Writing
Plan.
For rent: …
Address: …
Plan.
Dear + (your pen friends first name),
Introduction
Para 1: Say who you are, how old you are, what your occupation is, where you live and what you look like.
Main body
Para 2: Talk about your family (members, ages, jobs) and your house.
Para 3: Say what you like / don’t like doing
Conclusion
Para 4: Ask your pen friend to write back soon.
Best wishes,
(your first name)
Plan.
Para 1: name, job, feelings about the job
Para 2: daily routine (what she does in the morning/afternoon/evening/at night)
Para 3: free time activities (what she likes/doesn’t like doing)
Para 4: How she feels about her life
Plan.
Dear + (your friend s first name)
Greetings from …
Say where you are
Say what the weather is like
Say what clothes you are wearing
Say what you are doing now
See you soon.
Lots of love,
(your first name)
Plan.
Para 1: name of restaurant, type and location
Para 2: dishes and desserts
Para 3: cost, service, opening hours
Para 4: recommendation
Plan.
Introduction
Para 1: State the name of the place
Main body
Para 2: Write what life was like then (what there was/were, there wasn’t/weren’t, what people didn’t have and what they could do)
Para 3: write about what life is like now (what there is/are, what people have got, what people can do)
Conclusion
Para 4: Say how nice the place is nowadays
Plan.
Para 1: full name, what he is famous for, date/place of birth
Para 2: important dates in his life in chronological order – early years/later years
Para 3: about his death
When we write a story, we start by saying when and where the event happened, who the people in the story were and what happened first. We continue with what happened just before the main event (2nd paragraph), then describe the main event of the story (3rd paragraph). We end our story by writing what finally happened and how the people in the story felt. When we tell a story we use past tenses.
Plan.
Para 1: start the story (who the people in the story were, when/where/what happened)
Para 2-3: develop the story (what happened before the main event/the main event itself)
Para 4: end the story (what happened in the end - how he felt)
When we write an article for a magazine describing a place, we may give the information under suitable subheadings.
We start by stating the name of the place and its location, and then we give a short general description of the place.
After that, we talk about where visitors can stay (accommodation), places to visit or eat at, where to go shopping and the nightlife.
We end by giving an overall impression of the place. Adjectives make our description more interesting.
We normally use present tenses in this type of writing.
When we write a letter to friend about our plans, we divide the letter into four paragraphs. We start with Dear + our friend’s first name. In this type of letter we use be going to to talk about our plans/intensions and the present continuous to talk about fixed future arrangements. To express reason or purpose, we use so, because or to-infinitive. We end the letter with Love/Best Wishes/Yours, +our first name.
Plan.
Dear + (your friend’s first name,)
Introduction
Para 1: reason for writing the letter
Main body
Para 2, 3: your plans, intentions with reasons
Para 4: your arrangements – invite him/her to your house/flat for a special event
Conclusion
Para 5: closing remarks (e.g. See you soon.)
Love,
(Your first name)
When we write leaflets giving rules, regulations, advice, instructions, etc. we write one rule after the other on separate lines. We use the imperative and words like never, always, make sure, etc. We may also give the reason why we should do what the rule says.
Never light fires in forests, Trees will burn.
When we are on holiday and we want to write a friend to report our experiences, we start by saying where we are, when we arrived there, what the weather is like, and where we are staying.
Then, we talk about the things we have or haven’t done (present perfect), when we did them and what each was like (past simple). We also say what we are going to do.
We end the letter by saying what we think of the place and when we are leaving.
Plan.
Dear + (your friend’s first name,)
Introduction
Para 1: Where are you?
When did you arrive there?
What is the weather like?
Where are you staying?
Main body
Para 2: What things have you done?
When did you do them?
What was each like?
Para 3: What haven’t you done yet?
What are you going to do?
Conclusion
Para 4: What do you think of the place?
When are you leaving?
Best wishes/Love, etc.
(Your first name)
When we write an article about a country and its people, we can divide our article into six paragraphs.
In the first paragraph, we include the name of the country, its location and its features. In the second paragraph, we write what the people look like and we describe their character. In the third paragraph, we write about where the people live and what work they do. In the fourth paragraph, we write about what they eat. In the fifth paragraph, we write about what they do in their free time.
In the last para we write a few words about the country. We normally use the present simple.
Plan.
Introduction
Para 1: name of country, location, features
Main body
Para 2: people s looks and character
Para 3: where people live, what they do
Para 4: people s favourite foods
Para 5: people s free-time activities
Conclusion
Para 6: comments about the country
When we write an article about someone’s lifestyle and how it has changed, we can divide it into 4 paras. In the 1st para, we write his/her full name, where he/she comes from and what he/she does for a living. In the 2nd para, we write how his/her life used to be years ago. We write about his/her home, appearance, eating habits and free-time activities. In the 3rd para, we write about his/her lifestyle nowadays. In the last para, we write how he/she feels about these changes. We use used to or the past simple to talk about the persons past habits, and present tenses to talk about his/her lifestyle nowadays.
When we write an article about the shopping facilities in a big city, we can divide it into four paragraphs.
In the 1st para, we state the name of the city and the types of shops you can find there.
In the 2nd para, we state the names of the best shops, where they are and what we can buy there.
In the 3rd para, we state the opening hours and the sales times.
In the last para, we recommend the place to shoppers.
We normally use the present simple in such articles. We give the article an interesting title to attract the reader’s attention.
Plan
Introduction
Para 1: name of city, types of shops in general
Main body
Para 2: names of best shops, where they are, what you can buy there.
Para 3: opening hours & sales time(s)
Conclusion
Para4: recommendation
When we write a formal letter asking for information we can divide it into three pars.
We start the letter with Dear Sir/Madam.
In the 1st para, we mention the reason why we are writing the letter
In the 2nd para, we ask questions about the information we need
In the last para, we usually say we hope to hear from the person soon.
We end our letter with Yours faithfully, and our full name.
Plan.
Dear Sir/Madam,
Para 1: explain why you are writing
Para 2: ask your questions
Para 3: closing remarks
Yours faithfully,
(your full name)
When we write a report about good and bad points of a place such as a restaurant, a campsite, a hotel, etc., we can divide it into 3 parts:
The introduction, where we state the purpose of our report;
The main body, where we talk about good and bad points with examples. We write each piece of information under subheadings;
The conclusion, where we give our overall impression and make our suggestions.
We can use the present tenses or past tenses for this kind of report.
When we write a profile of a famous person we usually divide it into 4 paras.
In the 1st para, we write who the person is and why he/she is important.
In the 2nd para, we write about the persons early life (i.e. when and where he/she was born, his/her childhood, the school he/she attendant, etc.)
In the 3rd para, we write about the person’s later life (i.e. his/her career, and important events in his/her life, in chronological order)
In the last para, we write about the person’s character, likes and plans.
When we write an article about a famous landmark we can divide it into 4 paras. In the 1st para, we write the name of the place, where it is and what it looks like. In the 2nd para, we write about the historical facts of the landmark. In the 3rd para, we write about what visitors can see or do there. In the last para, we recommend a visit to the landmark. We normally use present tenses to describe the landmark and past tenses to write about the historical facts. In this type of writing, the passive is used when the action is more important than the agent.
When we write a news report we can divide it into 3 paras. In the 1st para, we write a short summary of the event, we write about who was involved, what happened and where and when it happened.
In the 2nd para, we write a detailed description of what happened. In the last para we write what action has been taken.
We normally use past tenses in this type of writing. We always give our report an eye-catching title.
When we write an article suggesting solutions to problems we can divide it into 5 paras. In the 1st para we state the problem. In the next paras (2, 3 and 4) we write our suggested solutions to the problem. We write each suggestion with results/examples in a separate para. In the last para we summarise our opinion. We normally use present tenses and conditionals type 2 (if + past simple …would +infinitive) in such articles.
When we write an article describing holiday accommodation (a hotel, a campsite, etc.) we can divide it into 4 paras.
In the 1st para, we write the name and location of the place and why it is special.
In the 2nd para, we describe the place. In the 3rd, we write what people can do there (have a meal, have a drink, go skiing, go rafting, go fishing etc.). In the last para, we recommend the place and say when is the best time to go.
We normally use present tenses in this type of writing.
When we write an article about a celebration/event we attended, we can divide it into 4 paras.
In the 1st para, we write what celebration/event we attended and where and when it took place (place, date, time).
In the 2nd para, we write about the preparations before the celebration/event (e.g. costumes, food and etc.)
In the 3rd para, we write what happened during the celebration/event.
In the last para, how we felt.
We normally use past tenses in such pieces of writing.
When we write an opinion article, we can divide it into 5 paras.
In the 1st para, we introduce the topic and clearly state our opinion. We use: in my opinion, I believe, etc. we can use rhetorical questions to introduce the topic (e.g. Why do people think that only dogs and cats make good pets?)
In the 2nd and 3rd paras, we give our viewpoints and reasons. We list our viewpoints with firstly, furthermore, also, etc.
In the 4th para, we give the opposing viewpoint and reasons. We can start with: On the other hand, However, etc.
In the last para, we state our opinion again using different words.
We normally use present tenses in such pieces of writing.
When we write a for-and-again essay we can divide it into 4 paras.
In the 1st para, we state the topic.
In the 2nd para we write the points for, explaining each point. In the 3rd para we write the points against, in the same way.
In the 4th para, we sum up the topic and give our opinion.
We use present tenses in such pieces of writing. We can also use words such as: also, however, on the other hand, firstly, etc. to list our points.
When you write a letter giving advice, first you express your sympathy to the person who has got the problem, and then you give him/her your advice. You finish your letter by wishing the person good luck.
Useful expressions.
Start with: I just got your letter and I think I can help you/ I was sorry to hear about your problem.
Giving advice: If I were you, Id …, You should …, You ought to …, Why don’t you …, It would be a good idea to …, The best thing you could do is …, I strongly advise you to …, You shouldn’t .,..
Finish with: I hope this helps you. / Let me know what happens. / Hope this advice is of some help to you. / Things will get better soon.
