Christmas holiday homework

A girl from your town recently won X Factor. Write an article for you local newspaper about her. It should be between 300 and 400 words long.

I am not going to give you any more help than this – you will learn how to write articles next term, then you will write a new version of the article and compare it with this one so you can see the progress you have made. 

Merry Christmas!

Guides

For the rest of the term we will be focussing on how to write a guide. You can use the guide below both as a guide on how to write guides, but also as an example of what a guide should look like since it is, in fact, a guide itself. I hope that isn’t too confusing!

HOW TO WRITE A GUIDE

One of the things you might have to do in the exam is write a guide. You should be aiming for somewhere between three and four hundred words and, broadly speaking, it will either need to be:

Instructional

Guides are usually instructional, meaning the purpose of them is give people instructions about how to do something, for example, operate a PlayStation or survive a zombie apocalypse. In this case, you need to use quite formal language.

Or:

Persuasive

Sometimes, however, they are persuasive, meaning the purpose of them is to try and persuade people to do something, for example, visit your town. In this case, you can use more informal language with lots of positive details and adjectives (describing words).

Whether your guide is instructional or persuasive, you must make sure it has the following:

·        A main title, e.g. ‘What to do in the event of a fire’ or ‘How to survive a Maths lesson’

·        An introductory paragraph giving an overview of whatever the guide is about

·        Subheadings, e.g. ‘Call the fire brigade’ or ‘Weaponry’

·        Bullet points

·        Short sentences and paragraphs – remember: this is not an essay or a short story; your text should be broken down into small, easy-to-read chunks

·        Some bold text

·        Some headings in capitals

Basically, your guide should like this guide, that is, the one you have just read, because it is a guide – a guide on how to write guides!

Homework, Thursday, 26th November

This week I would like you to write a letter to your friend in Spain, telling him/her that you are planning to visit. Make sure you mention:

* How excited you are
* All the things you hope you can do while you are over there

Homework, 19th November, 2015

This week I would like you to write an informal letter to your friend in hospital, who has a broken leg. Ask him/her:

* How they broke their leg

* How they are

* What plans you have for when they get out

You can use the stuff in the previous post to help you. 

Informal letters

For the next few lessons, we are going to focus on writing informal letters. Below is some stuff you can use to help you with this. 

Francis Benali

12 Bishop’s Avenue

Fulham

SW6 6EG

1^st October 2015

Dear Tiffany,

How are you? Actually, that’s kind of a silly question – I know how you are, you’ve got a broken leg. But how are you generally? I’ve been okay – a bit nervous about exams, so I haven’t been sleeping that well, but I’m mainly good. What are you going to do about your exams? Will they let you take them in the hospital?

I was thinking that when you get out of hospital, we could go bowling. Remember how we used to love going when we were kids, well, we haven’t been for years, so we should do that again. It was always so much fun. We could also go to the cinema – there are loads of new films out that I want to see, although I guess they’ll all be finished by the time you’re out. Oh well, I’m sure there’ll be loads of new films out by then. I must get by the hospital to come and see you soon. I haven’t been yet because I’ve been revising so hard, but that’s not really much of an excuse because friends are more important than exams. How about next Wednesday? I should be free from about 2pm onwards.

Anyway, I have to go – got more revision to do, obviously, but hopefully I’ll see you soon.

Lots of love,

                             Francis

Generic informal letter structure

Your address, e.g.: Baz Bazinga 12 Bishop’s Avenue London SW6 6EG

The date in long form, e.g.: 15th September, 2015

Dear Anna Or whatever the name of the person you are writing to is. You will usually be allowed to choose the name yourself.

In the first paragraph, ask how the person is and what he/she has been up to in an informal way, e.g. How’s it going? Then tell him/her what you’ve been up to, e.g. I’ve been studying for my GCSEs, which is really boring. At the weekends I’ve been taking Karate lessons …

In the second paragraph, respond to the question, so, for example, if you are writing to your friend in hospital, ask him/her how he/she ended up there.

In the third paragraph, say you hope that you will see whoever you are writing to soon.

Sign off informally, e.g. Lots of love

Write your first name only

Generic informal letter prompt sheet

Key words
Nouns Hospital Illness Injury Birthday Christmas X Box PlayStation DVD Television Holiday	Verbs Studying Reading Swimming Running Playing Sleeping Healing Resting Eating Having	Adjectives Quiet Loud Exciting Boring Interesting Great Fun Painful Brilliant Terrible
Useful sentences/ideas How’s it going? What have you been up to? I hope you’re okay. I hope to see you soon. I’ve been ·         Reading loads of books ·         Watching lots of television ·         Swimming ·         Learning to play the flute ·         Playing lots of X Box

Homework (or lack thereof)

Hi,

Due to the fact that I missed last Thursday's lesson and I forgot to leave the homework folders out, there was no homework. 

Fear not, however, as homework will make a return this week!

Homework, 5th November, 2015

This week I would you like to re-write a terrible job application letter. Some of the terrible things about it are obvious, but some are more subtle. In particular, you will need to keep an eye out for things that might be missing. Here it is:

Wally Bazoon

123 Fake Street

Fake Town

FA1 1FA

Dear Mr or Mrs

I am writing to apply for the job of IT technician at your company. Below I have outlined the reasons why.

Firstly, I am lazy, and very rarely get any work done. I would much rather sit around playing Grand Theft Auto 5 than doing work. Basically, work sucks. Secondly, I never show up on time as I just love sleeping too much. Sometimes I’ll sleep till, like, 5 o’ clock in the afternoon. Thirdly, I am a terrible leader and work badly in a team as well, as I often lose my temper and punch people. Fourthly, I have poor communication skills and just can’t deal with customers as they wind me up. Finally, I don’t have any of the skills necessary to be an IT technician, like programming or fixing software problems.

In terms of relevant experience, I have none. I have never worked in IT before. The closest I have come to this is that I spent three years as a chef on a submarine. I do have a laptop, but I don’t really know how it works. I have a few completely irrelevant qualifications, like a BTEC in PE, but apart from this, nothing.

For these reasons, I think you will agree that I am completely unsuitable for the job and I don’t expect to hear from you any time soon.

Seeya,

Wally

You can use the following prompt sheet to help you write your new version, along with the example letter I included in my previous post and the guidelines underneath:

Generic job application letter prompt sheet

Skills Leadership Being a team player Good communication skills Being independent and industrious Confident Following instructions
Experience/qualifications Working in a similar job for a certain number of years A university degree GCSEs/A Levels Certificates
Nouns Independence Motivation Help Creativity Imagination Skills Position Job Experience	Verbs Working Communicating Helping Thinking Doing Understanding Motivating Assisting Leading	Adjectives Independent Understanding Efficient Motivated Creative Imaginative Dynamic Industrious Resourceful

Generic job application letter structure guidelines

Your address, e.g.: Mr Quillfeldt 12 Bishop’s Avenue London SW6 6EG

The date in long form, e.g.: 15th September, 2015

The address of the person you are writing to, e.g.: The Manager Sunrise Café 16 Cornwall Road FS1 1FS

If you don’t know the name of the person you are writing to, start Dear Sir/Madam. If you do know the name of the person you are writing to, start Dear Mr if it is male, or Ms if it is a female.

In the first paragraph, explain why you are writing the letter, e.g.: I am writing to you to apply for the position of … Then explain where you saw the job advertised, e.g.: I saw the job advertised online/in a shop window/in a newspaper (pick one).

In the second paragraph, explain what skills you have that would be useful, e.g.: I am a good team player

In the third paragraph, explain what relevant experience and qualifications you have, e.g.: I spent two years working in a café. I have a food hygiene certificate.

In the fourth paragraph, sum everything up, e.g.: For these reasons, I believe I would be ideal for the job and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sign off. If you know the name of the person you are writing to, use Yours sincerely. If you don’t know the name of the person, use Yours faithfully.

Write your name

Formal letters

Broadly speaking, there are three scenarios in which you would have to write a formal letter:

* To apply for a job
* To complain about something
* To give your views on a particular topic

For the next few lessons, we are going to focus on the first of these. 

Below is an example of the kind of thing you need to be able to write:

Job application letter example

Professor Jane McGonagall,

7 McTavish Street,

Edinburgh,

ED1 1ED.

12th November, 1972

The Headmaster,

Hogwarts,

1 Hogwarts Street,

HO1 1HO

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to you to apply for the position of teacher at Hogwarts School, having seen the advertisement in the newspaper.

I feel I would be excellent for the position as I perform extremely well as part of a team, but can work independently to complete tasks. In addition to this, I am reliable, hard-working, and have good communication skills.

You will also see from my CV, which I have included with this letter, that I have five years’ experience of teaching and a university degree in spells. I have worked in both the state and private sector, and have a track record of achieving outstanding results. Furthermore, I have leadership experience, having been both a Head of Department and Head of Faculty in two of the schools I have worked in.

I am sure you will agree, therefore, that I am the ideal candidate for this position. I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Jane MacGonagall

List of adverbs

In the last post I gave you a list of adjectives you could use to make your writing more interesting. In this post I'm going to give you a list of adverbs. Remember: adverbs are adjectives which are used only to describe verbs. 

EXAMPLE:

The girl ran quickly around the corner. In this sentence, 'ran' is the verb and 'quickly' is the adverb. 

I'm not quite sure why some of the words are clustered together on the left hand side - it didn't look like that when I laid it out in the template!

quietly          loudly             softly            quickly                speedily              rapidly

hurriedly           hastily              slowly               carefully             cautiously

thoughtfully          thoughtlessly              pedantically              gracefully

peacefully           sorrowfully               happily               gladly              horridly

grotesquely               viciously          nastily         cruelly         kindly           greedily              

famously              tragically            outrageously              mercifully             elegantly

bravely            anxiously             nervously            shyly             calmly           brightly

painfully             perfectly            recently            politely              occasionally

regularly           smoothly           roughly             suspiciously            thoughtfully

seriously             jokingly            selfishly           altruistically             basically

correctly             incorrectly             intentionally              unintentionally

purposefully            accidentally               easily              beautifully          magnificently

violently               aggressively

List of adjectives

If you ever get stuck trying to describe something in an interesting way, you can use some of the adjectives below to help you. 

Tall   Short    Long       Thin     Twisted       Warped       Gnarled

Tropical       Hot         Dry           Arid           Barren     Beautiful

Stunning         Breath-taking          Dreamlike         Ethereal

Peaceful           Glowing          Shimmering           Twinkling

Towering           Looming         Imposing          Huge       Enormous

Colossal       Small        Tiny         Miniscule         Terrifying

Scary         Disconcerting        Unsettling         Old         Ancient

Crumbling          Decaying            Dilapidated        Archaic

Pristine          Shiny          New         Clean      Dirty      Disgusting

Horrible         Horrendous

Homework, 15th October, 2015

Now that you know the basics of writing dialogue, the next stage is to work on making that dialogue more interesting. Complete the activities below (you should also have a paper copy in your homework folder) to help you with this. 

How to make dialogue more interesting

You now know how to write dialogue, but can you write it well? This worksheet will help you learn how to make boring dialogue more interesting.

1. The easiest way to do this is to try and use alternatives to the word ‘said’.

EXAMPLE:

        ‘How much further is it to the palace?’ said Mario.

        ‘Not far,’ said Luigi.

This is fine, but it’s not great. This would be more interesting:

        ‘How much further is it to the palace?’ asked Mario.

        ‘Not far,’ replied Luigi.

YOUR TURN:

Have a go at making these bits of dialogue more interesting by using alternatives the word ‘said’. You will find some suggestions in the box underneath the dialogue.

        ‘How did we get into this situation?’ Mario said across the ravine.

        ‘How dare you speak to me like that?!’ the princess said.

        ‘Aaaaargh!’ said Luigi.

        ‘What’s going on here?’ said Bowser.

        ‘Erm … we were just, you know, hanging out,’ Mario said.

yelled           snapped             screamed               shouted asked                 enquired                    explained           replied

2. You can also vary where you put the name of the character who is speaking.

EXAMPLE:

        ‘Now where did I leave my wrench?’ said Mario.

This can become:

        ‘Now where did I leave my wrench?’ Mario said.

YOUR TURN:

Have a go at making these bits of dialogue more interesting by changing where the name of the character goes.

        ‘Why are these mushrooms so big?’ asked Luigi.

        ‘I have to be honest,’ said the princess, ‘but I was kind of expecting a handsome prince.’

        ‘Oh,’ replied Mario, ‘I’m sorry. Maybe we should go, then.’

        ‘What on earth is the meaning of this outrage?!’ Bowser bellowed.

        ‘Keep your voice down,’ whispered Luigi. 

Another way you can make dialogue more interesting is by using adverbs to describe how people are talking.

EXAMPLE:

     ‘I … I’m sorry,’ Mario said timidly.

YOUR TURN:

Have a go at adding adverbs to make the dialogue more interesting. You will find some suggestions in the box underneath the dialogue.

        ‘Dammit,’ exclaimed Luigi ______________. ‘I left my plunger back in Milan!’

        ‘I think we’ve finally found the castle!’ Mario said _____________.

        ‘I think it’s in there,’ Luigi whispered _______________, ‘but it looks kind of scary.’

        ‘I’m so embarrassed,’ the princess said ______________.

Homework, 8th October 2015

This week I would like you to complete pages 1 - 3 of the dialogue writing booklet. Some of the tasks are quite tricky, so don't panic if you struggle - just make sure you have a go. I have copied and pasted a slightly different (due to formatting issues) version of the booklet below. Some of the tasks refer to arrows, which show up as boxes. 

The basics of writing dialogue

1. Everything a character says should have speech marks either side of it.

EXAMPLE:

       

‘What is our mission?’ asked Mario.

‘How many times,’ said Luigi, ‘do we have to defeat Bowser in battle before he actually dies?’

It is up to you whether you want to use double (“) speech marks or single (‘) speech marks, but generally speaking, in England we use singles, whereas in America they use doubles.

YOUR TURN:

Have a go at putting speech marks around all the speech in the lines below:

If you jump up there you get an extra life, said Mario.

So what’s the name of this princess we’re supposed to be rescuing? asked Luigi.

Oh no, it’s Bowser! Mario exclaimed.

The funny thing is, said Luigi, I’ve never done any plumbing in my life!

You saved me! said Princess Peach. She was so happy to see them. If it wasn’t for you, I’d still be stuck in that tower.

It’s funny, said Mario, but I don’t think I’ve ever actually been to Italy. Me neither, Luigi replied.

2. When a new person starts speaking, you start a new line and indent it, but as the speech carries on, you do not indent.

EXAMPLE:

     ‘How are we going to get there?’ asked Mario.

        ‘I think we have to jump over that giant mushroom but it looks quite difficult,’ Luigi replied.

In this example, the long lines show where the paragraph should be indented, and the shorter line shows where it should just carry on.

YOUR TURN:

If you are doing this on a computer, have a go at using the tab key to indent the speech in the correct places below. If you are doing this on paper, draw arrows to show where the indentations should go. Either way, you will also need to add speech marks.

I don’t know if I can jump that high, said Mario.

My head hurts from all the blocks I’ve been headbutting, Mario complained.

Where’s the castle?’ Luigi asked. I think it’s just past that giant pool of fire, Mario replied.

You’ll never guess who I saw the other day, said Luigi. Who? asked Mario. Only that Sonic the Hedgehog, Luigi told him.

Do you ever get bored of this? Luigi asked. Bored of what? Mario replied. You know, said Luigi, all this running around and jumping. Erm, said Mario as he thought about this, not really, to be honest.

3. Most of the time, a spoken sentence will end with a comma, followed by the closing speech mark, then an explanation of who is speaking, followed by a full stop. Sometimes, the character will then start a new sentence, which will need to start with a capital letter.

EXAMPLE:

     ‘Let’s jump up onto that ledge to get a better look,’ said Mario. ‘From up there, we should be able to see.’

The arrows show the comma, the closing speech mark and the full stop.

YOUR TURN:

Have a go at adding commas, speech marks and full stops to the following sentences. You will also need to indent or draw arrows where appropriate.

I don’t know where to go next said Mario

I think we have to jump across that ravine replied Luigi

Ha ha ha! I’ve got you now exclaimed Bowser There’s no escape this time

Oh no said Mario he’s got us now. There’s no escape this time

He’s got us now said Luigi

I do hope those brave plumbers can rescue me said Princess Peach

4. Sometimes you will want to let the reader know who is speaking in the middle of a long sentence, so as not to keep them hanging. It is okay to break up a spoken sentence to do this.

EXAMPLE:

        ‘I think it’s fire,’ said Mario, ‘but I can’t be sure.’

The top arrows show where the second set of speech marks should go. The first bottom arrow shows where a comma should go and the second bottom arrow shows where a full stop should go.

YOUR TURN:

Have a go at adding commas, speech marks and full stops to the sentences below. You will also need to indent or add arrows to show where indentations should be.

I know a great restaurant said Mario where they serve enormous bowls of pasta

I don’t understand said Luigi why we have to rescue this princess

It does seem a little strange said Mario that we should go to so much effort to rescue her when we don’t even know anything about her

When all this is over said Luigi can we go and live on a beach somewhere great idea said Mario