Task 1 – Reading into writing task

Read the text below and then, in your own words, write a report for the Ministry of Culture:

i) Describing the decline in the popularity of traditional customs

ii) Highlighting why these traditions are important and
iii) Making recommendations about how to promote traditional customs

Write about 250 words

Use your own words as far as possible. No marks for answers copied from the reading texts

Customs in Decline

The traditions and custom of a country and culture are what help form the personality of the
people and the way the country is seen in the eyes of the world. Their importance in being part of
the national psyche cannot be underestimated. However, recent years have seen a decline in their
following in many countries.

With the recent rise of new information technologies, especially the internet, many sectors of the
population, especially young people, have found a different outlet for their leisure interests. It
must be borne in mind that many traditional customs and social activities evolved as a way for
common people to meet and socialise in a time when the communications of today did not exist.
Further to this, there is a general trend in our society towards individualisation, where each of us
is cocooned in our own world and contact with others has been reduced to a minimum. Where in
the past a local festival or traditional gathering served to unite a community, now this need is not
seen as paramount.

Sociologists suggest that this may be a natural and organic development of societal relationships,
although many highlight the necessity to maintain traditional customs and festivals in order to
preserve the sense of identity of a community, which is in danger of being lost. Form an economic
perspective too, many customs mark the stereotypical view of a nation and can encourage
tourism, which for some countries such as Spain is one of the principal motors of its economy.

It is clear, then, that preserving these traditions and customs is a must, and efforts should be
made on many levels to strive towards this end. It would certainly be more than just a shame if
many of the traditions which form our communal identity were allowed simply to slip away.

Task 2 – Writing task

Write a description for an environment website of a local environmental problem:

i) Describing the problem and its causes,

ii) Reporting what local people feel about the problem and
iii) Persuading readers to take action to solve the problem.

(Write about 250 words)