DESCRIPTIVE
TEXTS
1st paragraph
Name the place
Name and location of the place
The Isle of Skye is in the northwest of Scotland
2nd paragraph
Describe its physical characteristics
It is known for its magnificent coast and its beautiful …
Special features and points of interest
Not many places to see but beautiful sights, splendid mountains and coast
3rd paragraph
Atmosphere of the place
People culture and life style
Historical details
How are people? What do they live on? Historical details ?
Conclusion
General conclusion about the place
The Isle of Skye is a great place to visit if you like to look at beautiful landscape and traditional way of living.
OPENING
INCLUDES THE NAME AND THE LOCATION OF THE PLACE AND WHY IT IS SPECIAL TO YOU
BODY
CLOSING
SUMMARISES GENERAL CONCLUSION ABOUT PLACE AS WELL AS OPINION
Model Composition 2 �Brighton
Last year I visited the famous seaside town of Brighton, on the south coast of England. Everyone talks about the bad weather in England. However, a couple of hours after we arrived ,the sun came out and for the rest of our visit, we enjoyed beautiful summer days.
Brighton has a large beach covered with pebbles, and next to it a very attractive promenade and a long pier. The sea air always smells wonderful, and I spent hours lying in the warm sunshine , listening to the happy sounds of the children. I also visited the nearby palace, and spent time buying souvenirs and other items at the excellent shops in The Lanes.
It was a wonderful holiday. If you get the chance to visit Brighton, I certainly recommend you go.
Describing Places Adjectives
idyllic / rural / lively / peaceful / crowded / urban / clean / safe / filthy / cosmopolitan / boring / industrial / agricultural / quiet / picturesque / bustling | |
TOWN | SMALL VILLAGE |
|
|
TOWN | SMALL VILLAGE |
| Idyllic Rural Peaceful Safe Boring Quiet Agricultural Clean picturesque |
Lively
Urban
Crowded
Filthy
Industrial
Bustling
Cosmopolitan
by night! If you prefer sightseeing, I can recommend …
London’s traditional sights draw (attract) million of visitors every year
centre of business and culture. - - Situated on the river Seine, Paris is
a beautiful, cosmopolitan city whose influence on politics, education,
entertainment, fashion and the arts is felt worldwide. Paris is one of
the most popular tourist destinations. Famous places and landmarks
include the Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, Place de la Bastilla. As an
important city with a long history, Paris offers a huge variety of
experiences to the visitor.
Any visit to Paris should include the _______________
Everything in ________ is within walking distance. You can walk from
one side to the town to the other within 30 minutes.
The scenery on Mallorca can differ greatly. Ask the locals for villages or
places worth going/ visiting
USEFUL VOCABULARY AND EXPRESSIONS
DESCRIBING PEOPLE
A personal description
profession
2. BODY
Physical traits: Height, Build
Characteristics: Hair, Eyes,
Order of adjectives:
Clothing
Personality, likes and dislikes,
hobbies
3. CONCLUSION
Explain why you have described this person: My main reason for describing …. Is because his/her personality fascinates me in so many ways.
My cousin Julian has been my role model for as long as I can remember. He’s 18 years old and is a hardworking graphic design student. He doesn’t have a lot of money because he works part-time, but he’s able to share a small, comfortable flat with some friends in Soho. I admire him because of his open-minded personality.
Julian is tall, thin and very handsome, with long, straight, blonde hair. He wears baggy, comfortably clothes.
Julian is a very independent and easy-going person. He’s also very open to lifestyles that are different from his own. I think this is because he loves travelling. He can speak several foreign languages, such as French, German and Italian. Travelling and speaking so many languages has helped him to accept other people’s differences and to learn from them.
To sum up, I think my cousin Julian is a fascinating person because of his tolerance and independence. I know we’ll be very close in the future, too.
1. INTRODUCTION
Name, age, profession: Her/ His name is …. / S/he is …. years old. S/he is a …
Paragraph 2. BODY
Physical traits:
Height: S/he is big / small / short / medium height
Build: S/he is medium weight / skinny / plump / chubby / slim / fat / thin
Characteristics:
Hair: long, short, medium length, straight, curly, wavy; bald, blond, black, red, brown
Eyes: blue, green, brown, black, big, wide
Order of adjectives
Clothing: S/he always wears smart / neat / elegant / business-like / very informal /
casual / formal / tight / scruffy / baggy / loose clothes: t-shirt, jeans, trousers,
sweaters
Personality, likes and dislikes, hobbies
S/he is + adjective: friendly, self-confident, melancholy, reliable, talkative, shy, gentle,
efficient, easy-going, thoughtful, good-humoured, artistic, bad-tempered, eccentric,
moody, stubborn, cheeky, mischievous, nosy, aggressive, lazy, intelligent, talented,
optimistic, sociable, calm, practical, ambitious, outgoing, etc
S/he is a/n + noun: a perfectionist, a good person, a hard worker
S/he likes + V+ing: She doesn’t like reading
4. CONCLUSION
Explain why you have described this person: My main reason for describing …. is because his/her personality fascinates me in so many ways.
ORDER 0F ADJECTIVES
Opinion | Size | Age | Shape | Colour | Origin | Material | Purpose |
|
silly | | young | | | English | | | man |
| huge | | round | | | metal | | bowl |
| small | | | red | | | sleeping | bag |
WRITING AN INFORMAL LETTER OR
GREETING: We begin an email with the greeting. We begin letters with Dear…, (we use a comma, not a colon(:)). But we can begin an email not only with Dear…, but also with Hi…. or Hello…. (followed by a comma).
INTRODUCTION: The introduction is the first paragraph. Here we ask about our friend’s health. We thank him/her for his previous letter/email. In this section we use opening expressions and the reason of our email.
BODY: The body is the most important part of a letter or email. Here we talk about the main subject and expand with details about the reason of writing the email; for example, we cancel something, we talk about our school/work/ family/holidays, etc. If we talk about two different things it is best to write another paragraph.
CONCLUSION: The conclusion is the last paragraph. Here we write our closing remarks: we say goodbye, ask the other person to write back , send her/him or her/his family our love, etc.
� Greeting Introduction � Body � Conclusion Closing | Dear Harry, Thanks for your email! It´s great the summer is nearly here, isn´t it? The adventure holiday you mentioned sounds like a great idea! Do you know if they offer rock climbing and canoeing? I hope so? I´d love to come for two weeks, but my sisters getting married during the first week so I – obviously!- have to be here. I could come for the second week, though. You didn´t say how much it costs. I can only afford £200, so I hope it´s not more than that! One more question for now – what´s the best way to get to Wales from London? Is there a train or a bus that goes near the place? Well, I´d better go now as I´ve got an exam tomorrow. Hope to hear from you soon! All the best, Susan |
LETTERS AND EMAILS
Opening Expressions:
How to start an email/letter
How are you?�How have you been? �How’s everything going?�I was glad to hear from you.�I hope things are going well with you these days. �I hope you are doing fine.�Hope you are well.�What’s new?
I am writing because …�The reason I am writing is because …�I wanted to …�I would like to…
Reason one
Thanks for your email / letter�It was great to hear from you�It was so nice to hear from you.�Sorry for not writing earlier�I hope you and your family are well
Opening expressions
when we anwer
an email/letter
Sorry to hear about…�Glad to hear that you’re all well�Good luck with …�Hope you feel better soon
Responding to news
Can you please…?�Is it ok if you …?�I want to …�Would you mind …?�I was wondering if…
ASKING FOR SOMETHING
Anyway, / Well that’s all for now�Hope to hear from you soon / Looking forward to hearing from you soon�Send my regards (love) to…�Take care / Best wishes / Regards / (Lots of) love from…�Sincerely,�Stay in touch / Keep in touch�Bye for now�See
�
PS Please send me the photos of our last trip
There are a number of conventions that should be adhered to when producing a formal letter. It is important that the overall structure is as clear and concise as possible and that you avoid the use of colloquialisms.
Date:
This should be displayed on the right-hand side of the page
on the line beneath your address and should be written in
full format:
e.g. 1st January 2001
January 1st 2001
2) The Address of the person you are writing to: This address
should be displayed beneath your address on the left-hand
side of your letter, remember to include the name of the
person that you are writing to. (If known)
Salutation & Greeting:
3) Dear Sirs,� If you do not know the name of the person that you are writing to, use
the greeting “Dear Sirs,”. In some circumstances it is useful to find a
name, especially if you are writing to make a request as this will show
that you have done your homework and your letter is more likely to
receive a response. Dear Sir / Madam
Dear Mr Jones, � If you know the name, use one of the following titles:
Mr - for a male� Mrs - for a married female� Miss - for an unmarried female� Ms - for a female whose status is unknown or would prefer
to remain anonymous� Dr - for a person with the status of a doctor
This should be followed by the surname only (not the first name).
4) Subject:
This part contains the main idea of letter. This part of the letter is facilitates the reader to immediately know the topic of the letter.
5) Body of the Letter
This part contains the complete message of letter. It is the main part of the letter in which the message is delivered. It is a core part without which letter has no meaning. The text must be complete, to the point, and clearly meaningful. It contains three paragraphs.
Paragraph 1: Introduction� Paragraph 2: Description� Paragraph 3: Conclusion
6) Complementary Close:
It is placed on the second line below the last line of the text.
The closing should coincide with the level of formality in the
salutation. In business letters we may use the following
complementary closes� Yours sincerely (if you know the name of the person you are writing to)� Yours faithfully (if you don't know the name of the person you are writing to)
7) Signature:
This part contains the name and post of the sender. This
part of letter is flush with left margin. For example
S.A. Salman� Manager
Greetings:
Dear Sir
Dear Madam
Dear Sir/Madam
Reason for writing:
I am writing in response to your article/advertisement/letter
I am writing with regard to your article/advertisement/letter
I am writing regarding your article/advertisement/letter
Ending the letter:
I look forward to receiving your reply
I look forward to your reply
I look forward to hearing from you
I am, yours faithfully (if you don't know the name of the person you are writing to)
I am, yours sincerely (if you know the name of the person you are writing to)
Yours faithfully
Yours sincerely
Dear Mr Brown
Dear Ms Jones etc
Writing formal letters generally
2) Introducing the complaint:
Firstly
In the first place
First of all
My first complaint is …
The first problem is …
The first thing I would like to draw your attention to is …
My first concern is ….
Writing formal letters to complain:
1) Reason for writing:
I am writing in order to complain about …
I am writing to complain about …
4) Demanding action:
I suggest that you replace the item
I therefore suggest that I be given a full refund.
I would be grateful if my money was refunded.
I would be grateful if you could give me a full refund.
3)Introducing further complaints:
Secondly
In the second place
Not only .......but also
In addition
In addition to this
Added to this
.......was also unacceptable
5) Ending the letter:
I look forward to hearing from you.
I look forward to receiving a full refund.
I look forward to receiving a replacement.
I look forward to receiving your explanation
.
Writing formal letters to make suggestions
1) Reason for writing:
I am writing to suggest …
I am writing to arrange …
I am writing to offer suggestions
I am writing make arrangements
2) Making first suggestion:
My first suggestion is …
First of all I suggest …
I would like to suggest …
3) Making further suggestions:
Another possibility is …
A further possibility is …
I further suggest …
I would further suggest …
Secondly …
4) Offering a choice:
Would you therefore mind choosing between ....?
Either......or
You might choose either ....... or
Requesting further information:
Could you also tell me....?
Could you also inform me ....?
Would you also mind informing me ....?
Would you also mind telling me ....?
Do you know ....?
I would also like to know if
I would also like to know whether
I hope you might also let me know about ...
Writing formal letters to request information
Reason for writing:
I am writing to receive further information about …
I am writing to enquire about …
I am writing to receive more detailed information about …
I am writing to receive further details about …
Requesting first piece of information:
The first thing I would like to know is …
First of all I would like to know …
I wonder if you would mind telling me first of all ....?
Thanking for information:
I would like to thank you in advance for this information.
Thanking you in advance for this information.
Thanking you in advance.
Writing formal letters to give information:
1) Reason for writing:
I am writing to provide you with information about …
I am writing to inform you about …
I am writing to let you know that
2) Providing first point:
The first thing I would like to inform you of is …
The first thing I would like to tell you is …
The first thing I wish to inform you of is …
I would like to begin by informing you …
3) Providing further points:
I would also like to let you know that …
I would also like to inform you that …
You might also find the following information useful …
It might also be useful for you to know that …
Another piece of information that might be useful …
4) Ending the letter:
If you require further information, please do not hesitate to ask.
If I can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to ask.
I will willingly provide further information on request.
I am at your disposal should you require further information.
I am at your disposal should you need further assistance.
Please do not hesitate to ask should you require further information.
Writing formal letters to request permission
Reason for writing:
I am writing to ask permission to …
I am writing to ask permission for …
I am writing to request permission to …
I am writing to request permission for …
I am writing to ask if I might …
Making first request:
Firstly I wonder if you would …
First of all I wonder whether you would mind …
The first request I would like you to consider is …
Making further requests:
I would be grateful if you would also consider …
I wonder if it might be possible for me to …
I would also like to request permission for …
I would also like to request permission to …
Thanking for permission
Many thanks for kindly considering my requests.
Thank you for considering my requests.
Useful phrases for letters of application 1
1) Greetings:
Dear Sir
Dear Madam
Dear Sir/Madam
Dear Mr Brown
Dear Ms Jones etc.
2) Reason for writing:
I am writing in response to the job advertisement which I saw in …
I am writing with regard to the job offer which I saw in …
3) Describing character:
I am generally considered hardworking. For example I …
I am generally considered outgoing. For example I …
I consider myself a good team member. For example I …
I consider myself a sociable person. For example I …
I would say I was an industrious person. For example …
In my present post I have often needed to show initiative. For example …
4) Presenting qualifications:
I obtained a degree in ............ from ........... University achieving a ....... grade
I have .... A levels in ......., ......., ........., and .........
I also have a ....... qualification
I hold a full driving license
Useful phrases for letters of application 2
5) Language ability:
I am a native ......... speaker and also fluent in ............
I have an Intermediate level in ......
I have an advanced level in ......
8) Availability for interview:
I am available for interview at your convenience.
9) Ending the letter:
I look forward to receiving your reply.
I look forward to your reply.
Yours sincerely. (if addressed to a named person)
Yours faithfully. (to unnamed person)
6) Describing experience:
I have experience of this type of work because …
My job at .............. has given me experience of this type of work
Although I have no direct experience, I have …
7) Offering further information:
Should you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
I will gladly supply any further information.
Sample Question 1
Write 120-150 words in an appropriate style
You are helping to organise a visit to an English Language Academy in Manchester. You have received a letter from John Webster, the director of the Academy. Read the letter and the notes you have made. Then write a letter to Mr Webster using all your notes.
I am very glad to see that you are coming to our academy in July. I am sure you will all have a very enjoyable time and that you will learn a lot of English.
Your can either stay all together in a youth hostel, or individually with local families. Please tell me which you would prefer.
Tell me something about your group so that I can organise interesting spare time activities. What sort of things do they like doing?
Please ask if you need any further information.
Yours sincerely,
John Webster
Your notes:
Paragraph 1 - learning a lot of English is very important because .....
Paragraph 2 - say which you prefer, and why.
Ask what the weather's like in Manchester and what clothes you will need.
Write your letter. You must use grammatically correct sentences with accurate spelling and punctuation in a style appropriate for the situation.
Sample Question 2 - Letter of Complaint
Write 100-120 words in an appropriate style.
You have just returned from a trip to Canada. You flew there and back with Maple Air. You decide to write to the airline to complain about your flight and ask for some money back.
Read the advertisement and the notes you made and then, using the information, write a letter to the airline. You may add other relevant points of your own.
FLY MAPLE AIR TO CANADA
We offer:
3 flights a day
wide, comfortable seats
friendly, well-trained staff
a good choice of food - special diets no problem
the latest in-flight entertainment
Phone 0179 765893 now or see your travel agent for more details.
Your notes:
Late boarding
Staff quite rude
No vegetarian food for me
Old film
Write your letter of complaint. Do not include any postal addresses.