Chuyên đề luyện thi THPT Quốc gia môn Tiếng Anh - Đỗ Bình

TABLE OF CONTENT
	Page
PART 1: INTRODUCTION	2
PART 2: CONTENT	3
I. WHY STUDENTS NEED TO LEARN TO WRITE	3	
II. PARAGRAPH AND TOPIC SENTENCE	3
1. Definition of a paragraph	3
2. Structure of a paragraph	4
3. Elements of a good paragraph	5
III. HOW TO WRITE A PRAGRAPH	6
1. Pre writing paragraphs	6
2. While writing paragraphs	6
3. Editing paragraphs	11
IV. METHOD OF TEACHING	12
1. Tasks of the teacher	12
2. How to correct and respond to students’ writing	13
2.1. How to correct students’ writing	13
2.2. How to respond to students’ writing	14
V. TYPES OF EXAM WRITING AND SUGGESTIONS	15
VI. SOME EXERCISES FOR PRACTICE	18
PART 3: CONCLUSION	21
PART 1: INTRODUCTION
For grade 12 students who are working hard to prepare for the national examination to get the General Certificate of Secondary Education and enter university, English is one of the three compulsory subjects that every student has to take. In an English test, there are often some types of questions involving reading skill, grammatical tasks, phonetics and writing. Writing a paragraph is an additional new type of question which has just been supplemented since the last test.
This study aims at helping students have more knowledge and needed skills to do well the paragraph wring task in the exam.
The study focused on grade 12 students who have learned English for at least 6 years and are taking an intensive English course to prepare for the National Examination. The theme is conducted in 4 weeks with the attendance of 35 students in class 12A2 in Yen Lac 2 High School. The students attend one class per week to study and practice writing.
	Hopefully, both students and teachers will find some useful reference for their learning and teaching.
PART 2: CONTENT
I. WHY STUDENTS NEED TO LEARN TO WRITE
A long time ago, literacy- that is being able to read and write- has been seen as a desirable skill for whole populations. Writing provides a vehicle for expression and communication. No matter the age or grade level of the students, diligent writing practice will boost both their skill and comfort level with revealing and relating their own thoughts and feelings.
In the context of graduation, it is worth remembering that most exams, whether they are testing foreign language abilities or other skills, often rely on the students’ writing proficiency in order to measure their knowledge.
Recently, our Education Ministry has supplemented paragraph writing task in the National examination for Upper secondary school students. Therefore, all students who desire to pass this exam to get General Certificate and to enter university must know how to write a good paragraph.
II. PARAGRAPH 
1. Definition of a paragraph
What is a paragraph? A paragraph is a series of sentences that are organized and coherent, and are all related to a single topic. 
Paragraphs can contain many different kinds of information. A paragraph could contain a series of brief examples or a single long illustration of general point. It might describe a place, a character or process, narrate a series of events, compare or contrast two more things or describe cause and effect. In fact, a useful way to think about a paragraph is as a “mini-essay,” with its own mini-thesis (the topic sentence), middle or body (the supporting details) and end or conclusion (the concluding sentence). 
2. Structure of a paragraph
A paragraph generally consists of 3 parts:
	*	Topic sentence
Introduces the topic in the paragraph
Is the most general sentence in the paragraph
Contains controlling ideas that the following sentences in the paragraph will explain/ define/ clarify/ illustrate
* A controlling idea is a word or phrase that the reader can ask questions about: How? Why? In what ways? What does that mean?
	*	Supporting sentences
develop the topic sentence by giving:
reasons
examples
facts
statistics
quotations
*	Concluding sentence
Signals the end of the paragraph
Summarizes the main points of the paragraph/ restates the topic sentence without copying exactly
Gives a final comment on the topic
3. Elements of a good paragraph
A paragraph should be unified, coherent, and well developed. Paragraphs are unified around a main point and all sentences in the paragraph should clearly relate to that point in some way. The paragraph's main idea should be supported with specific information that develops or discusses the main idea in greater detail.
Unity
The entire paragraph should concern itself with a single focus. If it begins with one focus or major point of discussion, it should not end with another or wander within different ideas.
Coherence
Coherence is the trait that makes the paragraph easily understandable to a reader. A coherent paragraph has sentences that all logically follow each other; they are not isolated thoughts. 
Coherence can be achieved in several ways. First, using transitions helps connect ideas from one sentence to the next. Second, ordering thoughts in numerical sequence helps to direct the reader from one point to the next. Third, structuring each paragraph according to one of the following patterns helps to organize sentences: general to particular; particular to general; whole to parts; question to answer; or effect to cause. 
Adequate development
The topic should be discussed fully and adequately. A paragraph should have enough sentences so that the main idea of the topic sentence is completely developed. Generalizations should be supported with examples or illustrations. Also, details and descriptions help the reader to understand what you mean. The writer should not assume that the reader can read your mind: be specific enough to develop your ideas thoroughly, but avoid repetition.
III. HOW TO WRITE A PRAGRAPH
1. Prewriting Paragraphs
Think carefully and organize your ideas for your paragraph before you begin writing.
Prewriting Steps:
* Read the question and think carefully about what you are going to write.
+ What question are you going to answer in this paragraph? 
+ What facts or examples can you use to support your idea?
+ How can you make this paragraph interesting? 
2. While writing Paragraphs
* Write a topic sentence
	A topic sentence should introduce the topic of the paragraph and contain controlling ideas that the following sentences in the paragraph will explain, define, clarify or illustrate.
	Students should:
+ underline the key words in the question
+ make use of the key words to write the topic sentence.
For example: 
Question 1: Write a paragraph about the benefits of reading books (From national examination in 2014-2015)
The keywords are: benefits of reading books
Suggested answer:
Reading books helps us relax, widen knowledge and improve our language.
Topic: reading books
	Controlling ideas: helps us relax, widen knowledge and improve our language.
Question 2:Describe the person you admire most.
The keywords are: Describe, the person you admire
Suggested answer:
My mother, who is caring, intelligent and hardworking, is the one I admire most.
Topic: My mother
Controlling ideas: caring, intelligent and hardworking
* Write supporting sentence
All supporting sentences should focus on the main idea expressed in the topic sentence. There should be examples and further information about the topic being discussed. 
+ Students can make use of WH- Questions such as who, which, why, where, when and how. Answering these questions helps students have more ideas about what to write next.
+ Students can use transitions to combine sentences as well as change the ideas being discussed.
Useful expressions
Sequencing/ Listing
First of all, First(ly), Initially, To begin with; Second(ly); Third(ly); Next; Then; After that (this); Following this (that); Finally; The first reason is/ The second is; Last but not least
Adding to what you have said
Also, Furthermore, In addition, Additionally, Moreover, Besides, As well as, Similarly, not onlybut also, even beside this/ that
Contrasting
In contrast to this, On the contrary, In contrast, Conversely, On the other hand, While, Whereas, However, Despite/ In spite of, Although, Even though, Otherwise, Nonetheless
Expressing similarity
Similarly; Likewise, In the same way
Showing results
As a result, As a consequence, Consequently, Hence, Thus, Therefore, So
Giving examples
For example, For instance, In particular, Particularly, That is to say, Namely, Such as
Restating 
In other words, That is to say, To put it simply
Inferring 
In other words, In that case, or else, Otherwise
Summarizing 
In summary, To sum up, To conclude, To recapitulate, In conclusion, In short, In brief, In a nutshell, Lastly, Finally
For example:
Question: Write a paragraph about the benefits of reading books (From national examination in 2014-2015)
Topic sentence: Reading books helps us relax, widen knowledge and improve our language.
Supporting ideas: 
* Step1: Students can get the ideas by answering the following questions:
1. Why reading books helps us relax?
2. How reading books helps us relax?
3. Why and how reading books helps us widen our knowledge?
4. Why and how reading books helps us improve our language?
5. When do people often read book?
6. What kinds of book do people read?
Suggested answers:
1and 4. Reading books helps us relax after a hard-working day. It is also an interest for everybody who does not like to visit crowded places at the weekend. They like quiet atmosphere and do not want to disturb anybody so they consider books as their close friends. They meet their stories, their lives in books and they feel extremely sympathetic with the characters’ situations. Reading books makes them happy and relieve stress.
2 and 5. Reading books helps us widen our knowledge. Thanks to the wide range of books such as science, literature, astronomy, archeology, biology and physics, we can get information focus on our own fields as well as the others. The more books we read, the more knowledge we have obtained.
3. Reading books helps us improve our expression ability like writing and speaking. The writing style of some our favorite writers will affect ours. Especially, when we read foreign literature, we will not only know more about that country but also have a chance to improve our reading skill, learn new words which can be used to better our writings and speech.
* Step 2: Add transitions to make the paragraph more coherent.
Suggested answer:
First of all, reading books helps us relax after a hard-working day. It is also an interest for everybody who does not like to visit crowded places at the weekend. They like quiet atmosphere and do not want to disturb anybody so they consider books as their close friends. They meet their stories, their lives in books and they feel extremely sympathetic with the characters’ situations. Reading books makes them happy and relieve stress. Secondly, reading books helps us widen our knowledge. Thanks to the wide range of books such as science, literature, astronomy, archeology, biology and physics, we can get information focus on our own fields as well as the others. The more books we read, the more knowledge we have obtained. Last but not least, reading books helps us improve our expression ability like writing and speaking. The writing style of some our favorite writers will affect ours. Especially, when we read foreign literature, we will not only know more about that country but also have a chance to improve our reading skill, learn new words which can be used to better our writings and speech.
* Write concluding sentence
A conclusion is the last part of a paragraph. 
There are some ways of making a conclusion for a paragraph.
+ Summarizes the main points of the paragraph and/or gives a final comment on the topic.
+ Students can signal their concluding part by using one of the following phrases:
In conclusion,
In summary,
To conclude/ To sum up/ To summarize,
In short,
In the last analysis,
On balance, I would say that
Example: 
Question: Write a paragraph about the benefits of reading books (From national examination in 2014-2015)
Suggested answer:
In conclusion, reading books is so important and has many benefits. It not only helps us become cleverer and better at language but also brings us happiness. Therefore, everyone should be encouraged to read books as much as possible.
3. Editing Paragraphs
What is the editing stage?
The editing stage is when you check your paragraph for mistakes and correct them. 
After finish writing, read your paragraph again and check the followings:
* Grammar and Spelling
1. Check your spelling.
2. Check your grammar.
3. Make sure each sentence has a subject.
4. See if your subjects and verbs agree with each other.
5. Check the verb tenses of each sentence.
6. Make sure that each sentence makes sense.
* Style and Organization
1. Make sure your paragraph has a topic sentence.
2. Make sure your supporting sentences focus on the main idea.
3. Make sure you have a closing sentence.
4. Check that all your sentences focus on the main idea.
5. See if your paragraph is interesting
IV. METHODS OF TEACHING
1. Tasks of the teacher
When helping students to become a better writer, teachers have a number of tasks to perform. Among the tasks which teachers have to perform before, during and after students’ writing are the followings:
Demonstrating
Students need to be aware of writing conventions and constraints in specific types of writing, teachers have to be able to draw these features to their attention. 
Motivating 
Student writers often find themselves “lost for words”, especially in creative writing tasks. This is where the teacher can help, provoking the students into having ideas, enthusing them with value of the task, and persuading them what fun it can be. It helps, for example, if teacher go into class with prepared suggestions so that when students get stuck, they can immediately get help rather than having themselves to think of the ideas on the spot. Sometimes teachers can give them the words they need to start a writing task as a way of getting them going.
Supporting
Teachers are not only a motivator and provoker but also a supporter. Students need a lot of help and reassurance once they get going, both with ideas and with the means to carry them out. Teachers need to be extremely supportive when students are writing in class, always available and prepared to help students overcome difficulties.
Responding
When responding, teachers react to the content and construction of a piece of written work supportively and often make suggestions for its improvement.
Evaluating
When teachers have to evaluate students’ writings, teachers should tell them how well they have done. Teachers can indicate where students wrote well and where they made mistakes. When giving back the writings, teachers can ask students to look at the errors highlighted and try to put them right.
2. How to correct and respond to students’ writings
2.1. How to correct students’ writings
Teachers should not use red ink all over a students’ work. Instead, teachers can correct only grammatical points and spelling and give other comments at the back of the writing in “need to improve” area.
Teachers should give positive feedback to students’ writings by saying what is good and interesting in their writings first before saying other comments.
In order to avoid overabundance of red ink, teachers can use correction symbols. These also have advantage of encourage students to think about what the mistake is, so that they can correct it themselves. Teachers and students should talk about these symbols in advance. 
The following symbols are frequently used:
Symbol	Meaning	Example error	
S	A spelling error	The asnwer is obvius
WO	A mistake in word order	I like very much it.
WC	Wrong choice	She is interested on music.
G	A grammar mistake	Some student like it.
T	Wrong verb tense	I meet him yesterday.
P	A punctuation mistake	Have you known it.
C	Concord mistake 	They is happy.
Reformulation
Reformulation is a way of showing students how they could write something more correctly. Instead of asking them to find the mistake and correct it, the teacher shows how he or she would write the incorrect sentence. The students then learn by comparing correct and incorrect versions. 
Remedial teaching
 	When teachers read students’ written work and they come across mistakes which many people in the same class are making, remedial teaching will be necessary. In such case, teacher should show the whole class the mistakes produced by the students and ask them to put them right. Therefore, all students in the class will be aware of the mistakes.
2.2. How to respond to students’ writings
After reading students’ writings, teacher can choose either to talk to them directly or give them a written comment. It is always a good idea to tell students what we think is good in their work, encouragement is extremely important at this stage.
For example: I enjoyed your composition very much. I like the description of your mother. She sounds like an interesting woman. 
If there is any correction teachers want to tell students, we can give advice or suggestions. Teachers should not criticize students just because of their mistakes.
For example: Instead of saying words like: bad, wrong, terrible which make students feel disappointed.
Teachers can say or write the followings
Why do you think that it is not wasteful?
Or What do you want the reader to understand here?
Or Be careful with your use of past tense verbs.
Or it’s better if you say it in this way
V. TYPES OF EXAM WRITING AND SUGGESTIONS
As guided by our Education Ministry, the topics for the paragraph in the final exam for grade 12 students may be as followings:
People: 
- Write a paragraph about the person you love most in your family. 
You should write:
Who he or she is
Why you love him or her most
- Describe your best or closest friend/ idol
You should write:
Who he or she is
Describe his or her physical characteristics as well as personality
Education: 
- Write a paragraph about our favourite subject at school. 
You should write:
What your favourite subject is
Why you like it
Where and when you study it
- Write a paragraph about the teacher you admire most. 
You should write:
Who he or she is
Why you admire him or her
Sports
- Write a paragraph about your favourite sport. You should write:
What your favourite sport is
Why you like it
Where and when you play it
Entertainment
- Write a paragraph about one of your hobbies. You should write:
What your hobby is
Why you like it
Where and when
- Write a paragraph about the book or the film you like most. You should write:
Title and author
Type of book/ film
Characters
Events in the film/ book
Your opinion of the film/ book
Tourism/Place
- Write a paragraph about the place you would like to visit. You should write:
What it is
Location
Size
Population
Area
Main attractions
Your feeling (s)/ opinion(s)
Job
- Write a paragraph about the job you want to do in the future. You should write:
Type of job
Why you like that job
What you have to do to be able to get that job
VI. SOME EXERCISES FOR PRACTICE
Exercise 1: Write the topic sentence for the following paragraphs.
.  I live in a flat with my family. We have two bedrooms and a living room. We have a garden and we have some flowers there. In weekdays I arrive home at five o'clock and I have lunch. Then I do my homework and go to bed. I had a computer but now it doesn't work. I have a brother and a sister and I think I am very lucky to live with them. Sometimes our relatives visit us. Our flat becomes very crowded sometimes but I like it.
     . I hate lie. I always try not to tell lies and I want that from my friends, too. I think it is the most important behavior. I can believe everything my friends say. Secondl