XVIII. Read the first paragraph of a story. Complete the story using all the words in bold type. Write about 200 words.

medium height, straight hair, an oval face, clean-shaven, thirtyish, well-dressed, slim, good-looking

The Man in Black.

It was a busy day in the city. The pavements were full of people carrying shopping bags or briefcases, rushing from one place to the other. Taxis, buses and cars filled the noisy streets. Above, the sky was grey, as were the buildings all around. There was nothing remarkable about the afternoon. I looked at my watch. Half past three. I had to be at my meeting in twenty minutes. I just had time to stop in my favourite coffee shop for a cup of coffee.

"Hi Carlos!" I said. "The usual please."

"Sure Miss Lyth!" the waiter smiled.

I took my coffee, turned to sit down next to the window, and there he was.

a) Begin by reading the first paragraph carefully.

Think of a plan for the rest of the story which includes a description of the man and that uses all the words in bold type.

b) Divide your part of the story into two.

Begin with a description of the stranger using all the words in the box. Add some description about what the man is wearing.

In the second half, write what happens next. Try to think of something exciting or unusual about the meeting to make your story interesting. Include some dialogue between the man and woman. Try to imagine what they might say to each other. Make sure you know how to punctuate speech. Use inverted commas at the beginning and end of each line of dialogue.

c) Use a variety of structures in your text and make some sentences very short and others longer. Using very short sentences will make the text more dynamic and the story more interesting to read.

d) Look through the model essay.

The Man in Black

It was a busy day in the city. The pavements were full of people carrying shopping bags or briefcases, rushing from one place to the other. Taxis, buses and cars filled the noisy streets. Above, the sky was grey, as were the buildings all around. There was nothing remarkable about the afternoon. I looked at my watch. Half past three. I had to be at my meeting in twenty minutes. I just had time to stop in my favourite coffee shop for a cup of coffee.

"Hi Carlos!" I said. "The usual please."

"Sure Miss Lyth!" the waiter smiled.

I took my coffee, turned to sit down next to the window, and there he was.

I was sure I had never seen the man before, but he looked vaguely familiar. He was of medium height but quite slim. He looked athletic and youthful. He was well-dressed in an expensive black suit and fashionable blue shirt with a red and white spotted tie. His face was oval rather than square, and he looked slightly oriental. He was clean-shaven but his straight hair was long and dark, and almost touched his shoulders. He looked thirtyish but it was difficult to guess his exact age. He was incredibly good-looking.

"Miss Lyth?" he asked.

"Yes," I replied. "How do you know my name? Do I know you?"

"No," he answered. "But I've seen your photograph on the cover of your latest novel. Can I join you?"

I said yes and he sat down. I forgot my meeting. We talked and talked. After an hour or so, he left.

I was late for my meeting but it didn't matter to me. Later that evening, on the underground going home, I tried to remember what the man and I had talked about. I couldn't. I didn't even know his name. I sighed and looked down at the file on my lap. It was my next book. I still needed a title for it. 'The Man in Black', I thought. Perfect.

Note: the words in bold in the model essay are topic vocabulary that you can learn by looking them up in the vocabulary. Try and use these words when writing about these particular topics. In addition, typical phrases and expressions are underlined to show you how to link your sentences or paragraphs.