A1 WRITING ASSESSMENT 5 At the clothes

department!
Students…
 Use basic punctuation (e.g. commas, full stops, question marks).
 Write descriptions of everyday personal experiences.
 Write about everyday things (e.g. people, places, job, and study) in linked sentences.

1. Introduction

Think about…

1. How often do you go shopping?

Do you like to buy clothes?

2. Do you buy clothes because you

need them or you simply want
more?

3. Do you like branded clothes or

you don’t have a particular
preference?

Branded: De marca.

2. Words matter!

To do well in this lesson, it’s necessary to learn a number of words. Please complete
the following exercise. At the end you will have increased your vocabulary.

2.1. Underline the expression that best matches the idea of the boldfaced word or
phrase. Have a dictionary at hand!

a. You find a lot of things in a department store. “Falabella” is one of the most famous.

- a place to watch movies - a place to go shopping

b. My grandfather wins the lottery every year. He is very lucky.

- to have a good luck - to have a bad luck

c. Motorola and Samsung are my favorite cellphone brands. They are so good.

- model - name of the producer company

d. I love all kinds of food, seafood, meat, poultry, vegetables, etc.

- variety - only specific things

e. Normal sweaters don’t cover your head from the rain. That’s why I like hoddies.

- a sweater that also covers your head - an umbrella for rainy days

f. My sister has a black coat. It covers her from her neck to her knees.

- a long jacket or sweater - a lotion you put in all your body

2.2. Match the word on the left with the meaning on the right. Write in the parenthesis
the corresponding letter.

Word Meaning
1 Mittens ( ) a An accessory women use on their necks.
2 Garment ( ) b An article of clothing, a type of clothing.
3 Glad ( ) c A synonym of happy
Something you use to cover your hands to protect them from
4 A pair of ( ) d
the cold. They have a separate section for the thumb only.
5 Necklace ( ) e A couple of / two pieces of the same kind

3. Read a bit!

Read the following text called “At the clothes department”. Eliza tells us about her best
plan ever: Buying clothes. Let’s read what she has to say about it.

Today my friend Ana and I are going

to a party to celebrate her birthday.
I am so excited because some of her
friends go too, so I want to buy
clothes for the occasion. It is 5:10
p.m. and the party begins at 8:00
p.m. I know Ana is never early
therefore I think I have some time to
go to the department store and
buy something. I am lucky there is a
shopping mall near my house.
This is a fantastic place to buy clothes! I love this shop. They have so many clothes and
brands. Besides, they sell clothes for all kinds of weather; they sell shorts for a day when it’s
sunny, hoodies for rainy days, coats when it’s windy, they also sell mittens for days when
it’s snowing! But… what is the perfect garment for tonight? It’s not a formal party, I think it’s
something casual; maybe these jeans, this blouse and that belt will look good together. I
want to buy Ana a pair of shoes, I don’t know what her size is though; I think I am buying
her this necklace.

I know Ana from school, she always plays soccer on weekends, she’s a good dancer too. I
am glad we are having this celebration today. On Sunday morning we are going to the park,
she is playing soccer that day so I want to see her play.

4. Tips for composition

In this session you find grammar elements and composition strategies that help you
with your writing production. Read the explanation; this is important for the next
step!

More expressions to link sentences.

As you know now how to create sentences and how to link them using some words, here we
give you more interesting words to build your paragraph. You find these words in cursive
and underlined in the text “At the clothes department”.

a. So (Entonces): Connects the cause with the result or purpose. (Ex. I want that expensive
jacket, so I need to save money to buy it.)

b. Therefore (Por lo tanto): For that reason or consequently. (Ex. My new sweater is very
big; therefore, I need to change it for a small size.)

c. Besides (Además): As well, too, in addition to the previous idea. (Ex: I’m not ready to
get married. Besides, I like to live alone.)

d. Also (También): As well, too, in addition to the previous idea. (Ex: In this shop you find
casual and also formal clothes.)

e. Though* (Aunque, a pesar de, sin embargo): as a contrast to the previous idea. (Ex: It’s
hard work, I enjoy it though.)
*This expression usually goes at the end of the sentence.
4.1. Write 4 sets of connected sentences using the words explained. Follow the
structure of the examples.

a. So: __________________________________________________________________________________________

b. Therefore: _________________________________________________________________________________

c. Besides: ____________________________________________________________________________________

d. Also: _______________________________________________________________________________________

e. Though: ____________________________________________________________________________________

Punctuation marks
Punctuation marks are very important symbols we use in our writings to give the
composition an order, a structure and a sequence. Punctuation also establishes coherence
in the text and gives meaning.

Look at the following examples and pay attention to the difference.

a. The teacher said, “Let’s eat, kids!” (El profesor dijo, “¡vamos a comer, niños!”)
b. The teacher said, “Let’s eat kids!” (El profesor dijo, “¡vamos a comer niños!”)*

The example “a” shows a normal situation where a teacher gives instructions to his students
maybe during the break at school. The example “b” shows a disturbing case of cannibalism
where children are part of the break menu. Terrible eh!

Now that you see the importance of punctuation, pay attention to the following symbols
and their function:

a. Period (.): A full stop that goes at the end of a sentence. It shows that the sentence
stops.

b. Comma (,): Indicates a pause in a sentence or separates items in a list. It also connects
independent sentences.

c. Question mark (?): Indicates a question. In Spanish you use it inverted (¿) but it is not
used in English.

d. Exclamation mark (!): Indicates strong feeling or high volume. In Spanish you use it
inverted (¡) but it is not used in English.

e. Quotations (“): Used in pairs to mark speech, quotes or phrases.

f. Colon (:): Precedes an explanation, an enumeration or list.

*On Twitter @0RTOGRAFIA
4.2. Read the examples and draw the correct punctuation mark. Circle the part of the
sentence where the mark needs to be. (Ex: I need to buy a scarf a purse and a hat). (,)

a. Period – b. Comma – c. Question mark – d. Exclamation mark – e. Quotations – f. Colon

 This is fantastic I love this dress ( )

 My favorite brands are Nike Adidas Converse and Vans. ( )
 Look! This is my birthday present for you, I hope you like it ( )
 Do you prefer the blue or the brown sweater ( )
 My brother said, I don’t like this shirt. ( )
 The clothes I need are a tie, a pair of mittens, a dress and a vest. ( )

4.2. Think about more words that connect sentences. Look for the words in English and
on a separate sheet write as many sentences as possible. In the sentences you create,
use the punctuation marks you know.

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Now you are ready for your writing test. Let’s write something!