Year 12 ExamTask Types and Tips

Meeri SildTallinna Lilleküla Gümnaasium

meerisild@gmail.com

 

• Writing• Reading• Listening• Language structures

Writing

 

Writing Paper -Task 1

• Letter of complaint• Informative letter – providing information• Protest letter• Letter of enquiry

What is assessed in letters

• Paragraphing• Length• Grammar• Vocabulary• Opening and closing phrases• Content points• Spelling• Tone / register• Linking words• Punctuation

Structure

• clear, visible paragraphs• one idea per paragraph•  a paragraph should start with a topic

sentence• introduction- reason for writing• conclusion-hope for further action• closing sentence (e.g. Looking forward to

hearing from you soon)• appropriate salutation and sign-off

Salutation and sign-off

 Acceptable  Acceptable Unacceptable

Dear Ms/Mr/Mrs Jones Dear SirDear MadamDear Sir/Madam

Dear Sarah JonesDear Mr/Mrs Sarah JonesDear SarahHello SarahHi Sarah

Yours sincerelySincerely yoursSincerelyYours trulyBest regards

Yours faithfullySincerely yoursSincerelyYours truly

Faithfully yoursFaithfullyLoveWith loveTrulyBest wishesAll the bestBestYours

Length

Required 120 words

101-132 words- OK50-100 words - deduct 1 point (Task completion)Fewer than 50 words- Task completion 0

Prompts

• Read the rubric carefully• Make use of all prompts• Don't only mention, but also support• Don't copy the rubric

Misunderstanding of prompts

"Additional information of salary is too short"

"I would like to know the salary of additional information"

"The additional information gives program manager- Kelly Davies, could you tell me the salary of additional informer."

Register/vocabulary/grammar

• language appropriate for the task• no contracted words• no slang • a wide range of vocabulary and grammatical structures to

get top points• spelling and punctuation (a capital letter at the beginning of

a sentence,a full stop to finish sentences, avoid exclamation marks, I)

• use of linking devices (balance carefully)

Create checklists for students

• appropriate salutation• appropriate sign-off• polite expression at the end• visible paragraphs• one idea per paragraph• all prompts used• prompts supported• pen-name used• linking words used• no contracted words• no slang words• complex grammatical structures used• word-count• polite

Writing paper, Task 2

essayreport

Word count180-220 words- OK!140-179 words- deduct 1 point (Task completion)100-139 words- deduct 2 points (Task completion)Fewer than 100 words- 0 points (Task completion)

Marking reports

• Addresses all aspects of the prompt (Task completion)• Introduction contains the aim/ purpose of the report

and the source of the information: e.g. a survey +Trent College in Wales (target group)• Discusses both boys and girls• Discusses at least the most favourite and the least

favourite dish for each group• Includes at least some data• Discusses the healthiness of the choices• Makes recommendations• Irrelevant information – also an essay-like conclusion

Top ten mistakes in the writing paper

• Not answering the question completelyA great way to make sure you have answered the question is to get into the habit of using a highlighter pen and highlighting all the key words in the question you are answering. 

• Forgetting to planTrain students to use lists or mindmaps for planning the writing task http://mywebspiration.com

 

• Taking too much time to answer one questionGet your students into habit of writing. Keep time!

• Not allowing time to check the answerStart making a frequent error checklist. This is a list of the mistakes you make most or every time you write.

• Using too much of the input materialTry not to repeat the exact words and phrasesfrom the question and remember to develop the points with your own ideas.• Not knowing the text types

Write checklists to remember the main points.

 

• Forgetting to use linking devices/ overuse of linking devices

Compile a list of different linking words. Practise the use of linking words with different exercises.

• Basic vocabularyCreate vocabulary lists. Make use of visual dictionaries.

http://www.lexipedia.com/

•  Simple language structuresAnalyse sample essays/letters/reports to identify a range of different structures. 

Where to find examples

http://www.goodluckielts.com/IELTS-sample-essays.html

http://www.ielts-blog.com/ielts-writing-samples/ielts-essay-samples-of-band-8/

Make writing fun

• Text reconstruction• http://www.examenglish.com/FCE/FCE_writing.htm

• Creative writing• http://www.piclits.com/compose_dragdrop.aspx

Reading

 

Task types

• multiple choice• matching (multiple matching,

     questions and answers, statements)• True / False / No Information•  gapped text• ordering paragraphs• matching dictionary definitions

Introduce to students strategies to approach different

task types 

Multiple choice

• Read the question carefully and reword it so that it is easy to understand. Consider whether you are being asked to make a prediction, a judgment, or a summary statement related to the entire passage.

• Scan the first and last sentence of each paragraph to identify the paragraph in which the answer is most likely to be found.

• Skim the paragraph for hints related to the question and circle these hints. Often, at least three hints will be present in the passage.

• Consider whether the language is positive or negative. That is, is the subject being treated favorably or in a negative light? Often, certain answer choices can be eliminated because they illustrate a tone or perspective that directly contradicts the one presented in the passage.

• Select the best answer using all available specific information as well as an overall impression of the passage.

Multiple choice reading tests

http://thales.cica.es/rd/Recursos/rd99/ed99-0288-02/test-read1.htm

Matching (headlines, questions)

• First read the summary sentences/headlines, together with the title and introductory sentence. This will give you an idea of the main points of the text.

• Then read through the text quite quickly before you start to make your choices. Look for key words and phrases.

• Be careful! Looking for words in the text which are the same as the words in the question does not guarantee you will find the correct answer. 

Gap-fill

• Read the title and try to predict the content of the text.• Skim the text, look for key words and phrases.• Try to predict the general content of each gap before making

a choice.• Search for connections between the language in the text

and missing sentences.• Look for the connections between pronouns and other

words.• Look out for the words which show the order (or sequence)

in which events happen (time, linking words)

 

• Make sure you look at the sentences both before and after the space in the text.

• Check that the whole sentence fits in with the meaning of the text before and after the space.

• Read the text again to check if it makes sense.

True /false/ no information

• If any part of the statement is not true, then the answer is False.

• Every part of the statement must be True for the answer to be True.

• Choose True for statements with details and qualifiers like “often” and “usually.”

• Choose False for statements that are shorter with absolutes like “always” and “never.”

• When guessing, choose True because there are usually more True answers than False.

• NB! Don't rely on your prior knowledge, base your answers only on the text.

Matching dictionary definitions

• look through the marked words in the text • determine the parts of speech of the words• use context to guess the meaning of words• start matching taking into account the context and parts of

speech• remember, there are always extra words you don't need

 

 Use in the classroom different text types- newspaper articles, fiction, advertisements, forms How do I know that the reading text I offer is of appropriate level?

Oxford 3000 text checkerhttp://www.oup.com/elt/catalogue/teachersites/oald7/oxford_3000/oxford_3000_profiler?cc=global lower-intermediate- 100%upper-intermediate- 90-95%advanced -75-90%

Listening

 

Listening paper. Task types

• Matching• Multiple choice• Sentence completion (gap-filling, note taking)• Form-filling• True / False / No information

Text types

• Various news items• Announcements (e.g. railway station, airport etc.)• Radio programmes• Lectures (e.g. British traditions)• Interviews / conversations (e.g. study possibilities,

visiting one’s doctor)• Overview (e.g. annual report of a theatre society)• Instructions

 

Reading the rubric carefully• Predicting• Overall meaning• Specific information• Important signals• Paraphrases• Opinions / attitudes of speakers• Making notes if necessary• Guessing the meaning of words

NB! Sentences in the exam task and in the recording may use very similar structures, but their meaning might be completely different. Focus on the meaning of the text, not individual words.

Practise 

• practise texts with different accents and different speed• good source for listening practise are different videos

http://www.teflclips.com/http://bigthink.com/http://www.ehow.com/http://www.videojug.com/http://dotsub.com/

• practise testshttp://esl.about.com/od/listeningquizzes/English_Listening_Comprehension_Quizzes_for_ESL_EFL.htmhttp://www.esl-lab.com/http://www.eslgold.com/listening.html

Pay attention to spelling

19 ears oldacses, axestinthernet, enthernetwhepens, vepons, feppens, veapons, webonsrecorting, regordingfysical, phisicalplods, blots, pluts, blugs, plugsmoodness, mudiness, mudenes

Language structures

 

Task types

• Multiple choice gap-fill• Gap-fill (also banked)• Error correction• Word formation• Paraphrasing in given format (finish

the sentence)• Sentence transformation

Word formation

• For each question, decide which part of speech you have to form for each gap- a noun, an adjective, an adverb or a verb?

• Next, decide what the meaning of the gap is likely to be and think how the given word can be changed to be the required part of speech.

• Pay attention to spelling  Word-formation task

http://www.kwary.net/english/Exercises%20on%20Word%20Formation.ppt

 

discreetly

discreetingsdiscreetinglydiscreeteddiscreetsdiscreetingdiscreetablediscreetfully

handy

handlesshandsomehandicaphandfulhandedhandledhandle

Common mistakes/spelling

• accommodation• advertisement• which• because• beginning• especially• received• interested• preferred• choose / chose / chosen• Sincerely• Collage - college• writting – writing

Lists of common mistakes

http://www.learnenglish.de/spelling/CommonSpellingMistakes.htm#q

http://www.yourdictionary.com/library/misspelled.html

Word-formation exercises

http://www.flo-joe.co.uk/http://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-1/exercise-english-151.phphttp://www.esl-galaxy.com/prefixsuffix.htmlhttp://www.world-english.org/wordformation.htmhttp://www.edukacja.edux.pl/p-1093-advanced-word-formation-exercises.php

Expand your vocabulary

• Use different learning techniques  Generally, we remember 20% of what we read; 30 % of what we hear; 40% of what we see; 50% of what we write or say and 60% of what we do. Try to use all of your senses.• Write sentences about yourself using new words• Using new words in a personalised way is an excellent way to

memorise them. Writing words down and using them in context will help you learn the meanings.

• Draw pictures of the words• Thinking of a way to illustrate new words will help you to remember

them later on. Also, pictures are easier to remember than words.  

 

• Say the words out loud as you learn them Record yourself saying the words out loud and then listen to the recording. http://www.ispeech.org/• Look for connections between new words 

 You can do this by organising words into groups. For example, by topic, in pairs (with similar or opposite meanings), by word types (verb, noun, adjective etc).• Look and listen for the new words you are learning 

o Look out and listen for the new words when you are speaking to people, watching TV, or reading books and magazines in English.

General resources

http://firstcertificate.wordpress.com/category/practice-tests/

http://www.ilkogretimkalbi.com/dokuman/ingilizce/onestopenglish-genel/FCE-CAE_Open_Close_Game.pdf

http://www.examenglish.com/

http://www.itests.com/web/main/Home.html

Thank you for the attention!