IN THE FIELD

Its the dreaded exam season again, and, as most teachers will acknowledge, students can often find writing the most challenging of all the four skills. Elaine Boyd, an examiner herself, gives some invaluable insight into what examiners want, and, more importantly, how to train students to deliver.

Writing Exams: What Do Examiners Want?

W
riting can be the most difficult skill in a foreign language you have to be accurate, know your vocabulary, guide your reader through your argument and write in the correct tone. The challenge is to get your message across without the support of gestures or repetition and to be careful not to offend the reader! As well as being very demanding of your language skills, a writing task is complicated by the fact that writing styles vary from language to language. While in some languages it is acceptable to refer to several broad points, in others you must write in a particular order or with a specific focus. English, for example, demands that an argument is developed in a certain way and that the main point is consistently addressed. How students write in their first language can have a significant effect on how they write in English, so students need to be aware of the differences between their first language and English if they are to succeed in writing exams. To make matters worse, a lot of students think writing is boring
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but they need to be able to write effectively to pass exams. As teachers, it is very tempting to focus on accuracy, especially as this helps students language proficiency generally. However, writing is a specific skill with special considerations that belong to this skill alone. In fact, most writing exams will allow the candidate some mistakes in their grammar and spelling as long as these mistakes dont affect understanding. Some students, not unreasonably, hope that if what they write is accurate then they will get the necessary marks. But the truth is that if they dont answer the question then no matter how accurate their writing is, they will lose a lot of marks. All the important features of written English range, focus, organisation and register as well as accuracy are assessed in English-language exams. It is critical for students to master all these features if they are to get a better mark. The good news is that most students improve quite quickly once they are made aware of these features and given some help to practise them.

So what are the typical reasons why candidates may lose marks in writing exams? The following comments are what an examiner might say about some of the answers they see.

1 THIS CANDIDATE HASNT ANSWERED THE QUESTION!

This is the biggest sin of all in an exam and students need to be made aware of how serious it is. Sometimes, in the panic of the exam, candidates write what they know rather than doing the task set. But, however good their English is, they have little chance of achieving a pass grade if they dont address what is required by the question. There are two possible problems here topic focus and task focus.

Problem: topic focus

In written English it is important to stay on the main topic of the discourse. Students sometimes go off the topic either because they dont really have enough ideas on the topic or because it is acceptable to introduce

IN THE FIELD

other elements when writing in their own language. Another problem is that sometimes, in an exam, students try to recreate a good piece of writing they have done in class, whether or not it answers the question set in the exam. Usually this loses the candidate a lot of marks because the questions will always have a particular focus and this must be addressed. Therefore, students need to feel confident that they can answer a range of questions without using a template produced in class. Help your students to gain confidence: Get them to brainstorm all the things they could say about one topic. This gives them useful speaking practice before they write and means they will not be stuck for ideas. They can make a list together. Then give them an exam-type question and ask them to pick which ideas from their list fit the focus of the question. They wont all fit so this process can help them understand how important it is to select ideas relevant to the question. Give students an exam-type question in English but ask them to write the answer in their own language. Then ask them to list the points they have included. Do they all focus on the points in the question and only on these points? Or have they added ideas and extensions that are less relevant? This translation task can help them recognise the differences between writing in their own language and writing in English.

complete a task and focus on the reader. There are two steps: Get students to decide what the task is. Give them some exam-type questions and ask them what the main purpose of the piece of writing is. Why are they writing? What are they trying to achieve? When the students have decided what the reason for writing is, ask them to make a list of what the reader needs to know in order for this purpose to be achieved. For example, if it is a complaint, then what are all the things the reader needs to know to be persuaded to resolve the complaint? If it is an article or a story, then does it entertain, inform and engage the reader?

by discussing together how many parts there are in a writing task and how many points need to go into each part. For example, ask them to write two ideas for each part so the end result is balanced. Allot a rough number of words to each section. In other words, get students to think about the task technically (which is what they will be marked on) rather than imaginatively.

Problem: linking and referencing

A very important feature of good writing is how various points are connected to each other. Candidates will usually gain extra marks for good linking and referencing. It is relatively easy to get students to use link phrases such as in the first place, furthermore, etc. but they also need to be shown how to take a more holistic approach to the cohesion of a writing task. Get students to focus on the first and last sentence of a paragraph focusing and summarising. This will make their writing much easier for the reader to follow. Practise this in class by giving students the middle section of paragraphs and asking them to discuss how they would introduce and summarise what is said, and then ask them to write first and last sentences for each paragraph. Encourage students to reference what has gone before in their writing. For example, instead of Ill meet you at 7pm at the cinema. Lets have a coffee, you could say After the film, shall we have a coffee together? This is both clearer and shows a more complex structure. This can be done going round the class as a speaking activity with each student linking an utterance to what has gone before.

2 THIS ISNT VERY WELL ORGANISED ITS DIFFICULT TO FOLLOW.

Problem: planning
It is absolutely essential that students get into the habit of planning their writing. Many candidates write out a rough copy of their answer in the exam and then try to write it out again neatly, but they run out of time. There is not time in an exam to write everything out twice. Students need to learn to write plans for their answers so they can use their time to address all the elements of the question. Another problem is that candidates do not balance their answers there is too much on one point and not enough on others. Again, planning helps to resolve this as they can make sure they have noted enough to say on each point. They can use the word count required by the question to help them plan and balance their answer. Ask to see students plans before they write. Point out any problems (e.g. irrelevance, lack of balance) or let students show their plans to each other to check differences or similarities. Only then let students write from the plan. Help students to balance answers

Problem: task focus

Many writing exams ask candidates to complete a task, e.g. write a note to a friend about a meeting or write a review of a film. Candidates are usually assessed on how well they have completed the task, e.g. Does the friend know the arrangements? Would the reader know whether the film was worth watching? This effect on the target reader is crucial to success. Make sure your students know how to

3 THE CANDIDATE HAS ONLY USED THE PRESENT TENSE.

Problem: range
Many candidates would achieve a better mark in writing exams if they clear7 MAY-JUNE 2005 I NEW STANDPOINTS

IN THE FIELD

ly demonstrated a range of English. This is true for structures and vocabulary. It is important that their answer is not repetitive but gives information in different ways. Encourage your students to vary what they write: Get students to practise synonyms for words. Give them some words (nouns, adjectives or verbs) and make them think of other words they know that mean more or less the same (e.g. beautiful, pretty, attractive). Then ask your students to use the different words in linked sentences or a story. This can be practised regularly in class if students are asked, Whats a different way of saying that? This question can easily be built into other activities. Encourage students to show off with as many tenses or structures as they know. For example, if they are describing something in the present, get them to think about what happened before and use the past tense or what is likely to happen in the future to use future tenses. They can do this as a speaking activity (a guessing game) or as a writing activity, e.g. they could pass a written situation to each other and the next student has to write what happened before and the next one what happened after. This story can then be used for linking practice (see 2 above).

describing the film and the next a function such as inviting or suggesting. At higher levels, encourage students to use examples when they make a point or to give reasons rather than just say what they think. This is an easy task to incorporate into a class discussion of a topic.

4 ITS SUPPOSED TO BE A LETTER, NOT AN ARTICLE!

Problem: genre
Students need to know the formula or format of the genre they are required to write in an exam. This is easy with letters but applies equally to articles, notes, reports, etc. Although candidates may not fail an exam for writing in the wrong genre, they would get more marks for showing they can adapt their language to different audiences. It is useful to highlight the different elements each genre requires: Get students to think about what each genre needs. Take a good example of your chosen genre, e.g. a letter, and list the features, e.g. opening and closing, saying why you are writing, etc. Include some features that are not true for the genre (for example, this might be headings in the text for letters). Get students to look at the good example and your list and to tick which features are present and which not. The final list of ticked correct features is what they should be including in their writing for that genre. Make sure you highlight any differences between students first language and English regarding the format for each genre. This can be quite important in letters, for example. The point is to make students more aware of differences.

son?) and why they are writing (is it to ask for something difficult or an apology?). Strangely, in English, the more annoyed you are with someone you dont know, the more polite (and distant) your writing might be. In this case, writing becomes very formal and distant with more complex constructions, even something as simple as please (if you would be so kind) and thank you (I appreciate your efforts to ). Give students practice in register transfer. Ask students to write a note asking the friend to do something for them. Then pass it to the next student but change the recipient and/or the topic. Make them aware of the changes in the language as these elements change. Teach standard phrases. Make sure students know a range of polite phrases, e.g. I would be grateful if you could Also point out that in English threats are subtle, e.g. I will be taking matters further Younger students especially tend to lose marks by threatening to take the recipient to court for minor offences!

Problem: inconsistent register

A slightly different problem is when candidates change register through their answer from formal to informal. This can be confusing and unsettling and may confuse target readers, so the candidate will lose marks if the register is not appropriate.

Problem: expansion
Some candidates in writing exams just answer the bare bones of the question. This may be enough for them to pass the exam but they could easily get more marks by expanding on what they are asked. This would also allow them to show a wider range of language. Encourage students to expand what they write so they can demonstrate more language. For example, if they have to write a note to a friend arranging to go to the cinema, one student can put the date and time, the next a reason for going, the next an adjective
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FINALLY
Reassure your students that the examiners are not looking for perfection. They are looking to see if the candidate can communicate effectively within the context of the set task. This means that all elements of the writing skill are important, not just accuracy of language. Good luck! I
Elaine Boyd is an exam writer for a range of ESOL exams, specialising in exams which test the writing skill. She has been involved with teaching, examining and writing ESOL materials for over 20 years and has just completed a research degree in spoken English.

5 THIS IS NOT VERY POLITE

Problem: wrong register
Students need to think about who they are writing to (do they know the per-