Advanced Writing Class ATH academy

English instructor: Mohamed Salem Blyel

1. The Integrated Writing Task

 You will read a passage about an academic topic for a few minutes, and then you will
hear a short lecture related to the topic. Then you will be asked to summarize the points
in the lecture and explain how they relate to specific points in the reading passage.
 This task gives you the opportunity to show that you can communicate in writing about
academic information you have read and listened to.

Example

In many organizations, perhaps the best way to approach certain new projects is to
assemble a group of people into a team. Having a team of people attack a project offers
several advantages. First of all, a group of people has a wider range of knowledge,
expertise, and skills than any single individual is likely to possess. Also, because of the
number of people involved and the greater resources they possess, a group can work
more quickly in response to the task assigned to it and can come up with highly creative
solutions to problems and issues. Sometimes these creative solutions come about because
a group is more likely to make risky decisions that an individual might not undertake.
This is because the group spreads responsibility for a decision to all the members and
thus no single individual can be held accountable if the decision turns out to be wrong.
Taking part in a group process can be very rewarding for members of the team. Team
members who have a voice in making a decision will no doubt feel better about carrying
out the work that is entailed by that decision than they might doing work that is imposed
on them by others. Also, the individual team member has a much better chance to
“shine,” to get his or her contributions and ideas not only recognized but recognized as
highly significant, because a team’s overall results can be more far-reaching and have
greater impact than what might have otherwise been possible for the person to
accomplish or contribute working alone.

 Question:
Summarize the points made in the lecture you just heard, explaining how they cast doubt
on the points made in the reading passage.

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2. Strategies for Taking the Integrated Writing Task

As you read:

Take notes on your scratch paper.

 Look for the main idea of the reading passage. The main idea often has to do with some
policy or practice or some position on an issue. Or it may have to do with proposing some
overall hypothesis about the way some process or procedure works or should work or
how some natural phenomenon is believed to work.
 See how this main idea is evaluated or developed. Usually it will be developed in one of
the following ways:
1. Arguments or explanations are presented that support the main position; for example,
why there are good reasons to believe that some policy or practice will be beneficial
or prove useful or advisable or perhaps why it has been a good thing in the past.
2. Arguments, explanations, or problems are brought up concerning why some policy,
practice, position, or hypothesis does not work or will not be useful /advisable.

 Note points in the passage that either support the main idea or provide reasons to doubt
the main idea. Typically, the main idea will be developed with three points.

As you listen:

 Take notes on your scratch paper.

 Listen for information, examples, or explanations that make points in the reading passage
seem wrong or less convincing or even untrue. For instance, in the example just given,
the reading passage says that working in teams is a good thing because it gives
individuals a chance to stand out. But the lecture says that often everyone gets equal
credit for the work of a team, even if some people do not do any work at all. The reading
says that work proceeds quickly on a team because there are more people involved, and
each person brings his or her expertise. But the lecture completely contradicts this claim
by stating that it may take a long time for the group to reach consensus. The lecture
brings up the idea that the whole team can be blamed for a failure when the fault lies with
only a few team members. This casts doubt on the claim in the reading passage that teams
can take risks and be creative because no one individual is held accountable.

As you write your response:

 You may take off your headset if you wish. You will not need your headset for the
remainder of the test.
 Before you start writing, briefly reread the passage, consult your notes, and make a very
brief outline of the points you wish to make. You can write this outline on your scratch
paper or draw lines between the notes you took on the reading passage and the notes you
 took on the lecture. You can even type your outline and notes right into the answer area
and then replace these with sentences and paragraphs as you compose your response.
 Remember that you are not being asked for your opinion. You are being asked to explain
how the points in the lecture relate to points in the reading passage.
 Write in full English sentences. You can write either one long paragraph or a series of
short paragraphs listing the points of opposition between the reading passage and the
lecture. Occasional language errors will not count against you as long as they do not
cause you to misrepresent the meaning of points from the reading passage and the lecture.
 Remember that your job is to select the important information from the lecture and
coherently and accurately present this information in relation to the relevant information
from the reading passage. Your response should contain the following:
1. The specific ideas, explanations, and arguments in the lecture that oppose or
challenge points in the reading passage.
2. Coherent and accurate presentation of each point that you make; that is, the language
you use should make sense and should accurately reflect the ideas presented in the
lecture and the reading passage.
3. A clear, coherent structure that enables the reader to understand what points in the
lecture relate to what points in the reading passage.

Example two:

Professors are normally found in university classrooms, offices, and libraries doing research and
lecturing to their students. More and more, however, they also appear as guests on television
news programs, giving expert commentary on the latest events in the world. These television
appearances are of great benefit to the professors themselves as well as to their universities and
the general public.
Professors benefit from appearing on television because by doing so they acquire reputations as
authorities in their academic fields among a much wider audience than they have on campus. If a
professor publishes views in an academic journal, only other scholars will learn about and
appreciate those views. But when a professor appears on TV, thousands of people outside the
narrow academic community become aware of the professor’s ideas. So when professors share
their ideas with a television audience, the professors’ importance as scholars is enhanced.
Universities also benefit from such appearances. The universities receive positive publicity when
their professors appear on TV. When people see a knowledgeable faculty member of a university
on television, they think more highly of that university. That then leads to an improved
reputation for the university. And that improved reputation in turn leads to more donations for
the university and more applications from potential students.
Finally, the public gains from professors’ appearing on television. Most television viewers
normally have no contact with university professors. When professors appear on television,
viewers have a chance to learn from experts and to be exposed to views they might otherwise
never hear about. Television is generally a medium for commentary that tends to be superficial,
not deep or thoughtful. From professors on television, by contrast, viewers get a taste of real
expertise and insight.
Question
Summarize the points made in the lecture, being sure to explain how they oppose specific
points made in the reading passage.

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3. Integrated Essay Template

Introduction:

1. Both the reading and the lecture discuss _____.

2. While the author of the passage argues that ____, the lecturer challenges these assertions
by presenting an alternative perspective.
3. According to the lecturer, _____.

Body Paragraphs:

1. In the reading, it is stated that _____.

2. The article highlights _____. However, the lecturer contests these ideas by asserting that
_____. Additionally, the lecturer brings attention to _____.
3. Another point raised in the reading is _____. The passage mentions that _____. Conversely,
the lecturer presents a different viewpoint, arguing that _____. Furthermore, the lecturer
elaborates on _____.
4. Lastly, the reading proposes the concept of _____. It suggests that _____. In contrast, the
lecturer maintains a different position, stating that _____. Moreover, the lecturer
emphasizes _____.