Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
WRITING GUIDE
Structure
Text type definitions
Writing useful phrases (from FCE guide)
Samples & activities (some answer keys)
Checklist to improve your writing
Assessment scale
Avoiding repetition
Formal & Informal Language
Punctuation rules
6. Writing essays
Introduction and tips (Writing essays)
Expressing Contrast:
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nevertheless
even so
even though
however
in spite of
despite
but
although
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Writing essays
Expressing results:
because of this
therefore
thus
as a result
for this reason
consequently
Giving examples:
such as
like
for example
for instance
2. You have had a discussion on fashion in your English class. Your teacher has
asked you to write an essay, giving your opinions on the following statement.
Young people never want to dress the same as their parents
Write your essay in 120-180 words in an appropriate style.
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Writing essays
7. Writing reports
Writing reports
Introductory Paragraph:
The aim of this report is to outline and to make some recommendations on...
This report outlines (the issues, etc)
This report is intended to inform about.
Recommending:
You may wish to consider
It is therefore recommended that(present clause)
It needs
A conditional clause : (The museum, the club, etc) would have a brighter future if its (displays, facilities,etc)
were improved or If the opening hours could be extended and the prices reduced slightly, the new caf would
undoubtly be more popular with students.
It is clear that
It constructions examples:
It could be argued that
It appears that
It is clear that
It seems that
It is doubtful that
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Adapted from: www.brays-ingles.com FCE Paper 2 Writing How to pass the Cambridge First Certificate Writing Section
CAE - review
Model questions and answers
Review - Model question 1
TASK
You see this announcement in an international magazine called Cinefilia.
The most UPLIFTING and the biggest DOWNER.
It's sometimes hard to choose a film that fits your mood purely on the basis of the poster or the
description on the cover of the DVD. That's why we want to publish reviews of the most uplifting and the
most depressing films our readers have seen, so that others know what to watch and what to avoid.
Send in a review which describes the most uplifting film you've ever seen and the one you found the
biggest downer. Make sure you give reasons for your choices.
Write your review in 220-260 words in an appropriate style.
Cover letter
Many employers will ask you to write to them or phone them for an application form and
further details when they advertise jobs. Sometimes you will be asked to send your CV or
resume.
Your CV or curriculum vitae lists your educational and career history and is a useful
summary for an employer of all your educational and employment achievements up to the
present time. You must always ensure that it is up to date.
A covering letter may then be very useful because you can enclose it with your CV or a
completed application form. In your covering letter you can draw attention to particular
information which you wish to highlight. Such a covering letter might look like this:
Dear Mr Sorefoot
Fashion Shop Manager
Please find enclosed my completed application form for the above position.
As you will see from my form, I have ten years experience with Bates Retail
as a Fashion Shop Manager.
I look forward to hearing from you and hope that you will be able to invite
me for an interview. I can be contacted at any time by phone, fax or email
at work or at home. I would very much welcome an opportunity to discuss
my application in greater detail and convince you that I am the right person
for the job.
Yours sincerely
Frances Slimwaist
If you have filled in an application form you do not need to send a CV because all the relevant
information should be on your form.
Letter of application
If you are responding to a job advertisement you may be asked to write a letter of application.
This is the letter which lists all your work experience and qualifications and should also
explain why you want the job.
Structure:
Greeting
Dear .......... ,
Introduction
Begin your letter by telling the reader where you saw the advertisement:
I am writing to apply for the post of Fashion Shop Manager advertised in
the 'News Shopper' of 14 February 2002.
Main body
(2nd paragraph) You would then go on to list your experience and relevant qualifications:
I have worked in the retail industry for a total of ten years, first as a sales
assistant in a department store and for the last three years as a Section
Head and Deputy Manager at Jones the Bootmaker.
(3rd paragraph) You might then go on to mention the particular abilities and skills that you
have:
I believe I have all the skills, knowledge and expertise that you are looking
for. I have lots of retail initiative, can schedule and prioritise tasks and can
work to strict deadlines. I also work particularly well with people and would
enjoy leading the team and working with clients and customers.
(4th paragraph) Say why you are particularly interested in this job:
I am applying for this position as I am looking to progress from junior to
senior management. I have always been interested in the latest fashion
trends and developments and I believe your organisation is a well-run
quality fashion business. I would very much like to work for your company.
Final paragraph
(Final line)You might then close the letter with the following formula.
I look forward to hearing from you and hope that you will be able to invite
me for an interview.
This lesson shows you different ways you can improve the cohesion of your writing
and avoiding repetition killing two birds with one stone. These are extremely
important skills to master and the good news is that much of the language you
need here is simple language. Simple is very often best.
he/she/it
this/that/these/those
one
both
The way these words work is that they refer back to something already mentioned and
replace that word. So used well, they help you avoid repeating words and link your writing.
Former/latter/respectively/such
These words work in much the same way and are typical of more academic writing.
You should note:
Synonyms
This is a key technique. The idea is that you dont repeat the word, you use another
similar word or phrase. Very often, you will need to use phrases and not individual
words to do this well.
a. Organisation
b. Communicative Achievement
c. Content
d. Language
e. Organisation
f. Content
g. Communicative Achievement
h. Language
Here are some questions from the checklist and some explanations about why these questions
are important. Match the question with the correct explanation.
1. What relationship do you have with the
reader?
Have you developed the topic and provided details about all aspects of the task?
What do you need to include and how can you develop the topic?
What is the purpose of the text and what does the reader need to know?
Can the topic be approached from a different perspective?
What is the purpose of the task and have you achieved the desired outcome from
your text?
What is the purpose of the task and what effect do you want to have on the reader?
Do you need to persuade, agree, argue, suggest, apologise, infer, compare ?
Does the reader need to know your personal opinion as well as the facts?
What is the relationship between you and the reader and does this make a
difference?
PUNCTUATION RULES
1. Use capital letters:
a) At the beginning of every sentence.
b) For proper nouns, abbreviations of proper nouns, names of languages and nationalities,
days, months and the pronoun I.
Dont use capital letters for other words.
Example:
On Monday and Wednesday Juan and I go to our English class at the University of Seville. Our
first exam is going to be in February.
2. Use a period/full stop, question mark or exclamation point/mark at the end of every
sentence (only one per sentence). Dont put a question mark or exclamation point/mark at
the beginning of the sentence. Dont join sentences with commas.
Examples:
Incorrect:
- Where did you go on holiday?!!!
- We went to Kenya, the weather was good, we went on a safari, we took photographs of the
wild animals. It was very exciting!
Correct:
- Where did you go on holiday?
- We went to Kenya. The weather was good. We went on a safari and took photographs of
the wild animals. It was very exciting!
3. Dont end a list of words or a sentence with suspension points.
Examples:
Incorrect:
I saw the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower,Versailles. . . when I was in Paris.
I had dinner with my parents, my grandparents, my brother . . .
On the flight you can drink coffee, tea, Coke . . .
Correct:
I saw the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower and Versailles when I was in Paris.
I saw the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Versailles and other interesting places when I was in Paris.
I had dinner with my parents, my grandparents and my brother.
I had dinner with my parents, my grandparents and other relatives.
On the flight you can drink coffee, tea or Coke.
4. Dont put a comma after so or but in sentences like these:
Examples:
Incorrect:
I was hungry so, I ate a hamburger.
I wanted a hamburger but, I didnt have any money.
Correct:
I was hungry, so I ate a hamburger.
I wanted a hamburger, but I didnt have any money.
5. Put a comma when a) making lists
Example
I like playing tennis, listening to music and watching TV.
b) To separate adjectives when there are a number of adjectives before the noun
Example
Hes an enthusiastic, hard-working student.
6. Put a comma after for example, however, moreover, nevertheless, in fact, as a
result, later, therefore, all in all, generally, finally, in my opinion, etc. and after a
time phrase at the beginning of a sentence. Put a comma after Also and Besides if they
are at the beginning of a sentence.
Examples:
He was tired. However, he couldnt sleep.
He likes lots of sports. For example, he plays football, basketball and tennis and goes
swimming every week.
He was hungry. Also, he was very tired.
He was hungry. Besides, he was very tired.
In 2014, he left school and went to university.
7. Put a comma before and after a non-defining relative clause. Dont put a comma before
defining clauses:
Examples:
My friend John, who went to the same school as me, has just written a best-selling novel (nondefining)
He gave me the letter which/that was in a blue envelope (defining)
8. When you put the subordinator at the beginning of a clause to introduce the main clause,
you
need to put a comma between the two clauses. When you put a subordinator between
two clauses to connect them, you should not use any punctuation
Examples:
Before he turned on the TV, he did his homework.
He did his homework before he turned on the TV.
When everyone in a family helps with the housework, they have a better relationship.
They have a better relationships when everyone in a family helps with the housework.
Sources: - http://institucional.us.es/aiidi/ rea de ingls (IDI)
- Compiled by author