LESSON 17: READING PRACTICE

Re-order this letter about a recent vacation in Europe:

Mixed Up Letter - My Vacation
Answer Sheet 

Now read a short passage about Tom's weekend filling in all the prepositions that have been left out. Then answer a few questions about the text.

Tom's Terrible Weekend
Answer Sheet 

LESSON 16: WRITING PRACTICE

Here you'll find different examples (100-150 words) that might help you.

Compositions

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages you find in homeworking
Have you ever had a job? Describe your experience
Do you think that the State should promote or forbid some kinds of food?
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of being vegetarian
Have you ever seen a film or read a book about an animal that showed its feelings. Explain
Do you think animals really have emotional lives like humans? Discuss
What are your favourite TV programmes? Describe them and explain why you like them
Do you think the government should control TV programmes? Discuss
Have you ever had a pet? Write about the experience
There is no important difference between an animal and a human. Discuss.
Describe what you can do at home and in your town to protect the environment.
Spending money on saving animals. Give your opinion.
Why do many young people get tattooed today? Give reasons
Are tattooed people fully accepted in our present society? Discuss.
What could we do to reduce pollution in large cities?
Do you think our planet is experiencing a climate change? Why?
Do you believe in vampires, ghosts or other supernatural forces?
Write about a ghost story you are familiar with.
What is the last book you have read?
How can winning a prize affect people´s lives?
Some people believe that children under the age of 13 should not have mobile phones. What do you think?
Describe an unusual personal experience you have had that involved a mobile phone.
If you had a letter from your favourite artist, what would you do with it?
What do you think of the fans´ attitude to the famous people?
Have you ever read a book or seen a film about dragons?
Why are dinosaurs so interesting today?
The integration of children with learning difficulties at school
Living with a serious illness: how would life be every day?
What is your favourite type of music?
Do you think that singing should be taught at school?
If you could choose a historical period to live in, which one would you choose and why?
Are travel books popular with modern readers?
Which is your favourite pet?
Should public places like hotels and restaurants have strict regulations that limit access to pet?
Is obesity a social problem nowadays?
Do you think you should change your eating habits?
Do you like practising some sport?
Professional footballers are overpaid. Give your opinion.
What type of job would you prefer - technical or artistic?
Is there still inequality between men and women?
Do you ever buy things that you don't need?
The Compulsive Buying Disorder has become worse with the arrival of online shopping and television programmes devoted to buying goods 24 hours a day.
What is your opinion about changes in physical appearance?
The importance of being beautiful. Discuss
Discuss the negative and the positive aspects of television
Do you think parents should control the number of hours their children watch TV?
Are you for or against "the big bottle"?
What alternatives can the Government offer young people to encourage a healthy life?


And this is my advice:

- Trata de darle esta estructura: introducción, cuerpo, conclusión o conclusiones

- Analiza qué tipo de composición te piden: ¿se trata de dar argumentos a favor y/o en contra de una postura? = texto argumentativo, ¿se trata de contar o narrar una historia o experiencia personal? = texto narrativo, ¿se trata de una carta formal/informal?, etc.

- Medita cuál va a ser la idea o ideas que quieres transmitir en tu composición

- Piensa qué estructuras vas a utilizar para transmitir por escrito tu/s idea/s.

- Trata de utilizar un vocabulario rico, no te quedes en palabras “comodín” que valen para todo y expresan poco. “nice, beautiful, big, a thing, an object…” . No uses "slang" ni expresiones coloquiales/informales en la redacción, a no ser que se trate de un diálogo informal.

- Puntúa adecuadamente. No abuses de las comas

- Huye de las oraciones excesivamente largas. Te complican la vida y se cometen errores.

- Enriquece tu composición con una gama variada de conectores que vayas graduando según la parte de la composición en que te encuentres: al principio (Firstly, To begin/start with,..) posteriormente (Secondly, Apart from that,…) o al final (To conclude, To sum up, As a conclusion,…)

- Piensa si quieres contrastar ideas (On the other hand, However, Nevertheless,…) si quieres dar más razones (Since, As, ...because, .....so, Therefore, ,…) o si quieres añadir nuevas razones (Moreover, Furthermore, Besides that, …).

- Procura redactar con mentalidad inglesa. Debes tener muy claro lo que quieres decir, pero evita decirlo “en español”. Acude a tus conocimientos de inglés, aplica la gramática para expresarte en inglés. Plantéate cómo se expresa esta idea en inglés.

- Antes de terminar, revisa lo que has escrito: ¿se entiende lo que deseo expresar? ¿van los adjetivos en la posición adecuada?, ¿concuerdan los tiempos verbales en oraciones que son compuestas?, ¿hay concordancia entre el sujeto y el verbo?, ¿he escrito las “s” de tercera persona del presente simple?, ¿están los elementos de la oración en la posición adecuada?, ¿he puesto los auxiliares en las interrogativas o negativas que lo requieran?, ¿he tenido cuidado con los “falsos amigos”? etc.

INFORMATION ON OUR FINAL EXAM!

The exam for the Intermedi 1 level will take place on Wednesday, June, 15th.


We'll start with the oral examinations at 14.30. This test will be taken in pairs. You'll have 5 minutes to prepare and 5 minutes to talk.

At 15.30 we'll start with the rest of the test (3 hours): the use of language, writing and listening tests.


Remember that you need to pass a 60% of all of the parts and that if you fail one of these parts you can retake it in September (date still to be set).



We'll update this post to add more information on the exam.




Good luck!