Exam know-how
• You are expected to use discursive words and phrases in a composition.
• Remember that a composition is usually mo re forma l than an article. The emphasis i s more on presentingan argument,giving opinio ns and supporting them clearl y, than on interesting the reader.
Each of these compositionsshould be written in 120-180words in anappropriate style.
1 The fo llowing comme ntwas printed recently in a local newspaper:
The crime rate in our areaisfartoohighand extreme measuresneedtobe taken to reduceit.
Now your teach er has asked you to write a compositio n on this subject, stating whetheryou ag ree or disagree withthe comme nt and exp ressingyourown opinions.
Writeyour composition.
2 Your class has been doing a project on crime.Your teacher has asked you to write a composition givingyouropinions in answer to the follo wing question:
Whydosome people break thelaw?
Write your composition.
Grammar focus
The burglarran fastbuthe was caught by the police.
Although/ Even though/ Though the burglarran fast.he wascaughtby the police.
In spite of the fact that/ Despitethe foct that the burglarran fast,hewascaught by the police.
In spite of/ Despiterunningfast,the burglarwas caught by the police.
The burglarran fast. However,hewascaught by thepolice.
Rewrite these sentences using the word given.
1 She had ave ry good lawyerbut she wasstill found guilty. DESPITE 2 There isnt anyevidence.However, thereisast rong motive.ALTHOUGH 3 Inspite of his havingacriminal record.he wasonly given a warning.BUT 4 Althoughpeople feel lesssafe,the crime rateisact uallydropping.FACT 5 Despite beinga suspect. Mason was never arrested.HOWEVER
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WARM -Up ã
Shopping
L o o k at the pictures. In pairs. ask and a nswer the following questions.
• Wo uld yo u like t o be a s ho p assistant?Why/Why not ?
• What have you bo ught i n t he past mon t h?
• Have youever bou ght anythingseco nd-hand?
DEVELOP YOUR WRITING SKILLS /
• What are they for?
Match the abbreviations '-5 with their uses a-e.
1 e.g. _ _ 2 i. e. _ _ 3 a.m. _ _ 4 p.m. _ _ 5 et c. _ _
a the time is before 12 noon b a list is not complete c the time is after 12 noon d to int rod uce an exa mple e to introduce more detail
r:t Formal or informal?
1.;1 Are the a bbre viat io ns usually for ma l o r info rma l? Writ e the abbre viati on s 1 -5ont he ap pro p ri ate line s.
a Which ab breviat io n is usually used informal writ ing?
b Which t wo abb reviations are usually used in informa l wr iting?
c Which two abbreviations can be used in form al and informal writing?
What are they called?
Match the punctuat ion symbol s in the bo x wit h the ir nam e s be low.
- - - ---_.---_.__ ._._--_._., A- - - -. B, C---_._-; D: ---_._-_.E? F! G'ã__ H-._----_._--_._.~1- J" .
1 se m i-co lon 6 d as h
2 questi o n ma rk 7 f ull st o p
3 apostrophe 8 inverted co mmas
4 co mma 9 hyphe n
II
Study the model
Look at model composition 16 on page 1 0 8. Circle one examp le of:
1 a colon 4 a dash
2 an apo strophe 5 a hyphen
3 a semi-colon 6 inverted commas
True or fal se?
Are these statements abo ut punctuation tr ue o r false? Wr ite T fo r True and F for False.
1 Exclamation marks should on ly be used in info rmal writ ing.
2 You can connect two sentences a bout the same subject using a comma.
1 Indirect questions need question marks at the e nd . 4 We neve r put ( ằaro und direct spe ec h in E nglis h.
5 Colons and semi-colonsareunusual in informal writing.
6 You should always put a comma before rel at ive clauses with 'who', 'which' and 'where',
7 You cannot put a comma before relati ve clauses with 't hat'.
S You can choose whethe r to use '...' or "..." fo r d irect speech, but yo u should be consistent within a piece of writ ing.
Correct the punctuation
E ach of t hese sentences has at least o ne pun ctuat ion mist ake.
Circle the mistakes a nd rewrit e the sentences correctly.
1 ôwhere did you get t hat hat ?ằ asked Linda.
2 Simon said hed meet us o utside the superma rket at three 0 clock.
3 I bought a nice top last week , i t was really che ap.
4 'I t hink it's price tag has co me off. Ho w mu ch is it ?' 5 We went to t hat new sho p ping centre - - i t was huge!
6 Subject; Gift and So uvenir Shops in Bourne mo ut h
7 Corner shops which sad ly are disap pea ring q uickly o ffe r co nven ience and a sense of co mmu nity, which is irrep laceable!
8 The shop assistant aske d i f he co uld he lp me?
9 ' Its act ually half price at the mo ment Mada m. " said t he sa lesperson.
10 The record store, t hat I went to, had a sa le o n.
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16
DEVELOP YOUR WRITING SKILLS
Rewrite the report
R ead the report quest ion and a student's answe r below.
R ewrite the report in your notebook. Capita lize appropriate letters, punctuate the sentenc es and correct t he 10 spelling mist akes.
You have a part-timejob in a toyshop.The manager wants to make the shop more popular with teenagers and has asked you to write a report making some recommendations.
Write areport for your manager.
to from subject date
mr williams sasha spencer
atracting teenager s to te ddingto n toys 25th jan uary
introduction
as reqested i have looked at ways to increse the popularity of teddington toys with teenagersmy recom end ations are outlined below
range of products
the vast majority oftoy s and games curently sold are for children und er the age of ten teenagers would be much more likleyto visit the sho p if it sold computer games some sports equiptm ent and bored gam es such as mill ennium qu iz
advertising
asteddingto n toys is not in the high street you may want to consi der advertis ing any new product syouintrod use for teen ag ers one
possibility isto place sho rt advertism ents on local televis ion or radio you may also wis h to consid er putting up po ster s aro u nd local schools
conclusion
in conclusio n teddington toys could become much more popular with teena ger s if it offered a rang e of products for them however th is rang e also needs to be advertised to informteenagers in the local area about it
Read your partner's writing
Swap reports with your partner.Havetheypunctuated the report correct ly?
Did they do it differentlyto you? Havethey co rrected all the spelling mistakes?
•
COMPOSITION DEVELOPMENT ~
Read t his composition quest io n and do t he exe rcises that follo w.
You are working in a local tourist office. You have to write a report for your manager com paring two very different shopping centres in yourarea. Say what each centreis like, compare their facilities and comment on their particular good or bad points as tourist attract ions.
Write your report.
Brainstorming
Answer thefoll owingquestionsusingyour imagination.
1 What's the name of yo ur manage r? _
2 What's the name of the first shopp ing cen t re? _
3 What i sitlike ? (mo de rn, old-fashioned, large, etc) _ 4 What kind of faci lities does it pro vide? (cha i n st o res, gift shop s, cafes, etc )
5 How popular i s it with tou rists? Why?
6 What's the name of t he seco nd shopping ce nt re? _
7 What i sit like? Remember it m ust be very diffe rent from the first one.
8 What ki nd of facilities does it pro vide?
9 H o w popu lar is it with tourist s? Why?
10 I s one of the sho pping centres better for tou rist s, or do th ey both attract differen t ki nds of tourists?
11 Do you ne ed t o make any reco mme ndat io ns? Yes / No
Think about punctuat ion
Here is an i ntr oductio n to a similar report . P unctu ate it co rrectly.
asrequested i have compared the daverton centreand lakeside millboth within 10 kin of sharpville in terms of their popular ity as touristattractions my findin gsarc present ed below
Think about spelling
Here a re som e wo r ds and phrase s you may wish to use in y o ur re po rt.
They eac h co nt ain a spelling mist ake. Rewrite t he m co rrect ly .
1 facillit ies 5 rage of produ cts
2 so uveneers 6 hand-mai d
3 rest erant s 7 art s and craphts
4 coach partys 8 bil d ing
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t
Plan your paragraphs
Complete th e fo llowing paragrap h plan for yourcomposition,makingnoteson what you are going to incl ude in each paragraph.
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t\\iti."",l 1"0:
h\t'OYlãã\O\Hov. FY O\N\:
'Sl.I.'tlje:ct:
DAt e:
P""-"CI.~"'C\fl-. I HeAJ.i\\~:
Pc\"""~"c:l\fh2 He<'I.Ailt~:
p",,,,,,,,~,,O\py.'3 He""Ailt~:
P....vOl.j ..""ph 4 He:...J.i.Io\j :
Homework *
Now writeyour report. W
R ead t his checklist. When yo u have writte n you r re port. tic k t he boxes.
• I have written a report and not a
lette r. :J
• I have used form al l anguage . 0
• My paragraphs have head ings. c::
• I havechecked mypunctuation
carefully . 0
• I have chec ked my spe lling
carefully. ~
• I have checked my grammar
carefully . [J
Wordperfect
Read these sentencesand then usethe words in boldto complet ethese nte nces below.
• I'm afraidwe don't have anyjeansyour size instockat the moment,We should have some by next Friday,though.
• I see Ed'shouse isfor sale. Howmuchishe sellingit for?
• In BritishEnglish,'o n sale'meansavailablein the shops where as in AmericanEnglishit means availableat a reduced price.
• Dawson'sare having asaleat the mome nt.
Everything'shalf price.
• Theydidn'thave the lapto p Iwant ed in the shop,so Ihad toorderit.They saidIcould pick itupin a coupleof weeks.
• You getfree deliveryfor all goods purchased over 100.
• Theshopassistant asked me ifIwanted totry the top on in thechangingroom.
• Adepartment storeis alargeshop withlotsof differentdepartments se lling thingssuchas clothe s,electricalappliances,etc .
• Achain storeisashop which hasbranchesin lotsof towns and cities.
• I bought thisjumper here lastweek but it's too small. CouldI(ex)changeit for abigge r one?
1 The assistant saidIco uldn't _ the tracksuit without are ceipt .
2 'New World ofKnowledge'will be
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ in newsagent's tod ay.
3 It cost forty-five quid,but I had to pay another
tenner for _
4 Harrods is a famous_-,-- in London.They selleveryth ingthere!
5 Thousandsof bargain-huntersqueue up ove rnight wait ingforthe openingof the
Harro dsJanuary _
6 I hadto the CDrom I
wantedasthey didn't have it
_ _ _ _ _ _ _.It'll come next week.
7 I couldn't believeitwhen I went into the _ __ _ __ _ .There were no mirrors!
8 .3-piecesuite. 5 yrs old.
Beige. V.G.condition.Can deliver.
9 Dixo n'sis awe ll-re spected-,-- _ with ove rseventy-five branches.
Grammar focus