1 00:00:00,600 --> 00:00:07,740 For the adults exam, you have two writing tasks and you start with task number one, which involves 2 00:00:07,740 --> 00:00:09,150 writing a letter. 3 00:00:09,450 --> 00:00:16,080 So in this lecture, I'm going to explain to you the basic fundamentals behind writing task number one 4 00:00:16,080 --> 00:00:17,940 for the general exam. 5 00:00:19,110 --> 00:00:26,370 So first of all, let's take a look at the table of contents so that you have a really clear understanding 6 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:29,970 of what we're going to do in this section of the course. 7 00:00:30,660 --> 00:00:34,920 After this introduction, we're going to proceed with giving you some rubric advice. 8 00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:39,690 A lot of students don't know how to move their score up the rubric. 9 00:00:39,810 --> 00:00:47,790 They've been stuck at a six or stuck at a 6.5, and they don't know how to move their score up the rubric 10 00:00:47,790 --> 00:00:49,170 to a seven or an eight. 11 00:00:49,500 --> 00:00:55,350 And so there's going to be a lecture that basically gives you the advice so you can achieve that goal. 12 00:00:57,130 --> 00:01:03,460 Afterwards, we'll move into the different letter types and an identification exercise where you have 13 00:01:03,460 --> 00:01:06,820 to identify the type of letter that you're going to have to write. 14 00:01:07,570 --> 00:01:13,270 Then we're going to outline the letters, and following that, we'll go through the general writing 15 00:01:13,270 --> 00:01:14,200 process. 16 00:01:15,110 --> 00:01:22,040 We'll wrap things up by writing introductions and body paragraphs so that you know exactly how to do 17 00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:24,560 the general letter task, number one. 18 00:01:27,100 --> 00:01:29,170 So here are some basic information. 19 00:01:29,530 --> 00:01:35,350 You know, for the child's exam, they're going to give you both writing tasks at the same time and 20 00:01:35,350 --> 00:01:37,480 you're going to have a total of 60 minutes. 21 00:01:38,110 --> 00:01:44,920 Now, they don't tell you spend this much time on task number one and this much on task number two. 22 00:01:45,480 --> 00:01:52,320 But generally speaking, you want to spend 40 minutes on task number two and 20 minutes on task number 23 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:52,770 one. 24 00:01:53,340 --> 00:02:03,240 The main reason why is because task number one is only worth 33% and task number two is worth 66% of 25 00:02:03,240 --> 00:02:03,870 the score. 26 00:02:04,260 --> 00:02:06,360 So task number two is worth double. 27 00:02:08,620 --> 00:02:13,870 Now the standard rules of writing apply to task number one and task number two. 28 00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:20,530 In regards to scoring and grading criteria. 29 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:21,370 You heard me. 30 00:02:21,370 --> 00:02:25,810 Just talk about how task number two is worth double task number one. 31 00:02:26,230 --> 00:02:32,530 And so when we're looking at the scoring system, if four task number one, you score an eight and then 32 00:02:32,530 --> 00:02:41,230 task number two, you score six, your final score is six plus six plus eight because task number two 33 00:02:41,260 --> 00:02:42,640 is scored twice. 34 00:02:42,670 --> 00:02:45,970 And that's how some of you are getting a 6.5. 35 00:02:46,720 --> 00:02:54,820 You have to make sure that you do a great job on task number two, some of you invest too much time 36 00:02:54,820 --> 00:02:59,590 in task number one, taking 25, 30 minutes to write task number one. 37 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:06,970 And then you take away from your ability to write task number two, which is worth double the points. 38 00:03:08,740 --> 00:03:14,500 So what some students do, and I think it's a pretty good idea, is they may start with task number 39 00:03:14,500 --> 00:03:14,710 two. 40 00:03:14,710 --> 00:03:23,320 First start would task number 2/1 because of the weight difference, put the time in to doing a great 41 00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:27,430 job on task number two and then move to task number one. 42 00:03:28,180 --> 00:03:37,660 Now, if you're able to confidently complete task number one in, let's say 17 minutes, then it's perfectly 43 00:03:37,660 --> 00:03:38,290 fine. 44 00:03:38,290 --> 00:03:43,270 Do task number 1/1 and then shift over to task number two. 45 00:03:45,070 --> 00:03:52,630 Now, in regards to the grading criteria, there are four grading criteria task achievement, coherence 46 00:03:52,630 --> 00:03:57,460 and cohesion, grammatical range, inaccuracy and lexical resource. 47 00:03:57,970 --> 00:04:07,540 Now there's a separate lecture that solely goes over the rubric itself and explains to you how to move 48 00:04:07,540 --> 00:04:11,680 your score up the rubric, because that's what you have to know how to do. 49 00:04:12,490 --> 00:04:19,270 A lot of you are just keep doing the same thing over and over and over again and think magically that 50 00:04:19,270 --> 00:04:20,650 the result will be different. 51 00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:27,760 And you keep getting a six, a six, a six, a six over and over and over again. 52 00:04:28,660 --> 00:04:33,640 And that's because you don't know how to do the things to move your score up the rubric. 53 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:37,900 You're not practicing the things to move your score up the rubric. 54 00:04:38,230 --> 00:04:42,610 And so on that lecture, I'm going to really teach you how to do that. 55 00:04:46,460 --> 00:04:49,310 So here are some general writing tests. 56 00:04:49,310 --> 00:04:51,020 Number one, tips and advice. 57 00:04:51,890 --> 00:04:56,210 First of all, you're going to do four separate paragraphs. 58 00:04:56,240 --> 00:05:00,140 Really, it's more like, I guess, five parts we can say. 59 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:02,240 But you have an introduction. 60 00:05:02,540 --> 00:05:08,210 You have your body, paragraph one, which is discussion point one, body paragraph two, discussion, 61 00:05:08,210 --> 00:05:11,930 point to body, paragraph three, discussion point three. 62 00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:18,560 And then you have a short conclusion. 63 00:05:19,730 --> 00:05:24,320 And with the conclusion is basically just a summary statement. 64 00:05:24,620 --> 00:05:26,860 That's very, very straightforward. 65 00:05:26,870 --> 00:05:35,870 I don't like to count it as a paragraph because it's really just something that is fairly standard and 66 00:05:35,870 --> 00:05:36,770 easy to do. 67 00:05:37,520 --> 00:05:41,270 Now your focus should always be quality over quantity. 68 00:05:43,010 --> 00:05:46,490 Writing more does not equal a better score. 69 00:05:47,390 --> 00:05:49,490 Quality, quality and quality. 70 00:05:49,490 --> 00:05:50,360 Quality. 71 00:05:50,840 --> 00:05:57,920 I've had a lot of students test score eight and nine, and for test number one, they only will write 72 00:05:57,920 --> 00:06:00,290 175 to 200 words. 73 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:08,840 It's difficult to do it at 150 because normally you're not really able to achieve a really good task 74 00:06:08,840 --> 00:06:12,050 achievement score at 150 words. 75 00:06:13,530 --> 00:06:17,160 Now typically you're going to ride between 9 to 11 sentences. 76 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:18,030 That's all. 77 00:06:19,410 --> 00:06:22,740 When you think about it, it doesn't sound like a lot, right? 78 00:06:22,890 --> 00:06:24,450 9 to 11 sentences. 79 00:06:24,450 --> 00:06:25,530 That's all I need. 80 00:06:26,550 --> 00:06:31,710 And then there are three letter types that you possibly might face. 81 00:06:32,370 --> 00:06:37,710 You could do a formal letter, informal letter or semi-formal letter. 82 00:06:38,250 --> 00:06:42,390 And I'll talk about the differences between those later on. 83 00:06:46,180 --> 00:06:52,810 So when you talk about doing a general letter, really what you're talking about is a correspondence. 84 00:06:53,560 --> 00:07:00,130 And there are many types of correspondence, but a general letter is something that you're going to 85 00:07:00,130 --> 00:07:04,870 have to do if you're dealing in everyday English situations. 86 00:07:05,200 --> 00:07:06,640 And that's why they tested. 87 00:07:08,010 --> 00:07:17,280 So with a formal correspondence, these are the type of letters that you send to a governmental body, 88 00:07:17,820 --> 00:07:22,950 an organization, employers, a business that you don't know. 89 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:27,330 Businesses and organizations, you're sending it to the organization. 90 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:29,130 You're sending it to the school. 91 00:07:31,950 --> 00:07:36,330 An informal correspondence is really personal here. 92 00:07:36,330 --> 00:07:43,440 You're writing to a friend, a neighbor, a family member, and then we have these semi formal correspondence 93 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:46,950 and this is written to a known person. 94 00:07:47,310 --> 00:07:50,610 It could be a teacher, boss, manager, or even a colleague. 95 00:07:51,650 --> 00:07:59,600 Now the difference between a formal and a semi formal correspondence is actually having a person that 96 00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:00,920 you're going to be writing to. 97 00:08:01,910 --> 00:08:06,860 So a formal a formal correspondence would be writing to an employer. 98 00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:13,230 A semi-formal correspondence will be writing to a manager or boss at that company. 99 00:08:14,950 --> 00:08:20,800 There really is not much difference between a formal and semi-formal correspondence. 100 00:08:23,080 --> 00:08:30,820 In regard to the requirements, you have to have enough substance to show control over context. 101 00:08:30,820 --> 00:08:35,920 Sequence relevant information ordered the subject matter. 102 00:08:37,140 --> 00:08:40,290 And then you want to avoid the distractions. 103 00:08:41,430 --> 00:08:45,300 You have to avoid those distractions because you have to imagine. 104 00:08:47,490 --> 00:08:52,920 If somebody is reading a letter, we're talking we're talking about a real life situation. 105 00:08:53,840 --> 00:08:55,490 And I'm reading a letter from somebody. 106 00:08:55,490 --> 00:09:03,500 I'm their manager, and it's full of spelling and word, choice and grammar mistakes that takes away 107 00:09:03,500 --> 00:09:09,980 from me being able to see the purpose of your letter or find agreement in what you're asking me to do. 108 00:09:10,850 --> 00:09:17,210 And so that's why when you're making those spelling word choice, word form, grammar mistakes, they 109 00:09:17,210 --> 00:09:18,740 take away from your score. 110 00:09:19,500 --> 00:09:26,610 Because in real life it takes away from having understanding and clarity as to what you want. 111 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:32,640 So within a correspondence, your vocabulary and your grammar must be perfect. 112 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:41,230 So here are some high score tips that I want you to follow. 113 00:09:41,740 --> 00:09:44,590 Sentence and vocabulary variety matter. 114 00:09:44,590 --> 00:09:53,770 The Examiner, the assessor for the exam is really looking at your sentence and vocabulary variety. 115 00:09:54,720 --> 00:10:01,620 So that you can do all of the different types of sentences correctly so that you can use synonyms and 116 00:10:01,620 --> 00:10:02,910 paraphrase. 117 00:10:03,840 --> 00:10:06,390 This really, really improves your score. 118 00:10:08,390 --> 00:10:11,330 Number two, write in your own words. 119 00:10:13,190 --> 00:10:19,040 Especially in the very beginning when it comes to doing the introduction. 120 00:10:19,070 --> 00:10:24,410 Don't just copy what the notice says in terms of the letter they want you to write. 121 00:10:24,440 --> 00:10:26,420 Don't just copy the information. 122 00:10:27,050 --> 00:10:32,540 Try to restate or paraphrase the information in your own words. 123 00:10:34,400 --> 00:10:40,400 And then finally, number three examiners love mistake free sentences. 124 00:10:41,150 --> 00:10:49,040 I've talked to many examiners and former examiners and they love, love, love, mistake, free sentences. 125 00:10:50,020 --> 00:10:55,660 Because because, again, it does not detract from understanding and clarity. 126 00:10:55,960 --> 00:11:04,780 So one of your goals should be to have the majority of your sentences be 100% mistake free. 127 00:11:06,160 --> 00:11:15,550 Many times, students are stuck at a score of a six or 6.5 because they are unable to write mistake 128 00:11:15,550 --> 00:11:16,660 free sentences. 129 00:11:22,160 --> 00:11:25,730 Time management is very, very important. 130 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:27,410 Very important. 131 00:11:28,630 --> 00:11:36,400 Once you learn how to write task number one, always practice with the clock and your goal should be 132 00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:42,220 to finish in 17 to 18 minutes, not 20 minutes. 133 00:11:42,700 --> 00:11:45,730 Practice with a 17 to 18 minute clock. 134 00:11:48,580 --> 00:11:51,070 It's important that you simulate the exam. 135 00:11:51,850 --> 00:11:59,410 Writing in the comfort and quiet of your room is not always a great idea because when you go into the 136 00:11:59,410 --> 00:12:02,860 exam center, it's not going to be so comfortable. 137 00:12:02,890 --> 00:12:05,170 It's not going to be so quiet. 138 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:07,300 They're going to be distractions. 139 00:12:09,450 --> 00:12:16,360 Number three, if you are writing the exam, then use the real answer sheets. 140 00:12:16,380 --> 00:12:18,870 Write on their paper again. 141 00:12:19,380 --> 00:12:23,040 You will be familiar with what you have to do on the real exam. 142 00:12:23,760 --> 00:12:26,430 This really helps to make you comfortable. 143 00:12:27,600 --> 00:12:31,620 Number four I want you to learn how to attack the rubric. 144 00:12:33,060 --> 00:12:40,710 You are always writing to the rubric, you're trying to attack the rubric, making sure I'm doing everything 145 00:12:40,710 --> 00:12:42,630 that qualifies me for an eight. 146 00:12:44,360 --> 00:12:48,170 And then number five, simulate exam pressure. 147 00:12:49,250 --> 00:12:56,060 Sometimes if you have three or four friends that are taking the exam, all of you get together. 148 00:12:56,510 --> 00:13:01,280 Sit right next to each other with a clock and practice doing the exam. 149 00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:02,510 Practice writing. 150 00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:09,350 See how it is with having a person sitting in front of you behind you, next to you. 151 00:13:10,190 --> 00:13:12,860 Simulate that pressure as much as possible. 152 00:13:13,610 --> 00:13:21,890 If you can put up cardboard dividers so you can really have your desk simulate what is like sitting 153 00:13:21,890 --> 00:13:23,420 in an exam center. 154 00:13:26,870 --> 00:13:30,740 Now here is some more advice on task number one. 155 00:13:31,670 --> 00:13:35,860 Students ask me sometimes, do I have to do do I have to address somebody? 156 00:13:36,050 --> 00:13:40,820 Do I have to say, dear sir, dear madam, dear Mr. Williams, dear Mark. 157 00:13:40,820 --> 00:13:41,600 Yes. 158 00:13:41,600 --> 00:13:45,710 You do have to address the person or business that you're going to be writing to. 159 00:13:46,550 --> 00:13:51,800 However, it's not necessary to give an address. 160 00:13:53,340 --> 00:13:54,510 Let me be clear. 161 00:13:55,140 --> 00:13:58,890 You don't have to put 1295 Maple Street. 162 00:14:01,500 --> 00:14:02,730 London, England. 163 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:05,670 You know, you don't have to put an address. 164 00:14:07,210 --> 00:14:13,300 You want to make sure that you address all parts equally, that you address all parts equally. 165 00:14:14,770 --> 00:14:15,160 Right. 166 00:14:15,160 --> 00:14:17,290 That really, really helps your score. 167 00:14:17,890 --> 00:14:24,970 I've seen a lot of writing where somebody will have a great three sentence discussion point one, and 168 00:14:24,970 --> 00:14:30,310 then when they get to discussion point three, they have one sentence and they just kill their score. 169 00:14:33,190 --> 00:14:36,100 Number four, to really increase your score. 170 00:14:37,540 --> 00:14:42,040 You want to make sure that you answer the specific topic points. 171 00:14:42,460 --> 00:14:45,850 Every discussion point has limitation. 172 00:14:46,150 --> 00:14:49,870 They are limiting what you can talk about and you need to stick to that. 173 00:14:51,010 --> 00:14:53,710 Number five, use your imagination. 174 00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:59,690 A lot of people say, well, I never I've never been in that situation before. 175 00:14:59,690 --> 00:15:01,100 I don't know what to say. 176 00:15:01,460 --> 00:15:08,250 Use your imagination is not about is not about you living a situation. 177 00:15:08,270 --> 00:15:10,110 They're testing your English. 178 00:15:10,130 --> 00:15:11,840 They're not testing the truth. 179 00:15:13,100 --> 00:15:19,910 And then finally, it's a great idea when you when you're first starting to practice with a great grammar 180 00:15:19,910 --> 00:15:24,230 application, I personally use Grammarly. 181 00:15:25,130 --> 00:15:30,680 I think it's a great application because it checks especially the premium version. 182 00:15:30,950 --> 00:15:39,740 It checks all aspects of your paper in terms of grammar and vocabulary, and it really helps you to 183 00:15:39,740 --> 00:15:40,820 improve. 184 00:15:41,060 --> 00:15:46,370 And so for those of you that need a grammar coach, I'd make that suggestion for you. 185 00:15:49,820 --> 00:15:52,460 Here are some steps to success. 186 00:15:52,640 --> 00:15:56,390 How you can best use this course section take notes. 187 00:15:57,410 --> 00:16:02,390 The way that I teach is the same as if you're sitting in my classroom. 188 00:16:02,810 --> 00:16:06,830 If you're sitting in my university classroom, you're going to take notes. 189 00:16:08,200 --> 00:16:11,590 Also you want to consistently study. 190 00:16:12,010 --> 00:16:15,640 That's how you really build and peak at the right time. 191 00:16:17,470 --> 00:16:21,790 Number three, never stop improving your English. 192 00:16:24,250 --> 00:16:27,100 You should be studying vocabulary every single day. 193 00:16:28,040 --> 00:16:31,370 You should be improving your grammar every single day. 194 00:16:34,060 --> 00:16:36,340 Just studying for the exam. 195 00:16:37,250 --> 00:16:42,860 Does not improve your vocabulary in English in the way that you need. 196 00:16:42,860 --> 00:16:47,300 You have to really specifically work on those things. 197 00:16:48,170 --> 00:16:54,080 Number four, ask questions if there's something that you don't understand. 198 00:16:54,230 --> 00:16:58,610 If there's something that I said and you need more clarity, please ask. 199 00:16:59,420 --> 00:17:03,890 And number five, let's all work on our test anxiety. 200 00:17:04,990 --> 00:17:10,870 So many students have told me, you know, when I'm practicing at home, I'm able to get a seven or 201 00:17:10,870 --> 00:17:16,340 eight and then I go in and take the exam and I'm getting a six or five Y. 202 00:17:16,930 --> 00:17:19,420 And I say, Well, what's going on with you psychologically? 203 00:17:20,020 --> 00:17:22,570 What's happening with you on a psychological level? 204 00:17:23,500 --> 00:17:29,080 Because what you're doing in practice, you should be able to replicate on the real exam. 205 00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:32,830 The real exam is not harder than the practice material. 206 00:17:33,380 --> 00:17:33,820 Right. 207 00:17:33,820 --> 00:17:38,950 So you have to really work on your test anxiety. 208 00:17:39,430 --> 00:17:45,880 And for those of you who are having those challenges or difficulties, I can make some recommendations 209 00:17:45,880 --> 00:17:54,130 of videos you can watch or things you can read to really help you lessen your test anxiety. 210 00:17:57,410 --> 00:17:57,830 All right. 211 00:17:57,830 --> 00:18:05,750 So coming up next, we're going to go ahead and give you that rubric advice to really help you move 212 00:18:05,750 --> 00:18:07,370 your score up to scale. 213 00:18:09,370 --> 00:18:16,000 And then we're going to get into the different letter types and work on an exercise where you have to 214 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:18,970 identify those different letter types. 215 00:18:19,630 --> 00:18:21,940 Thank you so much for joining me today. 216 00:18:23,310 --> 00:18:26,460 It's a pleasure, as always, to be your instructor. 217 00:18:26,490 --> 00:18:27,300 Take care.