Things to Remember 3: Word Order

Indirect Questions

A quick note from some recent homework. Be careful in formal writing if you are making a request:

Step 1:Some politeness

I would like to know...

I was wondering if you could tell me...

I would be grateful to know...

(or even more informally)

Please let me know...

Step 2:

A question word

...where/when/how long/if...

Step 3:

The trap!

...you will be staying.

NOT

"...will you be staying?"

Remember to "lose" the question word order and the question mark.

Advanced Use of English Part 3

Word formation practice from Hibernia here. You can also use the FCE material added on 25 November.

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CAE Use of English Part 3

Word formation practice from Hibernia here. You can also use the FCE material added on 25 November.

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Things to Remember 2: Space...

Presentation Matters

Remember, there is a Distance Test for writing. Can you -

1. - count the number of paragraphs in your writing from a couple of metres away?
2. - get someone to tell you what it is (letter, article) from how it looks from a distance?

Stand on the far side of your living room and look at your writing to check!

Things to Remember 2: Space...

Presentation Matters

Remember, there is a Distance Test for writing. Can you -

1. - count the number of paragraphs in your writing from a couple of metres away?
2. - get someone to tell you what it is (letter, article) from how it looks from a distance?

Stand on the far side of your living room and look at your writing to check!

First USe of English Part 4

Extra practice on word formation here.

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FCE USe of English Part 4

Extra practice on word formation here.

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Formal vs. Informal Language

Reports, proposals, letters and Emails - all of them need some level of formal English at times. Try the exercises in this page of the Flo Joe website for some practice of vocabulary and structures.

Come back to us with doubts and questions.

FCE and CAE Weekly Writing Task 3.1

Reviewing Formal vs. Informal Language

Reports, proposals, letters and Emails - all of them need some level of formal English at times. Try the exercises in this page of the Flo Joe website for some practice of vocabulary and structures.

Come back to us with doubts and questions.

First: Writing a Story

Story writing in 180 word is a challenge. Amongst other things, you need to think about

1. - Am I writing first or third person? (It may depend on the question).
2. - Should I use a formal or informal tone?
3. - What kind of linking words do I need?
4. - Which vocabulary is the target?
5. - Which grammar is the target?
6. - Which vocabulary will impress?

Here's one:

	"I had never felt so nervous before in my life...!" Write your story (around 120-180 words).

What do think would be the answers to 1-6 above?

Here are our answers to the points above - (roll over to see them)

1. First person
2. Probably informal - it sounds like an anecdote.
3. As a result, lots of informal linking - avoid long ones like furthermore/nevertheless
4. Past tenses (note the option to go into reported speech and third conditional or wish)
5. words connected to nervous
6. Phrasal Verbs, as always

For ideas and inspiration you could do worse than take a look at some minisagas. Visit the British Council's mini-saga website. Mini - sagas - stories - central - British Council - LearnEnglish.

FCE Weekly Writing Activity 1.6

Story writing in 180 word is a challenge. Amongst other things, you need to think about

1. - Am I writing first or third person? (It may depend on the question).
2. - Should I use a formal or informal tone?
3. - What kind of linking words do I need?
4. - Which vocabulary is the target?
5. - Which grammar is the target?
6. - Which vocabulary will impress?

Here's one:

	"I had never felt so nervous before in my life...!" Write your story (around 120-180 words).

What do think would be the answers to 1-6 above?

Here are our answers to the points above - (roll over to see them)

1. First person
2. Probably informal - it sounds like an anecdote.
3. As a result, lots of informal linking - avoid long ones like furthermore/nevertheless
4. Past tenses (note the option to go into reported speech and third conditional or wish)
5. words connected to nervous
6. Phrasal Verbs, as always

For ideas and inspiration you could do worse than take a look at some minisagas. Visit the British Council's mini-saga website. Mini - sagas - stories - central - British Council - LearnEnglish.

Advanced: Use of English Part 3

All the fun of Brian's favourite - word formation! - with a CAE Part 3 from Hibernia in Czech Republic.

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CAE Use of English Part 3

All the fun of Brian's favourite - word formation! - with a CAE Part 3 from Hibernia in Czech Republic.

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FCE Use of English Part 2

An example of an Open Cloze test from Hibernia in the Czech Republic.

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CAE Weekly Activity 1.5 Feedback

Some examples

Here are some ideas about where and when to use some of the combinations

categorically deny - TOO DIRECT for most exam writing
deeply regret - bad news
enthusiastically endorse - recommending an idea formally
freely appreciate - accepting another opinion - good for essays
fully recognize - opinions in formal/neutral writing - essays, reviews
honestly believe - opinions in formal/neutral writing - essays, reviews
positively encourage - reports, proposals, suggestions
readily endorse - recommending an idea
sincerely hope - finishing letters
strongly recommend - proposals, letters, give advice
totally reject - TOO DIRECT for most exam writing
utterly refuse - TOO DIRECT for most exam writing

FCE Weekly Activity 1.5 - Feedback

Vocabulary

1. Dissatisfied, dissatisfaction

2. In view of all this

3. matter

4. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you

5. require

6. As far as experience is concerned,

7. I am sorry to tell you that I will not be able to

Formal phrases & word order includes:

we were shocked/ disappointed to find that ...............

As if that wasn't enough, we then found that ............

we feel we deserve

I hope this matter will receive your immediate attention.

You also ought to ...........

It would be an excellent idea to .............

It would be a mistake to .............

I need some further information.

I would also like to know ....................

I am 26 years old and at the moment I am studying

Having studied English for over seven years I am a fluent speaker of the language.

I feel I would be suitable for this job because ............

Formality: Giving Bad News

Some excellent work from Advanced tonight (but, confession time, some terribly untidy boardwork by the teacher) produced this superb formalised version of

"I can't..."

Unfortunately, I'm afraid I have to tell you it looks like we may not be able to...

OK, it's too much for one sentence really, but lots of useful bad news English. Good work everyone!

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Bad News

Some excellent work from A8 tonight (but, confession time, some terribly untidy boardwork by me) produced this superb formalised version of "I can't..."

Unfortunately, I'm afraid I have to tell you it looks like we may not be able to...

OK, it's too much for one sentence really, but lots of useful bad news English. Good work everyone!

Brian

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Things to Remember 1: Dot, dot, dot...

Something we see in homework quite a lot: lists or groups of examples finishing with three dots like this...

Be careful! Unless you actually want to give the impression

"the rest of the list is obvious"

or

"You know how this sentence will end, so I don't need to finish it for you"

always use words - and so on or amongst others are two options.

A8 Writing a Report or Proposal

Link to the completed Powerpoint presentation from Monday November 9.

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Advanced: Collocations

Collocations and Emphasis

Some vocabulary work this week. Visit this page and take a look through the many collocations on offer. You should stop reading when you reach

"Here are example sentences"

We want you to have a a go at writing your own sentences before you look at the examples!

Think about the type of writing - Letter, Report, Email, Article, Essay, Review - and how you might fit the collocation in to your work. Examples from us next week.

CAE Weekly Writing Activity 1.5

Collocations and Emphasis

Some vocabulary work this week. Visit this page and take alook through the many collocations on offer. You should stop reading when you reach

"Here are example sentences"

We want you to have a a go at writing your own sentences before you look at the examples!

Think about the type of writing - Letter, Report, Email, Article, Essay, Review - and how you might fit the collocation in to your work. Examples from us next week.

First: Formal Letters and Emails

Go here for a good collection of language.

So, on the page above, can you find, in order:

1. As many variations as possible on the word satisfy.
2. A phrase for as a result
3. A word for topic
4. A phrase inviting someone to contact you
5. A formal verb for ask
6. An alternative to regarding
7. A very impressive substitute for I can't

And, as a more difficult challenge, can you find any word order that is formal? This is pretty tricky but there are examples there. Feedback next week.

FCE Weekly Writing Activity 1.5

Formal Letters and Emails

All Level 6 students have a formal letter homework coming soon (S6 it's due this week coming!).

Go here for a good collection of language. Use it to answer the questions below - you can post your answers here via Comment, or ask us questions if you have doubts or other suggestions.

So, on the page above, can you find, in order:

1. As many variations as possible on the word satisfy.
   
2. A phrase for as a result
3. A word for topic
4. A phrase inviting someone to contact you
5. A formal verb for ask
6. An alternative to regarding
7. A very impressive substitute for I can't

And, as a more difficult challenge, can you find any word order that is formal? This is pretty tricky but there are examples there. Feedback next week.

Question 5: Set Texts at CAE

There are two set texts for question 5 on the CAE writing paper. They are:

Lucky Jim (LJ)

by Kingsley Amis

The Pelican Brief (TPB) by John Grisham

We are going to offer some support for you if you're reading one of the texts starting in December.

If you're interested in trying this question on the exam, we recommend you to start reading the book or (for TPB) watch the film soon.

Getting the books

They're available in Spain from Casa del Libro and Fnac. You could order a copy online from www.amazon.co.uk for just under €6. (you could save some money by ordering more than one copy with another student to cut the delivery cost!).

We have a copy of TPB in the office in Las Rozas.

Getting TPB on DVD

At Fnac online it's €5.95 at the moment and in El Corte Ingles €8.95. We think you'd need to watch the film several times to get to know the story well enough for the exam.

You can also borrow the DVD from our office.

What you need to know

The exam questions are not be about the literary content or quality of the writing – you need to know about the details of the text:

• Basics: where is it set? when is it set? What kind of story is it?
  
• The characters: what are they like, their motivations, their personalities how they seem to feel about each other, and so on.
  
• the story, how and why things happen, who does what (and how the characters are affected by it, for example
• Essential for any book-related question: you must be confident in using vocabulary associated with books and writers!

One advantage of the set text option is that you can guarantee there will be some form of review in the exam. Remember though that it will generally focus on one of the areas above, and not be a general review of the whole story,

Keep an eye on the Set Texts label top right for more later this month.

First: Use of English Part 3

You are (or will soon be) working on word formation exercises around now. Here's some extra practice from Hibernia.

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FCE Use of English Part 3

Level 6 groups are (or will soon be) working on word formation exercises around now. Here's some extra practice from Hibernia.

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First and Advanced: Informal Letters

Feedback from recent homework

Things to take care of informal letters. Think about why.

1. First sentences should - what?
2. Three dots at the end of a sentence - good or bad?
3. What are some of the magic words for making your paragraphs flow?
4. Imperatives. "Answer me, then we can organise our trip." Informal?
5. Abbreviations "BTW" and emoticons ";-)" Appropriate?
6. Final sentences should - what?
7. What's white space for?
8. "Look(ing) forward to +?"
9. "Kisses"
10. Make a list of items to check in your final 5 or ten minutes.

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FCE and CAE Weekly Writing Activity 1.4

Feedback from recent homework from S6 and A8

Things to take care of informal letters. Think about why. Explanations next week.

1. First sentences should - what?
2. Three dots at the end of a sentence - good or bad?
3. What are some of the magic words for making your paragraphs flow?
4. Imperatives. "Answer me, then we can organise our trip." Informal?
5. Abbreviations "BTW" and emoticons ";-)" Appropriate?
6. Final sentences should - what?
7. What's white space for?
8. "Look(ing) forward to +?"
9. "Kisses"
10. Make a list of items to check in your final 5 or ten minutes.

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