Intermediate

Writing practice to help you write clear, detailed text on a wide range of topics related to your interests. Texts include essays, reports, reviews, messages and emails.

Tasks

An English-speaking friend wants to spend a two-week holiday in your region and has written asking for information and advice. Write a letter to your friend. 

In your letter: 

- offer to find somewhere to stay. 

- give advice about what to do.

- give information about what clothes to bring.

* Write at least 150 words. You do NOT need to write any addresses

You are due to move into a rented apartment next month, but you will not be able to because you have some problems. Write a letter to the landlord.

In your letter:

- explain your situation describe your problems

- tell him/her when you think you can move in

* Write at least 150 words. You do NOT need to write any addresses

You are a student at an English language school in Brighton and are living in private accommodation with other flat mates. You have not had hot water or heating for some time. The landlord’s workmen have tried to fix the problem but without success. Write a letter to the landlord

In your letter: 

 - state your reason for writing.

- describe the problems and explain how you feel.

- propose a solution and risk the landlord to take action.

* Write at least 150 words. You do NOT need to write any addresses

Countries such as China, India and Japan have unsustainable population growths. In fact, many experts are of the opinion that the population ‘explosion’ which is now a very worrying concern, is the most serious threat to life on this planet.

Discuss this problem.

* Write at least 150 words

Some people feel that certain workers like nurses, doctors and teachers are

undervalued and should be paid more especially when other people like film actors or company bosses are paid huge sums of money that are out of proportion to the importance of the work that they do.

- How far do you agree?

- What criteria should be used to decide how much people are paid?

* Write at least 150 words

In some countries young people have little leisure time and are under a lot of pressure to work hard in their studies.

- What do you think are the causes of this?

- What solutions can you suggest?

* Write at least 150 words

MODEL PARAGRAPHS

My Favorite Place to Go

Do you have a favorite place to go—a place with family, good weather, and fun things to do like crabbing? I’m glad I do. New Jersey is my favorite place for many reasons.

The first reason is my family. Over half of my family lives in New Jersey. When I visit, my cousins and I laugh and play all day and night. My uncles and aunts take me to the boardwalk where we ride roller coasters. We devour juicy caramel-covered apples and foot-long hot dogs. My family is fun to be with.

The second reason for New Jersey being my favorite place is the weather. Instead of being hot and sweaty, it’s always cool and moist. When I think about my visits, I can just feel the crisp fall breeze in my hair. I can just see the white, fluffy winter snow. I can just hear the soft spring trickles of rain splashing on the sidewalks. I can just feel the warm summer sun on my face. The weather is great!

The third reason for New Jersey being my favorite place is crabbing. If it’s crab season, we crab. We keep the blue crabs and the snow crabs, and we let the others go. Sometimes we catch crabs on hooks, and sometimes we lower crab cages into the bay. Then we pull them out later. One time my brother caught a crab so big that it got stuck in the crab cage! The crab finally got out, but it hurt one of its legs and broke the cage trying. Poor crab!

For all these reasons, New Jersey is my favorite place to go. If you don’t have a favorite place, I think you should search for one. It’s good to visit a favorite place—a place where you can make special memories. By the way, if you crab at your special place, be sure to get a big crab cage.

My Mother

Do you have someone who is great, spends time with you, cares for you, and is an important person? Well, I do, and she has black hair, brown eyes, and a caring touch. That’s my mom.

My mom talks to me about many things. One of the things she talks to me about is what will happen when I grow up. She tells me what to do in case of an emergency. And one day I had a really bad day with my friends, and she told me what to do about it.

My mom and I spend a lot of time together. We play games, bake cookies, make necklaces, and draw doodle tricks. But our favorite thing to do is read. Our favorite book is If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.

Mom takes me shopping at the mall. We buy toys and clothes, and we eat at the café. We usually get Chinese food or go to a McDonald’s restaurant. When we ride the escalator, my mom pretends to fall back and says, “My shoestring’s stuck!”

My mom always laughs, and when she laughs, she sounds like a hyena gone crazy! She doesn’t laugh every day, but when she does, it’s hilarious, and I have to laugh, too!

My mom is the greatest. I love how she jokes around. She is always fun no matter what, and she gives me great advice. My mom is more than a mom; she is like my best friend!

Why are more people travelling today than ever before?

It is undeniable that travelling has become much more popular as compared to the past. There are several reasons why this is happening and this situation offers various benefits.

More people are taking overseas trips for the following reasons. One of the reasons is to get a better education. These days, many students in the developing countries study in developed countries because many of the schools and universities there are of a higher quality. For example, most of the top ranked universities in the world are located in countries like America and the United Kingdom. In addition, people may need to go on business trips overseas. Because we live in a globalized world, a person working for a multinational company may often need to travel to another office overseas for work. Also, businessman and entrepreneurs often travel to neighbouring countries in order to expand their business.

People who travel can experience many benefits. In the first place, they can gain invaluable experience through their time abroad. An example of this is that a person would encounter different cultures and customs when visiting and living in another country, which could make him or her more open-minded. Furthermore, people can also make new friends from different countries. The result of such friendship could be the creation of business opportunities or just the sharing of one’s different experiences. Consequently, the lives of both parties would be enriched.

In conclusion, people go overseas nowadays in order to receive a better education or to do business. Through going overseas, these people can broaden their horizons and widen their social circle. Given the above, it is recommended that everyone should consider taking a trip overseas at least once in their life.

Nowadays the way many people interact with each other has changed because of technology.

These days, the relationship people have with each other has been affected by advancements in technology. There are several ways in which our relationships have been affected and I believe that this has been negative.

Relationships have changed in the following ways. One of the major ways is that nowadays people have more acquaintances and fewer close friends. For example, many people may have hundreds and thousands of friends on social media websites like Facebook as it is easy to connect through these websites. However, most of these people are not really close friends at all. In addition, technology has led to less face-to-face interaction between people. Because using social media sites has become an integral part of the lives of many people these days and connecting with others has become so much easier as a result of such sites, most people spend more time online chatting with their friends than actually meeting them face-to-face.

I believe that the above changes have been negative for the following reasons. In the first place, people now feel lonelier as they spend more time with the computer rather than with other human beings. Studies have shown that people need real face-to-face interaction if they want to remain emotionally healthy. Therefore, the lack of such communication has made many people become lonely and even depressed. Furthermore, many people who use technology to communicate with others are gradually losing important social skills. It is very common for people nowadays to know how to communicate and express themselves using emoticons or other forms of expression that are common online. However, an unfortunate consequence of all this is that people do not know how to express themselves properly using their body language or tone of expression.

In conclusion, because of technology, people have fewer close friends and have less direct contact with people. This development is negative as it is easier for people to feel lonely because of this and they are becoming less adept in social situations. Given this situation, it is recommended that people should seek to spend less time on electronic devices in order to improve their relationships with others.