UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL ABIERTA Y A DISTANCIA UNAD

Instituto Virtual de Lenguas - INVIL

Programa: Programa Nacional de Ingls
Curso: Ingls 3
Campo de formacin: Componente Bsico Comn
Tipo de curso: Terico-Prctico.
Crditos: Dos (2).

WRITING ACTIVITY GUIDE

General Objective:
To express effectively and, in a written form, ideas about contextualized/real situations,
taking care the proper use of grammar and vocabulary learned through the course.
Specific objectives:
To comprehend and apply the main three stages of writing; pre-writing, writing, after
writing.
To write a short text in which you show the proper use of grammar and vocabulary
learned through the units and previous levels.
To stimulate the writing skill as a creative and organized process.
Topics:
GRAMMAR
Comparatives and
superlatives
Present perfect tense
Modal verbs

VOCABULARY
Adjectives
Verbs in present perfect
Descriptions of a place
Giving advise

LINKING WORDS
And, then, besides, also,
additionally, too,
furthermore, moreover,
apart from, in addition to

UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL ABIERTA Y A DISTANCIA UNAD

Instituto Virtual de Lenguas - INVIL
Programa: Programa Nacional de Ingls
Curso: Ingls 3
Campo de formacin: Componente Bsico Comn
Tipo de curso: Terico-Prctico.
Crditos: Dos (2).

Learning strategy:
To write a text in which the e-student shows the handle of the grammar and vocabulary
acquired during the English courses and through accompany of the e-tutor and e-students.
During the development of the writing activity, the e-student acquires the skills according
to writing, following a series of steps (see Annex 1) to complete the final product, in which
the skills expected to be acquired are: style, creativity, coherence, cohesion, grammar,
vocabulary and punctuation.
Score:
100 points
Expected results in the forum (30 points):
A. FORUM AT PRACTICE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
Individually complete the pre writing activities. To share the solution of the prewriting activities, you must upload them in a Word document in the Forum or add
them directly in the Forum. (score: 10/100)
B. FORUM AT COLLABORATIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
Group intervention: The entire group will decide on sub topics that you would like to
include in the design of the brochure, as evidence of this process, every member of
the group must participate at least 3 times. Additionally you must decide on the
specific place you are going to talk about (a museum, amusement park, a special
city/town, etc; the one fulfills your interests. This can be either by your personal
decision or by a group decision). (score: 10/100)
Individual intervention: You will share the drafts of your personal brochure with the
purpose of receiving some feedback from your tutor, this must be prior to the
construction of the final version. Remember that you must share your drafts by

UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL ABIERTA Y A DISTANCIA UNAD

Instituto Virtual de Lenguas - INVIL
Programa: Programa Nacional de Ingls
Curso: Ingls 3
Campo de formacin: Componente Bsico Comn
Tipo de curso: Terico-Prctico.
Crditos: Dos (2).

participating in the Forum in a period no later than 3 days before the final
duedate (based on University regulations and academic policies, see
academic resolution 006808). (score: 10/100)
Final product (70 points):
You were asked to design and construct a brochure about most important things I have
done in my life (see Annex 2 Features of informative texts and brochures). In your
final version of your brochure you must take into account if this comply the following
requirements:
You develop a mnimum of 4 differents aspects/tems taken from the general
discussion in the Forum (group intervention in the collaborative learning
environment).
In the development of each one of the 4 aspects/tems, you must include a
mnimum of 4 complete phrases that at all could be joined as a logical paragraph
(around 50 to 80 words each one).
To construct each one of the 4 paragraphs, you will use present perfect as a
gramatical requirement (remember, you must talk about the most important things I
have done in my life ). To get a visible evidence of the use of this gramatical
tense you will highlight all verbs and expressions related to that tense.
How to consolidate the final versin of your brochure:
Consolidate and submit your brochure to the corresponding place.
Use the dictionary when necessary during the writing process. I recommend you to
use this online dictionary that will help you with meanings of words according to
their context, spelling, sinonyms, etc. www.wordreference.com

UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL ABIERTA Y A DISTANCIA UNAD

Instituto Virtual de Lenguas - INVIL
Programa: Programa Nacional de Ingls
Curso: Ingls 3
Campo de formacin: Componente Bsico Comn
Tipo de curso: Terico-Prctico.
Crditos: Dos (2).

Proof read your writing drafts and share them in the Forum, you will receive
unvaluable feedback from your peers and tutor.
On-line Translators are useful tools, however, they are not able to do your job! Be
responsible at using them.
Be creative! Imagination and good sense of humor are important items when
writing.
Finally, If you need some help in how to write your sentences, ideas or paragraphs,
these web sites can help you.
http://www.writinga-z.com/
http://eslbee.com/
http://www.grammarly.com/?q=proofreading&CID=2617611&PID=5146016

UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL ABIERTA Y A DISTANCIA UNAD

Instituto Virtual de Lenguas - INVIL
Programa: Programa Nacional de Ingls
Curso: Ingls 3
Campo de formacin: Componente Bsico Comn
Tipo de curso: Terico-Prctico.
Crditos: Dos (2).

ANNEX 1
WHAT AND HOW TO WRITE (The Writing Process)
1.
Prewriting
Before you begin writing, you must decide what to write about. There are a number of prewriting exercises
that will help you decide on a topic. The topic is the subject you are going to write about. You just need to
start a free writing to have an idea.

Example:
My topic is How is my daily life
Outlining vocabulary or ideas: Daily routines, City, age...

2.
Drafting
The drafting is about the process to put the ideas into sentences and paragraph forms. It is necessary to use
the pre writing notes or lists to guide your writing.

Example:
My Life
My name is Carlos Santa, I am 25 years old, I live in Bogot. I wake up early in the morning, then I go to
work. ...

3.
Revising
This is the moment to in which you check your own work. To do this this is necessary to read and reread to
notice the coherence of the text.

4.
Presenting
After you have revised the text you need to present, or share, your writing with others (peer - correction/
feedback). In this case, you will use the Writing Forum.

UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL ABIERTA Y A DISTANCIA UNAD

Instituto Virtual de Lenguas - INVIL
Programa: Programa Nacional de Ingls
Curso: Ingls 3
Campo de formacin: Componente Bsico Comn
Tipo de curso: Terico-Prctico.
Crditos: Dos (2).

ANNEX 2

SOME FEATURES OF INFORMATIVE TEXTS

When you are writing an informative text you need to think about who you are writing for. For example,
are you writing for a child, a friend or a work colleague? This will make a difference to how you organize the
writing and the language you use.
Informative texts usually:

avoid repetition

contain facts

give information in a clear way introducing it and then developing it.

SOME FEATURES OF BROCHURES

Visual pictures, graphs, charts, maps, etc

Interesting and varied font (size, type, color)

Colorful

Text boxes

Not too much text

Use of bullets Covers stand out

Contain places to learn more

Information retrieved from: http://www.rock-your-world.org/features-and-structures-of-brochures

UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL ABIERTA Y A DISTANCIA UNAD

Instituto Virtual de Lenguas - INVIL
Programa: Programa Nacional de Ingls
Curso: Ingls 3
Campo de formacin: Componente Bsico Comn
Tipo de curso: Terico-Prctico.
Crditos: Dos (2).

UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL ABIERTA Y A DISTANCIA UNAD

Instituto Virtual de Lenguas - INVIL
Programa: Programa Nacional de Ingls
Curso: Ingls 3
Campo de formacin: Componente Bsico Comn
Tipo de curso: Terico-Prctico.
Crditos: Dos (2).

Images retrieved from: http://www.sparksarts.com/portfolio/print-marketing/145-tourism-brochure.html and adapted by SAW

group-UNAD

TUTORIALS (USE OF MICROSOFT PUBLISHER)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNkhoelV_Rs (versin 2010)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65bTBuzQcU8 (versin 2013)

BROCHURE SAMPLES
1. http://s8aqict.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/charlton-brochure-about-broome1.jpg (visit this place)
2. Another example

UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL ABIERTA Y A DISTANCIA UNAD

Instituto Virtual de Lenguas - INVIL
Programa: Programa Nacional de Ingls
Curso: Ingls 3
Campo de formacin: Componente Bsico Comn
Tipo de curso: Terico-Prctico.
Crditos: Dos (2).

RECOMMENDED LINKS
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/factsheet/en13styl-e3-f-writing-an-informative-text (informative texts)
http://www.geneticalliance.org/sites/default/files/publicationsarchive/creating_effective_brochures.pdf
(main facts about brochures

PRELIMINARY ACTIVITY - PREWRITING (PRACTICE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT)

1.

This is a text in which there described some events using perfect present tense

Over the last twenty years, the average size of households has fallen dramatically. The number of one
person households has grown, due largely to the ageing of the population, as has the number of one parent
families. Couples having smaller families have also contributed to the fall in household size.
In 1976, 60% of families were couples with children. By 1996, this had fallen to 51%. Part of this change can
be attributed to the increase in one parent families with dependent children, but most of the change is due to
the increase in the proportion of couple-only families. People are now having children later in life, and are
living longer. Therefore, they are spending more time living in couple-only families, both before they have
families and after their children have left home.
However, children are leaving home later. In 1981, 34% of children aged 20-24 lived with their parents. By
1991, this had increased to 40%. This increase has to some extent countered, the fall in the couples with
non-dependent children

Highlight in the previous text and using the following colors, the required language elements:

Yellow: verbs
Light blue: linking words or phrases ( words and phrases used to show relationships between ideas).

2.

Take the verbs from the previous exercise and complete the following chart

UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL ABIERTA Y A DISTANCIA UNAD

Instituto Virtual de Lenguas - INVIL
Programa: Programa Nacional de Ingls
Curso: Ingls 3
Campo de formacin: Componente Bsico Comn
Tipo de curso: Terico-Prctico.
Crditos: Dos (2).

VERB TAKEN FROM THE PREVIOUS TEXT

Example:

THE VERB IS ITS PRESENT PERFECT TENSE FORM

SLEEP

Attention!!!!!!!!Add as many rows as you need to complete your task

SLEPT