Test-taking Tips for the Level 1 Writing Final

**You will not know the exact topics on the exam until the day of the exam.

** However, you will know before :

1. the kind of tasks

2. the format and requirements

Date:

Tuesday, June 17th

6:00 – 7:30 p.m.

BE EARLY

Arrive 15-20 minutes early; leave time to relax….

10 minutes late = NOT ALLOWED into the room. You will be asked to go to Student Affairs and request a make-up exam.   You may not be able to make up the exam if you don’t have an approved excuse.

Bring SUPPLIES

1. an official photo ID (UAEU card, Emirates ID, or your passport.)

2. pencils, erasers  -- more than one.

TASK 1

- write about a daily routine

- use present tense verbs

- 120+ words / 3+ paragraphs

(hint, you will probably need a lot more words than this to finish the task)

- 25-30 minutes for this task

essay about something that happened in the past;

Grammar: use past verbs

2 topics, you choose 1 of them

at least 150 words (hint, you will probably need a lot more words than this to finish the task)

4 paragraphs

55-60 minutes for this task

TASK 2

Ready? Set? reviewing!

TASK 1: Write about a person’s daily routine

* write at least 120 words

* write at least 3 paragraphs

* you will have 30 minutes

Now, let’s take a closer look at TASK 1:

Tip # :

Use present simple tense:don’t forget the “s”

- gets up, returns, comes, etc.- ies: carries, worries, cries,

(but not in: prays, stays, plays, enjoys)

- es: relaxes, watches, kisses, washes

You are writing about a person (he or she), so your verbs need to finish with “s”

He takes a shower ……..

She sleeps ……..

Mariam wakes up …….

Ali goes to the university ……..

Example: Ali’s Schedule

You read on the Exam

You might Write…..

7:30 wake up; take a shower

At 7:30 Ali wakes up and takes a shower.

8:00 eat breakfast Then, at 8:00 he eats breakfast.

8:45 go to the office Next, he goes to the office.

Tip #

Make sure each sentence has a subject:

7:30 He wakes up ….

8:00 Ali eats breakfast ….

8:45 He goes to the office ….

wrong: Wakes up at 8:30.

correct: He wakes up at 8:30.

wrong: Goes to work at 10:00.

correct: Ali goes to work at 10:00.

Why?

• you may mistakes with verbs

• you may have short, repetitive sentences

• you may lose points on grammar and vocabulary

On the exam, the schedule may have 12+ activities. For example …

- 6:30 --- wake up- 7:00 --- eat breakfast, shower, get dressed- 8:00 --- take bus- 8:30 --- 9:30 English class- 9:30 --- 10:30 Economics class- 10:30 --- 11:00 break; drink tea in the

canteen- 11:00 – 1:00 --- Math class- 1:00 – 2:00 --- eat lunch- 2:00 – 4:00 --- study in Library - 4:30 --- return to hostel, relax

etc …………………..

Tip #

Combine ideas to make longer sentences

Do NOT write 1 separate sentence for every activity; if you do this, your body paragraph will have 2 problems:

1.It will become too long! Body paragraphs are usually 7-8 sentences, not 12-13 sentences

2. Your sentences will not be advanced for a high score.

Therefore, you should try to combine 2-3 activities together into 1 sentence. You don’t have to do this all the time, but do it OFTEN.

use connecting words to combine your sentences

and but so or (most common in schedule)

before after

because

until when since however while

Short sentences:Ali wakes up at 7:30. He eats

breakfast at 8:00. At 8:30 he goes to the office. Then he checks his email. At 10:00 he usually has a meeting.

Combined sentences (better!)Ali gets up at 7:30 and he has breakfast.

He leaves for the office an hour later, and he checks his email before 10:00, when he usually has a meeting.

Tip # Don’t just copy the schedule. Use synonyms (new words with same meanings) You don’t need to do this always, but do it often.

You are not a

copy machine

Instead of Trygoes home returns homerelaxes has free timeeats has lunchwakes up at 8:30

begins his day at 8:30

You

are

brig

ht a

nd

crea

tive!

You

hav

e a

lot

of v

ocab

ular

y!!Why? If you understand something,

you can explain it in your own words. Also, this shows that you are good with Vocabulary

However, Do NOT make up or add details about things that are not on the schedule! For example, you would not say …

Ali’s kids probably wish he had more free time.

or:

Ali should get a BlackBerry to manage his schedule.

Tip #

Use lots of different

time words

Don’t overuse the same time words!

At 7:30 …..

At 8:00 …..

At 8:45 ….

At 10:00 …..Then, he…..

Then, he …..

Then, he…..

Then, he…..

first, … next,… then,…

After (noun), … after that an hour later,…

later, …. second third

from ,,, to between …. and finally

INTRODUCTIONS

What is your topic?

Write one or two general sentences to introduce this.

Then, write your main

idea --- the specific

thing you will focus on.

In your main idea, you do not need to “announce” what you are going to write in your essay:

In this essay I’m going to write about Ali’s day.

Now I’m going to talk about Ali’s routine.

I’m will tell you about Ali’s life.

You probably did this when you wrote essays in high school.

In the university, your main ideas should be more formal and academic

The schedule is about someone else, not you, so the word “I” doesn’t really belong in your main idea anyway!

Example introduction:

2 general sentences

1 focused main idea

Everyone from babies to

presidents has a daily

routine.

Some people have very

busy lives while others

have more free time. Ali’s

daily schedule is full from

morning to night.

Detail sentences

Remember to use your connectors!

Ali meets with his manager at 11:00, and then he usually eats lunch at his desk.

After lunch, Ali reads his emails or does some paperwork.

When he gets home, he relaxes for a while before dinner.

Conclusions

in conclusion

in summary

to sum up

in short

in brief

overall

in general

Begin with

a conclusion word:

You can look at your main idea and repeat itbut use different words!

Restatement in the conclusion:

To sum up, Ali’s life keeps him very busy.

Main idea:

Ali’s days are full from morning to night.

Task 2 Tips

* 150+ words (use

more!!)

* 4 paragraphs

* (mostly) past tense

Task 2 = write a past narrative; for

example:

- a special day

- a memorable event

- an experience you had (scary, funny, etc.)

Review past tense verbs (-ed and no -

ed)

study --- studiedmarry --- married

finish --- finishedwork --- worked

become --- becamebegin --- began

Introduction

2 general sentences

1 main idea

Most days in our lives are normal and unexciting. However, there are also special days. I’ll never forget the day I saw a World Cup soccer match.

Do you have a special day that you will never forget? I think everyone has these memorable times. As for me, I’ll never forget the day I saw a World Cup soccer match.

Introduction = 2 general ideas (hook + background) + 1

main idea (thesis)

Example #1

Example #2

Body Paragraphs

Remember: a topic sentence summarizes

all your details

The topic sentence is not a detail

Example:

The day of the World Cup soccer match

was amazing. We left our hotel in Brazil and

arrived at noon. The stadium was already full

with thousands of excited fans. People had on

shirts of their favorite teams and waved flags, and

some people painted their faces. Then, the ……

Paint a picture with words!

Give details that let your readers “see” what happened

Question: How is taking an exam like taking medicine?

Answer: You have to follow directions carefully!

Talk about what the exam tells you to:

1. The topic --- for example:

Write about a sports event you attended

Write about a memorable visit you made to a special place

2. Guidelines --- for example:

- what was this event?

- who did you go with?

- where was this place?

- what did you do there?

- when did you go there?

Suggestion:

The guidelines will probably have 6-7

questions

Use body #1 to answer half of them

Use body #2 to answer the other half

Body #1

- What was this event?

- who did you go with?

- where was this place?

Body #2

- what did you do there?

- when did you go there?

- what was the result of this event?

Conclusions

in conclusion

in summary

to sum up

in short

in brief

overall

in general

Begin with

a conclusion word:

You can look at your main idea and repeat itbut use different words!

Restatement in the conclusion:

To sum up, watching the World Cup was a day I will always remember.

Main idea:

I’ll never forget the day I saw a World Cup soccer match.

Final piece of advice:

If you finish your exam early, be sure to double-check your work:

spelling verbs

capitalizationpunctuation

Good luck on your exam!