Writing

Part 2

by Pedro Ramos
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 Evaluation

Subscale Grade Commentary

Content
Communicativ
e achievement 1-5 (incr. 0.5)
Organisation
Language
Article
Identify the
Example question audience so you
know the register.
An international travel magazine is running a series of
articles on alternatives to travelling by plane. The
magazine has invited readers to send in articles Underline the key
briefly describing a memorable long-distance train or points in the task
bus journey they have made. The article should and use these to
explain the advantages of travelling a long distance organise your
by train or bus and consider whether in general topics.
travelling to your destination more slowly may result
in a more satisfying travel experience.

Write your article.

Write 280–320 words.

 Title & Introduction
Don´t forget the title.
Long-distance Travel Try to make it interesting.

The Scottish writer, Robert Louis Stevenson, used to say that he

travelled ‘not to go anywhere but to go.’ In other words he loved Start your article with a
travelling for its own sake. Although I enjoy being at a new quote, a personal
destination, I agree that the journey there can be the most anecdote or interesting
exciting and rewarding part of any holiday. fact. This helps generate
interest.
An international travel magazine is running a series of
articles on alternatives to travelling by plane. The
Use the interest magazine has invited readers to send in articles briefly
generating idea to describing a memorable long-distance train or bus
bridge from general to journey they have made. The article should explain the
personal. advantages of travelling a long distance by train or bus
and consider whether in general travelling to your
destination more slowly may result in a more satisfying
travel experience.
 Body of text – Paragraph 1
Use complex grammar structures.
Some years ago I studied Russian at university and used to travel
frequently to Russia. I usually went by train, by far the cheapest
way to get there then. This involved a three-day train journey
across the Channel and then over the North European Plain
through Belgium, Germany, Poland and Byelorussia to Moscow. Use descriptive
The train from Ostend was a Russian one and once on board you language. Adjectives,
felt as if you were already in Russia, especially as you poured noun-phrases, set
yourself a glass of tea from the samovar at the end of each phrases, technical
carriage and made yourself comfortable for the two nights you’d terms, etc.
spend in your sleeping compartment.
An international travel magazine is running a series of articles
on alternatives to travelling by plane. The magazine has
invited readers to send in articles briefly describing a
memorable long-distance train or bus journey they have
made. The article should explain the advantages of
travelling a long distance by train or bus and consider
whether in general travelling to your destination more slowly
may result in a more satisfying travel experience.
 Body of text – Paragraph 2
Use introductory sentences to
provide continuity.
I loved the sense of gradually making my way into a different
world. Towns and villages became less frequent and fields turned Descriptive language
into forests as we chugged eastwards. The children who waved at paints the picture for
the train as it passed began to have high Slav cheekbones. the reader. Details
Travelling slowly gives you time to savour the gradual changes, to and sequencing help
think about where you’re going or where you’ve just been, to tell a story.
adapt to a new way of being. This opportunity to reflect is
immensely enriching.
An international travel magazine is running a series of
articles on alternatives to travelling by plane. The
magazine has invited readers to send in articles briefly
describing a memorable long-distance train or bus
journey they have made. The article should explain the
advantages of travelling a long distance by train or bus
and consider whether in general travelling to your
destination more slowly may result in a more satisfying
travel experience.
 Conclusion

These days it’s cheaper to hop on a plane than a train and you
can now get to Russia in three hours instead of three days. Lunch in
London and dinner in Moscow has become possible thanks to the
jet engine. In many ways the journey could be seen as easier now.
But in my opinion travelling by rail is still much more satisfying,
providing a real sense of the distance – both geographical and
social – between different countries.
An international travel magazine is running a series of
articles on alternatives to travelling by plane. The
magazine has invited readers to send in articles briefly
describing a memorable long-distance train or bus
The conclusion should reflect journey they have made. The article should explain the
the overal feel of the text and advantages of travelling a long distance by train or bus
summarize the main points. and consider whether in general travelling to your
destination more slowly may result in a more satisfying
travel experience.
Evaluation
Review
Underline key
Example question words in the task
to make sure you
Your college recently put on the annual student understand which
performance in order to raise money for a charity aspects must be
which the school supports. You have been asked to included in your
write a review of the show for your college review.
magazine. In your review, you should evaluate the
performance, say how far it was successful in
achieving its objectives and outline any changes you
would make for next year’s performance.

Write your review.

Write 280–320 words.

 Title & Introduction

“West Side Story” – a school performance

The annual performance of a well-known musical by Contextualize the topic.

the senior year is always exciting and also very well Keep the introduction
supported because the funds from the ticket sales go more general.
to the Children First charity, which the school supports.

Your college recently put on the annual student

performance in order to raise money for a charity which
the school supports. You have been asked to write a
review of the show for your college magazine. In your
review, you should evaluate the performance, say how
far it was successful in achieving its objectives and outline
any changes you would make for next year’s
performance.
 Body of text – Paragraph 1 Use plenty of modifiers
There was a packed crowd to watch this year’s offering of “West and adjectives to help
Side Story”. The school orchestra did a spectacular job of the reader understand
delivering the songs and music, which was much more of a your experience.
challenge for them than last year. The action moved along at a
cracking pace and the lead actors did a wonderful job making Give reasons for your
each part their own and really conveying the emotion of the story. point of view. Support
Of course, it’s a great plot – Romeo and Juliet set in the gangland your opinions with
of 1950s New York – and something all the students could relate examples from what you
to. Credit must also go to the directors and the team who are reviewing
managed the stage sets and lighting as this all added to an
electric atmosphere.
Your college recently put on the annual student
performance in order to raise money for a charity which
the school supports. You have been asked to write a
review of the show for your college magazine. In your
review, you should evaluate the performance, say how
far it was successful in achieving its objectives and outline
any changes you would make for next year’s
performance.
 Body of text – Paragraph 2 Remember to adapt the
register to the audience!

All in all, this was the best performance ever by a senior year and
the collection tins at the end reflected this as the audience were
very generous with their contributions, so in the end we raised over
1,000 euros for the charity. A school record, so well done, all!

Your college recently put on the annual student

performance in order to raise money for a charity which
the school supports. You have been asked to write a
review of the show for your college magazine. In your
review, you should evaluate the performance, say how
far it was successful in achieving its objectives and outline
any changes you would make for next year’s
performance.
 Conclusion Remember to give a
summary of your
opinion, even if it is
Now we will already be looking towards next year’s performance negative.
and, if I were to advise the directors, I would suggest they think
about how they can make the smaller roles more significant so
that more of the students can play a fuller part in the play. It
would also be nice to see the backstage staff come onstage at
the end.

Your college recently put on the annual student

performance in order to raise money for a charity which
the school supports. You have been asked to write a
review of the show for your college magazine. In your
review, you should evaluate the performance, say how far
it was successful in achieving its objectives and outline any
changes you would make for next year’s performance.
• Plan the outline of each paragraph so that each
one has a clear focus.

• Remember to introduce your review by giving

details about what you have seen/visited/done.

• Think carefully about the different features of the

play/restaurant/book, etc. that you can review.

• Remember to compare aspects of the

restaurant/music/film/game, etc. with others or with
previous versions or performances.

• Reviews are normally written in informal or semi-

formal language, to engage the reader.

• It may help to explain what you think the author/

director, etc. was trying to achieve and how
successful they were.
Report
Underline the key
Example question points in the task
and use these to
The manager of a club that you attend regularly has organise your
asked members to write a report about their headings.
experiences of using the club. In your report you
should explain what has been successful in the club,
describe any improvements you would recommend
and suggest how the club could attract new
members.

Write your report.

Write 280–320 words.

 Title & Introduction
Highlight the purpose of
Chess club the report.

Introduction
The purpose of this report is to evaluate how well the
Chess Club is working, recommend any improvements
that could be made and suggest how the club could
attract new members.

The manager of a club that you attend regularly has

asked members to write a report about their experiences
of using the club. In your report you should explain what
has been successful in the club, describe any
improvements you would recommend and suggest how
the club could attract new members.
 Subheading 2
Be careful not to make
your report too personal.
Successes in the club Make your evaluations
Over the last year the club has offered a lot to objective and not about
members. There have been more competitions than in your personal
previous years and, as a consequence, we have experiences.
mixed more with other clubs. This has the added
advantage of raising the quality of the games which
people play. In addition, there has been more
coaching by senior members, especially for younger
members, and this appears to have been successful as
numbers have increased.
The manager of a club that you attend regularly has
asked members to write a report about their experiences
of using the club. In your report you should explain what
has been successful in the club, describe any
improvements you would recommend and suggest how
the club could attract new members.
 Subheading 3 Give your opinion in final
sections.

Recommendations for improvements

If the club wishes to increase its place in the local
league table, it would be sensible to consider getting
some formal training from a professional expert. The
club could fund this from membership fees, but there
could be a selection process for participants so that
the standard of the club overall would improve. In
order to give members even more practice, it might
also be an idea to run ‘fast game’ sessions on
Saturday mornings, to allow as many people to play as
possible.
The manager of a club that you attend regularly has
asked members to write a report about their experiences
of using the club. In your report you should explain what
has been successful in the club, describe any
improvements you would recommend and suggest how
the club could attract new members.
 Conclusion and recommendation
Your conclusion or final
Suggestions for attracting new members section should link
The club still wishes to attract more members, clearly to the rest of the
especially young people. We could give a report.
demonstration or coaching sessions at the local
primary school, which would spark the interest of
several of them. It would also be a good idea to offer
reduced fees for a limited period.

Overall, the club has had a successful year, but we

can continue to progress, especially if the above
recommendations are implemented.
The manager of a club that you attend regularly has
asked members to write a report about their experiences
of using the club. In your report you should explain what
has been successful in the club, describe any
improvements you would recommend and suggest how
the club could attract new members.
• Make sure you understand who the report is for and why
they need it.

• Remember you will normally have to give some factual

information, an evaluation and some suggestions. Make
sure these are in clear paragraphs under the appropriate
headings.

• Make sure your factual information connects with your

recommendations and that the reader can see a clear
need for the recommended actions.

• Use formal and objective language, e.g. passive

structures, noun phrases, introductory it .

• Check that you don’t repeat points.

• Use a range of more formal or academic vocabulary.

• Check that your report makes clear recommendations,

presenting the expected outcomes/benefits of the
recommendations.
Write 280–320 words.
 Greeting & Introduction
Don´t forget the greeting.
Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to you in response to your announcement about

summer courses at your university. I would like to apply for an
opening on the Computer Coding course.

You see an announcement about a summer course at a

university in a subject you are interested in. You must
have a good level of English and some experience in
your chosen subject area. You decide to apply for a
place on the course. Write a letter of application
outlining your reasons for applying, describing the
relevant experience and qualifications you have and
explaining how you expect to benefit from the course.
 Body of text – Paragraph 1 Organize your ideas into
clear paragraphs!
I would be very interested in this course because it is an
opportunity to learn something that is going to be essential for my
future career. I note that the course is for beginners and there
have not been many of these courses available recently. I have
also heard that your university has a very good reputation for
teaching and courses which are linked to employability.

You see an announcement about a summer course at a

university in a subject you are interested in. You must
have a good level of English and some experience in
your chosen subject area. You decide to apply for a
place on the course. Write a letter of application
outlining your reasons for applying, describing the
relevant experience and qualifications you have and
explaining how you expect to benefit from the course.
 Body of text – Paragraph 2 Organize your ideas into
clear paragraphs!
I have been studying computer science for one year at school and
hope to take some exams in this at the end of the academic year.
My teacher feels that I have ability in this area and that I am likely
to pass the exams with a good mark. Computer science has
always been my area of interest and, in fact, I also spend a lot of
time at home exploring this and am looking at trying to develop an
app with a fellow student.

You see an announcement about a summer course at a

university in a subject you are interested in. You must
have a good level of English and some experience in
your chosen subject area. You decide to apply for a
place on the course. Write a letter of application
outlining your reasons for applying, describing the
relevant experience and qualifications you have and
explaining how you expect to benefit from the course.
 Body of text – Paragraph 3 Organize your ideas into
clear paragraphs!
Although I have done some coding, I believe the course would
give me a thorough grounding in coding language. Once I have
this skill, it would allow me to develop my own web design, apps
and other software. I would also expect to learn a lot from doing
the course and having the opportunity to interact with other
students, which I find especially important when working through
ideas.

You see an announcement about a summer course at a

university in a subject you are interested in. You must
have a good level of English and some experience in
your chosen subject area. You decide to apply for a
place on the course. Write a letter of application
outlining your reasons for applying, describing the
relevant experience and qualifications you have and
explaining how you expect to benefit from the course.
 Conclusion & Sign-off Use the final paragraph
to describe the desired
outcome from your
I hope you find my application of interest and I look forward to letter.
hearing from you.
Include a register
Your faithfully,
appropriate sign-off.
John Smith

You see an announcement about a summer course at a

university in a subject you are interested in. You must
have a good level of English and some experience in
your chosen subject area. You decide to apply for a
place on the course. Write a letter of application
outlining your reasons for applying, describing the
relevant experience and qualifications you have and
explaining how you expect to benefit from the course.
• You may be asked to write a letter of complaint, application,
recommendation, etc. Make sure you understand the purpose
of the letter (to complain, persuade, correct, apply, etc.).

• If the task requires you to respond to someone else’s letter or

an article, underline the key points in their text that you need to
comment on so that you won’t forget them.

• Plan your letter. Ensure you include all the points required in
the task.

• Remember to give clear reasons for what you are asking or

explaining to the reader.

• If the letter is to complain or disagree with something,

remember to modify any abrupt language, e.g. with modal
verbs.

• Think carefully about whether you need to use formal, semi-

formal or informal language.
Proposal
Think carefully
Example question about the
purpose of your
Your college has raised some funds through various proposal and
events and has now asked students to suggest what what you will
the money could be spent on. You decide to write a need to do to
proposal to the principal. In your proposal, you persuade the
should outline how you think the money should be reader
spent, describe how this could be organised and
explain what the benefits to the college or the
students would be.

Write your proposal.

Write 280–320 words.

 Title & Introduction
Highlight the topic of
Gym facilities your proposal.

Introduction
The purpose of this proposal is to suggest how the
money raised from the recent fundraising events could
be spent to best benefit the school and its students.
The proposal outlines a suggestion for purchasing new
gym equipment.

Your college has raised some funds through various

events and has now asked students to suggest what the
money could be spent on. You decide to write a
proposal to the principal. In your proposal, you should
outline how you think the money should be spent,
describe how this could be organised and explain what
the benefits to the college or the students would be.
 Subheading 1
Use formal register.
The need for gym equipment
Most of the school gym equipment is very old, having
been purchased over fifteen years ago, and the
equipment is very well used by the whole school.
Advances in technology have prompted the
development of new equipment, which has changed
enormously in the last few years, and it would be much
better for athletes and the wider school to have
access to this newer apparatus.

Your college has raised some funds through various

events and has now asked students to suggest what the
money could be spent on. You decide to write a
proposal to the principal. In your proposal, you should
outline how you think the money should be spent,
describe how this could be organised and explain what
the benefits to the college or the students would be.
 Subheading 2
Use formal register.
Managing the equipment purchase
If new gym equipment is purchased, a decision would
have to be made about what is prioritised and at what
cost. Possibly the best way to approach this would be
to ask students to vote or sign for what they use most
and, in collaboration with the coaches, draw up a list
of priorities.

Your college has raised some funds through various

events and has now asked students to suggest what the
money could be spent on. You decide to write a
proposal to the principal. In your proposal, you should
outline how you think the money should be spent,
describe how this could be organised and explain what
the benefits to the college or the students would be.
 Subheading 3
Explain the benefits of
Benefits adopting your idea or
If funds could be invested in new equipment, this suggestions.
would not only mean that students were working on
more up-to-date equipment, which is probably safer
and more efficient, but also it may enable
performance to improve and for the students and
school to compete more successfully.

Your college has raised some funds through various

events and has now asked students to suggest what the
money could be spent on. You decide to write a
proposal to the principal. In your proposal, you should
outline how you think the money should be spent,
describe how this could be organised and explain what
the benefits to the college or the students would be.
 Summary
Create a strong
Summary summary and make your
All in all, I would urge you to seriously consider setting rationale clear to the
aside all or some of the funds to invest in new gym reader.
equipment. It would motivate more students to take
up sports and would be an investment in the future of
the school.

Your college has raised some funds through various

events and has now asked students to suggest what the
money could be spent on. You decide to write a
proposal to the principal. In your proposal, you should
outline how you think the money should be spent,
describe how this could be organised and explain what
the benefits to the college or the students would be.
• Read the task carefully and think about who the target
reader is.

• Plan an outline by using the task requirements to create

sub-headings. Use a separate focus for each section.

• Make sure you give all the information asked for in the
task.

• Make sure you give a clear outline of the current situation

as a background to establish the need for your proposal.

• Be persuasive by giving evidence for the benefits of your

suggestions. Do this with concrete reasons rather than using
emotional appeals.

• Make sure the reader has enough information to make a

decision about your proposal.