Writing Exam Preparation EAP Activities
In this writing exam preparation activity, students practice their editing and revision skills by identifying common writing errors, explaining them, and making corrections. First, students read and underline three errors in each paragraph of an essay, focusing on error types written on the board. Next, in pairs, students compare answers and discuss why each underlined word, phrase or sentence is an error and suggest corrections. Working together, students then compare their identified errors with those in an 'error' column on a worksheet. Following that, students complete the worksheet by identifying the type of error, explaining why it's incorrect, and then correcting it. Afterwards, elicit answers and explanations from the class and write the corrections on the board. Finally, pairs discuss why editing and revision skills are important for writing essays and then give feedback to the class on their answers.
This useful writing exam preparation activity introduces students to four common writing exam task types, familiarising them with their purpose and general structure. First, in pairs, students turn over one task card representing a common writing task type (explaining a process, opinion essay, problem-solution essay, or summarising data). Students then complete the purpose, introduction, body and conclusion on the card with four corresponding task instruction strips, writing the sentences on the card. When a pair completes a task card, they show it to you. If the answers are correct, they move on to the next task card. If not, students go back and revise their mistakes accordingly. The activity continues until all the task cards are completed with the correct instructions. After that, students reflect on the activity by discussing three task-related questions in their pairs. Finally, pairs share their responses with the class. As an extension, students choose one of the task types and write a plan in response to the task instructions.
