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1

WRITING REFERENCE Unit 1

An important year in your life

WRITING

linking words

1

1 Because she started to go to university.
2 Lots of people, including her future husband.
3 She acted in the university drama group.
4 Four of: was, started, met, worked, acted, began.

2

Answers in the students’ own language.

3

1 and
2 because
3 but
4 so

PRACTICE

4

Students’ own answers.

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2

WRITING REFERENCE Unit 2

An email about work experience

WRITING

starting / ending an email

1

1 Simon’s Place
2 They are an important restaurant group.
3 A young person to work in the kitchens / A cook.

2A

1 He is writing about an advertisement for young people to work in the kitchen.
2 He is working in a local restaurant in his home town.
3 Yes, he is. Everyone is very happy with the food.

2B

1 Dear
2 I am writing about your advertisement for people
3 I look forward to hearing from you.
4 Best regards

3

1 c; 2 d; 3 a; 4 b

PRACTICE

4

Students’ own answers.

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3

WRITING REFERENCE Unit 3

An email invitation

WRITING

an email invitation and respond to an invitation

1

1 He’s going to a concert.
2 Beth can come and Dan can’t.
3 He’s seeing the new James Bond film.

2

We’re going
I’m seeing
are you doing

3

1 We’re going to the park this afternoon.
2 Would you like to come tonight?
3 I’d love to but we’re going to the shopping centre
4 Sounds great!
5 See you there!
6 Great to hear from you!
7 What are you doing afterwards?
8 Do you want to come to my house?

PRACTICE

4A

Students’ own answers.

4B

Students’ own answers.

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4

WRITING REFERENCE Unit 4

Yours talents

WRITING

correcting mistakes

1

1 I can sing like Bruce Springsteen. P
2 He never watched cartoons when he was young. gr
3 I have performed in many parties and weddings. sp
4 I practise the piano every day. gr
5 what is your secret talent? p
6 I discovered my ability when I was a child. sp

2A

1 Mi (sp)
2 james (p)
3 to play (gr)
4 good (gr)
5 he (p)
6 start (gr)
7 wen (sp)
8 had (gr)
9 he (p)
10 ussualy (sp)
11 has practised (gr)
12 htree (sp)
13 becomes (gr)

14 professional (gr)
15 you. (p)
16 Did you ever play (gr)

2B

My (sp) brother James (p) can play (gr) the violin very well (gr). He (p) started (gr)
to play when (sp) he was (gr) four. He (p) usually (sp) practises (gr) for three hours
every day. He is going to become (gr) a professional (gr) musician in the future. And
you? (p) Have you ever played (gr) a musical instrument?

3

My talent is that I

1

can to make animal noises.

2

i can sound like an elephant, a

monkey or a lion. I discovered this talent when I was a

3

children. I

4

watched

often a famous animal impersonator called

5

jonny Morris on TV. I loved this TV

programme, so I started to make animal noses for

6

me friends. Today I can

impersonate over 50 animals. My friends think this is

7

funny really. I would like

8

work for TV or radio one day.

PRACTICE

4

Students’ own answers.

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5

WRITING REFERENCE Unit 5

An email describing a trip

WRITING

using sequences

1A

d, b, a, c

1B

1 b
2 d
3 a
4 c

1C

Irregular: five of - took, wasn’t, spent, drank, went, was, were, got, caught.
Regular: visited

1D

I’ve just got back from my trip to Austria. First, we took the plane to Vienna. It
wasn’t a long flight- about two and a half hours. Then we spent four days there. We
visited lots of museums and drank lots of delicious coffee in traditional Viennese
cafés. After that, we went to Salzburg by train. It’s a beautiful town; Mozart was born
there! There were a lot of tourists because we were there in the Mozart music
festival! Then we took the train to Innsbruck and we went skiing. After a while the
weather got really bad, so we took another train (!) to Munich in the south of
Germany. The beer was great but I didn’t like the sausages! Finally, we caught the
plane back home from Munich. It was a fantastic trip, but I spent too much!

2

1 First
2 that
3 Then
4 while
5 Finally

PRACTICE

3

Students’ own answers.

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6

WRITING REFERENCE Unit 6

A paragraph about a meal

WRITING

sentence structure

1A

1 when
2 and
3 also
4 When
5 and
6 also

1B

1 d
2 a
3 d
4 f
5 b
6 c

2

1 He ran when he saw the police./He was the police when he ran.
2 When we were walking along the street, it started to rain. /
It started to rain when we were walking along the street.
3 When Maria finished the exam, she felt very happy. /
Maria felt very happy when she finished the exam.
4 When Mike passed his driving test, he bought a new car. /
Mike bought a new car when he passed his driving test.
5 When Mum called us, we came into the dining room. /
We came into the dining room when Mum called us.

3

1 We ate pasta and we drank Italian wine. We also had ice cream.
2 He is a good cook and he is an excellent photographer. He is also a fantastic
pianist.
3 We walked in the park and we went on the boats. We also had a meal in a café.
4 Sean cleaned his room and he washed the dishes. He also watered the plants.
5 Claire did the shopping and she went to the dentist’s. She also went to the beauty
salon.

PRACTICE

4

Students’ own answers.

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7

WRITING REFERENCE Unit 7

A change

WRITING

paragraphs

1

Finally, I decided that the only way to learn English quickly was to go abroad. ; 4
Because I didn’t know any foreign languages, it was hard to find a job. ; 2
I used to look everywhere for jobs, for example online, but they always asked for
English. ; 3
One of the best decisions I ever made was to learn English abroad. ; 1

Now, I have a great job and I speak English everyday. ; 8
After three months my English was much better. ; 7
I went to a language school in the morning, and I worked in a hotel in the afternoon.
; 6
I wanted to go to a big city, so I decided to go to Dublin in Ireland. ; 5

2

1 a
2 b
3 b
4 c
5 a
6 b
7 b
8 c

PRACTICE

3

Students’ own answers

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8

WRITING REFERENCE Unit 8

A description of a product for an advertisement

WRITING

adding emphasis

1A

A stereo

1B

1 extremely
2 very
3 really
4 fairly

1C

Strongest = extremely.
Weakest = fairly

2

Students’ own answers

PRACTICE

3

Students’ own answers

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9

WRITING REFERENCE Unit 9

A comment about the environment

WRITING

similar sounding words

1

1 right
2 There
3 see
4 You’re
5 hear
6 rode

2

I think everyone should grow 1 their own food. It 2 would be better for the
environment. We need to be educated about the 3 right way to eat and to grow
food. I grow a lot of fruit and vegetables, and I get very angry when I 4 see people
paying a lot of money to supermarkets. A lot of the food we 5 buy is brought from
distant countries. 6 This food is also grown with harmful chemicals which are bad for
the environment. There is nothing as tasty and natural as potatoes from your own
garden.

PRACTICE

3

Students’ own answers

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10

WRITING REFERENCE Unit 10

A formal letter

WRITING

using formal expressions

1

1 informal
2 formal
3 informal
4 formal
5 informal

2A Suggested answers

Hey Jules,
Just a quick word about the poor quality of teachers at Churchill School. Many of
them explain their subject very badly and do not motivate their students. I take my
son to school everyday and I see that your teachers dress very badly. Also, they
often come late to class, sometimes students are left to do nothing while waiting for
the teacher to show up. I think it’s important for your guys to show a good example
to the kids.

Anyway, you need to contact me right now about this.
Cheers mate,

2B

1 I look forward to hearing from you: Anyway, you need to contact me right now
about this.
2 I am writing: Just a quick word
3 Yours faithfully: Cheers mate
4 Dear Sir: Hey Jules
5 In addition to this: Also

3

1 Dear Sir
2 I am writing
3 In addition to this
4 I look forward to hearing from you
5 Yours faithfully

PRACTICE

4

Students’ own answers

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11

WRITING REFERENCE Unit 11

A travel blog

WRITING

pronouns

1

It: San Francisco
she: his mother
his: his cousin
him: his cousin
It: the hotel
that: walk along the Golden Gate Bridge
it: the weather
there: the Golden Gate Bridge

2

1 It
2 there
3 them / us
4 it
5 He
6 his
7 it
8 We
9 him

PRACTICE

3

Students’ own answers

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12

WRITING REFERENCE Unit 12

A profile of a famous person

WRITING

paragraphs

1

c, a, d, f, e, b

2

Rise to fame: 3
Achievements and later life: 4
Introduction: 1
Childhood and education: 2

3

The past simple. It describes finished actions in the past.

PRACTICE

4

Students’ own answers