Lola's Blog

PublicDomainPictures.net Has technology ruined childhood? That is the title of the opinion essay you were asked to write in class last Monday. The topic generates a lot of debate and can be viewed from different angles. You can now download the handout with some tips on how to improve your writing.  I hope you find it useful.

Richard Huish College. Public domain Last Monday we had a class on report writing. You were asked to write a report about your experience in an English language school. We also looked at some data and you had to draw your own conclusions based on the evidence. I thought you might be interested in reading this article published on the BBC. Before you read One of the roles of the OECD (The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) is to analyse and compare data to compare how countries around the world perform. They promote policies in order to improve the quality of people's lives. One of the areas they work on is education, of course. Well, the OECD has just released the biggest school rankings ever. There are 76 countries listed. Can you guess Who heads the league table?  Who heads the bottom table?  How did Spain score compared to other European countries? How about the UK? And the USA? Click here to check your predictions. What are t...

Image by BruceBlaus. CC-BY Is it possible to have a three-person baby? In which country is this possible? Well, we are not talking about science-fiction but about breakthrough in medicine. And yes, it is possible to create babies from the DNA of two women and one man. The question is, why? If you don't know the answer, keep reading. This post is about mitochondrial disease and how scientists from the University of Newcastle have developed a technique to treat this devastating disease. What is mitochondrial disease? Click here to find out. You can learn more about a pioneering technique developed at the University of Newcastle. More recently, MPs have voted in parliament in favour of creating babies free from this disease. Listening Listen to Public Health Minister, Jane Ellison, and Sharon Bernardi, who lost seven babies to this genetic disease. However, this has generated a debate. Some critics say that this procedure raises ethical and safety issues. What...

Photo by Foreign and Commonwealth Office. CC-BY How much do you know about Angelina Jolie? Has she ever had any surgery done? What kind? Why? Have you read her two articles published in the New York Times ? You may want to read first her article titled "My medical choice" to learn why she underwent preventive surgery. Most recently, she wrote in The New York Times newspaper an article titled "Diary of a Surgery" . How do you think people reacted to this article? Well, some people wrote to the Editor of The New York Times to express their opinion. You can read some letters here . Now it's your turn You can choose one of the topics we have discussed in class, for example, cosmetic surgery, preventive surgery or you can choose a topic you are interested in. Follow the instructions in your handout about how to write a letter to the editor. Write about 230 words.

Live Life Happy. Flickr.com We live in a fast-paced world, too fast for a lot of us. It is worth stopping and reflecting about ways to improve our lives before we get a heart attack! I find the quote on the left very inspiring, do you? I'm writing this post for those of you who would like to practise writing your opinion or writing an argument. There is a model of how to write an opinion essay in your book Global , Unit 7 pages 88-89. I think you will find it useful. Writing an article In the exam you will probably be asked to write an article . What it means is that you will be required to express your opinion or present an argument on an issue. It is essential that you understand the task in order to decide what kind of argumentative essay you have to write (cause and effect, problem and solution, for and against, advantages and disadvantages). In this task you will be required to present a strong position on a particular topic. Your purpose is to persuade the reader ...