Using competence based approach in the development of a writing course for engineers at vietna tomic energy institute

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES PHẠM THỊ THU TRANG USING COMPETENCE-BASED APPROACH IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A WRITING COURSE FOR ENGINEERS AT VIETNAM ATOMIC ENERGY INSTITUTE (Sử dụng cách tiếp cận dựa lực để phát triển khóa học viết dành cho kỹ sư Viện Năng lượngnguyên tử Việt Nam) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 HANOI – 2016 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES PHẠM THỊ THU TRANG USING COMPETENCE-BASED APPROACH IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A WRITING COURSE FOR ENGINEERS AT VIETNAM ATOMIC ENERGY INSTITUTE (Sử dụng cách tiếp cận dựa lực để phát triển khóa học viết dành cho kỹ sư Viện Năng lượngnguyên tử Việt Nam) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Dr Dương Thu Mai HANOI – 2016 DECLARATION I hereby certify that this thesis is entirely my own work I have provided fully documented references to the others‟ work The material in this thesis has not been submitted for assessment in any other formal course I also accept all the requirements of ULIS relating to the retention and use of M.A Graduation Thesis deposited in the library Hanoi, 2016 Phạm Th Thu Trang i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This thesis would not be fulfilled without the help of some people, and in some ways, I would like to thank everyone who has taught me, inspired me, challenged me, and supported me throughout the realization of this thesis I would like to express my deepest thanks to my beloved supervisor, Duong Thu Mai, Ph.D, for her whole-hearted assistance, encouragement as well as her profound guidance she gave me while I was doing my research I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all lecturers in Faculty of Post-graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi for their interesting lectures which have inspired me to conduct this thesis Besides, I would like to send my gratitute to the teaching experts at Vietnam National University, Hanoi who took part in my interview and gave me orientation to edit the course guide I would also like to express my thanks to the leaders and working learners at Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute for their willingness to participate in the research Without their help, this project could not be fulfilled Last but not least, I am most thankful to my family members who have always inspired and encouraged me to complete this study Hanoi, 2016 Phạm Th Thu Trang ii ABSTRACT Strong needs of working learners, urgent demands of occupation and great expectation of leaders have revealed there is a call for designing a writing course at Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute This course with workplace orientation was developed using competence-based approach so that the learning outcomes can meet future staffing requirements of the nuclear organization In this case, based on understanding of VAEI context, learners‟ needs and employers‟ requirements analysis, the paper is to explore the target genres, determine the specificity of writing competences covered within the course, and then develop course schedules Notably, there have been no attempts in investigating this issue before Hopefully, the paper would investigate needed English written competences for engineers at Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute and provide suggestions for the course components including contents, objectives, teaching methods and assessment to implement the future writing course under the light of Competence-Based Approach iii TABLE OF CONTENTS PART A: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale Aims of study 3 Research questions Scope of study Methods of study Design of study PART B: LITERATURE REVIEW Chapter 1- An Overview of the Competence-Based Approach 1.1 Definition of Competence and Competency 1.1.1 Definition of Competence 1.1.2 Definition of Competency 1.2 Approaches in course designing 1.2.1 Skill-based approach 1.2.2 Content-based approach 1.2.3 Theme-based approach 1.2.4 Functional-Notional approach 1.2.5 Competence-based Approach 1.2.3.1 The application and features of CBA in course designing 1.2.3.2 The application of CBA in English Language Teaching (ELT) 10 1.2.3.3 Course development process according to CBA 12 Chapter 2- Theoretical Issues on Writing Course 15 2.1 Nature of writing 15 2.2 English writing competence in theory and in reality 15 2.2.1 English writing competences in theory 15 2.2.2 Realization of English writing competence 17 2.2.3 Writing teaching approaches 22 2.2.3.1 The Product Approach 22 2.2.3.2 The Process Approach 23 PART C: METHODOLOGY 26 3.1 Context of the study 26 3.2 The study 27 iv 3.2.1.Research questions 27 3.2.2 Participants 28 3.2.3 Data collection instruments 28 3.2.3.1 Survey questionaire 28 3.2.3.2 Semi-structured interviews 30 3.2.4 Data collection procedure 32 3.2.5 Data analysis 34 3.2.5.1 Needs analysis by graphical method and simple percentage analysis 34 3.2.5.2 Content analysis 35 PART D: FINDINGS & DISCUSSIONS 36 4.1 Students’ needs and employers’ requirements analysis 36 4.1.1 Needs from students‟ perspectives 36 4.1.2 Needs from employers‟ perspectives 44 4.2 Interview results of the 1st course draft – Editting the 1st course content 46 4.2.1 Interview results 46 4.2.1.1 The appropriateness of the course objectives to students‟ language proficiency 46 4.2.1.2 The completeness of the course content and materials 47 4.2.1.3 The coherence of course schedule and assessment scheme to the course objectives 48 4.2.1.4 The integration of teaching methods, teachers and students‟ roles 50 4.2.1.5 The success probability of course implementation 50 4.2.2 Decisions on editting the 1st course guide 51 4.2.2.1 Course objectives 51 4.2.2.2 Course content and materials 51 4.2.2.3 Course schedule and assessment scheme 52 PART E: CONCLUSION 53 5.1 Reflection on research process 53 5.2 Recommendations 54 5.3 Limitations and suggestions for further study 55 REFERENCES 57 APPENDICES I v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS ADDIE Analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation CBA Competence – based approach CBESL Competency – based education in ESL CBLT Competence- based language teaching CBI Content-based instruction CEFR Common European Framework of Reference for Languages CSW Common Scale for Writing ELT English Language Teaching EOP English for Occupational Purposes ESOL English for Speakers of Other Languages ESL English as Second Language ESP English for Specific Purposes ETS Educational Testing Service FNA Functional-Notional approach IELTS International English Language Testing System L2 Second language No Number SBA Skill-based approach TBA Theme-based approach TOEFL Test of English as Foreign Language ULIS University of Languages and International Studies VAEA Vietnam Atomic Energy Agency VAEI Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute VNU Vietnam National University vi LIST OF TABLES, CHARTS, FIGURES Table VAEI leaders‟ features in the semi-structured interview 33 Table Experts‟ features in the semi-structured interview 34 Chart 1: Course development process according to CBA 13 Chart Stages of teaching writing under the product approach 22 Chart 3.1 Stages of writing process according to process approach 23 Chart 3.2 Stages of writing process according to process approach 24 Figure Tasks expected in thewriting course 36 Figure Major skills needed to support 37 Figure Aim at CEFR level of language proficiency 37 Figure Genres of written documents needed to learn 38 Figure Genres of written documents with difficulty 38 Figure Type of feedback expected in the course 39 Figure The importance of assessment types 40 Figure The effectiveness of assessment types 40 Figure The appropriate teaching methods 41 Figure 10 The students‟ willingness for self-study 41 Figure 11 The appropriate proportion of class time/self-study time 41 Figure 12 The effectiveness of the given lesson sequences 41 Figure 13 The students‟ roles in the course 42 Figure 14 The teachers‟ roles 42 Figure 15 The types of materials included in a writing course 43 vii PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale In the industrialized world, a great number of graduates, engineers and businessmen, who are expecting to gain more advanced knowledge and open access to the world, notably need English competences Among English competences that working learners seek training, achievement of English writing proficiency assumes an enormous importance in fitting the heavy literacy demands of their employers Not only is it hard to imagine modern workplaces without English essays, commercial emails, reports, case studies and journal articles but writing is also a key feature for writers to demonstrate their understanding of subjects and their experiences Nevertheless, these kinds of experiences are extremely challenging to students and may be especially frightening to those writing in a second language This is not only because different languages seem to have different ways of organizing ideas and structuring arguments but because students‟ prior writing experiences in the school, college or university not prepare them for the literacy expectations of their professional workplace That is one of reasons why for the last decades, the matter of educational contents corresponding to future job demands has become an essential issue in educational reforms all over the world Due to widespread concern about the quality of students‟ learning process, in particular, fluency in the conventions of writing in English at work, Competence – Based Approach originated in response to increase calls for learning outcomes upon course completion The approach focuses on assisting students towards writing competence in particular target genres so as to be more responsive to professions‟ needs; in other words, familarizing them with writing English for Occupational Purposes (EOP) (Auerbach, 1986) As a result, writing course designers are supposed not simply to develop the content of teaching writing generally but to recognise particular kinds of writing which are valued and expected in one certain professional context In details, EOP practitioners need to make considerable use of the findings such as the literacy demands to determine what is to be learned and to organise instruction around the genres that learners need and the social contexts in which they will operate In the social context of Vietnam, one recent upsurge attempts in acquiring English competence involves in human resource of nuclear field, when the network about cause Another write about effect + Another side plans the cause and effect of the accidents in chain organization Each group choose one main cause and its main effect to plan writing a paragraph - Editting: Each group show their writing on slides or deliver the copies to whole class for comments and revision - Combining: The whole class combine 3-4 paragraphs of all groups into an essay, add transition signals - Outlining introductory, concluding paragraphs -Collaborative revising on assignment 11, 12 UNIT 5: Comparison/Contrast Essays (8 hours) - Define similarities and - Organization of comparison/contrast differences; essays (point-by-point and block) - Identify - Comparison and contrast signal words compare/contrast essay - Suggested vocabulary topics: organization, point-by+ Nuclear fussion vs Nuclear Fission point organization, or + Types of radiation block-by-block; + Types of fossil fuels - Use comparison and + Types of fuel assemblies contrast signal words; + Types of doses - Exhibit the differentiation among typical types of objects, processes in a nuclear facility; XLII - Mapping: The class is divided into two sides, at least groups in each side Students discuss in group 3-4 + One side maps features of Nuclear fussion + Another side maps features of Nuclear fission - Ideas exchanging: Each side share features of two typical nuclear reactions to the other for comments and notes taking - Comparing and constrasting: Students in group base on the shared features, outline the similarities & differences between them - Planning & writing: + One side plans in block organization One group write about similarities Another write about differences Book 1, p.111 – 141 Assignment Students self-study whatever they choose to compare and constrast: physical objects, processes, events, phenomena in their own nuclear facilities Teacher may suggest ideas -Students report on the similarities & differences of chosen objects, processes, 13, 14 UNIT 6: Argumentative Essays (8 hours) -Demonstrate persuasive - Agreement and disagreement with an reasons in an argument; issue - Organize essay in a - Organization of argumentative essays in block or a point-by-point block and point-by-point pattern; - Explanation of the issue, a clear thesis - Include the opposite statement, a summary of the opposing point of view as well as arguments, rebuttals to the opposing their own; arguments, writers‟ arguments - Connect opposing - Reasons and solid evidence giving to arguments and the support one view counter-arguments by contrast transitional signals; - Raise the own view on nuclear issues XLIII + Another side plans in point-by-point organization Each group write 1-2 main ideas of similarities & differences - Editting: Each group show their writing on slides or deliver the copies to whole class for comments and revision - Combining: The whole class combine 3-4 paragraphs of all groups into an essay, add transition signals - Outlining introductory & concluding paragraphs - Collaborative revising on assignment events, phenomena within 200-250 words - Clarifying in mind: Students discuss the two sides of the argument for and against a revival of nuclear power - Deciding side: Students are divided into groups: For, Against and Neutral - Reasoning: Each group discuss to get ideas and supporting reasons for their side of the argument They should use quotations, summaries, or paraphrases from the appropriate materials - Debating: Each group take turn, raise their view and give reasons to convince otherd with teacher‟s orientation - Summarizing: Students in groups “For” & “Against” organize and summarise their supporting ideas using block organization Students in group “Neutral” summarise the argument using point-by-point organization Book 1, p.39 – 54 Assignment 6: Write an outline in block or point-bypoint organization Then write first draft of essay from 250300 words on the argument for and against a revival of nuclear power Use inclass notes to support the arguments with reasons, examples and relevant evidence - Presentation: Three groups discuss to write their own thesis statements and share their summary for teacher and others‟ comments Students take notes - Collaborative editting the assignment 15 UNIT 7: Revision and Final Test (4 hours) - Recognize a paraphrase Paraphrase and Summary and a summary; Open-Book test (2 hours) - Rewrite information Write an outline and then write an from an outside source essay from 250-300 words on the topic: without changing the “Do you support that the nuclear meaning; technology should be used for - Use paraphrases as constructive purposes?” supporting material in Use the knowledge and experience and writing; support the arguments with examples and - Write a summary: relevant evidence Include only the main Give reasons for supporting viewpoint points and main supporting points, leaving out most details; - Add an in-text citation at the end of the summary; - Report a seminar or conference contents; XLIV - Mapping main ideas for summary: Students in group discuss about one seminar or conference they have joined at VAEI, then in group map its main contents with teacher‟s support - Recalling & paraphrasing: Each group recollect at least one utterance in the speech of VIP participants in the seminar or conference and rewrite information without changing the meaning - Summarizing: In class, each group complete the 1st draft of the seminar/conference summary with at least one paraphrase and intext citation - Comparing: Each group show their own summary on slides or in hard copies to others for comments and improvement - Taking test individually with the support of materials Book 1, p.142 – 160, p.179 – 193 Homework Self-revising the drafts of 06 assignments and preparing portfolio submission package 18 WE EK 16 17, Portfolio submission: 06 Writing assignments - First drafts and editted and revised versions LEARNING CONTENT LEARNING ACTIVITIES LEARNING OBJECTIVES MATERIALS & HOMEWORK MODULE 2: Introduction to Journal Articles Writing (15 weeks = 60 hours of learning) UNIT 8: Research article structures (4 hours) - Familiarize research - Ideas exchanging: Students discuss in group the Introductions about the module and article structures; reasons, difficulties, must-known items of core materials; publishing in the international literature for VAEI - Identify disciplinary Writing for international publication; researchers and sharing to the whole class conventions and develop Structure of the journal article Sample - Critiques: Each group examine a published the evaluative criteria; selected by teacher and used during the article without title provided by teacher and - Create a title; Module 2; figure out the format is Then analyse, question - Define the submission the assumed authority of a published text, figure Referee‟s criteria for evaluating of Portfolio and Best out strength and limitation, and develop criteria manuscripts; Project of a journal for evaluation on their own article at the end of the Title as content sign post; - Reviewing: Each group report orally on the Module; Guidance on submission of Portfolio structure of the article and their own evaluation and Best Project of a journal article at the criteria, with teacher‟s support end of the Module; - Creating a title: Each group map the main ideas, messages conveyed by the article and create its title - Collaborative revising the title and notifying strategies of creating a title Supplementary Book 4, p3 – 16; p61 – 63 Homework -Students prepare find out the data in one standardised journal article (1000-1500 words) of their favourite and to their best understanding Then bring it and laptop to class next lesson - Students define the topic for Best Project to ask teacher for recommendation UNIT 9: Reporting Results (12 hours) - Use the language in Results as a „„story‟‟: the key driver of Book 3, p93 – 149 XLV - Exploring the prepared data: The class is 18 & 19 20, 21 chronological order to an article; communicate clearly how Grammar and writing skills in Rerults a particular event or (sequence, frequence, quantity, result occurred; causality); - Describe the results in Conventional results writing; the graph or table and Vocabulary for the Results; interprete the data; - Represent the understanding of the relationships between the events observed; - Use verbs and phrases communicating a clear/strong causal connection; - Report a result of an experiment in lab or on nuclear site UNIT 10: Recognizing Methods (8 hours) - Organize Methods Purpose of the Methods section; sections; Grammar and writing skills in - Use „topdown‟ Methods; strategies to introduce the -Passives and tense pairs; section; XLVI divided into 3-4 groups according to their majors at work Each group discuss the results in articles they have prepared already and decide one journal finding of their best favorite for exploration together - Mapping: Each group map the mainly presented findings and its implications, - Familiarising: Students familiarise themselves and take notes the type of language used in findings - Summarizing: Each group summarize features (main results, implication, language) of their chosen findings - Presentation: Each group prepare in laptop and present to the whole class using visual aids for comments - Interpreting data: Teacher provides two graphs in Sample article Students work in group, choose one graph, outline main points of data, then share for teacher and classmates comments - Planning and writing: Students work individually, planning and descripting data 200250 words based on the outline - Collaborative revising the 1st draft Homework - Students improve the first draft of the Results from 200250 words to 300400 words in class with based on the inclass outline - Investigating methods: The class is divided into 3-4 groups according to their majors at work Each group discuss the methods in the article they have prepared from the beginn and decide one method of their best understanding for Book 3, p 46 – 87 Homework - Students write their 1st draft of methods 250 words -Compare and contrast -Use of „a‟ and „the‟ - common hidden Methods; errors; - Describe the process in -Adverbs and adverb location; a research/study/ Conventional Methodology writing; experiment to collect the Vocabulary for the Methods; results; - Justify or give reasons for choosing the instrument/ procedures of process; 22 23, 24 investigation together - Listing: Each group make a list of the used methods and point out the purposes - Familiarising: Students familiarise themselves and take notes the type of language used in Methods - Summarizing: Each group summarize features (main instruments, procedures, purposes, language) of their chosen methods - Presentation: Each group prepare in laptop and present to the whole class using visual aids for comments - Recognizing methods: Teacher provides the findings of Sample article Students discuss in group, define the used instruments, process, procedures, share outlines for comments - Collaborative revising the 1st draft Self-Study at home Editing and revising the drafts of Results and Methodology; Preparing for Best Product Project UNIT 11: The Introduction Section (8 hours) - Paragraph: start out by Stucture of the Introduction Section in - Brainstorming: Students are divided into group being fairly general and according to their majors, freewrite research Sample article; gradually narrow the topics of their best understanding, discuss, and Language areas which are important in focus; define one research topic in their field which was the Introduction: or is in need to shed the light on - Establish the - Tense pairs: present simple/present - Outlining: Students outline the main ideas importance of the field continuous; past simple/present perfect; with background (reasons, aims, methods, findings, paper design) Signalling language; facts/information; in Introduction with teacher‟s guidance XLVII based on the outline; - After getting the feedback, students write the second draft of the Methods within 350-400 words with based on the 1st draft and feedback Book 3, p3 – 40 Homework - Students write the first draft of the Introduction from 200-250 words with based on inclass outline - Define the terminology in the title/key words; - Present the problem area/current research focus; - Locate a gap in the research; - Describe the present paper; - Familiarise vocabulary for the Introduction; 25 26 Conventional writing of introduction Section; Vocabulary for the Introduction; - Reasoning: Each group identify and map the reasons for choosing their research topic with teacher‟s support, outline the problem areas/ research focus and locate a gap - Presenting the reasons: Each group share their topic and its reasons for class‟comments and revising - Mapping a present paper: Students critically think and map the paper contents, then show the map for class‟ comments - Modelling: Teacher provides the Introduction of the Sample article for students to compare and recognize their lack - Collaborative revising the 1st draft Self study at home Editting and Revising the draft of the Introduction; Preparing for Best Product Project UNIT 12: The Conclusion Section (4 hours) - Locate the study in - Generating ideas: Students look back The Conclusion section; relation to that research Introduction, Methods, Results of Sample article Conventional Conclusion writing map in the field; that teacher provided from Unit 8-11, discuss in Revisiting previous sections, group, list the main ideas that they think will be - Revisit some aspects of summarising/revisiting general or included in Conclusion, share to the whole class work; key results; for further comments and suggestion - Refine the implications; - Mapping (relationship to exisiting - Mapping: Each group identify and map the - Describe the research); supporting ideas for revisiting some article limitations, suggest a aspects, results implication, and limitations - Achievement/contribution, specific area to be - Collaborative revising the 1st draft refining the implications; addressed in future work; - Modelling: Teacher provides the Conclusion of - Limitations current and future the Sample article for students to compare and work applications; recognize their lack XLVIII - After getting the feedback, students improve the 1st draft by lengthening it to 350-400 words for more details Book 3, p156 – 194 Homework - Students write the 1st draft of 250word Conclusion based on the inclass map - Students improve the Conclusion into 350-400 words based on 1st draft 27 Vocabulary in Conclusion section; UNIT 13: The Abstract Section (4 hours) - Provide background Style and length of the Abstract; factual information Create an Abstract after the completion - Combine the method, of other sections; the general aim and the Conventional Abstract Writing specific aim; - Background, aim, problem - Summarize the methodology; - Methodology/materials - Indicate the - Results, achievement/contribution, achievement; implications - Presente the - Applications implications; - Limitations, future work - Listing: Students look back Sample article (version without abstract) from Unit 8-12, discuss in group, list the main ideas to be included in Abstract share to the whole class for further comments and suggestion - Summarizing: Students write the first draft of the 100-wordAbstract using the list - Collaborative revising the 1st draft - Modelling: Teacher provides the Abstract of the Sample article for students to compare and recognize their lack Vocabulary for the Abstract; 28 & 29 Self – study at home Completing the Best Product Project – A journal article of nuclear-relevant topic (1000-1500 words) Submission 30 - Portfolio - The Best Product Project WRITING ASSIGNMENT OBJECTIVES XLIX Book 3, p199 – 221 Homework: Preparing Portfolio 2: 05 final drafts of Results, Methods, Conclusion, Introduction & Abstract based on their homework from Week 17-27 Writing is a skill that is required in occupational context of research and technical support institute such as Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute (VAEI) VAEI expects its engineers‟ writing to reflect a high level of professionalism and the standards for excellence that are generally followed in engineering journals and professional business documents It includes both technical writing and academic writing of working learners, depending on employers and jobs‟ requirements In technical writing there are terms, values, and rules that they must know, accept, and use in order to actively participate in the conversations, or discourse, of the academic community The assignments are designed to help working learners improve their both technical and personal writing skills as their professions and leaders expect them to be able to: • Write clear, well-structured expositions of complex subjects relevant to content areas and well suited to its genre and audience; • Synthesize information and arguments from a number of sources; • Describe technical information clearly and logically and develop an argument systematically with appropriate highlighting of significant points and relevant supporting details; • Expand and support points of view at some length with subsidiary points, reasons and relevant examples; • Visualise infomation by using Tables, charts, graphs, and figures in an accessible and space-efficient format; • Use widely known and accepted formulas for calculations L ASSESSMENT TASKS & WEIGHTING Module Assessment Tasks Weight Class participation 10% Portfolio (Collection of revised in-class paragraphs) 50% Open-book Test 40% Class participation 10% Portfolio (Collection of revised in-class writing practice) 50% Final Project 40% PARTICIPATION & ATTENDANCE POLICY Active participation in class activities and homework completion are assessed as follows: • Students should fully attend all lessons In case of being absent for lessons each module, students are NOT allowed to take part in the final exam or hand in the final project • Complete all the assigned homework Incompletion of homework in sessions is considered one time absent LI C – Marking scheme Mark 9-10 Linguistic competence Lexical Resources Grammatical Range and Accuracy - Uses a variety of - Tight structural structures, a range of control; complex structures/ - Hardly any slips or sentence forms, a errors; very wide range of vocabulary for the set - Excellent control of task; spelling; - Varies formulation - Lexical accuracy is to avoid repetition; very high; hardly any incorrect word choice; - Highly accurate use of linking devices; Meets all expected standard punctuation conventions; - Uses a wide variety of structures to convey precise meanings; a range of complex structures / sentence forms; - Uses uncommon lexical items but there may be occasional inaccuracies in word choice and collocation; - Occasionally produces errors in spelling and/or word formation; - Sufficient structural control & spelling; - Occasional slips or non-systematic errors and minor flaws in sentence structure may still occur, but they are rare; - Lexical accuracy is high; occasional incorrect word choice does not hinder communication; - Accurate use of linking devices; - Meets almost all Socio-linguistic competence Pragmatic competence - Maintains the appropriate tone throughout the writing according to the level of formality required by a particular writing type; - Expresses him/ herself very confidently, clearly and politely in a formal or informal register appropriate for the set task; - Uses cohesion in such a way that it attracts no attention (including the use of grammar referencing/substitutions); - Uses a wide variety of linking devices; - Highly effective use of paragraphing; - Shows the awareness of the level of formality required by a particular writing type; there may be occasional inconsistencies in tone, but certain formality can be maintained; - Uses a wide range of linguistic markers suitable for particular level of formality/politeness, but some may be inappropriately used; - Develops points systematically; - Manages almost all aspects of cohesion (including grammar referencing/substitut ion; - Uses a variety of linking devices; -Good uses o fparagraphing LII Strategic competence - Requirements of set task type fully observed, - Title/subject line/ section headings/salutation/ closing appropriate and precise, - All content points addressed and fully developed, - Relevant supporting details/examples are provided for all content points, - Successfully and convincingly highlights the personal significance of events; - Evaluates different news/views/ ideas / facts/graphs or solutions to a problem very well - Requirements of set task type almost fully observed, sufficiently addresses all parts of the task; - All content points addressed but one or two not fully developed, Relevant supporting details / examples provided for most content points; - Gives good reasons in support of / against points of view; - Shows adequate improvements, but some errors may be found The main ideas are stated clearly and generally supported with expected standard punctuation conventions; - Uses a variety of complex structures; - Produces frequent error-free sentences; - Has good control of grammar and punctuation but may make a few errors - Uses a sufficient range of vocabulary to allow some flexibility and precision; - Uses less common lexical items with some awareness of style & collocation; - May produce occasional errors in word choice, spelling and/or word formation - Expresses him / herself clearly though there may be some signs of restriction; - Attempts to use less common vocabulary but with some inaccuracy; - Makes some errors in spelling and/or word formation, but they not impede communication; - Uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms; - Any structural mistakes not cause mis-understanding; - Mistakes in spelling occur but not hinder communication; - Lexical accuracy is reasonably high on the whole; any incorrect word choice does not usually hinder communication forms; - Uses a limited range of vocabulary, but - Uses only a limited range of structures - Attempts complex relevant details which are properly and consistently cited; - Addresses all parts of the task; - The main ideas are stated clearly and supported with relevant details; - Manages to cite properly and consistently; - Uses adequate paraphrasing, with little inaccuracy; - Shows improvements, but maintains some logical errors; - Shows the awareness of the level of formality required by a particular writing type; inconsistencies in tone is common, but fairly affects the formality; - Uses a sufficient range of linguistic markers suitable for particular level of formality/politenes, but some may be inappropriately used; - Shows the awareness of the level of formality required by a particular writing type, but there is a limited control of tone; - Uses an adequate range of linguistic markers suitable for particular level of formality/ politenes, but some may be inappropriately used; - Logically organizes information and ideas; there is clear progression throughout; - Uses a range of cohesive devices appropriately although there may be some under-/over-use; - Presents a clear central topic within each paragraph; -Arranges information and ideas coherently and there is a clear overall progression; - Relatively accurate use of linking devices; - May not always use grammar referencing/ substitutions clearly or appropriately; - Uses paragraphing, but not always logically and with some inaccuracy; - Requirements of set task type mainly observed; Two out of three content points addressed, one of which may not be fully developed /all content points addressed, but none fully developed; - The main ideas are somewhat clear; attempts to develop the main ideas, but some supporting; details may be irrelevant; - Manages to use citation properly and consistently, though occassional errors persist; - Some attempts to evaluate different ideas / facts/ graphs; - The tone may be occasionally appropriate, but does not show the - Presents information with some organization but there may be a lack - Addesses the task only partially; the format may be inappropriate in places; LIII this is minimally adequate for the task - May make noticeable errors in spelling and/or word formation that may cause some difficulty for the reader sentences but these tend to be less accurate than simple sentences - May make frequent grammatical errors and punctuation; - May be faulty; errors can cause some difficulty for the reader; - Occasionally unable to express him / herself clearly; - Uses a limited variety of structures; - Only occasionally uses complex structures / sentence forms; - Uses a limited range of vocabulary to cope with the set task; - Few attempts to vary formulation; - Some lexical limitations cause repetition and / or frequent lifting of words from the prompt; - Limited control of frequent patterns and structures; - Errors occur and structural mistakes sometimes cause misunderstanding; - Noticeable lexical and structural influence from other languages; - Spelling frequently inaccurate; punctuation is often faulty; - Good control of elementary vocabulary but major errors still occur when expressing more complex thoughts; - Lexical inaccuracies sometimes impede communication; - Uses only a very limited range of words and expressions with - Attempts sentence forms but errors in grammar and punctuation; awareness of the level of formality required by a particular writing type; - Uses a limited range of linguistic markers suitable for particular level of formality/politeness, but this is minimally adequate for the task; of overall progression; - Makes inadequate, inaccurate or over-use of cohesive devices; - May be repetitive because of lack of substitutions; - May not write in paragraphs, or paragraphing may be inadequate; - The tone may be variable; there may be occasional appropriateness in the level of formality; - Uses only basic linguistic markers which may be not suitable for particular level of formality/politenes; - Only a few relationships between ideas marked; - Only some simple linking devices used; - Some inaccurate use of linking devices; - Seldom follows paragraphing conventions; - Shows little evidence of paraphrasing; - The tone may be variable and inappropriate; - Does not organize ideas logically; - May use a very LIV - The main ideas are somewhat clear, but there remain some unsupported and/ or many supporting details are irrelevant; - Attempts to use citation though improper and inconsistent citation is common, but plagiarism is still avoided; - Attempts to paraphrase but with some inaccuracy; - Show little improvements; the improvements are limited to editing mechanics and few vocabulary mistakes; - Requirements of set task type partially observed; Two out of three content points addressed but none fully developed / some- times makes up and develops irrelevant content points; - The main ideas are unclear; there is seemingly random choice of information; - Not enough relevant supporting details provided / supporting details some times irrelevant or include irrelevant information; - Poor attempts to evaluate different ideas / facts / graphs , to explain advantages / disadvantages; - Gives poor reasons in support of / against points of view; - Shows frequent faulty in citation; - Fails to highlight the personal significance of events / ideas; - Does not adequately address any part of the task; - The main ideas are unclear; the very limited control of word formation and/or spelling errors may severely distort the message; predominate and distort the meaning; - Uses an - Cannot use extremely limited sentence forms range of except in vocabulary; memorized phrases; essentially no control of word formation and/or spelling; - Only write some memorized words/phrases; - Commits plagiarism (50-79%) - Does not submit the writing; - Commits plagiarism (80-100%) - Uses very limited range of linguistic markers; limited range of cohesive devices, and those used; - May not indicate a logical relationship between ideas; - The tone is inappropriate; - Fail to use linguistic markers for formality/politeness; - Has very little control of organizational features; LV supporting details are irrelevant; - Commit plagiarism (