________________________________________________________________
DURING
THE COURSE
·
Do all the writings that are required. Always do the preparation
exercises first. Study
your writing assignments when you get them back – they include your marks, your
mistakes, some notes, and an improved version.
·
Make sure you clearly and systematically differentiate between capital (A, B, C …) and small-case letters (a, b, c ….). Do not mix them in the same
- or across - handwritten words (e.g. I
Don’T Know IF thHis is CoRReCt). Always use small-case letters unless there
is a reason not to. Remember that English,
Spanish and any other nationality word begin with a capital initial; that
the pronoun I cannot be written as i; and that the words if and it are only written as If
and It if they are at the beginning
of a sentence (not after a comma, for example).
THAT
DAY
·
Revise this document.
DURING
THE EXAM
STEPS TO
FOLLOW
·
Divide your time between the two tasks and
do not change your mind. Usually, you are given recommended times for each task.
If not, make this decision yourself.
·
For each of the two tasks, also set a time limit for the four stages:
1) Quickly brainstorm your ideas with short notes. Include
any ideas that occur to you when you are brainstorming - do nor discard any
ideas at this stage.
2) Write a first version (the draft). Do not worry about
mistakes in your draft. The important thing is which ideas you decide to
include and which not to include, and to arrange them correctly in the
appropriate paragraphs. Do not devote too much time to the draft – you need
time for your final version. Make sure you allot yourself enough time to write
out your answer, even if it is not perfect.
3) Write your final version. Correct your mistakes for
the first time at this stage.
4) Check what you have written out for mistakes in grammar,
vocabulary, spelling, and punctuation.
·
While making your draft, always think of the paragraphs you are going to use. A good composition always
has clearly distinct paragraphs: it should be clear what aspect is dealt with
in each one, without mixtures; do not
include, for instance, an idea belonging to the first paragraph in the second -
never go back, except in opinion
essays, for and against essays and reviews of films/books: in these cases, the
last paragraph should consist of the ‘conclusion’, i.e. the main ideas that you
have developed previously, including, for example, a possible recommendation to
see the film. Besides, the paragraphs should be clearly spatially separated:
remember one of the ways to do this is to
leave a blank line between two consecutive paragraphs.
RICHER LANGUAGE
·
Use the
Past Continuous and/or the Past Perfect (Simple or Continuous) and/or used to
correctly at least once if the writing is about the past.
-
When she got back home, her boyfriend hadn’t started to make the dinner yet.
She immediately realised he’d been
playing video games all day. He was
playing his favourite one at the moment.
-
When I was a little kid used to play on the street.
-
There used to
be a ban near here.
·
Use may
or might, not just maybe or perhaps. Above all, try not to use be possible too often. Look at these transformations:
-
Maybe/Perhaps that is not true > It may/might not
be true.
-
One day maybe/perhaps we will communicate with other
people by means of chips on our body. > One day we may/might communicate
with other people by means of chips on our body.
-
Maybe/Perhaps this has already taken place somewhere.
> This may/might have taken place somewhere.
-
It’s possible that that remedy doesn’t work. > That
remedy may/might not work.
-
Then it’s possible that we have to do all the work
ourselves. > Then we may/might have to do all the work ourselves.
·
If appropriate, include one or two passive sentences, especially if the
text is not informal. Examples:
-
They say that natural medicine can prevent many
diseases > It is said that
natural medicine can prevent many diseases / Natural medicine is said to (be able to) prevent many diseases.
-
That day John left his home to work and nobody saw him
again > That day John left his home to work and was never seen again.
·
Emphasis with do/does/did. Compare the neutral
sentences with the emphatic ones:
-
We tend not to believe in spirits around us, since
they cannot be seen; thus, when we do
see them it usually comes as a shock.
-
All my friends think he hates sport, but he does like ping pong.
-
We were convinced he wouldn’t show up, but he did turn up at the wedding itself.
·
Ellipsis after auxiliaries
(be, has, do and modal verbs), that
is, not using the implicit words after an auxiliary:
-
They were all looking for the dog. I wasn’t – I knew it would come back.
-
She said she’d write, but she hasn’t.
-
I may come to London; I’ll phone if I do.
-
He said he’d arrive before seven and he did.
-
I may become a doctor. Or rather, I will.
·
If the writing is not informal, it is usually quite appropriate to use
verbs from Latin that are similar (also in meaning) to Spanish words, such as postpone and cancel. But if the context is informal, these two verbs and very
many others are typically replaced by phrasal verbs, so learning at least the most
common phrasal verbs will really improve your language command. In fact, many
phrasal verbs are also quite suitable in less informal contexts. These are a
few examples with common phrasal verbs:
-
find out what happened for discover what happened
-
put off the match (but put it off!) for postpone
the match
-
call off the meeting for cancel the meeting
-
I made up my
mind to try to rescue him for I decided to try to rescue him
-
I can’t put up
with such behaviour for I can’t tolerate such behaviour
-
I had to go on
for I had to continue
·
Use a few relative sentences. They are extremely usual, so look below
at examples of how students sometimes avoid them (but let us use the right
punctuation) and how to use them:
-
I have a sister. She’s a lawyer. > I have a sister who’s a lawyer.
-
I visited a friend. His flat was tiny. > I visited
a friend whose flat was tiny.
-
This institute carries out biochemical research. It is
the most influential scientific institution in the country. > This institute, which carries out biochemical
research, is the most influential
scientific institution in the country.
-
The building is to be enlarged soon. Two Spanish
scientists work in it. > The building,
where two Spanish scientists work,
is to be enlarged soon.
-
She passed her exam, and this made her parents proud
of her. > She passed her exam, which
made her parents proud of her.
·
If appropriate (e.g. if the style is formal and the logical relation
between the clauses allows it), use a couple of participle clauses, either with
present (i.e. active) or past (i.e. passive) participles. [This point may be
too advanced and you might prefer to ignore it.] Note:
-
There is a wealth of exhibits on show, which date back
thousands of years. > There is a wealth of exhibits on show, dating back thousands of years.
-
Meanwhile, Lisbeth, who is carefully keeping out of
everyone’s sight, is making her own investigations. > Meanwhile, Lisbeth,
carefully keeping out of everyone’s
sight, is making her own investigations.
-
When he hears the shot, Mark rushes into the house.
> Hearing the shot, Mark rushes
into the house.
-
This film was released in 1995. It was directed by
Pedro Almodóvar. > This film, directed
by Pedro Almodóvar, was released in 1995.
-
As she was frustrated with her husband, she soon had
an affair with someone wealthier than him. > Frustrated with her husband, she soon had an affair with someone
wealthier than him.
-
Because he is deeply ashamed of how he has behaved,
Luke cannot face his family and friends. > Deeply ashamed of how he has behaved, Luke cannot face his family and
friends.
Ordinary adjectives (and adjective phrases) can be used instead of
participles:
-
Angry with her
husband, she soon had an affair with someone wealthier than him.
-
Anxious, he ran across the room and opened the mysterious
box.
·
To refer back to people and things, apart from pronouns you can also use
a certain variety of reference phrases: Madonna … she … the American
star … her … the pop singer // Barcelona … it … the city … the Catalan capital … the
Expo 1992 host city.
·
When you review your first version, add a couple of –ly
adverbs and a couple of adjectives to make your writing richer, more varied and more
vivid. Students’ writing usually lacks the variety of adjectives and adverbs of
manner that is natural. Compare these pairs sentences:
-
A man came up to me. > A desperate-looking, strong,
young man unexpectedly came up to me.
-
The child started to cry. > The disoriented little
child suddenly started to cry loudly and inconsolably.
·
If
appropriate, use a couple of adverbs that express your attitude, at the
beginning of sentences. Examples:
-
As I was the only doctor in the group, everyone
anxiously asked me what to do. Honestly
/ Frankly, I had no idea myself.
-
The guide bluntly pointed out that I was always late. Naturally / Of course, his remark made
me feel quite embarrassed.
-
My friend was constantly dropping things and
stammering her words. Obviously, she
was feeling rather nervous.
-
Then my friends arranged to have a party the next day.
Strangely enough, they didn’t count
on me.
-
She was determined to live for six months without
using any money. Interestingly/Surprisingly
enough, the experiment turned out to be a complete success.
-
We needed the medicine badly, so we did all we could
to get to the village in time. Sadly /
Unfortunately / Unluckily, we arrived there just to find the chemist’s had
just closed.
-
The doctor said it was a kind of syndrome. Luckily / Fortunately, it didn’t turn
out to be serious.
·
Giving examples. Instead of using like
(more informal), use such as and including:
-
I visited such
Italian cities as Florence, Siena
and Pisa.
-
I went to some Italian cities, such as Florence, Siena and Pisa.
-
I went to some Italian cities, including Florence, Siena and Pisa.
Etc is usually
avoided. If you do use it, do not use dot, dot, dot (…) next to it.
·
To express additional elements, you can use besides,
as well as, together with, apart from …
-
Besides / As well as / Apart from English, she can
speak French, Italian, and Arabic.
-
Besides / Apart from being a journalist, he’s a
lawyer.
-
It has some practical advantages, together with /
apart from / besides its methodological convenience.
Note that *a part from is not the right spelling
of this preposition.
·
I am afraid:
-
I am afraid that it will not be possible for me to attend the
first day’s lectures. [formal]
-
I’m so sorry, Jenny, but I can’t call on you next
weekend, I’m afraid – my parents
have just given me a ring to say they’re coming. [informal]
·
After all. Look at the two different uses, which coincide with those
of ‘después de todo’:
a. So the prospect of being hired by the company seemed quite realistic,
but the next day they phoned me to say they could not give me a job after all.
Union leaders announced that they would, after all, take part in the national conference.
b. Prisoners should be treated with respect – they are human beings after all.
One could wonder why they are so concerned; it is not their problem after all.
·
Some common phrases with the noun point.
Look below at a sample of usual phrases containing point that students do not normally use. See which ones seem easy
for you to use:
-
The point is, at least we’re all safely back home. (the most important fact is that…)
-
My point is not
that we should all readily adopt traditional lifestyles. My point is that we could get rid of some aspects of our modern
lifestyle, such as a high salt intake. (=what I would like to emphasise is…)
-
Nobody knows exactly how it works. That’s the whole point.
-
He may not have stolen the money himself, but that’s not the point. (the most important fact)
-
I wish you’d get
to the point. (=talk about the most important thing)
-
I’ll come straight
to the point. (=talk about the most important thing first)
-
I was determined to prove my point. (=prove that what I’d said was right)
-
A simple example will illustrate/demonstrate the point. (=illustrate / demonstrate what I mean)
-
I suppose we could save one or two of the trees, but what’s the point? (= the purpose or aim)
-
What’s the point of this meeting anyway? (= the purpose or aim)
-
The whole point of this legislation is to protect children.
-
There’s no point in worrying. (it’s pointless, useless)
-
We’re going to lose money, so I can’t see the point of playing.
CONNECTORS
·
Do not use connectors (linking words or phrases) that you are not sure
about, or just because you feel you must include a lot. An extremely common
example of a connector being misused is on the other hand, which can be used only for contrasting
ideas (e.g. before talking about disadvantages, after having talked about advantages),
and which, in any case, must be exactly on
the other hand, not, for example, *by
another hand. Visualise something (e.g. a book) “on the one hand” (on the open palm, not in your fist) and something else (e.g. a
laptop) “on the other hand”.
·
Rather than just using always because
for reason,
use a variety:
-
We decided to go to the beach, since/as it was a nice day.
-
As/Since his car wasn’t there, I thought Kevin was out
-
The parade had to be cancelled owing to / due to / as a result of bad weather. [better than because
of in writing]
·
Rather than using ‘for this reason, (…)’ use therefore, consequently, as a
consequence, as a result or that
is why (…) [And never use For
this to express consequence]:
-
The Germans could not speak Spanish and the Spanish
group could not say a word in German; therefore/consequently, everyone had to
resort to English – and making gestures.
-
I had no map and there was no one around. As a
result/consequence, I soon got lost.
-
My sister had just had twins; that’s why I couldn’t
take that train – she badly needed anyone’s help.
·
To express sequence of events, do not use after as an adverb; instead, use ‘then,
(…)’, ‘after that, (…)’, or ‘next, (…)’, for example; in fact,
if you use after in this case, the
idea is quite different, so if you mean the second sentence in each pair below,
do not use the first:
-
I went shopping for clothes, after I did the weekly
housework. [‘Me
fui a comprarme ropa, después de hacer las tareas semanales de la casa.’]
-
I went shopping for clothes; after that, I did the
weekly housework. [‘Me
fui a comprarme ropa; después hice las tareas semanales de la casa.’]
·
There are several good linking phrases for generalisations, not just In general. Look at these:
-
On the whole / Generally speaking / Broadly speaking, I think that women make better journalists than men.
-
By and large, the new arrangements have worked well.
·
To introduce an explanation or clarification of a point you have just made, use that
is (to say); and to say something again in another way, you may say in
other words:
-
The government are going to help first-time buyers. That is to say, they are going to make
mortgages more easily available.
-
A lot of people booed, and some people even left
early. In other words, it was a
complete disaster.
·
Use the adverb instead,
not just the preposition instead of.
It can usually be translated as ‘en su lugar’.
-
I didn’t go to Greece after all. Instead, I went to Mexico.
-
You gave me a ham and jam sandwich. Could I have a ham
and tomato one instead?
-
If Jo can’t attend the meeting, I could go instead.
CORRECT LANGUAGE
·
Try not to make too much use of grammar
or vocabulary that you are not sure enough about; for example, Conditional 3 (If I’d been you, I’d have done the same thing); *to considerate
or to consider?; *occupated or occupied?
·
Make sure you don’t make mistakes about the Present Simple or the Past Simple (affirmative and negative). Of
course, the following sentences exemplify some wrong uses:
-
*I like pop but he like heavy metal.
-
*Does the average American supports this war?
-
*At that moment, I need more sympathy than money.
-
*I didn’t knew
whether she was for or against the idea.
·
Be careful with complex verb forms: *I had being written would be “yo había estando escrito”, so it
doesn’t exist in English either. (Instead, you may mean I had been writing (“yo había estado escribiendo”, or I had been written (“yo había sido
escrito” > “me habían escrito”.)
·
Do not use a(n)
before plural nouns (*an important
meetings) - or uncountable singular nouns, such as news (note this is a
singular form!), advice and furniture (three difficult cases).
But use it when the noun form is singular and countable and there is no other
determiner (my, this…) – this
omission is wrong: *I don’t have car / *I
had appointment with the doctor / *She doesn’t have boyfriend.
·
The final
–s
is another of the most recurrent mistakes. Don’t fail to look through
your text and check that you:
-
Have not used if with adjectives (*very
importants meetings)
-
Have used it for plural nouns, and for the third person singular of the
affirmative, Present Simple form.
·
Leave out the
in generalisations
(with plural and uncountable nouns). It is of course all right to write I was looking for the children or The milk was already boiling (specific),
but not *The children start to understand
the speech long before they can talk or The
milk, as it comes from the cows, naturally contains fat.
·
To with a direct object and after a modal verb (must, can, could, shall, should, will, would, may, might) are bad
mistakes:
-
*I saw to my friends.
-
*We should treat to everybody respectfully.
-
*We must to protect the environment.
-
*I can to help you with the party.
·
You / your / they / them / their / he / him / his / she
/ her
This is not the place to
explain the correct use of these words (you can revise the documents mentioned
above), but be careful with them: they are the source of basic and varied
mistakes, including she or her for the word people, *you car for your car, and his names when you mean their
names.
·
False friends
Some formally similar words in two languages do not have the same
meaning. ‘False friends’ must be avoided as much as possible, as the meaning of
what you write will be different from the meaning you want to convey. These few
examples are very common mistakes:
-
actually for nowadays /today / at present /
now
-
the actual or the actually [+noun] for
the current, the present, today’s (as in the present situation, today’s world).
-
idiom for language
-
advise for warn, and advice for warning or notice,
depending on the meaning
-
notice for news.
-
politics for politicians
-
sensible for sensitive.
Also, bear in mind that economical means ‘cheap, inexpensive’, while economic is the word in lots of cases (e.g. the current economic recession, economic affairs)
·
Punctuation
and capital letters
-
Don’t use two consecutive punctuation marks, such as a full stop plus a
comma, a question mark plus a full stop, or an exclamation mark plus a comma.
The capital initial is only required after a full stop, a question mark, or an
exclamation mark, or else because the word itself always requires it, e.g. days
of the week, months and nationality adjectives: on Tuesday, in February, English, Spanish, French … (not *english, *spanish, *french).
·
Spelling
-
A or an? The rule is actually a
pronunciation rule: use an if – and
only if – the following sound is a vowel, not a consonant or semi-consonant, so
an hour, an honest woman [the h is silent in these cases], but a university, a European country [the
following word begins with /j/].
-
Usually, normally, totally, basically, etc take a double l because the adjective ends with an
l (usual, normal, total, basic+al etc), but completely, sincerely,
unfortunately, happily etc take only one because the adjective does not end
with an l (complete, sincere,
unfortunate, happy etc).
-
Similarly, it will not be difficult to know whether to use a double
consonant with many prefixes. The easiest one to explain is probably dis-: *dissappear is wrong since *sappear
does not exist. Thus, you must write dissatisfied
(dis+satisfied) but disappointment (dis+appointment).
-
*Writting for writing is one of the
commonest students’ spelling mistakes. Actually, the pronunciation would be
different (the short fish-vowel, not
the long bike-vowel). Simply, leave
out the final e before –ing: write > writing, ride > riding,
type > typing …
-
Conversely, write beginning,
not *begining (or *beginning). If the verb has one syllable
(or more than one with the stress on the
last) and it ends with one vowel
letter plus one consonant letter,
double the final consonant: stop >
stopping (stoping would imply a
hypothetical infinitive stope!), shop > shopping, run > running, permit
> permitting, forbid > forbidding; but: wait > waiting, appear > appearing, dust > dusting, listen >
listening, open > opening.
-
The full form of can’t is not
spelt *can not, but cannot.
-
Practice and advice are nouns. The
verbs are practise and advise.
SPECIFIC
WRITING GENRES
1. A
formal letter (e.g. a
letter of complaint, covering letter, letter of application for a job)
·
Make sure that you use these:
-
your address in the top right corner;
-
the date below this;
-
the addressee’s name and address, a little below the former but on the
left;
-
Dear Mr/Ms + his/her surname (only if their gender and surname are
known), followed by a comma (BrE) or a colon (AmE);
-
Dear Sir or Madam (instead of Dear
Mr Smith, for example) if you do not know the addressee’s gender and
surname;
-
a capital initial letter in the next line;
-
Yours faithfully (if you have used their surname at the beginning) or Yours sincerely (if you have used Dear Sir or Madam at the beginning), followed
by a comma as a closing formula;
-
your signature (just your full name in your usual handwriting) in the
next line (on the left);
-
your full name (imitate printed type letters) in the last line (on the
left).
[If all this is not clear for you, see chapter 146 in Swan’s Practical English Usage]
·
Never use greetings (Hello, Good
morning …) or closing formulas such as Please
keep in touch and Write back soon.
·
Do not threaten the addressee. You can of course write If my request is not satisfactorily
answered, I am afraid I will be forced to take legal action [note the
passive forms used for distancing yourself from the action] or something
similar, but you must never use a threatening tone (If you do not offer me a solution, expect very bad consequences!).
·
Use full forms (I will, I will
not, he cannot, it is …), not contracted forms (I’ll, I won’t, he can’t, it’s …)
2. A
mail or letter
·
I wait for your answer does not sound natural and is not used. *I hope your answer is completely incorrect English. Instead, use
these:
-
Looking forward to hearing from you / to your reply. [informal]
-
I look forward to hearing from you / to your reply. [formal].
·
In an informal
mail or letter, it is a very good idea to begin with Sorry that I haven’t written earlier but [+ a short excuse], and,
at the end, before the closing formula, to use Must stop writing now [+ a reason].
·
In an informal mail or letter, use contracted forms (I’m, she’ll, he’s, they won’t), not full
forms (I am, she will, he is, they will
not)
3. An
opinion essay (or a for and against essay)
·
Include a question in your first paragraph to
attract the reader’s attention. Look at this example, about the topic
‘Advertising: a necessary evil?’:
Somebody tempting you to have a drink, a poster on a
wall, an sms on your mobile, a commercial on TV … wherever you go nowadays,
there is advertising, from the moment you get up to the time you go to bed.
Most people never question either its aims or its methods. But should we
really tolerate advertising’s invasion of all the aspects of our life?
On the one hand, it is a well-known fact that
advertising provides valuable information (…).
·
As
seen in class, remember it is also
convenient to give your reasons for
your opinions as well as real examples
and possible sources (other people
with the same opinion) to support them:
-
It is a well-known fact that advertising
provides valuable information.
-
Apparently, subliminal messages are frequently used.
