Task 3.

Read through the text, then try to:

a. Identify which of the numbered verbs are action or state verbs. Write A for
action, and S for state below:

(1)_____ (2)_____ (3)_____ (4)_____ (5)_____ (6)_____ (7)_____ (8)_____ (9)_____

(10)_____ (11)_____ (12)_____ (13)_____

b. Fill in the gaps with the correct form of used to, or would (in some cases both
used to and would are acceptable):

Dear Nick

I’m sending this through SchoolMates.com. Do you remember me? When we were
young, we _______________ (1) walk to Elementary school together.  We
_______________ (2) sit together for lunch, but after some time, Mr. Smith made us
sit apart because we _______________ always (3) giggle so much. I think we
_______________ (4) enjoy ourselves a little too much!

I remember you _______________ (5) go to piano lessons after school, but you
_______________ (6) hate playing the piano! Also, we _______________ (7) ride our
bikes to the park after class and stay there until late, and you _______________ (8)
often get into trouble. Do you remember that day when I set my text book on fire?
The teacher went crazy the next day! We _______________ (9) call him ‘Rabbit’
because we thought he had enormous teeth! He didn’t _______________ (10) like
us very much!

I still see Charles, he _______________ (11) be the teacher’s pet and

_______________ (12) do my homework for me sometimes. Do you remember him?
He _______________ (13) want to be a doctor, and guess what, now he is! He is
always talking about meeting you sometime. So if you’re interested, drop me a
line.

Your old friend,

Jason Cash
Task 3.2

Read through the text, then try to:

a. Identify which of the numbered verbs are action or state verbs. Write A for
action, and S for state below:

(1)_____
A (2)_____
A (3)_____
A (4)_____
S (5)_____
A (6)_____
S (7)_____
A (8)_____
A (9)_____
A
(10)_____
S (11)_____
S (12)_____
A (13)_____

b. Fill in the gaps with the correct form of used to, or would (in some cases both
used to and would are acceptable):

Dear Nick

I’m sending this through SchoolMates.com. Do you remember me? When we were
used to/would (1) walk to Elementary school together.  We
young, we _______________
would/used to (2) sit together for lunch, but after some time, Mr. Smith made us
_______________
would/used to always (3) giggle so much. I think we
sit apart because we _______________
used to (4) enjoy ourselves a little too much!

_______________

used to/would (5) go to piano lessons after school, but you

I remember you _______________
_______________
used to (6) hate playing the piano! Also, we _______________
would/used to (7) ride our
bikes to the park after class and stay there until late, and you _______________
would/used to (8)
often get into trouble. Do you remember that day when I set my text book on fire?
used to/would (9) call him ‘Rabbit’
The teacher went crazy the next day! We _______________
because we thought he had enormous teeth! He didn’t _______________
use to (10) like
us very much!

I still see Charles, he _______________

used to (11) be the teacher’s pet and
would/used to (12) do my homework for me sometimes. Do you remember him?
_______________
He _______________
used to (13) want to be a doctor, and guess what, now he is! He is
always talking about meeting you sometime. So if you’re interested, drop me a
line.

Your old friend,

Jason Cash
Habits in the Past: Used To vs. Past Continuous

We can also use the past continuous to describe a repeated action in the past.
Often, it is an annoying or irritating habit. In this case, a frequency adverb is
necessary, such as always, constantly, repeatedly, occasionally, rarely etc etc.

When Anna was younger, she was constantly getting into trouble.
I remember my next door neighbour was often playing loud music.
Thomas was always texting when we went out for dinner.

she was constantly getting Thomas was always texting

into trouble when we went out for dinner.

Past now
 Unit 3B
Writing: Essay
 Writing: Essay

composition
essay(n.): a short piece of writing on a particular subject

About the essay:

• The FCE writing paper part 1 is an essay

• It is compulsory
you have to do it, you have no choice
• Your essay must be between 140 and 190 words in length

• You have 40 minutes to complete your part 1 writing (and 40 minutes for part 2). I advise
that you allocate your time as follows:

Planning - 10 minutes

Writing - 25 minutes

Checking - 5 minutes

• For an essay, you need to present information, express your opinion, and compare
and contrast ideas, then bring it all together to clearly express your final opinion at the
end - your conclusion.

• You are required to use varied ways to express yourself and your opinions (contrasting
ideas/organising and linking ideas/generalising/giving examples etc etc.).
Example brief:

Part 1

You must answer this question. Write your answer in 140 - 190 words in an appropriate style on the
separate answer sheet.

___________________________________________________________________________________

1. Your teacher has asked you to write your response to the following statement taken from a recent
newspaper article:

“Cars should be banned from the centres of all major cities.”

Write an essay giving your point of view on the subject.

Essay: Structure

• Cars should be banned from the centres of all major cities.

I’m going to decide on this after I have finished my writing. You cannot name your
Title essay the same as the subject description. Try and create a title which connects
to what you are writing about. You can be creative with the title if you want to.

Aim to “grab the readers attention” and set the theme for what you are going to be
presenting. This could be done with startling information (one or 2 facts on the
Introduction topic), or a short anecdote re: a personal experience on the subject, then lead
them into the body of your essay. shocking/surprising

Idea 1
(paragraph 1)

These are your body paragraphs. Each one should present an idea connected
Idea 2 directly to your topic, a supporting point, and then some elaboration.
(paragraph 2)
go into more detail

Idea 3
(paragraph 3)

This is following on from all your points which you have made in your
Conclusion body text, and a final perspective on your opinion.
Introduction

“Cars should be banned from the centres of all major cities.”

Content notes/ideas (write down your ideas for your introduction, then develop them in your writing):

Personal experience (Thailand) coughing lungs hurt not moving anywhere

Useful language (for making your introductory point)

• First of all, firstly, to begin with…

• Nowadays, these days…

• Many people think that…

• Some people claim…

• First and foremost…

• It is widely believed that…

• It is clear that…

• In general, on the whole…

It is widely known that many large city inhabitants suffer from traffic and pollution problems, but it
wasn’t until a few weeks ago when I was stuck in traffic in central Bangkok, coughing up carbon
dioxide, that I fully realised the extent of this problem.
 Idea 1 Idea 2 Idea 3
(paragraph 1) (paragraph 2) (paragraph 3)

“Cars should be banned from the centres of all major cities.”

Content notes/ideas (write down your ideas for your paragraphs, then develop them in your writing):

2. Pollution is getting worse traffic jams more and more cars unhealthy city centres ineffective
transport 3. leaders focusing on wrong things living with pollution 1. Technology vs. pollution
Useful language

Organising and
Expressing your opinion Contrasting ideas Generalising Giving examples
linking ideas

-I personally feel that…

-nevertheless…
-secondly…

-In my opinion…
-for example

-as opposed to…

-furthermore…
-on the whole…

-In my experience…
-for instance

-on the other hand…

-moreover…
-in general….

-I think it’s time…

-such as

-The pros and cons of…

-however…
-basically….

-As far as I know…

-in particular

-in any case…

-besides…
-in most cases…

-The fact is that…

-like…

-so why is it…

-as well as…
-as a rule…
-I firmly believe…
-in theory…

1. We are in an era where we, the human race, have excelled in science and technology, and are reaching toward
the stars. So why is it that we cannot seem to control the most important thing in our lives - our living
environments?

2. I think it’s time that we, as a species, accepted the fact that this inner city pollution problem is only going to get
worse if we don't act now. I firmly believe that banning cars from all city centres is the first and most important
step.

3. Why is it that our greatest minds work tirelessly on projects like colonising Mars, as opposed to focusing on
creating systems for inner city transport which will work efficiently for everyone, without poisoning the air that
we breathe?
Conclusion
“Cars should be banned from the centres of all major cities.”

Content notes/ideas (write down your ideas for your conclusion, then develop them in your writing):

imagine future cities it’s up to us we are responsible for our own future

Useful language

• Finally…

• In conclusion…

• To sum up…

• All in all…

• All things considered…

• In short…

Finally, take a moment and visualise the cities of the future. Are they lush, green and clean? Or
are they thick, dark and dirty? It’s up to us to decide.
Final writing example with title:

Title Breathing the Future

Introduction It is widely known that many large city inhabitants suffer from traffic and pollution
problems, but it wasn’t until a few weeks ago when I was stuck in traffic in central
Bangkok, coughing up carbon dioxide, that I fully realised the extent of this problem.

Idea 1 We are in an era where we, the human race, have excelled in science and technology, and
(paragraph 1) are reaching toward the stars. So why is it that we cannot seem to control the most
important thing in our lives - our living environments?

Idea 2 I think it’s time that we, as a species, accepted the fact that this inner city pollution
(paragraph 2) problem is only going to get worse if we don't act now. I believe that banning cars from all
city centres is the first and most important step.

Idea 3 Why is it that our greatest minds work tirelessly on projects like colonising Mars, as
(paragraph 3) opposed to focusing on creating systems for inner city transport which will work efficiently
for everyone, without poisoning the air that we breathe?

Conclusion Finally, take a moment and visualise the cities of the future. Are they lush, green and clean?
Or are they thick, dark and dirty. It’s up to us to decide.

*Take Note: the handwritten notes on the left are just for guidance, and must not be
included in your final writing.
Task 3.3

(your answer sheet for this task is a Google Doc.)

Choose one of the following subjects for your essay:

• Where would you rather live: in the city or the countryside?

• Famous people, such as politicians and film stars, deserve to have a

private life without journalists following them all the time.

• Some people believe that humans should not eat meat. Do you agree?

Remember:
• Take some time to think of (and note down) ideas for your essay before
you start writing.

• Try and use some of the “useful language” you have seen in this lesson.

• Try to stay within your word count of 140 - 190 words.

• Try and choose a good title for your essay.

TAKE NOTE:
• This writing must be done as a Google Doc., then shared with me.

• Make sure your spelling correction and autocorrect are turned off

before you write. If you don’t know how to turn them off, click on this link
and follow the instructions.

Please can you have this writing task finished and shared with me by Friday the
16th of February.
Good luck!