Skills for Life Teaching Resources
Writing Levels 1 and 2 Skills and Strategies in Skills for Life
Writing Skills
- Communicating information in forms, questionnaires, descriptions,
accounts, emails, letters, narratives, instructions, reports, explanations,
proposals, articles, leaflets and information sheets – Level
1 and Level 2 learners are expected to perform tasks that reflect real-life
reasons for writing. Learners are expected to be able to communicate information
clearly.
- Showing the relationship between information/ideas within the text – Learners are expected to present information and ideas in a logical and clear way. For this skill, learners are required to demonstrate appropriate use of paragraphs and topic sentences. Learners should also use a range of discourse markers such as, ‘as soon as’, ‘however’, ‘provided that’ etc.
- Following writing conventions - It is important for
learners to pay attention to layout, openings and closings, dates, use of
capitals and punctuation.
- Using appropriate language – It is important for learners to show they are aware of the target audience by using an appropriate register and style of writing. This also means being able to identify the appropriate functional language required for different tasks, e.g. persuading, apologising, inviting, requesting etc.
- Getting help from outside sources – Learners should have good dictionary skills and be confident in using dictionaries as a learning tool. It is also a good idea to make writing more interactive by getting learners to work in pairs and groups. By working together, learners can pool ideas and knowledge and improve their own writing.
- Editing and self-correcting – It is important for
learners to proofread their work and be able to identify errors in their
written work. In order for learners to develop this valuable skill, they
need lots of practice activities in error detection both as individual and
group work.
Writing Strategies
- Planning and organising – Learners are expected
to plan their writing in the exam. Learners should be encouraged to underline
the main points in the task, also making note of the task type and target
audience. Learners should also plan the order in which they are going to
present their information/opinions so that their work is coherent.
- Linking – In order for the learner’s writing to be clear, logical and easy to understand, learners need to connect information and ideas by using the correct linking words e.g. ‘however’, ‘provided that’, ‘as a result’.
- Coping – Particularly in part 3, where there is a choice of two tasks, learners should choose to write about subjects, or to write in a style, that they are familiar with so that they can perform to the best of their ability.
- Writing clearly – Learners are assessed for producing legible text at Level 1 and Level 2. Learners should be made aware that very poor handwriting would make it very difficult for their writing to be assessed.
- Checking – It is essential that learners check their work, both in terms of content and accuracy. Learners should refer back to the points they underlined in the task instructions and check that they have not missed any points that they were asked to include. Learners should also check their written work for any careless slips and mistakes.
