The Principle of Gradually Diminishing Control (Controlled Writing - Parallel Writing, Q&A technique, Filling in the blanks, Dictation)

pg 159 -162 1. Parallel Writing: - The degree of control can be varied greatly. - At the simplest level: Pupil need only replace selected words (e.g. nouns and adjectives) - For advanced level: Making one change may necessitate other changes to make the text coherent. (E.g. Pupils study a model and write on a similar theme using the sentence structure of the model text as a guide. - Other examples: i). Study the model and note how the information is used to write a descriptive paragraph. ii). Use an alternative to a text like chart, table or diagram. Pupils can be asked to draw a chart. 2. Question and answer technique: - Can range from very controlled to almost free writing. - To make it very controlled, pupils are given notes or a text to read then they have to write answers to a series of questions. - For example, pupils learn to write a paragraph using sequence connectors. - Suitable for a writing activity following reading activity which can create in pupils awareness of chronological organisation as well as the discourse structure of narrative writng. 3. Filling in blanks: - The kind of word blanked out determine the writing skill or language feature they learn. 4. Dictation: - To provide models of sentence structures and text organisation that are commonly used in writing. Pupils can practise spelling and punctuation as well. - Suitable activity for pupils at various levels so long as the text for dictation is carefully selected. Three factors to consider in selecting texts are: i). Length: Not be too long because the concetration span of pupils especially the young is very short. ii). Level of difficulty: The vocabulary and style must be appropriate for the level of the pupils. iii). Types of text: Should be sample of something that normally dictate in real life, e.g. memorandum,business letters,instruction. The text also must have thematic relationship to something already read or discussed. - Procedure for conducting dictation: i). Read the whole text once through at normal speed. ii). Read short meaningful chunks at normal speed;pausing at the end of each chunks for pupils to write. Repeat if requested to make dictation a friendly interactive task not a test. Do not emphasize pronunciation of word endings or structural words but should follow normal pronunciation and stress patterns. Iii). Allow pupils to look over their writing, correct obvious mistakes then read the text once through to allow pupils to check and make correction of necessary. iv). Provide immediate feedback and display the original text. Pupils correct their own work or exchange with a friend.