Review Writing Homework (Mr. Humphris's class)

Task:

Write a review of a concert/performance/gig you have recently been to in 220-260 words. Remember to describe the event and clearly state your opinion.

Include:

•3 categories areas of the event you can comment on.

•3 emotive adjectives per paragraph.

•At least one complex grammatical structure per paragraph.

•Write the interesting first line.

Write the final line stating your recommendation.

E-mail to:
james.profesor@gmail.com

Language for speaking part 3 and part 4 questions

Language for speaking part 3

Giving your opinion

The problem in question ...

The main problem centres around ...

It's my belief ...

For my part ...

As I see it ...

As I was saying ...

I forgot to mention ...

I'm of the opinion that ...

To my mind ...

To my way of thinking ...

I am convinced that ...

I am inclined to believe that ...

Agreeing/disagreeing

I couldn't agree more.

I agree up to a point.

I think I see what you mean, but ...

I'm in two minds about it. / I'm ambivalent about ...

I don't see eye to eye with you here ...

That's true in a way, I suppose, but ...

I don't feel convinced ...

That's one way of looking at it. On the other hand ...

Moving on and conclusion

Don't get me wrong but shouldn't we ... ?

Judging by ... they must be ...

... is a separate issue.

Moving on to ...

Taking everything into account ...

Perhaps we should put ... first? What do you think?

A strong point in favour of ... is that ...

What do you think should go next?

Are you happy with this order then?

Do you go along with that?

Part 4 questions

•Do you think that everyone should achieve at least something in their life?

•Are material achievements more important than social ones?

•Are achievements by famous people more important than those by normal people?

•Is it worth studying to graduate from university in the current economic climate?

•How can you measure the size of an achievement?

•How important is communication to success?

Review Model (Proficiency Level)

Task: Your local newspaper is asking its readers to write a review of a restaurant where you have eaten recently and would recommend to others.

The Open House Polo Restaurant

(Name/location)

The ‘Open House’ is a restaurant situated in the heart of a small village between three national forests and close to the horse´s capital city, Chantilly. It is the favourite hangout place for people from the polo, horse races, and golf world.

(Atmosphere/decor)

As you enter the place you are welcomed by a magnificent setting, a delightful marriage of antique cut stones and the luxuries of modernity.  Sitting in any table you have a wonderful view of the workshop-like kitchen where you can see the chefs working. For those who do not book a table and are waiting, there is a cosy lounge with aged leather armchairs and pictures of polo players displayed on the walls.

(The menu/dishes)

The menu offers a wide variety of mouth-watering starters. I had the white asparagus accompanied by a mousseline sauce and poached eggs, while my friend tried the zucchini carpaccio served with sundries tomatoes and a mozzarella strudel. They were exquisite. The main course consisted in a risotto with scallop cooked in cream and a cassolette of coley with mussels, which really thrilled us. It all was followed by a delicious apple pie served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert.

(The ingredients/the wine/the prices)

All the products were fresh and the dishes had the warmth of home-made food. The chefs takes great care in selecting the best quality ingredients. The restaurant also caters for all tastes by providing a large selection of the best wines of the region, which are pricy but worth sampling.

(The service/the waiters/the owner)

What a pity that the service does not accompany the high quality of the cooking. You can hardly get a smile out of the waitresses. Thankfully the owner and hostess, a middle-aged charming woman, is always around willing to exchange some kind words with all her clients.

(Recommendation)

Despite the high price of the food and the not so attentive waiters´ service, I had a pleasant dining experience with food of the most exquisite flavours. For this reason I highly recommend going to the Open House restaurant.

Report Model

Pegasus International Exchange Programme

Report homework task and useful expressions

Task

You have been studying in an English speaking country for some time as part of an educational exchange. The director of the exchange is interested in improving the experience for future students. He has asked you to write a report outlining why you have been doing the exchange, describing what you like and dislike about it and making recommendations for how it could be improved. Write your report in 220-260 words.

Email your work to james.profesor@gmail.com

Useful language

In the introduction

- The aim of this report is to...

- The purpose of this report is to outline...

-        This report will also provide some recommendations on...

In the conclusion

- I strongly recommend...ing

- It would be highly advisable to...

- I would no doubt suggest...ing

- I also believe we should...

Other expressions from model

•The aim of this report is to…

•To give/provide an insight into…

•The growing enthusiasm for s.th. is such that…

•No need to say that…

•Additionally to…

•Not only (inversion)…

•Due to s.th. we are going to…

•Expenditure (uncountable noun)

•Our activity is really blooming…

•To be in good stead…

•Trouble free

•To undertake s.th.

•It can be said that…

Model report

You belong to an international film club and have been asked to write a report for the club members including information about the main events held over the last twelve months, the present plans for activities in the coming years and a summary of the current financial position of the club in respect of money received and payments made.

•

The international film club annual report (title)

•

The aim of this report is to give our club members an overview of the current annual activity and inform you of our future projects for the coming year. In addition, we have included an insight into our financial annual budget. (Note: Reports tend to be formal in style, so avoid using contractions)

Events of the year (subheading/ or subtitle)

•

The growing enthusiasm for Italian films is such that we considered necessary to organise a whole weekend on the subject. No need to say that organising it was really worth the effort. We had a high number of members participating who enjoyed a wide range of films courtesy of our Italian partners.

Additionally to this event, we achieved great success in our annual dinner. Not only new contracts were signed with our current international partners but also with many new ones.

Extending our video library (subheading/ or subtitle)

Due our successful meetings, which included a talk by a famous film director, we are now going to be able to provide our club with a large quantity of new films.

For that, we plan to build an extension of the video library for next year with a section dedicated to all these new Italian films.

Healthy finances (subheading/ or subtitle)

It can be said that our financial position this year is in good stead:

- We have been granted 15000€ by the national organisation to help us develop a more enriched library.

- 32 new members have subscribed this year.

As a result, the coming money amounts to more than 20000€ this year

Regarding the expenses:

- The films rentals cost no more than 5000€ this year

- We have reduced  on stationery  expenditures spending only 700€

Conclusion

Our activity is really blooming and there is no doubt that our project will be undertaken for the coming year trouble free. We also believe your ideas will be helpful to make the club still more enjoyable. Therefore we suggest taking a bit of your free time to fill in the idea form available at the entrance of the club.