Click on Joan



[pic]

Writing Batxiller

(

1. Essay writing.

2. A Narrative

3. Informal letter

4. Opinion essay

5. For & against composition

6. Choosing a title.

7. Film or book review

8. Description of a person

9. Description of a place

10. Formal letter.

1. Essay Writing

Introducing opinions:

|(dis)agree |I (dis)agree with the main idea of the text because... |

| |I (dis)agree that young people are more violent nowadays |

|In my opinion |In my opinion we should be more careful with the environment |

|In my view | |

|It seems to me | |

|I think | |

|I (strongly) believe | |

|From my point of view | |

|As I see it | |

|If you ask me | |

|To my mind | |

|As far as I’m concerned | |

|As regards |As regards the problem of violence in this country, I think that it should be punished. |

|Regarding | |

Introducing one of a series of points: (especially in the development of the body to arrange your ideas)

|First of all, |In the second place, |In the third place, |... ... ... |Finally, |

|In the first place, |Secondly, |Thirdly, |... | |

|Firstly, |Second, |Third, |... | |

|First, | | | | |

Adding information:

|Besides, |Some children spend a lot of money on video games. Besides, they also buy expensive clothes. |

|Furthermore, | |

|Moreover, | |

|What is more, | |

|In addition (to this), | |

|Similarly, |Some children spend a lot of money on video games. Similarly, they also buy expensive clothes. |

|Not only..., but also... |Some children not only spend a lot of money on video games, but also buy expensive clothes. |

|Both... and... |Rubbish is both unpleasant and unhygienic. |

|That is to say, |In poor countries children work at a very early age, that is to say, they can’t attend school. |

Giving examples:

|For example, |There are several problems that affect the country. For example, unemployment is the most important |

|For instance, |one. |

|Such as |My favourite flavours of candy are fruit flavours, such as cherry and lemon. |

Expressing facts:

|It is widely known that | |

|It is a well-known fact that | |

| |fossil fuels pollute the environment |

|Research has shown that | |

|It is a fact that | |

|It is true that | |

Expressing contrast:

|On the one hand... |On the one hand Spain is receiving a lot of tourism. |

|On the other hand... |On the other hand, agriculture is not working well. |

|On the contrary |Germany has given up nuclear power. France, on the contrary, hasn’t. |

|In contrast | |

|Otherwise |I have studied hard, otherwise I wouldn’t have passed the exam. |

Revise “Subordinate Clauses”on page 16 for in spite of/despite, although/even though, however/nevertheless/nontheless, whereas, while, etc.

Giving conclusions:

|In conclusion, |In conclusion, this is a very important book that anybody should have at home. |

|In short, | |

|To sum up, | |

|To summarize, | |

|To conclude, | |

|On the whole, |On the whole, I disagree with this article. |

|Broadly speaking, | |

2. A Narrative

|1st Paragraph. Set the scene. | |

|- time |It was a warm, bright summer morning. My girlfriend and I had been |

|- place |walking in the countryside when suddenly... |

|- atmosphere | |

|- introduce | |

|characters | |

|Following paragraphs. | |

| |Sequencing words: |

|- Develops the plot. |-In the beginning, To begin with, At first, |

|- Details of events & characters. |- (A few moments)Later |

| |Afterwards, After that, Next, |

| |Then, At that moment, |

| |- Eventually, |

| |- In the end, Finally, At last |

| | |

| |Surprise words: |

| |- Suddenly, Out of the blue, All of a sudden |

| | |

| |Same time actions: |

| |I was having a shower when the phone rang. |

| |= |

| |While I was having a shower, the phone rang. |

| | |

| |Meanwhile, a stranger came to me. |

|Last paragraph. | |

| | |

|- Ends story with a (serious or humorous) | |

|revelation: reason or consequences. | |

Key Language

- Direct speech: "Look out!" yelled Laura.

- Ways of speaking: - asked, wondered,

- screamed, whispered, shouted, said,

- thought,

- Emotions vocabulary: She felt/was ...

|disappointed |shocked |jealous |

|glad |amazed |frustrated |

|ashamed |surprised |bored |

|embarrassed |miserable |astonished |

- Adverbs of manner: quickly, horribly, angrily... He took out a gun carefully...

- Past tenses: Past Perfect (cont.)to set the scene: We had been walking for hours.

Past Simple for new actions: Then, a dog started to bark.

- Other time expressions:

before/after as soon as by the time (=when) until=till during

all night a week later last/next summer It all began when

Before I knew it So far, From then on,

3. Informal letter

14, Park Ave.

Manchester

Mon. 17.4.02

Dear Mary,

How’s it going?

It was great to hear from you!

Sorry I haven't written for so long, (but...)

I've got so much to tell you.

Thank you so much for...

Congratulations on...

I was happy to hear that. good news

I was sorry to hear that.. bad news

Anyway,

That reminds me...

By the way,

That's all for now.

I must sign off now. you want to finish

Give my regards to... send regards

I miss you so much!

I can't wait to hear from you .

Looking forward to seeing you. expect reply

Please write soon.

Take care.

Be well.

Cheers. say good-bye

Regards.

Best wishes.

Love

XXX OOO

P.S.

And use short forms, abbreviations and colloquial forms!!

4. Opinion Essay

|Opening |- Introduce the topic. |

| | |

| |- Give a clear personal opinion. (In my opinion...) |

|Body |- Support your opinion with reasons (As I see it, It seems to me...) |

| |and examples (For instance, For example, such as... ) |

| | |

| |- Use connectors of addition. (Moreover, Furthermore...) |

| | |

| |- Include a new idea in each paragraph. |

|Conclusion |- Summarize(In conclusion...) and restate opinion (As far as I’m concerned...). |

| | |

| |- Offer solution, warning or advice (Bullfighting must /should/ought to/had better be banned) |

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

5. For and Against composition

|Opening |- Restate the title of the essay in your own words. (Some people... whereas others ...) |

|Body |1st paragraph: On the one hand... Present the advantages, give a couple of reasons (In my opinion...) and |

| |examples. (For instance...) |

| | |

| |2nd paragraph: On the other hand... Present the disadvantages, give a couple of reasons (As I see it...) and|

| |examples (For example...). |

|Conclusion |State your preference ( In conclusion, there are advantages to both sides of the argument. However, I |

| |...) |

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Remember:

- Avoid repeating phrases (use pronouns).

- Avoid repeating the word “people”. Use the citizens, teenagers, workers, politicians, etc..

- Avoid repeating the verb “say”. Use claim, state, remark, argue...

- You can use sequencing connectors such as “In the first place..., secondly..., finally” to arrange your ideas.

6. Choosing a title

Ideas from Richard Leahy's “Twenty Titles for the Writer”

1. You can copy a sentence from your essay…

“A primitive and savage tradition”

2. … use a saying, proverb or question “Can you call this art?”

3. …use a concrete image from your essay: “Blood on the arena”

4. …use a colon: “Bullfighting: Art or crime?”

… or even use a colon to join two titles:

“Blood on the arena: Can you call this art?”

7. Film or book review

| |Vocabulary and phrases |Example |

| title |was directed/written/produced | Frankestein |

|& |by |Frankestein was written by Mary Shelley, the wife of the poet P.B. Shelley, in 1818.|

|author | | |

| | |It is a horror story which is thought to be the original science fiction novel. |

| | | |

| | | |

| | |The story takes place in central Europe in the XIXth century. |

| | | |

| | |It is told through the letters of a man called Walton, an English explorer. First |

| | |we are told of Victor Frankestein, a student from Geneva, who discovers the secret |

| | |of life. |

| | | |

| | |So he collects bones and bodies from graveyards, and constructs a creature which is |

| | |more monster than man. People are terrified of it because it is so huge and ugly. |

| | |Since the poor monster has no friends and feels lonely and depressed, it asks |

| | |Frankestein to make a wife. |

| | | |

| | |This he refuses to do. Then the monster attacks and kills not only Frankestein's |

| | |friend, but also his brother's bride Elizabeth. Frankestein is heartbroken and is |

| | |determined to kill the monster. However he is killed first by the monster. Finally |

| | |it kills itself. |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | |Frankestein is a fascinating story because of the character of the monster, which is|

| | |both sad and frightening at the same time. I recommend it to everybody, especially |

| | |if you are a fan of horror stories. |

| | | |

|type of book/film|drama comedy thriller mystery | |

| |love story romantic film action | |

| |film science fiction cartoon | |

| |documentary film horror/scary film | |

|set the scene |Time & place | |

|initial |Relative pronouns: | |

|characters |who, which, that... | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

|events in the |Relative pronouns. | |

|story | | |

|and new |Connectors of sequence: | |

|characters |First, | |

| |Next/Then/After that | |

| |/Afterwards, Later | |

| |Finally, | |

| | | |

| |Connectors of result: | |

| |so/therefore/as a result | |

| | | |

| |Connectors of cause: | |

| |because, since, because of, | |

| | | |

| |while, meanwhile | |

|your opinion |Connectors of cause. | |

| | | |

| |In my opinion | |

| |I personally think | |

| | | |

| |funny amusing entertaining | |

| |fascinating shocking sad | |

| |amazing frightening=scaring | |

| |interesting boring exciting | |

Mainly use Present Simple.

| |Feature |Question |Vocabulary |Description |

| |Age, name, |What's his name? |towns, countries, nationalities... |His full name is ___ ___ and is __ years old. |

|A |etc... |How old is he? |elderly a newborn child/baby |He's got a nick(name): __. Although he comes |

| | |Where's he from?... | |from __, he lives in __ nowadays. |

|Personal | | | | |

|Information | | | | |

| |Work |What does he do (for a living)? |jobs unemployed, on the dole retired pensioner |He's a doctor = He works as a doctor. |

| |Family & |Is he married? |the family an only child widow(er) |He's married to a Spice Girl. She's a widow |

| |friends |Has he got children/friends? |single/married separated divorced spinster/bachelor | |

| |Hobbies |What are his likes & dislikes? | |He likes... but he prefers... He likes ___ best |

| | | | |He hates/can’t stand… |

| | | | |He's keen on...= He's fond of... |

| | | | |He hates... He's good at... |

| |Horoscope |What sign is he? |Aries Leo.... Sagittarius Taurus Virgo Capricorn Gemini |She's (a) Gemini. |

| | | |Aquarius Cancer Scorpio Pisces Libra | |

| | | | | |

| |Height |How tall is he? |tall medium-height short |He's tall. He's 1.80m tall |

|B | | | | |

| | | | | |

|Appearance | | | | |

| |Weight & build |How heavy is he? |fat slim/thin skinny medium build well-built |He's slim and well-built. He weighs 60kg. |

| |Hair |What's his hair like? |long short |curly straight |brown blond(e) |.He's got long, wavy, brown hair. |

| | | |medium-length |wavy spiky |black red |He's brown-haired She's got two bunches |

| | | | |cropped | |She's got a plait /plæt/ (UK)=braid (US) |

| | | | | | |bun / ponytail |

| |Eyes |What colour eyes has he got? |big small |round slanted |brown green |He's got small, slanted, black eyes. |

| | |What are his eyes like? | | |blue grey | |

| |Other features |Has he got any special feature? |moustache beard goatee sideburns tattoo freckles moles wart pimples=spots |He's got freckles and spots. |

| |& objects |Is he carrying/doing anything? |wrinkles laughter lines |He wears glasses |

| | | |necklace bracelet ring jewel hairband glasses earring stud contact |He's carrying a suitcase. |

| | | |lenses | |

| |Clothes |What kind of clothes |casual sporty fashionable=trendy old-fashioned comfortable |He usually dresses in red |

| | |does he usually wear? | |His clothes make him look... |

| | | | |He usually wears a hat = He has a hat on |

| |General looks |What does he look like |ugly beautiful nice handsome good-looking attractive smart |On the whole,=Broadly speaking, He looks a bit |

| | |on the whole? |elegant/scruffy tidy/untidy modern healthy/unhealthy |He's handsome=He's a handsome man/person. |

| | | | | |

| |What's he like? |selfish/selfless enthusiastic/uninterested outgoing/introverted |He's ___, ___ and ___. = |

|C |(appearance & personality) |friendly/unfriendly posh sleazy cool |He's a ___ , ___ and ___person |

| | |hardworking/lazy talkative /shy, timid; self-conscious |(1 positive & negative) |

|Personality | |generous/mean quiet /nervous stupid/intelligent, clever, smart | |

| | |vain = conceited dependable /sly, deceitful energetic | |

| | |(un)reliable understanding messy/tidy | |

| | | | | |

| D Your opinion |What do you think of him? |I like/dislike/love/hate him because... He's the most ___/___est person I know The best/worst about him is that... |

9. Description of Place

Opening

Includes the name and location of the place. Also your relationship with the place.

Body (as many adjectives – with quantifiers- as possible, comparisons and non-defining

relative clauses – who/which/where/whose)

- Physical characteristics, special features and points of interest.

- Also describes the atmosphere, the people, the culture and the way of life.

- Historical details, sounds, smells and personal feelings.

- If possible, personal experience.

Closing

General conclusion about the place and recommendation.

1 Useful vocabulary

|Nouns |

|Geography |Culture & History |

|beach coast coastline mountains |castles churches cathedral museum |

|valley river harbour lakes |festival market |

|bridge landscape views |old town outskirts tourist resort |

|Adjectives |

|Buildings |People |Places |

|beautiful impressive |charming colourful |quiet peaceful crowded |

|modern ancient |outgoing welcoming |cosmopolitan remote |

|magnificent splendid |friendly traditional |desolate trendy busy lively |

|wonderful majestic |kind polite/rude |picturesque |

|dramatic superb |cool (guay) hectic |peaceful unspoilt |

| | |overdeveloped |

| | |rural/urban |

|Verbs |

|contemplate enjoy hear see visit walk along/down/up overlook |

|the city is surrounded by the surrounding villages |

|the church overlooks the plain |

|Adverbs of degree |

|very extremely too a bit = a little quite fairly rather |

|i.e. it's a fairly lively but rather dirty place |

10. Formal Letter

C/. Alt, 23

46080 Llíria

SPAIN

18th May, 2007

The Lion Pub

16, Acorn St.

London W2 3BD

UK

Dear Sir or Madam,

Dear Mr./Ms./Mrs./Miss Jones,

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I would like to apply for the post of waiter as advertised in The Mirror on 14th April.

I am an18-years-old student in my second year of Batxiller. I consider myself to be

a hard-working, organized, reliable person, and I get good marks in my school work.

I have a good level of English and am good at working with computers.

I have experience of working in bars. My family owns a pub in Valencia, and I help

there in my free time. I am hard-working and I don’t mind working long hours.

Please find enclosed my application form and CV.

I would be happy to attend an interview and discuss further details about the

job.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Yours sincerely,

A. Faubel

Anna Faubel

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Other useful phrases

|Reason |I am writing in response to... |

|Asking for |I would be grateful if you could... |

|Qualifications |My qualifications include A-levels in Art, Technical Drawing and the History |

| |of Art, along with a B-Tech Diploma in Graphic Design. |

|Thanking |Thank you for your assistance. |

|Enclose |Please find enclosed (use attached in emails) my application form and CV. |

|Alternative |To Whom It May Concern, |

|salutation | |

-----------------------

8. Description of a Person

Opening

Replying to a

previous letter

Closing

What you have to tell

Body

1

2

1

2

Reason

Personal info & qualities

Experience

Interview

Application

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download