53
STUDY AND WRITING SKILLS
6.4
WRITING SKILLS
A SHORT ARTICLE
6
a
Discuss these questions with a partner.
1
Have you ever entered a competition?
2
Have you ever written anything for a competition?
3
Have you ever won anything?
6
b
Read this poster. How can you win a prize? How many people
will win a prize?
8
a
Paragraph organisation
Look at
Sara’s answer again. It should be four
paragraphs, not one. Divide it into four
paragraphs.
8
b
What is the topic of paragraphs 2
and 3 of Sara’s answer?
8
c
What evidence does Sara give for the
two main things she is proud of?
9
a
Sentence structure
Sometimes when
there are three short, related sentences,
it is possible to join them together to
make one sentence. Look at this example
and underline the repeated information.
They help their local hospitals. They look
after old people. They collect money for
good causes.
They help their local hospitals, look after old
people and collect money for good causes.
9
b
Join these sets of sentences to make
one sentence.
1
Sara studies business at university. She
lives with her parents. She helps in her
parents’ shop at weekends.
2
Her sister studies at school. She likes
music. She wants a car.
10
Linkers
Study the use of the linking
words
so, as, however
and
because
of
in Sara’s answer. Then use them to
complete the judges’ report.
7
Read this competition entry. What do you think the judges liked
and disliked about it? Think about ideas, organisation of ideas, etc.
11
Write your answer to the question:
What makes you proud of your society
today?
Use the model in Exercise 7 and
the sentence starters below to help you.
Think critically as you write and pay
attention to your paragraph organisation.
Two things make me proud of my society …
First … The second thing is …
There were a very large number of entries
(over 3,000),
1
it took a long time to read
them all.
2
, the judges’ task was interesting,
3
the young people wrote about a wide
range of topics. The standard of entries was also
very high,
4
it was extremely difficult to
choose the winners. After much discussion,
5
, the judges agreed on the top 20 entries.
The judges were impressed by Sara Hussein’s
article,
6
her modern vision and a feeling
for other people. They also liked the style of her
entry,
7
she communicated her ideas very
clearly.
8
, they were not happy with her
paragraph organisation.
What to choose? It’s difficult to decide, as I feel proud of
many things in my society today: for example, our education
system, our creativity in the arts and our science. Two things,
however, make me especially proud of my society. First,
our big cities are very multicultural, so you see people of
many different races, colours and religions. These people
all live and work side by side. I think it’s a great example of
how people can come together and create a mixed, peaceful
society. The second thing is less obvious, as it often happens
out of sight. It’s the fact that every day of the year, thousands
of British people do voluntary work. They give up their time
to help others for nothing. They help their local hospitals and
communities, look after old people and do things to raise
money for good causes. Because of these things, I feel proud
of my society and see a positive future for it. However, I also
want to contribute to it. In my life, many people have helped
me, so now I would like to give something back.
Sara Hussein, 20-year-old business student from Birmingham
What makes you proud
of your society today?
The Global Council for Youth
invites young people around the
world to write about what makes
them proud of their society today
(maximum 200 words). The top
20 entries will receive a prize of
250 US dollars and will appear
on the Council’s website.
INTERNATIONAL
WRITING
COMPETITION
