Saturday, May 14, 2011
Link: British Council Article Archive
Still in need of inspiration? Go here for more articles than you will ever need - in alphabetical order. Use them for ideas, but make sure the constructions and grammar are always yours.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Keeping it Real
A new occasional feature. Real people writing for real reasons in the real world.
You might enjoy reading a real letter of complaint. We can't really recommend this style for the exams though!
Keeping it Real
A new occasional feature. Real people writing for real reasons in the real world.
You might enjoy reading a real letter of complaint. We can't really recommend this style for the exams though.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
First Samples - Essay
2. Essay (120-180 Words)
You have recently had a discussion in your English class about places to live. Now your
teacher has asked you to write an essay, giving your opinion on the following statement.
Whatever your age, life in the country is always better than life in the city.
There's a lot of opinions about where life is better but in my opinion, the advantages are more ^ than the disadvantages ifü you live in the city.
In the cities there're more options that you can choose. The important building are usually in the center, where everybody can arrive. There are also more activities, what is moreü, if you are a teenager the city is more amazingü, because it's bigger, there's more party, but if you're an adult it can also be better, because your office will probably be there. (Adults don’t go to parties then? Hmmmm!)
On the other handü the city is sometimes stressfulüü, because there's a lot of noise, traffic jamsüü and people.There's another problemüü which is if you're coming from the country, you will think life is very copmplicatedüü in the city, and you won't probably wo like it.Living in the city it is not a good idea for ancientv people.PeopleR in the countries are normally more friendly, so while they're having a rest, they can be talking with another people who maybe will be more relaxed than people in city [m1] . Another pointü is that they have the bassic services in the country-side[m2].
To sum upü I would choose living in the city, because i think it is more enjoyableü, whereas i could maybe feel bored in the country.I also think if you're studingSP a careerV you should live in the city, because ^is the place where you will have more opportunities. ü
Comments (Highlight to read)
8/10 Very good – lots of good “effort” vocab – a few things to work on to get towards 10 - if you want it, it’s doable!
FCE Samples - Essay
2. Essay (120-180 Words)
You have recently had a discussion in your English class about places to live. Now your
teacher has asked you to write an essay, giving your opinion on the following statement.
Whatever your age, life in the country is always better than life in the city.
There's a lot of opinions about where life is better but in my opinion, the advantages are more ^ than the disadvantages ifü you live in the city.
In the cities there're more options that you can choose. The important building are usually in the center, where everybody can arrive. There are also more activities, what is moreü, if you are a teenager the city is more amazingü, because it's bigger, there's more party, but if you're an adult it can also be better, because your office will probably be there. (Adults don’t go to parties then? Hmmmm!)
On the other handü the city is sometimes stressfulüü, because there's a lot of noise, traffic jamsüü and people.There's another problemüü which is if you're coming from the country, you will think life is very copmplicatedüü in the city, and you won't probably wo like it.Living in the city it is not a good idea for ancientv people.PeopleR in the countries are normally more friendly, so while they're having a rest, they can be talking with another people who maybe will be more relaxed than people in city [m1] . Another pointü is that they have the bassic services in the country-side[m2].
To sum upü I would choose living in the city, because i think it is more enjoyableü, whereas i could maybe feel bored in the country.I also think if you're studingSP a careerV you should live in the city, because ^is the place where you will have more opportunities. ü
Comments (Highlight to read)
8/10 Very good – lots of good “effort” vocab – a few things to work on to get towards 10 - if you want it, it’s doable!
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Advanced Sample: Article
BACK TO THE CAVES ü
Over the last century people’s lifes have completely changed<!--[if !supportAnnotations]-->[m1]<!--[endif]--> upside down. This is due to, above all, [the existence of] electricity.
Nowadays, it has become crucialü for every single activity we do, since<!--[if !supportAnnotations]-->[m2]<!--[endif]--> doing the shopping, or takingü a warm bath; even when we are sleeping we relay on the alarm clock to go offü and make us start a new day on time. If electricity didn’t exist, life would be totallyü different.
First of all, we would have to adapt our lives to sunlight, reducing working time from eight to five hours in winter. And, asü we wouldn’t have anything to do from sunset to dawn, we could sleep at least 9 hours every day!!
When it comes toü leisure time, we could only do outdoor activities, such as running, strollingü, or going out with our friends. We had to learn how to survive<!--[if !supportAnnotations]-->[m3]<!--[endif]--> without mobile phones, video games and gossip programmes on TV.... Can you imagine?? We wouldn’t have to put up with them anymore!
Regarding work, we wouldn’t have to spend so many hours in front of a computer / machine / whatever, as lots of people do. It would all boil down to (oooh!) just one thing: getting food. Fishing and hunting would take the most of our time, which might sound a bit hazardousü... especially for men! But of course, women would only be in charge of collecting mushrooms and plants in the forest all day, strolling and talking to one another. (a substitute for the gossip programmes….?)
For all these reasons, you’ll have to agree with me when I say life would be much better without electricity! Of course, there wouldn’t be any security, medicine for diseases, or even clothes, but ... who cares??
Comments (highlight to read):
A terrific piece of work. To be honest, I can’t find much wrong with it (although I think a bit more hypothetical would be appropriate in two of the underlined places). We shall say 8/10, but that’s my conservative nature. I really think it’s at least 8/10.
CAE - Samples Article
BACK TO THE CAVES ü
Over the last century people’s lifes have completely changed<!--[if !supportAnnotations]-->[m1]<!--[endif]--> upside down. This is due to, above all, [the existence of] electricity.
Nowadays, it has become crucialü for every single activity we do, since<!--[if !supportAnnotations]-->[m2]<!--[endif]--> doing the shopping, or takingü a warm bath; even when we are sleeping we relay on the alarm clock to go offü and make us start a new day on time. If electricity didn’t exist, life would be totallyü different.
First of all, we would have to adapt our lives to sunlight, reducing working time from eight to five hours in winter. And, asü we wouldn’t have anything to do from sunset to dawn, we could sleep at least 9 hours every day!!
When it comes toü leisure time, we could only do outdoor activities, such as running, strollingü, or going out with our friends. We had to learn how to survive<!--[if !supportAnnotations]-->[m3]<!--[endif]--> without mobile phones, video games and gossip programmes on TV.... Can you imagine?? We wouldn’t have to put up with them anymore!
Regarding work, we wouldn’t have to spend so many hours in front of a computer / machine / whatever, as lots of people do. It would all boil down to (oooh!) just one thing: getting food. Fishing and hunting would take the most of our time, which might sound a bit hazardousü... especially for men! But of course, women would only be in charge of collecting mushrooms and plants in the forest all day, strolling and talking to one another. (a substitute for the gossip programmes….?)
For all these reasons, you’ll have to agree with me when I say life would be much better without electricity! Of course, there wouldn’t be any security, medicine for diseases, or even clothes, but ... who cares??
Comments (highlight to read):
A terrific piece of work. To be honest, I can’t find much wrong with it (although I think a bit more hypothetical would be appropriate in two of the underlined places). We shall say 8/10, but that’s my conservative nature. I really think it’s at least 8/10.
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