Solutions Writing Challenge

Writing: Solutions to Mistakes
How to help students improve their writing skills

Olha Madylus
Aims of this session
To explore challenges in developing writing skills

To question current approaches to developing writing
To suggest strategies to address these problems:
Scaffolding writing
Collaborative writing
Sub-skills focussed tasks
Marking written work
2
Professional Development
Teachers comments
They rarely check their work let alone rewrite.

They dont pay attention to my corrections.
They keep making the same mistakes.
They say it takes too much time and effort.
They dont make the same mistakes in a grammar exercise.
A typical approach?
Students work through a course book unit based on a topic.

Teacher sets a written task based on that unit for homework.
Students do the task at home, alone, and hand it in.

Teacher corrects / marks it and returns it to students.
Little progress is evident.
4
Possible flaws in that system
Writing is left until a unit is completed.

Writing is not done regularly in class.
Writing is done alone.
Students are expected to write a long text.
Theres a lot of marking that teachers have to do.
Students find self-correction boring.
Students see a lot of corrections /red ink on the page
= feel like failures
How teens deal with criticism
How teens deal with criticism
Blah blah!
I cant
hear you!
Its too
boring to
do it
again.
7
She told me
Im stupid, so
I must be
stupid!
Why am I doing
this?
John Atkinsons theory of

achievement motivation
All individuals can be characterised by two

learned drives, a motive to approach success
and a motive to avoid failure.
A scaffolded approach
Students
have as
much
support as
needed to
succeed
Writing tasks are

short and regular
achievable
collaborative
clear as to what sub-skills are being developed
creative
discussed / analysed
celebrated
10
11
Solutions, Intermediate, p91
For example
One sentence descriptions
His mouth, full of metal teeth, twisted into an unnatural smile

and his eyes were dull yet full of menace.
12
Your turn
13
For example
Best opening lines.
Book reviews:
I have read many books in English, but this was the most
exciting, best described and weirdest book I have ever read.
14
Collaborative writing
share ideas
cross-skills approach
awareness of process
easier to see others mistakes
peer correction
teacher at hand
fewer distractions
15
Focus on sub skills
Correct grammar
Accurate punctuation
Correct register
Sentence structures
Imagination
Drafting
Communication
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Range of vocabulary
Correct layout
Accurate spelling
Linking
Planning
Proofreading
Focus on sub skills
Deconstruct and reconstruct
Focus on one or two skills at a time and slowly combine them

in writing tasks.
17
For example
As I walked into the .. bank on a Tuesday

morning, I immediately realised something was .. wrong.
customers were lying . on the floor and
two .. men wearing . were holding ..guns
and shouting..
18
For example
Brainstorm at least 5 reasons for

and 5 reasons against
allowing people under 16 years of age to:
(a) marry (b) vote and (c) drive.
19
Creative writing
Where are they?
What are they

saying?
What were they

doing earlier?
20
Who are they?
Where is he
going?
What did they have

for breakfast?
Reasons to edit
21
Share
Portfolios
Being a writer
School web site / magazine
Story of the month award
Write letters to real people
Marking work
On year 10,000 scientists found a

very big problem! A very tiny
microchip was into a computer.
This microchip could destroy the
hole world. Scientists were trying
over five years to destroy it but it
was so impossible.
22
Great introduction
very exciting
23
On year 10,000 scientists

found a very big problem!
A very tiny microchip
was into a computer. This
microchip could destroy
the hole world. Scientists
were trying over five
years to destroy it but it
was so impossible.
Super contrast
between big and
tiny
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was so impossible.
Highly dramatic
25

was so impossible.
Accurate grammar
26

was so impossible.
Learning from mistakes?
Adults have a developed anterior cingulate cortex, which

can help detect mistakes.. This part of the brain is still
being wired in teenagers, making it more difficult for them,
even when they recognise a mistake, to learn from it.
The Teenage Brain, Frances E Jensen, Thorsons, 2015
Our job as teachers is not to point out

differences between our students language and
standard English. That is too negative a role.
Our job is to encourage the growth of language
by appreciating the learning steps.
Edge, Julian
Mistakes and Correction
Longman
28
The aim of marking
To show students what they are doing right

To show students where they need to make improvements
and how
To encourage students
To enable students to reflect on their own writing
To celebrate the effort the students have made
To enable teachers to notice skills / language areas that need
to be readdressed in class
29
Marking ideas
Select and make clear what aspects of the writing you are
going to mark
Highlight everything good about the writing
Choose 2 positive and 2 negative aspects of the writing to
focus on
Respond to the meaning not just to the errors
Dont use red pen
Peer marking
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www.olhamadylusblog.com
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Thank you for taking part
We look forward to welcoming you to

more OUP webinars in the future
www.oup.com/elt/events

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Writing: Solutions to Mistakes

How to help students improve their writing skills

Aims of this session

To explore challenges in developing writing skills

They rarely check their work let alone rewrite.

They dont make the same mistakes in a grammar exercise.

Students work through a course book unit based on a topic.

Students do the task at home, alone, and hand it in.

Possible flaws in that system

Writing is left until a unit is completed.

How teens deal with criticism

How teens deal with criticism

John Atkinsons theory of

All individuals can be characterised by two

Writing tasks are

Solutions, Intermediate, p91

One sentence descriptions

His mouth, full of metal teeth, twisted into an unnatural smile

Best opening lines.

Focus on sub skills

Focus on sub skills

Deconstruct and reconstruct

Focus on one or two skills at a time and slowly combine them

As I walked into the .. bank on a Tuesday

Brainstorm at least 5 reasons for

Where are they?

What are they

What were they

Who are they?

What did they have

On year 10,000 scientists found a

On year 10,000 scientists

On year 10,000 scientists

On year 10,000 scientists

On year 10,000 scientists

Learning from mistakes?

Adults have a developed anterior cingulate cortex, which

The Teenage Brain, Frances E Jensen, Thorsons, 2015

Our job as teachers is not to point out

The aim of marking

To show students what they are doing right

Thank you for taking part

We look forward to welcoming you to

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