IELTS general writing task1 overal view Hướng Dẫn Viết Task 1 IELTS General Tổng quan

There are four types of letters in IELTS: _ Complain about something _ Request information _ Ask for help _ Make arrangements or/and explain a situation TASK 2 requires you to write at

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IELTS PREPARATION COURSE

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GENERAL WRITING

WRITING

HANDOUT 1

TASK 1 OVERVIEW OF LETTERS

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HANDOUT 1: GENERAL TRAINING WRITING

I FORMAT and STRUCTURE:

The writing test lasts for 60 minutes, and you will need to complete two writing tasks, each of which requires different text types (informal and formal text)

TASK 1 is a letter – informal or semi-formal letter – and you must

write at least 150 words You should spend about 20 minutes out of

the hour for task 1 There are four types of letters in IELTS:

_ Complain about something

_ Request information

_ Ask for help

_ Make arrangements or/and explain a situation

TASK 2 requires you to write at least 250 words You will be

presented with a topic and will be tested on your ability to respond by giving and justifying your opinion, discussing the topic, summarizing details, or outlining problems, identifying possible solutions and

supporting what you write with reasons, arguments and relevant

examples or evidence from your own knowledge or experience It is

recommended that you spend no more than 40 minutes on this task

II FACTORS IN THE ASSESSMENT:

The skills on which you will be assessed include:

_ Ensuring minimum word limit

_ Appropriate, accurate and complete responses addressing all parts of the question

_ Organisation and linkage of information – logical flow

_Range (and appropriate use) of vocabulary

_ Correct spelling and punctuation

_ Grammatical accuracy

_ Range of sentence structures

_ Examples and supporting evidence used, reasons and

arguments

More particularly, here is the detailed description of the criterions

in General Training Writing Task 1

1 TASK FULFILLMENT: This mark grades you on basically

have you answered the question? The examiner has a question in

his/her mind: ‘Does the letter do what the questions asked?’ Or, is the content (the ideas and information) appropriate to the task?

2 COHESION AND COHERENCE: These two are interrelated

which is why they are done together Cohesion is how your writing fits

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together Does your writing with its ideas and content flow logically? Coherence is how you are making yourself understood and whether the reader of your writing understands what you are saying An example of bad coherence and cohesion would be as follows:

1 We went to the beach because it was raining

Probably the writer of this sentence does not mean "because" as people don't usually go to the beach when it is raining The writer should have written:

2 We went to the beach although it was raining

Sentence 1 has made a cohesion and coherence error (as well as a

vocabulary one) "Because" does not join the ideas of the sentence

together correctly and, as a result, the reader does not understand what the writer wants to say This is an exaggerated example but it shows what I mean

3 VOCABULARY AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE: This area

looks at your grammar and choice of words The examiner will look whether the right grammar and words are used and whether they are used at the right time in the right place and in the right way Most

people are predominantly worried about their grammar but, as you can see, grammar is only half of one section of three used to grade your writing IELTS is much more interested in communication rather than grammatical accuracy

III WHAT YOU NEED TO PRACTICE:

• Ensure that you can control and use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures

• Paraphrasing

• Brainstorming

• Organisation and linkage of ideas – logical flow

• Correct spelling and punctuation

• Grammatical Accuracy

• TIMING

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III SAMPLE QUESTIONS:

Sample 1: You bought an iron from a local shop, yesterday When you got it home, you found that it does not work properly In addition, the water

container also leaks Write a letter to the shop manager and request another

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iron You would prefer another brand Explain the reasons why do you want the replacement?

Sample 2: You are planning to open a restaurant in a newly constructed

shopping mall The management of the mall has offered you a place in the mall Write a letter to the manager of the mall and request for the details

Sample 3: You will move to a new city for work You know some people who live there

1 Ask them for help finding accommodation

2 Tell them where you would like to live

3 Tell them the type of place you are looking for

Sample 4: The course director of your previous college has invited you to attend a party for new students, and he has also asked you to give a talk about studying overseas You have an important examination on the same day so you cannot attend the party

Write to the director to apologise and to explain why you cannot attend

Suggest another date when you could give your talk

ACTION

I DOING TASK 1:

Steps guide:

In Steps Recommended time Detail

Step 1

Analyse the question 2 minutes • Find out by underline the keywords in the

question Answer these questions:

To whom I am writing? What is my purpose in writing the letter?

Step 2

Plan what you are

going to write 5 minutes

• Make notes of any

ideas which you might use in your answer

• Make a plan by

organizing your ideas logically

Step 3

Write your answer

on the Answer Sheet

12 - 13 minutes • Write a greeting • State your purpose

• Give/ request

information

• Request action

• Close

• Sign off

Step 4

Check your writing Only if you have time left • Check grammar and vocabulary

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In Step 1, you read the situation first Then read what you have to do and make sure

that you understand the requirements of the task

In Step 2, you need develop a plan A plan is a list of what you will write, written in

a very short way

Some people find it useful to write their plan on the Question Paper Some people prefer to imagine the plan in their minds You can decide which way is better for you Remember that do not write your plan on the Answer Sheet

In Step 3, you should have a total of four to seven short paragraph (not counting the

greeting and the signing off) You letter has three mains sections:

Introduction – your opening paragraph which states your purpose in writing

Body – the paragraphs supporting your purpose

Conclusion – where you request your reader to do something, before closing and

signing off

Your letter must be organized into paragraphs in a clear step-by-step manner, with a logical connection between one idea and the next, one sentence and the next, and between one paragraph and the next

One way to show this connection is to use a noun or pronoun to refer back to the previous sentence(s)

Depending on the topic and the question, it may be possible to organize your points into paragraphs that begin with words such as: Firstly, Secondly, Finally Do not, however, organize your writing into a numbered or bulleted list

Step 4 is only done if you have time left after finishing two tasks You should know

where your potential problems in grammar are Keep a personal grammar checklist

II PARAGRAPHING:

INTRODUCTION

• GREET THE ADDRESSEE

• TELL THE ADDRESSEE WHO YOU ARE

• (THANK THE ADDRESSEE IF HE/SHE HAS SENT YOU A LETTER

OR DONE SOMETHING ELSE FOR YOU)

BODY

• Varies along with the types of letter

CONCLUSION

• The closing paragraph varies along with the types of letter

• Sign off

II PRACTICE THE STEPS:

Practice exercise 1

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Question:

Step 1 Analyse the question

1 What is the situation or topic?

2 Who is the addressee? In other words, to whom you are writing?

3 What is the purpose of the letter? (e.g to request, to complain, to

suggest?)

The requirements of the task:

_ You should write at least 150 words in maximum of 20 minutes

_ You do not need to write your own address

Step 2 Plan what you are going to write

Make a brief note of any ideas which come to mind and which may be relevant

Plan your writing You must think about 2 questions:

Which ideas will be definitely used in the letter?

How will these ideas be organized?

Paragraph Content Ideas

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Practice exercise 2