•You
are volunteering with a local organisation that is trying to clean up local
forests and to protect the animals within them.
•Write
a blog post to reflect on your experiences so far…
Monday, 20 March 2017
Writing a blog...
Make sure you have an engaging title:
How to start?
· For many people,…
· I’ve been waiting to write this for some time…
· So, if you haven’t heard about the recent controversy of …
· So, I recently went to …
· I know I’ve posted about … before, but …
· From … to …, our … have
· There’s a story currently…
· Nowadays, I find myself …
· So, this post is going to …
Expressions/ Idiomatic vocabulary
· Well, it goes without saying that …
· If I could put my finger on one thing in particular, it would be …
· Shame it doesn’t work like that.
· It goes hand in hand with …
· Rhetorical questions and answers: Who knows? I don´t. …, right? But when did … become …?
· Yes/No, …
· A distraction that I, for one, can’t wait to get rid of.
· How dare he/ she/ they!
· I have never eye-rolled this much…
· Let’s face it …
· Boo them!/ Cheer them!
· Needless to say …
· Anyway, each to their own.
· To become a dartboard - to become a target
· To go through the roof - to increase
Introducing yourself in the text/ expressing opinions
· As a teenager
· As a black woman…
· How much I care…
· But that’s just me.
· I never thought I’d find myself saying this but …
· I must say that I agree/disagree with …
· If I could put my finger on one thing in particular, it would be …
· What I do know is …
· Aghh, I’m sorry, I don’t mean to sound like …
· So, I’m here to …
· As much as I think that …, I also think that …
· I love…
· I reckon… (informal for I think)
· I guess there is/are …
· I was pretty freaking amazed…
· Oddly, while…
· Aside from the fact that I’m …, I also think …
· Shock horror, I’m not into …
Speaking directly to your reader
· Ha! Don’t be ridiculous!
· Don’t try and kid yourself!
· Don’t be silly enough to…
· Get off your high horse!
· Get off your soap box!
· Make a difference!
· By the way, …
How to end?
· If you want to share/ offer your opinion and join in with this conversation, please leave a comment below.
· I’d love to know your thoughts so leave a comment below!
· If you agree with me, please share my post.
EXTRA: Idioms are an excellent way to show off in informal writing. Try to learn some of the ones below and use them in your blog.
CAE Idioms
Body Idioms
Sunday, 5 March 2017
Reading comprehension Practice
In preparation for our Reading exam on Wednesday, work through the reading comprehension exercises via the following link:
Friday, 3 March 2017
Thursday, 2 March 2017
Debate: Artificial Intelligence will be a disaster for humanity
As a summative assessment, you will be conducting a debate based on whether or not you agree with the following statement:
´Artificial Intelligence will be a disaster for humanity.´
Do you agree or disagree?
You will be assessed on how well you put your views across, as well as the quality of your English.
Quizlet List: Debating Verbs
Verbs:
To improve / worsen
To encourage / prevent
To support / object to
To develop
To provide (with)
To implement
To solve
To allow / permit / let
Be Convincing:
Without a shadow of a doubt, …
It is absolutely vital that / crucial that …
There is no question that
Scenarios:
Imagine a society where…
Wouldn’t you prefer …?
Techniques to involve the audience:
We all know that… (get the listeners on your side)
Think about it: … (use imperatives to attract the audience’s attention)
I’m sure that everyone in the room would agree / recognize / accept … (encourage your listener to agree)
Let’s face it, … (making something seem like a self-evident truth)
Imagine a school where … Does this sound ……….? (scenario)
Would you really ………? (rhetorical question – add detail)
What next? Would you accept …(use exaggeration)
Connnectives
·Although / Even though / Though
·Despite / In spite of
·Therefore / As a result of this / Consequently
·On the other hand / However / Yet / Conversely
·Otherwise / If not
·This may lead to / This could cause
·Without
·If
·As
·Whereas
·While
·Therefore
·Due to this
·First of all / Firstly / Secondly / Thirdly / Furthermore / Moreover / In addition to this
·In conclusion / In summary / To sum up, …
·…for two main reasons: Firstly…., Secondly, …
·Unfortunately / Undoubtedly / Currently / Unsurprisingly
Lists of 3:
Adjectives (It is expensive, inefficient and unreliable)
Nouns (It would negatively affect students, parents and teachers.)
Verbs (to improve, renovate and develop …)
Points (It would lead to an increase in the profits of the company, a positive impression of the business and a number of new customers)
Knock down the other side of the argument:
While it’s true that …,
Although many people may agree that…
Yes, …. Yes, … and yes, … However, have you seriously considered ….?
Rhetorical questions (and provide a detailed response to your own question):
Do you honestly want to implement a system which ….?
Use of facts and statistics (To back up your arguments)
In fact, according to recet studies 87% of scientists said that...
To back up my point, an article I read in the Guardian written by the scientist Nick Cohen stated that...
How will I be marked in the debate?
•Criterion C:
–Key points and ideas
–Debating techniques
–Responding to the opposition’s point
–Appropriate register and style
•Criterion D:
–Grammar
–Vocabulary (e.g. Quizlet words)
–Fluency
–Pronunciation and intonation
Revise debating verbs using the following Quizlet link:
Top Tips
•About ten strong ideas to support your argument
•Be prepared to counter your opponents’ arguments
•Use a range of persuasive devices within each argument
•Use appropriate debating etiquette
•Include a range of sophisticateddebating phrases (see above)
Debate Arrangements
Each individual needs about 3 unique arguments they can use in their debate.
These need to be backed up by quotes from articles, by statistics etc to make your arguments strong.
You will be marked on how well you respond to the other group and your use of debating vocab and etiquette
Aiming for a total of 10-15 minutes debate as a group.
When debating you cannot have sheets and sheets of notes. You are only allowed a cue card of notes that is the size of a quarter of a side of A4.
Each individual utterance must not succeed 40 seconds so that EVERYONE has a chance to speak and contribute.
Wednesday, 1 March 2017
Crit C and D - Preparing for our Oral on Artificial Intelligence
´Artificial Intelligence will be a disaster for humanity.´
Do you agree or disagree?
Consider the benefits for humanity and the possible risks of AI being a part of everyday life.
1. You need to find some points and reference material you can use in our debate.
1. Find articles (and TED talks, films, any other sources of information), save them to pocket and find AT LEAST five points for and against. (The more you have, the better!)
Here are some articles you can start with:
Thursday, 23 February 2017
Crit A - More Practice
A.I.: Grady Booch
Why does Grady Booch say that we should not
pay attention to worries about artificial intelligence threatening mankind? (2)
What do you think is the most memorable part
of the speech ? Justify your opinion. (3)
How is our interest kept by the speaker? You should aim to provide
specific examples of at least three techniques. (3)
How has this speech influenced your views on artificial
intelligence? Explain your answer. (3)
“This is an effective talk.” Supports or
oppose this statement, giving detailed reasons for your answer. (3)
Never Let me Go
What does the teacher ask the children?
What is the children´s answer? What happened to the boy they are talking
about? TWO THINGS
Towards the end of the extract, the girls say ´Of course they´re true´
and ´Who would make up stories like that?
Describe the tone here.
What is the mood of this scene?
What effect did the lack of background music have on how you perceived
the scene?
In your opinion, is it sometimes OK to lie to children?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)