Collins Cambridge IGCSE™ ENGLISH STUDENTS BOOK

Chapter 1 . o3T pc1i
Develop the skills

Now read the en d of the J Hus reveiw.

This is ver y much a posS-torm, zy post-Skepta, With his at tentio n - grabbing sklils and knack

post-Drake- going -roadman album, and an for sculpting hooks , J Hus could crack the US

important stepping stone along the path to with a single feature on some hot rapp er’s

the UK estabsilhnig itself asabonafide world- hit track. But honestly, with our homegrown

beateratbeatsandrhyme s . scene so exciting right now, why not simply

stay ba skinginthatlo caladu?la tion

6 H ow does this ending refl e c t w hat the writer thinks th e The Times onpage49,aime dat
target audience will know about and care about?

7 W hat assumptions does the writer make about the
audience in the final sente?nce

8 T he purposeof a textiscloselylinkedtoitst argetaudience.
Forexample,areviewgivesthewriter’s assessmentof
something –suchasaplay, concertormusicalbum.

a) What would a read er hope to get out of rea ding a music
review?

b) What kind of rea der would therefore be intere s t e d in
reading the J Husreview?

Appylthe skills

Readthefolowingar ticlefrom
a different typeofre.ader A s youread,makenotes on itstarget
audience and purpose.

9 H ow does th i s a r ticle reflec t it s targe t audie?ncCeonsider
how:
•
the content relate s to reade rs’ inte r e s t s
•
the language relate s to level of education
•
the occasional informality (for example, ‘flog s i t ’ )
r e f l e c t s its purpose
•
the final senten c e r e f l e c t s why it s readers might find it
e s p e c i ally interes ting.

S e c t i o n 1: Build i n g k e y s k i l l s
48

3.1
1

Restorationofaking’s art is long overdue

There si a maolr case ofr hte Louvre and other of art, dozens of priceless tapestries and 500
sculptures, often through shady middlemen,
esierglal ot gvei us back masterpeics osdl of f sometimes for a pittance.

oCbmry.wlel

A cabal of armed revolutionaries star ts a civil

,wra o v e r thrgtoohwvees rnmeenxte, cutthees

ru,lecro n f i s c ates his ar t co l l e c tion and flog s it

to buy guns and pay off d e b t s . A few years

later the self- same plo t t e r s are them selves

o u s t e d , the old regime re turns, and wants it s

paintings back.

There is a s trong ca se for restitution here.

Under accepte d modern more s, the rightful

o w n e r so f art o b j e c t sseize din,swoarl do f f or

d e s t r o yed should be c o m p e n s a t e d . M u s e u m s

arountdhweorladruen d epr r e s s urteoturn

a r t o b j e c t s to whe rever they came from,

whether these have been paid for or not.

Claims for ar t lo o t e d , b o u gh t o r o t h e r wi s e

ehT taerg rat noietclloc swa ed.psersid ferAt

obtained during the Seco nd World War

eht noitarotseR ni 6,061 selrahC I I deganma ot
ih erh’prtehfotafemtequlrbaspsaehrese
continue to crop up in the court s, alm o s t

always resulting in the obje c t returning to the

taerg ,draoh gnmirof eht eroc fo eht layoR

original ow.ner

foynmatuB.notceilCol thesbt nsgnitniarpev

.anemoiVMrafr,okscadbiimraerPcd

There is one such case that has never been

adequately resolved, ho.wever Charles I

tahor stoSefowmoer k s Bri retouratnraieinng

assembled the greatest collection of art

for the firs t time in 350 years , on temp o r a r y

ever seen in this cou, ntry including works

loan from the European galleries where they

by Raphael, Leonardo, inTtoretto, itTian,

ended up, for a blockbus ter exhibition at the

Correggio, Mantegna, Holbein the oungeYr

Royal Acade m y next year entitled Charles I:

and Bruegel the . Elder When Charles was

King and Collec tor .
From ‘Re s t o r a tion of a King ’s Ar t i s
executed in 1649, Cromwsell’ republican

government sold off more than 1500 works

L o n g O v e r d u e ’ by Ben Maci n t y r e in The Times

10 Wrtieabreifthatheedtiorofetiheramuscimagazniefor coVabulary Parisian art gallery
youngpeopleoranatoinanlewspapermightwitrefora
youngojurnasil wtanntigtowterimsalirfeaturestothosein Louvre: gang
thisseciotnforeitherpublication.Explainhowtoappeatlo cabal:
theapproparitetargeotaucdoeiundlcniecY.uldephrases restitution: c o m p e n s a t io n
fromeithertex tasexamples. Restoration:
of the monarchy
reinst atement

C h a p t e r 1: K e y r e a d i n g s k i l l s

49

Chapter 1

Checkyour progress

Soundprogress

•
I can usually locate suit able words or phrase s to answe r a q u e s tion, and show that I

u n d e r s t a n d their effe c t s on the rea.der

•
I can locate some word s with implicit meaning and b egin to ex plain their ef f e c t s .

•
I can locate a fair amount of information from across a w h o l e t e x t o r t e x t s , a n d use it in

an orderly and ef f e c tiveway.

•
I can selec t some emotive words and phrase s , a n d begin to ex plain their ef f e c t s and why

the writer has used the m.

•
I can identif y th e e f fe c t of s e n s o r y language and be gin to explain how it is achieve d.

•
I can identif y fa c t s and opinio n s .

•
I can analyse f a c t s and be gintoevaluate arguments .

•
I c a n u n d e r s tand what f a c to r s d e t e rmine audience, and how audien ce influence s

content.

Excelent progress

•
I can locate a wide range of the correc t wo rds or phra s e s n e e d e d to answer a q u e s tion,

and show that I fully u n d e r s t and their meaning and purpos e.

•
I can locate a wide range of words with implicit meanin g, and explain their effe c t s and

purpose.

•
I can locate a range of information from acro ss a whole te x t o r t e x t s , a n d use it in an

e x t r e mely orderly an d e f fe c t iveway, always inclu ding suppor tin g detail.

•
I can selec t a wide range of em otive words and phrase s and evaluate their effe c t s with

reference to the reader and the writers’intention.

•
I can analyse the diffe r e n t p o s si b l e e f fe c t s o f s e n s o r y language and explain clearly how it

is achieved.

•
I can identif y implied fac t s and opinions , and de t e c t possible bi a s .

•
I can analyse opinions and co nvincingly evaluate argument s .

•
I can identif y the link bet ween au dience and purp ose, and show how audience

influences s t y l e and language.

S e c t i o n 1: Build i n g k e y s k i l l s
50

Key tech nical

skills

2

In this chap,tyeoru will develop a range of
fundamental te chnical sklils that you can use
throughout your Cambridge IGCSE course.

uoY will learn how t:o

•
u n d e r s t a n d t h e f u n c tions of dif ferent t y p e s of

words

•

understandanuddsefi efrtntypesof sentences

•
u s e t e n s e s in your writing

•
u s e s e n t e n ce p u n c tuation accurately and

e f f e c tively

•
u s e p u n c tuation in repo r t e d and direc t s p e e c h

•
use paragraphs to organi se ideas ef f e c tively

and cohesively

•
proofread your writing

•

use formal and informal language e f f e c t i vely

•
write in a variet y of voices and role s .

On their own, some of the s kills may se em
simple, but reme mber that they are building
blocks to completing larger and more complex
t a s k s l ater on. For example:

•
s a T kthsayokswteuofpsaiurecdificnces

oyerquilwlutiounders tandandcaoefthre

needosdfiffeernatudneyoigwteu.csirr

Links to ot her chapters: •
Chapter 5: Comprehension Q u e s t i o ns that ask you to write in role draw on
E x t eChnadpteedr 8r:e s p o n s e to
your ability to create disti n c tive voices .
Chapter 9: Compo sition
A pproChaacphtienrg10w: r i t ten •
saT ks that require you to s t r u c ture pieces of

work to pres ent informatio n, arguments ,

narrative or des cription swilldraw on your

reading and direc ted writing ability to use parag r a p h s e f fe c t iveyl.
coursework
• to your word choice, drawing on a
All writing t a s k s will require you to pay clos e

a t t e n t ion

wide range of vo c a b u l a.r y

15

Chapter 2 . oT pic 1

c oV abulary andwordcalsses

I t i s u s ef u l t o k n o w t h e t e r m s f o r a n d f u n c t i o n s of
p a r t ic u l a r w o r d s i n E n g l i s h . T h i s i s t r u e b o t h when you
explore w r i t ers’ sk i l l s a n d w hen consider i n g t h e e f fe c t s
y o u c a n c r eate i n y o u r o w n w r i t i ng.

Explore the skills Adjective Noun Verb Adverb
furious wind blew strongly
There are eight wo rd class e s : n o u n s , v e r b s , a d j e c ti v e s , a d v e r b s , gentle breeze w a f te d down
p r o n o u n s , prepositio ns, conju n c t ions and dete r m i n e r s . Each class
p e r f o r m s a different job in a se ntence. noun : common nouns and proper nouns.

Determiner Common nouns Proper nouns Key terms a word for a per son,
the table, ,ccaormpu,ter The Hunger Games, a word that take s
a bread Pride and Prejudice noun:
I n m o s t c a s e s , y ou can only repla ce words in a s entence with peace, religion, Judaism thing or idea it, she, something
others from the same cla s s . anger pronoun:
the place of a noun, for
Nouns cat, sold,ire d o c to r S ooty, Shaheed, example,
There are two t y p es of

Physical object s or
‘things’
Abstract concepts,
emotions, ideas or
ideals
Living creatures

Dr Jones

Places beach, town Malaysia, Paris
, some cheese
• tables, cats ,
Nouns have a plural form, of ten markedbyan‘s’:
. t h e , a , that and
beaches : the cat
.
•
Nouns combine with determiner s such a s: pronoun .

some

•
Nouns and noun phra ses can b e replaced by a

Shaheed was in the middle of explaining when suddenly he proper noun
raced out of the room. pronoun

S e c t i o n 1: Build i n g k e y s k i l l s
52

.1
2

The black cat was about to cross the road when it stopped noun phrase
suddenly. pronoun

1 Look at the right- hand column of the table on page 52.
How can you tell w h e t h e r s o m e thing is a prop er no?un

reV bs verb :
There are three d i f fe r e n t t y pes of it.

• e x p r e s s a n a c t ion, proce s s o r s t ate: I think , we are Topt pi
Main verbs
, they would have help create the ten se: loved Being able to spot proper
going . nouns can be usefulin
comprehension and short-
• (a ty pe of auxiil a r y verb)tel us how de finite, answer ques tions,asitmay
help you to ident i f y cert ain
Auxiliary verbs we are leaving , they have information whenskimming,
scanning and s e l e c t nig.
eaten it al

• I must do that now , we could
Modal verbs
.
likely  o r p o s s ible something is: conjugated

say that

Verbs are tomakethem agree with a s u b j e c t (the
noun or pronoun that is‘doing’ the verb.)

Topt pi

firstperson Main verbs are ess ential–
third pers on
I walk , he walks
, they are third pers on plural
e v e r y ful sentence must have

one. Auxiliary verbs, including

I am , she is

modals, are used with a

main verb.

Verbs are also conju gated to make d i f ferent tenses . For example:

Key terms

I am , I walk ( p r e s e n t tense)
( p a s t t e n se)
I was , I walked verb: a word that expre s s e s go ) or a st ate
a n a c t ion ( , kiel )
( feel
conjugated: whenverbs
changeform,u sualytaking
Adjectives and adverbs on a differentending forms verbs take to
A d j e c tives and adverbs are us ed to modi f y other words . They are tenses:
p a r t icularly useful when you need to de scribe people, place s or show the time of an a c t io n
e x p e r i e n c e s in detail.
Adverbs can m o d i f y or intensif y a verb or adjec tive:
A d j e c tives can d e s c r i b e o r m o d i f y a noun:

The timid mouse I really hope she’s ready.
The tiger wa s dangerous She was
. incredibly bu.s y
b) T hat film/ b o o k g/ ame was…
2 How many adjec tive s and adverbs can you think of in two minutes to fi t these se nten?ces c) I am… tired.
a) T he... woman / t re e /.c ar

C h a p t e r 2 : K e y t e c h n i c a l s k i l ls

53

Chapter 2 . oT pic 1

Build the skills srenmrieted dna onsitiposepr oy taht erusnenacur

Por nounsp,erpositionsc,onjunctions
and determiners
,snuorP
taerruwcdcneacvusidsnetama,lgnrtcorairfiastnpeihoi.lre,tcs
Pronouns and pos s e s s i v e pronouns repla ce a noun, to avoid
repetitioonu. sYhould use them only when it is clear exac tly what
you are talking ab out:

I gave it to him. I want that. That bikeis mine.

An exception to this is if you deliberately want to create mys t e r y –
for example, in the fi r s t sentence of a stor y:

All morning I pa ced about the room, waiting for it toarrive.

Prepositions indicate a relationship be t w e e n p eople or thin g s ,
usually in space or time:
before , on , to , by , under , and so on.
Determiners
s p e c i f y a noun: al i f m; this cup; my cat .
Conjunctions
because link two w o r d s , p h r a s e s or clause s together: and ,

, although , but .

3 Look at this se ntence. Which words are prepositions ,

determiners and pronou?ns

I’ll meaeytloTr at the entrancetotherailwa y s t ation at
6o c’lock with the s ecret plan s .

Key terms

Develop the skills

determiners: words that
words that
specify nouns
words that
Voc a b u l a r y can also dif fer in other ways , for example, when you can convey or produce pow e r f u l feelings: , joyous , golden , shadowy , abandoned . prepositions:
, incredible forinformatio nwriting: d e s c r i b e the relations hip
want to create a particular effe c t . . b e t w e e n p eople, things or
places
•
Emotive words or phrases are used Conjunctions:
, migration , plumage
desperation , habitat

•
ceT hnical terms

species

join two words, phrases or

clauses in a senten ce

4 Read this shor t te x t , which use s emotive and technical
vocabular . y Identif y examples of each.

Playing my fi r s t gig was a fanta stic ex perience. A s soon as I s trappe d on my shiny n e w e l e c tric
guitar I felt a shive r of expec tation run through me. M y h e a r t raced wildly as I strummed the
opening chords of th2e-b1a r b l u e s , and I faltered momentarily as Roxy s’vocals kicked in.

S e c t i o n 1: Build i n g k e y s k i l l s
54

If you are writing about a par ticular topic, avoid repeating the serious situation following the fir e , but they .1
same words or phrases . For example, a police offi cer might warn grave, impor tant , worr ying . 2
people about the or drastic
could also say 55

5 How stro ng is each of the se choi?ceHsow do they dif fer in
meaning?
uoY might also choo se long, pero w e r ful words or p hrases to
replacemorecommon ones.

6 Copy the following te x t , replacing the highlighted word s
with more power ful vo c a b u l a.r y

The storm in the desert wa s very bad . The sand wa s thrown
up in the air and our ears , eyes and mouths. The
wind made a loud noise and it was ver y hard got into

to walk.

uoY can also u se vocab u l a r y to be more precise and to a d d f u r ther

information. For example:

The wind upro oted the tre es in the park.
could beco me:

The tornado uprooted the tall,slend e r cedars around the specific type of wind
battered adjectives add visual detail
stadium . precise type of tree
noitacol redaer slletnoitisoperp
7 Rewrite this paragraph about the storm, adding your ow n
details in the same w.ay adjective and precise noun
provide even more detail
seavcwae(…jd…ehaed)stTre(cvnodewojvcitni…,t
edba()chet…vje)jdia)ceht.o(vnp…iruto(nepio)s(…t
ehtsthisfodnakya)(luehdv…pejicsad,jvi)cit…(ehTt
…echetjdae)c(lewivhjdt…heabt)ni(ediartevnu.on)i(…t

Appylthe skills

8 Write 100 521 – words des cribing your view of a deep c avein
the side of a mountain as night fall s . R e m e m b e r:

•
Do not tell a sto r y : stick to the des criptio n of the cave
and what can be seen, heard or felt.

•
S e l e c t 4 – 5 specific things an d describe them in p recise
detail, using well- cho s e n v o c ab u l a.r y

•
Use a range of word class es to accurately convey what
can be experienced.

C h a p t e r 2 : K e y t e c h n i c a l s k i l ls

Chapter 2 . oT pic 12
Acurate sentces

youlanlIrwrityuongi,eedtoueansrtegneofces
tiporeapurttohtoriduenasyoineca.rerwofritgin

Explore the skills ( . ), question mark (? ) or exclamation mark (! ). Thes e

T h e b e s t writing: functions of a

• (for st a t e m e n t s o r s u g g e s tions) Interrogative (for ques t i o n s , r e q u e s t s or queries)
u s e s s e n t e nces accurately so that the meaning is clear (for instr u c ti o n s , o r d e r s o r
. • ?
• . How does this work ?
uses a range of senten ces for ef f e c t and impact .
• !
Remember that sentences begin with a c apital let ter an d end with Is someone following us
a full stop
p u n c t u ation marks point towards the different •
sentence. Do you honestl y e x p e c t us to believe that

Declarative Imperative

• commands)
Maybe we could g o for a swim later
•
• Press the bu t t o n now
The crowd clapp ed enthusiastic ally
•
ruT n l e f t by the st ation. ?

Exclamatory (for stressing a point or showin g !
!
s t r e n g t h of feeling)

•
How beautiful that dress is

•
What a shame

1 Copy and complete this table. Write at least one sentence Sentence function My sentence
for each function that is appropriate to the t e x t .
declarative The show took place at the
Text Beach Hotel.
A r e p o r t of a visit to a spor t s or music show

A stor y with a mysterious event interrogative
I n s t r u c tions about how to get fro m your imperative
home to the neare s t s h o p
An email to a fri e n d a f ter you have met a exclamatory
favouritecele b r i t y

Build the skills

I t i s i m p o r t ant to under s t a n d and use the three main sentence in your writin g .
types

S e c t i o n 1: Build i n g k e y s k i l l s
56

The subject of a sentence is the per son or thing that is doing the .2
something. 2
a c t i on or feeling the emotion. The verb i s t h e a c t of doing , being
can add
or feeling
main clause
mSiesnpetlnecs ylusaler A compound sentence is A complex sentence subordinate
shoaenusrlotacin tde Theybe.vrand usually long. Iet rcontain s of equal f u r t h er information , provide
wushatbeictj two or more clause s contrast , or show c ause and
ofnianutpexlfsears weight linke d by conjunc tio ns or , a n d , y e t , so, but, e f f e c t. I t contain s a
aunrtdiscotnTish.ecayn such as nor . and one or more
sdievegaptisrordeasitnct for  and clauses , o f tenmarke d o f f by a
itowmdnefloags wien comma or connec tive.
op srednigu p. Our team play ed well and the
players showed all t heir skills. Although it was the middle
I sat in the exam room . of the night, the dog barke d
The clock ticke d. loudly.
I had
failed.

2 I d e n t i f y the sentence t y p e s and func tio ns in this paragraph.

ewsandleNwide,rniyceovbicolwRirahsTcewaesldi .
nghetienEvThleymi!seniug.mskibedasyeoitd
,thgeivawrlnigtpgnieiwdrewlehougrwetslhtea.t

kdh,awtcuerTolhsdtnegalih,oetdarelcjpy edcniotI
aphentruwtsatotIsgnre’kvbe.ginrfasctlfailCrshioft

Develop the skills Key terms the‘do - e r ’ of the
the main part
Subordinate clau ses are im p o r t ant for expanding ideas. They are subject:
s e c o n d a r y to the main claus e and cannot s tand on their own. v e r b a c tion in a sente nce or
For example: clause
main clause:
dhadegui ourhougtAl deaausdenelvomvceigaehntpdrs of a sentence that could
tuewrweeym,palreoltst. stand as a sentence on its
own
The main clau se here is ‘we were ut terly l o s t ’ – it can st and although , even though , because , in subordinate clauses:
alone as a sentence. The subordinate clau se adds su p p o r t ing clauses that do not make
information. In many case s , s u b ordinate clau ses that s t a r t with a ) can be switched with the main clause. sense on their own; not
subordinating co n j u n c tion ( complete sente n c e s
order that

3 Add a subordinate clause to ea ch of these sentences .
a) …, we insisted the driver s t o p p e d.
b) We placed Clark under the shade of the only tre e, …
c) Finaly, his fever be gan to subsid e, …

Appylthe skills

4 Write a narrative account of a dange rous journey, with six
or seven sentences. Use at least one simple, one co mpound
and one complex se ntence.

C h a p t e r 2 : K e y t e c h n i c a l s k i l ls

57

Chapter 2 . oT pic 3
Tenseandverbgerament

uoY r u s e o f v e r b s a n d t e n s e s s ho u l d b e c onsistent .
W h i l e t e n ses can and do change in tex t s , t h ere are
c o n v e n t io n s t h at y ou m u st f o l l o w t o a v o i d c o n f u s i on .

Explore the skills

uoY m u s t e nsure that your subje c t a grees with the main verb.
A singular subjec t mu st have a singular verb form . For example:

The rehcaet us ralugni]s[bejct hsoust rev ralm]ugnroifs[b .ylduol
The teachers [plural subjec ] t shout
[plural verb form] loudly.

This applies even wh e n t h e a c tion is in the pas t. For e xample: Key term

regular verb: a verb
that follows pre d i c t able
He was shouting loudly NOT He were shouting loudly p a t t e r n s in forming te n s e s
was shouting loudly and agreeing with su b j e c t s
They were shouting loudly NOT They

The table below shows how the main verb tens es are forme d for , such as towalk and to jump .
regular verbs I jump, he jump
Example Explanation
neT se The ending of the main verb change s
Simple present s according to the te nse and subje c t .
Simple past
Present pro gressive I jump e d , she jump ed T h e s e t e n s e s are created by an auxiliar y
Past p r o g r e s s ive verb and a
I am jump ing , he is jump ing verb (en ding in ‘– ing’.)
Present per f e c t
Past p e r f e c t auxiliar y verb and a p r e s e n t p a r ticiple of the main
main verb (e nding in ‘– e d ’.)
I was jump ing , she was jump ing

I have jumped , he has jump e d T h e s e t e n s e s are created with an
I had jumped , she had jump e d
past par ticiple of the

1 C o r r e c t this paragraph from a discursive tex t:

Digital technologies transforms th e way we lives . Now car park themselves; you can even drove
them remotely.

S e c t i o n 1: Build i n g k e y s k i l l s
58

Build the skills Key term .3
irregular verb s : 2
Many irregular verb s do not follow this pa t t e r n . The table below do not follow the s tandard
shows some common irregular verbs. patterns verbs that

to be to eat to run to think to take to go
run, runs take, taeks go, goes
Simple present am, are, is ea t , e a t s think, think s went
ran took was going
Simple past was, were ate was running thought was taking had gone
Progressive was being was eating was thinking
form
P e r f e c t form had been had eaten had run had thought had taken

2 Copy and correc t th e following paragraph.

I had ran home wh en Sadiq tex t me and asking what we has to do for ho mework. I told him the
teacher takin g o u r b o o k s in so we didn’thadany.

Develop the skills

Modal verbs areaformofauxilai r yverb.Theyprovideinformationaboutthe cert ain,tpyossibility or
improbability ofan actionorsituation.Forexample:
go (it would be be st if he did)
• should go (it is uncert ain but p ossible) • would go… if … (he isn’t going but if
He might go (he has the p otential t)o He
could go (it is possible, or he is allowedto)
• things change) go (hehasdeidced–heintendstodoit)
He
• can
• He
He

• wil
He

3 Read this reply to an invitation.

I would come if I wa s free, but I will be watching Rav in his tennis final.
a) What is unli?kely
b) What is defin?eit

4 Write a short account (50 7–5 words) explaining w hat you C h a p t e r 2 : K e y t e c h n i c a l s k i l ls
did last we eken d and what you inte nd to do next weeken d.
59
Checklistforsuccess
✔

Makesure that your subjec t an d verbs agree.
✔

U s e t e n s e s c o r r e c tly and consis ten.tly
✔

Use at least two modal forms.

y Athpepsl kills

Chapter 2 . oT pic 4
Senentcepunctuonait

uoY havealreadylearnedhowsentencesalways start
withacaptial el tter and end wtih a full sto,pexclamation
markorauqestionmark. However,youmustuset he full
rangeofpunctuation to wr ite effect.ively

Explore the skills

Using commas an d a p o s t rophes corr e c t ly is a basic punc tuation
skill, which you must get right in all your writing.

Commas
Use commas to separate ite ms in a lis t:

I bought fajit a s , t o mato sauce , onions and fried chicke n to

prepare for the part. y

Usecommastoseparateadverbs,lcausesorphraseof(s tenasaway

ofaddingdetaipl,oirrtisnigniformatoinor organsingyoudire:as)

Although I was a n g r,yI didn’t say a n y t hing.

( T h e c o mma separates the subordinate clause so that it

is clearly the firs tclau se in the s entence, emphasising the

writer’s a n).g e r

F i r s tofall,I’dliketo deal with t he problem of t r a f f ic in the f i r s tofal ,
c i t y centre.
( T h e c o mma sets ap a r t the sequence phrase –
emphasising th e order in which ideas will be pres ented.)

Jose, on the ot her hand, believes that the biggest problem is
pedestrians .
(Here, the bracketing commas tell us more ab out Jose’s
feelings ).

The comma splice
Acommaspcilesiacommonerorwheretwoclause sthatshould
havebeensptilntoseparatesentencesororganisedusniganilknig
word/pharse,aremis atkenylseparatedbyacommaF.orexampel:

I went to see the film, it wa s fantas tic.

S e c t i o n 1: Build i n g k e y s k i l l s
60

This could be r e w r i t ten in several ways: .4
2
I went to see a film, which was f a n t a s ti c .
I went to see a film. It was f a n t a s ti c . 16
I went to see a film: it was fa n t a s ti c .
I went to see a film; it was fan t a s t ic .

Apostrophes
U s e a p o s t rophes to indicate po s s e s s i o n .

If the owner is singu, ltahr e a p o s tr o p h e g o e s before the :‘s’ , my uncle’s bald head .
Japan’sgove r n m e n t Dickens’s novels
.
Watch out for names already endingin‘s’: (you will) , footbal e r s’ wives .
tdahekyobenoiboltows esn .
If the owner is plural, then t h e a p o s trophe come s a f terthe‘s’:
managers ’ problems with their teams each boysb’ike was stol e n

Get this wro ng, and you c an change the meaning. For example: (is not)

•
sekib=nehobtlsewrTebhoy’

•
T h e b o y s ’bikes were both stolen =

There are exce ptions fo r special plural words , such a s children’s ,
men’s
, women’s

uoY should also u s e a p o s trophes to show omissio n. The

a p o s t r o p h e g o e s w h e re a l e t,tre or series o f l e t te r s , h a s b e e n

removed:

•
There isn’t much you can do.

•
uoY ’ll be lucky!

1 Read the following te x t , then rewrite it , adding or
removing comma s a n d a p o s trophes as appropriate. If you
need to chang e or add any wo r d s , t hen do so.

Even though it wa s raining we al went to the park. Shamira
brought bread ch e e s e s a l a d and iced tea. Alina however
brought nothing which made us all mad. Id brought a snack
and so had Shan. A linas excu se was that shed not had time
to go the shop. However it didnt maot . tTer u r i s t s hats were
g e t t i n g blown off so we knew a storm was comin g a n d l e f t
a f t e r ten minute s. Luckily on the way back we found a café,
it was warm and welco ming.

C h a p t e r 2 : K e y t e c h n i c a l s k i l ls

Chapter 2 . oT pic 4

Build the skills

Bracketsand dashes
Bracke ts and da s h e s o f ten work in a similar way to commas . They
c a n b e u s ed to provide additio nal information ortomake detail s
s t a n d o u t , such a s w h e n d e s cribing a situation or event, or adding
a humorous comm ent:

We didn’t mind hanging around at the beach in the winte r
(despite the cold) as it was where all our friend s went.
Florent told ushe’d bought a secondhand car – not
t o o e x p e n sive – to replace his b a t t e red old Ford. I t was
secondhand – aFerrari!

2 Where would you add bracke ts or das hes in thes e t w o
e x a m p?l e s

a) The goal was t h e b e s tI’d ever score d although it wa s
disallowed and I remembe red it for mont h s .

b) Z andra yes , shy Z andra of all people won th e talent
show and the 10 0 0 d ollarpriz!e

Develop the skills

Other form s o f p u n c tuation can be u s e d m o r e subtly for dif ferent
e f f e c t s . T hey can be e s p e c ially useful in cert ain forms of writing.

Colons and semi-colons caniortwndltsioulefac,gaeneslatrsteihtmek:nilt,
oAcnl

We can be p roud of las t year: incr e a s e d s al e s , m ore
c u s t o m e r s and higher profi t s .

It can also introduce a clause that e xplains th e fi r s t clause:

She was overjoyed: the bag w a s e x a c tly what she wante d.

S e m i - colons are us eful for contra s t s a n d comparisons ,tolink t w o
clauses of equal impo r t a n c e. For example:

Rajesh leiks table tennis; Irina prefer shock.ey

S e c t i o n 1: Build i n g k e y s k i l l s
62

.4
2

S e m i - colons can al s o b e u s e d when lis ting ite ms that take more Live
than a single word. For e xample:
; Quantum of Solace ; S k y fal .
I watched all my favourite Bond fi lm s again las t week –
and Let Die

3 C o r r e c t or add colons or semi- colons to thes e sentence s .
Add any other pun c t u a t ion they need , such as co m m a s .
a) My phone has lots of thing s wrong with it broke n screen
no audio dead bat t e r. y
b) Grime is my favourite ty pe of music Sasha has always
loved techno.
c) Javed carefully opened the box it was completely empt y

4 Read this shor t ar t icle from a school website. Rewrite it,
adding colons or semi- colons as appro priate.

The new libra r y i s w o n d e r ful more shelf space an internet
zone and comf y chairs for relaxing with a favourite book. The
internet zon e is already p opular the co m p u t e r s a re booke d up
e v e r yday. S o m e s t u dents com e in early to do hom ework on
them others u se them once l e s s o n s have ended.

Appylthe skills Topt pi

uoY r main goal is to en sure that your us e o f p u n c tuation is Muaeksnocflnis
accurate. analycitaolrepor twnitgri
ohtpeoldrviecelar
5 Write the ope ning two paragraphs of an article in which expanloaintBs.ecaerunfolt
you argue that exams are bad for stu d e n t s ’ healtrh. Tyto overusesem-i ocnlsU.sethem
use the full range of punc tuation (excep t s p e e c h m a r k s , spnairgyalndonywlhenyou
unless you include an int e r view). Check your work as you situsiaecrorecotdos.
go along – and af ter ward osu. cYould:
Do you remember
• )
s t a r t with a question (for example,
the fi r s t time tha?t…

•
contrast two id eas with a semi - c olon

•
make a point and use b racke t e d t e x t or dashes to give
e x t r a information or a humorous aside

•
use a colon to introduce a list .

C h a p t e r 2 : K e y t e c h n i c a l s k i l ls

63

Chapter 2 . oT pic 5

Reportedanddirectspeech speech marks around actual
words spoken, including any
uoY w i l l n e e d t o u s e s p e e c h pu n c t ua t io n i n y our punctuation
n a r r a t i v e w r i t i ng, but y o u m ay a l s o n e e d i t t o quote
someones’ w o r d s i n a n a r t ic l e o r s p e e c h . newlineforeachnewspeaker

Explore the skills comma goes before the
The example below s e t s o u t the main conventions of spe ech c losing speech mark when
marks (so metimes called inv e r ted commas.)
the speech is not a question
‘How are you feeng?il ’ asked my fa.ther or exclamation
‘ H e l o o k s pale,’ said my mot.he r
I replied, ‘I don’t want to do it, but I gues s I’lhaveto.’ comma after the speaker
‘In that cas e’, said my fath, e r helping me into my coat, ‘you
need to hurry, or you’l miss the bus.’ and the speech inside speech
‘I wish my mathe matics exam was o’,vIesraid. ‘Can’t I jus t
pretend mI?’il ’ marks, if the speaker comes

if rst

speaker can be mentioned
mid-sentence; if the speech
continues, the fi rst word does
not have a capital letter

1 Copy the senten ces below and add the corr e c t p u n c t uation where the speaker is
(you may also nee d to correc t th e use of c apital let t e r.)s mentioned between two
a) Oh no! I drop ped my phone in the swimming pool crie d separate sentences, use a full
Natasha. stop and then a capital letter
b) I’m s o r r y but it jus t d o e s n ’ t fi t you said Rita’s mum youl’ to start the next part
havetotake it back.
c) Ahugefannex ttomeaske dwhodoyousu p p o r t sonny? sentences containing speech
begin with a capital letter and
end with a full stop

Build the skills

I n r e p o r te d s p e e c h , you do not ne e d s p e e c h m a r k s . R e p o r te d

s p e e c h c a n b e u s e d to create dist ance or a se nse of auth o r i t y – for

example, in repor t s w here the narrator is less i m p o r t ant than the

facts being recounted.

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64

.5
2

Direct spee ch: no speech marks
‘ W i l you let m?e in’ I aske d the doorman.
‘ S o or ur.er’Yytoolate,’ he replied. direct form of address – ‘you’
Reported speech: changed to ‘he’
Iaske d the doorman ifhe’d let me in but he told
me that I was to o late. relative pronoun used to
introduce what was said
2 Change these di r e c t speech examples to repo r t e d s p e e c h .
‘you’ (said by doorman)
a) ‘ T h e f i re ’s still burnin g so you’l need to keep back,’ said changed to ‘I’
the police of fi. ce r
‘told’ replaces ‘said’ where you
are the subject

The police o f f i ce r told...

b) ‘I am delighted with the outcom e of the mee ting,’ said
the President .
The President said…

Develop the skills

I n v e r ted commas may also be u s e d f o r titles of po ems and shor t
stories ., Othrey can be u sed if you want to quote a word o r
phrase in an essay or other repor t . For example:

It is clear Word s w o r th is stru ck by the beau t y o f the
d a f f o dils ‘fl u t tering and dancing in the bre.e’ze

3 Copy and correc t th e s e s e n t e n ce s .
a) Tidy your roo m fi r s t was all she would say when I asked
her if I could go round to Ben’s .
b) When Word s w o r th writes I wan dered lonely a s a cloud
we get a vivid pic ture of him strolilng through the
mountains.

Appylthe skills

4 Continue the dialo gue below, b e t w e en a boy who is late
for school and his teac.her

I ran up the corrido r towards the exam room. Ou t of breath,
I turned the handle and burs t in.
o‘u re’Ylate!’hi s s e d m y teac.her

C h a p t e r 2 : K e y t e c h n i c a l s k i l ls

65

Chapter 2 . oT pic 6
Acurate useofparagaphrs

P a r a g r ap h s help you o r g a n i s e y ou r i d e a s a n d g u i d e
y o u r r e a de r t h r ou g h y ou r w r i t i ng.

Explore the skills topicsentencestoheplsginhatkelyfocusofthe

uoY should use a n ew paragraph: openingparagraphestablishes
wsvriteewr’orperspective
•
to change focu s or switch to a new topic or pe r s p e c t ive second paragraph switches to
an alternative viewpoint
•
to signal a change in tim e (for example, a day later) E v e r y thing is done for you,
It was a dis a s t e r
•
to indicate a change of scen e or place

•
in speech,whenanewperson is introducedor star ts to speak.

Writerso f etnuse
paragraphR.eadthisexample.Thetopicsentencesarehgihgilhted.

Cruise holidays may suit some p eople, but they are not for
me. I couldn’t s tand the thought of being stuck with the same
people for weeks on end, unable to esc ape except for the odd
trip ashore. It is my idea of a nightmare.

teY I accept that th ey are increasin gly popu,leasrp e c i ally
amongst olde r and retired people.
and if you wish to makefriends then you cannot help d oing
s o . I ts’ v e r y good for s ociali sing, that s’ for sure!

1 Read the paragraphs below, from the same t e x t .

kaTe my cruise trip with my parents las t.year We docekd at the harbour in Miami – dr y la n d ,
from the fi r s t day when I reali sed there wa s no one my own
age on the ship. Who was I going to spe nd time w?ith

owT w e e k s alter, we came to the e nd of the mos t borin g trip
of my life.
I thought. At last!

a) What is the purp ose of each paragr?aph
b) What ‘chan ge’ is signalled by each topic s enten? ce

Build the skills

Paragraphs c a n v a r y in st yle an d f u n c t ion, accordin g to when and
where they are u s e d .

S e c t i o n 1: Build i n g k e y s k i l l s
66

Introductory In text s exploring a s u b j e c t (such as cruis e ships) or arguing a point of view .6
or opening these provide the contex t or the main viewpoint . 2
paragraph s
nI depvcisrt ,
buaostplulngnaeir,bbnighteratders’ nietonwaehngixctimoment.
or venairt text st,hesgrveigbkacounofimdroaintse,thescene,
Longer paragraphs
Body contrast can build or exp and on the openin ginformation , or o f f er
paragraph s used for shock or empha sis.
by way of new ideas or a change of pace. Short paragraphs might be
These might
Concluding resolve a mys t e r y sum up keyview p o i n t s , or look to the future . In stori e s , they might
paragraph s for the reader to contemplate.
or leave things u n c e r t ain

2 W here in thi s stor y about a sea voyage could the following

paragraphs come? Why?

o‘u gYo on ahead,’ I called to Chen as we qu eued to ge t o f f the ship. ‘I ’llme et you at the hotel.’ I
watched his slight fi gure fade into the swarming s t r e e t s and disappear into the crowds .

How was I to know that I would not see him again for six monh?ts

3 Hownhtigseal -senetnpecargphbeenusedforefect?

Develop the skills topic sentence
iefrsdiehate edrnieofdr ned
The follow- up sente nces in paragraphs af ter topic sentences are
a l s o u s eful. evidence is offered
comment from writer
The populari t y of cruises i s indisputable. That is to say a consequences explored
signifi c a nt number of pe ople claim to e njoy them. In our small
town, acco rding to a rece n t s u r vey,at least on e member of
e v e r y family has takenon e. This is a stonishing given that they
are by no means cheap. It is one reas on why we ge t so many
ads for them o n T V and online.

4 Write one further sentence to develop each of th ese topic
sentences.
a) Social m edia is in credibly ad d i c t ive.
b) E x t r e me weather se ems to be on the rise.

Appylthe skills

5 Write two paragraphs of a text about cruise s h i posu. Y
can either write about your views on cruis e s , o r write
paragraphs from a sto r y s et on onre. Tyto build several
sentences to follow the topic sentence.

C h a p t e r 2 : K e y t e c h n i c a l s k i l ls

67

Chapter 2 . oT pic 7
pahrgaPra ochesoni

uoY c a n h e l p g u i d e t he r e a d e r t h r o u g h y o u r t e x t b y

s e l e c t i n g w o r d s o r p h r a s e s t o l i n k p a r ag r a ph s t o g ether,

o r t o i n t roduce n e w i n f o r matio n .

Explore the skills
Read how this stu d e n t d e s cribes the build- up to a holiday.

Ihadbeenlookingforwardt oourholidayofrweeks.Eachday The hours dragged b, y buteventualy topic sentence introduces idea
I crossed offa date on the cale.nIdmaorochedaroundthe the bus ride to the air p o r twasdreadful: that this is about holidays and
kintgcuhnednergmeum’sfeet.Isatandstared out of the wristefer’elings
window at our street. we made it to theic-hnedceksk. As we queued ,uIp
itwastimeofr us togo.Icrossed offthelastdayonthe details within the paragraph
calendarandwent to bed even though I couldn’t selep. develop the topic

The next morning, linking phrase (connective)
hadroadworks, a demonstration and eevnleatheadtr o f ca relating to time
wouldn’tmoev!Ithought weweren’t going tomakeit. we
topic sentence introduces
Fin,aly terrible bus ride
could see the look of reliefonDad’sface. sequence word (connective)
relating to feelings and time
t Athedestkh,eassitanotlokedatusbawylnhkewnehanded topic sentence introduces
oveapurssportsandtcoikueftrlpnritout‘.gihYtsiomo,row where this part of narrative
n’ot,odashyesapdion,itnigt othedateonoutcrikets. takes place

1 Note down how this text is held together by cohesion .

Consider: Key term

• cohesion:
the different topics or information in each paragraph i s k n i t ted toge ther and
linked to other paragraphs
• around iotp. iTc sentences ,
how time or se quence phra ses help c o n n e c tives and linking
p h r a s e s all help to maeka
• t e x t cohesive
how the content is organised – for example, why is

arp‘i o r t ’ not mentione d again once ‘che-ckin’ appears in

paragraph ?3

how a paragraph

Build the skills

2 A d d a f u r ther paragraph to the text . Use one of the
following ideas on page 69 and a to pic sentence tomake
the situation c.lear Make sure that you use a linking phra se
to introduce your paragraph.

S e c t i o n 1: Build i n g k e y s k i l l s
68

.7
2

•
The ride back in the bus

•
Mum and Dad arguing back at the fl at

•

The next morning

Develop the skills if ta rsahytadnexr,etalt,

D i f f e r e n t t y pes of co n n e c t ive can help you link your ideas b oth if r s t , second, fi nally
within and bet ween paragraphs. T hese include:
therefore,
•
lacoginohlrcng:mi/etrdsqeioruenec ontheotherhandni,contras t,ho,wrevatlhough

• what is more , in addition, moreo,ver
simple ordering of events o r a c tions:

•
logical ord ering(of t e n related to c ause and e f f e c t ) :
consequently, as a result

•
contransitg:

•
developing idea s:
f u r t h e rmore.

3 Add appropriate connec tive s to the followin g email writ ten
by the check- in assi stant to h e r b o s s , who was ill and away
from the airpo r t fortheday.

…(time) was incredi b l y b u s y at the airpor t . (…cau s e / ef f e c t) th ere were long queues up Checklistfor
to my desk . Apparentlyt,he traffi c in the city was terrible….d( evelopment) there was a success
s t u d e n t d e m o n s t r a tion, which closed the main road.
…(contra s t ) m o s t p a s s e n g e r s m a d e it on time, …c(ontras t) one famyli, poor thing s, had ✔
a n a s t y shock when they handed me theirticke t s . T h e yd ’ got the wrong day! es cipototaenceUsnt

Appylthe skills foaedihtnematitse

4 H ere is stu d e n ts’ plan for a de scriptive piece of writing .hpargaraphcae
called ‘M y P e r f e c t H o il d.aDye’cide which paragraph to
begin with, then write the t e x t . ✔

• T hingsIwouldliketo do on my per ef ctholiday Link paragraphs with
• erribTleholidaysIhavehadinthepast
• T he sortofplaccoeu/ntry/locationIwouldlike to go c o n n e c ti v e s .
• Who,ifanyone,Iwouldtakewithme
✔
U s e c o n n e c tives within

paragraphs tolink

sentences.

C h a p t e r 2 : K e y t e c h n i c a l s k i l ls

69

Chapter 2 . oT pic 8
Proorfeadnig

uoY c a n i m p r o v e y o u r p er f o r m a n c e b y c he c k i n g o r

p r o o f r e a d i n g y ou r w o r k , b o t h w h i l e y o u w r i t e a n d a f t e r

you have finished.

Explore the skills

Read these s t a g e s f o r proofreading your work.

Stage :1 checking for ‘sense’ . This means as you write ( perhaps
a f t e r each paragrap h) and wh en you have finis hed, you read
through your work to check that it makes sen s e . Can you follow
the argument or sto r? Hy ave you remembered who th e reader a f f e c t the
or audienc?e Iiss the purpo se clear throughout? Or do you ge t
confused atanypoint? Look out for: .)

• checking for detail. This means a line- by-line read-
missing word s or phras e s

•
consistency of tenses

•
p u n c t u ation that helps the reader follow the viewpoint o r plot,

for example.

Stage 2 :

through looking for simple errors . T h e s e may or may not af f e c t

the overall se nse, but they can st and out and draw attention

away from what you are trying to s.aSyu ch errors can

meaning, to o. Check for:

• homophones ( b a r e / b,e ar your/you’r e; their/t h e yr’e / Key term
spellin g errors , such as words you o f te n m i s s p ell, spelilngs of ), capital l e t te r s .
homophones: words
names, spelled dif f e r e ntly but
which sound the s ame
there

•
punctuaotine,spocymlealcmhi–ayoveus dthemwheyreou

hsoudhlavuesocuneadjctionorstar te?danewesnetnce

• an)dhtoesofrmosin( !Ietkbgiear’ts
apostropnhicoe:srrecatpostrophescanbevnotgaiteirriya

, ra.Ilnupcairedtaondocetnrufsethosemeanftoprosession

( Sas’j ekib

1 kaTe75 1 –0 0 words from any recent piece of work you have
completed. Folow the two s t a g e s above, highlighting any
e r r o r s o r o mi s s i o n s .

Build the skills

The final st age is making c o r r e c ti o n s . In reali,tyou will probably
do this as you makeyour c h e c k s , rather than afte r w ar d s , b u t
there is no point identif yin g errors if you do not ta ckle them.

S e c t i o n 1: Build i n g k e y s k i l l s
70

.8
2

Stage 3: making correct i o n s . If you need to cross out or add words
or phrases , do so neatly and clearly :
•

ohrtnPeuiamtsilghtapiresltughtweodworrodWrs.ethrie
repalcemenwtorohstdraeifrbiohntmv,eiorn,ag.ri
•
Use the ^ mark be t w e e n w ords to indic ate a word or phrase
that you want to add.

2 Copy out and then c o r r e c t t h e s h o r t e x tr a c t below, using
the guidance above.

Theres no point in denying the infl uence social media. Know
e v r y o ne knows y oure buisness . Id rat her have sum privacy.

Develop the skills

The time you spend pro ofreading will depend on th e t y p e of task
you are working on, and the contex t .
•

For longer written re s p o n s e s , suchascomp ositionta s k s , alow
at least fi veminutesattheendoftheta skforproofreading.
•
For coursework, you will have more time to write a fi r s t d r a f t
of your work, c o r r e c t it and then write fi nal copies, so the
proofreading may happen mo re frequently and take lon.ger

3 Go back and look at any previous e x t e n d e d t e x t you
have written, and which you know you did not p roofread
c o r r e c tyl.Go through the three s t a g e s and redraf t th e t e x t .

Appylthe skills

4 This is the op ening paragraph from on e s t u d e n t s’ narrative
s t o r. Fyollow the st ages as outlined above and rewrite the
o p e n i n g . ( T here are app roximately4 1e rrors here).

Myfatherswatch was a delicate item but it had a t ornstr,ap
ithadscratchesontheface. I placed it on the desk and tryed
toreadistm’ aker’slabel.Butunof r tunately, Itwastofaint,so
Icouldn’tmakeitout.Ipickeditupandletitrestofr a moment
inthepalmofmyhand:itwassurprisingly hea.vTyhen from
anangleIwasableto readthemakesrn’ ame:wrightandsons,
Lon8d8o8.nWwo1– it was old. Laterthatda, myy phone
rung.Calerunknown.Iansweredandherdastrangevoice on
theline.‘IsthatSunil?it ask’e,sd.Ir‘eYpliedcare f u.yol u ‘ Y
don’t know me’ thevoicecontinued,ButIknowyou’.

I had a sudden omen. Somethingbadisgoingtohappenal
becauseofthatwatch.

C h a p t e r 2 : K e y t e c h n i c a l s k i l ls

17

Chapter 2 . oT pic 9
Aenucdiandelvelsof or mtial y

C h o o s i n g t he r i g ht lev el of for malit y i s i m p o r t ant when
s p e a k i n g or w r it i ngo.uY n e e d t o b e a bl e t o uj dge what
is appr opriat e l a n g u ag e f o r t h e a ud i e n c e o r reade. r

Explore the skills RometoainudJl next ew’k?

At a basic level, we all adapt our vocabular y a ccording to our
audience and purpose. For example:

Schootealch‘poetarn:t WoyduolaunbatRdeiabeotl
atendhteschooplroducotnif
School teacher tosmallchild: ‘Can you and Mummy come to
the school play n e x t week? ’

1 What vocab u l a r y has been a dapted by the teacher when
speaking to the small child? W?hy
We also adap t our language according accordin g to context . For
example, what is the di f f e r e n c e b e t we e n formal and informal
langua?gCeonsider the way you might speak or write to your
close friend s about eve r y day things. Then contra st this with how moreimpersonal(lessfrie,ndly
you might communicate with an adult in auth o r i t y about a more a sort of studied politeness)
serious subje c t . with ‘distance’ between the
writer and recipient
Formal: the job inter veiw? uses few i,fabnbyreviations,
slang or exclamation marks
Excuse m e, Mr Bosingwa, what would b e the bes t time to
attend formal vocabulary or
conventions to match the
context or audience: attend
rather than
turn up for
generally adopts a close and
Informal , what’s t h e b e s t time for me to turn up for this personal tone
then ? informal vocabulary and
Hey,Frankie abbreviations to match the
chat, context or audience
uses the sentence tag
2 Look carefully at examples A and Bbelow. Make notes to then
i d e n t i f y the formal and info rmal elements in each.

A

Wlel,youwouldn’tbelieevit, Carlos,buttheres’ me,kickingabal
aroundinourbackyardwhen Utds ’ bosstrotsby!

S e c t i o n 1: Build i n g k e y s k i l l s
72

B .9
2
Dear Mr P e r e z ,
wIsuvaeyrpsriksuroyeybdndinvitatainot t t enad language
trainingsessi GnhrowtaBine UyniMedotnondMa3r2y, ch. 73
wIoubdledligehtedt omco eandwoukitledothayonukfro
noticingmiksyllswhynopueahsbyoudres ouseal wtske.
Your s s i n c e r el y ,
D i d i erBr i l l i a n t i

Build the skills

Formality in forms such a s l e t te r s m e a n s beginning and ending in specifi c ways that you would not
use in an email to a friend , for example.
Imagine that your head teacher has w r i t te n a l e t ter inviting you to give a spe ech to new s t u d e n t s
about your po sitive expe riences at the school. A fo rmal reply might loo k somethin glike this.

Dea,r tMrstDei W standard opening for a formal
letter
I amnitwgryiinrteoplyreotutre lofthe tivning me to speak otnewsutdesnat refers back to Mrs De Wsitt’
7 1,  May woulidkleot than kryeoufifronfg me thsi letter
. I am extyremle honoured to be asked reminds reader of the subject
the school
and polite tone
. opportutiny response to the request

Iwould beghtedelitoaceptthneoitivtnia , as re.qdeutes next action
and wlilarrange to meettiw hyouat ya muualt standard closing when a
convenietntim e name is used in the opening

, uoY yrssincerel
att inS Long

full name , acceptance , f u r t h er action subject , Topt pi
, closeofletter .
The order ofinformationisanaturalandlogicalone: Be careful thatyourinformal
thanks f ortheinvitation C h a p t e r 2 : K e y t e c h n i c a l s k i l ls letters do not come across
as rude. Maeksure thatyou
3 Imagine that you are related to the head teacher and know areconfident about how the
her well. Write a more informal re ply to the invitation. recipient will react to this st yle
S t a r t… andtone. Formal
Dear AuntaienyTa , can also seem comic or rude
How are ?yoTuh a n k s so much…for if exaggerated or used in the
wrongsituation. For exampl,e
you would not ask someone
tomoveonabus by sayin:g
Excuse me, my good man,
could I trouble you t o s h i f t
your position so thatmy
bodily for m can be lo cated
alongside yo?urs

Chapter 2 . oT pic 9

Develop the skills i m p e r s o nal tone , e s p e c ially when an
and the police were calle d .
Some formal tex t s require an
authoritative or factual account is ne e d e d .

4 Read the text below. Note down how t h e o b j e c tive,
i m p e r s o n a l tone is achieve d. Look carefully at:
•
the way the verbs are used
•
who is speaking or writing.

The shark was o b s e r vedat7: 0 0 a . m . b reaking the sur face of
the water approximately one kilometre from the shore. Loc al
coastguard s were aler ted and the shark was guided out to sea
to safer areas before any harm wa s done.

5 Now read this eye - w i t n ess account of the same eve nt. What
d i f f e rences do you no?tice

I saw the shark at around seven this morning in th e sea, I noticed the fi r e s t a r ting in the fact o r y and called the police.
I guess ab out one kilometre or so out. I called the coa stguard s T h e s t a r t of the fi r e
and they guided it out to sea b efore it could d o any damage. I ) is prese ntand‘d oes’ the a c t i o n(noticing the fi re /caling poli.ec)
wasnoticed
If you are stil not sure how the dif fere nt tone is achieved,
consider the verbs in the following examples , then go back to the
task above.

Active form:
The subjec t of the sentence (
Passive form:
Thesubejc t(personwhonceohdtifemsin)sgoith,ertexsetemsmoreodb‘andjevi.cstant ’

The passive , i m p e r s onal st yle i s p a r ticularly us eful for news
r e p o r t s or accounts by som eone who wishes t h e t e x t tohave
a u t h o r i.t y

6 ruT n this short account into a formal news repo r t by
changing the ac tive forms to the passive where possible.

I discovere d the shipwreck yes terday a s our fi s hing boat
returned in th e evening. I saw the hull shinin g deep down ,
then dived in. W hile unde r w a t, e r I took photo graphs with
my waterproof camera and returned to the surfa ce where
I passed them to the cap tain who s ent them using a mobile
phone to a loc al newspap. re

S e c t i o n 1: Build i n g k e y s k i l l s
47

.9
2

u oI‘hedntYnhgaecloltwi’ :htswi‘nigreoB. ’eh‘oetxhetoef’

Theshipwreckwasdiscoveredyesterdayb yalocalfi sherman
ashsi…

Appylthe skills

C o r r e c tly handled, informality can be us eful when es tablishing a
convincing voice in a dialogue or in conver satio n in a narrative.

So, Olga, your’e saying ‘la s t n ig h t ’ s movie was the b e s t f i lm
ev,erigrh’t?B e c a u s e i t ’ s not in my book .Noway.

Other di stinc tive features of informal dialogue are contracti o n s , idioms . Here are examples from the spe ech above: Key term
t a g s and you’’rse==ityiosu are; it
idiom:
common to a language: a typical phrase
for example,
• meaning ‘really funn;y’
contraction: right laugh
of fun’
• rgiht?
tag:

dead funny

a

• not in my book does not mean that the speake r has
idiom:
meaning‘a lot
a book of favourite fi lm s; it is a turn of p hrase meaning ‘in my

v i e. w ’

I d i o m s a p p ear in both formal and informal language , but they are
morelikely to be us ed conve r s a t i o nayl. They can make the voice
of your speake rs sound co nvincing, but they do ne ed to be u s e d
carefully and o nly when appropriate: for example, in informal
s p e e c h b e t we e n t w o close frien d s .

7 Draftadialoguebetweenabankmanagerandateenage
boywhowantstoopenasavingsaccount.Useniformal
usagesock,neitlraciotnsandtags, fortheboytoe stablish
hsivocieandamoreformalst yelforthoebankmY.anager u
couldstar t asfolows:

‘ S o , M r Fer,ryeoru have expre s s e d in t e r e s t in opening an
account with us . Do you have any proof of ide n t i?t y’
The manager st ared at Ray over her glas s e s .
‘ W ell, yeah – I’ve got this pic of me with my mates.Look…’

C h a p t e r 2 : K e y t e c h n i c a l s k i l ls

57

Chapter2. oT c1p0i
i o Vce andeorl

S p o k e n a n d d i r e c t e d w r it i ng t a s k s o f t e n r e qu i r e you
t o w r i t e i n r o l e .ouY n e e d t o s ho w t h a t y o u h av e
understo o d t h i s a n d do not simply w r i t e as you rself.
To b e c o n v i n c i n g , y ou r w r i t i n g v o i c e m ay n e e d t o b e
adapted t o m a t c h t h e p e r s on you are supp o s e d t o b e .

Explore the skills

A s i n dividuals, we all have different views of the same situation.
We therefore ex press things in dif ferent ways.

• i s t h e p a r tciualr, p e r s o n a l e x p r e s s ion and language that
Voice

an individual use s (for example, chatt y or s e r i o u s , anxious or

o p t i m i s tic).

• i s t h e p a r ticular part , profe ssion or i d e n t i t y that someone
Role

has (for example, a ten- year- old child, schoolteacher or an g r y

neighbour.)The role ad opted may af f e c tvoice and the content

of what is said.

1 Here are two e x tr a c t s w r i t ten by different people. What

roles do you think they h?avHeow would you de scribe the

two dif ferent vo?ices

Ohno,Ithought!Notmylovelydress!Justbeforethe
weddnig… gone in a fl ash.Justmyluck! Islumpedonthebed
and sobbed, tearsstreakingmyface.WhatwouldId?o

I obser v e d t h e w i n d ow h a d b e e n f or c e d . T h e w a r d r obe wa s
o p e n , a n d it w a s e m p t y. T h e v i c t i m wa s s i t t i n g on t h e bed
c r y i n g, but I tr i e d t o r e a s su r e h e r we woul d fi n d t h e c u l p r i t .

Build the skills

Now, consider how you could ‘get into’ a role so that you can
write in an appropriate st yle, a s abooveu.nYeed to:
•

u n d e r s t a n d the role you have be en placed in
•

think about wha t a p e r s on in this role would spend their time
doing and what is i m p o r t ant to this t ype of p e r s o n
•
consider how they might feel about the topic you are writing
about – their role will affe c t their viewpoint an d a t t itude

S e c t i o n 1: Build i n g k e y s k i l l s
67

.10
2

•
decide whether they have a par ticular ty pe of charac ter f(or
e x a m p l e , n e r v y an d a n x i o u s , calm and colle c t e d ) and if so, how
that might be show n in a shor t piece of writin g.

Putyournhstioresafl tuoduehnavtceujesaltdP.oypY
atkenpanrpsailetgtournamenatganistothers tudentsfrom
aroundthecountr. y Hyeosriudariry entrfyothremornigotfhe
compeotin.

:Dparye1paring for the competition

Got up at 8:00 a.m. and went down to join all the other
students for breakfast. I ’ d m a d e a s o r t of friend with a girl
called Sonya last night – at least I thought I had, but this
m o r n i n g s h e i g n o r e d m e a n d spent all breakfast with her
n o s e i n a d i c t i o n a r y. T h i s m a d e m e l a u g h . I f y o u d o n ’ t k n o w
t h e s p e l l i n g s b y n o w, t h e n y o u n e v e r w i l l . M i n d y o u , I w a s
s o n e r v o u s I c o u l d n ’ t e a t a nyway. B r e a k f a s t j u s t made me
t h i n k o f c o o k i n g - r e l a t e d s p e l l i n g s : ‘ r e s t a u r a n t ’ r(e m e m b e r
t h e ‘ a u ’ ! ) , ‘ l a s a g n e, ’ c‘ u c u m b e r ’ n( o t ‘ q u e u e c u m b e r ’ ! ! ) a n d
‘ t e m p erature’ all kept on going through my head. Am I going
m a d ? I s i t a l l wo r th it? I was a b o u t t o t e x t M u m and Dad,
b u t t h e n i n c a m e t h e o rganiser – a t h i n , s e v e re-looking man
i n a g r e y s u i t – a n d t o ld u s R o u n d 1 w as g o i n g t o s t a r t in
01 m i n u t e s i n t h e m a i n h a l l .

2 Based on th i s t e x t , create a s tick fi gure versio n of Poppy
likethe one opposite. Add feeling s, thou g h t sa/ t ti t u d e s
around the fi gure.

Develop the skills

Now you need to create an effe c t ive voice. This means conveying
a character’s p ersonalit y a n d emotions through the language and
vocabular y u s eodu. nYeed to co n s i d e r :
•

Poppy’s character
•

formal or informal language, es pecialy vocab u l a r y choices (se e
poT ic 2.9)
•
how you might use sentences a n d p u n c tuation to convey what
she feels or thinks .

C h a p t e r 2 : K e y t e c h n i c a l s k i l ls

77

Chapter2. oT c1p0i

For example, you could say that Pop py is:

•
n e r v o u s(about the compe tition)

•
quite witt y

•
close to her mum and dad

•

friendly, but competitive

•
o b s e r v an t .

3 How might thes e characteristics be re fl e c ted in her writ?in g

Write her nex t dia r y entry. Use what you know about her

already, including:

•
q u e s t i o ns that show he r doubting he r abilities

•
references to her parents

•
possibly co mical obs e r v a tions about other compe titors or the

organisers .

ManitaniPoppy’svoiceinthF.eodriaerxyample,shemixe sprese-nt

tenseobseravtionasnd pastt-ensereoclleocuitons.Y couldstart:

Day2: late morning – R ound 1 Topt pi

A f t erbreakfastweal madeourwaytotheMainHal.Mytum oT helpmaintainthevoice
wasrumblingandsuddenlyIfelt huynpgica.rTl!y(‘al?’ o…r ‘ l e)’ of a cha,rarcte t r yimagining
Anyway,thatSonyawas just in frontofme,looking…like what they would say and do
in differentsituations. Do they
If the ty pe of tex tyou are writing chang e s , t h en your voice wil haveafavouritephrase or
need to adap t. For example, imagine that Poppy ’steacher has two, for exam? ple
asked her to give a spe ech to her year group entitle d ‘ W hy takin g
p a r t in competitions is goo d for y. ou’ purpose of this tas k different from the d i a r y

4 Make som e brief notes on the following que s t i o n s . form and style of the text be different
a) How is the
entry?
b) How will the
from the diary fo?rm
c) In what way will you need to b e s e l e c tive about the
details you include and leave out in you r s p e e? c h
d ) What element s of Poppy s’voicewillyou continue using
in the spee?hc

S e c t i o n 1: Build i n g k e y s k i l l s
78

.10
2

5 Re a d t w o s a m p l e s p e e ches below, w r i t ten in Poppy s’voice,
andmake notes on how well each one:
•
makes use of information about Pop py and what
happens to her (for example, which one provides more
detail about the even?st)
•
shows Poppy s’feelings through the st yle an d tone
(for example, whi c h u s e s variety of sentence s and
p u n c t u a t?nio)
•
f o c u s e s on the purpose of the spee ch, rather than the
d i a r y (for example, which one show s the positive aspe c t s
of taking par ?t)
•
u s e s t h e right st yle fo r a speech. (Soeep1iTcfo3r. more
on the conventions of spe e c h e s . )

A

Wlel, it all start edwhenwegotthere.I wanted t o win the
competitionrealybadlyand made friends withthisgirl.
Butshewasn’t veryniceandjustwanted to reviseforthe
test.Iwasnervous so I tried to cal my mum and dad. The
competitionwasreally scaryandtheorganiserwasn’t exactly
friend. lIydon’t know why I did it, rey.la

B

Thisweekend Ihavebeen at a spelling competitoiuonm.aYy
thinkI’m an idino,otd(on’tanswerthat!) a f t erall,whoactualy
likesspeling? But from the moment I arrived,representingour
school, I knew it was goodofersm, Ie.wYas neerosvu, Ish.Yad
to face people who smiled to my face one evening,thenignored
meatbreakfast, but I had to growupfast.Ididn’tcareifIbeat
the snooty girl frombreakfwaesltl,(ok – I did a) –bitwas
moreaboutcompetingwithmys, emlfynervesandbeingonmy
ownawayfromhome.And–I did it!

Appylthe skills

6 Write two entries fro m the diary of the other girl, Sonya. In
f a c t , she is shy a n d n e r vous and think s that Po ppy and the
others are really confi d e n t . S h e d o e s not have many frien d s
at school, but English is her favourit e s u b j e c t .
•
Use the diar yco nventions from Poppys’ e n t.r y
•
Convey Sonya’schara c t,eferelings an d o b s e r vations
through her voice.

C h a p t e r 2 : K e y t e c h n i c a l s k i l ls

79

Chapter 2

Checkyour progress

Soundprogress

•
I u n d e r s t and the dif ferent word class es and how th ey can alter meaning.

•
I can use simple and compound sentences e f f e c t i vely,and some complex sentences .

•
I u n d e r s t and how dif ferent tenses wo rk and can usualyke ep them consi s t e n t .

•
I can write in clear sentence s using a reasonably accurate range o f p u n c tuation.

•
I u n d e r s t a n d p u n c tuation in direc t an d r e p o r te d s p e e c h.

•
I use paragraphs to organis e my work.

•
I u n d e r s t and the pro ofreading pro cess and can use it to check my work when I have

finished.

•
I u n d e r s t and the dif ference s b e t w e en formal and informal forms of e x p r e s s i o n.

•
I can take on a role with a reas onably appropriate voice.

Excelent progress

•
My vocabula r y is varied and I use word cla s s e s confidently for a range of ef f e c t s and

purposes.

•
I can use a full range an d variety of sentence t y p e s and func tio n s f o r e f fe c t .

•
I can use a range of dif ferent t e n s e s , keeping their use c o n s i s tent throughout.

•
I use a wide range of punc tuation accurately fo r delibera t e e f fe c t s .

•
I u n d e r s t and direc t an d r e p o r te d s p e e c h and can punc tuate them accurate.ly

•
My paragraph s are well cons t r u c ted and logically orde red with a clear sense of th e

task’s purpose and e f f e c t .

•
I use the proofreading pro c e s s both to check my work as I go alo n g a n d a f ter I have

finished.

•
I can apply knowled ge of formal and informal language to match audience or rea.der

•
I can adapt voice and role thoughtfully depen ding on the ta sk and the purp ose.

S e c t i o n 1: Build i n g k e y s k i l l s
80

Key writing

forms

3

In this chap,tyeoru are going to develop a range
of fundamental writing skils that you wil use
throughout your Cambridge IGCSE course.

u o Y welalrnihowto wrtienthefoolwnigforms:

Links to ot her chapters: •
Chapter 4: Writing for purpos e speeches and talks
E x t eChnadpteedr 8r:e s p o n s e to
•
A pproChaacphtienrg10w: r i t ten i n t e r vi e w s

•
diaries and journals

•
report s

•
news repor t s and magazine ar ticl e s

•
letter s .

Ontheirowns,omeoftheskmsliayseemsimple,

but rememberthattheyarebuildingblocks

tocompletinglargerandmorecomplextask s

reading and direc ted writing ,eartl whichmayaskyoutowriteinsp ecific
coursework
forms. Thesewilrequireyoutounde r s t a n d the

s t r u c turalandst yilsticconventions ofthoseform s .

81

Chapter 3 . oT pic 1
eepdsintafnoesskvselnhaotcC

S p e e c h e s a r e u s u a l l y f or m a l s p o k e n p r e s entat i o n s f or a

p a r t ic u l a r p u r p o s e – o f t e n t o p e r s ua d e a n au d i e n c e t o

s u p p o r t a n i d e a , o r t o e x p l a i n o r d e s c r i b e a n i n t e r e s t i ng

t o p i c o r p a s t e v e nt . W he n y o u c o m p o s e a sp e e c h , y ou

n e e d t o t h i n k a b o ut :

•
h o w y o u w i l l e n g ag e y o u r audience’s i n t e r e st a s y o u
begin to speak

•
how you ca n s t r u c t u r e your sp e e c h t o r e t a i n t h e i r
i n t e r e s t a n d m a k e y ou r p o i n t s e f f e c t i v e.l y

Explore the skills

Have you ever given a s p e e? cIfhso, what was the to?pWicas it What do you think is the bigges t
at school or at a family even?t
challenge for someone givin g a speech to an audie?nce Strippedofhomeandcountr, y
…][Shecouldn’ttravelwheneveryone else
1 r T y t alking (without preparation)fo r t w o minutes on a
topic you feel s trongly about to a par tner: how easy or
Read the following ex tra c t f r o m a speech given by the ac tre s s d i f f i cult was it? Were you abletokee p them interes ted?
Angelina Jolie on World Refug ee Day in 20 09.

er ’We ohtdeanrsklyiblomluoitfdlmaefispetares – sets out the context for why
fameisloicut- o ffrozmaticvlointhatheydon’teven she is speaking
knowthaeatdthasikyilexistsontheirb.efhla Moilnis .And
repetition to stress a point
tanhmauilIanclouShmeyoitbsbu.atc elnsraucere use of personal pronouns
todaytosaythatrefugeesarenotnumber s . connects with the audience
directly
They’renotevenjus trefugees.Theyaremothersand repetition of ‘They are’
daughtersandfathersandsons–theyarefarmers ,teacher s , punches home message
doctors, engineerst,heyarenidvidiuaslaA.lndmostofal
they aresurvivors–eachonewitharemarkablestor ythat provides reasons why she is
teslofreeislncenithefaceofgreatols s.Theyarethemost speaking
impressivepeopleIhaveevermetandtheyarealsosomeof
thewordls’ mostvulnerabel. personal anecdote engages
refugeesarebuffetedfromeverywlinidthabtolw sacross interest
this planet.

I remember me eting a pre gnan]t[…woman in a completely
abandoned camp.

S e c t i o n 1: Build i n g k e y s k i l l s
82

.1
3

was relocat e d b e c ause she wa s too late in he r p r e g n a n.c y pattern of three details rhetorical impact
She was alone with her two children and another woman. creates
There was nothing for mile s around the c amp – not a single
tree, no other p eople in sight . So when they aske d me to vivid descriptive images build
come in for tea I s aid I didn’t feel it nece s s a r. By]ut[…hey picture
take pride in how they treat their gues t s s o they insisted and
they guided me into a small dir t house with no ro oftoke ep parable of the W i d o ws’ Mite it has been
out the scorching heat, and they dus ted of f th e two old mats
that they ate, slept and prayed on. And we sat and we talke d F r o m h t tp : / / speakola.com develops and provides further
and they were jus t the lovelie s t w o men. And then with a few If so, where arethey? detail on the speescphu’rpose
t w i g s and a single tin cup of wa,ert they made the la st of th eir
tea and insis ted on me to enjoy it .

Since before the
known that those who have the leas twillgive the most .
M o s t   r e f u gee famiiles will o f fer you the only fo od they have
and pretend they’re not hung.ryAn d the generosi t y o f the
poor applies not only to refug ees. We should never forg e t
that more than 8%0 of refugee s are hosted and have be en
for years an d years in the poores t develo ping countries .

coVabulary

2 Read the spee ch again, thi s time aloud. Are there any parable of the Widows’ a Bible sto r y in which
obvious change s in tone or fo?cus Mite:
How might they af f e c t how the spee ch is gi?ven a v e r y poor woman give s a
few small coins to the local
Build the skills government

revAgnopestaheftswPoyfa’lhealrontacmfticesl Key term designed to
:ei loJ Should we
rhetorical:
• have a power ful ef f e c t )
c o n n e c t s with her au dience through her voice and s t y l e on a reader; rhe torical
questions are intende d
• to create impac trather
creates an emotional impact with her language than elicit information
(for example:
• simply forget the a w f ul
paints vivid pic ture s to des cribe what she has exp erienced. s u f f e ring and hards?hip

3 How does Jolie draw attention to her self and her audie?nce
Note down:
a) how she refers to hers elf and her audience
b) the purpose fo r the speech
c) h e r o w n p e r s onal experie n c e s .

4 What par ticularly emotive language does s he use to
a) d e s c r i b e the families at the st a r t of the spee ch
b) d e s c r i b e the way in which refu gees are mistreate dall
over the world b y m i s f o r tune?

C h a p t e r 3: K e y w r i t i n g f o r m s

83

Chapter 3 . oT pic 1

5 What is the rh etorical i m p a c t of the single word ‘Millions’?

6 H ow does s h e u s e d e s criptive / s e n s o r y detail s to convey he r
m e s s a?gTehink about the referencesto:

•
the mats

•
the making of the tea.

Develop the skills

T h e s t r u c ture of the spee ch is also i m p o r t ant. How e x a c t ly d o e s
Jolie’s sp eech work?

7 Copy and complete the table below to sum up the focu s of
e a c h s e c tion.

Section Pu r p o s e Kelya n g u a g e o r f e a t u r e Effect
Paragraph 1 ‘ W ere’ h er…’ draws audience in; st ates
to introduce th e purpose ‘I am here’ her own commitmen t ;
of the spee ch ‘Million s.’ shock and surpris e
‘Mothers and daughters’
Paragraph 2 to get acros s m e s s a ge ‘each one with a creates image…?of
that refugees are remarkable stor y ’
Paragraph 3 individuals
Paragraph 4

8 How are the paragraphslinke d?Think about:

•
how the secon d paragraph elaborates or builds up on

t h ef ir s t

•
how the third and four th paragraphs ar e c o n n e c ted by

t h e W i d o ws’Mite

•
how they all contribute to the ove rall mes sage.

S e c t i o n 1: Build i n g k e y s k i l l s
84

I n s u m m a r, yany s p e e c h yougivewill n e e d a s tr u c t ure with: .1
3
• opening thatengagestheaudienceandmakesthe purpose
an that provide sp ecific examples or fur ther detail Topt pi
Makeeach of your point s
clear(perhap sthroughpersonal references,shockingor that links back to previou s points or examples and cle,aurslyingrhetorical
language or an ane cdoteto
interesting fact sorsomethingsimal)ri strengthen your viewnotto
takeyou off course.
•
middle sections

so that the tone is not too abs t r a c t or general ( p e r h a p s f u r ther

p e r s o n a l experience s, aotr the very l e a s t , vivid detail s o f a c tual

events or examples)

•
a conclusion

enhances the overall effe c t .

Appylthe skills

9 Look at this sp eech task.

Write a spee ch for your cla s s m a t e s , p e r s u a d ing them to do
more physic al exercis e and/o r s p o r t .
Decide:
•

who the audience is
•

what the purpos e is.
D r a f t your openin g two paragraphsu(p to 75 words.)

r T y ou t your opening on a part.nHeorw well did you? do
If you wish, co mplete your spe ech, building on what you have
learned and reme mbering to show a cl,ewarell thought- out
s t r u c ture.

Checklistforsuccess

✔
Makesure that your voice or view point is liveyl,strong an d

engaging.

✔
S t r u c ture your spe ech so your listen ers are immediately

i n t e r e s te d .

✔
Keep their atte ntion with new points or idea s , a n d finish

s t r o n g.l y

✔
Speak direc tly to the audience by using inclusive pronouns

( you , we ) and rhetoric al devices .

✔
Use appropriate language for your audience an d v a r y

sentences to change pace or tone.

✔
U s e p e r s o n al references (such as reference to your own

e x p e r i e n c e)sand emotive language.

C h a p t e r 3: K e y w r i t i n g f o r m s

85

Chapter 3 . oT pic 2
Convoensitofnite r v iews

vrentwIesi venhoctwnHoeiva.trhsnoieowdointe r v iews
usuallyasstao–rtaesndrmoWedohthye?dn
Key term convers ations
‘ e?’vhtrseetwngueiroi
I n t e r v i e w s:
in which one pe r s o n a s k s
the other ques tions on a
topic or asp e c t of their life

Explore the skills

Read the bullet points b elow about the Siberian tige,r which come
from a conse r v a t ion website.

•
Only 350 – 4 0 0tig e r s l e f t

•

Used to be i n n o r th - e a st China , Mongolia andKorean Peninsula

•
Poaching and cut ting down trees for logs are main problems;

n e e d v a s t f o r e s t s to sur vive

•
B o d y p a r t s u s e d in traditional me dicine

1 N ow read the inter view in which a cons e r v a ti o n e x p e r t
d i s c u s s e s t h e s e i s sues with a rep o r .t e r A s you read, make
notes about th e d i f ferent roles of each speak, e r and how
this is repre sented by the way they speak.

R e p o r t er: I m’ here to talk to Dr Sandra Cappello, a
consultant for animal charity Save Our Sp e c i e s .
Expert:
R e p o r ter: Good evening. speakers’ names/roles on left

Expert: So, Dr Cappello – with j u s t u n d e r 5 0 0 tigers still questions directed personally
in the wild, it seems likecons e r v ation effo r t s to the ‘expert’
have failed , haven’tthey? reply to question – or part
of it.
Well, its’ true that numb ers have dwindled.
R e p o r t e r: (interrupotsu)hYaven’t an s w e r e d my q u e s tion. There were once many more tiger s in China,
Mongolia and Korea. Places such as the Eas tern
Himalayas were ideal for them b u t i ts’a fragile
landscape.

H a v e e f fo r t s faile d? I have b e e n r e p o r t ing for
y e a r s o n t h i s i s s u e an d i ts’ jus t not improving.

Expert: T here are so many problems – we can’t d o

e v e r y thing.Many, many organisations are

c o m m i t ted to prote c t i n g d i f ferent tiger s p e c i e s ,

b u t i ts’ a monument a l t a s k .

R e p o r t e r: S o, what would you say is the big g e s t t h reat to

them?

S e c t i o n 1: Build i n g k e y s k i l l s
86

.2
3

Expert: I t ’ s d i f f i cult to single one out – but lo ss of

habitat is clearly a huge issue. On ce hunting
grounds have d i s a p p e ared, it cantake literally
R e p o r t er: hundreds of years to re cover them . specialist language of expert
Expert: pu,nicnhfoyrmal summing up
R ight – I get it . No tre e s , n o tigers .

I t ’ s not quite as simple as that, but broadly

speaking that is the situation.

R e p o r t e r: ahrofewrDemli.,ltuoal’ytlaeheTpvpskanC.aohT

Build the skills paraphrases beenused? Key term

2 Write brief ans wers to these que s t i o n s . paraphrases: rewording of
a) How are the roles of the repor ter a n d e x p e r t d i f ferent? things that have b een said
b) Where have s ynonyms or o r w r i t ten
c) In what way is this obviously an inte rview?
d ) What information from the website was not us ed in the
i n t e r veiw?

Develop the skills

Look at this li st from a tiger charit y’s website, whi c h o f fe r s s o m e
solutions for saving the t.iger

• Id e n t i f y h i g h - p r i o r i t y tiger populations – larger a reas are b e t,t e r
a s   t i g e r s n e e d0 10 0 square kilometres fre e of human ac t i v.i t y

• Enforcement of f i c e r s and guards to protect tigers f r o m p o a c h e r s .
• D evelop loc al community- b a s e d c o n s e r vation program m e s .
• C ontinue well- managed captive breeding (for insta nce, in

game parks) for the most at-r i s k t i g e r s.

3 In pairs , carr y out a brief role - p l ay of an intervi e w b e t we e n
the manager of the ch a r i t y and a repor . tUesre some of the
content above. Makesure that:
•
t h e r e p o r ter continue s to speak in the same s t y l e
•
the charity manager is forceful and tries to get his or her
m e s s a g e a c ro s s a b o u t w h a t n e e d s to be done.

Appylthe skills

4 Write up your own version of the interview using the
convention s of the writ ten int e r veiw.

C h a p t e r 3: K e y w r i t i n g f o r m s

87

Chapter 3 . oT pic 3
Convoenits of
daieri sanduojrnals

A diary or jour n a l i s a p e r s o n a l r e c o r d o f t h i n g s t h at
have happ e n e d t o t h e w r iter. I t c a n a l s o r e c o r d t he
w r i t er’s t h o ug h t s o r f e e l i n g s .

Explore the skills
1 Read this diar y e x t r a c t . W ho do you think is writ?ing

1 ,1Monday March date of entry
use of the fi rst person and
WhastbpeaelosnvrIeta!dn’tdiaym issedtheschoolbusadn past tense
htenw,henIfinallya r r oiuendov,Iufhtewohleclasswason recounts events that have
asceincetripandtehyhadaler adyelf t.leIfsuchaofo.lIhad happened that day
tostionmyownout sdiehtheasodfcteieache.’ral lday Itwas
sobori n!g reference to time/sequence
personal feelings
mb’Iackhom, enow sitt ingi nmyroom.Ihatve’ntoldMumor
DadImi ssedthe t rpi.IfIdo,thleyl’gomad.sDda’dhom’Ie. present tense gives sense of
b e t t erprmetena’dI selp. things happening now
future tense shows worries

Build the skills

Diaries and journals give a sen se of the writer’s p e r s o n a il t y and
explain his or her changing emotions. Th ey focus o nkeymom e n t s
or incidents in the writer ’sworldand(u sually) provide a se nse of
time or sequence.

2 Make notes on the following.

• What incide nt made this s tudent record his
Content: How does th e s t r u c ture reveal what he feels

t h o u g?hItds e n t i f y three different emotion s felt at How does th e s t yle of the writing match the

d i f f e rent times oftheday.

•
S t r u c tu r e :

about the situat?nio

•
Style:

likely age of the pe r s o n w r ing?ti

S e c t i o n 1: Build i n g k e y s k i l l s
88

.3
3

Develop the skills

uoY r d i a r y entries should aim to develop and e x tend ideas fu.yl How does the following diar y e n t r y do t?hIits i s w r i t ten by
3 naT ya Saunde r s , a woman who livesinKenya , E a s t Africa.

e Yth,wiecoarsoculoedliyasndlnayrdieslatytaedraonfvy nascent sansevieria
sugnihlatnodht]beaonydtlaerywanlkeo…harm[t
dfieernmt onroigbh:atckescocrnhgiheatndhtecorcoedsleriutrnnig lawn)andthe we
noevdisbtraskohnetsandbankswe,hltehGaihtHioleontrh,eovtn
shwnioasftnuhgsijta,tdovewnhienrtarnedsdatyhtearn(d who
coduablmlu?ostr)ef,jhIoakidtacoshlwfeitarmtdiayy
mohreftoysenlauslghotefa ertnoonhea.t

noT ight,asmightbeexpected,thethunderandlightningareraging
again,hugestorm clouds fomentedintheheatoft,hneowdotwaye ring
overh]ead…[nd the rain continues, and the bugs mu,altnipdlythe
flowerspreparetolaunchintotheir reproductivecyclesonceag…a]in[
thetinyprett ybluecommelinaflowe rs are alreadybloomingeev r y where
youlook(includingon our
transplantedintoourgarden (both onthe balconyand outside) are
sendingupaproliferationofshoots,thenewspikesbreaking the
s u r f aceoftheear thlikespikyaliens, andreachinguptowardsthelight.

From the blo ga l‘ eTs from Kulafumbi: Th e D i a r y of a Nature Lov e r ’

4 A n s w e r t h e s e q u e s t io n s .

a) W h a t d o e s the writer fo cus?oIsnthis leikthe s t u d e n t s’
diary? W h y / w hynot?

b) H ow does sh e use words or phrase s related to time and
sequence to s t r u c ture h e r e n t?r y

c) How are tense s u s e d in d i f fe r e n t s e c tions to show what
h a s h a p p e n e d and is happen?gin

d ) How does s h e u s e d e t ailed des cription of the natural
world to develop a vivid picture of the weat,haenrd the
flowers and plants in the gard?ne

coVabulary

nascent: s t a r ting to grow
t y p e of
5 FromreadnyinagSTaunders’diar yentry,what picturedo sansevieria:
you get of the w riter and her interes?t s
flowering plant with
6 Rereadthedair yeanstk3W.rynirteTthebegninnigofthe
e n t r y for the next day in which you: t o n g u e - keil leaves
•
mei treheathadwet ehoftowohred)nufaeosefarycy(ts C h a p t e r 3: K e y w r i t i n g f o r m s
•
gvieadetaliedandwel- developedobservatoinofsome 89
aspect ofnature.

y Athpepsl kills

Chapter 3 . oT pic 4
Convoenits of reports

A t m a n y t i m e s i n y ou r l i f e yo u m a y fi nd you n e e d t o d ) W hat sor t of r e p o r t isit?
r e p o r t on sit uat ions. R e p o r t s u s u a l l y t e l l t he reader )e W here might youreadit?
about a n e v e n t t h a t h a s t a k e n place, u s i n g f a c t u a l f ) D o e s t h e r e p o r t soun dconvinc?gin
d e t a i l . T he w r it e r m a y a n a l y s e o r o b s e r v e t h e s e e v e nt s ,
or offer a more personal perspec t i v e . Itgivesclearinformation, but also coev…r s
Itcouldbeintimesequence,butcouldalso jump around to t opicssuch asthe
Explore the skills we,amthoenrey raised and number of people there.

R e p o r t s are alway s w r i t ten for a particular audience. They mus t
be clear and sound convincing.

1 Read this shor t e x t r a c t f r o m a r e p o r t . Then make brief notes on the following:
a) W hat is the subje c t or to?pic
b) W ho is the likelyaudien? ce
c) Why is the r e p o r t split into t wo
paragra?phs

Theschoolfundrasinigdaywasagreatsuccess,thankstoyoual.Threethingsmadethedaysuch
asuccess:th,eyoweuhraatrdhewrorkandthegenerosityofvisitorsandparents.
Thedaybeganwwe,ltiheclabruleskeisb,utiwasnt’toohotA. sourfameislairviedti,beganto
getre.ysubaylwIaswonrikgonastaslneilgcodlderniskosW.onranoutandneededmoresuppeils
desperateymlI!usthankK,wnkihpocaycerldtcahiluewlraytotheshopandbackwtihbaskets
fuolfelmonadeandsodasSe.behnme’ybestfreindsniceGrade2andnowyokunalonI.wfwahcyt,
ujstaswerstockedt,heMayoarppearedandwewreabeltoservehmi awonderfuylcoodlrnik.

Build the skills

U n d e r s t a n d ing your audiencewil make your repor t sound
realistic. For this , choose the right content , s t yle and stru c t u re.

2 Copy and complete the table below, base d on the extr a c t
above.
R e p o r t t o classmates in school magaz ine about charity day
content
s t r u c ture

style

S e c t i o n 1: Build i n g k e y s k i l l s
90

.4
3

Develop the skills Topt pi

Read this longe r r e p o r t , then ans wer the que stions below. Put difefrent points nito

ing studGenets togiveto charityisoneofourschooslb’ iggestchalenges,andsitt’ imeweand separate paargraphsfor
readers of this magazine did something about it.
RecentresearchIhavecarried out shows that one in fi evstudents has gievntochartiy, although cla.riWtyriteastrong opening
slightlymore(twoout of fi ev) haevbeendirectlyinvoelvd in someofrm of fundarising. As our head
teacherMrMariqnugegzosoadider,s‘Guelts andworkinghadris, ofcourse,vital.Butifweare and a powerfulconclusionto
toshowthatweareacaringcommuni,tweymust do moer, right nw,o forthoselessofrtunate
than ourse’lves.
Thegoodnewsisthat since the startofthe,ywehaarveraise0d2ov0e0rfo$rchartiy,sowe
can do it. But is it enough? Surelywecan do more.

moT orrowat3p.m.therewil beameetingintheschoolhal foranyteachers and students who
wishtogoarnisefundraisingeventsinthecomingterm.Lesth’ oepnediteisdaw.tWcehll tahis
space!

3 Content:
a) What is the purp ose of this r e p o r?tHow doyouknow?
b) What eviden ce is there of s t a t i s ti c s , e x p e r t c o m m e n t ,
and so on, to s u p p o r t this purp?ose

4 S t r u c ture:
a) H o w e f fe c t ively does th e r e p o r t use paragraphs?
b) Does it have a strong b eginning and end?inWg h y / w hy
not?

5 S t yle:
a) Is it clear who the repor t i sfor?
b) How formal or info rmal is it?
c) D o e s i t u s e detailtomake events clea?r
d ) D o e s i t u s e a variet y of s e n t e n c e s to engage li s t e n e?r s

Appylthe skills

6 Imagine that the me eting has taken place. Write a follo w -
u p r e p o r t of at least 100 words inclu ding:
•
f a c t s or stati s t i c s about who and how many atte n d e d
•
the outcome of the meeting and your views on this,
good or bad.

drawpoint s tog.ether

C h a p t e r 3: K e y w r i t i n g f o r m s

19

Chapter 3 . oT pic 5

Convoenits of
newsrepor tsand
mangeziar ticles

News report s and art icles, whether online or in
newspapers or magazines, are vtial sources of
informta ion. The y usually fall into t w o t y pes. Those that
report t he main facts or informta ion aboutver y recent
specific incidents are news repor t s . Those thta discuss,
analyse or investigate a topic are called featur e a r t icle s.
ateF u r e a r t icles are often ,but not always, in magazines.

Explore the skills

Sometimes the headings give clues ab out what so r t o f r e p o r t or
a r t icle the text is. Look at these headings:

meTperactufool–rnd°t3eiogsp0tht reocnord news article: it is a specific
single happening that has
Why are our winters getting colder? just occurred
Ice ca uses ch aos on mot o r ways
Topt pi
Snowgo–36hours stuck on train
Succinct vocabular y in
How to pr edict cold winters headlines can captureanidea
immedia.tely

1 r T yto i d e n t i f y which of the headin gs belong to news
r e p o r t s and which to feature arti c l e s .

Build the skills

idrneiv ceuashrwsteitnsnahtsropiecrciaheiTdhwerlyutat,c
neht itdnrwaoe.hlesthnb,oteirilstwdeancsoetnuRqo.ainna

Mountain Goat KillsHiker simple headline sums up what
happened
by Alex Robins o n
main event/news
R OBERT BOA RDM AN, 63, was hi k i n g with his wife

and fr iend in Oylmpic National Pa rk on Monday when he

was att acke d and k ille d by a mounta in goat. The tr oi was

S e c t i o n 1: Build i n g k e y s k i l l s
92

h i k i n g  up  a  popular switchback t r a i l and decided to stop ofr .5
3
lunch when  t he goat approached them and sta r t e d acting
93
ag.greyslevsi

Board m a n t rie d to scare the goat of,f but instead of r u n n i n g how the incident happened
and what led up to it
, yawa it charge d h i m gor ing him badly in the le.gMor e h i kers
how the incident ended
came to t r y to help Board m a n , but the goat stood oevr the
‘expert’ comment, often with
s m ’a n  body andwtoluedn’lt ayn other hikers come to his aid. direct quotation

Anhou r a f tertheat tack ,rescuersfi na ly a r r vei d atthescene current situation and what is
happening next
but Board m a n d ied f rom his inuj r eis. Park offciials evntually

shot and k i lled the goat.

Appa,rently that spe cifci goat had shown aggresvsei

tendencies in the past. ‘tI has shown aggresvsei behavio,ur

evweoh,r nothi ng le d us to belvei ti was appropriate to ta ke

the next elvl of re’moavl, park spokeswoman Ba rb May nes

told the Associate d Press. ‘Th is is h gi hly unusua l. s Ther’ no

record of any t h i n g simi lar i n t h is park.s It’ a tra.ge dy eW are

taking it xetremeyl seriously a nd doi ng our best to lea r n as

muchaswe’ can.

The goat is being exa m i ned by scientists to see if it had any

diseases t hatcouldheavcausedit to act so a.ggyrlesvi

F r o m w w . w outdoorlifec.om

2 Content and str u c t ure (what is in the a r ticle):

a) N e w s r e p o r t s of t e n have the ‘who, w h a t , w h e r e and
when’ at the s t a r t of the sto ry. Is this the case he? rIfe
so, note down each aspec t . For example, ‘who’ is Ro b e r t
Boardman?

b) E x p e r t or witness co m m e n t s in d i r e c t s p e e c h ar e o f ten
included to give weight to a sto r. yW hat do we fi n d
out from Barb May nes? Why wouldn’ t this be the fi r s t
paragraph of the r e p o r?t

c) W h a t d o e s the fi nal paragraph fo cus?on

3 S t y le (how it is wri t t e:)n

a) oT makethe r e p o r t sound objec tive , writers of news
a r t icles tend not to use. I‘sI t’his the case he? re

b) N e w s r e p o r t s o f te n r e p o r t events in s equence: what

h a p p e n e d , w hat happened n e x t . Identif y any time

c o n n e c tives in the ar ticle (for example, ri f st , later ,

ni f aly .)

c) M o s t v e r b s about what happened are in the past tense goat a p p r o a c h e d them ), but what d o you
(for example,
notice about the headline and th e last paragr?apWhhy
do you think thes e are different?

C h a p t e r 3: K e y w r i t i n g f o r m s

Chapter 3 . oT pic 5

Develop the skills

Feature/magazi n e a r ticles are of ten more complex than n e w s
r e p o r t s. They:

•
a r e o f te n p e r s o nal (the write r refers to himself or h e r s e l f )

•
cover wider ground or more complex ideas

•
o f f e r a distin c t v iewpoint

•
explore ideas m ore deeply.

Read this feature ar ticle, then answe r q u e s tions 4 and 5.

First, catch your feral article title explains the topic
in the exper ts. kitten. then call opening sentence is about
problem/issue
My ngeihbou rhood is i nund ated wit h feral cats, scraggy
descriptive detail paints
wild th ings that cadge food from a nimal evol rs in wint er picture of cat

and cadge baby blackbirds a nd robi ns from their nests each personal involvement
writer of 
spring . y pic,aTlyl v’ Ie  moane d about th is wit hout t a k i ng ayn
wdirlietmermeands with a
responsibilit y–unt ilast weekw, henIbecamseoxasperate d,

I set a huma ne trap.

I bought a wire cage to see if I cou ld catch a squir rel or rat

to show my an imalm- ad daught,er Esme. Lucki ly she was at

schoolwhen the door slam med on an adorabel ktit en.Clueelss

about what I shoudl actually do, ofr the first t ime in my leif I

callethde RSPCA Ra.thleirtkhefeirtnsimetIeded hospait a l

and was astounded by the br i l l i a nce of the doctors and nurses,

the RSPCAwas amazin.g

The cha rit y knwe al l about my street’ cat probelm and had

caught 20 feral cats so fa. r I was asked to t a ke ”1“t2o meet an

RSPCA officer at a nearby evt, where the kit ten was checked

ac( ts are assessed a nd adu lts sc a n ned for microchpis to ensure

theya renot p)eatnsd pronounced aefral tomcat.

Becaus1e 2is only eightwe eks odl , he will be found a home

as a pet. Adults are neutered and released wherrve they came

from, wh cih my negihbou rhood blackbirds w’otn wcoelme,

but  efral cats haev hard lveis and only s u revvi for a coupel of

year s.

The RSP CA has now lent me a better trap so I ca n joi n

other neighbours in hepling feral cats and other widl l ie,f at no

expense to the ta .rxepay Borav ofr the big )cat ( os c.iety One

problem remains: Esme is tear fully begging to keep the next

catch.

From ‘Firs t catch your feral kitten’by

The Guardian

Patrick Barkham,

94
S e c t i o n 1: Build i n g k e y s k i l l s

.5
3

4 S t r u c ture and content: coVabulary wild, undomes ticate d
Royal Soci e t y for
a) Is this featur e a r ticle about a news event that has jus t feral:
happened? Check the ope ning paragraph and see RSPCA: a political
whether it des cribes a p a r ticular incide n t . the Prevention of Cr u e l t y
to Animals (in th e U K )
b) Compare the mountain goat news re p o r t with this one. big society:
How is the str u c t ure different? For example, think a b o u t idea in the UK relate d to
how the repor t re counts information about the event. helping others

5 S t yle: humane , and adorable and
?
a) What is it about the headline that sugges t this is a hard lives
feature article rather than a news rep ort?

b) What can you infer about the viewpoint of th e writer
based on the language he us?se For example: what can
you learn from the adj e c tives
the reference to cats’

Appylthe skills

6 Write your own feature article about animals that are not
normally seen as problematic, but w hich can cau s e i s s u e s or
uoY could star t with the goat att ack but do notmake it the whole be dangerous .
f o c u s . For example, you could begin:
•
Use some of the ideas or fac t s from the goat rep o r t and
feral cat ar ticle.

•
Give a clear viewpoint: whether you think all animals
should be treate d as ‘wild’ or‘dangero. us’

Therecentdeath of a,hgikoerred by a mountaingoat,might
makeusthinkthatal animals,howeecvurd‘d, alyre’ areal
danger to humans and otherwil…dlife

C h a p t e r 3: K e y w r i t i n g f o r m s

95

Chapter 3 . oT pic 6
Convoensitofelt ters

I n s o m e a r e a s o f l i f e , w r it t e n l et t e r s a r e s t i l l

very import ant.

Explore the skills

When writin g l e t te r s , makesure that you:

•
think about the audience (thi s will change you r s t yel)

•
focus on purpose (why you are writing)

•
match your st yle to both (how formal or informal).

1 Here are two s h o r t l e t t e r s . C o m pare their st yle, to ne and
s t r u c ture. What is similar and different about thm?e

41 JacarandaStreet Hightown S h a r p ’sS t o r e s
7 7htJ1une02 1 HK 3 BS 23 Will ow Av e n u e
Hight own
HK13BS 7th Jun 7e120

DearJo, R e : P o s t o f s h op a s s i s t a n t in

I’mso sorrytsi’ beensolongsinceI Dear Mr s Sh a r ,p writing to infor m
contacted youW. edon’thave a computer T h a n k y o u f or y o u r l e t t e r of 1s t J u n e ,
hereandIcan’t get a signal on my phone. I miss you so much . I can’t w h i c h you kin d l y o f f e r ed m e t h e p o s t o f
Anyway, I just wante d to say that the new s h o p a s s i s t a n t , I am
houseisok.Onlyo furroomssoIhave to you t h a t I w o u l d b e d e l i gh t e d t o   a c c e p t
sleep with Leila, who stil sucksherthumb a n d l o o k f or wa r d t o w o r k i n g w i t h y o u .
and snores! Your s s i n c e r el y ,
write more now as I havetocatchthepost Davina K h a n
before it goes. I’ l try t ophoneyou orsend
something longer when I haevtime.

Lovetoyouandtherest of the gang.

Davina

S e c t i o n 1: Build i n g k e y s k i l l s
96

.6
3

Build the skills •
p u n c t u a t io n
2 What do you notice in particular about th e d i f ferent st yles
used in th e l e t te?rCsonsider: •
• openings and closings .
choice of vocab u l a r y
• makwersittihneg reason for
abbreviation s and clear
sentence typ e s
develops and begins to
Develop the skills e xplain in what areas the

U n f o r tunately, Davinamake s a poor s t a r t when dealin g with a shop failed
c u s t o m. Tehr e c u s tomer has now w r i t te n a l e t ter of complaint .
links to and develops the
Dear Mr s Sh a r ,p previous point, beginning to
I’m wri t i n g t o c om p l a i n a bo u t t h e u n s a t i s f a c t o r y l e vel o f specify the bad service she
s e r vi c e I r e c e i v e d w h en I v i si t e d y o u r s t o r e y e s t e r d a y. received
A s y o u a r e a w a r e , I am a r e g u l a r c u s t o m er a n d e x p e c t h i g h
l e v e l s o f c o u r t e s y a n d a d v i c e f r omyou r s t a ff .
U n f or t u n a t e l y, your n e w a s s i s t a n t , Mi s s K h a n , d i d n ot m e e t
m y e x p e c t a t i o n s i n e i t h er r e g a r d .
F i r s t l y , i t w a s e x t r e m e l y d i sa p p o i n t i n g t h a t wh e n I
a p p r oa c h e d t h e c o u n t e… r

T h e c u s tomer then ex plains:
•

the fi r s t s p e c i f i c problem with Davina
•

the second specifi c problem
•

w h a t a c tion the cus tomer wouldlike
Mrs Sharp to take.

3 Note down som e ideas you could
use if you we re the cus tomer writing
the le t t. e r

Appylthe skills

4 Now complete the customer’s l e t t e r of complaint ,
developing the p oints in the plan into full paragraphs .
Makesure that you write with an appropriate level of
f o r m a l i.t y

C h a p t e r 3: K e y w r i t i n g f o r m s

97