UAE University, University College, Foundation Program, English DepartmentLevel 1 Writing

Writing a NARRATIVE essay

WORKSHEETSProject Information The project is worth _____% of your FP English mark. you will write a 4-paragraph essay You must write ____ words

Portfolio Worksheets Mini Project – TRUE STORY - Draft 1 on paper, draft 2 on blog

Grammar Focus

Verbs in the ______ tense (regular and _______________) Adjectives Time order words PUNCTUATION / complex sentences Possessives

Vocabulary VTL with focus on verbs in past and adjectives

Resources Worksheets - iBook, Unit 7 Past Tense Grammar - Lots of Online Practice - http://wp.me/p5kqyM-a Mary’s blog: www.uaeul1writing.wordpress.com

Exam Task. Write an essay of four paragraphs and at least 200 words.

ORGANIZING THE BODY. For each topic

Body 1 – who what when where why

Body 2 – special memory

Writing Project Topic: ______________________________________

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Schedule (suggestion)

In class Preparation/homework

SUNDAY Model - AnalysisSteps of the Writing Process

Brainstorming Questions: project topic + HW topicA Happy Day essay

MONDAY Analyze Happy DayStep 1: Brainstorming and OrganizingProject topicWriting the Introduction

Practice introductionsThe door

TUESDAY Introduction – Writing ProjectWriting Body 1 and Body 2 (practice sentences)

Intro – First Day of High School

WEDNESDAY LW – Emirati WeddingFirst draft

THURSDAY A Bad Day – Alexander – Night at the Museum

Worksheet “A Difficult DayWrite an essay about a Very Bad Day in your Life

SUNDAY Review LW (Difficult – SS topic sentences

MONDAY Review Grammar

TUESDAY Final Draft

Wednesday Exam Prep – write group essays Complete worksheets and portfolio tasks (writing center, blog)

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Example TopicsWrite about a visit that you made to a special place that you will always remember (mosque, city, natural place, etc)

1. Describe a cultural event that you saw in the past (wedding, festival, National Day).

2. Describe a family gathering that you remember.3. Describe a special gift that you received.4. Describe a sports event that you saw in the past

(football game, camel race, car race, swimming competition, karate competition, etc.)

5. Describe a TV show / movie /programme you watched in the past.

6. Describe your high school graduation.7. Describe your last day of secondary school. 8. Write about a holiday that you enjoyed in the past. This could be a day trip or even a

longer holiday to a city or another country. Include: 9. Write about a memorable trip that you made. Include10. Write about a party you went to.11. Write about something unusual that happened in the past. It can be something that

happened to you, to someone in your family, or to a friend. 12. Write about the happiest day of your life.13. Write about the life of an older person when he / she was a teenager.

Exercise #1: Skim each topic and underline the key words that are the most important.

Example Essay Task/topic:

Describe a place you have visited (e.g. a city or a foreign country). Say where you went and when. Also, who was with you? Describe what it looked like Explain what you did there

After you read the task, think: how will the student organize her answer??

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Directions: Organize the words in the sentences. Then, write the essay in correct format

(indented, double spaced, clear handwriting, etc.)

An Amazing TripINTRODUCTION

1

2

BODY 1

1

2

3

4

5

6

4

7

BODY 2

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

CONCLUSION

1

2

3

5

Study the Essay1. How many paragraphs are there? _____ How many words? _____

2. What is the topic of Body 1?Activities / looks

3. What is the topic of Body 2?a. Activities / looks

4. Circle the LW (linking words) and write them below.

5. What kind of verbs do you see?a. Past b. present c. both past and present

6. What adjectives did the writer use??

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Model Essay Practice –

Part A. Arrange the sentences in order for each paragraph of the essay.

A Very _________________ DayParagraph 1 a. ___ First, I woke up in my room and smiled because there were three

chocolates on the table beside my bed.b. ___ Last Tuesday was a very happy day for me.c. ___ My mother greeted me with a warm hug, and she served my

favorite breakfast of fresh bread, tomatoes and cheese with her wonderful sweet coffee.

d. ___ Then I went to the kitchen.Paragraph 2

a. ___ After breakfast, I went to the university and continued my happy day.

b. ___ After my classes finished, my friends and I went to the cafeteria.

c. ___ I was surprised and delighted because my score was 95%. I received the best grade in the class!

d. ___ My first class was Level 1 Integrated, and the teacher returned our Mid-term exams.

e. ___ Next, I stopped at the writing centre, and a kind teacher showed me how to edit a paragraph I wrote.

f. ___ We laughed and told a lot of funny stories, and they paid for my coffee and cupcake.

Paragraph 3a. ___ Then, he told me to walk with him around the house to

our back garden.b. ___ Finally, my father brought a beautiful white horse, and

he said to me: “Happy birthday, my dear! This is for you.”c. ___ My happy day continued at home.

d. ___ First, my father greeted me, but he didn’t look very friendly.

e. ___ Suddenly, I looked up. All my relatives were there, and they shouted: “Surprise!”

Paragraph 4a. I will always remember this wonderful birthday.

b. ___ It was such a joyful day, from morning until evening

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Part B. Directions: Write the paragraphs as one story/essay. Include a title with an adjective. Use clear indents and double space format.

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Learning Tasks1. How many paragraphs are in the essay?2. Circle all of the past tense verbs in “A Very Happy Day”3. How many words are in the essay? ______________________4. Put a box around the time order words. How many? ________5. Underline the adjectives. How many? ________

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Practice – Past Tense Narrative

Directions: After listening to the story, complete the paragraph, using the verbs in the box. Remember to change the verbs into the past. You may use the verbs more than once.

(base form): ask – be – feel - have – look – run – start – think - want (negative) – see– have (negative)

“The Door” (Embarrassing Experience)

Several years ago, I (1) ____________________ an embarrassing experience.

I (2)____________________ a new job at a nice university in a new country.

Everything (3)____________________ new and strange to me, so I sometimes

(4)____________________ confused. We had many things to remember and there

(5)____________________ many meetings. Of course I (6)______________________ to be

late for anything. I (7) ______________________ a car, so I always (8)____________________

from one place to another.

One day, I (9)____________________ a meeting in a new building with large glass

doors. I (10) ____________________ the door was open, but it wasn’t. That day I ran in to the

door. What a shock!! I (11)____________________ around and I (12)

__________________________ one surprised worker there. He (13)

_______________________ if I was Ok.

I was fine, but I (14) ____________________ a little embarrassed. (140 words)

More Questions

1. What kind of experience was this? Mark the topic sentence “TS”2. Mark the regular verbs “reg”3. Mark the time order words with a square4. Mark the adjectives with a triangle

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Writing Project Brainstorm – You can take this paper home for ONE DAY only

1. How many countries have you traveled to? ________ name them below

__________________________________ ___________________________________

__________________________________ ___________________________________

__________________________________ ___________________________________

2. How many different cities in UAE have you travelled to? Name them below

__________________________________ ___________________________________

__________________________________ ___________________________________

__________________________________ ___________________________________

3. Write about a Trip that you took

a. Where did you go? ____________________________________________________

b. When did you go? ____________________________________________________

c. Who was with you? ____________________________________________________

d. Where did you stay? ______________________________

e. How did you get there? ______________________________________________

f. Describe the place where you stayed

i. Location ____________________________________________________

ii. Design ______________________________________________________

4. Describe the City/Country

a) Weather ________________________________________________________________

b) buildings________________________________________________________________

c) streets _________________________________________________________________

d) shops ___________________________________________________________________

e) other ___________________________________________________________________

5. What did you do? Name at least 3 things

a. ________________________________________________________________________

b. ________________________________________________________________________

c. ________________________________________________________________________

d. ________________________________________________________________________

e. ________________________________________________________________________

6. What was your favorite thing to do?

_______________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________11

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

What things did you family enjoy most? _____________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Did anything surprising happen on your trip?? _____________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

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INTRODUCTION

A. An introduction usually has 3-4 sentences1. hook – question or general idea – (have you ever travelled….?)2. topic - (trip to turkey – when, who with – why)3. main idea - (amazing trip – will never forget)4. Plan : In this essay, I will describe my trip to turkey.

B. Example INTRODUCTIONPut the sentences in the correct order

An Amazing Trip

______ Have you ever travelled outside of your own country?? / ______ In this essay, I will describe my trip to Oman. /_______Last winter, I went to Oman with my family. / _______We had a perfect holiday!!

Write the introduction below

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………..……………………

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Prepare for Project 2Use the log to write down the new vocabulary you will use in your project.

Word (POS) Translation Other forms + word family

Memory idea

Write a sentence

Example: tour

(n)+ (v)

toured (v) tourist (n) We took a boat tour down the river.

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VOCABULARY LOG: WRITING PROJECT 2 A Trip I Took

Name __________________________________ ID ___________

Date __________________ Section: _________________________

True Story

TOPIC/DIRECTIONS: Write a True Story about a funny or memorable experience in your life. Take it to the writing center and meet with a tutor. Get advice, and show the editing on the paper. To get a good score, include

CONTENT: At least 200 wordslots of interesting details about who, what, when, where, etc.interesting title

ORGANIZATION4 clear paragraphs, double space, indents.Step by step detailsClear introduction and conclusionTransitions (TW)

VOCABULARYLots of adjectives and verbsCorrect spelling

GRAMMARCorrect punctuationverbs in the past tenseCombined sentences / correct punctuationCorrect pronouns, prepositions, Correct capitals

NOTES

MAIN idea (thesis) – give topics for Body 1 and Body 2

f. What kind of experience was it (adjective) ……………………………………………g. What was the memorable experience ……………………………………….

h. What did it show you or teach you……………………………………………………..

i. WHO

j. WHAT

k. WHEN

l. WHERE

m. WHY

SENTENCES15

(INTRO/TS) main idea – what was the memorable experience (1 or 2) ? (just a few words)

(SS) What happened - Who was with - When -- Where - Why was it important

CONCLUSION

Give a short summary of body 1 and 2. Use different words

Write your opinion and feelings, LESSONS.

_____ WORDS _________ minutes Score

WR

ITIN

G 5 4 3 2 1Above level 1 Good for level 1 Just passing,

needs workNot passing, get extra help

Not near passing, get extra help

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17

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YesterdayWhat kind of day was yesterday? Normal / happy / boring / hard / strange / other __________

Directions: Write a short paragraph about what you did yesterday. Include 10-15 past verbs.

_______________________________________

Introduction 19

Sentence 1: The HOOK What? 1st sentence in your essay – Why? Get the reader

interested How? Many ways. Two ways:1. Ask a question. Example: Did you ever wish you had an

“undo” button on your life?2. General statement. Example: I always love my birthday

Sentence 2: BACKGROUND/TOPIC – when + what + where + with who

____________________, I __________ to ________________ with _________________

Sentence 3: THESIS: PLAN & MAIN IDEA

“In this essay, I will describe my trip to…..” “ In this essay, I will describe this happy event”

Practice 1: Label the parts of the INTRODUCTION:An Embarrassing Day

1 Everyone has an embarrassing story that they want to forget!!

2 My story happened about five years ago in a foreign country.

3 Here is the story of that embarrassing day

Practice 2: Put these Introductions in order.

Example 1: A Happy Birthday1. always / I / love / my birthday. /2. , and / a special gift./gave / I turned 10/In 1975, / me / my Dad / 3. 10th birthday. / essay, / I / In this /my / perfect / will describe /

Example 2: My Country’s Birthday1. a birthday. / country /Every / has /

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2. December 2 / every year. /In UAE, / is / National Day /3. celebrated / I / in Ras Al Khaima. /Last year, / my family / National Day / with / 4. describe / essay, / happy event. /I / In / this /this / will /

Supporting SentencesRead these sentences and think about the underlined words. Ask yourself: what, where, when, why and how. Write two or three sentences about the place, thing or event.

1. After breakfast, Laila put on her new Eid dre s s .A tailor in Al Ain Mall made the dress for her. The dress was red and had many colorful beads. Everyone thought she looked terrific in her new dress.

2. Khalifa received a fa n ta s tic g ift for Eid.

3. Aisha and Rashid saw many w o nd erf u l p l a c es in Egypt.

4. Mustafa’s last day of high school was a sad day .

5. When Khalifa was seven years old, his parents gave him his fi r s t b ic y cle .

More Practice

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My First Day of High School1. Think about your first day of high school. What did you do? Who did you see? How did

you feel? a. Organize your ideas on A4 paper.b. Write a short essay of 150-200 words about your first day of secondary school:c. Write 3-4 paragraphs, with introduction, body and conclusiond. Use lots of time order words.

2. Take your paper to the Writing Center or ask a friend or teacher for feedback.3. Write a second draft. Your teacher may use this as a journal entry or homework

assignment.

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_______ words

Editing / Past Tense Practice

Part A: Read the story and answer the questions.

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1. Where did this event happen? ………………………………………………………………………………….

2. When did it happen? …………………………………………………………………………………………..……

3. What was discovered? ………………………………………………………………………………………………

4. Who discovered it?...........................................................................................................

5. How did he / she discover it? ……………………………………………………………………………………

6. Why was this such an amazing discovery? ………………………………………………………………..

7. What happened afterwards?...........................................................................................

Part B: Correct the verbs

An Amazing Discovery

Have you ever found a secret treasure? Two years ago something

incredible happen to my brother Mohammed. Here is the story of his discovery.

My family and I camp near a wadi for a few days. Every night we make a fire and

sleep outside. One afternoon Mohammed, who is seventeen years old, go to look for

firewood. He walk far down the wadi and see a big, dry branch behind some rocks. As

he start pulling it, he notice a box lying in a hole. It is an old chest with a big lock.

The box is very heavy, but he take it and run back to our camp. We are

extremely excited, so my father use a crowbar to open the box. It is full of old coins! My

uncle say they are very valuable Roman coins. My father phone the museum, and later

some people come to take the chest. A month later my brother receive a lot of money,

and he appear on TV! My family and I still enjoy talking about that amazing day.

(162 words)

Grammar: the past simple tense

When you write about events in the past, you need to use the past simple tense. See the examples:

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POSITIVE NEGATIVEI walked to school yesterday. I did not walk to school yesterday.

I watched TV last night. I did not watch TV last night.

I ate breakfast this morning. I did not eat breakfast this morning.

I went shopping last weekend. I did not go shopping last weekend.

Practice: Write TRUE sentences about your past experiences using past simple tense

verbs:Example: I got good grades in primary school. Or : I did not get good grades in primary school.

1. have a delicious dinner last night

_______________________________________________________________________

2. go to Thailand during the last summer vacation

_______________________________________________________________________

3. go to Jebel Hafeet last weekend

_______________________________________________________________________

4. drink a cup of tea this morning

______________________________________________________________________

5. play tennis with my friends last week

_______________________________________________________________________

6. write a good topic sentence for my Writing Project last week

_______________________________________________________________________

7. watch an exciting movie last night

_______________________________________________________________________

8. Walk around the Kaba in Mecca.

_______________________________________________________________________

9. Eat Indian food in Dubai last year.

_______________________________________________________________________

10. Buy some new shoes at Bawadi this year.

_______________________________________________________________________

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Three of the most important irregular verbs are

The simple past tense of the verb

be: ______________ have: ____________ do: _______________

Here are some useful Simple Past Tense Irregular Verbs. You have to memorize them!

BASE PAST BASE PAST BASE PASTbe was/were go saybecome became grow see sawbegin have had sellbreak hear heard send sentbring hit hit shoot shotbuild hold sing sangbuy bought hurt hurt sit satcatch caught keep sleepcome came know speak spokecut cut leave spend spentdo let stand stooddrink lie lay swimdrive drove light lit take tookeat make made teachfall fell meet met tellfight fought pay thinkfind put put throw threwfly flew read read* understa

ndget got ride rode wear woregive run ran Circle the verbs you can use in your project.

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to doto haveto be

Emirati Wedding

Did _______ ever go ____ an Emirati wedding? _______, _____ had a big party

_______ _____ sister got married ____ Al Ain. _____ will never forget this special day

_______ everything was beautiful and fun. ____ this essay I will describe this happy

event.

___ ___ _____ the wedding, ______sister and ______friends got henna, ______

______ looked ____ all the gifts. ______ _______, the groom gave a lot ____ gold.

Everything ___ the wedding looked beautiful. _______ _______ _______, the

bride wore a lovely white dress. _______ _______, everyone had fashionable clothes,

and there were many kinds ___ sweets. _______, there were colorful flowers,

_______there was a big stage ___ the bride ___ walk on, _______everyone could see

_______. Everyone was happy, _______ _______was wonderful.

___ will never forget _______ activities ___ the day ___ wedding. _______,

_______took photos of the bride ___ _______family and _______friends. _______, ___

switched _____ the music. The dancing was _______favorite activity. _______, the

bride’s sister danced, _______ _______ _______, the bride walked slowly _____the

stage _______the DJ read poetry. _____ was so much fun.

_______ _______ _______, my sister’s wedding was fantastic!! _____hope

_____never change this special tradition _____the UAE, _______ _____hope _____get

invited _____many _____these special parties.

Connecting wordsSu + V , CW + su + V

Linking words pronouns Prepositions(some used more than once)

For time order

For examples

Subject

Object

Possessive

at - of – to - in

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p. 29 – Alexander / night at the Museum

Writing the CONCLUSION:

The conclusion contains a quick summary of what you said (key points) in Body 1 and Body 2 +your opinions / feelings about the trip you took.

Note: This should be ONE paragraph. It is only divided up here to help you.

(A quick summary of Body 1 and Body 2)

____________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

(Feelings / opinions you have about the trip you took: )

____________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

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More Body Sentences

a) My family and I (fly) _________________________ to Istanbul last summer.

b) We (buy) ____________ gifts for our family and friends in the UAE.

c) I (eat) ________________ so many pieces of Turkish delight that I felt sick.

d) We (spend) __________________ the first night in a wonderful hotel.

e) We (take) _________________ a guided tour through the Blue Mosque.

f) I (leave) _________________ the hotel early in the morning.

TASK: Write four sentences with There was and There were using the information from the table below.

There Verb What? Where?

a) ______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

b) ______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

c) ______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

d) ______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

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There

the streets this place.

the house

in

on

near

bridgerivermosquepark***beachestouristsmountainspeopleshops

many

some

a

an

were

was

There

Connecting ideas

Underline all the simple past tense verbs in the text below.

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Tell me about your trip to Istanbul last year.

The plane journey was long. It was

comfortable. I flew in Business Class.

My friend could not meet me at the

airport. I took a taxi to my hotel.

My first day in Istanbul was wonderful.

It was busy. I went to the Blue

Mosque. Then I went to Sophia Hagia.

I wanted to eat fish for lunch. I went to

a seafood restaurant on the river. I

ate prawns.

Use the conjunctions from the box below to join some of these ideas together.

a) The plane journey was long. It was comfortable. I flew Business Class.

________________________________________________________________

b) My friend could not meet me at the airport. I took a taxi to my hotel.

________________________________________________________________

c) My first day in Istanbul was wonderful It was busy.

________________________________________________________________

d) I went to the Blue Mosque. Then I went to Sophia Hagia.

________________________________________________________________

e) I wanted to eat fish for lunch ….. I went to a seafood restaurant ..… I ate prawns.

Correcting MistakesCorrect the mistakes in the sentences below:

a) My father he buy the plane tickets. (2 mistakes)

___________________________________________________________________

b) There was many boats on the river. (1 mistake)

__________________________________________________________________

c) Two years before I go to malaysia on holday with my family.

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

d) After we finish our meal. Our friendly water brought us glas of sweet apple tea .

____________________________________________________________________________

e) We take a ferry down the river Bosphorus..

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and but so because

____________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

f) We seed mony shops in the Grand bazaar . The Egypt Bazaar were full of nuts and spices so

it had a lovely small.

____________________________________________________________________________

g) In the Grand Bazaar we saw shops that sold pointy turkey slippers painted bowl carpets

sweets and beautiful lambs.

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

h) we sat in the beutiful marble courtyard of Suleymaniye mosque and admired the architect.

____________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

i) They lost their luggage at the airpot.

____________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

j) It was a wonderful holday. We really enjoyed us.

____________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

k) she didn’t arrived on time so we leave without her.

____________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

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