B FCE The ARTICLE

• English
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 4,5

Can you guess what this is? Describe/discuss in English 

It's a highlighter pen! That was difficult! 

In this lesson

You are going to learn how to write an article,

you'll learn about its structure,

and how to make it a good read!

Where do you find articles?

An article is about.....

The structure of an article (Part 2 of the FCE exam)

• You will get 90 minutes (about 60 min in the FCE exam) for this exam. 
• The structure of an article is very important. 
• The goal of writing is to persuade the rader to agree with you or will be getting interested in what you are writing.
• Your writing style is semi-formal - informal.
• The language you can think of: adjectives/adverbs; colloquial expressions; phrasal verbs; idioms; linking words, etc

The structure:

5 paragraphs:

1. Paragraph 1                       intro         (about 2 sentences)
2. Paragraph 2                      1st main point (5-8 sentences)
3. Paragraph 3                      2nd main point (5-8 sentences) 
4. Paragraph 4                      3rd main point (5-8 sentences)
5. Paragraph 5                       conclusion/closing paragraph

Plan

• Write a plan for the 5 points above. Just take 5 - 8 minutes.
• You (might) use a 5 bullet-point structure
• Use one point per paragragh
• Do not put them together in a big chunk; leave a blank space between the paras
• Do not make sentences too long. You should use commas, linking words and full stops when you need them. (Read the sentence in yourself to check if it runs smoothly)
• Use capital letters after a full stop.

Example paper 

A magazine is printing an article for parents under the heading An Enjoyable Day Out with the Family.

Task: Write an article recommending a place to visit and exploring its appeal to all the family.

Plan:

• Catchy title
• Bournemouth (introduction)
• The Beach (1st main point)
• Air Festival (2nd main point)
• Oceanarium
• Conclusion: Visit Brnmth!

TIP 1: Show off to the teacher or the examiner.

D  > address directly  the reader

R  > rhetorical question (= question of which you already know the answer)

E  > exciting adjectives

S  > statistics

TIP 2:

• Use linking words or phrases as sentence starters: 
  Firstly; Secondly; Thirdly; Finally; Next; Moreover; Furthermore; In addition
• Use subheadings with your paragraphs

How to start???? Look at the question.

A magazine is printing articles for parents under the heading An Enjoyable Day Out with the Family

Beautiful Bournemouth (catchy title!)

Bournemouth is the place for an enjoyable day out with the family. ( This text is directly taken from the exam). In this article*, I am going to give the top three reasons** why. (short intro of 2 sentences)

* In this article': This phrase focusses directly on what you are going to discuss.

** 'Three reasons': Points directly to the reader's interest to win them over to your view of a perfect day out.

22!

www.perfect-english-grammar.com

www.perfect-english-grammar.com

Bloopers

Spelling: Beautiful -Beautifull / Really - Realy  / Through /Trough 

Use of English: A camping = A campsite

i > I; whit> with; wich/ witch > which

Time at the beginning or END of the sentence: We went last year to France 

American and British English: Vacation vs Holiday

Grammar Point:  Of or Off (see link on next slide)