ACADEMIA FORMA2
María Jesús Duque Sánchez [email protected]
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SECTION 1: CORRESPONDENCE 70-80 words
- letter
- email
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SECTION 2: FACTUAL 110-130 words
- article
- report
- review
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SECTION 3: CREATIVE 110-130 words
- story
- diary
- description
You may be asked to write a letter responding to a situation described in the question.
You must use a style which is suitable for the person you are writing to.
TYPES OF LETTERS:
1. To the editor of a newspaper or magazine
2. Of application, or giving a reference for someone
3. An informal letter to a friend
STARTING AND FINISHING LETTERS
IF YOU KNOW THE PERSON’S NAME
STARTING
Using their first name
Dear Susana
If you don’t feel
comfortable
Dear Mrs Emmett
close friend / family
FINISHING
friend
someone you don’t know
well
Love
With love
Best wishes
Regards
Kind regards
Yours sincerely
Yours
IF YOU DON’T KNOW THE
PERSON’S NAME
Dear Sir
Dear Madam
To whom it may concern
Yours faithfully
EXPRESSIONS USED AT THE BEGINNING OF AN INFORMAL LETTER:
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Thanks (very much) for your letter. It was great to hear from you
Sorry I’ve taken so long to write back, but…
Sorry I haven’t written for so long, but…
I’ve got so much to tell you.
I’m writing to say…
This is just a quick note to say…
EXPRESSIONS USED AT THE END OF AN INFORMAL LETTER:
- Well, that’s all for now
- I’d better finish now because…
- Say “hello” to your family from me.
- Give my love to everyone.
- Don’t forget to write soon.
- Looking forward to hearing from you.
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ACADEMIA FORMA2
María Jesús Duque Sánchez [email protected]
When you write a report your Readers may be for example your boss or a teacher (in which
case you will need a more formal style) or your colleagues or members of your club (in which
case the style will be a little less formal – you can address your Readers more personally,
perhaps use contractions.) In both cases the format should be the same.
You will have to give some factual information and make suggestions or recommendations.
You must organise your report carefully and it’s a good idea to use sections with leadings.
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Give your report a title. Organise it in sections with section headings including
an Introduction and Recommendations.
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Avoid just repeating the words in the question.
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Use vocabulary and collocations appropriate to formal writing.
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Explain the reasons for recommendations you make and the consequences of
problems you mention.
Making suggestions and recommendations
Formal
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I would suggest + verb + -ing: I would
suggest including a section on our
academic system.
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Should:
Its
activities
should
be
advertised more widely
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I recommend that…: I recommend that
we start a social club.
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It would be a good idea + to infinitive: It
would be a good idea to instigate a
mentoring system.
Less formal
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Why not + infinitive without to: Why not
phone one of your friends?
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How about + verb + -ing: How about
meeting up after work tomorrow?
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Let’s + infinitive without to: Let’s have a party.
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ACADEMIA FORMA2
María Jesús Duque Sánchez [email protected]
Articles are written for a newspaper or magazine. In an article you have to develop
an idea or point of view, comment and express your personal opinion.
You may be asked to write an article for an English-language magazine or
newspaper. You must try to capture the reader’s interest, so you should express your
opinions or comment as well, perhaps, as including descriptions and anecdotes.
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ACADEMIA FORMA2
María Jesús Duque Sánchez [email protected]
When you write a story, you should always:
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get ideas by asking yourself who?,
what?, where?, when?, and how?
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decide before you start writing what
will happen at the beginning, in the
middle and at the end. Will the ending
be happy, sad – or a mystery?
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make sure each part of your text
develops the story
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use time expressions
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use a variety of tenses, e.g. the past simple for events, the past continuous to
describe the background, the past perfect for things that happened before something
else when you are already talking about the past.
You should try to:
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set the scene at the beginning by using description
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include some interesting details
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use some unusual vocabulary to make the story more lively
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include some direct speech, e.g. “What was that strange noise?”
PLAN.
1. OPENING. It sets the scene with details of time, place, atmosphere and characters.
2. BODY. It develops the plot with details of events and characters. Includes sequencing
words.
3. CLOSING. It ends the story with the reason for what happened or the consequences.
CONNECTORS OF SEQUENCE
In the beginning
While / as
To begin with
Once
At first
Then
Later
Finally
Afterwards
In the end
At that moment
At last
Suddenly
Eventually
In the past
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ACADEMIA FORMA2
María Jesús Duque Sánchez [email protected]
When we write a description of a place, we want to recreate the atmosphere of that
place for our reader.
PLAN
1. OPENING. It includes the name and location of the place.
2. BODY. It describes physical characteristics, special features and points of
interest. Also describes the atmosphere, the people, the culture and the way
of life. Includes historical details, sounds, smells and personal feelings about
the place. Writer uses as many adjectives as possible.
3. CLOSING. States general conclusion about the place, as well as the writer’s
personal opinion or attitude.
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