TEACHING WRITING USING A TEXT-TYPE BASED APPROACH

April 26, 2008

Kari Miller, Academic Coordinator DLIC-CEC-EPN

1. Think of 2-3 problems that you have encountered when teaching writing. Share them with a partner and write them below.

2. Look at the different text types and discuss the following:

a. What kind of text is it?

b. What is the function of each text?

3. Running Dictation: Text-type Based Approach

4. Read the three examples of restaurant reviews, thinking about the following questions:

a. What features do they have in common?

b. What language is specific to restaurant reviews?

c. What information do the reviews give?

5. Give an example from any of the reviews of each of the structures below:

a. simple present tense

______

b. simple past tense

______

c. a description

______

6. Underline any phrases that are common between the three reviews. Also underline any phrases that you think are important for a restaurant review.

Examples: I ordered…

…was(n’t) very fresh…

…I had breakfast / lunch /dinner at…

It serves…

7. Cloze activity: Complete the text with the words given.

I like to eat out and I go to a ______1 for dinner twice a week. I go with my husband, Bill.

Our ______2 restaurant is an Indian restaurant on Cleveland Street in Surry Hills. It is not very big ______3 it is always busy. There are only a few tables in the restaurant and there is a ______4 tablecloth on each table. There ______5 also a vase with ______6 flowers on each table. There ______7 plants in the corners. We usually order hot curries and eat them with rice. The food is ______8 so we enjoy it very much. The service is ______9 and friendly.

Bill and I always have a ______10 evening at our favorite restaurant.

Choose from these words:

are is pleasant lovely quick white delicious but restaurant favorite

Use the review above to fill in the chart.

description word (adj.) / noun it describes / there is/there are / object word that follows
favorite / restaurant / There are / tables

8. Reordering sentences: Put the sentences in order. With a partner, check your answers. Be prepared to explain your answers.

The cake was rich and delicious, and the cappuccino was hot and frothy. I ordered a green salad and a cheese pizza. I recommend this restaurant to anyone who likes Italian food. The lettuce wasn’t very fresh. The pizza was excellent, but the salad wasn’t very good. Last week, I had lunch at Luigi’s, a new Italian restaurant in my neighborhood. For dessert, I had chocolate cake and a cappuccino.

1 ______

2 ______

3 ______

4 ______

5 ______

6 ______

7 ______

9. Guided practice. Use the prompts to write a restaurant review.

10. Reflection: Write 1 thing you like about this approach and 1 thing you dislike about it.