Idiom of the day (39)

Are you up for it?

¿Te apuntas?

Famous words (5)

The proof of the pudding is in the eating.

      Miguel de Cervantes (Spanish writer)

Idiom of the day (38)

There's no smoke without fire.

Cuando el río suena, agua lleva.

An assessment report

An assessment report is usually written for someone in authority such as your employer. It presents and evaluates the positive and negative qualities of a place, person, etc in order to make some kind of judgment or recommendation. Reports always contain factual information.

We always begin a report by saying who the report is for and their position, the writer's name and position and what the report is about.

Introduction
First paragraph = we present the purpose and content of the report.

Main body
Main body = we present each topic in detail under separate sub-headings.

Conclusion
Las paragraph = we summarise the information and state our general assessment or evaluation.

We usually write reports in a formal, impersonal style. We write short sentences containing factual language so that information can be understood easily. We normally use present tenses in assessment reports as well as the passive voice and full verbs forms.



Example: The editor of the magazine where you work as an assistant editor has asked you to write a report assessing the good and bad points of the Taj Mahal Indian restaurant. Write your report describing the restaurant's food, prices, service and atmosphere.

To..........: Mr. C. James, Editor
From......: Al Thompson, Assistan Editor
Subject...: Taj Mahal restaurant

Introduction
The purpose of this report is to assess the good and bad points of Taj Mahal restaurant.

Food and prices
The Taj Mahal offers a wide range of Indian cuisine, all of which is beautifully cooked and presented. What is more the meals are good value for money as the prices are quite reasonable.

Service
The waiters are very polite and friendly and they are able to make helpful suggestions about the menu. However, the service is a little slow, especially when the restaurant gets busy.

Atmosphere
The restaurant has a tasteful Eastern-style décor and thick carpets. In addition, the soft ethnic music helps to give the Taj Mahal a very pleasant atmosphere. Nevertheless, the lighting is poor, so it is difficultto read the menu.

Conclusion
In conclusion, although the service can be slow and the lighting poor, the Taj Mahal is a pleasant restaurant that offers excellent food at reasonable prices. Therefore, I would certainly recommend it to anyone who enjoys Indian food.

Idiom of the day (37)

An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

A diario una manzana es cosa sana.

Famous words (4)

Creditors have better memories than debtors.

                Benjamin Franklin (US statesman)

Idiom of the day (36)

Beggars can't be choosers.

A mucha hambre, no hay pan duro.

An article describing a visit to a place

When we write an article describing a visit to a place we usually write four paragraphs.

Introduction

First paragraph = we write the name and location of the place as well as our reason(s) for choosing it.

Main body

Second paragraph = we usually write about what the place looks like.

Third paragraph = we describe the place in detail; we can include the things we can see, feel, hear, smell and taste.

Conclusion

Last paragraph = we write about our feelings and personal comments and/or our recommendation.

Narrative descriptions of places can be found in tourist magazines, letters, stories, etc. We normally use past tenses to describe our visit. However, we use present tenses to talk about the location. We can use a variety of adjectives and adverbs as wells as our senses to make our description more appealing to the reader.

Idiom of the day (35)

Good riddance!

¡Adios y hasta nunca!

joke

Little Johnny came home from school one day, and his Dad asked him, "So, how did your history exam go?"....Silence....then little Johnny said "Not very well, it was too difficult! All the questions were about things that happened before I was born!"

Idiom of the day (34)

Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.

Ten cuidado, puede haber gato encerrado.

Louisa May Alcott

Louisa May Alcott (1832 - 1888) was born in Germantown, Pensylvania, the second of four sisters. At an early age, Louisa and her family moved to Massachusetts, where she lived for most of her life. Her father was a teacher, and he encouraged Louisa to keep a diary. She started to write at the age of 16. Alcott used her diary to help her write about her own life and experiences. One of her most famous books is Little Women, which is based on the life of her family.

From relief to regret: Readers' experiences of abortion

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-38775641

Verb tenses - exercises without key

http://www.bsu.by/Cache/pdf/243113.pdf

Idiom of the day (33)

It's water under the bridge.

Agua pasada no mueve molino.

Famous words (3)

It is only when they go wrong that machines remind you how powerful they are.

                                                                    Clive James (Australian critic)

Idiom of the day (32)

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Todo es según del color del cristal con que se mira.

An opinion essay

An opinion essay presents our personal opinion on a particular topic. We need to state our opinion clearly and support it with examples or reasons.

Introduction

First paragraph = we present the topic and state our opinion clearly.

Main body

Second and third paragraph = we present our viewpoints and give reasons/examples. We present each viewpoint, with reasons/examples, in a separate paragraph.

Fourth paragraph = we present the opposing viewpoint and give examples/reasons.

Conclusion

Last paragraph = we restate our opinion using different words.

We usually use present tenses in this kind of writing and avoid using informal language such as contractions (I've, she's) and colloquialisms (What's up?) etc. We can use phrases like In my opinion, I (strongly) believe that, It seems to me that to introduce our opinion. We can find opinion essays in newspapers and magazines as articles or letters to the editor, etc.

Example: Your local newspaper is asking readers to write an article giving their opinion on the following statement: Students should not be allowed to have mobile phones at school.

                             NO MOBILE PHONES AT SCHOOL

Nowadays more and more students bring their mobile phones to school. While I believe that students should carry mobile phones in case of an emergency, I am strongly opposed to these phones being used at school, particularly in the classroom.

Firstly, many students travel to and from school without their parents. Therefore, it is important for them to have a mobile phone in case they need help or have an accident on the way to school or home.

Furthermore, parents who work may need to contact their children. For example, if a parent has to work late, the student has to be told if arragangements have been made for a relative or neighbour to look after them.

On the other hand, nothing is more disruptive during a lesson than the sound of a mobile phone ringing or playing an annoying tune. Moreover, students who send and receive text messages in class are not paying attention to the lesson.

In conclusion, I feel that students should be allowed to take mobile phones to school for use in an emergency. However, all phones should certainly be turned off during lessons.

Idiom of the day (31)

He did it accidentally, on purpose.

Lo hizo sin querer, queriendo.

Famous words (2)

The first wealth is health.

          Ralph Waldo Emerson (US philosopher)