Cambridge English

(Writing B1, 45 minutes, two parts)

Question1

Read this email from your English-speaking friend Jude

and the notes you have made.
 EMAIL

From: Jude Me too!

Subject: Saturday trip to the beach
Hi,

I’m so glad you’re coming to the beach with me and

No, because…
my family this Saturday! We want to set off from
home by 10am. Can your parents give you a lift to
my house?
Tell Jude
My mom is going to prepare some food so we can
have a barbecue when we’re there. We can bring
meat or vegetarian food. Which would you prefer?

What activities should we do when we’re at the Suggest…

beach?
Write your email to Jude using all the notes.
 Useful language: informal emails

Beginnings

Dear/ Hi + name ,

 Thanks so much for your letter. It was great to

hear from you!

 It’s been ages since we last spoke! I’m delighted

to meet you and your family so soon!
Endings

 That’s all for now.

 Hope to hear from you soon.

 Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

 Give my regards to…

 Best wishes.

 Love,

PS (when you want to add a short message at the

end of an email) I’ve attached a photo
Informal openings Agreeing to help
Dear Jack, •I’m happy to be able to help…
•I’ll do my best to help you…
Hello Jack,
•I’m not an expert but …
Hi Jack, •I can help you by …ing

Introducing a new point Whishing good luck

•You also asked about… •Good luck with your
•Now, to answer your question
presentation!
about… •I hope your presentation goes
•Moving on to your question about…
really well!
•Finally, you wanted to know… •I’m sure your presentation will
be a success!
Apologising
Recommending
•I’m sorry for recommending…
•I apologise for recommending… •I strongly recommend watching
•I’m so sorry but I won’t be able to this film because…
go… •I highly recommend going
there because…
Inviting
Making a suggestion
•I’m having a party next weekend.
Would you like to come? •I suggest going to …
•I suggest reading this book
•I’m going to the cinema with my because…
friends next Saturday. Would you like
to join us?

•I’d like to invite you to…

 EMAIL

From: Mr Mitchem
Subject: New school English-language magazine
Dear students,

I’m planning to set up a new school English-language Yes!

magazine. Would any of you like to help?

I can arrange a meeting about the magazine on either Explain

Tuesday or Thursday afternoon next week. Which do which is
best
you think would be the best day?

Tell Mr
Before you come to the meeting, can you please let
Mitchem
me know which school activity you would like to write
an article about?
Suggest…
Apart from articles on different topics, is there
 EMAIL

From: Teri
Subject: Learning a language
Hi,

I’m excited because next month I’m starting my

beginners’ classes to learn your language I’ve never
No problem
studied a foreign language before. Thanks for
agreeing to meet to give me some ideas.
Sorry, but…

Are you free next Thursday afternoon after school?

Advise Teri
My parents say they’ll buy me a dictionary to help me
learn new vocabulary, and perhaps some videos. Do
Offer…
you think that’s a good idea?

You said you would help me sometimes after I start

 EMAIL

From: Alex
Subject: New video game
Hi,
Fantastic!
My parents gave me some money to buy a video game
for my birthday.

I’ve got a lot of racing video games, so I’d like to buy Recommend
a different kind of game for a change. What do you
think I should get?
Tell Alex
I’m allowed to play video games up to two hours a
day, but only if I’ve finished my homework. How long
No, but…
do you get to play games for?

I’ll have the game by this weekend. Are you free to

Question 2

In this part you:

• Choose to write either an article or a story.
• Write a text of about 100 words

LEARNING and the Internet

Write an article telling us whether

the Internet is the best place to look
for information. Do you think only
young people use the Internet? What
other ways are there to research new
things?

The best article will be published on

our website.
 Articles wanted!

Friendship

Write an article telling us how important

it is for Friends to have similar
characters.

Do you think it’s better to have lots of

friends or just one best friend? Why?

The best article will be published on our

website.
 Escribiendo un artículo
Un artículo (article), es un escrito mediante el cual el autor
expresa su opinión e ideas acerca de un tema concreto en una
revista, periódico o página web. 

Aquí tenemos un ejemplo de artículo:

You see this advertisement in a travel magazine:

 
Paper Plane travel magazine is looking for articles about beaches around
the world.
We want to know everything about beaches around the world. Write us an
article about a beach that you like in your country or somewhere else,
explaining where it is located, how to get there, and why you like it. If your
article is chosen for the magazine, you will win a plane ticket to the
Maldives.
 
¿ Qué debe contener una buen artículo?
 Es importante que el artículo:

 Conteste a la cuestión planteada en las instrucciones.

 Tenga una estructura clara y bien organizada, en la cual

aparezca un título, una introducción en la que se enganche al
lector a seguir leyendo, un desarrollo de la ideas y  una
conclusión que resuma lo dicho y dé tu opinión sobre el tema
planteado.

 Puedes usar lenguaje informal para involucrar al lector.

How to write an article

TITLE

 1 What’s the article about?

I’m sure everyone would agree that…

It goes without saying that…
How would you feel if… ?

2
At first, you might think that…
Just imagine…

3
If I were you…
Why don’t you…?
 Getting the reader involved (Generalmente utilizaremos
una pregunta para atraer al lector):
Do you want to spend your holidays in one of the finest places in
the world?

Planning your (holiday, excursion, day) can be hard, but not if you
(follow our advice, read these lines).

 Could you live without social media for a week? What would you
miss?

 What are the most important things for teenagers to learn?

 Are you one of those people who can’t live without ______? If the
answer is “yes”, this article is for you.

What would life be like if… + PAST SIMPLE?

 How would you feel about…+ ing ?

 Have you ever dreamed with …

Intense adjectives

• Breath-taking
• Remarkable (excepcional)
• Mouth-watering
• Affordable (asequible)
• Eye-catching
• Accurate (preciso)
• It’s a must
• Eco-friendly
• Well known
• Outrageous
• Outstanding
(extravagante)
• Remarkable
• Significant
• Awesome
• Deafening (ruidoso)
• Awful= terrible
• Unforgettable
• Astonishing
Idioms proverbs

 “Actions speak louder than words.”

 “A journey of thousand miles begins with a simple

step.”

 “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”

 You know what they say: “No pain no gain”

 Phrasal verbs
 Conditionals
 Questions tag
 Connectors

If I were you, I would…

If I had known before I would have change my mind.

We can’t live without it, can we?

You are always online, aren’t you?

Besides/ As well as/ On top of that/ However/ On the other hand/

What’s more…
Aportando similitudes y diferencias

• Igualmente: Likewise
• Del mismo modo: In the same way, similarly
• Por otra parte, por otro lado: On the other hand, in contrast
• De todos modos: Anyway
 
Declarando que algo es cierto o probablemente cierto

• Obviamente, evidentemente: Obviously

• Indudablemente: Undoubtedly
• Seguramente: Surely
• Verdaderamente, en realidad, en efecto: Indeed
• Claramente, aparenetemente, al parecer: Apparently
• Posiblemente: Possibly