Lesson 04

What’s your greatest achievement?

01. BUSINESS SKILLS: Interrupting politely
01 |
Work in pairs or groups. Think of a person who made an important
achievement in one of these categories.
Sports= Usain Bolt
Medicine= Louis Pasteur
Education= Maria Montessori
Exploration= Hernan Cortés
Entertainment= Jhonny Deep
Inventions= Thomas Alba Edison
Science= stephen hawking
Technology= Steve Job
Politics= Nelson Mandela

Research information about the person. Find answers to some of these

questions. Take notes.

Nelson Mandela

What does this person do?

He was the first president of South Africa.

What was his or her achievement?

He fought against political racism, poverty, social inequality. And he expanded of
health services for all people.

What did he or she need to do to achieve it?

He became a lawyer and was always involved in activism against injustice.
What’s your opinion of this person’s achievement?

Did anyone help him or her?

Yes of course, very people with his same ideals and the same vision.

Why is the achievement important?

After retiring from politics, he dedicated himself to charity work and fighting the
AIDS pandemic through the Mandela Foundation.

How long did it take?

All his life.

What other events in this person’s life are important?

02 | Use your notes to prepare a short talk about the person and his or her
achievement.

He was imprisoned for twenty-seven years, first on Robben Island and then at
Pollsmoor and Victor Verster prisons.

03 | Look at the expressions in the Useful language box and choose a

suitable subheading for A, B or C from the box below.
USEFUL LANGUAGE
A Interrupting politely ____
Sorry, can I just stop you there?
Sorry, do you mind if I ask a question?
Sorry, can I just ask something?
B _ Requesting clarification ___
Could you say that again?
Do you mean that…?
What you are saying is that …
C Clarifying ___
That’s right.
Not exactly.
What I mean is …
In other words…
To give an example…
    
03 | Tell another pair about the person you have chosen and his or her
achievement. Answer any questions they may ask. Use the expressions in
the Useful language box to interrupt one another or to respond to your
classmates’ questions.

02. IMPROVING YOUR WRITING: Writing achievements on your CV

WARM-UP READING
01 |
Read the following tips about writing your professional achievements.

Answer the following questions about the CV achievements section.

How many achievements did the candidate list?
Three achievements.

How did the candidate organize the achievements?

He talk fist the last actions or the most recently

What tense did he use for each achievement?

1= Present simple
2= Past simple
3= Past simple

Did he use full sentences? Why?

Because to be most seriously and formal.

03. WRITING SKILLS: Being short, specific and descriptive

01 |
Read the the following guidelines for writing your attainments in your CV:
Keep it short: use bullet points instead of big paragraphs.
Be specific: use actual numbers and figures, where possible. E.g. write “increased
sales by 25%” instead of “increased sales.”
Describe: don’t write “Finished University” as a single bullet point. What did you
study? Which university? Be more descriptive: “Graduated with a 2:1 degree in
Mechanical Engineering from the University of Manchester.”

02 |Look back at the example of a good CV achievements section and answer

the questions.
Did the candidate keep it short? How?
Yes he did, because he used bullet points instead.

Was the candidate specific? How?

No he wasn’t because he don’t use actual numbers and figures.

Was the candidate descriptive? How?

Yes he was because he use more descriptive, he talk about the number of the
University, the course he took and the average he got.

03 | Which of the following items are good advice for writing an effective
achievements section on your CV?
Mention all your personal achievements, such as receiving awards, winning
competitions, achieving high grades in studies, participating in sporting events, etc.
Mention some of your personal achievements, especially those related to the job
you are applying for.
Do not include all of your professional achievements. Prioritize the most relevant
ones.
Be descriptive but concise.
Include the most recent events first as they take priority.
Use the present simple tense to list your achievements.
Use the past simple tense to list your achievements.
Include your achievements in a separate “Achievements” section only.

04. IT’S TIME TO WRITE!

01 | Make a list of your achievements
The time has come to make a list of all your achievements in life, education and
employment. Think back on some important moments of your life and find
instances which made you proud and happy about your performance.

List of my achievements
- Graduated with honorific mention degree in Psychology from the University UNAM
of Mexico City
-Employeed of the number one for five consecutive months, 2018 in Profuturo
-I will star my master degree in Psychology.
- together with my husband we built a house.
I hava a little boy, my son.

02 |
Prioritize
You should only include 3 to 5 accomplishments in the achievements section. If you
include any more it will take up valuable space and look cluttered. You can include any
additional examples as part of the other sections of your CV.
When prioritizing, ask yourself the following question:
•
Which accomplishment is the most significant?
•
What does this accomplishment say about me? Is it something positive?
•
Which one is the most relevant to the job I am applying for?
•
Would I be impressed by this achievement if I was the hiring manager?
03 |
Write it!
Achievements

•
•
•

sunbathing
sightseeing
weather
flirtingng