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Just a quick note…
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This is a lesson plan to help students approach and complete the new formal essay task in the CAE writing paper.
You will need the handout and teacher’s key:
Task Type
The new CAE writing part 1 is a formal essay based on a talk/lecture that the student has recently attended. There are always 3 bullet points that the lecture discussed, of which the candidate must only address two. There are also some quotes from other attendees/surveyed people that can be used. The final part of the task will include a question that the essay MUST answer.
Credit: Spotlight on Advanced – Cengage Learning and National Geographic.
Planning
Make enough copies of the 2nd page of the hand out for one between two. Cut the hand out up, give the slips of paper with the different planning steps to the students and have them put them in order. My suggested order is as follows:
- Read task carefully. Underline most important parts; focus on the question that your essay MUST
- Brainstorm ideas based on the 3 bullet points.
- Choose the 2 bullet point you have the most ideas about.
- Brainstorm ways to express your ideas and the quotes in the task using advanced grammar:
- Inversions: Not only is/do…..but also… Rarely/seldom do people….
- Double comparatives: The cheaper the…., the more popular…
- Participle clauses: Being a keen shopper myself,… Having bought many products online,….
- Advanced linkers: Despite the fact that…., ….. due to the fact that = because
- Plan your introduction:
- An interesting way to introduce the topic.
- Formal questions that the essay will answer.
- Plan your conclusion: Focus on answering the question you underlined in step 1.
- Write
- Reread carefully checking for:
- Repetition of words/structures.
- Contractions
- Boring/informal vocabulary.
- Also Furthermore/moreover. Because due/owing to the fact that. Although In spite of the fact that. However nonetheless/nevertheless.
- Have you answered the question completely?
Have students complete step 1 in pairs:
Have students complete step 2 as a CAE speaking part 3 task. Draw a spider diagram on the board. In the middle write: What influences where/how people shop? On the 3 spokes write the three bullet points: Convenience, cost and enjoyment. Briefly recap some language for speaking tasks and have students discuss the topic for 3 minutes.
Hold a plenary session and board all the students ideas in note form. Then put them in pairs to complete the next step: Brainstorming impressive grammar structures to use.
When shopping online not only do you avoid paying parking fees, but also crowds of people.
Having shopped both online and in stores, I would say that….
Linkers activity
Give out 1 copy of the third page of the handout to each student and have them complete it in pairs.
Pimp my paragraph
Either hand out the paragraph upgrade sheet out or project it on to the board. Students must upgrade the language in the paragraph to make it more impressive and more formal.
Introduction Phrases:
I got these great phrases from another handout I found on the internet:
More and more families are choosing to have only one child.
The trend nowadays is towards having smaller families.
Over the past ten years or so the media have frequently carried reports of ……………
Recent research indicates that the number of teenagers who smoke is increasing.
Hardly a week goes by without another report of …………….. appearing in the media.
This raises the issue of whether ……………..
Although most people would generally agree that …………… few would deny that …………….
I hope you find these activities useful in developing your students’ writing abilities, I appreciate any feedback or constructive criticism in the comments section.
