Written is not spoken
You have said this content out loud twice. Writing it is not the same job, and the differences are small and specific.
Six things you said in Lesson 5. Match each to what it becomes on the page.
A finished piece
Tomás · Rules of My Kitchen · 168 words
There are two sets of rules in my kitchen, and only one of them is on the wall.
The written ones are short. You must wear a hat and closed shoes. You mustn’t leave the walk-in fridge open, ever — the head chef will find you, and he will find you quickly. You have to be changed and ready at four, not arriving at four.
The rest is not written anywhere. Nobody says any of it out loud. You don’t have to help the person next to you when service ends, but if you leave while they are still cleaning, somebody will remember it for a month. You should taste everything you send out, even when you are certain. And you can ask any question during prep, but not after six, when the first orders come in.
When I started, I had to be told all of this. Nobody tells you now. You learn it the way I did, by getting one of them wrong in front of everybody.
Four questions about the structure of the piece. You are reading it as a builder, not as a reader.
1. The first sentence is one line long. What is it doing?
2. Why are the written rules in their own paragraph, before the unwritten ones?
3. Each unwritten rule is followed by a consequence. What does that add?
4. How many different modals does the piece use?
The four-paragraph shape
What each paragraph does, and roughly how long
| Paragraph | Job | Words |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | One sentence that frames the whole piece | 15–20 |
| 2 | The written rules, fast. must, mustn’t, have to | 45–55 |
| 3 | The unwritten rules, each with its consequence. should, can, don’t have to | 65–75 |
| 4 | How you learned them. This is where had to goes | 25–35 |
Five sentences from a different student’s piece, shuffled. Put them back into the order that gives the four-paragraph shape.
Two habits worth borrowing from Tomás.
He writes you, not we or people. It puts the reader inside the building, and it is the natural pronoun for a rule.
Every rule that is not obvious gets a consequence attached. Without one, an unwritten rule is just an opinion.
The sentences you already own
A third paragraph missing its modals and articles. One to three words for modal gaps; a, an, the or - for article gaps.
The rest is not written down. You answer messages after seven, and most people do not. You say something when a delivery arrives short — if you sign for it and stay quiet, it becomes your problem. Marta is supervisor, and she check every sheet, so leave them where she can find them. On Fridays you go home at four, but only if the van has already left.
Five sentences of the kind that appear in first drafts of this piece. Fix each one now, so you do not write it in twenty minutes’ time.
1. In my company we must to wear the uniform.
2. My manager is very kind person but she is strict.
3. You don’t have to be rude to the customers.
4. When I started I must learn everything alone.
5. On the Mondays we have the meeting at nine.
Write it
Task card · Writing · Individual · 16 minutes
Somebody starts where you work, or on your course, next Monday. Nobody will tell them any of this. You are going to.
A piece of about 170 words called Rules of My Workplace, in four paragraphs.
- Paragraph 1: one sentence that frames the whole thing.
- Paragraph 2: the written rules. Use
must,mustn’tandhave to. - Paragraph 3: the unwritten ones, each with a consequence. Use
should,cananddon’t have to. - Paragraph 4: how you learned them, with at least one
had to. - Every job you name gets its article. Every day of the week goes bare.
- Include the two sentences you brought from last lesson, using your least-used modals.
Write straight through first. Do not stop to check an article. Sixteen minutes is enough for 170 words only if you keep moving; the checking has its own four minutes afterwards.
Task card · Audit · Pairs · 7 minutes
Swap pieces. You are the reader who is starting on Monday and has to survive.
Hand back a marked page and one spoken sentence: the single thing you would still not know how to do on your first morning.
- Count the different modals. Fewer than five, write the number at the top and circle nothing else until they fix it.
- Mark articles with E, M or W in the margin — do not correct them.
- Underline any unwritten rule with no consequence attached. Those are opinions, not rules.
- Then say your one sentence out loud. It is the most useful thing on the page.
The three you will all have made
Four sentences taken from drafts of this piece across several classes. Fix each, then check your own page for the same thing.
1. The people in my team is very helpful.
2. You mustn’t bring your own food, but the canteen is expensive.
3. My colleague is engineer and he must check the machines every morning.
4. When I was new I must ask a lot of questions.
What goes home
Two questions about your own draft.
1. Your reader marked four different modals. What should you do before next lesson?
2. An unwritten rule in your piece has no consequence after it. What is it currently?
Before next lesson. Rewrite the piece once, using the marked copy. Bring the clean version on paper.
Next lesson you hand it in and say it out loud without reading it. Both go into the portfolio, and both close the unit.