Newspaper Headlines

DESTACADOS, NIVEL B1 (Intermediate), NIVEL B2 (Advanced), Reading, Reading

Have you ever read an item of news in a newspaper? If you haven’t, you may not
imagine how difficult it can be and if you have, you may not have understood a lot.
Here’s an explanation on newspaper writing. Read it carefully and afterwards check
your level of understanding by reading some news, you’ll see then that it’s not that
difficult, after being explained, of course!

Newspaper headlines are not always complete sentences. Many headlines

consist of noun phrases with no verb.

 MORE POWER CUTS

(There are/will be more power cuts)
 TERROR ALERT IN CAPITAL
(There is/was a terror alert in the capital)

Articles and the verb be are often left out in headlines.

 HUSSAIN PAINTING OBSCENE, SAYS MINISTER

(The Hussain painting is obscene, says the Minister)
 OLD MAN SCALES EVEREST
( An old man, has scaled Mt. Everest)

In headlines, simple tenses are often used instead of progressive (-ing

forms) or perfect forms. The simple present is used for both present and
past events.

 FORMER PM PASSES AWAY

(Former PM has passed away.)
 BLIND GIRL CLIMBS EVEREST
(Blind girl has climbed Everest.)

The present progressive is used to talk about changes. Be is usually

eliminated.

 EARTH GETTING WARMER, SAY SCIENTISTS

(Earth is getting warmer)
 TRADE FIGURES IMPROVING
(Trade figures are improving)

Headlines often use infinitives to refer to the future.

 PM TO VISIT CANADA
(The PM is going to visit Canada)
 BUSINESS SCHOOLS TO TAKE MORE STUDENTS
(Business schools are going to take more students)

For is also used to refer to future movements or plans.

 INDIAN TROOPS FOR IRAQ?

(Are Indian soldiers going to be sent to Iraq?)
  MORE TESTS FOR STUDENTS
(More tests are in store for students this year)

Auxiliary verbs are usually dropped from passive structures, leaving only
past participles.

 SIX PEOPLE KILLED IN EXPLOSION

(Six people have been killed in an explosion)
 INDIAN HELD FOR MURDER
(An Indian is being/has been held for murder)

Note that forms like held, found and attacked are usually past participles
with passive meanings, not past tenses.

Compare:

 NUCLEAR DEAL ROW: PM ATTACKED

(PM has been attacked because of a nuclear deal fight.)
 NUCLEAR DEAL ROW: PM ATTACKS OPPOSITION
(PM has attacked his opposition because of a nuclear deal fight)

A colon (:) is often used to separate the subject of a headline from what is
said about it.

 POWER CRISIS: GOVERNMENT TO ACT

(The Government is going to act over the power crisis)
 BUILDING COLLAPSE: DEATH TOLL RISES
(The death toll from the building collapse has risen)

Used to y would

NIVEL B1 (Intermediate), Reading

Te propongo un reading que compara la vida de los jóvenes de hoy con la vida de los
jóvenes de antes, que hoy tienen, según el texto, 40 años o más. Este texto me gusta por
varias razones; la primera, porque es gracioso y divertido, para que los alumnos veáis
que aprender también puede ser muy pero que muy divertido. La segunda, porque nos
hace recordar tiempos pasados, cuando no teníamos microondas, cuando no
mandábamos emails, cuando teníamos que acudir a la biblioteca más cercana para
buscar información sobre algo, etc, etc y etc. Y la tercera razón por la que me gusta el
texto es porque sirve para repasar el concepto gramatical de used to y would. Antes de
ir al texto, te aconsejo que revises la gramática en el siguiente enlace: used to y would.

Bien, ahora ya puedes leer el texto. Espero que te guste!

If you are 40 or older you will think this is hilarious!!!! 

When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious shit
about how hard things were.
And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way
in hell I was going to lay a bunch of shit like that on my kids about how
hard I had it and how easy they’ve got it! 

But now that… I’m over the ripe old age of forty, I can’t help but look
around and notice the youth of today.

You’ve got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a

UTOPIA! And I hate to say it, but you kids today, you don’t know how good
you’ve got it!

I mean, when I was a kid we didn’t have The Internet. If we wanted to know
something, we had to go to the library and look it up ourselves.

There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter – with a

pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the
mailbox and it would take, like, a week to get there! Stamps were 5 pence!

Child Protective Services didn’t care if our parents beat us. As a matter of
fact, the parents of all my friends also had permission to beat all of us!
Nowhere was safe!

There were no MP3s or Napsters! If you wanted to steal music, you had to
hitchhike to the record store and shoplift it yourself!  Or you had to wait
around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ would usually talk over the
beginning and spoil it all!

You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You
had to get walk over to the TV to change the channel! NO REMOTES!!!
There was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on
Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I’m saying!?! We had to wait ALL
WEEK for cartoons.
And we didn’t have microwaves; if we wanted to heat something up we had
to use the cooker! Imagine that! 
You kids today have got it too easy. You’re spoiled. You wouldn’t have
lasted five minutes back in 1970 or before!

Regards,
Grumpy Gang

Bien, si tienes alguna pregunta sobre el texto, no dudes en preguntármela.

Agreement y disagreement, so do I y neither do I

DESTACADOS, NIVEL B1 (Intermediate), NIVEL B2 (Advanced), Speaking, Speaking

Agreement y disagreement, so do I y neither do I

En inglés, como en cualquier otra lengua, es esencial utilizar “yo también”, “yo
tampoco”, “yo sí” y “yo no” cuando nos estamos comunicando. Si os comunicáis en
inglés en el día a día, lo necesitareis, y si os vais a presentar a un examen de inglés, os
puedo venir muy bien, ya que esto demuestra un control comunicativo de la lengua
bastante alto. Ahí va la explicación:
Para expresar agreement y disagreement, en inglés se utilizan los auxiliares (“do” para
present simple, “did” para past simple, “to be” en cualquiera de sus tiempos, “have”
para presente perfecto, “will” para futuro, “would” para condicional, etc). Veamos unos
ejemplos:

A. I like pizza               B. So do I (agreement = a mí también)

A. I don’t like pizza     B. Neither do I (disagreement = a mí tampoco)

Como ves, la primera oración está en presente simple, y positiva, por tanto, para
mostrar acuerdo, escribimos SO + Auxiliar de presente simple en positivo (porque
estamos con agreement) + el sujeto.

La segunda oración está también en presente simple y negativa, por tanto, para mostrar
desacuerdo, escribimos NEITHER + do + subjeto. Detrás de NEITHER siempre irá el
auxiliar en positivo, puesto que neither ya es una palabra negativa y no sé puede
duplicar una negación en la misma oración.

Vamos a hacer lo mismo con una oración en pasado.

A. I went to the beach last week               B. So did I

A. I didn’t go to the beach last week         B. Neither did I

A continuación os dejo unas oraciones para poder practicar esta gramática.

1. I’m a student: So am I or I’m not

2. I’m not French: Neither am I or I am

3. I went on holiday last year: So did I or I didn’t
4. I’ll wake up early tomorrow: So will I or I won’t
5. I’ve studied German: So have I or I haven’t
6. I won’t go to work on Saturday: Neither will I or I will
7. I didn’t go to the supermarket: Neither did I or I did
8. I haven’t been to Madrid: Neither have I or I have
9. I don’t speak Arabic: Neither do I or I do
10. I have been to Australia: So have I or I haven’t
11. I live in a flat: So do I or I don’t
12. I’m going to work tomorrow: So am I or I’m not
13. I didn’t visit my grandparents: Neither did I or I did
14. I’m not watching TV: Neither am I or I am
15. I’ll call her tomorrow: So will I or I won’t
16. I haven’t found a job yet: Neither have I or I have
17. I’ve seen that film: So have I or I haven’t
18. I won’t read that book: Neither will I or I will
19. I like pizza: So do I or I don’t
20. I got up early this morning: So did I or I didn’t

Vamos a coger la oración número 20, por ejemplo, para analizarla:

20. I got up early this morning.

Si decimos “So I did”, estamos diciendo “yo también”. Si por el contrario, “I didn’t”,
estoy diciendo “yo no”, es decir, estoy diciendo lo contrario al hablante (A. Me levanté
temprano   B. Yo no). Esto en inglés se sigue haciendo con el auxiliar: SUBJETO +
AUXILIAR (NEGATIVO EN ESTE CASO, PORQUE QUIERES DECIR QUE TÚ
NO, Y CONTRARIO AL OTRO HABLANTE).

Cómo estructurar un monólogo

DESTACADOS, NIVEL B1 (Intermediate), NIVEL B2 (Advanced), Speaking, Speaking

Cómo estructurar un monólogo

Si estás preparando un monólogo para un examen oral oficial, por ejemplo, en la

Escuela Oficial de Idiomas, o en cualquier otra institución, ésta explicación te puede
venir bien. No se trata de hablar simplemente, sino de estructurar tu intervención
correctamente, utilizando una serie de phrases que den cohesión y calidad a tu
monólogo.

Os voy a poner aquí una guía que pueden utilizar tanto alumnos de B1 como de B2.

1) DIVIDIR TU MONÓLOGO

 I’ve divided my presentation/speech/monologue/ into three/four main parts.

 In my presentation/speech/monologue I’ll focus on three/four major issues.

2) TO GRAB THE ATTENTION OF THE AUDIENCE, YOU MAY EMPLOY

 Rhetorical questions

Example: Are children and teenagers watching too much TV these days?

Remember that when you ask a rhetorical question you don’t have to answer it, it’s just
used to make the audience think and make your topic more interesting.

 Interesting facts

Examples: according to an article I read recently, … / Did you know that…? / I would
like to share an amazing fact/figure with you.

 Stories

Examples: Let me tell you what happened to me…/ Suppose…/ Imagine…/ Say…
(=imagine)

 Problems to think about

Examples: Suppose you wanted to…/ Imagine you had to… / What would be your first
step?

 Quotations (citas, cosas que alguien conocido/ famoso ha dicho)7

Examples: as … once said, …/ To quote a well-known writer, … / To put it in the words

of…

3) INTRODUCING A POINT

 First of all, I would like to point out…

 The main problem is…
 The question of…
 Speaking of…

4) ENUMERATION OF POINTS (if you provide several reasons, factors or

arguments in a row)

 First of all, I would like to say…

 In addition to that…
 Moreover, …
 Furthermore, …
 Another example of this is…
 First, second, third…
 Finally, …

5) MOVING TO THE NEXT POINT

 This leads directly to my  next point.

 This brings us to the next question.
 Let’s now move on to…
 After examining this point, let’s turn to…
 Let’s now take a look at…

6) GOING BACK (para mencionar algo que se ha dicho anteriormente)

 As I said/ mentioned earlier…

 Let me come back to what I said before…
 Let’s go back to what we were discussing earlier.
 As I’ve already explained, …
 As I pointed out in the first section, …

7) STATING SOMETHING AS A FACT

 As everyone knows…
 It is generally accepted that…
 There can be no doubt that…
 It is a fact that…
 Nobody will deny that…
 Everyone knows that…

8) GIVING YOUR OPINION NEUTRALLY

 I think…
  I feel that…
 In my opinion, …
 As far as I’m concerned…
 As I see it…
 In my view…
 I tend to think that…
 From my point of view…

9) GIVING A STRONG OPINION

 I’m absolutely convinced that…

 I’m sure that…
 I strongly believe that…
 I have no doubt that…
 There is no doubt that…
 I am absolutely certain that…

10) EXPRESSING UNCERTAINTY 

 I definitely doubt if that…

 I am not sure that…
 I am not certain that…
 As far as I know…

11) GIVING REASONS

 The reasons for this is (that)…

 I base my argument on…
 I tell you all  this because…

12) REPHRASING OPINIONS (para volver a explicar algo, si pensamos que no ha

quedado claro)

 What I mean to say was… (lo que he querido decir es…)

 Let me put this another way (voy a decirlo de otra forma)
 Perhaps I’m not making myself clear…
 The basic idea is…
 One way of looking at it is…
 Another way of looking at it is…
 What I want to say is…

13) INDICATING THE END OF YOUR TALK

 I’m now approaching the end of my presentation.

 Well, this brings me to the end of my presentation.
 As a final point, I would like to say…
 Finally, I would like to highlight one key issue.

14) DRAWING CONCLUSIONS AND SUMMING UP

 The obvious conclusion is…

 Last but not least…
 The only possible solution/conclusion is…
 In conclusion we can say that…
  To cut a long story short, …
 Just to give you the main points again, … (en resumen, resumiendo)

Bien, ahora que ya tienes toda la estructura a seguir para tu monólogo, te propongo
unos temas para que practiques:

- exámenes orales inglés

- temas para hablar en inglés

Errores típicos al hablar inglés

DESTACADOS, NIVEL A1 (Elementary), NIVEL A2 (Pre-Intermediate), NIVEL B1

(Intermediate), Speaking, Speaking, Speaking

Errores típicos al hablar inglés

Errores típicos al hablar inglés que suelen hacer los hispanohablantes. ¿Estás
aprendiendo inglés y ves que siempre cometes los mismos errores? ¿Te ha dicho tu
profesor/a que evites un error, y siempre acabas repitiéndolo y no sabes qué hacer para
evitarlo? Bien, esto que te sucede es normal, porque en muchas ocasiones cuando
aprendemos una lengua extranjera traducimos literalmente y como consecuencia de
esa traducción, nos sale en inglés la estructura del español, que lo más normal es que
no funcione en inglés. Mi consejo es que siempre que hagas un error y se te corrija, lo
anotes en una lista de errores y repases esa lista tantas veces como sea necesario, hasta
que llegue el día en que ese error haya desaparecido. Yo aquí os voy a poner errores
típicos que voy  recopilando de mis alumnos. Lo que voy a hacer es poner el error y
después lo correcto (the correct thing). Te animo a que dejes un comentario si no
entiendes la corrección de alguno de los errores y así te puedo dar la explicación.

1. a English course

The correct thing: an English course

2. you could saw an English film

The correct thing: you could see…

3. other idea

The correct thing: another idea

4. my friend say me (quería decir: my amiga me dijo)

The correct thing: my friend told me 

5. there are very hot (quería decir: hace mucho calor)

The correct thing: it is very hot

6. before go to work, I usually have a coffee next to my office

The correct thing: before going to work…

7. It’s a good film to saw

The correct thing: It’s a good film to see

8. some song

The correct thing: some songs

9. I’ve been unwell during two weeks

The correct thing: I’ve been unwell for two weeks

10. I prefer live in a city

The correct thing: I prefer to live in a city

11. My uncle has much money

The correct thing: My uncle has a lot of money

12. I’ll phone you when I arrived (Te llamo cuando llegue)

The correct thing:  I’ll phone you when I arrive

Exámenes orales inglés

DESTACADOS, NIVEL B1 (Intermediate), Speaking

Exámenes orales inglés

Exámenes orales inglés, ¿tienes alguno? Seguramente muchos de vosotr@s os vais a

presentar a algún examen oral de inglés, bien en clases particulares, en alguna
academia de idiomas, en la Escuela Oficial de Idiomas, o en cualquier otra institución.
Bien, os voy a poner en esta entrada temas (monólogos) con los que podéis practicar
vuestro speaking y os indicaré vocabulario relacionado que deberíais emplear ante
estos exámenes orales.

Los temas son de nivel B1.

- Television and mass media

 Programmes: reality shows, gossip programes, documentaries, soap operas,

cartoons, the news, weather forecast, sports programmes, music programmes,
talk shows, dramas, sitcoms, series, serials, etc.)
 Advertising. Impact on people and children
 Newspapers (tabloid vs broadsheets, magazines, daily newspapers, etc.) Online
newspapers
 Children and television. Violence and impact on children
 Positive aspects vs negative aspects
 Educational programmes on TV

- Holidays 
  Different kinds of holidays: package holiday, camping, guided tours, cruises
 Favourite means of tranport for holidays: own car, plane, train, etc.
 People to go with: alone, family, friends, partner, etc.
 Your last holiday
 Your future holiday
 Rural tourism (relaxing, nature, sports) vs urban tourism (sightseeing,
monuments, museums)

- Education 

 Private education vs state education

 Past education vs today’s education
 Your school days: favourite subjets, teachers, school, uniform, etc.
 Technology in class: positive and negative aspects?
 Lack of money for grants?

- Sports

 Sports you do and how often?

 Children and sports. Sedentary life? Present and past, difference?
 Your opinion on risky sports
 Footballers: do they earn too much money?
 The Olympic Games

- Jobs

 Describe your job. How long have you been doing it? What do you like about it?
 Your ideal job.
 Retirement age: the ideal age?
 Dangerous jobs.
 Your opinion on civil servants in Spain.

- Technology

 How has technology changed the world?

 Past and present: comparison
 I couldn’t live without my mobile. Do you agree with this statement?
 E-books. Do you have one? Why (not)?
 Technology in education. Positive and negative aspects?
 Do children have too many gadgets?

- Money

 Social difference: rich and poor people?

 The economic crisis. How is it affecting society?
 What do you spend your money on?
 Todays’ salaries. Is it possible to save money?
 Charities. Do you give money to them? Why (not)?
 Shopping. Do you like it? Where do you like shopping?
 Money corrupts people. Do you agree?

- Music and books

 Music you like and your favourite singer/ band

  Your opinion on going to concerts
 Do you like reading? What do you normally read?
 Is reading good for children? Why (not)?
 The best book you’ve ever read
 A book you would never recommend
 Books made into films. Which do you prefer, the book or the film?

- Eating habits

 You are what you eat. Do you agree with this statement?
 Your favourite food.
 Do you like fast food? How often do you have it?
 Eating out, do you like it?
 Children and obesity.
 Organic food, too expensive?

- The environment

 What do you do to help the environment?

 Recycling. Do you recycle? What and how?
 Temperatures are rising more and more. What’s the cause?
 What can you do at home to save energy? -

Temas para hablar en inglés

DESTACADOS, NIVEL B1 (Intermediate), NIVEL B2 (Advanced), Speaking, Speaking

Temas para hablar en inglés

Temas para hablar en inglés, ¿necesitas? Here you have some topics which could be
useful for you to practise your oral skills. They are quite advanced topics intended to
make students give their opinions and arguments on some current topics which affect
society on their everyday life.

Remember, if you really want to improve your English, you must practise as much as
you can, even on your own, just to get fluency, as the saying goes “practice makes
perfect”

1. To what extent is the use of animals in scientific research acceptable?

2. Zoos are sometimes seen as necessary but not poor alternatives to a natural
environment. Discuss some of the arguments for and/or against keeping
animals in zoos.
3. Education is the single most important factor in the development of a country.
Do you agree?
4. Children should never be educated at home by their parents. Do you agree or
disagree?
5. In Britain, when someone gets old, they often go to live in a home with other old
people where there are nurses to look after them. Sometimes the government
has to pay for this care. Who should be responsible for our old people? Give
reasons.
6. In some countries the average worker is obliged to retire at the age of 50, while
in others people can work until they are 65 or 70. Until what age do you think
 people should be encouraged to remain in paid employment? Give reasons for
your answer.
7. To what extent has the traditional male role changed in the last 20 years?
8. TV: could you be without it? Discuss.
9. Tourism is becoming increasingly important as a source of revenue to many
countries but its disadvantages should not be overlooked. What are some of the
problems of tourism?
10. Should children be taught sex education in schools?
11. Most high level jobs are done by men. Should the government encourage a
certain percentage of these jobs to be reserved for women?
12. Are famous people treated unfairly by the media? Should they be given more
privacy, or is the price of their fame an invasion into their private lives?
13. Will modern technology, such as the internet ever replace the book or the
written word as the main source of information?
14. Should criminals be punished with lengthy jail terms or re-educated and
rehabituated, using community service programs for instance, before being
reintroduced to society?
15. Recycling Is Necessary. Do you agree or disagree?

Monólogo b1 inglés -Your life

DESTACADOS, NIVEL B1 (Intermediate), Speaking

Monólogo b1 inglés -Your life

Es muy común, cuando aprendemos inglés, que nos hagan hablar de nuestra vida, por
tanto, éste puede ser un monólogo tipo de nivel b1 que os podría aparecer en un
examen oral, bien en la Escuela Oficial de Idiomas, o en cualquier otra institución.

A continuación os pongo un esquema con vocabulario y expresiones para poder

prepararos este monólogo. ¿Por qué he preparado yo este esquema para  mis alumnos y
tod@s vosotr@s? Bien, porque como siempre os digo, no se trata sólo de hablar o
escribir algo, sino que además hay que hacerlo bien, y hacerlo bien significa
estructurarlo correctamente, con un orden lógico, utilizando conectores e incluyendo
gramática y vocabulario acorde al nivel b1 en este caso. Por tanto, con este esquema que
os voy a poner hoy pretendo que incluyas el vocabulario y las estructuras gramaticales
que ahí especifico, lo cual le dará buen nivel a tu monólogo.

MY LIFE IN FILM

Early days…

-          I was born in ______________ (place) on ______________ (date).

-          I was brought up by ______________ = I was raised by ______________

OR My ______________ brought me up = My ______________ raised me.

-          I used to live in ______________, where I also grew up OR I used to live in

______________, but then I moved to ______________.

-          I went to nursery school. Here… (I used to cry, I used to like it, made friends?)

-          Then I started primary/ secondary school

Favourite subjects?

Teachers?

Good student? (pass or fail?)

Later

-          I went to university… OR I didn’t go to university

What studies?

-          I started work at the age of…

Where?

-          Family

Single? Married? (when?)

Children? (ages, when they were born)

A big decision

I made a big decision when I…

Did you succeed? = yes or no? Why (not)?

Now

-          I’m working … (Where? Job?)

-          I’ve been working ______________ (where) for/ since ______________

(duration/date)

-          I’m studying ______________ (foreign languages)

-          I’ve been studying ______________ (language) for/ since

______________

-          I’m looking for a job (what kind of job)

What you are proud of

I’m proud of…

What you regret

I regret + V-ing

Example: I regret not going to university because I could have a better job now.
Si quieres revisar algunos conectores, lo puedes hacer así, al igual que el pattern del
verbo regret:

Conectores

Conectores en inglés

Wish and regret

Writing -Can you recommend a movie?

NIVEL B1 (Intermediate), Writing

Os propongo hoy un writing relacionado con el vocabulario del cine. Si estás

preparando un examen de inglés oficial, en la Escuela Oficial de Idiomas o en cualquier
otro organismo, te recomiendo que escribas distintos modelos de writings. En esta web,
en la sección de “TE CORRIJO TU WRITING?” puedes encontrar ejemplos reales de
writings hechos por alumnos de distintos niveles y corregidos por mí, señalando tanto
errores como aspectos positivos.

Bien, dicho esto, ahí va el writing sobre cine. Recuerda que es muy importante que
utilices vocabulario acorde a tu nivel, B1 (intermediate) o B2 (advanced). Yo este
writing lo propongo para B1.

Dice así:

You have just received this e-mail from your Irish friend, Mandy.

(Para ver la imagen en grande, pincha sobre ella y la podrás leer)

Write an e-mail in reply to your friend, suggesting a movie for next weekend.

You must develop the following points in the most apprpriate order:

- Recommend a movie you have seen recently, justifying your choice.

- Describe the main characteristics of the movie in terms of genre, cast and any other
techincal aspects.
- Briefly summarize the plot (without spoiling the end!)

Write between 120 and 150 words.

You must include all three points.

En el siguiente enlace podéis ver tres ejemplos ya hechos, de algunos de mis alumnos,
donde yo se los corrijo y los comento, para que así tod@s vosotr@s podéis utilizarlos de
referencia y aprender tanto de los errores como de los aspectos positivos de estos
alumn@s. MIL GRACIAS POR COMPARTIR VUESTRO APRENDIZAJE Y
CONOCIMIENTOS CON TOD@S!!!!

Ahí van: ejemplos de writing

Recommend a movie

Esto es un email informal entre amigos, donde uno le escribe al otro para recomendarle
una película. Como se trata de un texto informal, hay que usar lenguaje informal y se
pueden usar contracciones, a diferencia de los textos formales.

Este email ha sido enviado por un alumno,Antonio B., y yo se lo voy a corregir para que
así otros estudiantes puedan aprender de sus errores. Se trata de un writing nivel B1.

En rojo vamos a poner los errores, que los corregiré escribiendo lo correcto entre

paréntesis, en verde las estructuras fijas que debemos emplear ante este tipo de textos y
en azul las cosas buenas, tanto de vocabulario (porque sea adecuado para el nivel) como
de gramática, que le dan nivel y calidad al writing.

Puedes ver las instrucciones de la tarea aquí: Can you recommend a movie?

Ahí va el ejemplo:

Dear friend,

If I were you, I would see ‘Mamma Mia! The Movie’ because if you want to forget your
problems and have a good time, this is the best movie. I have seen it recently and I
think you will enjoy with it because you have always liked ABBA’s songs. The cast is
quite good and it has some famous actors. The plot isn’t very bad and the soundtrack is
full of ABBA’s songs.

This movie is a musical comedy and it hasn’t got a lot of special effects. The star is
Meryl Streep who plays the role of Donna. Other stars are Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth
and Stellan Skarsgard who play the part of Donna’s boyfriends. It was dubbed into
other languages but I recommend you to see it in English.

The plot is amazing. Donna’s daughter, called Sophie, is going to get married and she
invites to her wedding her three possible fathers (she invites her three possible fathers
to her wedding). Donna, who doesn’t know anything about her daughther’s plan, is
surprised by her older lovers. The movie, which was filmed on location in Greece, has
an incredible end.
Hope you’re ok too.

Antonio

NOTAS:

El writing en su conjunto está muy bien.

 A nivel gramatical, el alumno ha utilizado una gran variedad de tiempos

verbales que dan calidad a su writing, por ejemplo:

- A second conditional: if I were you, I would see…

- Present perfect: I have seen it recently/ you have always liked

- Future simple: I think you will enjoy

- Passive voice: It was dubbed into other languages/ was filmed on location

Oraciones de relativo:

- Meryl Streep who plays the role of Donna

- The movie, which was filmed on location in Greece, has an incredible end.

 A nivel de vocabulario, una gran variedad de términos relaciones con

cinema: cast, plot, soundtrack, special effects, musical commedy, was dubbed
into, was filmed on location.

Por último, algo que yo mejoraría en este writing es la manera de empezar el email, si
es tu amigo el que te ha pedido que le recomiendes una película, no empezarías el email
directamente a hablarle de la película, sino que le dirías algo más, cómo estás, cómo te
va la vida, cómo te han salido los exámenes, etc.

Por lo demás, un writing muy bien escrito, que puede ayudar a much@s otr@s
alumn@s a mejorar su nivel.

A continuación, vamos a poner otro ejemplo, de otra alumna, María Teresa R.

Hi Mandy,

I think you would like The Goonies. Although it’s an old film there is a film season
about the 80s cinema and they are projecting this film. If you enjoy adventure movies,
you’ll love The Goonies.

The film was directed by Richard Donner in 1985 and produced by Steven Spilberg. In
fact, it’s based on a Spilberg’s story. The main characters are teenagers and children. Its
soundtrack is very famous especially the song “The Goonies R Good Enough”, played by
Cyndi Lauper. The special effects are fantastic! Although it didn’t use to be as
spectacular as nowadays (special effects didn’t used to be as spectacular as they are
nowadays), you’ll be impressed. It was filmed in the rea place, Astoria (Oregon), and in
a studio.
The Goonies are about a group of friends which have to separate because their houses
are going to be knocked down. They find a treasure map and they start to look for the
treasure, but there is a problem, a family of thieves want to find it too.

It’s by far the best adventure film I’ve ever seen. I used to see it when I was younger. If
you want, you have another fantastic options (other fantastic options) such as E.T. or
Back to the Future. Let me know soon your opinion about the film.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Tere

NOTAS:

Al igual que el writing anterior, éste está muy bien. Vamos a destacar lo positivo:

 Good grammar:

- First Conditional: If you enjoy adventure movies, you’ll love The Goonies

- Passive voice: The film was directed by Richard Donner in 1985 and produced by
Steven Spilberg/ it’s based on a Spilberg’s story/ It was filmed in the rea place/ their
houses are going to be knocked down.

- Relative clauses:  … which have to separate…

- Superlative with by far (emphasis) + present perfect:  It’s by far the best adventure
film I’ve ever seen

- Used to (past habits): I used to see it.

 Good vocabulary related to cinema: adventure movies, soundtrack, special

effects
 Connectors/ Linkers: Although, in fact, such as

La alumna ha cometido un error en another. Aquí os dejo la explicación de another

other, por si no lo recordáis.

Os pongo otro ejemplo, en este caso de  nuestra lectora y alumna Adriana:

Hi Mandy,

I’m really glad for hearing to hear from you.  I’ve been ill with flu. Apart from that I’m
well.

You are right. I’m a keen of keen on the cinema. Recently, I’ve been watching ‘ve
watched “Her”.  This film was directed by Speke Jonze, and the main actor is J.
Phoenix. Also On the other hand, we can hear  Scarlett Johansson’s voice. The film’s
genre film genre is something between a romantic comedy and science fiction. In my
opinion it has a curious script.

The film is about a man who falls in love. He loves a Computer Operative System. The
operative system has a pretty nice voice (S. Johansson). They get on really well. Their
romance goes on as the normal couples. They begin to do make plans together: they go
shopping, camping and also they also go out with friends. Of course, they have a little
crisis. The issue is that the O.S. is very intelligent and it’s able to develop.

I’m not going to tell you more. I think it will be very interesting for you.

I hope you will enjoy it. When you see it, let me know your opinion, please.

Best regards,

Ane

NOTAS:

La alumna ha cometido un error al querer utilizar el genitivo sajón, the film’s genre.
Aconsejo ver la siguiente explicación sobre cuándo y cómo se utiliza el genitivo sajón en
inglés.

Para cualquier pregunta en alguna de las correcciones, no dudes en dejar un

comentario, que será contestado con la mayor brevedad posible

Vale, pues ahora ya puedes practicar. Te recomiendo que leas estos tres ejemplos,
analices los errores, entiendas los aspectos positivos, y entonces escribas tu writing. Si
quieres que te lo  corrija, no dudes en mandármelo y en breve lo tendrás corregido y
publicado en la web, para así ayudar a otros estudiantes.

Otro ejemplo, de la seguidora Estefany. Muchas gracias por compartir conocimiento

con tod@s!!

Dear Hi Mandy,

Well, if I were you, I’d see “300:Rise of an Empire” the movie, because it’s a really good
action movie and I Know you enjoy watching this kind of movies. The plot is about a
man called Temístocles(Sullivan Stapleton) who tries to join all Greece again, but in his
way he has to fight against Xerxes(Rodrigo Santoro) and Artimisa(Eva Green), and
many people die. This movie has a lots of special effects and the sound really makes you
feel adrenalin.It has a good cast, among the stars that appear on this movie are: Lena
Headey, who plays the role of Queen Gorgo and Jack O’Connell(II) as Temistocle’s
son’s best friend. I watched it 2 weeks ago, and I know that you will love it .

I hope to hear from you soon

Love,

Steff

NOTAS:

Bien, la seguidora Estefany, que ha escrito este writing, es de nivel A2, por tanto, la voy
a evaluar como alumna de este nivel, y no de nivel B1 como los ejemplos anteriores.
Para un nivel A2, el writing está muy bien.

Cosas positivas:

- 2nd conditional: If I were, I’d see

- relative clauses: … who plays the role of…

- 3rd person singular in present simple: has to, tries, …

- enjoy + Verb in -ing

- Saxon genitive: son’s best friend

- Future tense: will love

- Specific vocabulary: cast, plot, sound

Problemas:

- Como siempre digo, hay que tener muy presente, a la hora de escribir cualquier
writing, el tipo de texto que se nos pide. En este caso, es un email a un amigo, por tanto,
conviene empezar el email como cuando mandamos en la vida real un email a los
amigos, saludándolos antes que nada, por ejemplo: how are you? I’m fine/ busy/. I
hope you are well.

- Dear + name = se utiliza si el email es más formal. Cuando es informal: Hi + name

- La alumna se ha olvidado de un artículo, en el caso de plot y de un relativo, en el caso

de who.

Por lo demás, muy bien para un nivel A2.

Si te han gustado estos writings, por favor, haz click en algunos de los iconos de
abajo g + share, Me gusta o en Tweet para que todos tus amigos puedan aprender
de ellos.

Aprovechando tu comentario, Mari, voy a explicar el verb pattern de recommend.

Recommend es un verbo que puede aparecer con distintos verb pattern. Recordaros
antes de nada lo que es un verb pattern, es el patrón que siguen los verbos cuando
escribimos dos verbos juntos, por ejemplo, el verb pattern de mind es -ing: Would you
mind closing the door? Lo cual quiere decir que el verbo mind siempre va seguido de
ing.
Bien, dicho esto, vamos a ver cómo funciona recommend. Varios son los verb patterns:

1. Recommend + that + subject + subjunctive:

I recommend that you see it in English, tal como comentaba nuestra lectora Mari.
Cuando decimos subjunctive, subjuntivo en español, quiere decir que si el sujeto fuera
3ª persona, no se añadiría la -s de tercera persona del presente simple de indicativo,
por ejemplo: I recommend that he see it in English.
También decir que el ‘that’ se podría omitir.

2. Recommend + to infinitive: I recommend you to see it in English.

3. Recommend + -ing: I recommend seeing the film in English = como veis, en esta
tercera opción, hemos quitado el sujeto ‘you’, entonces cuando quitamos el sujeto,
añadimos verb in -ing. A veces también se utiliza la forma -ing con el posesivo, por
ejemplo: I don’t recommend your going, que significa: no te recomiendo que vayas.

La pregunta ahora es, ¿cuándo utilizamos la primera opción o la segunda? Pues bien,
unos afirman que en inglés americano se utiliza más la primera, el that + subject +
subjunctive, mientras que otros dicen que la segunda opción, to infinitive también se
utiliza en inglés británico.

Como este writing es nivel B1, yo no había explicado el verb pattern de recommend,
porque es algo más avanzado, pero aprovechando la pregunta de nuestra lectora, ahí
queda explicado.

Muchas gracias y un saludo

Errores comunes en inglés

DESTACADOS, NIVEL A2 (Pre-Intermediate), NIVEL B1 (Intermediate), Writing,

Writing

Errores comunes en inglés

A continuación os propongo una lista de errores comunes en inglés, recopilados de los

writings que han hecho mis propios alumnos. Todas las oraciones tienen errores, puede
ser uno o más, y se trata de que tú las corrijas.

Para que te hagas una idea, estos errores son de un nivel intermedio 1 de la Escuela
Oficial de Idiomas, que equivale a un intermediate. Si eres por ejemplo alumno de B1,
debes ya ser capaz de corregir todas las oraciones sin demasiados problemas.

1. I stayed with a british family to improve my english.

2. Dear Peter:

I write to tell you about my last trip to England.

3. She hasn’t a lot of friends.

4. She doesn’t like go parties.
5. She can’t cooking / She can’t playing football.
6. I had a problem with my luggage in the airport.
7. Last week I’ve been to London with an English family.
8. They lended me their car.
9. Sarah is a baby and She’s adorable. / The family house is very big because It has
ten rooms.
10. They was talking with me all the day.
11. I learned much things with they.
12. I want telling you about my experience in England.
13. A very polite boy saw my bag and gave me the bag.
14. I love traveling.
15. They have a children.
16. When I arrived to London, I went to have a cup of tea.
17. When I arrived to the airport, I went to have a cup of tea.
18. I hope you are good.
19. I enjoyed stayed with them.
 20. I hope repeat this experience.
21. I hope see you soon
22. I hope you read my email.
23. The name of the father was Kevin.
24. He wants to go to Tanzania the next summer / The last summer I travelled UK/
I was in England the last month.
25. This house I didn’t like.
26. Her grandmother cooked healthily home-made food.
27. They had two childrens.
28. I improved a lot my English.
29. I speak very well English.
30. The mother cooks very good.
31. Sue and Jim are married for ten years.
32. She has a short, blond hair.
33. She is the best cooker.
34. I was in other country and I hadn’t enough money / I had other problem. / The
others sons were going to school.
35. I worked for earn money.
36. He visited with me the city.
37. I saw under the sofa an egg.
38. I played with them before go to sleep. / I had a siesta after have lunch.
39. Thanks for write.
40. I didn’t understand nothing.
41. The house has two floors. In the first floor they have a kitchen and the dining
room. In the second floor they have the bedrooms.
42. When I arrived to/ at home, my mother was waiting for me.

Una vez hayas sacado los errores, comprueba con la KEY. Si tienes dudas sobre la
corrección, no dudes en preguntarme. Puedes dejarme un comentario en esta misma
noticia o, si lo prefieres, hacer uso del FORO DE INGLÉS, el cual encuentras en esta
misma página.

1. I stayed with a british family to improve my english = I stayed with a British
family to improve my English.
2. Dear Peter:      Dear Peter,

I write to tell you about my last trip to England = I‘m writing to tell you about my last
trip to England.

3. She hasn’t a lot of friends = She hasn’t got a lot of friends

4. She doesn’t like go parties = She doesn’t like going to parties
5. She can’t cooking / She can’t playing football = She can’t cooking / She can’t
playing football
6. I had a problem with my luggage in the airport = I had a problem with my
luggage in at the airport.
7. Last week I’ve been to London with an English family = Last week I’ve
been went to London with an English family
8. They lended me their car = They lended lent me their car
9. Sarah is a baby and She’s adorable. / The family house is very big because It has
ten rooms = Sarah is a baby and she’s adorable. / The family house is very big
because it has ten rooms
10. They was talking with me all the day = They was were talking with to me all the
day
11. I learned much things with they = I learned much a lot of/many things with
they them
 12. I want telling you about my experience in England = I want telling to tell you
about my experience in England
13. A very polite boy saw my bag and gave me the bag = A very polite boy saw my
bag and gave it to me
14. I love traveling = I love travelling (in British English)
15. They have a children = They have a children
16. When I arrived to London, I went to have a cup of tea = When I arrived
inLondon, I went to have a cup of tea
17. When I arrived to the airport, I went to have a cup of tea = When I arrived at
the airport, I went to have a cup of tea
18. I hope you are good = I hope you are well
19. I enjoyed stayed with them = I enjoyed staying with them
20. I hope repeat this experience = I hope to repeat this experience
21. I hope see you soon = I hope to see you soon
22. I hope you read my email = I hope you will read my email
23. The name of the father was Kevin = the father’s name was Kevin.
24. He wants to go to Tanzania the next summer / The last summer I travelled UK/
I was in England the last month = He wants to go to Tanzania the next
summer / The Last summer I travelled to the UK/ I was in England the last
month.
25. This house I didn’t like = I didn’t like this house
26. Her grandmother cooked healthily home-made food = Her grandmother cooked
healthily healthy home-made food
27. They had two childrens = They had two childrens.
28. I improved a lot my English = I improved my English a lot.
29. I speak very well English = I speak English very well.
30. The mother cooks very good = The mother cooks very well.
31. Sue and Jim are married for ten years = Sue and Jim have been married for
ten years
32. She has a short, blond hair = She has a short, blond hair
33. She is the best cooker = She is the best cooker
34. I was in other country and I hadn’t enough money / I had other problem. / The
others sons were going to school = I was in another country and I hadn’t 
didn’t have enough money / I had another problem. / The others sons were
going to school
35. I worked for earn money = I worked to earn money
36. He visited with me the city = he visited the city with me
37. I saw under the sofa an egg = I saw an egg under the sofa
38. I played with them before go to sleep. / I had a siesta after have lunch = I played
with them before going to sleep. / I had a siesta after having lunch
39. Thanks for write = thanks for writing
40. I didn’t understand nothing = I didn’t understand anything
41. The house has two floors. In the first floor they have a kitchen and the dining
room. In the second floor they have the bedrooms = The house has two floors.
On the first floor they have a kitchen and the dining room. On the second floor
they have the bedrooms
42. When I arrived to/ at home, my mother was waiting for me = When I arrived
to/ at home, my mother was waiting for me

Recuerda, si tienes dudas, pregúntame

Errores típicos en los writings

NIVEL B1 (Intermediate), Writing

Errores típicos en los writings

Aquí os dejo una recopilación de errores para que podáis corregirlos y aprender de
ellos. Intentad memorizarlos y no cometerlos vosotr@s cuando escribáis un writing.
Intenta corregirlos tú y después comprueba la key, que la pongo más abajo.

1. I  have hands-on experience of talking with tourists

2. If you would like to arrange a interview
3. On London
4. I have worked at International Books editorial the last year
5. I have practiced
6. I have a blog with differents sections
7. In Uk
8. In United States
9. I always have a passion for languages
10. I have a little experience like a writer
11. Availability for travel
12. Interest on travels
13. My university practices
14. Similar that mine
15. Other tasks are to teach writing their name and surname
16. The timetable of the school is since 9 to 12:30
17. I am all the day in the school
18. When the night arrive, I am very tired.
19. Every days
20. I spend much time with my family
21. I drive everyday
22. I have a juice and toasts
23. I have breakfast a cup of milk

KEYS:

1. I  have hands-on experience of talking to tourists

2. If you would like to arrange an interview
3. In London
4. I have worked at International Books editorial the last year
5. I have work experience
6. I have a blog with different sections
7. In the Uk
8. In the United States
9. I have always had a passion for languages
10. I have a little experience like as a writer
11. Availability for travelling
12. Interest in travel/ travelling
13. My university practices: work experience
14. Similar that to mine
15. Other tasks are to teach writing their name and surname: … to teach how to
write their name and surname…
16. The timetable of the school is since from 9 to 12:30
17. I am all the day in the school (referido a una maestra, ella pasa todo el día en la
escuela)
18. When the night arrives, I am very tired.
19. Every days = every day
20. I spend much a lot of time with my family
21. I drive every day
 22. I have a juice and toasts
23. I have breakfast a cup of milk for breakfast

Bien, ya está. Si tienes dudas sobre cualquier corrección, no dejes en dejarme un

comentario para que te lo pueda explicar con más detalle.

Hola Salva,
sorry, era un error. Es interest + in, ya está cambiado. Y además, travels lo pondríamos
en singular, que significa viajar de una manera general, como sustantivo, o como verbo
en ing, travelling, porque detrás de preposición siempre va verbo en ing.
Un saludo

Errores comunes en writings

NIVEL B1 (Intermediate), Writing

A continuación os pongo una lista de errores cometidos en writings. Como los errores
se suelen repetir entre los alumnos una y otra vez, te propongo que intentes corregirlos
en las siguientes oraciones. Voy a poner también las soluciones, por lo que una vez
hecho el ejercicio, corrígelo a ver qué tal te ha salido. Si tienes dudas en cualquier
oración, no dudes en dejarme un comentario para que te lo pueda explicar yo con
mayor detalle.

Vamos allá!

1. I don’t speak english very well and I’m studying german

2. I explained them that I had worked as a chef
3. My level is intermediate and If I don’t practice my English, I will fail my exams
4. I regret not studying English in England before because If I have learnt English
here I would have a better pronunciation
5. I decided come here to get a degree in Art
6. I have had some problems with these language recently
7. I think they won’t call me because in my opinion other people is better to the
post
8. The questions were easies
9. I explained what I know about that job and what was the reason that made me
send my CV
10. They’ve asked me what is the salary I’d like to earn
11. I would like to be teached by…
12. They were to much unfriendlies
13. They did a lot of questions
14. I have lived in London since 3 months ago
15. I offer in return to teach Spanish
16. I would like to know if someone does want to teach English?
17. What can I say you?
18. People didn’t know what was the sound
19. You really knew how hard this things are
20. They asked me. Where had I worked before? How long have I worked in Spain?
If would do I like to move another country?

 KEYS
 1. I don’t speak English very well and I’m studying German
2. I explained to them that I had worked as a chef
3. My level is intermediate and If I don’t practise my English, I will fail my exams
4. I regret not studying English in England before because If I had learnt English
here I would have a better pronunciation
5. I decided to come here to get a degree in Art
6. I have had some problems with this language recently
7. I think they won’t call me because in my opinion other people are better for the
post
8. The questions were easy
9. I explained what I knew about that job and what  the reason that made me
send my CV was
10. They’ve asked me what the salary I’d like to earn is
11. I would like to be taught by…
12. They were too unfriendly
13. They asked me a lot of questions
14. I have lived in London for 3 months
15. I offer to teach Spanish in return 
16. I would like to know if someone wants to teach English
17. What can I tell you?
18. People didn’t know what the sound was
19. You really knew how hard these things are
20. They asked me. Where had I worked before? How long have I worked in Spain?
If would do I like to move another country?Así quedaría la número 20: They
asked me where I had worked before, how long I have worked in Spain and if I
would like to move to another country.

Writing mistakes

DESTACADOS, NIVEL B1 (Intermediate), Writing

Writing mistakes

A continuación os pongo una recopilación de errores de writing nivel B1. Os

propongo que los corrijáis. En unos días colgaré las soluciones para que podáis
corregirlos.

Todas las oraciones contienen errores, puede haber un sólo error o más en cada una de
ellas.

Simplemente decir que las oraciones están sacadas de los writings de mis alumn@s,
sobre un texto que trataba de avances en tecnología y medicina.

1. Technology has been our life much more comfortable due to the introduction of
machines such as telly, mobile phone, washing machine and many others.
2. The invention of computers and the Internet have been done a lot easier and
faster the access to the information.
3. The communication will be only through computers.
4. It’s easy to see how the life has been changing in the last 30 years.
5. One of the main advantages we can see is the smartphones.
6. I believe in the future technology it will be better than nowadays because the life
will never stop its movement to improve our lifes.
7. Nowadays people usually chat on Internet but a few years ago the relationship
were quite different.
 8. Children probably won’t need to go to the school.
9. There have been lots of advances on technology, education and medicine which
make our lifes easier and safer.
10. The more the science advance, the better the life is.
11. There weren’t personal computers and smartphones.
12. Study a degree was very expensive.
13. Homeworks
14. Papers
15. The new technologies have helped to the medicine and the advances on
medicine have helped to people.
16. This advances are also good for the information.
17. In brief, the new technologies will be positive if we know how use them.
18. I think in the last 30 years the live has changed very much. But this changes are
for improve?
19. With TV, computers, Internet… people don’t go out.
20. My father says me that he used to play in the street and for make a plan they
had to planned few days before or he had to go to his house’s friends.
21. Nowadays is more strange to find young people who don’t study.
22. The medicine has improved very fast in the last 30 years.
23. Several years ago, people couldn’t imagine that we can be connected every
moment with everyone.
24. If I had known, I would studied medicine to help people.
25. Subjects such as Idioms and Technology will be very important in the future.
26. If the state had inverted more money in medicine, we would had the best
hospitals in Europe.
27. Lifes
28. If technology doesn’t use properly, it won helps us.
29. It is good for us?
30. I was happier than now although I hadn’t mobile phone.<
31. There wasn’t mobile phone.

KEYS:

1. Technology has made our life much more comfortable due to the introduction
of machines such as the television, the mobile phone, the washing machine
and many others.
2. The invention of computers and the Internet have made the access to the
information a lot easier and faster .
3. The Communication will be only through computers.
4. It’s easy to see how the life has been changing in the last 30 years.
5. One of the main advantages we can see is the smartphones.
6. I believe in the future technology it will be better than nowadays because the life
will never stop its movement to improve our lives.
7. Nowadays people usually chat on the Internet but a few years ago the
relationships were quite different.
8. Children probably won’t need to go to the school.
9. There have been lots of advances on technology, education and medicine which
make our lives easier and safer.
10. The more the science advances, the better the life is.
11. There weren’t any personal computers or smartphones.
12. Studying a degree was very expensive.
13. Homeworks
14. Papers
15. The New technologies have helped to the medicine and the advances on
medicine have helped to people.
 16. These advances are also good for the information.
17. In brief, the new technologies will be positive if we know how to use them.
18. I think in the last 30 years the life has changed very much. But this changes are
for improve? But are these changes for the better?
19. With the TV, computers, the Internet… people don’t go out.
20. My father tells me that he used to play in the street and to make a plan they
had to plan it few days before or he had to go to his friends’ house.
21. Nowadays it is very strange to find young people who don’t study.
22. The Medicine has improved very fast in the last 30 years.
23. Several years ago, people couldn’t imagine that we could be connected any
time with everyone.
24. If I had known, I would have studied medicine to help people.
25. Subjects such as languages and Technology will be very important in the
future.
26. If the state had invested more money in medicine, we would have the best
hospitals in Europe.
27. Lifes lives
28. If technology isn’t used properly, it won helps us.
29. It is good for us? = is it good for us?
30. I was happier than now although I didn’t have a mobile phone.
31. There weren’t any mobile phones.

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Letter/email of complaint

DESTACADOS, NIVEL B1 (Intermediate), NIVEL B2 (Advanced), Writing, Writing

Letter/email of complaint

Letter/email of complaint, éste es uno de los writings que suele salir en exámenes de
inglés por ejemplo de la Escuela Oficial de Idiomas. Éste es un ejemplo de writing
formal, hay muchos ejemplos, hoy vemos la de complaint (queja).

Dear Sir/ Madam,

(INTRODUCTION)

 I am writing to express my strong dissatisfaction at the disgraceful treatment I received

at the Walford Branco of Stimpson’s Electronics yesterday afternoon.

 (MAIN BODY)

Firstly, the product I was given was not the model I had asked for. The new X-401
calculator was demonstrated to me by the sales assistant, and I agreed to buy it.
However, on unpacking my purchase, I saw that I had been given the smaller X-201
model instead.
Furthermore, this calculator was much cheaper than the model I requested and paid
for. It did not have many of the features I needed and was much more basic than the
one I was shown to begin with.

To make matters worse, I was deeply offended by the behaviour of the sales assistant
when I went back to the shop to complain. He was not only impolite, but also unhelpful.
He refused to contact the manager when I asked to speak to him about the incident.

 (CONCLUSION)

As you can imagine, I am extremely upset, I must insist on a full refund, in addition to a
written apology from the local manager, or else I shall be forced to take further action.

I expect to hearn from you as soon as possible.

Yours faithfully,

Caroline Adams

 Another possibility:

As you can imagine, I am extremely upset and I feel I am entitled to a partial refund in
addition to a written apology from the local manager.

En azul os señalo las fórmulas para utilizar a la hora de escribir “an email/letter of
complaint”. A parte de fórmulas, veis linkers y pasivas, muy utilizadas al escribir un
texto formal.

Linkers: Firstly, However, Furthermore, To make matters worse, not only…but also

Pasivas: I was given, I had been given, I was deeply offended by.

Observar también que “writing” (I am writing to express…) se escribe con una sola “t”,
un error muy común es duplicar. Ojo con esto!

Topics for writings

Do you want to practise your writing skills but you don’t know what to write about?
Here’s a list with some ideas:

1. How has education changed in your country over the last 50 years?

Write an article for an English website about this topic.

2. A description of a place

3. Advantages and disadvantages of city life.

Write a for and against essay.

4. A narrative text: describe a funny experience.

5. Describe an exciting family party you have been to (a wedding party, a Christmas
lunch/dinner, a birthday, etc.)

6. You have a British friend who lives in England. She wants to move to Spain. Write an
email to your friend to give her/him some advice. You can talk about:

- the best place to live in.

- what the food is like.

- costumes, festivals and celebrations.

- weather and necessary clothes.

- how to learn Spanish.

- etc.

7. Write a description of the school you go / went to. Include the following
information:

 a brief introduction: the kind of school, size, location, your age when you went
there, number of pupils in each class
 homework, uniform, discipline, teachers
 subjects – best / worst
 your general opinion of the school – good / bad? Why?

Si estás en nivel B1 te aconsejo que escribas de 120 a 150 palabras, pero si estás en B2
250 palabras aproximadamente. Recuerda que cuando escribes un writing para clase,
porque te estás preparando para hacer un examen oficial, por ejemplo en la Escuela
Oficial de Idiomas, o en cualquier otra institución, se te va a evaluar el contenido
gramatical de tu writing, así como el vocabulario que emplees, si éste es del nivel al que
optas o no. También por supuesto la coherencia y la cohesión de tu texto, las ideas
deben estar bien cohesionadas y enlazadas entre sí, y todo tiene que tener un sentido,
no es escribir ideas sin pensar, sino todo lo contrario, darle forma y adecuación a tu
texto. Para darle cohesión a tu texto puedes y debes emplear conectores y linkers. 

Quizá te interesa el post de conectores.