PET - WRITING. Part 2
PART 2 - Choose between an ARTICLE and a STORY
PET EXAMINATION. TIPS.
Part 1 (email) + Part 2 (article or story) = 45 minutes
Part 2 (article) - You have to write your article in about 100 words on the answer sheet.
ARTICLE
An article is a text that expresses your opinion and knowledge about something. It should be an entertaining text that gets the readers attention and informs them.
· STRUCTURE
Title
Introduction
Description (develop your idea)
Recommendation and ending
· Organisation
· Structure of an article:
Separate each part into a separate paragraph.
· Beginning:
Engage the reader and make them want to read more, you can begin with a question or a general opinion
· Middle:
State your main points and relate them to personal experiences and opinions
· Ending:
Summarize your main points but make an overall point to make the reader think they have learned something from reading the article
· Example of a question:
You see this post on an English language website
What types of books do you most enjoy?
Do you prefer reading or watching TV and what is the best way to take advantage of your free time?
Write an article about these questions. The best articles will be published on the site.
Example answer:
The most interesting way to spend your free time (TITLE!!)
Have you ever thought about the best way to spend your free time? If you want to know the key to making the most of your leisure time, this article is a must read. (ENGAGING THE READER - QUESTION OR GENERAL OPINION ABOUT THE TOPIC).
Instead of turning on the TV every time you get home, why not try picking up a book. Reading is a great way to relax and it is also a fantastic way to open your mind. There is nothing like looking forward to getting home and reading a book that you are into. It helps you unwind, improve your imagination and it can even help you to learn a foreign language. (YOUR PERSONAL OPINION AND EXPERIENCE)
I have no doubt that reading will improve your life. If I were you,I would choose a new book today! (SUMMARIZE MAIN POINTS AND MOTIVATE THE READER!!)
· Useful language:
Involving the reader
- Have you ever thought about...?
- How would you feel if ...?
- What would you think of...?
- Are you one of those people who ...?
- If the answer is ..., you should....
- What do you reckon to ...?
- What would live be like if...
- Just think for a moment...
- Just imagine...
Use adverbs - to make your article more interesting
- importantly
- surprisingly
- worryingly
- the most amazing
- absolutely
- suddenly
- amazingly
- fantastically
- frighteningly
Organizing your ideas
- Another advantage of ...
- On top of all that...
- What is more, ...
- Above all,,,
- The reason I think this is...
- The reason I feel this way is...
- On top of that, ...
- Let's start with ...
Giving your own opinion
- In my opinion, ...
- In my eyes, ...
- To my mind, ...
- As far as I am concerned, ...
- Speaking personally, ...
- From my point of view, ...
- As for me / As to me, ...
- My view / opinion / belief / impression / conviction is that ...
- I hold the view that ...
- I would say that ...
- It seems to me that ...
- I am of the opinion that ...
- My impression is that ...
- I am under the impression that ...
- It is my impression that ...
- I have the feeling that ...
- My own feeling on the subject is that ...
- I have no doubt that ...
- I am sure / I am certain that ...
- I think / consider / find / feel / believe / suppose / presume / assume / reckon that ...
- I hold the opinion that ...
- I dare say that ...
- I guess that ...
- I bet that ....
- I gather that ...
- It goes without saying that ...
Justifying opinions
because...
- the reason is...
- the reason I believe that is...
- the facts suggest...
- the evidence shows...
- taking into account what I have seen...
Making recommendations and suggestions
- It would be a good idea to...
- Wouldn't it be better to...?
- Why don't we...?
- What about... ?
- How about... ?
- Shouldn't we... ?
- Let's consider...
- Why not... ?
Part 2 (story) -You have to write your story in about 100 words on the answer sheet
STORY
CONTENT
• Read the question.
- If it asks you to start with a sentence and you don't include it or you put the sentence in the middle of your story or at the end, you will lose marks.
- Different types of stories: imaginative, descriptive.
COHESION
• Coherent storyline.
• Use linking words.
• The reader must follow your story.
RANGE
• Adjectives.
• Adverbs.
• Expressions.
• Linking words - TIME EXPRESSIONS!!
• Direct or reported speech.
ACCURACY
• Check your writing to avoid mistakes.
• Plan.
• Review.
REGISTER
Neutral
or informal.
• You can choose.
• But! Write out a clear beginning, middle and ending.
TARGET READER
• You may simply engage your reader.
• Write a clear storyline.
VOCABULARY
AND EXPRESSIONS
Ways to start your story
- Once upon a time
- One day
- At the beginning
- When it all began
- When it al started
Character/Personality
- He tends to be...
- She can be...
- He is inclined to be...
- She appears/seems to be...
- Hobbies and interests
- He is crazy about ... -ing.
- She loves ... -ing.
- His greatest love is...
- What she loves most in life is...
- He spends all his time ... -ing.
Organizing your ideas
• At first / To start with/In the beginning,...
• Then/Next/After that,...
• The next thing that happened/I knew was...
• Seconds/Minutes later,
• Later on/Sometime later,
• It wasn't until much later that...
• After some time/After what seemed like years,...
• Finally/In the end,...
• At last,...
• We had been -ing... just before...
• It wasn't until...that...
• While/As soon as/By the time/A few seconds later...
• I was just about to...when...
• Eventually/After a while...
• After -ing...
• At last...
Simultaneous events
- Meanwhile/In the meantime,
- While all this was going on,
- In the middle of all this,...
- During all this time,...
- Sudden or unexpected events
- Suddenly/All of a sudden,...
- All at once,...
- Out of the blue,...
- Without any warning,...
- Just when I was least expecting it,...
- The next thing I knew was...
Rapid events
- As quick as a flash,...
- In the wink of an eye,...
- In a matter of seconds/minutes,...
- In no time at all,...
Looking back
- In retrospect,...
- When I think back to what happened then,...
Replace common adjectives for more advanced ones:
BIG: enormous, massive, gigantic, huge, vast
etc.
SMALL: miniature, microscopic, tiny, minute, petite etc.
VERY: absolutely, entirely, thoroughly, extremely, completely etc.
BAD: horrible, horrifying, nasty, disgusting, terrible, unpleasant,
revolting,
terrifying, awful, dreadful etc.
GOOD/NICE: delightful, superb, terrific, wonderful, fabulous, excellent,
fantastic
Adverbs to describe how someone should act:
Sarcastically, angrily, furiously, threateningly,
frantically, hurriedly, miserably,
confidently, suddenly, urgently, nervously, patiently, calmly, fearfully, fearlessly,
apprehensively, restlessly, unexpectedly, impatiently, abruptly, violently,
softly etc.
Ways of ending the story
- In the end
- finally
- When it all ended
- After all of that
- After everything that had happened
- Once and for all
- At the end of the day
Example answer
Start the story with...
"As soon as I woke up, I realised that it was the most important day of my life."
As soon as I woke up, I realised that it was the most important day of my life. I had been preparing for this day for as long as I can remember. We had studied all year for our final exam and we knew that when it was over, we would be qualified doctors. I couldn't wait because it had been my dream since I was a kid. My parents would be so proud and they were planning a party for when I got my results. As I had studied so hard I knew I would pass without a problem. My plan was to finish the exam and then go clubbing with some friends. It was going to be a night to remember.