Sincerelyours: April 2013

2BAC WRITING STATEGIES: HINTS AND TIPS

When you write a composition or essay, you are often asked to write your answer in the form of an article, a report, a letter, etc.

ARTICLES are found in magazines and newspapers (e.g. school newspaper, magazine for young children, etc of the following may be written in the form of an article:

• Descriptive compositions about people, places, objects, etc

• Narrative descriptions or stories about real or imaginary events which happened in the past

• Discursive essays, about arguments concerning particular subjects, which include:

- opinion essays, giving your personal opinion, and

- for-and-against essays, giving the opposing arguments for both sides (e.g. pros v. cons)

REPORTS are similar to articles but have a more formal, factual style, and each kind has its own special format and features. Compositions in the form of reports include:

• News reports about recent events (e.g. accidents, earthquakes, etc), such as those found in newspaper

• Assessment reports discussing the suitability of a person, a place, a proposed plan, etc

• Reviews discussing a film, book, restaurant, etc and giving your opinion/recommendation

LETTERS are written to a specific person/group (e.g. your parents, the Town Council, etc) for a specific reason (e to make a complaint, to apply for a job, etc). Composition in this form include:

• Friendly letters to people we know, usually about personal matters, in informal style

• Formal letters to officials/managers/etc, about official/business matters, in formal style

• Postcards to friends or relatives

DESCRIPTIVE ARTICLE ABOUT A PERSON

When we write a descriptive article about a person, we can divide it into five paragraphs.

• In the introduction, we give general information - e.g. who the person is, when/where we met, etc.

• In the second paragraph, we describe the person's appearance (e.g. his/her physical appearance, clothe

• In the third paragraph, we describe his/her personality, giving examples to justify our opinion.

• In the fourth paragraph, we write about the person's hobbies/interests.

• In the conclusion, we make general comments about the person and describe our feelings for him/her.

DESCRIPTIVE ARTICLE ABOUT A PLACE

When we write a descriptive article about a place, we can divide it into four paragraphs.
• In the introduction we mention the name and location of the place and the reason for choosing it.

• In the second paragraph we write about what a visitor can see and do (sightseeing, museums, shopping, e

• In the third paragraph we write about entertainment, nightlife and eating out (clubs, restaurants, etc).

• In the conclusion we make general comments and recommend the place to visitors.

We normally use present tenses in this type of writing.

DESCRIPTIVE ARTICLE ABOUT AN EVENT

When we write a descriptive article about an event, a special occasion/celebration, etc we attended, we divide it into four paragraphs.

• In the introduction we mention the name of the event and the time, place and reason it is held.

• In the second paragraph we describe preparations which are made before the event.

• In the third paragraph we describe what happened during the event itself.
• In the conclusion we mention our feelings and makegeneral remarks about the event.
We use present tenses to mention the name, time, place and reason the event is held.
We use past tenses to describe the preparations before the event and what happened during the event itself.

FIRST PERSON NARRATIVE ( STORY )

First-person narratives are stories about real events that happened to us in the past, or imaginary stories written in the first person ("l/we"), as if we were the main character.
When we write a first-person narrative we can divide it into five paragraphs:

• In the introduction we catch the reader's attention, and give information about when the story took place.

• In the main body (paragraphs 2-4), we explain what was happening when the story began, then develop the story by narrating the events in the order they happened.

• In the conclusion we write what happened in the end, mentioning any consequences/results, and describe our feelings and/or reactions.

Descriptions of people, places, etc can also be included in first-person narratives.

ARGUMENTATIVE ARTICLE

In an article with arguments for and against a subject, we usually give a balanced argument. We use a formal style and divide our article into four paragraphs.

• In the introduction, we make general remarks about the subject, without giving our opinion.

• In the second paragraph, we give the advantages, with examples.

• In the third paragraph, we give the disadvantages, with examples.

• In the conclusion, we sum up the subject, stating our own opinion clearly.

We can use expressions such as / think, I believe, In m opinion, etc to express our opinion and linking words (as, because, for example, however, etc) to join ideas.

OPINION ARTICLE

When we write an article giving our opinion on a subject, we can divide it into five paragraphs.

• In the introduction we make general remarks about the subject and state our opinion clearly.

We use In my opinion, I believe, I think, As I see it, e

• In the second and third* paragraphs we present our viewpoints and justify them with reasons/examples. Each viewpoint is presented in a separate paragraph. We list points with firstly, furthermore, moreover, also

• In the fourth paragraph we present the opposing point of view, with reasons/examples.

We can start with: On the other hand, However, etc.

• In the conclusion we state our opinion again briefly in different words.

We normally use present tenses in such pieces of writing.

• The number of paragraphs in the main body depends on the number of viewpoints we include.

PERSONAL LETTER

When we write a letter telling a friend our news, we divide it into three parts:

• in the introduction, we greet the person and state the reason we are writing the letter -

e.g. I'm writing to tell you about...

• in the main body * we develop the subject, using a new paragraph for each main topic.

• in the conclusion, we use suitable closing remarks.

We can invite, send greetings/thanks/etc, and/or ask the other person for his/her news.
We always begin with an appropriate greeting (Dear...) and finish with an appropriate ending (e.g. With love, Best wishes, etc).

• The number of paragraphs in the main body depends on how many main topics we include.

APPLICATION LETTER

When we write a formal letter of application we can divide it into four paragraphs.

• In the introduction we state the reason for writing

(i.e. to apply for a position), give the title of the post

(e.g. accountant) and say where (name of newspaper and when (date) we saw the advertisement for the position.

• In the second paragraph we give a brief profile of ourselves (e.g. student, manager, etc) and/or mention our qualifications (e.g. our degrees, certificates, the languages we can speak, etc).

• In the third paragraph we provide details of our past work experience (i.e. where we have worked, what kind of job/s we had, what our duties included, etc).

• In the fourth paragraph we mention any personal qualities we consider important for the job.

• In the conclusion we write our closing remarks (i.e. we mention that we enclose a CV, and that we are available for an interview).

2BAC SAMPLE WRITINGS / COMPOSITIONS

EFFECTS OF POPULATION GROWTH IN MOROCCO

It's a fact that day by day population in Morocco is increasing, and this causes many social, economic, and environmental problems. The main purpose of this essay is to discuss the three main effects of overpopulation in Morocco.

The first major effect of overpopulation in Morocco is unemployment. First of all, there aren't enough sources of jobs in Morocco, so only the most prepared people get a job. This is a great social and economic problem because people who don't work get frustrated and can't support their families.

The second effect of overpopulation in Morocco is the low quality of public services. Natural resources, like water or food, aren't enough for so many people, so there is a lot of thirst and hunger in the country. Also, the level of education is quite low because there are a lot of children or young people who must study, and there are not enough schools or teachers. The same happens with health; hospitals aren't capable of giving attention to all the people who need it, so there are a lot of diseases.

The most significant effect of overpopulation in Morocco is the high level of pollution. Because a great number of people must go by cars, buses and taxis to their jobs at the same time, amazing traffic jams are caused. This, together with the noise caused by vehicles and people, causes a great amount of pollution. Also, every day people generate a lot of trash, and this pollutes both water and ground.

All the effects of over population that I have said make a cycle. For example, pollution causes diseases, and these diseases can't be attended because of the insufficient hospitals. That's why I think that we must find a way to organize all the people who live in this country, so we could live in a better environment and have a better quality of life. We must also learn to take care of the natural resources and think of those who are coming. If we don't stop spending our resources and polluting, the next generations will have a huge problem.

Finally, I think that Morocco needs to generate more sources of jobs, so everybody can work and satisfy their needs.

RABAT AND CASABLANCA: TRAFFIC JAMS

Rabat and Casablanca are modern cities but also have a modern problem: traffic jams. In the early mornings, and again in the evening, around 8 pm, the streets are crowded with cars, buses, taxis, and trucks. In this essay, I will explain the causes of jam in these two cities and discuss the effects of this problem.

Traffic problems in Rabat and Casablanca stem from several causes. The rapid economic growth has enabled most Moroccans to buy their own cars. This has put intense pressure on the road system which is very old and has not been able to keep up with the expansion in population. Another cause is the absence of any major public transport system such as modern buses, tramways or subways. Because of this, most workers in these two cities rely on hordes of old buses and taxis of every sort, thus adding to the congestion.

The resulting traffic jam has several adverse effects. First of all is the frustration and anger felt by road-users. This can result in tension and accidents, and, ironically, emergency vehicles may not even be able to reach the scenes of such accidents. Another effect is the waste of time spent in traffic. This lowers productivity at work and contributes to reduced time at school and with family.
There are also additional costs to these cities in terms of air pollution.

Road-users will need to cooperate with municipal authorities as they introduce measures to reduce congestion. However, most people in Rabat and Casablanca are confident that these two cities will still be an attractive place to live if the problems of traffic and road conditions are dealt with in more reasonable ways.

MOROCCANS AND FAST FOOD

In the past people in Morocco used to eat healthy, freshly prepared food with their families in the home. Today however, many people, particularly young people, prefer to eat fast food such as hamburgers, fried chicken, shawarma, pizza or simply mlawi and harsha. There are many reasons why this change has occurred, but fast-food also has some serious effects on individuals and society.

There are many reasons for the popularity of fast food. One of the main reasons is the change in lifestyle. Many people in Morocco are working long hours, shifts, or long school days. They don’t have time to find ingredients or prepare good food. Women are now starting to work in Morocco, and this can result in less time being available for preparing family meals. Another cause is the huge number of young, affluent people in Morocco. The rapid development of the country has meant that young people, who comprise over 55% of the population, have money to spend. A third reason is advertising. Morocco is a very modern, free market country, with all forms of media such as the Internet and satellite television, and people like to try new products and different kinds of fast food, local or imported.

However, this change in diet can have some serious effects. One effect is on health. Many individuals in Morocco are becoming obese. These people will be less productive and have conditions such as heart diseases and diabetes. Another result of fast food is the loss of the family tradition of eating together. The weekly Friday gathering of the family around the big couscous dish is loosing ground in favour of sandwiches in snacks or mahlabas. Children and adults rarely eat together now, and thus get less opportunity to talk and discuss family matters. A further effect is economic. Although fast food is not very expensive, it costs more than cooking properly for yourself.

In conclusion, fast food, although it is convenient and tasty, can have serious health and social effects. People should learn to choose fast food carefully and remember the pleasure of eating good food in good company at home among family and friends.

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