Who is this course for?
This course is for English teachers and students of the English language who would like to develop their writing skills with a view to passing the Cambridge C2 Proficiency exam.
 
The rationale behind this course
Teaching writing lessons to students preparing to pass advanced Cambridge exams, I've noticed that some students tend to focus solely on grammar and vocabulary when they work on their writing skills, neglecting other important aspects, such as task achievement, organization, and communicative achievement. Students who failed the exam in the past and later came to me for private tutoring reported "not knowing what went wrong, as they remembered employing a lot of advanced structures and vocabulary in their writing tasks." There is more to advanced writing than simply language. In this course, a shorter version of Writing for C2 Proficiency, the goal is to unravel Writing task 1 (essay) and 2 different genres for Writing Task 2 of the Cambridge C2 Proficiency exam. Students will learn by doing: by actively producing texts on a weekly basis.

What makes this course a must?
This course is particularly enriching for English teachers and students of the English language who would like to become familiar with different writing genres as well as the conventions pertaining to them. In addition, aspects related to appropriacy and register, something that is often overlooked in textbooks, will also be the focus of this course. Ultimately, by taking this course, students will have an in-depth understanding of what proficiency writing skills look like. Additionally, the investment to take part in this course is lower than the investment to take part in a long-term course would be, so this is a great opportunity to take a high level course for a more affordable price.

Content of the course
In this course, you will learn:
 
• How to fully answer the question;
• The difference between straightforward and complex ideas;
• Different ways in which a text can be organized for different purposes;
• How to employ linkers, cohesive devices, and organizational patterns effectively;
• How to write an essay;
• How to write 2 different genres for Writing Task 2.

As this is a crash course, instead of condensing 5 writing genres (essay, letters, reports, reviews and articles) into 10 sessions and offering something superficial, I've chosen to work on Writing Task 1 (the essay, which is a compulsory task) and only 2 genres in greater depth for Writing task 2.

As far as writing task 2 is concerned, there are 4 different genres (letters, reports, reviews and articles) that can be tested; however, on the day of the exam, students will be given only 3 options of genre. For this reason, 2 options will be covered in this course (in this way, we can guarantee that even if a student's preferred genre is not an option on the day of the exam, they will be able to work on a different genre and succeed).

To illustrate, imagine that on the day of the exam, the options of genre for Writing Task 2 are:
- Report
- Article
- Review

However, you were only prepared to write a letter. You would certainly have a problem. This is the reason why students must be familiarized with at least 2 different genres: as I mentioned above, in case their preferred genre is not an option on the day of the exam, they will be able to work on a different genre. Ideally, students should learn all the 4 options of genre for Writing Task 2, but, considering this is a crash course, I've opted to work on 2 genres in greater depth instead of working superficially on 4 genres. I believe this will be more meaningful in addition to instilling more confidence into students. Knowing 2 genres really well is more conducive to a pass than knowing 4 genres superficially (higher chances of making mistakes).

In order to define which of the genres will be covered in this course, there will be a vote. Students will decide which 2 genres they would like to learn for the exam. The syllabus is negotiable. After the course, if the students feel the need to discuss something in more depth, they will be offered the possibility to buy a 1:1 tutorial.

Last, keep in mind that this is not a grammar course. If you'd like to learn grammar, I suggest you take the Explicit Advanced Grammar course. Currently, only asynchronous spots are available.


Course format
This is a group course.
Minimum number of students: 3
Maximum number of students: 4
The duration of each session is 1 hour and 30 minutes. If the student is not able to attend the session, they will have access to the recording, which will be available for 30 days.

Keep in mind that this course is a synchronous course with active work on writing; therefore, the  taking it asynchronously is not a possibility.

What does a typical lesson in this course look like?
Prior to each session, students will be assigned a pre-task (a 80-100-word assignment). The passages produced by them will be the focus of each lesson (learn by doing). In this way, besides receiving my feedback, students will also benefit from peer feedback. Students' identities will remain anonymous in order not to cause any discomfort, embarrassment, or comparison with their peers. In this way, on a weekly basis, students will be receiving direct feedback on everything they produce, thus being able to, little by little, improve their writing skills. Students will not receive feedback in case they fail to submit their pre-tasks before the established deadline.

What the course includes
11 synchronous sessions (90min long) with direct feedback in class.

Dates and course duration
This is a 17-hour course consisting of:
- 11 sessions (90-min each)

Schedule of the course
From April 10th to June 26th (every Wednesday)
1pm BRT to 2:30pm

April 10th, 17th, 24th
May 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th (No lesson on May 1st due to a national holiday)
June 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th.