Extra Writing Practice

Unit 1

DESCRIBING A FASHION OR STYLE

Ganguro
Ganguro is a Japanese make-up and clothes culture that is exclusive to teenage girls and young women. The Ganguro movement
started in Japan around 1997, reached its peak of popularity around 1999, and nowadays it is still quite popular in some districts of
Tokyo. It is unclear where the Ganguro movement came from, but some people believe that it grew out of attempts by Japanese girls
and women to imitate black female icons, such as Janet Jackson or, perhaps, Naomi Campbell. The Ganguro look involves having
bleached blond or silvery hair and a deep tan that is obtained via sun beds or make-up. Ganguros wear brightly coloured clothes,
especially mini skirts, and decorate themselves with shiny bracelets, rings and necklaces. However, the central item of clothing is a pair
of sandals or platform shoes with very high heels at least 15cm in height. The more extreme Yamanbas add white lipstick and eye
shadow to the standard Ganguro look in order to show off their tans. Whatever the origins of the Ganguro movement, it seems clear that
it was sustained by the desire to go against the standard idea of Japanese female beauty, which involves making the skin as white as
possible. Many traditional Japanese people look down on the Ganguros, as they consider them to be superficial and excessively
westernised.

Divide the text above into three paragraphs

following the paragraph plan below.
Paragraph 1: briefly define the movement and
indicate when it started, when it was most
popular and its possible origins.
Paragraph 2: describe the main characteristics of
the movement and mention any related fashions /
styles.
Paragraph 3: discuss opinions / beliefs /
motivations of followers of the movement.
Briefly mention peoples reactions to the
movement.

1 Paragraph 1: from _____________________

____________________________________
____________________________________
2 Paragraph 2: from _____________________
____________________________________
3 Paragraph 3: from _____________________
____________________________________
____________________________________

Read the text and answer the questions.

a) Do you know anything about the

following fashions or styles?

1 When and where did the Ganguro movement

start?

1 geeks / freakies

____________________________________

2 metrosexual men

____________________________________

3 ragamuffins

____________________________________

4 sustainable fashion

2 What are the main characteristics of the

movement?
b) Find more information on the Internet
____________________________________

about one of the fashions or styles above.

____________________________________

Take notes in your notebook under the

____________________________________

following headings.

3 Why do traditional Japanese people look down

on the Ganguros?

1 Definition of fashion / trend.

____________________________________

2 When and where it started.

____________________________________

3 Main characteristics.

____________________________________

4 Possible origins.
5 Ideology and beliefs.
6 Societys reaction to the movement / its
followers.
7 Other relevant information (if any).

Write a description of the trend you have

chosen. Follow the guidelines below.
Divide your text into three paragraphs following
the paragraph plan in Exercise 1.
Use linking words to connect your ideas.
Avoid basic errors such as word order, spelling
and punctuation.

Extra Writing Practice

Unit 2
A PERSONAL LETTER

Add the informal expressions from the box

to the model letter below.

Read through one students reply to Jims

letter. Is it a good letter? Why / why not?

a. Im writing to check on
b. Write back soon

Jim,

c. what about you?

Thanks for your letter. It was a pleasure 1 to hear

d. Id better stop writing now

from you once more 2. Guess what? Ive passed all

e. Im sorry it took me so long to answer

my exams! Id love to go travelling next summer.

f. Itd be great if

Thanks for inviting me, but

g. I thought you might want to come with us

I would in fact prefer 3 to go during the second half

of August. I would like to know if that would be
convenient 4 for you and your friends. I would also

Hi Laura,

be grateful for 5 some more details about the trip.

Thanks for your last letter.

1

but Ive been studying really hard for

on the train?

my exams. Anyway,
2

For example, are we going to stay in hotels or sleep

. Have you passed all your exams?

Ive heard that you and Gerry are getting on fine. It

I look forward to your reply 6 telling me what you

think of the dates.

looks like youve found the love of your life.

3

Anyway,

your plans for

the summer holidays. Im going on an InterRail trip

with some mates from university at the beginning of
4

August and

. Well be

travelling through central Europe.

5

Well,

Ive got to help my mum in the garden.

6

my holiday plans.
could come.
Love,
Jim

and tell me what you think of

7

you

Hugo

Which five of the instructions below are not

Divide Hugos reply into three paragraphs.

1 Paragraph 1: from Thanks for your letter to

followed in Hugos reply?

____________________________________

1 Start with Hi / Hello / Dear and finish

2 Paragraph 2: from _____________________

with Cheers / All the best / Love.

____________________________________

2 Tell your reader your news.

3 Paragraph 3: from _____________________

3 Ask about your readers life.

____________________________________

4 Start a new topic for each paragraph.

5 Use imperatives, exclamations and questions to
involve the reader.

Write your own reply to Jims letter, based

on the notes below. Follow the steps (a-c).

6 Say youre going to end the letter

and give a reason.

My sisters just had a baby boy.

I passed all my exams except Computer Science.

7 Use an informal style throughout

the letter.

Ask Jim about his exams.

Ask Jim about his family.
Cant go on InterRail trip (explain why).

Match the underlined expressions (1-6) in

Hugos reply in Exercise 2 with their
informal equivalents (a-f).

a Give your essay to a partner to evaluate and

correct.

a It was great
b Please write back
c Id also like
d again
e Id like to know if thats OK
f Id actually rather

b Evaluate your partners letter. Does it follow the

instructions listed in Exercise 3?
c Correct your partners letter. Look out especially
for errors with word order in questions and with
tenses.

Extra Writing Practice

Unit 3

A FORMAL LETTER OF COMPLAINT

1

Use connectors from the box to complete the gaps below. In some gaps, there may be more than
one possible answer.

as a result

due to

for this reason

as since

Dear Mr Lomas,
Last summer I took some students on a coach tour of Italy with your company. I want to complain about the quality of the service
provided.
1

First of all, the journey itself was a real nightmare,

the coach was very old and uncomfortable and did not meet

basic safety standards. Actually, we nearly had an accident on several occasions

the poor condition of the brakes.

Secondly, the hotels we stayed in were much worse than we thought they would be. In Rome, we had to take a taxi into the centre
3

the hotel was more than 15km outside the city. In Milan, the hotel was dirty and the seafood in the hotel

restaurant had gone bad.

, five of our students had to go to hospital complaining of stomach pains.

I believe that it was all your companys fault.

, we want you to give us all our money back.

Answer quickly please.

Yours sincerely,
Juana Martnez

Read Juanas letter again and answer the

3 Are the events explained in a logical order?

questions below.

____________________________________

1 Is it a good letter? Why / why not?

____________________________________

____________________________________
____________________________________
2 Is the letter correctly divided into paragraphs?
____________________________________
____________________________________

4 Is the tone of the letter always formal enough?

____________________________________
____________________________________
5 Does Juana explain clearly the solution she
expects from the company?
____________________________________
____________________________________

Match the paragraphs (1-4) with the

a The washing machine did not work properly.

functions (a-d).

b The teachers had had no experience.

c There was a problem with the memory function.

a Explains how Juana wants to be compensated.

d The rooms were too small.

b Explains the reasons for the letter.

e I arrived late for work.

c Describes first set of problems.

b) In your notebooks, join the sentences

d Describes second set of problems.

together using connectors from Exercise 1.

Use a different connector in each sentence.

There are seven examples of inappropriate

language in Juanas letter. Find them and

Write a letter of complaint based on one of

replace them with these formal alternatives.

the following tasks (A or B).

1 I would like to complain (paragraph 1)

Make sure you:

____________________________________
2 extremely unpleasant (paragraph 2)
____________________________________
3 in fact (paragraph 2)
____________________________________
4 did not meet our expectations (paragraph 3)
____________________________________
5 your company was directly responsible for all
the problems we had on the trip (paragraph 4)

Divide the letter into four paragraphs see

Exercise 3 above.
Use some connectors of cause and result.
Use formal language.
A Last week you had a meal in a restaurant called
The Red Dog and were very dissatisfied. Write a
letter of complaint to the restaurant, based on the
handwritten notes below.
Come to the Red Dog for an unforgettable
experience. We offer:

____________________________________
6 we would like you to refund all the money we
paid for the trip (paragraph 4)
____________________________________
7 I look forward to a prompt reply (paragraph 4)
____________________________________

Top quality food - Meat was cold; fish was too salty;
dessert was burnt.
Excellent service - Service very slow; 2 waiters for 100
tables! Waiters made mistakes with orders (give
example).
Comfortable environment - No heating in restaurant! I

a) Match the complaints (1-5) with the

reasons (a-e).
1 The house was totally unsuitable for us.

caught a cold.
Ask for money back!
B Imagine you have gone to England to study in a

2 The iPod did not store music correctly.

language school. Make a list of four or five

3 The classes were poor quality.

things that could go wrong there. Write a letter

4 My clothes were totally destroyed.

of complaint to the language school.

5 The train was delayed by two hours.

Answer Key

Extra Writing Practice

Unit 1

1 1 Paragraph 1: from Ganguro is a Japanese make-up

and clothes culture to or, perhaps, Naomi

5 (Suggested answers.)
1 Paragraph 1: from Thanks for your letter to Ive
passed all my exams.
2 Paragraph 2: from Id love to go travelling to or

Campbell.
2 Paragraph 2: from The Ganguro look to show off

sleep on the train.

3 Paragraph 3: from I look forward to to the dates.

their tans.
3 Paragraph 3: from Whatever the origins to
superficial and excessively westernised.

Extra Writing Practice

2 1 In Japan around 1997.

2 Bleached blond/silvery hair; a deep tan; brightly
coloured clothes; shiny jewellery and (above all)
high-heeled shoes.

Unit 3

1 1 as / since
2 due to
3 since / as

3 They see them as superficial and excessively

westernised.

4 as a result
5 for this reason
2 1 Yes, except that its too informal in places.

Extra Writing Practice

Unit 2

2 Yes
3 Yes

1 1 Im sorry it took me so long to answer

2 What about you?

4 No (See Exercise 4 for details)

5 Yes

3 Im writing to check on
3 1b; 2c; 3d; 4a
4 I thought you might want to come with us
5 Id better stop writing now
6 Write back soon
7 Itd be great if

4 1 I want to complain
2 a real nightmare
3 Actually
4 were much worse than we thought they would be

2 Its not a good letter. See Exercise 3 for reasons.

5 it was all your companys fault
3 Instructions 1, 3, 4, 6 and 7 have not been followed.
4 1a; 2d; 3f; 4e; 5c; 6b

6 we want you to give us all our money back

7 Answer quickly please

a) 1d; 2c; 3b; 4a; 5e

b) (Suggested answers.)
1 The house was totally unsuitable for us as / because
/ since the rooms were too small.
2 The iPod did not store music correctly as / because
/ since there was a problem with the memory
function.
3 The teachers had had no experience. As a result, /
Consequently, / For this reason, the classes were
poor quality.
4 My clothes were totally destroyed as / because /
since the washing machine did not work properly.
5 The train was delayed by two hours. As a result, /
Consequently, / For this reason, I arrived late for
work.

6 a) (Students own answers. The letter must cover all

points in the handwritten notes.)