial 12 Point. Limited use of italics, different font, or 10 and 14 point can be effective but should be used sparsely. Within page set-up, margins should be: 2, 2, 2.5, 2. All text should be justified. Paragraphs should be blocked without indentations. Tabs and/or bullet points are a useful technique for making things stand out. You should think about how many empty lines you have between headings and sections. Avoid 'I' - phrases like 'I think' are not appropriate, use 'this report aims to' or 'the evidence suggests'. Also avoid 'can't', 'don't', etc. Spell-check and proof-read your work. It is vital that your report looks good and has a professional feel. How to learn WRITING and spelling • Keep a diary/journal Don't always pay attention to grammar. Free-writing can be very useful. It can show you that writing is fun. Have fun with the language. • Write emails in English Stay in contact with teachers or other students. • Rewrite your local news in English This is another exercise that can be done on a daily basis. Remember that regular activities are the best ones. • Learn important spelling rules Remember, you won't always have a dictionary or a spell-checker handy, especially when you are writing a test. Even native English speakers need to review the spelling rules from time to time. • Learn commonly misspelled words • Learn common English errors • Get an ESL penpal • Useful Writing links: EnglishClub.com English Writing More writing tips