Cho cc bn,

Lc sng tham gia IELTS Camp (mnh thuc i :">), mnh c ha vi vi bn trong team l s post ln mt s kinh nghim lm bi writing. Do khng bit post u chia s cho cc bn ang luyn thi IELTS nn mnh mo mui post vo y. Cc bn thy thc mc hay c ch no sa cha th cng gp gip nhau tin b nh (v mnh cng thuc dng hs li nn tr nh n cng ba phi lm :">). ;-)

Thi gian hn hp nn hm nay mnh ch xin ni s qua v Task 1 Writing Test trong IELTS. Cc phn c th trong report cng nh essay s ni thm sau ny nu c thi gian. Phn ng cc bn mi bt u luyn thi IELTS th nhn Writing Test vi con mt rt l gh gm :-D, theo mnh th ci ny cng hin nhin v ta thng hay cm gic s st hay phc tp ho mt s vic nu khng nm r hoc t nht c mt cht khi qut v n. Qua bui Camp hm nay mnh c ni chuyn vi mt vi bn th c nhn c mt vi kin v cch vit bi cng nh s so snh gia IELTS v TOEFL iBT. V chuyn ging khc nhau th mnh khng c kin v mnh cha tham gia thi TOELF iBT ln no nhng ch cp n d kh gia report v essay. Hi vng qua bi vit ny cc bn s c ci nhn n gin hn v Writing, c bit l Task 1. Nhng kinh nghim tm tt sau y mnh hc c l t thy Mike Duvall, nguyn l ging vin v Vn hc v Lch s ti H Wisconsin v hin ang dy cc lp IELTS level 1, 2 & 3 ti KTDC Group (xem thm tihttp://www.ktdcgroup.com/). Nu c iu kin v mun improve writing skills cc bn c th n trung tm tm hiu v theo hc lp ca thy Mike hoc thy Ken. C nhn mnh nhn thy phng php dy ca thy rt khoa hc v bi bn, c bit trong writing, gi c n.

i vo phn chnh, nh chng ta c bit. Task 1 trong Writing Test (Acedemic Module) l 20 pht, thng candidate s nhn c bi cha m t v chart (bar, line, pie, etc.), table hay cc dng d liu kt hp ln xn ca nhng th va nu v "phi c hiu bng mt thng". Nhim v ca cc th sinh l c vo cc figure ny v vit thnh mt bi report (min 150 t) sao cho khi C BI THNH TING TH NGI M CNG C TH TIP NHN V HIU THNG TIN m bi cc figure mun din gii. Writing cng nh ton hc vy, c cng thc logic ca n, tt c nhng g bn cn lm l theo ng mt trnh t sp xp ca cng thc sao cho tng ca mnh c a ra giy cch hiu qu nht. Mt bi Report gm 3 phn chnh: Introduction, Body paragraph 1, v Body paragraph 2.

Mnh ly v d trong bi vit ny l bar chart v UK Economy:http://www.usingenglish.com/forum/editing-writing-topics/143633-ielts-contributionselected-sectors-uk-economy-20th-century.html.

1. Introduction:

M bi ca Report LUN C 2 PHN: Summary v Main point. Trong :

a. Summary: chnh l topic c paraphrased li, paraphrase mt t hay mt cm t no l cng vi mt ngha nhng ta dng t hoc cm t khc din t n (vd t understand c th thay bng comprehend chng hn). Vic paraphrase s gip bn show off language ability ca bn thn rt nhiu v cng nh ting Vit, din t mt vn c nhiu cch khc nhau v nhiu t khc nhau. V m bi th khng g hp l hn t mt summary vo cu u tin, v cng khng g thch hp hn chnh l topic vi xt v bn cht n summary sn cho bn c ri. Vic cn lm by gi l bn bin i n theo cch ni ca bn chng t rng BN HIU. Ghi nh: nu bn khng paraphrase topic th bn s b xem nh copy v nhng t bn dng trong summary trng vi topic s khng c tnh vo word count.

Vi bi UK Economy chng ta c th paraphrase nhiu cch khc nhau. Ly v d nguyn vn topic l: "The graph below shows the contribution of three sectors - agriculture, manufacturing, and business and financial services - to the UK economy in the twentieth century". Chng ta c th thay graph = diagram/figure/chart, shows = indicate/reveal/depict/illustrate, contribution of three sectors = how much three sectors contributed, in the twentieth century = during a one hundred year period from 1900 to 2000, the UK economy = the economy of the UK. Nh vy, paraphrased topic hon chnh ca chng ta n gin ch l: "The diagram indicates information about how much agriculture, manufacturing and business and finacial services contributed to the economy of the UK during a one hundred year period from 1900 to 2000".

b. Main point: y, ci tn ny y, lm nhiu ngi au u v kh d nhn ra main point l tu vo cch nhn nhn ca mi ngi. Ngh cng n gin th thy main point rt d dng, ngc li bn cng ngh phc tp th s thy mi th rt l mng lung, n mc chng bit u l main point m ln. Thng th khi mi bt u, chng ta thng nhn main point vi s s hi r rt v ngh rng n phi l ci g gh gm lm. V thng hn na l chng ta hay v ra nguyn nhn ti sao hay t lm mt ci kt lun cho figure va thy. in hnh nh vi ci chart trong topic UK Economy, ln u tin gp n mnh ngi c 10p tm main point ri cui cng mi kt lun l... cc nc pht trin thng nng nghip ng vai tr th yu :-D (i hi cha 8-}).

Khi nhn vo mt biu nh vy, vic bn cn lm l xc nh xem cc nhn t trong th c thay i g khng nu c ct mc v thi gian, nh hng ca n (trend) nh th no, i ln (upward)

hay i xung (downward). Nu khng c ct mc v thi gian th n gin ch l s so snh th phn ng gp ca cc nhn t trong th ti mt thi im no hoc mt h nguyn nhn - kt qu ca mt flow no . Hoc cho d c l g khc i na (v d process) th bn hy suy ngh tht n gin, v cc bi report ch nm mc rt ph thng. Hu nh cc sinh vin khi vo mi trng i hc u c th hiu v din t c mt cch rnh mch r rng, c bit l sv quc t. c th ly main point ca mt bi th bn c th tp theo cch sau: ln hi Google chng vi chc IELTS task 1 hoc dng Materials ca Hi, c v tp tm main point sau i chiu vi model text xem mnh c lm ng hay khng. Nhng ch xem main point ri thi nh, ng c vo detail y :">. Mnh khng r trong cc sch c ch cch ly main point hay khng nhng mnh ngh cc bn c th tham kho quyn sch Focus On IELTS ca Sue O'Conell tm hiu thm.

Vi topic UK Economy nh trn th ta c th thy agriculture v manufacturing gim mnh trong vng 100 nm trong khi business and finacial li tng. Mt cch rt r rng biu show ra 2 trends chnh, v bn thy g th ghi vo thi. Thng bt u vi nhng t hay cm t nh "In general", "Overally", "Generally", "On the whole", ... main point c th din t vi vi nhiu cch khc nhau, nhng cng n gin cng tt: "In general, agriculture and manufacturing experienced a sharp decline whereas business and finacial services rose considerably thourgout the period".

Lu : c th khi c mt figure hay graph no bn c th thy nhiu trend/pattern khc nhau, bn hy nghe theo l tr ca mnh v chn ci no bn cho l chnh yu nht lm main point. Mt bi task 1 c th c nhiu p n khc nhau v main point khc nhau c chp nhn nn bn c tn dng thi gian ca mnh m khng nn chn ch.

Xong phn introduction ri th mnh ngh c s gii p thc mc ca mt s bn: ti sao khng phi 4 paragraph m li ch 3? Thc cht, mt bi report khng cn phi c conclusion, v yu cu ca IELTS l report nn bn ch cn trnh by nhng g bn hiu ch khng cn phi c kt lun no ca bn thn mang tnh c nhn. V nu ni report khng c personal opinion th main point c tch khi Introduction v a xung lm conclusion l nghe c v hp tai nht. Mnh thy rt nhiu bi writing, thm ch l model text trnh by theo cch ny. M bi ch c summary v kt bi chnh l main point. Nhng cch hiu ca Thy ni vi mnh i khi nh sau: mt ngi i t H Ni vo Si gn gp bn, sau khi i i ti ni bn mi a cho h ci bn v bo y l SG. D nhin h cm n bn nhng h bit ht ri, n khng cn ngha lm v h khng cn n na. Thay vo trc khi h i bn cung cp cho h mt bn tng quan h c th hnh dung c mnh s i ti nhng u trn on ng t HN vo SG, n khin h tit kim thi gian v l trnh s trn tru hn. V tr t main point cng vy, bn c th t ch no bn mun, nhng hp l v logic hn c l bn cung cp cho ngi c tng tng khi qut v nhng g bn sp vit th tt

hn l h c cc body paragraph v t nhn ra (khi main point tr nn tha thi). Th cho nn mnh vn gi quan im 1 bi report ch cn 3 paragraph v main point th lun ng sau summary trong Introduction.

2. Body paragraphs:

C main point ri th bn s d dng vit detail lm, v bn hnh dung ra c mnh s vit g ri. Hy nhn vo main point v bt u vit chi tit m t v trend/pattern u tin m bn thy. V d vi topic UK Economy bn c th din t s i xung trong ng gp vo nn kinh t ca agriculture v manufacturing i khi n gin nh sau: Ti thi im 1900 s 1 l agriculture vi bao nhiu % . Tuy nhin d c tng mt cht >50% vo nm 1950 nhng n rt thm hi xung 0% vo nm 2000. Tng t manufacturing rt u u, c bit t hn 30% nm 1975 xung ch cn di 20% trong nm 2000. Hy tn dng cc k nng miu t m bn c, bn c th ln google search language of changes/time period, describing trends, change and consequences, ... hay cc k nng m t report v task 1 lm phong ph thm kh nng ca bn thn. Mnh thy cc b sch ca Sue O'Conell l bn ly im cao trong phn ny. c bit hy tm hiu cc transition expression hay signaling words, nhng th s gip cho cc cu vn trong paragraph ca bn c lin mch vi nhau hn thay v bn cht kh khc hi mang tnh lit k ca report. Mnh v d cc transition expression sau y trc mi cu trong P1: Looking at the graph, Specifically, In a similar way, ....

"Looking at the graph, it can be clearly seen that there was a similar downward trend in the contribution of two sectors: agriculture and manufacturing. Specifically, although agriculture grew steadily reaching the peak of just over 50% in 1950, it plunged to nearly 0% in 2000. In a similar way, there was a gradual fall in manufacturing's contribution over the first seventy-five years, followed by a significant decrease from more than 30% in 1975 to just under 20% in 2000."

--> Cu u tin chnh l topic sentence c mention trong main point, tip theo chng ta ch cn thm vo cc support sentence cng cc evidence/example v dng cc transition expression din gii ngh ca mnh.

Xong P1 th ti P2, nu P2 c trend cn m t tri ngc vi P1 th bn c th bt u vi cc transition expression (TE): On the other hand, By contrast, On the contrary, ... . Ngc li nu n dng b sung th bn c th dng cc TE: Moreover, Furthermore, In addition, ... v cch lm cng khng khc g P1, n gin v ngn gn.

"By contrast, the contribution of business and financial services increased remarkably by about seven times during the century. To be exact, it almost doubled between 1900 and 1950, then kept climbling rapidly reaching around 35% in 2000."

P2 ch n gin vy thi. V bi vit th l xong.

MT S LU KHC:

- Again, n gin v ngn gn, bn thy g th ghi ra nh vy, ng phc tp ho vn v n ch lp bt cp hi. V thi gian lm bi rt l hn ch nn tn ch ca Writing test l s n gin, d hiu, r rng v rnh mch. Examiner khng quan tm n g khc ngoi kh nng hiu v din t vn bng ngn ng ca candidate. Th nn khi u bn cng ng quan tm qu n nhng mu cu vn hoa, hay cc t mang tnh cht academic. Trong mt bi report bn ch cn vi ba ch s dng lm im nhn c nhn th l im cao ri. ng dng nhiu qu c th dn n phn tc dng nh complex sentences --> multiple meaning hay complex grammar --> grammar mistakes, cha k big words m dng khng ng ch s sinh ra big troubles. =))

- Gii hn ti thiu ca report l 150 t, khng tnh nhng t copy t topic trong Introduction v lp li qu nhiu ln. D khng nu gii hn ti a nhng mnh recommend con s l 200 li. V sao? Bn ch c 20p cho c vic c hiu v lm bi, th cho nn hy ch ti tng pht tri qua khi lm bi. V task 1 rt n gin nn nu bn ghi cng di bn cng c nhiu nguy c: th nht l tr gi, th 2 l lan man. Theo mnh thy cc model text t im cao thng nm trong gii hn 170 180 t. Nhn bi mnh ghi ra pha trn thy c v t nhng cng 172 t ri. Ngi VN mnh hay s ko vit 150 t nhng thc t chng ta hay vit di hn vy, nht l vi nhng bn mi bt u hay v rng rn. Hy tp bng cch t ra gii hn t cho mnh, nu bn vit di hn con s , hy tm cch ti gin ho bi vit ca mnh. Nu cm thy lm hoi m ko c th cch din t ca bn c vn , hy qung v i chi hay lm chuyn khc, vi ting hoc 1 ngy sau nhn li bn s thy rt nhiu li trong bi mnh vit. Hoc c th a bn b hay post ln Hi mi ngi vo sa v gp cho bn, sau v vit li. Thc hin nghim tc iu ny cng p lc 20p thi gian s khin bn tin b rt nhiu, hon ton khng v ch.

- Describe: c bit khng dng t ny trong report, v describe l "m t" ci g , m bn thn cc graph/figure t n khng c kh nng m t ci chi c, ch c con ngi mi lm c nn ng bao gi dng t ny khi lm bi nh. ;-)

- Cc danh t ring: hy tn trng cc danh t ring v nu n vit hoa, hy vit hoa. Mnh ly v d trong topic UK Economy, nhng cm nh Agriculture, Manufacturing, v Business and Finacial Services l danh t ring v th hin bng cch chia ng t s t. Hy cn thn v trnh nhm ln trong trng hp ny v bn s b tr im khi lm bi.

- i vi tng loi report khc nhau s c cch dng t v th hin khc nhau, nhng structure organization: Introductory, P1, P2 cng nh cch t main point l nh nhau.

- Report khng cha personal opinion bao gi, th cho nn ng bao gi t nhng cu mang tnh cm quan c nhn vo bi vit (vd: it seems to have more rainy days than ...). :-)

Hi vng bi vit mang li cho cc bn ci nhn tng quan mnh dn tin su tin xa hn trong cc bi Writing. Quan trng nht vn l thc hnh, 1 tun bn c th ch cn b ra 3 bui thc hnh task 1, mi bui 1 ting thi. Nhng hy nh l y v thng xuyn, bn cnh hy sing c ting Anh m in hnh l cc bi Reading Test (nhng bi bn lm qua ri, hy xem li mc detail ch khng cn l skimming hay scanning na). Cng mt cu trc, cc bi reading cng c t chc ht nh vy, vic c nhiu khng nhng cung cp cho bn kh nng luyn vn t m cn h tr rt nhiu cho k nng vit. Nu c my bi reading test thy chn qu th bn c th tm cc model text xem v cng c, s hc hi c rt nhiu nhng mu cu hay hay nhng t mi ng ngha luyn paraphrasing. Nhng nh l nhng bi bn lm qua ri nh. :D

Cui cng, mt ln na, xin gi li cm n chn thnh (cng nh ngm xin php :P) n thy Mike Duvall v KTDC Group cung cp kho hc rt hay cng nh cc ti liu rt b ch mnh c c s tin b r rt (v khng cn s Writing Test na) nh hm nay c th t tin mnh dn chia s cho cc bn y. >:D