TASK You have two days to complete this task. Follow the advice given above and collect five interesting new words. FOCUS ON WRITING. « Improving your vocabulary and expression Examiners will look specifically at your vocabulary: its range and suitability for the task. For example, in formal writing tasks, such as a business letter, you will be expected to use standard English. With more imaginative writing, such as short stories, readers will expect imagery and powerful verbs and adjectives. WAYS TO INCREASE YOUR VOCABULARY 1 BECOME A MAGPIE: PICK UP NEW WORDS BY BEING “WORD AWARE’ Listen and look out for new words in a whole variety of situations - subjects at school, programmes on TV, anything you read. When you hear a new word that sounds interesting, note it down; look it up in a dictionary; ask someone what it means; try using it yourself. For each one: © write it in the space below (spelt correctly); * give its dictionary meaning (don't just guess); © to show that you know what it means, write a sentence using the new word.3. Persuasion ~ the purpose of this type of writing is to influence or convince others to adopt a particular point of view. It could include writing a newspaper or magazine article, a travel brochure or a pamphlet for a pressure group like Greenpeace. —— TASK Write a travel brochure persuading people to visit the town, city or countryside where you live. Nees ans General opening ~ why it is a great place to visit The place Highlight some key features that will attract people Describe the features of the main attraction Best activity << Give another reason why this attraction is good, perhaps mention another one close by Buildings or landscape Other features of interest Ease of travel, friendly people Final incentives <— Don't miss out on... HINTS. you must: You will feel under pressure because of the time lim © understand the type of writing you have been asked to complete; * remember how this writing type should be structured; * organise the order of your paragraphs before you begin to write; * plan your paragraphs — content and style; * bring your writing to a conclusion. in your Test, but Ce eee ee ee eee BW ee eee ee ee © » FOCUS ON WRITING2 HOOK UP TO A THESAURUS, EITHER IN BOOK FORM OR ON THE COMPUTER A thesaurus gives you more interesting words that you might be able to use instead of a dull, overused word. For example, here are some of the alternatives that the Collins Thesaurus gives for ‘walk’: amble, hike, march, saunter, stride, stroll, traipse, tramp, trudge Don’t expect that every word given to you as an alternative can be used in place of the one you have just looked up. You need to test out the alternatives to make sure that they really do fit. Every day seemed hotter than the last in the small Cambodian TASK | village. The parched land was scorched and even the weeds on it A thesaurus had withered. The water in the river that meandered through has provided the fields was almost all gone. The riverbed lay cracked into alternatives to smooth brown clay tiles. The sky, no longer blue, glared a some of the painful yellow. The sun was hidden by dust. small: tiny diminutive unimportant little miniature land: ground territory place soil earth fields: countryside territory grassland area meadows brown: chocolate russet brunette bronzed tanned painful: throbbing anguished excruciating burning agonizing |The country needs farming to help its people to live. Farming TASK 2 also gives the people a good source of raw material to help the Pick out five country’s industry and it also helps to bring in cash from other words from this countries. Unfortunately water shortages have a bad effect on extract and use | farming. Food can become scarce, especially in dry areas where a thesaurus to the people depend on irrigation to supply their valuable water. find a more _ eae ec | Word from the extract: Replacement: 2 Word from the extract: Replacement: 3 Word from the extract: Replacement: 4 Word from the extract: Replacement: 5 Word from the extract: Replacement: HINTS. Using a wider vocabulary is important because it: * helps you avoid repetition; ‘* makes your writing more interesting; * allows you to choose more appropriate words; * enables you to be more precise. iaaateantd uidance are on "3 page 113. eee ew ew we ewww eee eee BE tee ee ee eo « « FOCUS ON WRITINGTASKA Purpose: to explain the term ‘endangered species’ Intended readers: children aged 9-10 years old Forma leaflet encouraging young people to learn more Answers and guidance are on page 113, 3 CHECK YOUR EXPRESSION AND TONE Make sure that the language you use suits the form and purpose of your writing. There are occasions where too formal a tone is unsuitable. You also need to consider the likely age of your intended readers. Look at the vocabulary and expression in the following extracts. Circle the words and phrases where you think the writer has used inappropriate language. Add your suggestions as annotations at the side. Then rewrite the extracts in a more appropriate style. -—_—__- What is an ‘endangered species”? Flora and fauna that are in . jeopardy may be classified as ‘endangered’ if they run the risk of extinction by fulfilling certain criteria. The species in question must be: © declining in numbers; * confined to a small, possibly fragmented population; * occur in only a small region; * liable to become extinct Some susceptible species are less within a specified time. severely threatened, but they are constantly at risk if they lose their remaining habitat. Children can contribute to the protection of such vulnerable organisms by gaining an enduring awareness of the consequences that will follow the destruction of significant areas of the planet. ($m SSS FOCUS ON WRITING so eee eee eee BR ve eee eee ee eee ence eneTASK B Purpose: to give information about the history of the melon Intended readers: adults/gardeners Melons: In England we are just beginning to try our hand at growing melons, but did you know they have been grown in France for ages? In fact no one actually knows exactly how long. The first crystal-clear date that we have on record is roundabout 1495, when, rumour has it, King Charles VIII smuggled in some seeds following a jaunt visiting the pope in Italy, Those popes certainly chomped their way through a lot of melons, even tho’ they were then mega expensive. Word is that one greedy glutton, Pope Paul II, actually died of gorging himself on them in 1471. Form:a gardening encyclopaedia HINTS * You will not be able to use a dictionary or a thesaurus in your ‘Test, but training yourself to use them beforehand will help raise your awareness about words in general. © In your Test, read through your work and look for places where using a more interesting or more exact word would be better. Make changes and don’t worry if it looks a little untidy. You will in fact be given credit for demonstrating your editing skills. © Remember, it is always better to use a higher-level word, rather than an ordinary one, even if you are not sure of the spelling. You gain more credit for an interesting, unusual or more exact word, even if incorrectly spelt, than for a correctly spelt ordinary word. © Always take care to match your vocabulary, tone and expression to the task and intended audience. But be careful, never let your expression become too informal in a Test. Answers and guidance are on page 114. cs + ee ee ee © @ © FOCUS ON WRITING 33ON4 Gaining confidence with spelling Some marks for the shorter writing task on the Writing Paper are allocated to spelling, but many more marks are given to ‘the way you write and what you have to say. Nevertheless, taking care with your spelling will help you communicate clearly and avoid confusion. Ae WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR SPELLING One of the best ways to improve your spelling is to know where your greatest weaknesses lie, Which words are most likely to catch you out? You can be forgiven for not being able to spell unusual or difficult words, such as trepidation or ventriloquist, but you ought to be able to manage words such as because, disappear or necessary. STEP 1 ATTACK YOUR OWN ‘DANGER POINTS’ Everyone has words that they know are trouble. The trick is to make a real effort to master these words and find a way of making sure you remember them once and for all! 1 Look through your written work in several subjects. 2 Make a list of your common mistakes. 3 Leave aside specialist words related only to a particular subject. 4 Write your ‘top ten’ most common errors of everyday words in the boxes on the left. Choose five of these words and for each one invent a ‘mnemonic. ‘A mnemonic works like this: * for each letter, choose a word that begins with that letter; @ make the words you choose into a memorable phrase; © remember the saying, and you will remember how to spell the word. Here's an example, Add your own in the other boxes. silly elephants pamper artful rats attacking their enclosure FOCUS ON WRITING «ee ee ee ee ee BA tee eee ee ee eee ew ene