ECPE PRACTICE TEST 5 WRITING You will have

ECPE PRACTICE TEST 5 – WRITING You will have 30 minutes to write the topic below. You may make an outline if you wish, but your outline will not count towards your score. Write about one-and-a-half to two pages. Your essay will be marked down if it is extremely short. Your essay will be judged on clarity and overall effectiveness, as well as on topic development, organization, and the range, accuracy and appropriateness of your grammar and vocabulary. Topic: ‘Some reformers argue that teenagers would receive a better education if school hours were longer. Other people believe that this would put too much pressure on young people and would be counterproductive. What do you think? Support your opinion with specific reasons. ’

STEP 1: ESSAY PLAN (7 minutes maximum): Planning and developing the outline of your essay Type of essay : For & Against essay INTRODUCTION (1 st paragraph) A quotation, reference, or question that catches the reader’s attention or clear presentation of topic (without stating your opinion) e. g. A thorny issue being debated right now is whether reformers are justified in their belief that having longer school hours would result in students receiving a better education. Some educationalists are convinced that an extended school day would result in better academic performances, whilst others claim that extra hours added at the end of the day would be ineffective, or perhaps even counterproductive.

MAIN BODY (2 nd & 3 rd paragraph) 2 arguments in favor of prolonging school hours (2 nd paragraph) e. g. First of all, reformers firmly believe that […] For example, not only would it give the time to thoroughly cover all the required content at a slower pace, but also students could take advantage of individualized tutoring and have the opportunity to take part in a broad array of exciting activities. Another important aspect of school making changes rd 2 arguments against prolonging hours to(3 the school program is […] paragraph) e. g. However, those who object to extending school hours argue that […] it may not result in better academic results as it could cause students to become too tired to concentrate. Furthermore, it is also claimed that many teenagers would resent […]

CONCLUSION (4 th paragraph Balanced summary of the topic and/or direct or indirect presentation of writer’s opinion e. g. All in all, it seems to me that extending school hours could be worthwhile, as long as the program is correctly organized and proves to be in the interests of students. STEP 2: ACTUAL WRITING (20 minutes minimum): Written representation according to the essay plan (Formal register required!) STEP 3: CHECK WHAT YOU HAVE WRITTEN (3 minutes maximum): Checking if every aspect of the topic was covered and for any spelling mistakes