POST 2: A SINGER/BAND YOU LIKE or A CONCERT/EXHIBITION YOU'VE BEEN TO.

How can you mend a broken heart? I don’t mean to ask you this question, this is  just the title of a song that one of my favourite groups used to sing back in the early 70s. This band was called The Bee Gees. Have you ever heard about them? Maybe you have listened to some of their disco music songs that were included in the 1977 movie “Saturday Night Fever”, with John Travolta in it.

This British band was made up of three brothers, Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb.  During the late 60s and early 70s they sang brilliant pop music songs, but in the late 70s their style evolved into disco music. The songs they played that I like the most were recorded before they started singing with a “falsetto”.

I like this band because their songs have beautiful lyrics and the harmonies they produced were breathtaking for me when I was a teenager. It’s hard to say which of their songs is my favourite, the list is long because they are all so beautiful in their own right: To Love Somebody, Massachussets, My World, Melody Fair, Run to Me, etc. Wow! I’m starting to feel nostalgic…
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This week you have two choices to write about:
- A singer/band you like.
Or:
- A concert/exhibition you've been to.

 Please, include the following:

 

band / singer >>
- name
- what do you know about them?
- what type of music do they play?
- why do you like this artist/band?
- what's your favorite song? why?
- publish a picture or video
Remember to write 120 words minimum and make 3 comments on your classmates posts.

concert/exhibition >>

- what was it?
- when did you go?
- where was it?
- why did you like it?
- mention more details about it
- publish a related picture or video

- Make sure to write 120 words minimum and make 3 comments on your classmates posts.

POST 1. MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY

My Autobiography

Hello everybody and welcome to your first blog session. Today you are expected to write your autobiography. Please follow the instructions carefully and have a look at my sample post to get inspired. You may upload a picture if you like.

Can you spot me in this photo?

Make sure you include the following:

- Birth info
- Studies info (elementary/high school/ univ)
- Family info
- Hobbies
- Others...

Remember to write at least 120 words and make comments on three of your classmates posts.

Who am I?

Let me tell you a little about myself. I was born in Santiago, Chile, and grew up in Santiago, in the Patronato neighbourhood.  After I finished my wonderful kindergarten days,  I went to Rafael Sanhueza Lizardi School, where I became a book worm,  and then to Arturo Alessandri Palma High School, where I made some very good friends and developed my liking of English. As a result of that, I studied to become a teacher of English at Universidad de Chile and after some further study in London,  I took my master degree in Education in 2007 at UMCE and received my degree from there last year.

I´m the fifth oldest of a large family of seven children (and probably the gray sheep!)

I have a lot of hobbies, for example, I like drawing and painting; listening to music, singing karaoke and playing the guitar; I love reading (and used to write embarrasingly lousy poems) and watching movies (especially dramas and good comedies); I enjoy having long conversations with my friends over a coffee or some delicious food; plus a long etcetera. But what I like the most is travelling, so I’ve already been to quite a few countries.

HOW TO INTRODUCE A TOPIC AND LINK YOUR SENTENCES

 

PUTTING YOUR IDEAS TOGETHER

Here is a “helping word” to students in trouble, I mean, several words that will help you when you find it hard to write something  because your ideas are not connected.

These expressions are used to introduce a new topic:

-as for, in regards to, concerning (en cuanto a, en relación a)
-in reference to, with regards to (tocante a , concerniente a )
-about, concerning (acerca de)

You can use these words (Connectors) to link your ideas.

RESULT – SUMMARY
So – Therefore, – as a result – thus – Consequently, – in this way – in short – in brief
CONCESSION
However, – Nevertheless, – despite – in spite of – yet – although – though – still …
CONTRAST
Instead – in comparison – but – on ( the ) one hand – on the other hand – by contrast – whereas – otherwise
ADDITION
Also – and – Furthermore, – Moreover, – in addition ( to ) – besides – above all…
REASON
Because – since – as - because of , due to – thanks to - that’s why – that’s the reason why -
EMPHASIS
As a matter of fact, – in particular – Of course, – In fact, – indeed – in any event…
ILLUSTRATION
For instance – for example …
REPETITION
Similarly – likewise – in the same way…
SEQUENCE
First – next – then – finally – at last – eventually – in the end…In conclusion,
Firstly – Secondly- thirdly…

And here are some useful phrases for opinions:

- Many people claim that…
- It is true that….
- This is not an exaggeration … even though…
- I tend to dis/agree with …
- In my view…
-As far as I'm concerned,
- In conclusion, – To conclude,
- I can understand… However, …
- As we have seen/will see, there are ( at least ) two sides to this issue.
- I am convinced that we can / deal with this situation /improve this situation / solve this problem…
- This is an issue that / can be solved / must be faced …
- Another aspect of the issue is…
- In my opinion, the advantages of… far outweigh the disadvantages…
- We can argue that… but…
- Personally I am in favor of…..

On these websites you will find some exercises on connectors.

http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/grammar/engineering/transitions/2.xml

http://www.englishdaily626.com/sentence_connectors.php?005

http://sana.tkk.fi/awe/cohesion/signposts/contrast/exercises/1r.html

WELCOME

Hi dear students and welcome to my blog. I hope that you learn new things by writing your posts  and that you find the experience interesting.

Here you have some important information that will help you organize your posts and improve your writing skills:

HOW TO WRITE A COMPOSITION

Different Parts of a Composition:
Whatever you choose to write for a composition, you usually follow the same basic structure: Introduction/Opening + Body + Conclusion/Closing

1. Opening (1 paragraph)
-It consists of a presentation of the topic (use an "attention grabber": something to capture the reader’s attention).
-It contains the ideas you are going to deal with (a quick overview of what’s coming)

2. Body (2-3 paragraphs)
-The body is a group of paragraphs that develop on the main idea as introduced in the opening.
-Each paragraph argues, describes, explains, discusses, defines, clarifies, illustrates or whatever on the opening statement.
-One idea is discussed in each paragraph.

3. Closing (1 paragraph)
-It can be a summing up, reviewing or restating the main idea in different words or briefly stating your opinion, feelings or suggesting a solution, or some “food for thought” or a wish…

Ensure the concluding paragraph is not too long; three or four sentences will be enough.
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How can you write an attention grabber?
By...
-Making an unexpected statement
-Using Humor
-Using a relevant quotation
-Posing a Rhetorical question designed to arouse curiosity without requiring an answer
-Shocking the Audience with an unexpected fact or statistic

Examples:
A good attention grabber: "The death penalty is the most premeditated of murders"; “Elvis is not dead...”; “Who said that the countryside is boring?”; “Seagulls are just rats with wings”; “Hating seagulls is like being racist or homophobic”

A bad attention grabber: “Today I have to write about...”; “the topic of this post is...”