Paper 2 (Writing) Part 2 (Writing articles)

Lesson 8 – Paper 2: Part 2 (Article)

In Part 2 of Paper 2, you are given the option of 5 questions to answer. You only have to answer one question using 120-180 words. You will be given the option to answer one of the following types of questions:

An article
An essay
A letter (formal / informal / letter of application)
A story
A report

In this lesson, we are going to look at how to write a high-scoring FCE article.

Before we begin, it is important that you answer this question:

A. What is an article?

_________________________________________

Answer: An article is a piece of writing which is typically intended for publication in a magazine, newspaper or journal. As a result, when writing an article, it is important that you attract and retain the readers’ attention.

Here is an FCE exam type question. Read it and answer the questions below.

You have seen this notice on an international website:

THE PERFECT HOLIDAY

What did you do and why was it so special?

Write an article telling us about the best holiday you have ever had.

The best articles will be posted on the website.

Write your article in 120-180 words.

B. Answer the following questions about the exam question.

1. Where is the article going to appear?

2. Who are the intended readers?

3. What is the aim of the article?

4. What two questions do you need to address in the article?

Article Structure (Recording 8.1)

Listen to your teacher give the typical structure of an article.

Make notes.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Check your notes with the audio script.

Introductions

We are now going to focus on the introduction.

C. Match the titles (A-D) to the introductions (1-4).

Titles

A. Indian – the best food in the world

B. The mobile phone

C. My mum

D. A romantic trip to Paris

When you ask some people what their favourite food is, they say Chinese, Thai or Italian. In my opinion, Indian food is the best food in the world. In this article, I am going to give you information about why it is my preferred food and I will also describe my favourite dish.

Three years ago I wanted to take my girlfriend on a romantic trip for her twenty fifth birthday, I choose Paris. The trip was one of the most romantic trips I have ever made. This article is going to explain why our trip to Paris was the most romantic trip I have ever been on and also what made it romantic.

When I was asked to state who the most important person in my life is, I immediately said ‘my mum’. In this article, I am going to describe my mum and state what she has done to be the most important person in my life.

Nowadays, teenagers seem to be forever using their computers, MP3 players and mobile phones, but it is clear that they could not live without their mobile phones. In this article, I am going to explain why teenagers cannot be without these high-tech phones. I will start by looking at how teenagers use these devices and then focus on how they would feel without them.

A =

B =

C =

D =

Having read the introductions above, you will notice that in the introduction you should:

1.Start with a brief statement about the topic

2. State the purpose of the article

3. Outline what you hope to cover.

Introductions - Useful language

· These days many people say that …

· Nowadays, we often hear people say that ….

· In the last few years more and more people believe that…

· The question of whether ……… is one which is often discussed these days.

· There are several arguments which can be made in favour of the statement.

Now write your introduction to the question below (45 – 50 words).

THE PERFECT HOLIDAY

· What did you do and why was it so special?

Write an article telling us about the best holiday you have ever had.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Main body

Before your write your main body you will need to plan what you are going to write in each paragraph. It is a good idea to brainstorm your ideas.

Write a few ideas below.

Paragraph 1 (What did you do?) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Paragraph 2 (Why was it so special?)

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

D. Read the following main body paragraphs and comment on the following areas:

Content

· Is all the content relevant to the task?

· Is the reader fully informed? For example, do you answer all of the content areas?

Organisation

· Is the text well-organised?

· Is the text coherent?

· Do you use linking words?

· Is your writing organised into paragraphs?

Language

· Do you use a range or vocabulary which includes some less common words/phrases?

· Do you use simple and complex grammatical forms with control?

Example 1

I went to Greece. Greece is nice. I play tennis with my family and eat food from Greece. I make friends with Italy people. It was so special. It was special a lot. I enjoy time with my family. My family is nice. They are friendly. Greece people is friendly. They are special and they are nice.

Example 2

Last month I went to Los Angeles with my boyfriend. We hired a car and drove to all of the famous attractions in LA. We saw the Hollywood sign, Rodeo drive and we even managed to fit in a trip to Universal Studios.

The trip was special for both of us because it was the first time we had been on holiday together. We didn’t argue at all and we soon realised that we are ready to take our relationship to the next level. For this reason I’m moving in with him next week.

Which one is better and why?

Now write your main body paragraphs (approximately 45 words per paragraph)

When you have finished, check your main body paragraphs against the checklist above.

Paragraph 2 (Why was it so special?)

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Conclusion

In your conclusion, you should

1. Summarise your main ideas

2. Conclude on the topic of the article

Useful phrases

Summarising main ideas

· This article has…

· In this article I have…

Concluding ideas

· In conclusion…

· We can conclude by saying that…

Now write your conclusion (30-40 words)

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Read your completed article and answer the questions in the marking criteria.

Content

· Is all the content relevant to the task?

· Is the reader fully informed? For example, do you answer all of the content areas?

Communicative Achievement

· Do you hold the target reader’s attention?

· Are you able to communicate straightforward and complex ideas?

Organisation

· Is the text well-organised?

· Is the text coherent?

· Do you use linking words?

· Is your writing organised into paragraphs?

Language

· Do you use a range or vocabulary which includes some less common words/phrases?

· Do you use simple and complex grammatical forms with control?

When you feel confident, write some more articles.

Extra Article Practice

Write your answer in 120-180 words in an appropriate style.

You see this notice on an international publishing company’s website

INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE OF THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY

Write a short article about one person. The article will be included on the website.

Has this person had a good or bad influence on your country?

Write your article.

Your Language school has invited you to write an article for their monthly magazine with the following heading

Helpful ways of remembering new vocabulary in English

Include your suggestions.

Write your article.

You have been asked to write an article on the following topic:

Today’s television

Bad quality of more choice than before? Is today’s television good value for money?

Write your article.

Answers

An article is a piece of writing which is typically intended for publication in a magazine, newspaper or journal. As a result, when writing an article, it is important that you attract and retain the readers’ attention.

1. On an international website

2. People that visit the site

3. To write about the best holiday you have ever had

4. What you did / why it was special

Audio script 8.1

With an article, you typically have the following structure.

Title – This is used to attract the readers’ attention

Introduction – To introduce the topic and state the aim of the article

Main body – To develop the topic (typically there will be two main body paragraphs in an article of this length and each main body paragraph will be given a subheading which tells the reader what the paragraph is about).

Conclusion – To summarise and come to a clear conclusion on the aim of the article

A = 1

B = 4

C = 3

D = 2

Example 1

Content

The content on the whole is relevant. The reader is not however fully informed as there is very little expansion on each of the main areas e.g. what she/she did and why it was special.

Organisation

It is not well organised. The candidate has only employed one paragraph. The candidate does not use any linking words and it’s quite difficult to follow due to the repetition.

Language

The candidate only uses common lexis. He/she employs mostly the present tense when the task requires the candidate to narrate in the past. The candidate also shows a weakness with his/her subject – verb agreements.

Example 2

Content

All content is relevant to the task and the reader is fully informed.

Organisation

The text is well organised into two paragraphs. There could be a greater number of linking words used to increase the coherence.

Language

A wide variety of language is used and some complex grammatical forms are attempted.