A2 Writing Booklet Ss
A2 Writing Booklet Ss
Ahmad Hobby
B. Candan Büge
Diler Gültekin
Edited by:
Aynur Kaplan
Diler Gültekin
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Table of Contents
References ……………………………………………………….………………. 62
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UNIT 1
Daily Routines
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Ask and answer the following questions with a partner.
I. GETTING STARTED
Exercise A: Work with a partner. Look at the Vocabulary Pool and tick (√ ) the words you
know. Check the meanings of other words with your classmates.
VOCABULARYPOOL
POOL
VOCABULARY
Exercise B: Complete the chart below with the phrases from the Vocabulary Pool. Some
activities may go into more than one category.
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Now, compare your answers with your partner.
Exercise C: Look at the pictures and talk about the activities they show with a partner.
(1)
(2)
(3) (4)
Exercise D: Read about the daily activities of the people in the pictures and
find the picture that matches the description of their daily activities.
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c. _____ Roberto has very busy weekends. On Saturday and Sunday mornings,
he gets up around 6.30 a.m. After he gets up, he goes running. He runs for about two
hours. In the middle of the morning, he makes a big breakfast. After breakfast, he
either does laundry, or pays some bills. In the afternoon, Roberto gets together with
friends, and plays football in the park.
d. _____ On weekdays, children at the Kituri school in New York City get up
at 6.30 a.m. They brush their teeth, and then they get dressed. Then, they go to the
cafeteria, and eat breakfast. After breakfast, they go to their classrooms. At noon,
they go outside. They eat lunch, and play games. In the afternoon, they go back to
their classrooms. After school, they do chores, and eat dinner. In the early evening,
they do homework, and read.
Exercise E:
1. Underline all the vocabulary items in the paragraphs that are used to describe
daily routines.
2. Whose daily activities are similar to yours? What are the similarities?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
________________
Exercise F: Think about your week. Complete the chart with your daily
activities.
MY WEEK
Mornings Afternoons Evenings
Weekday
s
Weekend
s
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Exercise G: Work with a partner. Talk about your activities. Find the
similarities and differences between your daily routines. Share four of them
with the class.
For he, she, it, add –es to verbs that end in ch, sh, ss, s, x, or z.
My grandmother watches TV all day.
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To make the negative, use do not (don’t) or does not (doesn’t) before the base | of6the verb.
form
I don’t work out at the gym.
He doesn’t eat breakfast.
Exercise A: Read about Antonio’s weekend. Complete the sentences with the
verbs in parentheses.
On Saturdays, I 1__sleep__ (sleep) late. I 2_____________ (not get up) until 10:00 a.m. Then, I
3_____________ (eat) breakfast. I 4_____________ (not eat) a big breakfast. After breakfast, I
5_____________ (meet) my friend, Oliver. Oliver 6_____________ (live) on my street. We
7_____________ (take) English classes together. Sometimes we 8_____________ (do) our homework
together at the library. We also 9_____________ (work out) together at the gym. I 10_____________
(go) to the movies, or to a restaurant in the evening with my friends. Oliver 11_____________ (not go)
with us because he 12_____________ (work) on Saturday evenings. On Saturdays, I 13_____________
(stay up) late! Oliver 14_____________ (go) to bed around 10:00 p.m. On Sundays, I 15_____________
(sleep) in. Oliver 16_____________ (get up) early.
Exercise B: Read about Antonio’s weekend again. What does he do that Oliver
doesn’t do? What does Oliver do that Antonio doesn’t do? Write five pairs of
sentences.
Example: Antonio goes to the movies, but Oliver doesn’t go to the movies.
1. ________________________________________________________________
____
2. ________________________________________________________________
____
3. ________________________________________________________________
____
4. ________________________________________________________________
____
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5. ________________________________________________________________
____
From + day or time + to + day or time My son goes to school from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Liz Wright 1_____________ at 6 a.m. Then, she 2_____________ breakfast with her daughter,
For + a period of time He works out for an hour.
Tessa. From 8 a.m. to 10 a.m, she 3____________________. Then, she 4_______________ with Sally.
After / before / during + event He goes to the library after school.
After that, she 5_____________ lunch. At 1 p.m., she 6_____________ with Tom. At 4 p.m., she
Ali does homework before class.
7_____________ Tessa from school. At 5 p.m., she and Tessa 8___________________.
I watch TV during dinner.
Useful Language II
You can combine sentences with before and after to show time order. After describes the first action,
before describes the second action. Notice that we use a comma (,) when we start a sentence with
Before or After.
MONDAY
DAILY PLANNER
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Morning
7:00 – Get up
8:00 – Have breakfast
8:30 – Go to school
9:00-12:00 – English classes
Afternoon
12:30 – Eat lunch
1:00 – Take the bus to work
1:30-5:00 – Work at the café
5:30 – Go to the gym
6:30 – Change clothes
7:00- 7:30 – Eat dinner
8:00 – Listen to music and read
Exercise B: Combine the pairs of sentences using before. Use a comma when
necessary.
1. First, I wash my hands. Then, I eat dinner.
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_____
2. First, I do my homework. Then, I watch TV.
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___________________________________________________________________
_____
3. First, I go to the gym. Then, I do my homework.
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_____
4. First, I eat breakfast. Then, I read the newspaper.
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_____
Exercise C: Combine the pairs of sentences using after. Use a comma when
necessary.
1. First, I get home from work. Then, I take my dog for a walk.
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_____
2. First, I eat dinner. Then, I wash the dishes.
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_____
3. First, I get to school. Then, I have coffee with my friends.
___________________________________________________________________
_____
4. First, I read my son a story. Then, I put him to bed.
___________________________________________________________________
_____
____________________________________________.
_______________________________________________________.
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3. Before I do my homework at night,
___________________________________________.
________________________________________________________.
Every paragraph is about one main idea and it is often given in the first sentence in the
paragraph.
The following sentences give details, examples, and reasons to explain the main idea. All of
these sentences must be about the main idea in the first sentence and they must be listed
according to time order.
The last sentence restates the main idea in different words. It usually starts with
All in all, In conclusion, As you can see, etc.
Boring Days
During the week, my days are boring. I get up at 7 a.m. every day.
Then, I get dressed for school. Even that is boring because I have to wear
a uniform to school. I always have the same thing for breakfast, fruit and
yogurt because it’s fast and healthy. I take the bus to school where I spend
the next seven hours. My schedule of classes is the same every day. My Spanish
teacher is from Mexico. After school, I take the bus home, and practice my violin
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for an hour. Finally, I do my homework, and study. As you can see, I do the same
things every day, so my week days are really dull.
An Active Life
Ben is a very athletic person. He loves to play all types of
sports. Ben’s favorite sport is volleyball. He is a member of a
volleyball club. He plays with other people there. Ben also likes to
run and swim for exercise. He goes to the gym, and exercises at
least four times a week. Ben also works at the library. Ben certainly
keeps himself busy with all of the athletic activities that he does
during the week.
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Exercise B: Look at the pictures. They show a typical day in the life of a man
named Joseph Bailey. Find the sentence below that matches each picture. Write
the letter of the sentence under the correct picture.
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a. Joseph teaches from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
b. He wakes up at 7:00 a.m. to eat breakfast and get dressed.
c. Finally, Joseph goes to bed at midnight.
d. Then, he takes the 7:45 a.m. train to the school where he teaches English.
e. At 6:00 p.m., he eats dinner with his wife.
f. He takes the train back home at 4:00 p.m.
g. He plays the saxophone from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. Sometimes he sings, too.
h. At 7:30 p.m., he arrives at The Jazz Club.
Exercise C: Use the sentences about Joseph to complete a paragraph about a
typical day in his life. The first and last sentences are given.
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Joseph’s days are very busy.
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___________________________________________________________________
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___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________. As you can see, Joseph
has a very busy life.
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Arrange the other sentences according to time order and write the full
paragraph below.
_____________________________________________________________
______________
___________________________________________________________________
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____________________________________________.
Lazy Sundays
__________________________________________.
I get up late, and I eat a big breakfast. After breakfast,
I read the newspaper for a few hours. Sometimes I
talk to my friends on the telephone. At four o’clock, I
am usually hungry, so I make a snack. Then, I watch
TV or take a nap. In the evening, I often go out to
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dinner with my friends, but I am back in bed again at ten o’clock. I like to relax on
Sunday so that I am ready to start my week on Monday.
A Hectic Life
_________________________________________. I wake
up at 6:30 a.m., and take my dog for a walk. Then, I eat breakfast,
get ready for school, and make my lunch. I usually ride my bike to
school. I have classes from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Then, I study at the
library in the afternoon. I also have a part-time job. I wash dishes
at a restaurant near campus. I work from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The job
is not bad. I like the people I work with. I also get a free dinner!
At 9 p.m., I ride my bike home. I take my dog for another walk. Then, I relax. I
often watch TV for an hour. Sometimes, I read or listen to music. Finally, I get ready
for bed.
Exercise F: Read the following paragraphs and answer the following questions.
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I am a pharmacist and a mother, and my days are busy. As a pharmacist, my
job is to prepare and sell medicines. Every morning, I get up at 6:30 a.m. I have
breakfast with my family, and make lunch for my daughter to take to school. I leave
the house at 8:00 a.m., and drive to the drugstore where I work from 9:00 a.m. to
5:00 p.m. During the day, I fill prescriptions for customers. Sometimes the
customers have questions about their medicines. I answer their questions. I also give
them information about how often to take the medicine. After work, I drive home,
and have dinner with my family. Then, I help my daughter with her homework for a
few hours. Sometimes I read or watch TV in the evening before I go to bed.
______________
___________________________________________________________.
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IV. WRITING THE FIRST DRAFT
Now it’s time to write the first draft about your week. Use your notes from Exercise
F (p. 5), and language from Useful Language sections (p. 6 & 8) to help you. You
can also add any other ideas that come to mind.
__________________________
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V. REVISING
Use the checklist to edit your work. Tick the boxes to check.
REVISING CHECKLIST
YES NOT YET
1. Have you written a title for your paragraph?
2. Have you given the main idea in the first sentence of your paragraph?
3. Have you written a concluding sentence?
4. Have you written your sentences in correct time order?
5. Have you used any words or phrases from the Vocabulary Pool?
6. Have you used any time expressions?
7. Have you started every sentence with a capital letter?
8. Have you ended every sentence with a period?
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Write the second draft
Look at the chart you completed for your first draft. Use it to help you revise your
first draft. Rewrite your draft with the changes.
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UNIT 2
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Important People, Important Life Events
I. GETTING STARTED
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Exercise A: Work with a partner. Look at the Vocabulary Pool and tick (√ ) the
words and phrases you know. Check the meanings of other words with your
classmates.
VOCABULARYPOOL
POOL
VOCABULARY
Exercise B: Complete the chart below with the words and phrases from the
Vocabulary Pool. Some words may go into more than one category.
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Exercise C: Read the paragraphs and fill in the time lines.
Francisco’s Life
Francisco was born in 1985 in Brazil. His father died two years later. After many
years, he and his mother got visas, and immigrated to the United States. Then, he
immediately started high school. He wanted to go to college, so he studied hard and got
good grades. At 15, he got a job. At 16, he got his driver’s license. A year later, he got a car.
Francisco graduated one year after that. He also won a scholarship. Then, he had enough
money to go to college! A year later, he moved to New York, and started classes.
2. Work with a partner. Look at your partner’s time line and ask him/her
questions to find out what happened on those dates.
Examples: Were you born in 1994?
Did you start school in 2001?
3. When your partner finds out the events on your timeline, write them in the
boxes.
4. Look at your partner’s timeline again. Did s/he put the same events as you?
Share three of the most important events in your partner’s life with your
classmates.
Example: Hande was born in 1995.
She started school when she was 6.
a. _____________________________________________________________
______________
b. _____________________________________________________________
______________
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c. _____________________________________________________________
______________
Six years ago, Julia started college and studied English. She graduated four years later. Then she
II. PREPARING YOUR WRITING
traveled all over Europe, but she stopped in France. She lived there for one year.
Useful Language I
Add –ed to regular verbs to form the simple past. Just add –d to regular verbs that end in –e.
start started graduate graduated
If a verb ends in a consonant + -y, change the –y to –i and then add –ed.
study studied
If a verb has one syllable and ends in one consonant, double the consonant and then add –ed.
stop stopped
Many verbs have an irregular past tense form. Some common irregular verbs are go, do, have,
make, and get.
I went to school in Canada for four years.
James got promoted last week. Now he is a manager.
Use didn’t + the base form of the verb to talk about things that didn’t happen in the past.
He didn’t grow up in the United States.
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John is very sociable now, but he was too shy as a child.
His parents weren’t supportive of him when he told them he wanted to be an actor.
Exercise A: Complete the story with the past form of the verbs in parentheses.
Laura Smith 1_____________ (be born) in 1981. She 2_____________ (grow up) in Guadalajara,
Mexico. She 3_____________ (start) playing golf at the age of five. She 4_____________ (win) a state
competition at the age of six, and a national competition at the age of seven. Laura 5_____________
(attend) the University of Arizona. She 6_____________ (play) in 20 college competitions and
7_____________ (lose) only 3 times. Laura 8_____________ (become) a professional golfer in 2002.
Using Time Expressions
She 9_____________ withmany
(have) the Simple Pastcompetitions.
successful Tense In 2008, she 10_____________ (win) the
We oftenChampionship
Corona use time expressions withAfter
in Mexico. the simple past.
that, she Here are some common time expressions.
11_____________ (enter) the World Golf Hall of
in + year In 1999, Steve moved to the United Kingdom.
Fame. Laura wanted to help young people become golfers, so she 12_____________ (start) a scholarship
program for+young
last week Mexican
/ month / golfers.
year / summer etc. I graduated from high school last year.
number
Useful + days
Language II + months + years + a long time ago
Aynur immigrated to Canada two years ago.
number
Useful Language II + months + years later
+ days
I graduated in 2002. I started my own business one year later.
for + a period of time Pete Sampras played tennis for fourteen years.
After / before / during + event After the war, he wrote two more books.
You can combine sentences with before, after to show time order. Notice that we use a
comma (,) when we start a sentence with Before or After.
Before he got married, he moved to Istanbul. OR He moved to Istanbul before he got married.
After he moved to Istanbul, he got married. OR He got married after he moved to Istanbul.
Exercise A: Put the words in the right order. If you put the time expression at
the beginning of the sentence, don’t forget to use a comma.
1. to / in / Hawaii / Lee / from / 1956 / immigrated / Taiwan
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_
2. long / ago / he / English / a / time / learned
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_
3. for / he / a / years / community college / classes / three / took / years / at
___________________________________________________________________
_
4. later / started / Hawaii / years / he / of / at / two / university / the / study / to
___________________________________________________________________
_
5. Lee / 1982 / graduated / Hawaii / from / university / in / of / the
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_
6. graduated / look / after / he / started / he / job / to / a / for
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_
7. worked / bank / Honolulu / from / 1992 / a / he / 1982 / to / in / at
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___________________________________________________________________
_
8. moved / Philadelphia / ago / Lee / to / years / 10
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_
9. started / later / business / a / four / he / years
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_
10. many / lot / he / money / a / for / earned / of / years
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_
11. countryside / before / in / bought / retired / he / a / he / farmhouse / large /
the
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_
12. year / work / years / retired / last / hard / many / he / after / of
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_
Exercise B: Read Rob’s time line. Then complete the story with the correct
time expressions.
1988 1990 1993 2006 2010
2011
born family started school graduated from quit job started own
high school; business
immigrated
Rob was born 1______ ______. His family started first
immigrated to thejob United States 2______ ______,
and Rob started school 3______ ______ ______. Rob graduated from high school 4______ ______
and started his first job at a flower shop. He worked at the flower shop 5______ four ______,
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then he quit. He started his own flower and plant business a 6______ ______. Today, he is a very
successful businessman.
III. WRITING STRATEGY: Narrating a Person’s Life
In this unit, you will practice writing a biography of an important person and
writing your autobiography. When you write a biography, you organize the events as they
occurred in time. You write the birth date and place of the person at the beginning of the
biography. Then, you list what s/he did in her/his childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and
so on.
Exercise A: The two lists of sentences below come from two different
paragraphs. Number the sentences according to time order.
Barack Obama My Younger Brother, Jim
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___ He went to International School in ___ He went to Amadeus Music School in
Indonesia. Vienna at the age of sixteen.
___ He went to Punahou School in Hawaii. ___ He graduated with an honor degree in 1992.
___ He moved to Indonesia with his mother ___ He was born in 1972.
when he was six years old. ___ He started playing the violin when he was
___ He was born in Hawaii. only five years old.
___ He became the president of the USA at the ___ He practiced for about five hours every day
age of forty seven. as a child.
___ He graduated in 1979. ___ He played with the city orchestra when he
___ He moved back to Hawaii when he was ten. was a teen.
___ His father left when he was two years old. ___ He has given more than a hundred concerts
so far.
Exercise B: Reread the two lists of sentences from Exercise A. Then, write a
short biography of the two people. Use the time expressions with the Simple
Past tense to connect the sentences.
Barack Obama
Barack Obama is the first African American president of the United States.
______________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
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___________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
Exercise C: Discuss the following questions with a partner.
1. Who was Neil Armstrong? What do you know about him?
Neil Armstrong
Neil Armstrong was the first man to set foot on the moon. He was born in Wapakoneta,
Ohio, in 1930. His love for flying started at a very early age. On July 20, 1936, when he was 6,
he experienced his first airplane flight in a Ford Trimotor. Eight years later, Armstrong began
taking flying lessons, and was just 15 when he received his pilot’s license. He completed his
schooling in 1947 and started studying aeronautical engineering at Purdue University. After his
graduation in 1955, he started to work for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics*.
While he was working at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, he decided to
become an astronaut and applied for NASA selection and training. In September 1962, he
became America’s first nonmilitary astronaut. Four years later, he piloted the first space flight
of the Gemini 8 mission. On July 20, 1969, he commanded the Apollo 11 mission to the moon
and he became the first person to step on the moon. When Armstrong set foot on the moon, he
said “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” After the Apollo 11 mission,
he began working at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio, where he taught aerospace
engineering for eight years. Armstrong maintained an interest in aeronautics and made
occasional public appearances at the Neil Armstrong Air & Space Museum in his hometown of
Wapakoneta, Ohio. He died at the age of 82 on August 25, 2012.
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4. How does s/he end the paragraph?
Exercise D: Discuss the following questions with a partner.
1. Do you know who invented the Internet search engine Google?
2. How did they invent it?
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Exercise F: Look at the timeline below and write a biography of
Sakıp Sabancı.
June 30,
1985 born / Baltimore,
Maryland / while / grow up /
shy / kids / make fun of him
& bully him because / tall 2003
and lanky / not successful as graduate / Towson /
set five world records / World
Championships / Barcelona,
1992 become interested in Spain
swimming / two elder sisters
/ good swimmers
1983 1997
born / London
1999 sign / first record deal as a
jazz vocalist
1995 start the prestigious Sylvia
Young Theatre School
release / first album, Frank /
2003
1996 win an Ivor Novello award
buy / first guitar with the song Stronger Than
Me
Exercise I: Choose an important figure from history and find some information
about his/her life. Fill in the tables with important dates and events in this
person’s life. Then, write a biography for him or her.
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IV. WRITING THE FIRST DRAFT
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Now it’s time to write the first draft about the important events in your life. Use
your notes from Exercise E (p. 22), and language from Useful Language sections (p.
23 & 24) to help you. You can also add any other ideas that come to mind.
You can choose one part of your life to write about from the list of possible topics
below.
My education
My childhood
My teen years
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___________________________________________________________________
___
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________
V. REVISING
Use the checklist to edit your work. Tick the boxes to check.
REVISING CHECKLIST
YES NOT YET
1. Have you written a title for your paragraph?
2. Have you given the main idea in the first sentence of your paragraph?
3. Have you written a concluding sentence?
4. Have you written your sentences in correct time order?
5. Have you used any words or phrases from the Vocabulary Pool?
6. Have you used any time expressions?
7. Have you started every sentence with a capital letter?
8. Have you ended every sentence with a period?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
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________________________________________________________________
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UNIT 3
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___
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___________________________________________________________________
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_____________.
Personal Experiences
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Ask and answer the following questions with a partner.
Think about the most frightening experience you have ever had.
1. Where were you?
2. Who were you with?
3. What happened?
4. How did you feel?
I. GETTING STARTED
Exercise A: Work with a partner. Look at the Vocabulary Pool and tick (√ ) the
words you know. Look up any words that you don’t understand.
VOCABULARYPOOL
POOL
VOCABULARY
Exercise C: Choose three adjectives from the Vocabulary Pool that remind you
of a remarkable experience. Complete the chart with the adjectives and
experiences.
Adjectives Experiences
1.
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__
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2.
__________________
_
3.
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_
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3. What happened?
___________________________________________________________________
___
A Frightening Experience
Last week, I had a frightening experience on an elevator. I was on my way to have dinner at
my friend’s apartment. I got on the elevator in the lobby, and pushed the button for the fifth floor.
The elevator stopped at the third floor, and a couple got on with their baby. When the woman
pushed the button for the eighth floor, the doors closed, and the elevator started to go up. A few
seconds later, the elevator stopped suddenly. Then, I felt the elevator bounce up and down two
times. We all looked at each other, and the baby began to cry. I was very nervous. A few minutes
later, the elevator door opened. We were stuck between the third and fourth floors. The third floor
was about five feet down. Luckily, I had my cell phone with me, and I called my friend. We waited
in the elevator for about ten minutes, but it felt like ten hours. Finally, my friend brought a ladder to
the third floor, and we all climbed out of the elevator safely. I was happy to be out of the elevator,
but my stomach hurt, and I couldn’t eat dinner.
Exercise F: Read the paragraph again and number the pictures so they tell the
story in the correct time order.
UsefulItLanguage
was a hot Isummer day and the sun was shining. Suddenly, she heard a noise.
We often use when before the action in the past simple and while before the action in the
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past continuous. Notice when we use a comma(,):
I was sleeping when the phone rang. OR When the phone rang, I was sleeping.
Exercise A: Put the verbs in brackets into the past simple or the past
continuous.
1. It _________ (rain) heavily, and Pete _________ (drive) very fast when he
_________ (have) an accident.
2. It _________ (snow) heavily, and the children _________(make) a snowman
outside. Suddenly, a bright light _________ (appear) in the sky.
3. One day, while I _________ (sit) in the garden, I _________ (hear) a strange
noise. It _________ (come) from the apple tree, so I _________(go) to have a look.
4. The sun _________ (shine), and the birds _________(sing), so we _________
(decide) to go for a picnic.
5. The wind _________ (blow) through the trees, and the wolves _________
(howl) outside. Sandra _________(feel) really scared!
A funny thing 0 happened (happen) while I 1_______________ (fly) to London last summer.
When I 2_______________ (get) on the plane, I 3 _______________(take off) my jacket, and put it
in the overhead locker. When the passenger next to me 4_______________(sit) down, I was
Exercise B: Complete the story. Use the past simple or the past continuous of
surprised to see that she 5_______________(wear) the same jacket as me.
the verbs in brackets. 6
Anyway, the plane _______________ (land), and we went to pick up our bags at the luggage
carousel. While I 7_______________ (wait) for my bags, I 8_______________(decide) to listen to
some music. However, when I 9_______________(look) for my MP3 player in myPage | pocket,
jacket 50 it
10
_______________ (not be) there. Then, I 11_______________ (realize) I had the woman’s jacket,
– and she had mine!
Useful Language II
We also use first, second, then, next, after that, later, last and finally to show the order of
actions. We use them for the events or actions
A Busy in the story. We often use commas after these
Morning
signal
I had awords.
very busy morning yesterday. 1_______________, my alarm went off at 6 a.m., and
I jumped out ofFirst,
bed. 2Liz lived in Bath. Then,
_______________, she moved
I rushed to London
to the kitchen to study
to make Spanish.
breakfast forNext, she went
my husband
Exercise A:
to Spain Complete the paragraph with signal words. Use then, finally, next,
for a year. After that, she lived in Peru for ten years. Finally, she came back to
3
and children.
before, _______________
London. after.
first, and I woke everyone else up, and got dressed for work. At 7:00, we
ate a quick breakfast. I ate very quickly because right 4_______________ breakfast, I had to pack
lunches for my kids, and make sure they were ready for school. My husband left for work at 7:30.
Luckily, he dropped the kids off at school, so I had a few minutes to get myself together
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5
_________ I went to work. 6_______________, I left the house at 7:45, and rushed to catch the 8
o’clock train to my office. By the time I sat down at my desk, I was already exhausted.
Exercise B: Complete the following paragraph with the sentences below.
Organize the events as they occurred in time.
a. About two hours later, we found our hotel.
b. After that, we went to the airport.
c. Finally, our plane took off.
d. Before we left, we packed our suitcases.
e. After we arrived, we went to get our suitcases, but they weren’t there.
f. When we got to the airport, we checked our bags, and went to the gate.
g. Finally, we left the airport.
A Terrible Vacation
Last July, we went to San Francisco for our vacation. 1_____________________________.
We packed lots of shorts, T-shirts, and sandals. 2_______________________________________.
3
____________________________________. The flight was late. We waited at the gate for four
hours! 4_________________________________. We arrived in San Francisco very late at night.
5
____________________________________. They were lost! We filled out a lot of forms at the
airport. It was midnight! 6______________________________. We took the subway, but we got
lost. 7____________________________________. When we woke up the next day, our suitcases
were at the hotel. We were happy. However, the weather was terrible! It was cold and rainy every
Exercise C: Mr. Alden is the director of an English language school. Study his
day, so we bought some warm clothes!
schedule for September 24. Write a paragraph about his day. Use signal words
to guide the reader.
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September 24, 2012
DAILY PLANNER
Morning
8:30-9:00 – greet new students
9:00-10:30 – give test to new students
10:30-11:30 – order textbooks
11:30-12:00 – check e-mail
Afternoon
12:00-1:00 – have lunch with staf
1:00-3:00 – observe classes
3:00-5:00 – attend curriculum meeting
5:00-7:00 – join city tour with new
students
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III. WRITING STRATEGY: Narrating A Personal Experience
In this unit, you will practice writing a personal story about something that happened
in the past. When you tell a story, you organize the events in the story as they occurred in
time. You tell what happened first at the beginning of the story. Then, you tell what happened
second, third and so on. In writing you often do the same thing.
When you write your paragraph:
write your main idea in the first sentence – what kind of an experience was it?
use time order to organize your sentences
include time-order signal words to explain the order of events
rephrase your main idea in the last sentence
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3. Underline the signal words in the paragraph.
4. What is the concluding sentence?
___________________________________________________________________
___________
Exercise B: Each group of sentences tell a story, but the sentences are not in
the correct time order. Number the sentences so they follow a logical order.
Then, write the sentences in paragraph form.
My Trip to Chicago
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
____ By lunchtime, it was warmer, so I took the sweater off in the cafeteria.
____ When I told Helen, she was furious because her boyfriend’s mother had made
it.
____ Yesterday my roommate, Helen, got very mad at me.
____ It was cold in the morning, and I borrowed a sweater from her.
____ After lunch, I forgot about the sweater, and left it in the cafeteria.
____ In fact, Helen was so angry that she didn’t speak to me for the rest of the day.
____ Later, I went back to get it, but the sweater was gone!
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An Angry Roommate
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________
Exercise C: Read the following paragraphs and answer the questions.
Pedalling On My Own
___________________________________________________________________. I was
about six years old when my sister told me that I was too old to still be riding a bike with training
wheels. That was the time when I decided not to depend on them anymore. Although I had some
doubts, my sister and I went outside and started to take the little wheels off my bike. After we
took the training wheels off, I was ready for the big moment. With butterflies in my stomach, I
slowly got on the bike, and with shaky hands, I gripped the handles tightly. Meanwhile, my sister
was holding on to me to help me keep my balance. Next, with a little push from her, I started to
pedal. The faster my bike went, the faster my heart raced. Finally, I looked back nervously and
noticed that my sister was not holding on to me anymore. I got so excited that I forgot to pedal
and lost my balance. The next thing I remembered was lying on the ground, but I did not care.
____________ _______________________________________________________________.
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2. Write the first sentence for the paragraph.
3. Write the last sentence for the paragraph.
a training wheel
A Costly Lesson
One Saturday last June, just two days after my high school graduation, a night of
celebration turned into a costly lesson for me. I was out with a couple of my friends and we made
stops at such popular hangouts as Jolly Joker’s, Hayal Kahvesi, and Babylon, and at each of these
spots I drank a margarita or two. When I said goodbye to my friends and poured myself into the
car at three o’clock in the morning, I thought I was sober enough to drive home safely.
____________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________. After this event, I
made a promise not to drink and drive ever again.
Exercise C: Work with a partner. Look at the four pictures. They tell a story
about a couple who had a bad experience at a restaurant. The pictures are not
in the correct order. Number the pictures so they tell the story in a logical
order.
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___________________________________________________________________
________
___________________________________________________________________
________
Picture 2:
___________________________________________________________________
________
___________________________________________________________________
________
Picture 3:
___________________________________________________________________
________
___________________________________________________________________
________
Picture 4:
___________________________________________________________________
________
___________________________________________________________________
________
Now put your sentences into a paragraph. Don’t forget to write the main idea
in the first sentence and to connect the other events with time order signal
words.
_____________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
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___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
____________________________
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_____________________________
Kenan had the most frustrating day of his life last Monday.
___________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
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___________________________________________________________________
____________________
(2)
_____________________________
Nesrin had a very stressful day yesterday.
_________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
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___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
____________________
___________________________________________________________________
______________
(3)
_____________________________
A very sad thing happened to Josh last year.
_______________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
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___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
__________________________________
Exercise E: Last year was too depressing for Sharon. Why do you think she
was depressed? What happened? Think about the reasons with a friend and
list them below.
1. ________________________ 3. ________________________ 5.
_________________________
2. ________________________ 4. ________________________ 6.
_________________________
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_____________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
______________
___________________________________________________________________
______________
IV. WRITING THE FIRST DRAFT
Page | 66
Now it’s time to write the first draft about a memorable day in your life. Use your
notes from Exercise C (p. 42), and language from Useful Language sections (p. 44
& 45) to help you. You can also add any other ideas that come to mind.
Choose a memorable day in your life. Make a list of the important events of the
day. Organise your list according to time order.
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
You can use one of the following sentences as the main idea (first sentence) of
your paragraph or write your own.
1. A very ______________ thing happened to me on / in / at
__________________.
2. One day / summer / winter my friends and I had a (n) ______________
experience.
3. My trip to ______________ was very ______________.
4. ______________ was one of the ________________ days of my life.
______________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
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___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___
V. REVISING
Exchange paragraphs with a partner. Read the paragraph that your partner
wrote. Then use the revising checklist to help your partner improve his or her
paragraph.
REVISING CHECKLIST
YES NOT YET
1. Has s/he written a title for his/her paragraph?
2. Has s/he given the main idea in the first sentence of his/her paragraph?
3. Has s/he written a concluding sentence?
4. Has s/he written his/her sentences in correct time order?
5. Has s/he used any words or phrases from the Vocabulary Pool?
6. Has s/he used any time order signal words?
7. Has s/he started every sentence with a capital letter?
8. Has s/he ended every sentence with a period?
1. What do you like about your partner’s paragraph? Underline two or three parts.
Tell your partner.
2. Show your partner the checklist. Discuss your answers. Do you have any
suggestions for your partner?
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Write the second draft
Look at the checklist that your partner completed for your first draft and think about
what s/he said. Did your partner give you any ideas you can use? For example, can
you add any more sentences with before, when, or after? Rewrite your draft with the
changes.
__________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___
___________________________________________________________________
______________
___________________________________________________________________
______________
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___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
____________________________
___________________________________________________________________
______________
REFERENCES
Books:
Blanchard, K. & Root, C. (2010) Ready To Write 1. Pearson Longman
Blanchard, K. & Root, C. (2010) Ready To Write 2. Pearson Longman
Blass, L. & Gordon, D. (2010) From Sentence To Paragraph. Cambridge University
Press
Pavlik, C. & Segal, M. K. (2007) Interactions 1 Writing. Mc Graw Hill
Other sources:
http://english120.pbworks.com/w/page/19006987/narrative%20paragraphs
http://myreadwritebooster.wordpress.com/writing-3/2-paragraph-writing/6-
narrative-paragraph/
http://www.sinclair.edu/centers/tlc/pub/handouts_worksheets/english/075sample_pa
ragraph_personal_narrative.pdf
http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/health/#Emergency
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