Practice 4: Write a short Problem/Solution essay about any issue you consider worth analysing.

My brother has been very bad at maths since he was at school. He has problems to understand the different issues maths is about and it is hard for him to learn. Although he studies a lot of maths, he always fails and he sometimes feels a little sad and depressed. My parents and I are looking for solutions to try that he feels better within himself, and to try to get higher marks at maths.

One solution to this problem would be to give him extra classes of maths. Although my parents have to pay for these classes, these classes are for his own benefit. Another solution to this problem is to buy him maths games with the aim that he learn a lot of maths while he is playing computer games. He really loves all types of games and this would be very useful for him. A last solution is that my father knows something about maths and he can teach him during his spare time. In this way, he could study more maths with my father and he would be his "second teacher".

To sum up, although it is very difficult for my brother to learn maths, with all these solutions we can get positive results and we have to try that he does not feel sad or depressed, because there is no reason to feel in this way.

Practice 3: Write a short Opinion essay positioning yourself against something most people agree (but you do not).

Many people think that zoos are a good way of protecting endagered animals. However, I don't agree. Animals must live in their natural spaces because it is the only way of living free and in their own space. Although a lot of people say that animals are looked after and protected in zoos there are some disadvantages that we must have in mind.

One disadvantage is that people who work in zoos do not feed and clean animals as they must. Workers in the zoo do not worry about improving their life giving them food or water, and a lot of animals die. Another disadvantage is that animals can't reproduce in a free way in the zoos. It is necessary for them to live in their natural spaces for this. A last disadvantage is that animals live in very small spaces in the zoos, for that reason they hurt themselves accidentaly when they are playing.

To sum up, endagered animals have to live in their natural spaces because in many zoos they are mistreated and workers do not look after them as well as they should.

Practice 2. Write an outline for an essay. Include a thesis statement, supporting ideas and details.

I. The risks of having arms at home and how arms promote violence.

II. Having arms at home is dangerous for children and adults life.
  A. Children can confuse them with toys.
  B. You can kill somebody by mistake.

III. Arms promote violence.
  A. It wil be more deaths because of arms.
    1. More people will die.
    2. More suicides by firearms.
  B. If arms are employed for hunting:
     1. There will be less number of species.
     2. Animals can be distinguished.

IV. Arms are expensive.
   A. More money employed in arms.
     1. Less money employed in necessity things: food, clothes, etc.
   B. People who hunt have to pay for do it in appropiate places.

V. Because of having arms at home, many deaths happen by mistake and arms only promote violence among people.

Childhood: come back, please.

The memories I have of my childhood are varied. I remember when my mother told me stories for sleeping when I only was 5 years old. She also played with me in the park every afternoon after lunch and I was really happy at that time. When you grow, you realize that childhood is a wonderful time in your life, for that reason it is essential that children have a good childhood and that they enjoy every second of this splendid period. Childhood is time for dreaming; a harmless epoch in which dreams always come true. Childhood is also a right for everybody, that's why every child have to have a plate of food and a home where he or she can take shelter. It is a time for playing and not for working, as we can see in many countries children without right to a decent life. This is something that we must change.

Youth, divine treasure.

Everybody passes through it. It is said that it is a time that people miss when it leaves. It is a period to enjoy, to live free and fearless; a time to fall in love with life. Many people think that this epoch is the better of our life, and I agree with them. Why? When you are young, it seems that you can control all the movements you do; everything under your feet. But the most important aspect is not the age: you can be a lot of years old and you feel yourself with a free spirit and with a lot of desire of living. If your soul does not grow old and you feel better within yourself, you will be young for the rest of your life.

Christmas time

Christmas is coming, and with this period the meetings with friends, the reunions with the family and the presents under the Christmas tree. Christmas also is synonym of national lottery, watching TV below the blanket and, unfortunately, it is also time for studying. But what happens with all that people who live in the cold street and who have got anything to survive? All of us should look back. While we want a lot of things and we are not easily satisfied, they have to look for food in the rubbish and live on somebody else's charity. It is time that the society becomes aware and we help to all that people who are sleeping in the street. In this form we will feel better about ourselves and we will improve the quality of life of that people.

Hobbies

Having a hobbie it is a useful form to use your spare time. Some of my favourite hobbies are reading, going out with my friends and writing. Reading is a pleasant way of developing intellectual capacity and learning many things about other aspects and cultures. When you are reading, you go into magic worlds and you learn a lot of vocabulary. It is an amazing sensation that everybody should feel. Going out is a good way of communicating with other people and also meeting new people. There are a lot of places to visit with your friends and you can spend a great time with them. Finally, my third hobbie is writing. When you are writing, you have the power to express by yourself and give your own opinion without you are influenced by other people. There are many healthy hobbies which with you can enjoy a lot during your spare time without need of unhealthy ones, like smoking or drinking.

Introduction + Conclusion

The benefits of music in children have been proved by scientists over time. Children improve their intelligence and their apprenticeship capacity learning to play instruments such as the guitar or the piano. I remember the case of my cousin. He was an absent-minded and naughty boy who does not get good marks at school and when he began to go to violin classes, he changed  his behaviour. Now he is a boy who gets good marks at school and he is not as absent-minded as before.


To sum up, learning to play a musical instrument is a good way to develop children abilities because of music produces changes in their conduct and children are happier than before of playing the musical instrument.

A night to remember

I knew this night would be different to the others, and I didn't make a mistake. That night wasn't any another night: it was the night, the night in which I would meet Charlie for the first time. It was a cold and rainy night at the town, but this reason didn't impede that we went to María 's house to celebrate a party. I was wearing a black dress with a silver shoes. To be truthful, I was very elegant. My friend Carmen and I arrived at María 's house at 22.00 o'clock. We got together with the other people in the house. I was very nervous and I did everything possible to hide. Suddenly, Charlie appeared. He was looking very good that night. He was wearing a grey suit and a black shoes, and he looked older than he really was. He came near to me and he told  me: do you want to dance with me? I replied a shy "yes" and we began to dance in the centre of the house. An hour later, we went to the courtyard and we were talking about several topics which we were intereseted in. He took my hand and he kiss it. Then, he was prepared for kissing me when... my mother woke me up and she shouted me: you will be late to the university! Of course this night had been a night to remember.

Do dreams become true?

It's very important to pursue your dreams and to try that they become true. But what happen with all these people that have a dream and this dream doesn't become true for whatever reason? These people have to know that there are second chances and that if some dreams disappear, other dreams will appear. When a dream doesn't become true, you must accept it and you don't have to frustrate you. This is an obligation, not an option, if you want to be happy in your life and not having a problem. We mustn't demand more that we can give, and this is a important factor to take into account. Life has a lot of second chances and opportunities, so don't worry if your train has escaped because other trains will come.

Thesis statement + Outline: Gun ownership

I. The risks of having arms at home and how the arms promote violence.

II. Risk for life.
    A. Arms are a risk for adults and children life.
       1. Children can confuse them with toys.
   
     B. A person can kill other people by mistake.

III. Having arms at home promote violence.
    A. It will be more deaths because of arms at home in the future.
          1. More people will die
          2. More suicides by firearms.
   
     B. Arms are used for hunting.
           1. It decreases the number of species.
           2. Many species can be wiped out.

 IV. Arms are expensive.
       A. They are difficult of supporting.
          1. More money devoted to arms.
          2. Less money employed in necessity things: food, clothes, etc.

       B. People have to hunt in appropiate places and they have to pay for this.

  V. People must resolve problems talking and not with arms because the arms only have negative aspects.

Problem / Solution Paragraph: The world hunger

There are a lot of people in the world who suffer from hunger, above all children. The fact of having nothing does that many mothers cry their children's dead. They see how their little babies die because of malnutrition and they can do nothing to remedy this situation. And this not only happens in Third World Countries, because in countries like Spain also suffer from hunger and many parents haven't got money to give their children food. According to the ONU, a child dies in the planet each 3 seconds as a result of poverty. This is a fact that is in our hands to change.

One solution to the problem of world hunger is that the governments employ more money in providing food than in weapons, because they only are useful for killing people and for providing suffering. A second solution is that we can participate in non-profit-making organisation and we can make a small donation. Although the donation is small, the most important thing is that we are participating! A finally solution to this problem is to investigate for producing food more economical and of rapid production with which the population can be supplied. It is in our hands to stop the problem of world hunger, let us do it!

Learning to say "no"

In our society, there are a lot of people that they don't say the two letter word "no" for fear of disappointing to somebody. It is very important learning to say "no" because we don't have to meet the expectations of other people; we only have to try to meet ours. We don't have to feel sense of guilty for saying "no" because we do nothing wrong. Saying "no" also reinforces our self-esteem and we achieve a high level of personal liberty. We must act selfishly and without fear of offending other people.

We need to be sure of ourselves and we must try to show our point of view. The first step for learning to say "no" is learning to say "yes". We have to say "yes " to ourselves, what we are and what we are interested in. Only then we will be able to be happy and to carry a pleasant life.

Practice 1: Write an opinion paragraph about something you like and most people don't.

I really like running whereas all my family doesn't like this sport at all. I like this sport because running is a good way of keeping healthy and fit. For that reason, some days, I wake up at 8.00 o'clock, I put my sport clothes, I take my bottle of water and I run out of my house. I love this sport because I like feeling the fresh air on my face while I am running. In my opinion, it's very relaxed and exciting. However, my family doesn't think like me. For them, practising sport is boring and tiring. They prefer staying on the sofa eating some chips while I get up early for practising it. They say to me running isn't an important activity and that there are funnier activities like watching TV, but I prefer running. Running i also important for being thin and it improves your life in many aspects: you feel better within yourself. Finally, although many people don't like running or any other sport, I love practising it because it only has positive aspects for me.

The power of remembering

María's father has Alzheimer's, the terrible disease of losing memories. However, this problem doesn't impede to him to be happy: he is a lucky person who gets up every morning with a smile on his face and with a lot of wishes of living. He sometimes mistakes the kitchen for the bathroom, or he forgets to put his socks before the shoes. For that reason his wife and María are leaving notes with the most important things that he has to do. A lot of times he forgets the name of his grandchildren, and they approach his ear and they tell it. People with Alzheimer's give a lot of love and affection to other people and they are very honourable. We must look after of them and we make them feel like if they weren't sick persons as far as possible.

Walking in the rain

Once upon a time,

A cold, rainy day at the mountain. There were two children taking for a walk at this place. They were talking about video games when, suddenly, they heard a noise. They were frightened and they looked at each other. The noise came from an old house situated behind them. They went towards the house for seeing what the noise was. While they were climbing the mountain, it began to rain. When they arrived at the house, they could enter in it. It was a lonely house. They listened the same noise again and again. They were very frightened. Suddenly, the rain was heavier and heavier. A door opened up and a boy ghost appeared in the middle of the house. The children shouted up and they run away from the house. In the end, they came back home and they told their parents what had happened. They didn´t believe them.

The advantages and disadvantages of living abroad

Living abroad is an adventure that all people should live at least a time in their life. There are several advantages of living abroad: if you are living abroad, you can meet new people and make new friends. In addition, you can also meet new cultures and lifestyles and you learn the foreign language of the country where you are living. However, living abroad also has some disadvantages: you are far from home and you can´t see your family and friends during months or years. Another disadvantage would be that if you don´t know the language, you are lost: you have to adapt to the new country, and it is difficult the first days. You also miss the food and the climate of your country, above all if your origin country is a warm country and you move to a cold country. Definitively, living abroad is a good experience of meeting other people but it has disadvantages too.

Friends: different people (Block method)

There are many differences between my friend Carlos and my friend Eva. Both of them are very kind and good people. Carlos is very extrovert and like playing football, basketball and tennis. He had an easy childhood and he is very happy. In addition, he loves living in the centre of town but he doesn´t like animals. However, Eva is an introvert person and she doesn´t like any sport at all. She had a difficult childhood because her mother died when she was 2 years old, for that reason she has emotional problems and she sometimes feels sad. Unlike Carlos, Eva loves living in the countryside and she likes animals, above all cats. Finally, both Carlos and Eva are excellent people but very different between them.

Because she is unique

I admire my mother for her strenght and honesty. When I was a child, she looked after of me and she tried that I grew healthy and strong: when I was 4 years old, she sang me songs for I fell asleep and both of us played every afternoons after class. My mother is tall, with short and brown hair and brown eyes. She has an incredible ability of becoming in a stronger person in the presence of difficult situations. My mother is a person who shows her feelings and she doesn´t worry about other people say about it: she is very affectionate with her family and friends. She is a person who listens to all of my problems and she knows to keep secrets. She says to me that I never give up and that I can get all my purposes. She advises me without judge me and she cries when she wants. I love her for that reason. In conclusion, my mother is my best friend. For me, she is the best person that exist.

Ebola

Ebola is killing a lot of people in Africa. The wicked virus infects more and more people every day and it is almost impossible to control the illness in this country. In Spain "Teresa Romero", who is the only surviving person infected so far, is better every day and this is a reason for cheering up. In my opinion, "Teresa Romero" is a heroine, because she ran the risk of becoming infected with Ebola, like it has happened, and she put in danger her life. In general, each member of the sanitation personnel, who is exposed to this illness or any other one, is worthy to admire. However, there are some people that think that "Teresa" is the guilty person of having been infected by Ebola and they lay the blame on her of the chaos that has been caused in our country. Why do they act in this way? She wanted to help to other people infected by the illness in a voluntary way. I only hope that she recovers from the illness for she can defend of that people who lay the blame on her and she can come back home with her family.

My brother

My brother, who is called "José Félix", is stronger and taller than me. He is 18 years old. He is brown- haired and light-skinned. He wears glasses. With regards to his personality, he is happy, a little nervous and shy. He gets good marks at school and he loves video games and computers. He always wears a tracksuit and trainers. He makes me feel proud of him because he is a good person and he is very kind to other people. When we were children, we played together and he made me laugh. I love him because I can share all my secrets with him.

The pride of being a woman

Tall, short, pleasant, and all of them pretty. It is a true luxury being born a woman for many reasons. Because they look after all the family. Because the solve problems with only a smile. Because they worry about a lot of aspects and they don´t receive anything in return. Because they would give their life for their children. Because they are workers. Because they can give birth to wonderful babies. Because they are confidantes. Because they never give up. What more I could say? Every woman has her personality and is single and irreplaceable.

My favourite place

My favourite place to rest and to relax is my bedroom. It is situated on the bottom of my house and it is a comfortable place. In my bedroom, there is a desk for studying and a big window above it, from which you can see the houses opposite. There is also a wooden door for going in, some shelves where I put the books and magazines that I read and a wardrobe, where I keep the clothes I put on. The most important part of the bedroom is my bed, which is located to the right of the bedroom. I am in the habit of reading, writing, listening to music or sleeping in it when I am tired. Definitively, my bedroom is a good place for enjoying without going out home!

Tommy

Dear Tommy,

How are you? I hope that you are well. We haven´t seen for a long time. In the first instance, I will tell the good changes that have happened in my life in the last 5 years. I finished my studies of veterinary science and moved to live in London. There are a lot of differences between Spain and England: language, customs, weather, food... First days were difficult but I learned how to survive. Most days it´s raining, and this is the reason why I feel sad much time. I got married and had a beautiful baby. He is called John.

Next, I will tell you the bad news. My father made ill and he died two months ago because of cancer. It´s a pity, but we can do nothing. Life is hard. Don´t worry for me, I am fine.

And what about your life? Charlie, the red-haired classmate, told me you are living in California because of job. Next holidays I am going to travel to California with my husband and my baby. We could see us! I hope to hear from you.
Please write me something about your life in a letter.

Kisses,

Sara

What about Music?

It´s amazing how music can transport us to other worlds with only to press the button. We can use music to meet other people, feel better and forget problems a few minutes. It is an universal language which all people understand it and improves communication between two or more people. I like losing myself in the music and feel it. Music is an art, a culture and a way of life. Music has also mental and emotional effects, all of them positives and has transformational  powers in health, education and well-being. Music may enhance intelligence and learning, creativity and imagination. Finally, music is a good way of making us feel better and is a source of happiness and health.