And the winner is...

Mr. Moises Maestro, who will enjoy a year-long stay at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as a fabulous mystery prize, to be awarded this Staurday during the break! Congratulations Moises, I know you'll make us all proud!

Last week we:

1. Looked at Unit 20 in your books, using the speaking and reading activities on p. 124-125 as a way to review proper exam strategies. Don't forget to use the tactics on p. 73 of your book to help you make your speaking more fluid!

2. Completed the vocabulary exercises on p. 126, and discussed ways to prepare for the Use of English section of the exam (hint: word families, prepositions, and phrasal verbs).

3. Studied the inversion structures provided in your book on p. 126, and in the Grammar File on p. 174.

4. Did an epic exam review using material taken from your workbook. Use this to study!

Look through your book if you need a reminder of how to approach the different writing tasks that you might see on the exam (information sheet, report, review, essay). You can also use the blog posts from earlier in the year. There are examples of these different forms posted, save the essay and report. I'll provide you with some useful links to help you with those now:

Essay: try this one and this one

Report: check here and here

One last thing: relax! You've worked very hard this year, and now it's going to pay off. So get a good night's sleep on Friday and come ready to kick butt on Saturday.

See you then!

Week in Review: 11/5 and Final Writing Assignment

Hello everyone,

Last week we:

1. Did a progress check on your Workbooks; don't forget to use them as a study aid!
2. Discussed how to compose a personal statement, and wrote one in pairs
3. Explored different persuasive techniques, depending on context (formal or informal)

Your homework for Saturday is to write a personal statement that responds to the following prompt:

Your university has just allocated funding to send one student to study abroad for a year, at an English-speaking university of their choosing. Money is no object, and the university can be in any English-speaking country. The area of study is up to the student to decide; however, it is expected that the chosen field, and the completed year of study, will prepare the student to make a valuable contribution to that field in the future, after their return to Spain. The greater the potential contribution, the greater the chance that you will be selected.

Please compose a one-page personal statement explaining why you are the ideal candidate for this once in a lifetime opportunity. Make sure to include:

• Where you want to go
• Why you want to go there
• What you want to study
• Why you want to study it
• What you plan to accomplish in Spain with the experience of the year abroad

This is your FINAL WRITING ASSIGNMENT. The copy you give to me on Saturday will receive a mark. Make sure you adhere to the guidelines we discussed in class, keeping in mind what type of tone you should take. (Hint: formal.) If you need a reminder of what a good personal statement looks like, take a look here and here. The second link is to examples of personal statements writtten for the prestigous Fulbright Scholarship, which is as open-ended as this assignment. 

Use eveything we've worked on this year to make your final product as strong as possible. Incorporate high-level vocabulary, presuasive techniques, formal writing structures, etc. I want your work at the beginning of class on Saturday, no exceptions. I will announce the winner of this dream scholarship after the break.

See you Saturday!

Week(s) in Review: May Puente

Hello all,

I hope you enjoyed your vacation, and that you come back ready to close out the year strong.

Our last class was on April 27, which feels like forever ago. In case you've forgotten, in that class we:

• Covered Unit 18 in the book, which discusses lying. We talked about situations when lying might be appropriate ("white lies"), and read a text in which the author both criticizes and defends lying in social situations.
• Studied different techniques for making statements more emphatic, and gave particular emphasis to using auxiliary verbs. (Yes, I did just use 'emphasis' while talking about emphasizing!)
• Did listening and speaking activities that demonstrated the unsefulness of being able to think creatively (and perhaps not truthfully) in an exam environment, particularly for a speaking activity. You should try to be flexible with your history and opinions for the exam, since what is being tested is your English, not your honesty. 

Your homework for Saturday is: p. 53-54 in your Workbooks. Only do the Use of English activity on page 53; please complete all of page 54. Obviously, bring your workbooks to class on Saturday. We will check your answers, and I will collect your Workbooks to see if you've been taking advantage of this valuable resourse.

See you Saturday!