Source: www.rubenvalero.com
ARTICLE INTRODUCTION
Please Note*
In my opinion, it’s easier to write an essay, review, report, letter or email, but students with a higher level can get a good mark writing articles.
Put yourself in the position of the Cambridge examiner who corrects your tests.
Let’s imagine he/she corrects 100 writings in 1 day!
40% are essays, 30% are emails. The rest are reviews, reports and articles.
As Steve Jobs said: ‘’Be different’’.
SUGGESTIONS
Here are a few tips about writing articles if you decide to choose this option for part 2 of the Writing Test.
Ask yourself the following 5 questions when you write your answer:
1. Who will read my article?
Read the question! It might be:
Students in a school, the people who live in a town, teenagers interested in sports clubs, etc…
IMAGINE YOU ARE REALLY SPEAKING TO THE READER, SO……
GET THEIR INTEREST!!!
2. Am I attracting the attention of this reader?
Imagine you are surfing the internet for a product.
What gets your attention?
SPECIAL OFFER! SUPER DISCOUNTS! DON’T MISS THIS OFFER!
THE GREATEST SALE IN HISTORY! UNBELIEVABLE PRICES!
Use striking adjectives and provoke a reaction!!
3. Is my article interesting?
Boring is bad! Use real life situations, add a touch of humour, invent amusing ideas, speak directly to the reader and ask rhetorical questions if the style is friendly and informal.
You can use one question per paragraph.
4. Is it easy to read?
Structure
Write an Introduction like an aperitif! Then your reader knows what the article is about. Don’t give too much information though because the reader will switch off and lose interest.
Divide your article into 3 or 4 paragraphs and give each paragraph a subheading (an underlined title). For example:
Disadvantages of technology in sports clases
5. Has my article got a good conclusion?
This is NOT AN ESSAY!
It doesn’t need a solid scientific conclusión to summarize the ponts you made.
It’s more important to let the reader think about it and decide for himself/herself.
You can use a rhetorical question to finish such as:
How often will this situation continue until somebody….? or
Is this really the future we want for…..?
PLAN
And of course,….make a plan for 5 or 10 minutes before you start writing!!! You have to write about 190 words in 40 minutes.
| PARAGRAPH PLAN (approx. number of words) | CONTENT |
| INTRODUCTION (30-40) | |
| PARAGRAPH 1 with subheading (30-40) | |
| PARAGRAPH 2 with subheading (30-40) | |
| PARAGRAPH 3 with subheading (30-40) | |
| CONCLUSION (40-50) |
Now look at some sample answers for Articles in the Writing Part 2 section of the website, and see how I answered this type of question.