Name : ________________

Date : _________________

Blog / Descriptive writing

The blog post is an entry (article) that you write on a blog. It can include content in
the form of text, photos, infographics, or videos.

Here are four types of strongly structured posts.

1. The List Post

2. The Round-up Post

3. The Review or Recommendation Post

4. How-To Post

Blogging about student experience

• Be personal! - It may be possible for you to stray from the strict Academic
style you might have to use in other blogging instances. Let a little bit of your
personality shine through while staying professional.

• Reflect on your own experiences – This is an account of your personal

experience. Try to base it on things that have happened to you rather than
outside sources or peers' ideas. People want to read more about this
community through your own eyes.

• Remember you are writing for a group – While we want the writer's tone to be
explored, do remember you are writing about your experience within a larger
group.

2018 Past paper - Learning English through Sports Communication

You recently ran the Hong Kong marathon for the first time.

Write a blog to be posted on the Hong Kong Marathon’s website to encourage other
young people to take part in the next marathon.

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The Most Basic Blog Post Structure

Every blog post has four key elements:

• The ________________: grabs attention and makes a promise (which needs

to be fulfilled by the end of your post).

• The __________________: hooks the reader, draws them in, and sets up
the post.

• The __________________: works through a logical sequence of points,

holding the reader’s attention.

• The __________________: ends the post decisively and calls the reader to
take action.

• Follow the task instructions very carefully.

• Provide a ___________ and _____________ title. Writing a catchy title can
help people get interested in your post. In an academic context especially, it
might be good to show your audience that your content can be just as
entertaining as a good book or social media. Make sure you reveal the theme
of your content in those first words.
• Begin with a _________________________________.
• The post should be ___________ with ___________ paragraphs and
___________ language.
• Use an ___________ tone. An informal tone in writing is where the writer
uses a more ___________ and ___________ approach, ignoring any
formality. Write like you talk. Think of it like a conversation.

While reading something, what do you prefer—a blog with too much jargon,
tricky phrases, a boring sentence structure, and only factual information, or a
blog with a more conversational tone, where facts are stated in an
interesting manner, and even mundane information is conveyed with
humor? Most people would prefer going with the latter, which is a perfect
example of an informal tone in writing.

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 • Articles and blogs are broadly classified into formal and informal writing
styles where the former is primarily used in academia, research, conveying
business information, or professional purpose. The latter, the informal tone, is
used to convey a general message or opinion, is more _________________,
_____________, ________________, and _______________, and uses the
________________ pronouns directly addressing the reader.

• The content should be succinct. Blogs are short, crispy written, to the point.
Your readers don’t have time to wade through long paragraphs of writing.
• ___________ your personality. Don’t tell it. SHOW!

How should you write your description? The answer lies in a famous saying: show
don’t tell. What does it mean?

It means when you describe, you have to show, not just tell something. But what’s
the difference between showing and telling? Consider these two examples:

Telling : I grew tired after dinner.

Showing : As I leaned back and rested my head against the top of the chair, my
eyelids began to feel heavy, and the edges of the table in front of me got blurred.

The first sentence tells readers that you grew tired after dinner. The second sentence
shows readers that you grew tired. So the most effective descriptive essays are
loaded with such showing because they enable readers to imagine or experience
something for themselves.

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 • When you write descriptive essay, you have to create a vivid experience for
your readers. The best way to do this is to focus on the five senses –
___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________.
• Use ___________.
• Use ___________ and ___________ to back up the claims you make in your
posts.
• Use ___________ to back up why what you’re saying is important.
• Incorporate a “___________ ___________ ___________” – you want your
reader to engage with your post. Invite your reader to ___________ your blog.
• If appropriate, invite readers to ___________ ___________or contribute to the
discussion.

Opening

So today I’d like to talk about

If _________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________
If you’re are regular follower of mine, you will know that…
I’m sure you’re all dying to know about…
Hi ________________________________________________________________
Well, the moment I’ve been waiting for has finally arrived.
The first thing I want to talk about today is…
If you’ve ever wonder …. Well, I’ve been thinking about that a lot too lately.

Closing

So ________________________________________________________________
I hope that _______________________________________________________
If you want to hear more about my adventures, then I should be posting more about
them on this blog in the coming weeks.
All in all, I think…
Here’s one last point to bear in mind…

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You write a regular blog about food and fashion. Write a blog entry introducing one
of your favourite restaurants. Give your blog entry a title.
*FIVE SENSES*

__________________________________________

_____________________________________________
________________________________________.- a person
having an avid interest in food. I’m not a selfish one, so
today I’d like to share the favourite restaurant of mine with
you.

Yesterday, I went to The Old Caféat the Peak again. My

father and I stopped by the iron gate leading to a short drive
and it was like coming home.

_____________________________________________.
_______________________________________ scarlet
hibiscus blooms, sweet-smelling jasmine and bright butter-
yellow allamanda flowers. We turned a corner and the
restaurant was in front of it ________________________
________________________________. (sentence pattern –
inversion) The old timber and concrete structure’s white-
washed walls had mellowed with age. The roof had red tiles.
As I pushed the main door open, we stepped inside a red and
white dominated room. Yes, Joe was a Liverpool fan and
proudly declared it.

There were rows and rows of tables covered with red

and white checked tablecloths. All kinds of football
memorabilia (= souvenirs) made up the décor of the room.
Photographs of the great football players through the

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years were on the right wall. _______________________
________________________________________________
________________________________ (sentence pattern –
inversion). Under them were the jerseys of the Reds.
Dominating the left wall was a huge television to show the
latest game.

The football team’s colours were very much in evidence.

The walls were red and lamps from Macau hung from the
high ceiling, which was painted white. Sunlight filtered in
through the white flimsy curtains. The room certainly had a
bright and cheerful air. Two big pots of banana plants at the
back corner added a touch of green to the surroundings.

My family’s table was the second of the right, near a

window. As I walked to our usual table. I noticed that
everything was clean and tidy _____________________.
The day’s menu was written on a blackboard. It had not
changed since I was last there, three years ago. The
selection of food was limited but the lamb and mutton were
so ____________________________________________
____________________________. I peeped through the
window. It overlooked the vegetables garden. Neat rows of
herbs with fresh tomatoes could be seen.

______________________________________ curry
made me turn to my father. __________________________
________________________________________________.
I was glad to hear Father say, “_______________________
_____________________________”

Before I could nod my head, Joe came froward with his

wife. “Ah, you’re home. Now, we’ve got mutton curt,

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 cutlets and coconut milk with a scoop of our home-made
ice-cream.”

I signed ________________________. The dessert here

was good__________________________. As Mama Joe
rushed out to give me a hug, I knew I was truly home.

_____________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________.

*BEWARE OF RUN ON SENTENCE*

Sentence pattern – Inversion

Rewrite the following sentences.

An old oak tree stands on the top of the hill.

_____________________________________________________________________

I came into the room when you were sleeping.

_____________________________________________________________________

A painting hangs over the table.

_____________________________________________________________________