WRITING IN ENGLISH?: YES, YOU CAN!

INGREDIENTS: 1. SOME GRAMMAR + VOCAB. 2. SOMETHING TO SAY. 3. ORGANIZATION.

PAU: 150 words composition in 30 or 40 minutes, based on a topic that you can choose out of two titles. This task is not very difficult as long as you: 1. HAVE A PLAN. 2. DON´T PANIC. There are five main steps to write a good essay.

1. Read the title and decide what type of essay it is.

Smoking should be considered a crime. Do you agree? Write a letter to a clothes shop applying for a job. Write an essay about a Christmas in your country. Write about the advantages and disadvantages of living with your parents. Describe your favourite place for a holiday. Write a story which ends: “When it was all over, I promised I´d never do anything like that again.” Write a biography of a famous person. Write a film review of a film you have seen recently. Write the summary of the following text.

2. Underline key vocabulary.

Underline key words: Should governments spend money on space exploration, or should they spend the money on problems here first? Governments = nations, countries, authorities, politicians Spend =, give, provide, make available, waste. Space exploration = space program, trips to the moon, planets, planetary voyages. Money = budgets, taxes, resources. Problems = concerns, issues, worries, disasters, terrorism, war, famine, poverty, education, homelessness, drugs, global warming. Here = on earth, in our own countries, closer to home, in developing countries.

3. Get ideas. Group similar ideas together.. Discard irrelevant ideas.. Give each group a name (ideas in favour, ideas against, introduction, conclusion...)

4. Decide layout (structure) USE PARAGRAPHS Students who DON´T have paragraphs FAIL. ALWAYS: INTRODUCTION – BODY - CONCLUSION BEGINNING – MIDDLE - END

5. Write Write a first DRAFT. Leave spaces between lines to add ideas. Read your draft. Check:Grammar and vocabulary; relevant ideas; structure (beginning, middle, end), good use of connectors... Write a final version.

LET´S GET STARTED! OPINION OR ARGUMENT? “Should Physical Education be compulsory in 2º Bachillerato?” “Write a for and against essay discussing the advantages and disadvantages of taking a gap year.” “Some people believe that children under 13 should not have mobile phones. Do you agree?” “Write about the advantages and disadvantages of living in the countryside?”

Decide layout: The easiest is That means four paragraphs: introduction (3 sentences) one side (3 sentences), the other side (3 sentences) and the conclusion (3 sentences). This will give you 12 sentences. An average of about 12 words each, that is 144 words. Perfect!introduction conclusion

How to write your introduction Write two sides of the present situation or the two different opinions on a topic. The third sentence (thesis) will describe what you are going to do in your essay.

Opinion: Who should take care of our old people? Sentence 1: In my country, most old people live happily with their children. Sentence 2: Increasingly however, many families cannot take care of their parents Sentence 3 (Thesis): This essay will describe some of the problems involved with taking care of old people, and discuss who should be responsible.

Argument Does space exploration benefit mankind? Sentence For Many people are excited about space exploration. Sentence Against However, others feel it is a massive waste of money Sentence 3 (Thesis) This essay will look at some of the arguments for and against space exploration.

More examples of theses sentences: In this essay, I will outline the arguments for and against sex education in schools. In this essay, I will examine some reasons for the growth of the tourism industry. This essay looks at ideas in favour of and against early marriage. This essay will discuss the benefits of having universal free health care. Words to use in the thesis sentence analyze, look at, examine, discuss, outline, consider, describe

Tip: Finally, if you are having problem thinking about an introduction, leave some space and write it later - AFTER you write the body or conclusion.

Body : Use two paragraphs ARGUMENT ESSAYS: To give both sides of an argument or situation (one pragraph for and one against) OPINION ESSAYS: To show agreement (one paragraph) and then disagreement (second paragraph)

Three is a magic number: include three ideas in each paragraph: “ In my opinion, travelling by train is far better than travelling by car when taking a holiday. First of all, most countries in Europe have excellent train links which are fast and efficient. Secondly, travelling by train removes the responsibility from you as a driver and allows you to spend the time reading a book or relaxing. Furthermore, unlike cars, all the facilities you need such as food, refreshments and toilets are available on the train.. On the other hand, oponents to the use of trains claim that it is slower that the car. In addition, they say that a car gives you more freedom.

CONCLUSION DO: rephrase the question summarize the main ideas give your opinion, if you haven't given it already look to the future (say what will happen if the situation continues or changes) DONT: Add new information.

In conclusion, although there are undoubtedly some problems with the railway system in this area, I feel strongly that the use of public transport by the people will highly contribute to a better country.

USEFUL VOCABULARY Conclusion: In summary / Finally, / In conclusion, /To sum up, / In a nutshell, Comparison: Despite / In spite of (+ sustantivo / + gerundio ) In contrast to… By comparison… Unlike…./ Like…. Is (far) better than…. / Is less…. / Is more …… Although / Even though / Whereas

Opinion: In my view / As far as I am concerned / Personally / In my opinion Order: First of all.... / Seconly ….. Finally… / To begin with…. / In conclusion…. Addition: In addition / What is more / furthermore / Besides Reason: because / as / since; Consequence: consequently / therefore / as a result. OTHERS: On the one hand… / On the other hand../ However / Nevertheless / Both positive and negative aspects...