суббота, 22 ноября 2014
Essay Writing Tip 1 - A
Essay Writing Process
Your essay will lead your reader through your organized thoughts on a single topic. Before you begin writing your essay, it's a good idea to understand the nuts and bolts of essay writing. Learn about the different steps of essay writing and how to both outline and format your essay. Knowing the basics makes the essay writing process easier.
Brainstorming Your Essay - Whether the topic is your choice or it is assigned, a good way to begin the essay writing process is to brainstorm.
An easy way to start brainstorming is to use a list or a tree (example below). Another popular brainstorming technique is to radiate your ideas out from the center of a circle. Start with a title. If the topic was assigned, use the topic as your brainstorming title, such as "Essay on Advertising" or "Essay on Logical Thinking". If you need to choose a topic, use the reason you are writing the essay as your brainstorming title, such as "Personal Experience Essay" or "Essay for History".
Brainstorming is creating a list of whatever comes to mind. For instance, a list on "Essay on Advertising" might look like this:
Essay on Advertising
Common definitions/synonyms
- Persuasion
- Getting the word out
- Promoting products/services
Typical related concepts/words
- Marketing companies
- Targeted campaigning
- Target audiences
Tactics
- Fear associations
- Nonequivalent emotional associations
- Happiness
- Health
- Security
- Love/Companionship
- Popularity
- Success/Wealth
- Status/Fame
- Adventure
- Patriotism
- Bandwagon
- Build of cultural perspective
Used by
- Companies
- Organizations
- Politicians
- Any supplier
Methods
- Product placement
- TV ads
- Merchandising
- Word of mouth
- Social networking pages
- YouTube ads
- Sponsorships: Athletic, good cause, community event
Ethics
- Influencing children
- Negative personal attacks
- Create a society that confuses needs and wants
After you have brainstormed your essay, choose an idea and ask yourself:
1. How is this idea in line with the subject matter? Advertisers use many psychological tactics to persuade viewers.
2. Can I create an interesting title and strong thesis/premise from this idea? "Advertising: What You Don’t Realize"
3. Where can I find the evidence I need to support this idea? Internet sites, books about advertisement trends, marketing blogs/forums, watching television commercials, movie trailers.
4. What type of evidence might support my premise? Marketing critics, awards in best advertisements, advertisement news articles.
5. What conclusion can I draw from this idea? What techniques audiences should be aware of while viewing advertisements.
6. Which type of essay would work best with this idea?
o A description
o A comparison
o Cause and effect
o A narrative
o Explaining a process
o An argument
o A critique
Start writing an essay with an outline, using the different elements of your essay as a template.
Title: Your topic (e.g. "Advertising: What You Don’t Realize?")
• Introduction: Premise and Supporting Points.
• Body
o Point 1: Supporting Evidence
o Point 2: Supporting Evidence
o Point 3: Supporting Evidence
• Conclusion: How your evidence led you to your conclusion
• Works Cited
The Essay Introduction
The introduction is the first paragraph of your essay and introduces the essay topic to your reader. Although your essay topic serves as your title, it isn't necessary to repeat it in your essay introduction. The essay introduction presents your topic and tells the reader what supporting points follow within the essay body.
For example:
Advertising influences many decisions people make in modern society, yet people rarely stop to consider the affects of its influence. A passive TV viewer is told how to live life from television ads, but a smart consumer holds the power over their own decisions. Advertisers use many tactics that tell audiences that they need more products and services. By understanding advertising techniques, passive viewers can turn into smart consumers and decide for themselves where their hard earned money is spent.
The Essay Body
The body is where you develop the topic that you introduced in your introduction. Start a new paragraph every time you discuss a new point. Make the body "flow" by introducing the next paragraph of your essay at the end of the previous one. When you're satisfied that you have made your points, move on to the essay conclusion.
If you are using outside sources, cite your sources and add them to your works cited page as you use them.
The Essay Conclusion
Although it's often overlooked, the conclusion is an important part of your essay. It's the last paragraph of your essay and your last chance to drive home your point of view as well as an indicator of how well you've organized your thoughts. Generally the conclusion is a summary of your essay body and/or any closing thoughts or ideas.
Once you are sure that your essay "makes your point" and that you have caught and corrected any errors in formatting, spelling, punctuation, and grammar, your "first draft" magically becomes your finished essay.
Creative Writing Prompts
[description]Get daily creative writing prompts for your short story, fiction or nonfiction novel, essay and more at WritersDigest.com.[/description]
[keywords]writing prompts, creative writing prompts, expository writing prompts, writing prompt[/keywords]
Essay Writing Process
Your essay will lead your reader through your organized thoughts on a single topic. Before you begin writing your essay, it's a good idea to understand the nuts and bolts of essay writing. Learn about the different steps of essay writing and how to both outline and format your essay. Knowing the basics makes the essay writing process easier.
Brainstorming Your Essay - Whether the topic is your choice or it is assigned, a good way to begin the essay writing process is to brainstorm.
An easy way to start brainstorming is to use a list or a tree (example below). Another popular brainstorming technique is to radiate your ideas out from the center of a circle. Start with a title. If the topic was assigned, use the topic as your brainstorming title, such as "Essay on Advertising" or "Essay on Logical Thinking". If you need to choose a topic, use the reason you are writing the essay as your brainstorming title, such as "Personal Experience Essay" or "Essay for History".
Brainstorming is creating a list of whatever comes to mind. For instance, a list on "Essay on Advertising" might look like this:
Essay on Advertising
Common definitions/synonyms
- Persuasion
- Getting the word out
- Promoting products/services
Typical related concepts/words
- Marketing companies
- Targeted campaigning
- Target audiences
Tactics
- Fear associations
- Nonequivalent emotional associations
- Happiness
- Health
- Security
- Love/Companionship
- Popularity
- Success/Wealth
- Status/Fame
- Adventure
- Patriotism
- Bandwagon
- Build of cultural perspective
Used by
- Companies
- Organizations
- Politicians
- Any supplier
Methods
- Product placement
- TV ads
- Merchandising
- Word of mouth
- Social networking pages
- YouTube ads
- Sponsorships: Athletic, good cause, community event
Ethics
- Influencing children
- Negative personal attacks
- Create a society that confuses needs and wants
After you have brainstormed your essay, choose an idea and ask yourself:
1. How is this idea in line with the subject matter? Advertisers use many psychological tactics to persuade viewers.
2. Can I create an interesting title and strong thesis/premise from this idea? "Advertising: What You Don’t Realize"
3. Where can I find the evidence I need to support this idea? Internet sites, books about advertisement trends, marketing blogs/forums, watching television commercials, movie trailers.
4. What type of evidence might support my premise? Marketing critics, awards in best advertisements, advertisement news articles.
5. What conclusion can I draw from this idea? What techniques audiences should be aware of while viewing advertisements.
6. Which type of essay would work best with this idea?
o A description
o A comparison
o Cause and effect
o A narrative
o Explaining a process
o An argument
o A critique
Start writing an essay with an outline, using the different elements of your essay as a template.
Title: Your topic (e.g. "Advertising: What You Don’t Realize?")
• Introduction: Premise and Supporting Points.
• Body
o Point 1: Supporting Evidence
o Point 2: Supporting Evidence
o Point 3: Supporting Evidence
• Conclusion: How your evidence led you to your conclusion
• Works Cited
The Essay Introduction
The introduction is the first paragraph of your essay and introduces the essay topic to your reader. Although your essay topic serves as your title, it isn't necessary to repeat it in your essay introduction. The essay introduction presents your topic and tells the reader what supporting points follow within the essay body.
For example:
Advertising influences many decisions people make in modern society, yet people rarely stop to consider the affects of its influence. A passive TV viewer is told how to live life from television ads, but a smart consumer holds the power over their own decisions. Advertisers use many tactics that tell audiences that they need more products and services. By understanding advertising techniques, passive viewers can turn into smart consumers and decide for themselves where their hard earned money is spent.
The Essay Body
The body is where you develop the topic that you introduced in your introduction. Start a new paragraph every time you discuss a new point. Make the body "flow" by introducing the next paragraph of your essay at the end of the previous one. When you're satisfied that you have made your points, move on to the essay conclusion.
If you are using outside sources, cite your sources and add them to your works cited page as you use them.
The Essay Conclusion
Although it's often overlooked, the conclusion is an important part of your essay. It's the last paragraph of your essay and your last chance to drive home your point of view as well as an indicator of how well you've organized your thoughts. Generally the conclusion is a summary of your essay body and/or any closing thoughts or ideas.
Once you are sure that your essay "makes your point" and that you have caught and corrected any errors in formatting, spelling, punctuation, and grammar, your "first draft" magically becomes your finished essay.
Creative Writing Prompts
[description]Get daily creative writing prompts for your short story, fiction or nonfiction novel, essay and more at WritersDigest.com.[/description]
[keywords]writing prompts, creative writing prompts, expository writing prompts, writing prompt[/keywords]
Welcome to the English Land
Part 1
A Few Ideas from an English Instructor
with 36 years of Rewarding Experience
Introduction
First, let me introduce myself. I am Ziv. I have been deeply involved in the business of coaching English since 1978. I have been successfully coaching for IELTS, TOEFL, and preparation for immigration and job-related interviews since 1993.
I possess MA Degree in English Studies. I also hold CertTESOL from Trinity College, London, UK since 2006.
I have just joined the group and would like to share my experience with you, guys. I am writing in English on purpose. Expressing myself in the language of William Shakespeare and Bernard Shaw is much easier for me, despite the fact that I am fluent in 5 languages. In addition, I pursuit still another (and nobler) purpose: I feel like advertising standard English and discussing a variety of issues which relate to vocabulary grasping, writing, reading, listening, speaking, grammar awareness specifics and what not…
I would appreciate your questions and remarks!
Regards,
Z. V.
"Practice Makes Perfect".
Part 1
38 Ways to Say "Language"
1. accent
2. dialect
3. expression
4. jargon
5. prose
6. sound
7. speech
8. style
9. terminology
10. vocabulary
11. voice
12. word
13. wording
14. argot
15. articulation
16. cant
17. communication
18. conversation
19. diction
20. dictionary
21. discourse
22. doublespeak
23. gibberish
24. idiom
25. interchange
26. lexicon
27. palaver
28. parlance
29. patois
30. phraseology
31. signal
32. slang
33. talk
34. tongue
35. utterance
36. verbalization
37. vernacular
38. vocalization
I do realize that you won't be able to memorize all the 38 synonyms, however, I'll be more than happy, if you learn, at least 5 of them by heart and then USE them in everyday speech.
13 Ways to Say "Memorize/remember"
1. cram
2. know
3. learn
4. master
5. recall
6. recollect
7. remind
8. commit to memory
9. fix in the mind
10. keep forever
11. know by heart
12. learn by heart
13. nail down
I am more than confident that most of my readers are familiar with the majority of the above synonyms. The only thing you lack is practice. And, here you definitely recall a well-known English wisdom: "Practice makes perfect". Just give it a try and you will see the result pretty soon!
100 Most Important English Words
(Worth nailing down!!!)
Here is a list of words in the book How to Read a Page: A Course in Effective Reading (1942). These words are called "the most important words" for two reasons:
1. They cover the ideas we can least avoid using; those which are concerned in all that we do as thinking begins.
2. They are words we are forced to use in explaining other words because it is in terms of the ideas they cover that the meanings of other words must be given.
Here are those 100 important words:
Amount, Argument, Art, Be, Beautiful, Belief, Cause, Certain, Chance, Change, Clear, Common, Comparison, Condition, Connection, Copy, Decision, Degree, Desire, Development, Different, Do, Education, End, Event, Examples, Existence, Experience, Fact, Fear, Feeling, Fiction, Force, Form, Free, General, Get, Give, Good, Government, Happy, Have, History, Idea, Important, Interest, Knowledge, Law, Let, Level, Living, Love, Make, Material, Measure, Mind, Motion, Name, Nation, Natural, Necessary, Normal, Number, Observation, Opposite, Order, Organization, Part, Place, Pleasure, Possible, Power, Probable, Property, Purpose, Quality, Question, Reason, Relation, Representative, Respect, Responsible, Right, Same, Say, Science, See, Seem, Sense, Sign, Simple, Society, Sort, Special, Substance, Thing, Thought, True, Use, Way, Wise, Word, Work
Structure/Grammar Awareness (General) – Part 1.
Please remember that the English language has a few vital principles.
First, if there is no verb – there is no sentence.
Meaning: each and every sentence must have a verb in it. If you omit the verb, you are unable to build a sentence.
E.g.: I am an Instructor
Explanation: am – is the verb
(Be –
I am
He/She/It is
We/You/They are)
Most verbs are located in the second place of the sentence (i.e. after the Subject)
Secondly, there exist mainly 3 types of affirmative Sentences:
1. "Imperative sentence": e.g.:
Stop!
Go!
Go on!
Come back!
2. "Subject – Verb – Object" type sentence: e.g.:
I live in Ashdod.
Seeing is believing.
The Dead Sea is extremely salty.
Peter and I are friends.
Smoking is a bad habit.
3. "There is" type sentence: e.g.:
There is/are/was/were/will be/have/has/had been + Who/What + Where
E.g.: There is a PC on my desk.
A Few Pieces of Good Advice
Part 1
If you experience difficulty to understand...
Excuse me! I did not catch you…
Can you repeat your question, please?
I did not understand your (last) question. Can you say it again, please?
Can you put your (last) question differently?
Is__________ the same as ______________?
Do you mean…? (Do you mean my education/ training/experience/my family/my wife/our son…?)
Do you have here anybody who speaks Hebrew?
Excuse me. I need an interpreter.
I am sure that the language surrounding will help me/us to improve my/our English.
Some Ways to Answer a Question Anyway
1. I can hardly answer this question.
2. Nothing comes to my mind at the moment.
3. I can hardly recall this fact at the moment. In case you don't know what to answer/ reply…
Written by Simone Braverman of IELTS blog
"I cannot stress this enough – the success in IELTS test largely depends on students' ability to follow the instructions. It sounds ridiculously simple, and yet it is a common mistake to underestimate the importance of following the instructions precisely. So here is a list of 8 most famous IELTS pitfalls that cost test takers precious points.
1. More is less. A very common mistake is to answer in more words than instructed. If the task says "Not more than 3 words", answering in 4 or more words will definitely cost marks.
2. Less is less. The length of a written task is crucial. When instructions mention a minimal number of words (250 for essay, 150 for report or letter), it means that any work shorter than required will be penalized.
3. Longer essay doesn't mean better mark. Another common misconception is that longer essays score better in IELTS. Not only is this a myth, but also a dangerous one. Writing a long essay can indirectly cost marks, because the chances of making mistakes increase with the number of words and sentences.
4. Changing the subject is unacceptable. Every so often a student is asked to write on topic, that he doesn't understand. To avoid the disaster of missing a whole task they decide to write on a slightly – or entirely - different topic. The sad fact is that no matter how beautiful the submitted work is, the wrong topic means zero score. Another similar pitfall is to omit parts of the given topic or ignore the guidelines in your work. Every point the topic refers to needs to be covered because the examiners will be actually counting them.
5. Good memory can get you in trouble. Having seen that the topics sometimes repeat, "smart" students with good memory decide to memorize essays. This is a terrible mistake to make because the examiners are trained to look for memorized essays and have firm instructions to disqualify such works on the spot.
6. Accent is not important. Pronunciation is.! IELTS, being a test for non-native English speakers can't penalize people for having an accent. The problem here is that not everyone knows the difference between speaking with an accent and mispronouncing the words. No matter how strong of an accent a person has, the words are to be pronounced correctly or it will cost marks.
7. It is not the ideas that are important, but the way they are described in. Many students think that expressing the wrong ideas (whether it is in essay, letter or discussion) can harm their score. The truth is that no idea can be wrong and the ideas are not important on their own, it is the way they are expressed in that important.
8. Connective words: the more is not always the better. Smart students know that one of the essay marking criteria are coherence and cohesion, and what better way is there to demonstrate cohesion than to use lots of connective words, right? Wrong. Overuse of connective words is a known problem, which is easily recognized and penalized by the examiners.
And in conclusion, a word of advice: to stay out of trouble, it is equally important to be aware of the pitfalls and to practice enough before the exam. Being familiar with the structure and the procedure of the test will build up confidence and that will reflect in your score".
"Haste makes waste"
I would like to share a few bits of my enormous experience with you.
Case # 1
I get numerous phone calls from people who are planning to sit for IELTS a month or two prior to the exam. Those folks start speaking Hebrew only asking me to rapidly coach them for the ordeal. I do realize that those humans rely on the amount of knowledge in the English language they have acquired while covering school and post-secondary education and/or professional training. In this respect, they seem to overlook a crucial point: even the richest vocabulary may slip into passive unless it is constantly in use; suppose, you have to permanently correspond with your overseas co-workers or partners by E-mails, but you cannot write a letter in a structure needed by the test, let alone discussing a peculiar issue in a 250-word essay.
On the one hand, I really envy their courage to face this hard row to hoe. On the other hand, I accept them and… immediately transfer a bulk of materials to their e-mail addresses. It comprises bits of things I consider vital for getting prepared for the sixty-four-thousand-dollar-question: some vocabulary and grammar files, ready-made expressions, prepositional phrases, idioms, etc. It goes without saying, I also offer sets of special phrases required for successful writing of various types of essays and letters. Definitely, the person feels bewildered and stunned. So what is the way out? My advice is more than simple: "Do not put off till tomorrow what you can do today", otherwise, your "haste may make waste" What I mean is: the more you practice English, the higher are the results. Certainly, both parties (my students and me) do our utmost and we succeed, in the long run.
Case # 2
"How often should I take lessons to progress as fast as possible?" This is, indeed, the greater brain-teaser, that mainly bothers my students prior to the English-qualifying examination.
Believe me or not, I cannot answer this rhetoric question. The frequency of meetings depends on a bulky number of reasons: the working schedule of both the Applicant and me, his or her efficiency to keep repeating things at home (even 20-30-minute-sessions on day-by-day basis are highly recommended and appreciated!), his or her capability to grasp new materials really fast and correctly reproduce the learned tips-off in the test format, etc.
Guys! Beware: I do respect your budget! Please trust me; I won't burn a hole in your pocket! As I put it: "I won't become Rockefeller, neither will you get homeless…"
Case # 3
Phonetics
Mr. D. (Phonetics and Attention Span)
Despite the fact that the man addressed me more than 15 years ago, my brain still keeps him so deep inside. Mr. D. was a Mechanical Engineer and held a professional stance for a Kibbutz enterprise at the outskirts of Ashdod.
During our first meeting it was arranged that we had to meet twice a week (Tuesday evening and Friday morning, 60 minutes each time). Life, as always, corrects our plans. So it was settled that we come together Friday mornings only for the period of 90 minutes.
The first session suggested further alterations. It turned out that Mr. D.'s speech apparatus had to be first tuned, as if instead of normal vocal cords, tongue, teeth, lips he possessed a sensitive system of a violin. Instead of an ordinary word "we" I heard "the", to put it short.
It took me around half an hour to understand him properly after he had "tuned" himself.
The second half of the lesson was quite a success. But… When we reached the 65th minute I felt the guy was so exhausted that he could not keep up even with old information. As an honest personality I halted the meeting. We organized a 60-minute period each Friday since then.
In fact, some three month after I noticed a considerable improvement in his phonetics capability and we had not wasted any time for "instrumentation" of the disciple's speech.
Mr. C. (Simple Words)
Mr. C. was a young and pleasant individual in his 30s and held a position of a Construction Site Manager for a huge Building Company that had erected various premises all over Israel. As all that happened in the year 2000, this Applicant had to pass an interview at Canada Immigration.
Mr. C. had to get ready for around 400 – 500 questions and answers regarding different issues. No doubt, the questions included his working duties and responsibilities. The professional had definitely to utilize such notions as "contractor" and/or "subcontractor". Regardless the reason (which is still an enigma to me), he repeatedly failed to say those words. It was my duty to search for the solution, but all my attempts were in vain until during the following meeting an idea struck my mind: I asked the individual to utter "tractor". Thank G-d, Mr. C. managed to do that. Then I repeatedly requested to add to the word "tractor" the prefix "con", and after that "subcontractor" turned into a piece of cake for him.
While visiting Toronto, Ontario in 2008 I was warmly welcome by both Mr. and Mrs. C.
They are happy to raise two amazing kids and hold professional positions: he is Toronto Municipality Employee and she's a Nurse for a hospital Surgical Ward.
General
Each and every one has his or her speech and pronunciation peculiarities. Somebody's ear can easily distinguish the slightest difference in the interlocutor's oral utterance, another one feels helpless when saying the famous "th" sound (that is regarded as the hardest spot in the English sounding). Even a mere "r" sounds a bit unusual when said by an Englishman or an Englishwoman.
What solution do I offer? I do not try to convince you to take special courses to eliminate your Hebrew/Russian/French/Ukrainian/Amharic or whatever accent.
The so-called "Global English" that is accepted world-wide does not concentrate on "strict" London or New York pronunciation only. However, you must make as clear and distinct as possible any sound you articulate. Sitting in front of a mirror for a quarter of an hour daily, at least to brush your verbal skills up is a simple, but well-deserved drill for that purpose.
Part 1
A Few Ideas from an English Instructor
with 36 years of Rewarding Experience
Introduction
First, let me introduce myself. I am Ziv. I have been deeply involved in the business of coaching English since 1978. I have been successfully coaching for IELTS, TOEFL, and preparation for immigration and job-related interviews since 1993.
I possess MA Degree in English Studies. I also hold CertTESOL from Trinity College, London, UK since 2006.
I have just joined the group and would like to share my experience with you, guys. I am writing in English on purpose. Expressing myself in the language of William Shakespeare and Bernard Shaw is much easier for me, despite the fact that I am fluent in 5 languages. In addition, I pursuit still another (and nobler) purpose: I feel like advertising standard English and discussing a variety of issues which relate to vocabulary grasping, writing, reading, listening, speaking, grammar awareness specifics and what not…
I would appreciate your questions and remarks!
Regards,
Z. V.
"Practice Makes Perfect".
Part 1
38 Ways to Say "Language"
1. accent
2. dialect
3. expression
4. jargon
5. prose
6. sound
7. speech
8. style
9. terminology
10. vocabulary
11. voice
12. word
13. wording
14. argot
15. articulation
16. cant
17. communication
18. conversation
19. diction
20. dictionary
21. discourse
22. doublespeak
23. gibberish
24. idiom
25. interchange
26. lexicon
27. palaver
28. parlance
29. patois
30. phraseology
31. signal
32. slang
33. talk
34. tongue
35. utterance
36. verbalization
37. vernacular
38. vocalization
I do realize that you won't be able to memorize all the 38 synonyms, however, I'll be more than happy, if you learn, at least 5 of them by heart and then USE them in everyday speech.
13 Ways to Say "Memorize/remember"
1. cram
2. know
3. learn
4. master
5. recall
6. recollect
7. remind
8. commit to memory
9. fix in the mind
10. keep forever
11. know by heart
12. learn by heart
13. nail down
I am more than confident that most of my readers are familiar with the majority of the above synonyms. The only thing you lack is practice. And, here you definitely recall a well-known English wisdom: "Practice makes perfect". Just give it a try and you will see the result pretty soon!
100 Most Important English Words
(Worth nailing down!!!)
Here is a list of words in the book How to Read a Page: A Course in Effective Reading (1942). These words are called "the most important words" for two reasons:
1. They cover the ideas we can least avoid using; those which are concerned in all that we do as thinking begins.
2. They are words we are forced to use in explaining other words because it is in terms of the ideas they cover that the meanings of other words must be given.
Here are those 100 important words:
Amount, Argument, Art, Be, Beautiful, Belief, Cause, Certain, Chance, Change, Clear, Common, Comparison, Condition, Connection, Copy, Decision, Degree, Desire, Development, Different, Do, Education, End, Event, Examples, Existence, Experience, Fact, Fear, Feeling, Fiction, Force, Form, Free, General, Get, Give, Good, Government, Happy, Have, History, Idea, Important, Interest, Knowledge, Law, Let, Level, Living, Love, Make, Material, Measure, Mind, Motion, Name, Nation, Natural, Necessary, Normal, Number, Observation, Opposite, Order, Organization, Part, Place, Pleasure, Possible, Power, Probable, Property, Purpose, Quality, Question, Reason, Relation, Representative, Respect, Responsible, Right, Same, Say, Science, See, Seem, Sense, Sign, Simple, Society, Sort, Special, Substance, Thing, Thought, True, Use, Way, Wise, Word, Work
Structure/Grammar Awareness (General) – Part 1.
Please remember that the English language has a few vital principles.
First, if there is no verb – there is no sentence.
Meaning: each and every sentence must have a verb in it. If you omit the verb, you are unable to build a sentence.
E.g.: I am an Instructor
Explanation: am – is the verb
(Be –
I am
He/She/It is
We/You/They are)
Most verbs are located in the second place of the sentence (i.e. after the Subject)
Secondly, there exist mainly 3 types of affirmative Sentences:
1. "Imperative sentence": e.g.:
Stop!
Go!
Go on!
Come back!
2. "Subject – Verb – Object" type sentence: e.g.:
I live in Ashdod.
Seeing is believing.
The Dead Sea is extremely salty.
Peter and I are friends.
Smoking is a bad habit.
3. "There is" type sentence: e.g.:
There is/are/was/were/will be/have/has/had been + Who/What + Where
E.g.: There is a PC on my desk.
A Few Pieces of Good Advice
Part 1
If you experience difficulty to understand...
Excuse me! I did not catch you…
Can you repeat your question, please?
I did not understand your (last) question. Can you say it again, please?
Can you put your (last) question differently?
Is__________ the same as ______________?
Do you mean…? (Do you mean my education/ training/experience/my family/my wife/our son…?)
Do you have here anybody who speaks Hebrew?
Excuse me. I need an interpreter.
I am sure that the language surrounding will help me/us to improve my/our English.
Some Ways to Answer a Question Anyway
1. I can hardly answer this question.
2. Nothing comes to my mind at the moment.
3. I can hardly recall this fact at the moment. In case you don't know what to answer/ reply…
Written by Simone Braverman of IELTS blog
"I cannot stress this enough – the success in IELTS test largely depends on students' ability to follow the instructions. It sounds ridiculously simple, and yet it is a common mistake to underestimate the importance of following the instructions precisely. So here is a list of 8 most famous IELTS pitfalls that cost test takers precious points.
1. More is less. A very common mistake is to answer in more words than instructed. If the task says "Not more than 3 words", answering in 4 or more words will definitely cost marks.
2. Less is less. The length of a written task is crucial. When instructions mention a minimal number of words (250 for essay, 150 for report or letter), it means that any work shorter than required will be penalized.
3. Longer essay doesn't mean better mark. Another common misconception is that longer essays score better in IELTS. Not only is this a myth, but also a dangerous one. Writing a long essay can indirectly cost marks, because the chances of making mistakes increase with the number of words and sentences.
4. Changing the subject is unacceptable. Every so often a student is asked to write on topic, that he doesn't understand. To avoid the disaster of missing a whole task they decide to write on a slightly – or entirely - different topic. The sad fact is that no matter how beautiful the submitted work is, the wrong topic means zero score. Another similar pitfall is to omit parts of the given topic or ignore the guidelines in your work. Every point the topic refers to needs to be covered because the examiners will be actually counting them.
5. Good memory can get you in trouble. Having seen that the topics sometimes repeat, "smart" students with good memory decide to memorize essays. This is a terrible mistake to make because the examiners are trained to look for memorized essays and have firm instructions to disqualify such works on the spot.
6. Accent is not important. Pronunciation is.! IELTS, being a test for non-native English speakers can't penalize people for having an accent. The problem here is that not everyone knows the difference between speaking with an accent and mispronouncing the words. No matter how strong of an accent a person has, the words are to be pronounced correctly or it will cost marks.
7. It is not the ideas that are important, but the way they are described in. Many students think that expressing the wrong ideas (whether it is in essay, letter or discussion) can harm their score. The truth is that no idea can be wrong and the ideas are not important on their own, it is the way they are expressed in that important.
8. Connective words: the more is not always the better. Smart students know that one of the essay marking criteria are coherence and cohesion, and what better way is there to demonstrate cohesion than to use lots of connective words, right? Wrong. Overuse of connective words is a known problem, which is easily recognized and penalized by the examiners.
And in conclusion, a word of advice: to stay out of trouble, it is equally important to be aware of the pitfalls and to practice enough before the exam. Being familiar with the structure and the procedure of the test will build up confidence and that will reflect in your score".
"Haste makes waste"
I would like to share a few bits of my enormous experience with you.
Case # 1
I get numerous phone calls from people who are planning to sit for IELTS a month or two prior to the exam. Those folks start speaking Hebrew only asking me to rapidly coach them for the ordeal. I do realize that those humans rely on the amount of knowledge in the English language they have acquired while covering school and post-secondary education and/or professional training. In this respect, they seem to overlook a crucial point: even the richest vocabulary may slip into passive unless it is constantly in use; suppose, you have to permanently correspond with your overseas co-workers or partners by E-mails, but you cannot write a letter in a structure needed by the test, let alone discussing a peculiar issue in a 250-word essay.
On the one hand, I really envy their courage to face this hard row to hoe. On the other hand, I accept them and… immediately transfer a bulk of materials to their e-mail addresses. It comprises bits of things I consider vital for getting prepared for the sixty-four-thousand-dollar-question: some vocabulary and grammar files, ready-made expressions, prepositional phrases, idioms, etc. It goes without saying, I also offer sets of special phrases required for successful writing of various types of essays and letters. Definitely, the person feels bewildered and stunned. So what is the way out? My advice is more than simple: "Do not put off till tomorrow what you can do today", otherwise, your "haste may make waste" What I mean is: the more you practice English, the higher are the results. Certainly, both parties (my students and me) do our utmost and we succeed, in the long run.
Case # 2
"How often should I take lessons to progress as fast as possible?" This is, indeed, the greater brain-teaser, that mainly bothers my students prior to the English-qualifying examination.
Believe me or not, I cannot answer this rhetoric question. The frequency of meetings depends on a bulky number of reasons: the working schedule of both the Applicant and me, his or her efficiency to keep repeating things at home (even 20-30-minute-sessions on day-by-day basis are highly recommended and appreciated!), his or her capability to grasp new materials really fast and correctly reproduce the learned tips-off in the test format, etc.
Guys! Beware: I do respect your budget! Please trust me; I won't burn a hole in your pocket! As I put it: "I won't become Rockefeller, neither will you get homeless…"
Case # 3
Phonetics
Mr. D. (Phonetics and Attention Span)
Despite the fact that the man addressed me more than 15 years ago, my brain still keeps him so deep inside. Mr. D. was a Mechanical Engineer and held a professional stance for a Kibbutz enterprise at the outskirts of Ashdod.
During our first meeting it was arranged that we had to meet twice a week (Tuesday evening and Friday morning, 60 minutes each time). Life, as always, corrects our plans. So it was settled that we come together Friday mornings only for the period of 90 minutes.
The first session suggested further alterations. It turned out that Mr. D.'s speech apparatus had to be first tuned, as if instead of normal vocal cords, tongue, teeth, lips he possessed a sensitive system of a violin. Instead of an ordinary word "we" I heard "the", to put it short.
It took me around half an hour to understand him properly after he had "tuned" himself.
The second half of the lesson was quite a success. But… When we reached the 65th minute I felt the guy was so exhausted that he could not keep up even with old information. As an honest personality I halted the meeting. We organized a 60-minute period each Friday since then.
In fact, some three month after I noticed a considerable improvement in his phonetics capability and we had not wasted any time for "instrumentation" of the disciple's speech.
Mr. C. (Simple Words)
Mr. C. was a young and pleasant individual in his 30s and held a position of a Construction Site Manager for a huge Building Company that had erected various premises all over Israel. As all that happened in the year 2000, this Applicant had to pass an interview at Canada Immigration.
Mr. C. had to get ready for around 400 – 500 questions and answers regarding different issues. No doubt, the questions included his working duties and responsibilities. The professional had definitely to utilize such notions as "contractor" and/or "subcontractor". Regardless the reason (which is still an enigma to me), he repeatedly failed to say those words. It was my duty to search for the solution, but all my attempts were in vain until during the following meeting an idea struck my mind: I asked the individual to utter "tractor". Thank G-d, Mr. C. managed to do that. Then I repeatedly requested to add to the word "tractor" the prefix "con", and after that "subcontractor" turned into a piece of cake for him.
While visiting Toronto, Ontario in 2008 I was warmly welcome by both Mr. and Mrs. C.
They are happy to raise two amazing kids and hold professional positions: he is Toronto Municipality Employee and she's a Nurse for a hospital Surgical Ward.
General
Each and every one has his or her speech and pronunciation peculiarities. Somebody's ear can easily distinguish the slightest difference in the interlocutor's oral utterance, another one feels helpless when saying the famous "th" sound (that is regarded as the hardest spot in the English sounding). Even a mere "r" sounds a bit unusual when said by an Englishman or an Englishwoman.
What solution do I offer? I do not try to convince you to take special courses to eliminate your Hebrew/Russian/French/Ukrainian/Amharic or whatever accent.
The so-called "Global English" that is accepted world-wide does not concentrate on "strict" London or New York pronunciation only. However, you must make as clear and distinct as possible any sound you articulate. Sitting in front of a mirror for a quarter of an hour daily, at least to brush your verbal skills up is a simple, but well-deserved drill for that purpose.
Hi!
I am an English Instructor with 36 years of rewarding experience in tutoring, translation and interpreting.
I am going to publish various materials to assist my readers in English language acquisition.
Thanks!
Yours,
Z. V., MA, CerTESOL, Trinity College, London, UK
Cellular Phone: + 972 (05)2 6 945 095
E-mail: [email protected]
Essay Writing Tips
There exist numerous hints how to write a successful essay.
Please read a few of these below! They will certainly help!
Tip 1
The Five-Paragraph Essay
The five-paragraph essay is used in all areas of academia and throughout the business world as well. In addition to improving your skills in written communication, the five-paragraph essay also helps to develop a system of organized thought. This system not only assists in scoring well on academic tests, but also is an asset throughout an individual's lifetime.
The five-paragraph essay is also called the "classic" essay and as such has a traditional structure. Although like other essays, the five-paragraph essay contains a title, introduction, body and conclusion, each paragraph also ends and/or begins with a transition that links one paragraph to the next.
Note About Transitions
A transition is a word, a phrase or a sentence that helps your reader understand your thought process and maintains your reader's interest from point to point in your essay.
Transitions create a bridge from one paragraph to the next. In addition, effective use of transitions adds continuity to your writing and cohesion to your essay as a whole.
The Introduction: The first paragraph introduces your thesis/topic to your readers and directs them to the points you'll develop in the body of your essay. Carefully craft your first sentence to capture your reader's attention. Introduce your thesis and, in sequence, list your three supporting points. Like all parts of a five-paragraph essay, the sequence of supporting points follows a particular format.
The Body: Each of the three paragraphs of the body of a five-paragraph essay is devoted to examining one of the three points that support your thesis. In addition, the paragraph that supports each of your points has a specific position within the body.
In writing the body, begin each paragraph with a restatement of the supporting point and follow it with your evidence. Make sure your evidence is detailed and specific to the point it supports. Although each supporting point needs at least three pieces of evidentiary information to support it, use as much evidence as is necessary to make your viewpoint clear to your reader.
The body of your five-paragraph essay is the "meat" of your essay. The first bite needs to be very tasty!
Body Paragraph #1: Begin your first paragraph with a "reverse hook", a transition that alludes to your thesis as a whole. As in paragraph numbers two and three of the body, be sure to restate your point in the first or second sentence. Follow the restatement of your supporting point with your best evidence, your strongest point and/or most interesting example. End the first paragraph with a transitional word, phrase, or statement that progresses to your second paragraph.
Body Paragraph #2: Connect your bridge at both ends. Begin the second paragraph with a transition that alludes to the information in the body paragraph #1. State your second point in the first or second sentence of this paragraph. The supporting point and evidence presented in the second paragraph is the second most important evidence that supports your overall thesis. Conclude the second paragraph with a transition to the third.
Body Paragraph #3: The final paragraph of your essay body contains your weakest argument and evidence. Strengthen this paragraph by again beginning it with a transition that connects it to body paragraph #2 and your thesis as a whole. Use a transition at the end of this paragraph to connect the three points of the body in leading to the conclusion of your essay.
The Conclusion: Your essay conclusion is the fifth and final paragraph of your essay. Use it to strongly restate your thesis, now backing it up with your three supporting points (again in sequence) and important evidence your essay brought to light. In writing your conclusion, try to grasp the feelings you have evoked in your reader and end your essay by using those feelings to add the final "sway" to your argument.
In retrospect, this final part of your essay should restate both your thesis and the points that support it in a way that unmistakably shows the reader how your reached the conclusions you've drawn.
I am an English Instructor with 36 years of rewarding experience in tutoring, translation and interpreting.
I am going to publish various materials to assist my readers in English language acquisition.
Thanks!
Yours,
Z. V., MA, CerTESOL, Trinity College, London, UK
Cellular Phone: + 972 (05)2 6 945 095
E-mail: [email protected]
Essay Writing Tips
There exist numerous hints how to write a successful essay.
Please read a few of these below! They will certainly help!
Tip 1
The Five-Paragraph Essay
The five-paragraph essay is used in all areas of academia and throughout the business world as well. In addition to improving your skills in written communication, the five-paragraph essay also helps to develop a system of organized thought. This system not only assists in scoring well on academic tests, but also is an asset throughout an individual's lifetime.
The five-paragraph essay is also called the "classic" essay and as such has a traditional structure. Although like other essays, the five-paragraph essay contains a title, introduction, body and conclusion, each paragraph also ends and/or begins with a transition that links one paragraph to the next.
Note About Transitions
A transition is a word, a phrase or a sentence that helps your reader understand your thought process and maintains your reader's interest from point to point in your essay.
Transitions create a bridge from one paragraph to the next. In addition, effective use of transitions adds continuity to your writing and cohesion to your essay as a whole.
The Introduction: The first paragraph introduces your thesis/topic to your readers and directs them to the points you'll develop in the body of your essay. Carefully craft your first sentence to capture your reader's attention. Introduce your thesis and, in sequence, list your three supporting points. Like all parts of a five-paragraph essay, the sequence of supporting points follows a particular format.
The Body: Each of the three paragraphs of the body of a five-paragraph essay is devoted to examining one of the three points that support your thesis. In addition, the paragraph that supports each of your points has a specific position within the body.
In writing the body, begin each paragraph with a restatement of the supporting point and follow it with your evidence. Make sure your evidence is detailed and specific to the point it supports. Although each supporting point needs at least three pieces of evidentiary information to support it, use as much evidence as is necessary to make your viewpoint clear to your reader.
The body of your five-paragraph essay is the "meat" of your essay. The first bite needs to be very tasty!
Body Paragraph #1: Begin your first paragraph with a "reverse hook", a transition that alludes to your thesis as a whole. As in paragraph numbers two and three of the body, be sure to restate your point in the first or second sentence. Follow the restatement of your supporting point with your best evidence, your strongest point and/or most interesting example. End the first paragraph with a transitional word, phrase, or statement that progresses to your second paragraph.
Body Paragraph #2: Connect your bridge at both ends. Begin the second paragraph with a transition that alludes to the information in the body paragraph #1. State your second point in the first or second sentence of this paragraph. The supporting point and evidence presented in the second paragraph is the second most important evidence that supports your overall thesis. Conclude the second paragraph with a transition to the third.
Body Paragraph #3: The final paragraph of your essay body contains your weakest argument and evidence. Strengthen this paragraph by again beginning it with a transition that connects it to body paragraph #2 and your thesis as a whole. Use a transition at the end of this paragraph to connect the three points of the body in leading to the conclusion of your essay.
The Conclusion: Your essay conclusion is the fifth and final paragraph of your essay. Use it to strongly restate your thesis, now backing it up with your three supporting points (again in sequence) and important evidence your essay brought to light. In writing your conclusion, try to grasp the feelings you have evoked in your reader and end your essay by using those feelings to add the final "sway" to your argument.
In retrospect, this final part of your essay should restate both your thesis and the points that support it in a way that unmistakably shows the reader how your reached the conclusions you've drawn.