TAsK BANK

Use these writing tasks for extra practice in the work

2B Advice
covered in the relevant m o d u l e .
A For a young p e o p l e ' s E n g l i s h - l a n g u a g e magazine in

your country, write an article of about 250 words giving

advice on the following subject:

UNIT I
Healthy eating: some sensible advice for teenagers

1A Making descriptions interesting

B For a young p e o p l e ' s E n g l i s h - l a n g u a g e magazine in

You saw a car leaving the scene of a crime at h i g h your country, write an article of about 250 words giving

speed. You got a good view of the car, but you saw advice on the following subject:

neither the n u m b e r plate nor the people i n s i d e . The

Learning English is f u n : how to enjoy learning E n g li s h .
police have asked you to write a description of the car.

Write 1 0 0 - 1 5 0 words.
2C Processes and systems

For an educational magazine aimed at 1 6 - 1 8 year olds in

1 B Describing pictures and objects
Britain, describe either the educational or the political
An English-language magazine is ru n n i n g a series
system in your country (250 words).
entitled The Eye of the Beholder. Each week an article is

p u b l i s h e d in which a reader describes an object or a

work of art that they find particularly beautiful. I n the

UNIT3
articles that have been pu bl i shed so far, the writers have

usually included a physical description of the object

3A Narratives and c o n n e c t i n g words
before giving a personal commentary on why they fin d
As a result of a misunderstanding, you were arrested by
the object beautiful. Write about 250 words.
the police (either in your own country or abroad) and

kept prisoner for three days. You have a friend who is a

lawyer. Write a letter to them (about 250 words),

UNIT2
describing exactly-what happened why you were

arrested, and how you were treated by the police - and

2A Instructions and directions
asking them if you are entitled to any kind of apology or
A You have arranged a house (or flat) exchange with
compensation.
someone from New Zealand. This means that, for the

month of J u l y , you w i l l be living in t h e i r home in New

38 B i o g r a p h i c a l narratives
Zealand, and they will be living in your home.

A A local English-language magazine runs a regular

The New Zealanders have just written to you, te l ling you
feature entitled No One Is An Island in which readers are
everything you need to know about the house you will be
invited to describe a relationship that has been important
staying in (i n cl u d i n g the p l u m b i n g p ro b l e m s , and how to
in their life. Write an article (about 250 words) for
t u rn off the water s u p p l y in an emergency; the broken
publication in this series.
washing machine, and where to find the launderette; the

cat, what it eats and where it h i d e s ; the local shops and

« In past issues, many readers have d e s c ri b e d th e i r r el a ti o n sh i p s

with friends, families, w h il e others have looked at relationships in

facilities).
the workplace. Some of the most dramatic accounts have

Reply, in about 250 words, t e l l i n g the New Zealanders described not friendship but fear, r i v a l ry , enmity and hatred,

what they need to know about your house. whereas in the most original, relationships with animals, objects,

items of clothing, places, songs and types of food have been

B You are on holiday and next week some friends are

c h ro n i c l e d . This is a very popular series and many readers

c o m i n g to join you, but you are not staying where you compete to have their stories printed, so make sure your

had expected to be, as you have found somewhere description is both w e l l - w r i tt e n and interesting.

m u c h better. Write a short letter to your friends, (about

B For the English-language edition of a tourist g u i d e to
250 words) t e ll i n g them that you have moved and
your town / re g i o n , write the life story (about 250 words)
persuading them that you have made a good c h oice.
of one of the famous people associated with your town /
Then explain where they will find y o u , giving them
reg io n.
instructions how to get there by p u b l i c transport.

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Task bank

4C Personal advice
UNIT4
A You have just received the following letter from a 1 9 ­

4A Argument year-old friend who is working in New Zealand. Write a

reply to her letter (about 250 words).

A An American national newspaper has invited people

from around the world to write an ' o p e n letter' to the

President of the United States, for publication in the

Help! I need your advice!
newspaper. Write your letter (about 250 words).
Thing with Gary just got worse and worse, and
® The content and style of your letter is left very open here, giving
I'm not going out with him any more. I can't believe l
you a lot of scope to demonstrate your skills and creativity. To

came all this way just to be near him! The trouble i6,
succeed in this task you should write a letter that the people

who buy the newspaper would enjoy reading. You might criticize I'm otill working in his parents' factory, so l still see

the President, or you might praise h i m . More constructively, you

him most day6, and he always makes sarcastic,
might draw his attention to one or more of the many ways in
hurtful comments. I've been offered two other jobs,
which he could use his immense power to make the world a
one in a bar and the other in a pharmaceutical
better place. Are there any injustices in the world, or threats to

the future of the world, that you would like him to do something factory. But as you know (how could you forget!) I

about?
don't approve of drinking or drugs, so I turned them

both down. Oh yes, one more job offer (much more

B
interesting!) I met a man the other day who says
NO J O K I N G MATTER!
he's got a yacht and is looking for crew to sail
Unemployment is increasing throughout the developed world,
around the Pacific. But I haven't seen him again.
and its effect on individuals and families can be tragic. Do you

have a solution to the problem of unemployment? Consider the Anyway, without Gary and hie friend6 I don't

causes of unemployment, and how work could be better shared. know anybody here. I never go out any more, but

Write an article (about 250 words) entitled 'A Solution to the spend my evenings in bed listening to my Walkman.

Problem of Unemployment'. P.S. Magazine will publish the best And my cassettes remind me of home, and the good

article received. times we all had together last summer.

/ had so wanted to explore these islands, the

mountains, the beaches, the Maori culture. But that

C The problem of famine in the Third World is ever dream has gone now, together with my hopes of

present - but easily forgotten from the comfort of o u r improving my spoken English (1 hope you don't mind

homes. What should we be doing as i n d i v i d u a l s to help

my practising my written English on you, by the
the people who are dying of hunger? What should our
way). There are only two reasons why I haven't come
governments be doing? Write an article of about 250
home already. Firot, I'm having trouble changing the
words for your school magazine.
date of my flight. And second, I haven't really got a

lot to go back to: when I came out here l had to give

48 Reviews
up my job and my fat, and it cost me all my saving6.

For your school magazine, write a review (250 words) of Please write an d tell me what I s hould do! Your

the worst f i l m , concert or TV programme you have seen

advice w o uld bring a ray of sunshine i nto my
recently.
con fus ed life!

You have a good reputation as a critic, and you will maintain this
Love,
reputation by offering a balanced judgement. Mention the
Anita
positive points as well as the negative aspects, and justify your

opinions.

B You are sharing a flat with two other people, and the

arrangement i s n ' t working very well. Write a letter to a

friend (about 250 words) describing some of the

p ro b l e m s you are having with your two flatmates and

asking for advice on how to improve t h i n g s .

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 Task bank

D You are either a private detective, a secret agent, a

UNIT5
political extremist or an outlaw. One of your contacts

5A Describing people needs to get a false passport made, in a hurry. You

A Just before setting off by train on a foreign holiday, know that there is only one person in town who can do

you see someone leave a bag underneath a bench in the it. This person can always be found at a certain time in a

railway station. The following day, you learn that a bomb certain bar, and will be prepared to negotiate the job

exploded in the station at about that t i m e . You feel it is with a stranger so long as they can give the password.

just possible, though very u n l i k e l y , that the bomb was in Write a note for your contact, telling them where to g o ,

the bag you saw being left u n d e r the bench -- in which w hen, how to recognize the forger, and the password.

case, you also saw the terrorist who planted the b o m b , (Having written the note, you w i ll , of course, put the note

and would be able to describe them to the police. You i n s i d e a folded copy of the Herald Tribune, and throw the

write a letter to the police describing what you saw. newspaper into the rubbish bin beside the park gates at

midday precisely.) (About 1 5 0 words.)

D o n ' t write the whole letter. Write only your description

of the person who left the bag, the bag itself, and the

location of the b e n c h . (About 1 5 0 words.) 58 D e s c r i b i n g places

A Write a magazine article that takes a critical look at

B Your good friend Alex is flying to Britain, and will be
your town as seen t h ro u g h the eyes of a dissatisfied
picked up by another friend of yours (who lives there).
tourist. Your article should be enjoyable to read, but
The two have never met, but Alex has a photo of the one
make a n u m b e r of valid criticisms.
in Britain; unfortunately, you haven't got a photo of Alex.

So write the description of Alex that you send to your

« Suggested approaches:

• Write the article in the form of a letter written by a dissatisfied

friend in Britain in order to help them fi n d each other at
tourist.
the airport. (About 1 0 0 words.)
• As above, with an introduction or a conclusion (or both)

written in your own voice.

C
• Write the article as if you were the tourist.

P S . Magazine Writing Competition • Write the article in your own voice, after hearing from a

dissatisfied tourist.

A DINNER PARTY

If you could invite any two famous people to B

dinner at your house one night, who would you

P S . Magazine competition: memories
choose? The people may be dead or alive, from
that take you back!
history or from fiction.

• Say why you choose these people Our memories=and dreams often return to a

• You may also briefly discuss your plans for beautiful place we once visited -- childhood

memories of visits to a farm or to the city,

the evening

LENGTH about 250 words adolescent settings of first romances, adult

PRIZE $100 cash plus a dinner for four at the memories of beauty spots, holidays in the

restaurant of your choice. mountains, beaches . . . In about 250 words,

describe that place, and P . S . Magazine will take

you back there, as well as giving you a £250

cash prize, if your article is selected for

publication in our April edition.

C You are on holiday and the place you have come to is

extremely d i s a p p o i n t i n g . An English-speaking friend of

yours is p l a n n i n g to come to the same place next m o n t h .

Write a letter to your friend (about 250 words), describing

the unsatisfactory accommodation, amenities and

facilities, and suggesting that they change their holiday

plans.

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Task bank

UNIT6 UNIT 8

6C Other formal letters 8A Information reports: people

Is there an English-speaker that you have o ff e n d e d at You recently spent six months in an English-speaking

any time in the past, but you have never apologized to c o u n t ry working as an au-pair. Now a friend of yours

them? Did you ever do something w ro n g , and it's s t il l on wants to go and work for the same fa m i l y . The fa m il y

your conscience today? Have you ever ( a c c i d e n t a ll y or have written to you asking if you t h i n k your friend would

o t h e rw i s e ) caused p ro b l e m s fo r someone, and you be suitable for the job. (T h e work involves c h i l d - m i n d i n g

would like to apologize to them? fo r three children aged 3 , 6 and 8; some housework,

including vacuuming and washing-up; and the choice of

(With a partner) Explain to your p a rt n e r exactly who you

either gardening, cooking or walking the dog.)

would like to apologize to, and for what. Your p a rt n e r

must write the letter for you; you will write the letter your Write a letter to the family, recommending your fr i e n d .

p a rt n e r asks fo r . Then read the l e tt e r s together and Your letter should be s u ff i ci e n t l y positive to ensure that

decide whether they are good enough a p o l o gi e s - and your friend gets the job, but you should at least pretend

whether to send them! to give a balanced j u d g e m e n t. Write ab o u t 1 5 0 words, of

which about 1 0 0 words should be the 'reference'.

(Working alone) Write that letter of apology in English. Kill

two birds with one stone! Practise your writing at the

same time as getting something off your chest! 8B R e c o m m e n d a ti o n reports

The British Centre is researching English language

teaching in schools a ro u n d the world. They already have

UNIT7 information supplied by the teachers and management of

schools, but recognize that this information is only half

78 D i p l o m a c y and tact
the s t o ry . In order to obtain a more balanced p i c t u re of

A Last time you saw a friend, they did something that the schools, the British Centre invites all advanced

students to write a 2 5 0 - w or d r e p o rt on their school. As

made you very a n g ry . You haven't spoken to them since.

an incentive, the Centre is o ff e r i n g study grants w o rt h

Now, two months later, you're s t i ll a bit a n g ry but you

£ 2, 0 0 0 each to the writers of the best three r e p o rt s .

want to renew your fr i e n d s h i p . Write your fr i e n d a letter

(about 250 words) that succeeds in both expressing your

Your r e p o rt should cover all the relevant aspects of your

anger (and ensuring that your fr i e n d doesn't behave that

schoo l/ English D e p a rt m e n t , from class ro oms and

way again) and renewing your fr i e n d s h i p .

faci l ities to teachers, management and methodology.

You should also mention what you perceive to be the

B You are on h o li d a y and you have discovered a

strengths and weaknesses of your school.

w o n d e rf u l place and a w o n d e rf u l person. You want to

stay in this place fo r the rest of your holiday, but you had

8C Eye-witness and narrative reports

p ro m i s e d to spend a week with an English-speaking

fr i e n d of yours. Write a letter to your friend (about 250 Write a mag az ine report of 250 words describing a ma j or

words) describing the place you have discovered and the disaster, either natural ( f ire, flood, e a rt h qu ake, vol c an i c

person you have met, and t ry i n g to persuade your friend eruption), or man-made. You may write from experience

to come and join you. Make sure your fr i e n d or use your imagination, but the r e p o rt is to be written as

understands what a d i ff i c u l t choice you will have if they an eye-witness accoun t.

don't come to join you. At the same time, be careful not

to offend them.

UNIT9

9A O p e n i n g s and c l o s i n g s

A Y ou have been inv i ted to write a 250 - w or d a rt i cl e for

an English-lan g uage mag az ine in your c o u n t ry . T he

subject of the a rt i cl e is Television in my country today.

The editor has asked you to

• give your a rt icle an inte re stin g title.

• briefly summari z e the TV channels available and the

kind of p ro g r a m m e s they show.

• comment on the p ositive and ne g at i ve effects of TV ,

whether on society or on the individual or both.

144
 Task bank

• suggest ways in which TV programming could be B

improved in the future.

DP. S . Magazine Writing Competition:
DO NOT WRITE THE ARTICLE.
Win a Free Holiday in the U.S.A.
1 Write three different first paragraphs for the article, a l l
Imagine that next summer you are going [
of them good. Each first paragraph s h o u l d use a
sp e n d a month touring the U . S . A . You will b
different kind of opening from the n i n e listed on page
t�velling with a friend. You don't want to carry
1 2 5.
much luggage so you decide that, apart from
2 Write three different titles for the a rt i cl e , to match the
any maps, dictionaries, grammars and religious
three openings. The title, like the o p e n i n g , s h o u l d do
books, you will take just three boo\s with you.
two t h i n g s : indicate the content of the a rt i c l e , and
What books will you take, and why.
make people want to read it.
Write a 250-word article for this magazine,

B Your local English-language magazine is r u n n i n g a ing that question. The writer of the
answer ' 5lli
series entitled Formative years, in which readers are article we publish will win a holiday trave mg

invited to write about someone who had an important

around the U. S .A.
influence (for good or bad) on the way they grew u p .

Write your article (about 250 words).

®I Beware of self-indulgence. The reader of the magazine doesn't

know you, and probably doesn't want to hear about your

teacher or your family unless you have something interesting to U N I T 10

say about them. In particular, try to start your article in a way

that will make the reader want to read more. 10A Leaflets, brochures and information

sheets
C For a young p e o p l e ' s E n g l i s h - l a n g u a g e magazine in

your country, write an article giving advice on one of the You are working at an International Summer Camp for

following subjects: c h i l d re n aged 1 2 - 1 6 . Every m e m b er of staff has been

• How to make the most of your time as a student p ut in charge of one sport or activity and asked to w rite

• 'The best t h i n g s in life are free' -- five ways of enjoying a short leaflet in English introd u ci ng the c h i l d re n to the

life for free. s p o rt/ acti v ity, describing the e q uipme n t , ru l e s ,

techni q ues and safety procedures, and giving any

D For a national E n g l i s h - l a n g u a g e magazine targeting
a p propriate ad v ice to beginners. You are l uc ky e nough
the 1 8 3 6 age range, write an article giving advice on
to be ab l e to choose a spo rt/ activity that you know a lot
one of the following subjects:
abou t. Write the leaflet (about 250 w or ds ) .
• Things to remember when buying clothes: tips for

successful s h o p p i n g .
10B Tourism
• How to succeed at work: tips for the office worker and

the young executive. A small travel company speciali z ing in h o lidays fo r B riti s h

p eople over 65 years old is p l a n n i n g to e x pand its

o p eration to i n cl u d e your count ry . Y ou have been asked

98 Reviews
to help p repare the holida y brochure. S ince many of the
A An English-language magazine is r u n n i n g a series of
o l d people may still have a n image of your count ry that
articles in which famous people choose 3 records that
they formed 20 or more years ago, you are asked to
they would take with them if they were g o i n g to spend
write a 250-word a rti cl e for the b ro chure describing the
the rest of their life living alone on a desert island. Some
ways your count ry has improved as a place for tourists .
weeks, the article is written by someone who is not so
® You will probably aim to show, as far as possible, that your
famous. This week, i t ' s your t u rn (if your article is
country has retained all the positive qualities it used to have, lost
interesting e n o u g h ) . Write the article (250 words)
any negative qualities, and created wonderful new opportunities

explaining which three records you would take, and why. and facilities for tourism.

® It will probably be more appropriate to tell interesting stories

about your personal reasons for choosing the records than to

write the whole article as if you were a music critic.

1 4 5