Lola's Blog

We talked about writing, different types of text and analysed some reports. A report is a formal written account that gives information about a subject, a place, a person or an event. Broadly speaking there are four types of report: an assessment report, an informative report, a survey report, and a proposal report. The task in class You read somebody's report which followed these instructions:  "An international research group is carrying out an investigation into changing trends in the way young people spend their free time. You have been asked to write a report about the situation in your country". It was quite clear that this was an informative report. It was divided into five paragraphs, the first one being the introduction or purpose, and the last paragrah a conclusion with suggestions and/or recommendations. Suggested titles for a report Your writing task was to write a similar report but applied to your country. However, you suggested other titles ...

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.

Watts Riots 1965 Reading John Ball's novel In the heat of the night provided students with an opportunity to research a topic and present it in class. Congratulations to all the participants. I would like to thank you for putting so much work into it. Now it's time for you to write about the novel. You have four choices. Choose one of the following and write about 250-280 words: 1) Write a book review of In the heat of the night 2) Compare the book and the film 3) Sam Wood is the real hero in In the heat of the night . Discuss. 4) Racial prejudice and injustice: In the heat of the night . Writing a book or film review We discussed this in class . A review is not just a summary of the plot but also a commentary of the book or film. There are different ways in which you can write your review . You can follow the basic four-paragraph essay (introduction, main characters, plot or storyline, personal opinion)  or a more complex three-paragr...

Photo by Olivander CC-BY-NC. Flickr.com Consumers have the right to return a product if it is faulty. Not long ago I bought a mobile phone and it stopped working within a few days. I wanted my money back but the shop assistant told me that I had to fill in a complaints form. Have you ever experienced anything similar?  Think of a problem you have had with a product (mobile phone, iPod, tablet, washing machine). If not, you can invent the problem. Your task is to write a complaint letter. In this site you will find common problems with faulty goods and advice on how to write a complaint letter . You can write your letter online, download it and then print it. Isn't that great?  Click here to see more sample letters .

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.

Image by Lola la Torre When was the last time you applied for a job? Did you send in your CV? Did you write a cover letter explaining why you were a suitable candidate? This post is about CVs and cover (or covering) letters. In your book Global you will find a sample of a cover letter at the end of Unit 1 . You will be expected to apply for a job and write a cover letter in class at the end of this week. This is going to be your first writing task. Some tips to plan what you are going to write: 1) Pay attention to formal letter conventions. 2) Make sure you are aware of false friends (e.g. qualifications , career ) 3) Use appropriate academic terms. 4) Edit your letter before you hand it in. This requires re-reading more than once. CVs What should you include in your CV? Do you know how many types of CV there are?  Click here to see good and bad examples of CV . Click here for a Europass Curriculum Vitae . Cover letters What is a cover letter? ...

Township in South Africa. CCO Public domain We had a writing class last Tuesday. The text you discussed and analysed in class involved problems caused by cycling in Beijing. The writer of the text proposed some solutions to the identified problems. This was an opportunity for you to think of possible solutions to problems that either matter to you or you are interested in. Essay titles that you suggested in class included the following: 1. Eating disorders 2. The spread of AIDS 3. Political corruption in Spain 4. Plastic waste and its impact on the environment 5. Lack of funding for cultural events 6. Youth unemployment in Spain 7. School dropouts 8. Pollution in the world 9. Malnutrition in the world 10. Gender inequality Task 1. Researching the topic: shanty towns The photo I have chosen for this post is about Soweto shanty towns . Did you know that Soweto is the most populous black urban residential area in South Africa? What is the original meaning of Sow...

Eric Allix Rogers. Flickr.com CC NC SA This post is about how to write an advantages and disadvantages article or essay. The main purpose of this type of essay is to present information objectively. Read the article about one of the greatest scientific breakthroughs in Unit 3 of your book Global . How many paragraphs is the article divided into? Can you identify the information in each paragraph? Structure This kind of essay has a clear structure: Introduction : mention the topic you are going to present and say why it is one of the greatest achievements. Advantages : list at least two advantages and benefits of your chosen topic. Disadvantages : list at least two disadvantages. Conclusion : end your essay with a conclusion. You can briefly summarise the advantages, without forgetting about the disadvantages (a word or two) and perhaps you can advance what the future holds. Connectors Read the article in Unit 3. Can you identify how ideas are linked? That's...

Image by Lola la Torre. Tagxedo This post is to clarify some doubts concerning the difference between an article and an essay .  As you know, one of the tasks in the Writing Paper may include an article to be published in a magazine or a newspaper. Remember to read the instructions for the task carefully and ask yourself these two questions: What is the aim of the task? Who is going to read my article?  What is an article? An article is a piece of writing intended for publication in a magazine, a journal or a newspaper.  An article is another label for an essay. It can be formal or informal, depending on the target audience. How many different types of article or essay are there? There are very many different types depending on the purpose (to entertain, to inform, to persuade....) and the audience (general public, specialised audience, children, young people...). Depending on the purpose an article can present an opinion (opinion essay) compare an...

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 ...