Factors affecting learners’ essay writing skills for ielts a study at alt ielts gia su center

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY TO NGOC PHUONG THAO FACTORS AFFECTING LEARNERS’ ESSAY WRITING SKILLS FOR IELTS: A STUDY AT ALT IELTS GIA SU CENTER Major: English Language Course code: 8220201 HO CHI MINH CITY, APRIL 2020 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY FACTORS AFFECTING LEARNERS’ ESSAY WRITING SKILLS FOR IELTS: A STUDY AT ALT IELTS GIA SU CENTER Submitted to the Faculty of English Language in partial fulfillment of the Master‟s degree in English Language Course code: 8220201 By TO NGOC PHUONG THAO Supervised by LE VAN TUYEN, Ph.D HO CHI MINH CITY, APRIL 2020 The thesis entitled: FACTORS AFFECTING LEARNERS‟ ESSAY WRITING SKILLS FOR IELTS: A STUDY AT ALT IELTS GIA SU CENTER was successfully defended and approved on ……………… at Hochiminh City University of Technology (HUTECH) Academic supervisor : LÊ VĂN TUYÊN, Ph.D Examination Committee ……………………………………………………… Chair …………………………………………… ………… Reader ……………………………………………………… Reader ……………………………………………………… Member ……………………………………………………… Secretary Member On behalf of the Examination Committee Chair i HCMC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY POSTGRADUATE INSTITUTE HCMC, April, 2020 MASTER’S THESIS REPORT Learner name: TÔ NGỌC PHƢƠNG THẢO Sex: Female Date of birth: 18/07/1990 Place of birth: Ho Chi Minh City Major: English Language Learner code: 1841900007 I- Thesis title: FACTORS AFFECTING LEARNERS’ ESSAY WRITING SKILLS FOR IELTS: A STUDY AT ALT IELTS GIA SU CENTER II- Objectives and contents: This study aims at investigating the factors that affecting essay writing skills for IELTS of learners at ALT IELTS Gia Su center, including linguistic and nonlinguistic factors There were 60 learner participants and 10 teacher participants from two campuses of the center involved in the study The data was gathered by a questionnaire and semi-structured interview The data were analysed in terms of means, standard deviations and content analysis This study found out linguistic factors including vocabulary and grammar have a more significant influence on learners‟ essay writing skills than non-linguistic factors which include student motivation, teacher‟s knowledge, teacher‟s teaching method, teacher‟s attitude and curriculum Among linguistic factors, the top three sub-items which have strongest influence on student essay writing are vocabulary range, topical vocabulary and grammar knowledge while the least influence belongs to the use of discourse markers in writing Regarding non-linguistic vocabulary, curriculum was found to have the highest influence whereas teacher‟s attitude has the least impact on essay ii writing skills of learners in this center The study also provides discussion of the result and useful implications for learners, teachers and administrators III- Starting date: 30/10/2019 IV- Completing date: 28/04/2020 V- Academic supervisor: LÊ VĂN TUYÊN, Ph.D ACADEMIC SUPERVISOR FACULTY DEAN (full name, signature) (full name, signature) ii CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I certify my authorship of the Master‟s Thesis submitted today entitled: FACTORS AFFECTING LEARNERS’ ESSAY WRITING SKILLS FOR IELTS: A STUDY AT ALT IELTS GIA SU CENTER In terms of the statement of requirements for Theses in Master‟s programs issued by the Higher Degree Committee of Faculty of English Language, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology Ho Chi Minh City, April 2020 TO NGOC PHUONG THAO iii RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, TO NGOC PHUONG THAO, being a candidate for the degree of Master of Arts (English Language) accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master‟s Theses deposited in the Library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my Master‟s Thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Librarian for the care, loan, and reproduction for theses Ho Chi Minh City, April 220 Signature…………………………… TO NGOC PHUONG THAO iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT In preparing and writing this thesis, I have benefited greatly from the support of many lecturers, teachers, friends and learners First and foremost, I would first like to express my deepest gratitude to Dr Le Van Tuyen, my supervisor, for his patience, guidance, insightful advice, and constant encouragement through the whole research process Under any circumstances, he always gives me his warm support and dedication He has been a wonderful mentor and I feel grateful for having such a wonderful teacher Without his support and guidance, this thesis would never have been completed Second, I would also like to show my profound gratitude to all the lecturers of the Institute for Postgraduate and the Department of English Language in HUTECH for their tirelessly devoting time and efforts to enrich, broaden and deepen my knowledge over the past two years Third, I would like to send my gratefulness to some of the enthusiastic teachers and learners from ALT IELTS Gia Su centers who helped me to provide and collect valuable data for the questionnaire and interview My work could not be done without the participation of teachers and learners at this center Plus, I would like to thank the management board of ALT IELTS Gia Su for allowing me to conduct this study I also would like to send my sincere thanks to one academic staff who was very dedicated to helping me disseminate the questionnaires, which was really significant for achieving the required sample v ABSTRACT Writing always plays an essential role in language learning and writing skills contributes to a learner‟s academic success However, writing is also the skill which learners face the most obstacles This study aims at investigating the factors that influence essay writing for IELTS of learners at ALT IELTS Gia Su center More specifically, it attempts to find out linguistic and non-linguistic factors that affect learner writing for IELTS This study involved teachers and 60 learners from two campuses of ALT IELTS Gia Su (ALTC) in Ho Chi Minh City This study adopted a sequential mixed method approach to data collection and analysis Both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered from the questionnaire and semi-structured interviews The findings revealed that linguistic factors including vocabulary, grammar has stronger influence on learners‟ writing skills than non-linguistic factors which involved learner motivation, teacher‟s knowledge, teacher‟s teaching method, teacher‟s attitudes and curriculum In addition, among linguistic factors, the factors which had the most major impact on learners‟ writing are vocabulary range, topical vocabulary and grammar range while the use of cohesion and discourse markers seemed to have the least impact on learners‟ writing skills compared to other linguistic items In terms of non-linguistic factors, the most influential factors belonged to curriculum and learner motivation whereas factors related to teachers had a less significant impact Based on the findings of the study, recommendations for the learners, teachers and administrators are included It is expected that the study will contribute to the existing knowledge relating to the field of study, providing reference for learners, teachers and researchers who study the learning and teaching of English academic essay in Vietnam Keywords: factors, IELTS, essay, writing skills, ALT IELTS Gia Su vi TABLE OF CONTENT Page Acknowledgements v Abstract… vi Table of contents… vii List of tables… xi List of figures xii List of abbreviations… xiii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study 1.2 Statement of the problem 1.3Aims and objectives of the study 1.4 Research questions 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Significance of the study 1.7 Definition of the key terms .6 1.8 Organization of the study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Writing 2.2.1 Definition of writing 2.2.2 Writing and L2 acquisition 10 2.2.3 Characteristics of writing 11 2.3 Teaching and learning L2 writing skills 12 2.3.1 Approaches to teaching L2 writing skills 12 2.3.2 The steps of L2 writing process 14 vii motivation? S2: I feel that the English learning in high school is not effective so I learn IELTS to improve my English I am motivated to study writing since it can help me write better and communicate better I also have better ideas when speaking and improve my general knowledge S3: After studying writing I also have some motivation since I can learn useful topics to improve my social and scientific knowledge S4: I feel normal and may not have much motivation since the style of writing IELTS essays is quite different from the common writing style and it is quite difficult for me S5: I feel much motivation to study writing since the more I learn, the more my writing improves This can assist me in my academic writing subject in university S6: I feel motivated since IELTS is practical and can enhance a lot of useful knowledge for my work However I don‟t have much time for writing at home S7: I feel motivated because I want to excel in my English learning However, I don‟t have enough time to write at home due to my busy schedule S8: I have much motivation because IELTS has shown me a new aspect of learning English Learning IELTS writings makes my writing practice easier and it helps me when I have to write letters to my relative overseas S9: Not much motivation since I am still lazy Every time I have to write, it takes a significant amount of mind power and time to think of ideas, look up words and select the writing style to make the essay perfect S10: I don‟t feel much motivated Sometimes when I finish the introduction and in the first part of the body, I lose the motivation to write Being unable to select words and phrases also discourage my motivation to continue to write How you feel about your teacher(s) teaching method and providing feedback? S1: My teacher corrects our essays carefully and gives feedback on class when she returns our work The lessons are also delivered in an understandable way She also explains things that learners are not clear Besides, teacher provides general templates for all essay types so that we can follow easier S2: I am in Foundation level so I have not learnt much about writing My teacher taught us how to write an introduction, a paragraph and join them to make a full essay She also taught us how to use linkers to connect ideas I feel that the teaching method is good, provides fundamental knowledge and help me strengthen my foundation Teacher corrected my mistakes but sometimes I cannot fully understand my errors 89 S3: I feel that the teaching method is good Teachers have good knowledge of language and writing for IELTS Teacher gives instructions on various essay types such as agree-disagree or advantage-disadvantage essay She also provides template sentence for us to apply However, teacher should give more uncommon topics which are more interesting and focus on world issues S4: My teacher is enthusiastic and when we are not clear about something teacher provides easy to understand explanation She also has us write on the board in front of class and correct our writing so that all learners can follow S5: Teacher offers a careful and easy to understand teaching approach She is also careful in correcting our work and offer suggested phrases which sound better We are also given sample sentences in the Introduction to apply in our own writing S6: My teacher‟s method is good and enthusiastic She gives clear explanation for our errors and calls us to the board to write so that everyone can follow and learn from other learners‟ mistakes S7: Since I am in low level so my vocabulary is still weak I have difficulty when teacher just says a word without writing it on the board and I don‟t know the spelling of that word Teacher also should give more writing homework at home because we don‟t have enough time to write on class S8: I feel that my teacher is really dedicated to teaching and has strong knowledge He summarizes the knowledge in an effective way to make it easier to remember He also corrects our work carefully and offer detailed, easy to understand explanation S9: My teacher‟s method is good He gives us the structure of different types of essays, helps learners analyse each and practice The way he provides feedback is also useful and makes learner draw on the experience S10: Teacher delivers lesson in a careful and understandable way, offering corrections and feedback which makes me understand my mistakes better How you feel about the materials for learning writing? S1: The materials are useful and offers interesting topics which reflect current social issues The materials are not extracted from textbooks but in the form of compiled handouts S2: The materials are helpful and improve my confidence to the midterm test Also the reading and listening materials also provides vocabulary to write better S3: The materials are ok but they need to include more uncommon and interesting topics for us to learn more about 90 social knowledge S4: The materials are resourceful and together with teacher explanation they are easy to understand Mostly they are handouts, not textbooks extracts S5: Materials are good, easy to understand, not so complicated and are applicable on class S6: Materials are so-so, not so good but still ok and I can absorb knowledge from them S7: Materials are good and easy to understand However, I think teachers should give us more sample essay for reference S8: The level of materials is moderate, not too difficult Teachers provide all materials from instruction to model answers S9: Materials offer many essay samples for reference The content is also good S10: Materials are quite separate because they are extracted from textbooks and we only learn a small part of writing knowledge per unit Therefore, they not provide a whole lesson which should including all necessary information It is difficult to review the lessons since we have to go over each unit 91 APPENDIX EXCERPT OF THE TEACHERS INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT (English Version) T1: Teacher 1, T2: Teacher 2, T3: Teacher 3, T4: Teacher 4, T5: Teacher 5, T6: Teacher 6, T7: Teacher 7, T8: Teacher QUESTIONS What vocabulary problems your learners often encounter when writing IELTS essays? RESPONSES T1: In general, learners are weak at vocabulary and they are instructed to learn more on vocabulary for IELTS My learners are in level 3.5-4.0 so I just have them write paragraphs instead of full essays due to their lack of academic vocabulary I‟m still instructing them on connecting words, phrasal verbs and collocations They don‟t have many problems regarding spelling T2: Most learners made mistakes in spelling many times Also they cannot use uncommon words and just apply the basic words again and again They don‟t try to use new words without teacher‟s provision and don‟t make an attempt to use synonyms For example, to show upward trend they only use the word „increase‟ instead of its synonyms T3: For low level learners they often have problems with word choice and don‟t use words that suit the contexts and purposes They also make mistakes when translate from Vietnamese to English Secondly, they mostly make errors in tenses and verbs Their vocabulary is also limited on most topics and they don‟t paraphrase well T4: For most cases they don‟t use word that base on the context Also they make several mistakes regarding collocation, for example, for the phrase „national identity‟ they will try to combine other words that are not appropriate since they don‟t know this phrase There are few mistakes regarding spelling T5:It depends on each level In general, they have problems with topical vocabulary, especially when they have to deal with unfamiliar topics Also they have problems with word choice T6: The most common problem is word choice and collocation For example, instead of saying „blond hair‟ they will say „yellow hair‟ and dictionaries cannot help much with this problem Also they make mistakes in prepositions, for example they don‟t know the word „responsible‟ come with 92 preposition „for‟ so they pick a wrong one T7: The basic problem that most learners encounter is lack of vocabulary Another problem is the inappropriate use of words in specific contexts Some learners tend to include a lot of academic and complicated words but they are not suited to the context I think it‟s better to use common words but appropriate for the contexts than to attach too many inappropriate academic words, which sounds very unnatural I ask learner to google the use of words first but they rarely The most reliable source is Simon essays, which learners should learn from rather than reading from different sources online What grammar problems learners often encounter when writing IELTS essays? T8: Most learners tend to translate from Vietnamese to English so their writing does not sound natural The use of collocation is also weak since they tend to translate word by word Their topical vocabulary is also limited and they tend to use general basic words Since they don‟t learn collocations they tend to combine the phrases in an incorrect way, which sounds weird and inappropriate T1: Learners can write short and simple sentence whereas for long compound and complex sentence they often have difficulty They still translate word by word so it does not sound natural At this level they still have to learn more grammar They still make mistakes in some minor grammar points such as articles but there is not many problems regarding punctuation T2: The most common problem is about subject verb agreement since they don‟t pay enough attention Secondly, they also tend to use the wrong tenses In level 5.5, they still not use relative clause properly or the reduced structure of relative clauses In lower level they have problems with wordby-word translation so their sentences not sound natural In general they have problems with sentence structures T3: They all make mistakes in sentence structure and wrong use of simple and complex sentence Also they have problems with punctuations, tenses or their sentences lack verbs Not many problems in spelling though since they are used to type on computers T4: Although I already emphasised the use of a wide range of grammar structure, they mostly use simple sentences and basic structure and don‟t use relative clauses For low levels they often lack or make mistakes with the verb „be‟; they also 93 use „be‟ with action verbs In addition, they also make error in subject-verb agreement For example they use „are‟ for „the number of learner‟ instead of „is‟ T5: For level below 6.0 they all have problems with grammar The difference is that they can realize and correct or not Common problems include sentence structure, relative clause, if clause For other minor problems like punctuation I think they can improve in a short time T6: For beginner level, they can distinguish parts of speech, which is the main problem in their writing For example they don‟t put adjectives before nouns or use verb „be‟ with action verbs Therefore, their sentences are still grammatically incorrect For advanced level, although they have learnt several grammar points, they cannot apply them well in their writing For example, they often use conditional type to show unreal conditions instead of type T7: Learners often have problems with subject and verb in a sentence Often they write sentences that they cannot identify subject and main verb themselves I always have them analyse sentences they just write and usually they cannot identify the structure of their own sentences Grammar is the spine of the essay, so learners should learn to use grammar properly If they are weak at grammar, it‟s also difficult to the reading task Learners also have problem with the reduced relative clause Although they have already learnt this grammar point, they fail to use it appropriately Regarding small grammar point like preposition and punctuation, I think they can improve these easily They should spend more time on sentence structures, which is very essential T8: Generally they have problems with sentence structure They cannot identify the subject and verbs in their sentence and they use too many clauses incorrectly Their punctuation is still problematic Since they are affected by Vietnamese structure, they use commas indiscriminately Also they can make some minor mistakes regarding gerund and infinitive or reduced relative clauses For lower levels, they also make mistakes in word forms or cannot use synonyms flexibly due to the lack of word families and the grammar that goes with them 94 Do your learner have much motivation when it comes to writing? T1: It depends on each learner Those that are older and are about to study overseas they will focus more to improve their weak writing For high school learners who not have a plan to study abroad they pay little attention to writing T2: Learners really welcome writing lessons since this is the subject that they can learn new knowledge Those who are going to take the real test or study abroad will write more at home than those who don‟t Normally they only write what is assigned to them T3: It depends on their characters Some learners who are hard-working and who think that writing is difficult tend to write much at home while some don‟t Learners who are going to take the real tests have more motivation than who are not Normally they are more motivated to study speaking than writing T4: Most of my learners complete all writing homework since they are afraid of breaking the course commitment Their motivation for writing is also good, which is quite surprising T5: It depends on teachers and topics If teacher gives a topic that learners have enough interests in they will be more motivated to work on that topic For difficult topics teacher can assign them as homework and leave easier one to discuss in classes to make learners move involved T6: Most learners don‟t have enough motivation to study writing while they have more interests to learn speaking or listening Learners who like study writing have good language foundation Although some learners are very fluent at speaking, they make terrible mistakes in writing and grammar T7: It depends on the classes For example, my Foundation class show a lot of interest for writing, while IELTS level show little motivation for this subject It‟s quite strange Most people think that writing is difficult, but actually with appropriate training, it is easier to improve writing than the other skills T8: Mostly they don‟t have much motivation for writing since the other skills are easy to absorb and apply than writing, except those who were going to take the actual test Teacher often assigns one essay for each topic and while some learners can turn in their work the next days, it takes a long time for 95 other learners to complete at home Can you share something about your teaching method in writing? T1: I often have learners discuss ideas on class and then provide my own ideas for them to base on and write at home They will submit in zalo group so that I can give feedback on class for each learner and other learners can also observe Sometimes I have them write a short paragraph on class to correct right after that I try not to use negative words while giving feedback to avoid discouraging learners T2: In this center, teachers often have no ideas what a learner had learnt in the previous course so I will teach from the beginning I explain the tasks and instruct each type of essays and the language to use for each I teach steps by steps like planning for ideas, thinking of vocabulary and writing outline I also supply them with templates and phrases for each essay type I often have learners write the intro and may be body while the rest is completed at home I also remind learners of the grammar to write and how to develop ideas Regarding correction, learners will send their word via emails and I will give feedback on google doc, underline the mistakes and point out whether this mistake belongs to what criterion I also suggest the possible score and offer better phrases T3: For levels below 5.0 I will review learners on vocabulary and grammar Then I will explain the task and how to achieve the task Sentence writing like how to develop from simple to complex sentence is also taught I also train them on how to brainstorm ideas and idea development Collocation and translation is also taught to improve their vocabulary Regarding correction, I correct their work, explain the errors and offer alternative answers as well as give a predicted band score T4: Normally I will have learners debate in teams for essay topics This also helps improve their speaking Then I will evaluate and give feedback to their ideas and provide more academic words for them to use For grammar I will instruct them on how to learn from sample essays to deduct grammar structure I don‟t teach much on templates since most learners have been instructed in previous courses For correction, I will correct them on paper and underline the errors I don‟t give much feedback on class due to the lack of time T5: I don‟t provide theory first but will give a simple sample for them to base on We will analyse the sample and draw out a template so that learners can learn about the way ideas are 96 developed in the sample They will know what parts there are in the body, what sentence structures are employed as well as how supporting ideas are generated When correcting learners‟ work, I will draw two columns, one for the things that learners have been good at and need to maintain, and one column for the points that needs improvement T6: I provide learners with an outline in Vietnamese and English, which includes ideas and vocabulary for that topic Some learners will base on the outline and write so they can develop their grammar and learn about 50% of the ideas Other learners they just base a little on my outline and prefer to develop the essay on their own Some learners can produce very satisfactory essays while others provide acceptable work I tend to choose general topics for learners to write and don‟t focus much on many details I corrected all learner work through emails and if they have any question they can ask in class I assign writing homework every day and my learners can deal with the workload quite well T7: The most important skill I often teach learners is paraphrasing skill When paraphrasing, I encourage learners to paraphrase by changing the word form or grammar than using synonym and antonym If they paraphrase well, they can deal with any kind of essays in IELTS I don‟t divide essays into different types to teach but equip them with the general writing skills Also, I provide learners with sample essays from Simon, which contain standard academic language but are also very easy to understand However, learners don‟t seem to read much sample essays at home Those who want to excel at writing should analyse and read more sample essay from Simon Regarding essay correction, learners will submit essay to online doc which I can highlight and offer correction easily T8: Normally for the first two parts of the course I will teach the other skills first to provide learners with sufficient vocabulary before moving on to teach writing I will supply them with templates for each essay and instruct them on how to develop ideas for each type I also have learners brainstorm such topics in class For high level class I will teach four skills based on topics and there will essays for each topic In addition, other writing skills such as the use of linkers to improve cohesion, sentence types like compound complex sentence and paraphrasing skills are also taught Learners will write their essays at home and I will correct and hand out the next days I focus on grammar, vocabulary mistakes and the 97 ideas learners selected in their essays I also give comment on whether they follow the correct format of each essay type Can you share about the class hours allotted for teaching writing? T1: On average I spend hours/2 days for a unit, including writing skills per week Normally hours is assigned for writing, which is more than other skills T2: Normally I try to arrange day for teaching writing per week but I feel there is not enough hours since teachers have to instruct both writing task and task Usually I don‟t prepare learners with enough knowledge on writing task types to take the midterm exam T3: On average I use a two-hour session for writing per week The course time is not enough to teach everything about writing so I just instruct them with essential knowledge Taking one course is not enough; learners need to take 2-3 courses Since learners get different teachers for each course, they may learn the same things again since most teachers tend to deliver the basic knowledge first T4: Normally I try to arrange hours for writing a week and feel that this is enough Since learners‟ writing scores improves much more slowly than other skills so I want to focus more on other skills to improve the total score and save them time I think learners should read more at home to develop their writing T5: I spend a two-hour session every week on teaching writing per week The other three skills are spent on the other two sessions of the week T6: On every session daily I teach them all of the skills The course time is enough to cover main skills, but if we go into specific details and topics there is not enough time to cover T7: I spend 2-2.5 hours a week for teaching writing Listening and reading learners can at home so I spend about hour a day for these skills The most time spent on class is for Speaking and Writing T8: The course length is months I use the first week of the course to teach listening, reading, and speaking in order to review and enhance learners‟ vocabulary and get them warmed up with IELTS After that I will dedicate one whole week to focus on IELTS task 2, instructing them with the 98 most fundamental knowledge and have them practice more on the task types that would be asked in the question for midterm or final term exam After that I spend one or half a session every week to expand on the skills on writing I feel that the course hours is enough to teach essential knowledge but if we want to provide learners with more practice on different topics and other aspect of writing skills, there is not enough time since each class has only one teacher and he/she has to be in charge of all skills APPENDIX IELTS TASK WRITING BAND DESCRIPTOR (Public Version) APPENDIX 10 PLAGIARISM REPORT 99 100 Task Achievement ƒ addresses all parts of the task ƒ presents a clear position throughout the response ƒ presents, extends and supports main ideas, but there may be a tendency to overgeneralise and/or supporting ideas may lack focus ƒ addresses all parts of the task although some parts may be more fully covered than others ƒ presents a relevant position although the conclusions may become unclear or repetitive ƒ presents relevant main ideas but some may be inadequately developed/unclear ƒ fully addresses all parts of the task ƒ presents a fully developed position in answer to the question with relevant, fully extended and well supported ideas ƒ sufficiently addresses all parts of the task ƒ presents a well-developed response to the question with relevant, extended and supported ideas Page of Band ƒ uses a wide range of vocabulary ƒ fluently and flexibly to convey precise meanings ƒ skilfully uses uncommon lexical items but there may be occasional inaccuracies in word choice and collocation ƒ produces rare errors in spelling and/or word formation ƒ uses a sufficient range of vocabulary to allow some flexibility and precision ƒ uses less common lexical items with some awareness of style and collocation ƒ may produce occasional errors in word choice, spelling and/or word formation ƒ uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task ƒ attempts to use less common vocabulary but with some inaccuracy ƒ makes some errors in spelling and/or word formation, but they not impede communication ƒ ƒ ƒ ƒ ƒ arranges information and ideas coherently and there is a clear overall progression ƒ uses cohesive devices effectively, but cohesion within and/or between sentences may be faulty or mechanical ƒ may not always use referencing clearly or appropriately ƒ uses paragraphing, but not always logically ƒ logically organises information and ideas; there is clear progression throughout ƒ uses a range of cohesive devices appropriately although there may be some under-/over-use ƒ presents a clear central topic within each paragraph sequences information and ideas logically manages all aspects of cohesion well uses paragraphing sufficiently and appropriately ƒ uses a wide range of vocabulary with very natural and sophisticated control of lexical features; rare minor errors occur only as ‘slips’ Lexical Resource ƒ uses cohesion in such a way that it attracts no attention ƒ skilfully manages paragraphing Coherence and Cohesion IELTS TASK Writing band descriptors (public version) ƒ uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms ƒ makes some errors in grammar and punctuation but they rarely reduce communication ƒ uses a variety of complex structures ƒ produces frequent error-free sentences ƒ has good control of grammar and punctuation but may make a few errors ƒ uses a wide range of structures ƒ the majority of sentences are error-free ƒ makes only very occasional errors or inappropriacies ƒ uses a wide range of structures with full flexibility and accuracy; rare minor errors occur only as ‘slips’ Grammatical Range and Accuracy 101 ƒ addresses the task only ƒ presents information with some partially; the format may be organisation but there may be a lack of inappropriate in places overall progression ƒ expresses a position but the ƒ makes inadequate, inaccurate or over development is not always use of cohesive devices clear and there may be no ƒ may be repetitive because of lack of referencing and substitution conclusions drawn ƒ presents some main ideas but ƒ may not write in paragraphs, or these are limited and not paragraphing may be inadequate sufficiently developed; there may be irrelevant detail ƒ presents information and ideas but ƒ responds to the task only in a these are not arranged coherently and minimal way or the answer is tangential; the format may be there is no clear progression in the response inappropriate ƒ uses some basic cohesive devices but ƒ presents a position but this is these may be inaccurate or repetitive unclear ƒ presents some main ideas but ƒ may not write in paragraphs or their these are difficult to identify use may be confusing and may be repetitive, irrelevant or not well supported ƒ does not adequately address ƒ does not organise ideas logically any part of the task ƒ may use a very limited range of ƒ does not express a clear cohesive devices, and those used may position not indicate a logical relationship ƒ presents few ideas, which are between ideas largely undeveloped or irrelevant ƒ barely responds to the task ƒ has very little control of organisational ƒ does not express a position features ƒ may attempt to present one or two ideas but there is no development ƒ answer is completely ƒ fails to communicate any message unrelated to the task ƒ does not attend ƒ does not attempt the task in any way ƒ writes a totally memorised response Page of 2 words ƒ can only use a few isolated ƒ cannot use sentence forms at all ƒ cannot use sentence forms except in memorised phrases ƒ uses an extremely limited range of vocabulary; essentially no control of word formation and/or spelling ƒ attempts sentence forms but errors in grammar and punctuation predominate and distort the meaning ƒ uses only a very limited range of structures with only rare use of subordinate clauses ƒ some structures are accurate but errors predominate, and punctuation is often faulty ƒ uses only basic vocabulary which may be used repetitively or which may be inappropriate for the task ƒ has limited control of word formation and/or spelling; errors may cause strain for the reader ƒ uses only a very limited range of words and expressions with very limited control of word formation and/or spelling ƒ errors may severely distort the message ƒ uses only a limited range of structures ƒ attempts complex sentences but these tend to be less accurate than simple sentences ƒ may make frequent grammatical errors and punctuation may be faulty; errors can cause some difficulty for the reader ƒ uses a limited range of vocabulary, but this is minimally adequate for the task ƒ may make noticeable errors in spelling and/or word formation that may cause some difficulty for the reader Viper Plagiarism Report Thao - Check viper.docx scanned Apr 19, 2020 Overall Score 2% 0.3% Academic Writing - SPH Writing Support Servi… https://libguides.sph.uth.tmc.edu/c.php?g=572647&p=3959489 0.3% All about IELTS WRITING - Format and How i… https://testuru.com/blog/all-about-ielts-writing-format-and-how- 0.2% Fundamental aspects of language teaching https://www.slideshare.net/montseirun/fundamental-aspects-o 0.2% Impact of Emotions on an Employees Job Per… https://www.ukessays.com/essays/psychology/impact-of-emot 0.1% The Smartest: Teaching Writing https://thesmartestteacher.blogspot.com/2012/04/teaching-wri 0.1% Conducting education research - UKEssays https://www.ukessays.com/essays/education/surveys-are-impo 102 0.1% https://www.ukessays.com/essays/education/surveys-are-impo 0.1% Question 1 Non-probability sampling Non-pro… https://researchnetwork.net/question-1-non-probability-samplin 0.1% Critical thinking in second language writing : c… https://open.library.ubc.ca/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/24/item 0.1% IELTS Academic & General Task 2 - How to … https://b-ok.cc/book/2884153/becd84?dsource=recommend 0.0% International English Language Testing Syste… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IELTS 0.0% Academic Writing Style - Organizing Your Soc… https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/academicwriting 0.0% Full text of "Cambridge IELTS 5 With Answers" https://archive.org/stream/CambridgeIELTS5WithAnswers/Cam CHAPTER 1 103