Pre-FCE+Writing+database

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 * Pre-FCE Writing database **

**Pre-FCE - TIPS FOR WRITING REVIEWS** [|REVIEWS]

**Pre-FCE - TIPS FOR WRITING AN ARTICLE**

 * Try to involve your readers by using a question
 * Finish your article by summarising your main point
 * Give your opinion
 * Express your feelings

=‍ The future of our planet = COLLABORATIVE WRITING

// Our planet 50 years from now //

// Floods, fire, people dying all around the world… it’s already going on at the moment… but what will be happening 50 years from now? //// Probably we will be living in a never ending summer. The temperature will have increased so much that the ice at both poles will have melted and we will have to live on floating houses or under the sea. Will we be moving in flying cars or submarines? //

Most of the world’s fresh water will be gone. It will have probably been used up or fouled up. As a consequence, many animals will have disappeared, but some species will have become more adapted to the new environment. Although the world won’t be such a nice place to live, there is a chance to survive as we have been doing since the beginning of times. Meanwhile, let's enjoy our beautiful home and take care of it.

‍

Pre-FCE - ‍INFORMAL LETTERS

 * BEGINNINGS **

o Thank you for (your letter/postcard/email). o Many thanks for (your letter/postcard/email). o I was really glad/happy to get your letter. o It was nice/good to hear from you again/ recently. o It was so nice to hear from you. o I'm sorry I haven't written/been in touch for such a long time. o It's ages since I've heard from you. o It’s been a long time since I've heard from you. o I hope you're well. o I hope you and your family are well. o I hope you ‘re doing fine. o I hope things are going well with you these days.


 * GIVING NEWS/INFORMATION ** ‍

o This is just to let you know that... o I thought you might be interested to hear about/know that...  o By the way, have you heard about.../did you know that..?


 * ASKING FOR NEWS **

o Well, that's all for now. What's new with you? / What's happening in (your life)/with (your job)? o (Anyway), I must finish now. What's happening in your life...? o Well, I must stop/go now. What's your news? o No more news to tell. Write soon and tell me yours.


 * ENDINGS **

o I look forward to hearing from you/seeing you. / Looking forward to hearing from you/seeing you. o See you soon./Write soon./Hope to hear from you soon. o Best wishes/Love/Best regards/All the best. o Take care!/Stay in touch./Bye for now. o Once again, thank you for all your help. o Give my regards/love to (third person's name)

‍ o I'm writing to apologise for (miss**ing** your party last week) but I'm afraid I was in bed with flu. o I'm really/terribly/extremely sorry that I forgot to (call you) but I was so busy (studying for exams). o I'm sorry about what happened./I'm sorry for...
 * APOLOGIES **


 * INVITATIONS – ACCEPTING/REJECTING **

o I'm/We're having (a party on Friday) and I/we hope you'll be able to come. / Could you come for (a party)..? o I'd like you to come... /I'd like to invite you to... o Would you like to come/go to see //The Matrix II// with me at the weekend? o I was wondering if you'd like to go/come to the cinema with me/us? o I/We do hope you'll be able to come. / I/We do hope you'll be able to join us. / Do try to be there. / I'm really looking forward to seeing you. o Thank you very much for your invitation. I'd love to come/go. o Yes, I/we'll be there. o Thanks for ask**ing** me/invit**ing** me to...but I'm afraid I won't be able to come/join you because... o I'm afraid I won't be able to make it to (your party)/to join you. o I'd love to come, but...


 * REQUESTS **

o I'm writing to ask you for your help. / I'm writing to ask you if you could do me a favour. o I wonder/I was wondering if you could help me/do me a favour. o I'd be very/really/terribly grateful if you could...


 * THANK YOU - GOOD LUCK - CONGRATULATIONS **

o Thank you very much for... o I'm writing to thank you for (the wonderful present). o It was so kind of you to (invite me to stay with you)./How kind of you to (invite me to stay with you). o I really appreciated all your help/advice.

o I wish you good luck./Good luck in/with (your exams/your interview). o I wish you the very best. o Don't worry, I'm sure you'll do well/pass. o Let me know how it goes. o Let's hope it will come out! o Congratulations on (pass**ing** your exams/your excellent exam results!) o You really deserved to succeed after all your hard word! o I'm happy to hear that (you've passed your exams). Congratulations!

**FORMAL LETTER MODEL**
toc =[|ESSAY MODEL]=

=[|LINKING IDEAS QUIZ]=

Linking Arguments First of all, I think ... Not only that, but I also think that ... Not only are they ..., they are also ... There are various/several/many reasons for this. First, ... / Firstly, ...Second, ... / Secondly, ... Moreover, ... / Furthermore, ... / In addition, ... Another significant point is that ... Finally, ... On the one hand, ... On the other hand, ... In contrast to this is .. .Because of ... That is why ... After all, ... The reason is that ... In that respect ... The result of this is that .. .Another aspect/point is that ... It is because ... Although it is true that ... it would be wrong to claim that ... That may sometimes be true, but .. .One could argue that ..., but ... Take for example (the case of) ... Look at ...For instance ... / For example ... Let me give you an example. Most probably ... It appears to be ... It is important to mention that... As I already indicated ... In other words, ...I am most concerned about .. .I should like to repeat once again that ... I should like to emphasise that ... I would (just) like to add ... So all in all I believe that...(In) summing up it can be said that ... Weighing the pros and cons, I come to the conclusion that ...
 * Providing Examples**
 * Additions and Conclusion**

=**Pre-FCE - CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO PRACTISE LINKERS**=



GUIDO
**The house I love is here, in Corrientes, in a residential area. ** **It´s the most wonderful house I have ever seen. ** **It has 2 floors and both are really comfortable and suitable for me. **
 * All the bedrooms overlook a beautiful garden with colorful flowers, a lot of trees and a big swimming pool. **
 * The house has spacious rooms and a fully-fitted kitchen. If I lived there, I´d have a loft conversion with a play room to have friends round and make ****my guests feel themselves at home. **

**FABRI **
My friend has a big and beautiful house near the riverside. The room I love is his living room because it’s on the second floor and it has been redecorated. There’s a big balcony which overlooks a colorful garden with a huge swimming pool. They are doing up an old room and they are also having an extension built in the backyard next year.

PAULA
live in a house, in Corrientes. It has two floors. The bedrooms are upstairs. The living room, the kitchen and the dining room are downstairs. It has 6 bathrooms and 4 bedrooms. I sleep in a bedroom alone, I like it. My mother has redecorated it. The thing I like most about my house is the garden. It’s big with beautiful flowers. There’s a big pool. In the summer I usually have friends round. When my sister, who lives in Bs.as, comes with friends to visit me and my family, we try to make themselves at home.

EUGENIA
Last weekend I was thinking about buying a house out of town, you know, far from downtown. When I told my mum my idea, she said that she had been thinking about it too, and so we started to look for houses. We saw lots of houses, but didn’t like any of them, I mean, they weren’t what we expected. In the end, we found the most beautiful house of all. It’s kind of a spa, it makes you feel yourself at home immediately. The dining-room overlooks a big lake, and my mum’s bedroom opens out onto a balcony where you can sunbathe, take a nap, or whatever. The best part is that we don’t need to do up the entire house, only redecorate the living room and my bedroom. And in a few months, we’ll have a loft conversion, so there will be a bathroom in the terrace. Anyway, I think we’ll enjoy it a lot! And it’s pretty easy to get there, so my friends can go round and stay for a weekend.

María Emilia
<span style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">I live in a flat in Corrientes. It has a living room which overlooks the Parana river. <span style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">There are three bedrooms that my mom decided to redecorate and also do up some parts. <span style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">I like the laundry room and the kitchen, although mom says they’re too little and there isn´t much space. <span style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">My room is big, I share it with my sister and we feel very comfortable because we get on really well

When our friends come round, we try to make themselves at home.

FÁTIMA
<span style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Next year I'm going to university and I would like to be more independient, so I'm looking for an apartment, just a small one, cause I'm going to live alone. <span style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">I want it to have a small bedroom with a private bathroom, a big bathroom and kitchen cause I really like cooking! The living room and dining room also have to be ample so I will have enough space to have friends round or receive visits from my family. I would like a balcony overlooking our beautiful Parana river. It doesn't matter if the rooms are too simple or empy. I'll redecorate them in a classic, minimal look with pictures, little furniture and some pictures. I prefer simple but spacious places than a crowded one. <span style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">I hope to find the apartment that I'm looking for to feel as comfortable as in my parents’ house


 * Go to Teacher's Corner - Writing & vocabulary for resources. toc**

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Pre-FCE - LINKING DEVICES
<span style="color: #5a51d6; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> IMPROVE YOUR WRITINGS USING THESE LINKERS! Click on the image below

<span style="cursor: pointer; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">

Pre-FCE - Suggested approach to writing
<span style="color: #0d7777; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">**Sample task N° 1:**

<span style="color: #0d7777; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;"> Your school/college is planning to invite a famous person to give a speech at the next Prize Day. Think of any famous person you would like to invite. Write an article for your school/college magazine giving your suggestion. Your article should be about 150-200 words long. <span style="color: #0d7777; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;"> Don't forget to include: <span style="color: #0d7777; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;"> • who the person is <span style="color: #0d7777; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;"> • what you admire about her/him <span style="color: #0d7777; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;"> • why you think others in your school/college will approve of your choice.

<span style="color: #722c72; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;"> Teens X - Juan Pérez - Writing <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">Teens X - María González - Writing <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;"> Teens X - Silvia López - Writing

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">(Individual pages for each of your students should be created. Ask me for help.)