English language exams typically have a writing section, and many of those require test-takers to write an essay in a timed environment. If your students are preparing for such an exam, here are some practices they can employ to better prepare themselves for the writing section.
After students have written a piece of work, it’s important for them to self-edit. Here are some practices they should apply.
The shape of paragraphs can be an indicator of the style of a piece of writing. Taking these shapes into consideration when writing or editing can help improve the final draft.
Semicolons are not commonly used, but they’re my favorite punctuation mark. Hear me out. They’re rather versatile in connecting two aspects of a single idea. They reflect natural speech, and they also add variety to the transitions and sentence structure in your writing.
People break grammar rules all the time. Is that okay? Which rules can we break? In what situations is it okay to break rules? Are there rules to breaking rules? Here’s a look at which rules you can break in casual writing.
We generally teach the structure of a grammar point, and the usage follows. That works well enough for receptive skills, but for productive skills, it feels backward. Maybe we should try the reverse approach.
With idioms, students already know the words that make up the expression. But since idioms aren’t to be taken literally, they still need to learn the meaning. Instead of teaching idioms like you would other vocabulary terms, why not build off what they already know?
Very few students enjoy writing essays. For most, it’s a rather daunting task. Often it’s the composition that throws students off, so cast that aside at first and simply get them to tell you what they think without a pen and paper.
‘Good’ is such a generic word, but it has so many synonyms that are far more interesting. Encourage your students to expand their vocabulary by forbidding them to use the word ‘good’.
The comma which comes between the last two entries of a list is called the Oxford Comma. Many people omit it, but including this comma may improve communication
Certain letter combinations create unique sounds, and it’s important for learners to recognize this from the beginning. Perhaps we should teach 30 entries of the alphabet instead.
Are tomatoes fruit or vegetables?
The answers to many questions depend on context, so clearly establish the context first.
Colors can be used to create associations in the minds of learners. By doing so, students are quicker to find mistakes or identify what they’re supposed to do.
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