1. Test-taking Tips for the Level 1 Writing Final

2. **You will not know the exact topics on the exam until the day of the exam. ** However, you will know before : 1. the kind of tasks 2. the format and requirements

4. BE EARLY Arrive 15-20 minutes early; leave time to relax…. 10 minutes late = NOT ALLOWED into the room. You will be asked to go to Student Affairs and request a make-up exam. You may not be able to make up the exam if you don’t have an approved excuse.

5. Bring SUPPLIES 1. an official photo ID (UAEU card, Emirates ID, or your passport.) 2. pencils, erasers -- more than one.

6. TASK 1 - write about a daily routine - use present tense verbs - 120+ words / 3+ paragraphs (hint, you will probably need a lot more words than this to finish the task) - 25-30 minutes for this task

7.  essay about something that happened in the past;  Grammar: use past verbs  2 topics, you choose 1 of them  at least 150 words (hint, you will probably need a lot more words than this to finish the task)  4 paragraphs  55-60 minutes for this task TASK 2

8. Ready? Set? reviewing!

12. Example: Ali’s Schedule You read on the ExamYou might Write….. 7:30 wake up; take a shower At 7:30 Ali wakes up and takes a shower. 8:00 eat breakfast Then, at 8:00 he eats breakfast. 8:45 go to the office Next, he goes to the office.

13. Tip # Make sure each sentence has a subject: 7:30 He wakes up …. 8:00Ali eats breakfast …. 8:45He goes to the office ….

14. wrong: Wakes up at 8:30. correct: He wakes up at 8:30. wrong: Goes to work at 10:00. correct: Ali goes to work at 10:00.

16. On the exam, the schedule may have 12+ activities. For example … -6:30 --- wake up -7:00 --- eat breakfast, shower, get dressed -8:00 --- take bus -8:30 --- 9:30 English class -9:30 --- 10:30 Economics class -10:30 --- 11:00 break; drink tea in the canteen -11:00 – 1:00 --- Math class -1:00 – 2:00 --- eat lunch -2:00 – 4:00 --- study in Library -4:30 --- return to hostel, relax etc ………………….. Combine ideas to make longer sentences

17. Do NOT write 1 separate sentence for every activity; if you do this, your body paragraph will have 2 problems: 1.It will become too long! Body paragraphs are usually 7-8 sentences, not 12-13 sentences 2. Your sentences will not be advanced for a high score. Therefore, you should try to combine 2-3 activities together into 1 sentence. You don’t have to do this all the time, but do it OFTEN.

18. use connecting words to combine your sentences andbutso or (most common in schedule) beforeafter because untilwhensince however while

19. Short sentences: Ali wakes up at 7:30. He eats breakfast at 8:00. At 8:30 he goes to the office. Then he checks his email. At 10:00 he usually has a meeting. Combined sentences (better!) Ali gets up at 7:30 and he has breakfast. He leaves for the office an hour later, and he checks his email before 10:00, when he usually has a meeting.

20. Tip # Don’t just copy the schedule. Use synonyms (new words with same meanings) You don’t need to do this always, but do it often. You are not a copy machine Instead ofTry goes homereturns home relaxeshas free time eats has lunch wakes up at 8:30 begins his day at 8:30 You are bright and creative! You have a lot of vocabulary!! Why? If you understand something, you can explain it in your own words. Also, this shows that you are good with Vocabulary

21. However, Do NOT make up or add details about things that are not on the schedule! For example, you would not say … Ali’s kids probably wish he had more free time. or: Ali should get a BlackBerry to manage his schedule.

23. Don’t overuse the same time words! At 7:30 ….. At 8:00 ….. At 8:45 …. At 10:00 ….. Then, he….. Then, he ….. Then, he….. Then, he…..

24. first, … next,… then,… After (noun), … after thatan hour later,… later, ….secondthird from,,, tobetween …. and finally

25. INTRODUCTIONS What is your topic? Write one or two general sentences to introduce this.

26. Then, write your main idea --- the specific thing you will focus on.

27. In your main idea, you do not need to “announce” what you are going to write in your essay: In this essay I’m going to write about Ali’s day. Now I’m going to talk about Ali’s routine. I’m will tell you about Ali’s life. You probably did this when you wrote essays in high school.

28. In the university, your main ideas should be more formal and academic The schedule is about someone else, not you, so the word “I” doesn’t really belong in your main idea anyway!

29. Example introduction: 2 general sentences 1 focused main idea

30. Everyone from babies to presidents has a daily routine. Some people have very busy lives while others have more free time. Ali’s daily schedule is full from morning to night.

31. Detail sentences Remember to use your connectors!

32. Ali meets with his manager at 11:00, and then he usually eats lunch at his desk. After lunch, Ali reads his emails or does some paperwork. When he gets home, he relaxes for a while before dinner.

33. Conclusions in conclusion in summary to sum up in short in brief overall in general Begin with a conclusion word:

34. You can look at your main idea and repeat it but use different words! Restatement in the conclusion: To sum up, Ali’s life keeps him very busy. Main idea: Ali’s days are full from morning to night.

35. Task 2 Tips

36. * 150+ words (use more!!) * 4 paragraphs * (mostly) past tense

37. Task 2 = write a past narrative; for example: - a special day - a memorable event - an experience you had (scary, funny, etc.)

38. Review past tense verbs (-ed and no -ed) study --- studied marry --- married finish --- finished work --- worked become --- became begin --- began

39. Introduction 2 general sentences 1 main idea

40. Most days in our lives are normal and unexciting. However, there are also special days. I’ll never forget the day I saw a World Cup soccer match. Do you have a special day that you will never forget? I think everyone has these memorable times. As for me, I’ll never forget the day I saw a World Cup soccer match. Introduction = 2 general ideas (hook + background) + 1 main idea (thesis) Example #1 Example #2

42. Example: The day of the World Cup soccer match was amazing. We left our hotel in Brazil and arrived at noon. The stadium was already full with thousands of excited fans. People had on shirts of their favorite teams and waved flags, and some people painted their faces. Then, the ……

43. Paint a picture with words! Give details that let your readers “see” what happened

44. Question: How is taking an exam like taking medicine? Answer: You have to follow directions carefully!

45. Talk about what the exam tells you to: 1. The topic --- for example: Write about a sports event you attended Write about a memorable visit you made to a special place

46. 2. Guidelines --- for example: - what was this event? - who did you go with? - where was this place? - what did you do there? - when did you go there?

47. Suggestion: The guidelines will probably have 6-7 questions Use body #1 to answer half of them Use body #2 to answer the other half

48. Body #1 - What was this event? - who did you go with? - where was this place? Body #2 - what did you do there? - when did you go there? - what was the result of this event?

49. Conclusions in conclusion in summary to sum up in short in brief overall in general Begin with a conclusion word:

50. You can look at your main idea and repeat it but use different words! Restatement in the conclusion: To sum up, watching the World Cup was a day I will always remember. Main idea: I’ll never forget the day I saw a World Cup soccer match.