- •Московский государственный гуманитарно-экономический институт
- •Introduction
- •Unit One. Building Your Vocabulary
- •American Words
- •Unit 2. Describing People
- •2.1 Describing people - appearance
- •Height and build
- •General appearance
- •Some idiomatic expressions describing appearance:
- •In order to create a picture of a person in the mind of the reader four things must be used.
- •My Next-door Neighbour
- •2.2. Describing people - character
- •Intellectual ability
- •Attitudes towards life
- •Attitudes towards other people
- •Intelligent, bright, clever, smart, shrewd, able, gifted, talented, stupid, foolish, half-witted, simple, silly Some idiomatic expressions to help to characterize people:
- •Types of relationships
- •Phrases and idioms for relationships
- •Some idiomatic expressions to help to characterize relationships:
- •Honest, reserved, outgoing, frank, tactless, persuasive, trustworthy, fussy
- •Manners and Mannerism
- •Unit 3. A Descriptive Composition
- •Points to consider
- •Writing descriptive essays
- •Organization
- •Descriptive language
- •Not descriptive
- •Descriptive
- •Self-assessment
- •Adjectives to describe people.
- •Describing People
- •Points to consider
- •Unit 4. Paragraph Structure
- •Unit 5. Parts of a Paragraph
- •5.1. Description of process in essays Process indicators in English.
- •Devout content placid a goody-goody bold innocent a dreamer an extrovert strapping self-conscious quick-minded
- •5.2. Cause and Effect sentences in Essays
- •Sample Cause and Effect Sentences
- •5.3. Comparison and Contrast sentences in essays
- •Comparison Paragraphs Organized by Similar Points
- •Direct Opposition Subordinators
- •Comparison Paragraphs Organized by Subtopic
- •Similes and Metaphors
- •Comparison Conjunctions
- •5.4 Argumentative essays
- •Unit 6. Types of writing
- •Unit 7. Letter writing General Format
- •Model letter
- •Writer’s Address
- •Envelope Address
- •Body of the Letter
- •Closing Signature
- •Impact on the Reader
- •Social letter samples
- •Invitation (informal)
- •Business Letters
- •Informal letters:
- •Informal language (e.G. I haven’t written you for ages, Don’t worry, By the way, It’s a piece of cake, I’ll pick you up at the airport, I can give it a try and so on)
- •Informal style is characterized by:
- •Semicolon
- •Full stop
- •Contrast and Addition Structures:
- •Supposition:
- •Instructions
Descriptive
She walked slowly and nervously into the dark room. (with adjectives and adverbs)
He wore a dark suit, a tie, and shiny shoes. (with details and specific language)
The street was filled with loud men shouting out orders above the smoky smell of grilling meat. (with sensory language related to sounds, smells, etc.)
Exercise № 34. Read the sentences. Rewrite them to make them more descriptive. Add adjectives and adverbs, details and specific language, and sensory language. Be creative.
1. The man lived in a house far from the village. The strange man lived quietly in an old drafty house far from the busy village.
2. The room was filled with roses, daisies, and lilacs.
3. The chicken and potatoes were good.
4. We went on a hike through the forest.
5. His aunt entered the room.
6. I didn't get to watch the soccer game on TV.
7. Barak Obama is the President of the United States.
8. Our classroom is a 15-square-yard room at the university.
Exercise № 35. This time describe these objects. Write only one paragraph. Check it with Self-Assessment checklist.
a mobile telephone (appearance)
a hair dryer (appearance)
an apple (appearance)
your English (quality)
your weekday studies
Revise and Edit your descriptive essay.
1. Does the essay start with an introduction that catches your interest and expresses a clear opinion?
2. Does the essay give you a clear mental picture of the product, business, or service described?
3. Does the concluding paragraph help to convince you of that opinion?
4. Do you have your own opinion about this product, business; or service?
Complete the Self-Assessment checklist as you prepare to write the final draft of your paragraph. Be prepared to hand in your work or discuss it in class.
Self-assessment
Does each body paragraph have a topic and controlling idea?
Does the essay use descriptive language to create a clear mental picture of the subject?
Are correct articles used with nouns or noun phrases?
If there are collocations from the unit, are they used correctly?
Does the essay include vocabulary from the unit?
Did you check the essay for punctuation, spelling, and grammar?
Adjectives to describe people.
For each example choose the two adjective that can be used to complete the sentence.
Witty, Patronizing, Encouraging: Sam’s always making …….remarks at my expense.
Bewildered, Prejudiced, Distracted: After the accident Bob was too ……..to make a statement to the police.
Earnest, Haughty, Overbearing: She’s a difficult woman to work for-…….and unpredictable.
Courteous, Supportive, Considerate: It was very …..of you to let that lorry pull out.
Supportive, Loveable, Considerate: My boss was really ……when I first started the job – always ready to help out or give advice.
Timid, reserved, earnest: We know he doesn’t say much, but he is not unfriendly. He is just a bit ….
Exercise № 36. Write a 3-paragraph essay of 150 words of the following topics:
Your country house;
Your neighbor vehicle;
Your English class;
Yesterday’s lunch
