English B1

Writing Task

Julián Andrés González Ruiz C.C 1.016.064.750

Marcela Avendaño C.C 1.015.394.048

Astrid Lorena Espitia C.C 1.016.039.579

Cristian Andrés Sánchez Cubillos C.C

Industrial Engineer

UNAD – Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia

School of Basic Sciences, Technology and Engineering

Bogotá

2018
Activities

First Moment.
Question 1.

The answers to the questions are entirely up to you. There is no right or wrong – only ideas.
Once an idea appeals to you, follow it through. You will be pleasantly surprised at how quickly a
story will emerge from the answers you give.

Martha slammed the door in Jairo’s face because…………

The train crashed because….

Raul read his wife’s diary and discovered. ……………

The small boy ran away from ……………

Silvana had never seen a …………… look so scared before.

Ben climbed the mountain and ……….

According with the information above, write a story, use at least 4 of the 6 sentences:

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________

Question 2

Story without a middle

There are three main parts to a story:

The BEGINNING says where and when a story happens and who the people or characters are.

The MIDDLE tells what happens to these people.

The CONCLUSION tells how the story ends.

Read the story below. It has a beginning and a conclusion but no middle.

SALLY'S PROBLEM
Sally sat at the back of the classroom, looking out of the window. She didn't hear what the
teacher said because she was thinking about her big problem.........

Sally jumped up and ran to the phone. She just knew everything was going to be alright again.

Now write two ideas what Sally's problem could be:

1.

2.

Choose the idea you like best, and write about it. Write the story again putting your middle
between the beginning and the end of the story of Sally's problem.

______________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________

Question 3

Book review

A book report gives the author's name, the book title, and says what the book is about.

Read this book report by one of last year's students.

TITLE: Jaws

AUTHOR: Robert Benchley

TYPE OF BOOK: Adventure

CONTENT: It's about a big shark which eats people when they are swimming.

OPINION: I liked the story. It was exciting and a bit frightening. I've seen the film - that was
good too.
Answer these questions about the book report.

1. What is the book about?

2. Who wrote it?

3. What did the student think about the book?

4. Was it a love story?

Now read this book review by another student.

"I didn't like the story about the ship; it was boring and the pictures in it weren't very good. J.R
Smith wrote "The Sinking of the Titanic" because his father was killed when the ship hit an
iceberg. More than 1,000 people died when the ship sank. I don't like True Life stories - I prefer
adventures."

The book review is a bit mixed up. Rewrite the information under the headings below.

TITLE:

AUTHOR:

TYPE OF STORY:

CONTENT:

OPINION:

Question 4

Making sentences:

Some of the words in these sentences have been put in the wrong place. Can you fix them? Write
the words in the right order. The first sentence has been done for you.

(Hint: remember that sentences start with capital letters and end with full stops!)

Example: work Your days are and Monday, Wednesday Thursday.

Your work days are Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

are work of hours Your nine o’clock to five o’clock.

 ______________ ______________ of ____________ ____________ nine o`clock to five
o`clock.

get You lunch an hour for

____________ get an hour for ____________.

paid weekly You are

____________ are paid _____________.

to holiday You pay are entitled

_____________ are entitled to ____________ _____________.

Question 5

Nicknames for New York

Use the words in the box to complete the text below. Write the missing words in the space.

Describe City

Newspaper Name

Biggest Community

Recorded Visitor

Choose Cities

Nicknames Popular

___________ are used to describe people, places or things. Many American ___________ have
nicknames. They can help create identities, build unity and help people feel a sense of pride in
their ____________.

Some years ago, marketing and advertising experts were asked to ____________ the best
nickname for an American ____________. The winner was the nation’s biggest city, New York.
The nickname they chose was “The Big Apple”.
Where did the nickname “Big Apple” originally come from? In the nineteen seventies, New
York suffered from image problems. The number of ____________ was falling. A campaign was
launched to give the city a new image and a new nickname. The New York board chose the
nickname “The Big Apple”

It was not the first time the nickname had been used to describe the city. A journalist for a New
York ____________ had used the name “The Big Apple” to ____________ New York in the
nineteen twenties.

The Big Apple was also the ____________ of a night club in the Harlem area of New York City
in the nineteen thirties, as well as the name of a ____________ dance and hit song around that
time.

“The Big Apple” is not the only nickname for America’s ____________ city. Almost one
hundred nicknames that describe New York have been ____________. Some of the best known
nicknames for New York are “The Capital of the World”, “Empire City”, “Gotham”, “The City
So Nice They Named it Twice” and “The City That Never Sleeps.”

Second Moment
Question 1.

The answers to the questions are entirely up to you. There is no right or wrong – only ideas.
Once an idea appeals to you, follow it through. You will be pleasantly surprised at how quickly a
story will emerge from the answers you give.

Martha slammed the door in Jairo’s face because Martha don´t see Jairo behind the door and
Martha needs get out quickly of her house and go to the work.

The train crashed because it was traveling at a very speed high.

Raul read his wife’s diary and discovered that she deceives him with his best friend.

The small boy ran away from his house because his mother hit him.

Silvana had never seen a person so scared before.

Ben climbed the mountain and he confirmed that his life was disaster.

According with the information above, write a story, use at least 4 of the 6 sentences:
The small boy ran away from his house because his mother Silvana hit him, so Raul read his
wife´s diary and discovered that she deceives him with his best friend, in this moment Silvana
wants to speak to Raul but Silvana had never seen a person so scared before and while her best
friend Ben climbed the mountain and he confirmed that his life was disaster.

Question 2.

Story without a middle

There are three main parts to a story:

The BEGINNING says where and when a story happens and who the people or characters are.

The MIDDLE tells what happens to these people.

The CONCLUSION tells how the story ends.

Read the story below. It has a beginning and a conclusion but no middle.

SALLY'S PROBLEM

Sally sat at the back of the classroom, looking out of the window. She didn't hear what the
teacher said because she was thinking about her big problem.........

Sally jumped up and ran to the phone. She just knew everything was going to be alright again.

Now write two ideas what Sally's problem could be:

1. She did not find the new cellphone that her father gives to her the past weekend. It's so
expensive and her father advised her that she ought to be careful with it or he will castigate her.

2. Sally's mother has been sick the last two days. Sally was thinking how to help her to cure. She
remembers that there is a new hospital near to the school, she got out to call her and say her
mother: Hi Mom had better go to the hospital today, you have to go now! Today is a sunny day!

Choose the idea you like best, and write about it. Write the story again putting your middle
between the beginning and the end of the story of Sally's problem.
Beginning:

Sally sat at the back of the classroom, looking out of the window. She didn't hear what the
teacher said because she was thinking about her big problem.........

Middle:

She doesn’t remember where her new cellphone is. She left home fastly this morning because it
was late; Sally was playing with her classmates in the bus while she was going to the school.
After, she ran by the school’s park. Finally, she gets in to math class.

She is very afraid, She thinks: oh no, ¿did I lose my cellphone? ¿where I put it? Her father gave
this new cellphone the last weekend. He advised her that she ought to be careful with it or he will
castigate her.

She is thinking ¿where I saw it the last time? So, she remembers, oh, I leave it at the bathroom
while I was washing my teeth! I´m going to call my mother, she will keep it save.

Conclusion:

Sally jumped up and ran to the phone. She just knew everything was going to be alright again.

Question 3.

Book review

A book report gives the author's name, the book title, and says what the book is about.

Read this book report by one of last year's students.

Title: Jaws

Author: Robert Benchley

Type of book: Adventure

Content: It's about a big shark which eats people when they are swimming.

Opinion: I liked the story. It was exciting and a bit frightening. I've seen the film - that was good
too.

Answer these questions about the book report.

1. What is the book about?

The book is about of a big shark, where this shark attack to the people when they are swimming.

2. Who wrote it?

The author of this book is Robert Benchley

3. What did the student think about the book?

I think about the book is very interesting. I think the reason for which the shark attacks those
persons is for that it like meat.

4. Was it a love story?

Not. This story is of action and suspense.

Now read this book review by another student.

"I didn't like the story about the ship; it was boring and the pictures in it weren't very good. J.R
Smith wrote "The Sinking of the Titanic" because his father was killed when the ship hit an
iceberg. More than 1,000 people died when the ship sank. I don't like True Life stories - I prefer
adventures."

The book review is a bit mixed up. Rewrite the information under the headings below.

Title: The Sinking of the Titanic.

Author: J.R Smith.

Type of history: True life stories.

Content: It is about of the ship that hit an iceberg and inside of the ship died more than one
thousand people.

Opinion: The book has a good story and this story is very sad, but the story is one of the more
important in the last centuries.
Question 4.

Making sentences:

Some of the words in these sentences have been put in the wrong place. Can you fix them? Write
the words in the right order. The first sentence has been done for you.

(Hint: remember that sentences start with capital letters and end with full stops!).

Example:

Work Your days are and Monday, Wednesday Thursday.

Your work days are Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

 are work of hours Your nine o’clock to five o’clock.

Your hours of work are nine o´clock to five o´clock
 get You lunch an hour for
You get an hour for lunch.
 paid weekly You are
You are paid weekly.
 to holiday You pay are entitled
You are entitled to holiday pay.

Question 5.

Nicknames for New York

Describe City
Newspaper Name
Biggest Community

Recorded Visitor

Choose Cities
Nicknames Popular
Nicknames are used to describe people, places or things. Many American cities have nicknames.
They can help create identities, build unity and help people feel a sense of pride in their
community

Some years ago, marketing and advertising experts were asked to choose the best nickname for
an American city.

The winner was the nation’s biggest city, New York. The nickname they chose was “The Big
Apple”.

Where did the nickname “Big Apple” originally come from? In the nineteen seventies, New
York suffered from image problems. The number of Visitor was falling. A campaign was
launched to give the city a new image and a new nickname. The New York board chose the
nickname “The Big Apple”

It was not the first time the nickname had been used to describe the city. A journalist for a New
York newspaper had used the name “The Big Apple” to describe New York in the nineteen
twenties.

The Big Apple was also the Biggest of a night club in the Harlem area of New York City in the
nineteen thirties, as well as the name of a Recorded dance and hit song around that time.

“The Big Apple” is not the only nickname for America’s Name

city. Almost one hundred nicknames that describe New York have been popular. Some of the
best-known nicknames for New York are “The Capital of the World”, “Empire City”, “Gotham”,
“The City So Nice They Named It Twice” and “The City That Never Sleeps.”