WRITING TIPS

When you have to write a composition, it’s very important to follow

these tips:
1) Don’t write very long sentences. Remember to add punctuation,
especially periods (punto) and full stops (punto aparte).

2) When you have to write an affirmative sentence, the order is:

Subject + Verb + (object) + (reference to place) + (reference to time)

Las palabras que están entre paréntesis son opcionales. No siempre

van a ser necesarias en la oración.

He is reading a book in the kitchen.

We drink a cup of coffee in the living-room at night.
She was at home yesterday morning.
They are studying in their bedroom now.
You get up at 8.00 every day.

3) Adjectives are never plural. They are always singular.

I like red roses.

He likes interesting books.
We wear beautiful clothes.
You always practise risky sports.

4) It’s incorrect to say “I have 10 years old! The correct form is to say
“I am 10 years old”.

5) Remember!

I like to play tennis = I like playing tennis

She likes to go out at night = She likes going out at night.

6) Remember we always write the word “I” using capital letter

(mayúsculas).
 I sometimes have breakfast very late.
George and I study at the same university.
My parents and I always go to the club at weekends.

7) Don’t forget to write the verb “To Be” when the sentence is in the
Present Continuous.

She IS singing a nice song.

They ARE dancing in the street.
You ARE eating some cereal.
I AM having some mangoes. I am a very healthy person.
We ARE watching an awesome rock video.

8) When you are writing about ROUTINES in the present, remember

that you have to add an “s” or “es” to the verb in case of “he” /
“she” or “it”.

She meets her friends every weekend. She’s very friendly.

He makes me laugh. He is very funny.
Your house looks beautiful. I love it.
Charles works a lot. He is not lazy.

9) When you have to write a composition, describe a photograph or

answer questions, remember that you can make up information
(podés inventar datos). Of course you can’t do this if you are
answering questions based on the readers or on a text .

10) There are some words that you always have to write in
capital letter (mayúsculas). They are:

 Proper names: Arthur Jackson, Joseph Barrymore.

 Name of countries, capital cities, towns: Italy, Rome, Villa
Gesell.
 Name of months, days of the week: Monday, January,
Saturday.
 Name of TV shows or movies: “Titanic”, “The Simpsons”.
 The word “I”.
 Name of languages and nationalities: Chinese, Italian, Portuguese.

11) Use linking words. These are words that we use to connect two or
more sentences.

Examples: Alan likes music but he never goes to concerts.

My sister went to the beach because it was a lovely day.
Karen loves chocolate so she decided to buy some.
I had some spaghetti and Joe drank a glass of wine.

12) When you write a paragraph or composition use narrative linking

words or phrases to put the events in order.

Example: Rachel was going home on a very crowded bus. First,

two boys pushed her while they were getting off the bus. Next
Rachel realized her wallet was not in her bag. Then she told the
bus driver. Finally, the police caught the boys.

IMPORTANT: It’s not necessary to use one of these words in

every sentence. (No es necesario usar estas palabras en todas las
oraciones, pero sí deben usarse para ordenar los eventos).

REMEMBER TO READ ALL THESE TIPS

CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU START WRITING A
COMPOSITION.
When the answer is not “Yes” or “No”, the questions
starts with a “WH” WORD (who, what, when, where,
how many …).

Why WAS he VISITING his best friend?

Because they had an important problem to solve.

What WERE you DOING at 10.00 pm yesterday?

      I was talking to Frank about his birthday.

We generally use the Past Continuous tense together

with sentences in the Simple Past. In this case, the
sentences are joined by the words “WHEN” or
“WHILE”. The sentence in the Past Continuous
corresponds to an action that takes some time to be
done. The action that is in the Simple Past takes a
short time to be done.

Charles and his son WERE FISHING WHEN they SAW

a lightning.

I WAS SENDING an e-mail WHEN the telephone

RANG.
We WERE WAITING for the bus WHEN we MET
Henry.
Cuando la respuesta no es “Sí” o “No”, las preguntas comienzan con una
PALABRA “WH” (quién, qué, cuándo, dónde, cuántos…).

¿Por qué estaba VISITANDO a su mejor amigo?

Porque tenían un problema importante que resolver.

¿Qué ESTABA HACIENDO ayer a las 10.00 pm?

Estaba hablando con Frank sobre su cumpleaños.
Generalmente usamos el tiempo pasado continuo junto con oraciones en
pasado simple. En este caso, las oraciones se unen con las palabras
“CUANDO” o “MIENTRAS”. La oración en el Pasado Continuo corresponde a
una acción que requiere algún tiempo para realizarse. La acción que se
encuentra en el Pasado Simple toma poco tiempo para realizarse.

Charles y su hijo estaban pescando cuando vieron un rayo.

Estaba enviando un correo electrónico cuando sonó el teléfono.

Estábamos esperando el autobús cuando conocimos a Henry.