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isaac in English

Report: What to do after Secondary School in Spain?

What to do after Secondary School in Spain? Introduction Despite political efforts to change dynamics on young choices when they finish ESO (Obligatory Secondary Education), everything have remained almost in the same way for 20 years. Some of them decide go ahead and start Bachellor in order to get a degree in the future, whereas others choose to get immersed in the proffesional world and learning directly from the practical experience. Students who choose continuing their formation Unfortunately, most students in this case opt for the technical or scientific brand of Bachellor, which is supposed to assure a better future (in economical terms). On the contrary those who prefer the humanistic brand mostly want to do a linguistic degree, such as, philology or translation and interpretation, because of the same reason. In both cases, they are often influenced by family, some teachers and media, where they get this basic orientation from. As a note, currently there is not much differences in this way due to gender. Students who prefer start working On the other hand, the main part of young who opt for this alternative, doing so because they have been disencouraged throughout ESO and not properly informed. In this case, mechanical jobs related with contruction, gardening and welding are most likely between boys; and others like administrative and nurse auxiliar (both after a short curse) are so in case of girls. Informacion source The information described above comes firstly from secondary schools, phycologists especialized in orientation and lastly from my personal experience. Conclusion On summary, what was expressed above corresponds with a general scheme which have been almost static throughough the last two decades.

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Jan 14

2 min read

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isaac in English

Essay: How to encourage people to do exercise?

In the last decades more and more people are getting distracted for the amount of work and leisure activities around them. However they don’t usually take into account the importance that keeping on shape have on their lives. Linked to this topic I saw a programme on the radio where theses issues were discussed more in deep. From all the solutions the solutions provided on this programme, I would like to highlight two of them, that is, better facilities and a proper advertising. Firstly, I completely agree on what one of the participant told about the facilities: there is need of plenty of these, especially on small towns and villages, where lacks of public funding make the existing ones obsolete or they need to be repaired. Besides, people can not afford paying a gym, so the only alternative to this areas for its inhabitants is going running, which is not a very stimulating activity for most them. Secondly, but not less important, any kind of sport activity must be widely announced, in order to keep people from different ages informed. That is the most unexpensive (mostly free) way to attack the problem at its source, specially for those activities aimed at young people, through social networks. What is described above link perfectly with was expressed by the broadcaster in the radio programme, who stated that just good facilities without a proper advertising about the activities which are taken place in your local area is senseless. As a conclusion, both facilities availability and advertising are indispensable in order to encourage people from all ages to find spaces in their busy agendas for getting started again in doing physical exercise.

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Jan 14

2 min read

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isaac in English

Review: Holidays

My experience with the appartment in Sordo Street 7 in Cazalla de la Sierra I have spend a week with my girlfriend on Christmas holidays in a lovely appartment in Cazalla de la Sierra and it was pleasant to find out such a renting and for a lower price than I expected for the Christmas holidays, so why should I try it with other places or regions? First of all, I have to say that the welcome by the owner, Pedro, has been excellent, mostly because he was aware of any details we needed or question we had about, however much unimportant it looked like. Regarding to the accomodation, despite of the tiny size of the house, which fits properly for a couple, it was everything on hand and fully prepared for a short stay, that is: indispensable furniture in the living room, a good equipped kitchen and a bathroom which looked like a spa. Beyond the described above, the neighbourhood was silent and people very welcoming and charming. As an example, we got lost at first to find the location, because of works in the road next to the place, and a group of workers let us cross over it and even helped us to carry our luggages. Finally, I highly recommend to visit the village‘s castle, where landscapes are atonishing, specially if you want to spend a recovery time surrounded by nature. Not far away you will find an endless list of hiking routes, so it is perfect for people appasionated by the environment. On summary, after our stay in this really nice location we have no doubts that we will come back in the next holidays.

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Jan 14

2 min read

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isaac in English

Report: My first week in Düsseldorf (Germany)

My first week in Düsseldorf (Germany) As starting point, I am glad to Seville University for this opportunity. Although it was just one week, it was enough time to get to know more about the country, beyond the topics I have ever heard about. My stay was much easier thanks to Gloria, the previous student who enjoyed the benefits of this programme. Most of the places we visited were alongside the Rin river, where the main part of clubs, bars and discos are located on. I was fascinated how easy was for me, a not much outgoing person, to meet new people from different nationatilities over there. During my stay I spent my time mainly with a group of young au pairs, who show me a gastronomical route in this area. It was amazing the variety of local plates you can find, since my general idea about German food didn’t go far away from sausaches and spicy sauces. Apart from that I could taste a good variety of beers (nothing to do with the Spanish ones). Moreover, Gloria recommended me a good climb gym, which fit perfectly for me to reduce all calories from the activities described above. I knew about German climbers fame, but I couldn’t imagine how many gyms you found here. After my exchange in Germany and having talked with Gloria, I may say that ours experiences were pretty similar each other, mainly due to all the outgoing environment is focused along the river. In fact, she already knew the au pair group I mentioned above. As an overview of the programme, it was an unforgettable experience that I strongly recommend to any students who wish a first approach of what they can feel staying abroad, not only because improving your English skills but for opening your mind, especially in a multicultural city as Düsseldorf.

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Jan 14

2 min read

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isaac in English

Essay CAE C1 "Crime and young in poor areas"

Recently I watched a documentary about the causes of childrens getting involved in crime. This reports a series of key factors that explain why they tend to commit criminal actions even in an early age into the teenagers age. First of all, there is a main and unavoidable topic at these ages in all the cases that were shown, that is, the social context: they live in the outskirts, in poor neighbourhoods where the unemployment makes unthinkable for them being able to think inon a better future. Obviously, this phenomenon starts at school. Such is the case of Kevin, who at the age of 10 spent most of his time alone and out of school, looking into the garbage something to eat. So by far, we could imagine his parents cando not afford all the material necessary for a proper education. What it was described above link in some sense to the firsthand view of a social worker in the film, who stated that it is not a matter of surprise the relationship between desperation of young children and bad actions like crime. Secondly, this example may just shows the lack of parental control and discipline. Statement which was firmly expressed for one of the experts interviewed. Nonetheless, in my humble opinion, it was not taken into account that covering basics needs is prior to anything else, even a firm moral which took Kevin out of this kind of problems. On summary, in some areas the social elevator have never worked as it is expected, and this phenomenon affects influences to differents generations, reason why parents may not assure the typical educational and moral rules which are supposed to youngs and teenagers.

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Jan 09

2 min read

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isaac in English

Essay: Contamination in big cities (C1 CAE)

You have listened to a radio discussion programme about which measure could be taken, by local authorities to reduce traffic and pollution in big cities. You have made the notes below: 1) Provide exclusive lanes for public transport. 2) Introduce a congestion charge for vehicles accessing the city centre. 3) Ban all vehicles from the city centre during busy hours. Some opinions expressed in the discussion: “Cars are the main factor contributing to pollution and should not be allowed to the city centre.” “The costs of imposing a congestion charge is much higher than the benefits.” “Public transport is the best solution.” Write an essay discussing two od the solutions in your notes. You should explain which solution would be the most effective in reducing the pollution and the traffic in big cities, giving reasons in support of your answer. You may, if you wish, make use of the opinions expressed in the discussion, but you should use your own words as far as possible. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (What could make it sound more natural? ) Recently I heard a radio debate about the need of reducing contamination in big cities, especially from vehicles in downtowns. Basically, two solutions were exposed in this discussion: offering a public transport discount for all ages or charging drivers in the city centre. As regards the last measure, I completely agree with some the participants who remarks that it would be an expensive one, although not economically. I mean, this will be an unpopular measure (synonyms?), which will make it non-effective in terms of durability, since political parties would not support the negative effects of it in an election process. In the debate I heard that cars represent the first source of pollutants in big cities, so it was proposed banning their entry to the downtown, basing on the license plate number of the vehicle. This is an idea difficult to impose and even more to watch by the police, since there are so many people in big cities who own two cars. Moreover, changes could be done to the plate in order to avoid restrictions with little change to be discovered by the police. For all the expressed above, it would be easier to promote environmentally friendly changes in the city by means of granting people instead of charging them. In this sense, users of public transport would benefit from this grant, what in turn would improve this service, leading to an increase in the number of users over the number of drivers, and finally, a reduction in the contamination in big cities.

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May 10

2 min read

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isaac in English

Proposal: an ad for a Junior management position (C1 CAE)

You work for an advertising agency and a new junior management position has opened in your department. Your boss has asked you to make a proposal on what skills and qualities the ideal candidate should have. Read the ad below and make your own suggestions about the candidate’s skills, giving reasons for your opinion. Junior Management position in Advertising Agency. Candidate should be able to work in a team structure. Write your proposal. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (What could make it sound more natural? ) Requirement for the new junior management position: a proposal. I ntroduction The main aim of this proposal is to describe the skills and personal aptitudes the candidate, for the new open position in the agency, shall have. Both involve an appropiate academic background, expertise, as well as, specific personal qualitites. Academic requisites Although it should not be a mandatory topic having a degree at advertising or psychology, both are good examples for prospective candidates to understand the area of knowledge with which a professional in advertising often work. In any case, the candidate should demonstrate a basic theoretical background in advertising relating techniques. Expertise Despite the fact the ad is for a junior position, a minimal experience may be required in order to ensure the candidate (Synonyms?) knows how an advertising company develops their work daily. Personal skills This may be the most determining category for the human resources department to elect the best applicant for this job. Creativity and a good aptitude to work into a group would be essential. Creativity is the most important tool for an advertiser and it is feeded by other colleagues’ ideas in the team into a brain storming session. In this regard, the candidate must be able to accept professionally other people’s critics and improving by this mean. Lastly, despite this company has an almost horizontal hierarchical structure, final decisions are taken by senior staff, therefore junior personnel usually have to deal with a completely different result from what they expected to originally. Conclusion All in all, a basic general theoretical and practical background should be required in either junior position. In addition to the ability to work in group and all that it involved to are indispensable in this job.

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Apr 30

2 min read

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isaac in English

Proposal: suggestions for a better neighbourhood (C1,CAE)

You work for the local council. You have been asked to write a proposal, suggesting ways in which your neighbourhood could develop and be improved in order for it to be in an appropriate and good state for the next generation. You should include ideas for: Environmental issues. Leisure. Education. Housing. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (What could make it sound more natural? ) Suggestions for the improvement of the neighbourhood. Introduction There are facilities and services in the south distric of this town that need to be renovated in order to future generations be able to enjoy them. The most concerning ones are related to: environment, sports (as the most important leisure activity in either place), a proper place to study , and public housing. Environmental issues The public park in this area of the city is completely neglected by the town hall. As a result it is in a deplorable state of conservation, since it urgently need of cleaning and gardening works, as well as, planting local trees in those places most affected by the last summer drough. Leisure facilities Sports, especially football and basketball are the most demanding and popular leisure activities in our town. Nevertheless, our local teams lacks of a high quality facility where to train, far beyond the old, dirty and untidy sports field. Therefore, making this place back to what it was by keeping daily maintenance labours would encourage teenagers and youths to return to a more healthy way of spending their free time. Furthermore, I recommend to use the existing football field as a place also for playing basketball, and let the remaining space to built a tennis court. Educative facilities The local library have several rooms to be used by the students for differents group activities. These have no other use than being a storage for old-fashioned books, which could be sold in the next book fair. Housing proposal Since the start of the COVID-19 economical crisis there have been a worrying increase in the percentage of young people unemployed or underpaid in temporary jobs, so they currently have very little chance of becoming independent and self-sufficient people. For this reason, public economic helps, as well as, a fair price in social housing renting must be promoted from the town hall. Conclusion To conclude, works on the local park and the sport centre would improve our external image, since both facilities look like as abandoned. On the other hand, a better place to study and live would make life easier for teens and young people, respectively.

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Apr 24

2 min read

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isaac in English

Proposal: new recreational centre (C1 CAE)

The university is building a new recreation centre for students and is looking for input as to what the facility should include. The institution has asked students to write a proposal of what they would like to see in the centre. Past facilities there and at other universities have included restaurants, computerr facilites, games and cinemas, among other services and attractions. Discuss what you think should be included and why, in order to improve the overall experience of the sudent population. Write your proposal. -------------------------------------------------------- What could make it sound more natural? Leisure activities for the new university's recreation centre: a proposal Introduction and context Students in our university have been complaining for years about the lack of basic facilities for student to spend their free time between classes. They are not services directly related with education, though they are expected in either university. The main aim of this proposal is to suggest interesting facilities and services to be included in this new space for students. Suggestions about interesting activities for the students - Typical facilities There are two of which are indispensable for either high education centre: a restaurant and a gym. As regards the first one, students had no choice but to go to another local bar, when the university's restaurant closed. There was a notable decrease in the incomes from this facility, since then. Therefore it will be a profitable service. A gym plays a major role in students life at university and it is essential in high school to promote a healthy way of life. Moreover, there is no point of having such a quality sports fields without a good gym for teams in the differents sports to train. That causes a dreadful external image, especially for Eramus' students. - Other facilities The plentiness of space in this new centre will let to develop other activies. In this regard, I propose: language exchanging and climbing. a) Exchange language club between natives and Erasmus' students. The number of abroad students, mainly from Erasmus scholarships, have steadily increased in the last years. Most of them have a really low level in Spanish just as native students in English. Therefore this is the best option to improve their language skills, as well as an good opportunity for students from differents contries and cultures to get to know each other (or one to another?). This activity requires little space, and it could be arranged in the restaurant at certain times. b) climbing wall My last proposal is a climbing wall. There have been a boom in this sport since it was included at the Olimpycs Games, otherwise, there are not climbing gyms neither other closer universities even nor in the city. Therefore, it is a potencially profitable facility to be taken into account in the recreational centre. Conclusion To conclude, basic services as catering and a gym must be back to our university. Additionally, activities such language exchange and climbing would be interesting and exclusive activities to be done in the centre.

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Apr 23

2 min read

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isaac in English

Essay: about the timetable working in a shop (C1 CAE)

You have listened to a radio programme about which days should shops remain open in the European Union. You have made the notes below: Which days should shops be open in the European Union? - Shops should be open 7 days a week and holidays. - Shops should be closed on Sundays and all public holidays. - Shop owners should have the right to open their shops whenever they want. Some opinions expressed during the talk: - “Allowing shops to be open seven days a week might be better for consumers, but at what price for workers.” - “I am convinced that all citizens of the European Union Should benefit from a work-free Sunday.” - “Let shop owners and workers decide for themselves.” Write an essay discussing two of the points in your notes. You should explain which option is the best for consumers, shop owners and workers, giving reasons in support of your answer. You may, if you wish, make use of the opinions expressed in the talk, but you should use your own words as far as possible. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (What could make it sounds more natural ?) Recently, I listened to a radio debate in which participant were discussing opening days in shops according to the European Union internationals workers’ rights. There were two proposals: not closing both weekends and holidays and let owners decide about their own businesses. To my way of thinking it would be better the last option provided that law is fulfilled. Therefore, there is no reason to believe, as one of the participants did, that staff would be affected for that kind of decisions. It would be the worker's choice whether or not taking extra hours far beyond what it was signed in the contract. I completely agree with the opinion of let owners take their own decisions with regards to their shops, and workers with regards to their timetable. Working contract are under a tight control by national and European regulations, so the main problem behind this topic remains in law, in this regard more labour inspections should be made in order not to allow owners abuse of workers by a seven-day timetable without the proper and legal resting gaps. Being respectful with a fair schedule both for employer and employees would lead to a healthier work environment and, as a consequence, to a shop where customers would not have to deal with staff misbehaviour. To conclude, in my humble opinion a major understanding between staff and owners would be better than forcing a universal non-stop working timetable.

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Apr 20

2 min read

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isaac in English

Essay: About tuition fees in UK universities (C1 CAE)

You have listened to a debate about UK university tuition fees. Then, you have been asked to vote in favour of some of the options provided. You have made the notes below: Should UK universities charge tuition fees? - Tuition gees should not be charged. - Universities should charge very low tuition fees. - Universities need to charge high fees to have a high standard. Some opinions during the talk: - “Universities are facing substantial cuts in direct government funding”. - “Universities will face additional economic pressures as student numbers increase”. - “We should ensure access to university is based on the ability to learn, not the ability to pay”. Write an essay discussing two of the options in your notes. You should explain which option would be best giving reasons in support of your answer. You may, if you wish, make use of the opinions expressed in the talk, but you should use your own words as far as possible. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (What could make it sounds more natural? ) Last week I went to an interesting debate in my university, where it was discussed whether or not students in the UK should pay tuition fees in higher education. UK have some of the top ranked universities in the world, but is there an economical reason behind all of that? From the debate I heard that universities more and more have to deal with public cutbacks. This problem affects a greater extend to those which have low incomes from private sources of funding, this is most of colleges in the country. Nevertheless, from my way of thinking this is far from being a good reason to students to be overcharged, since universities must face economic crisis periods as either private company would do. I mean, looking for new ways of funding in order to keep their educational standards without raising fees to the students. They are the real value of this higher education system, therefore it must be guaranteeded a universal access to it. This implies being free in order not to descriminate candidates for economical reasons, as it was expressed in the discussion by one participant, who stated that students must be assessed by their skills at learning. Far beyond expressed above, there is no point on scoring a university by means of the economic resources. It is true that a stronger financially college is able to support more expensive facilities and tools, which leads to a higher quality education. However, it is not the most important part when it comes to rate such an institution. For example, student creativity play a major role on this issue. All in all, I consider that there is no need in overcharging with higher fees, rather what may be done is removing the existing ones.

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Apr 19

2 min read

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isaac in English

Essay: Energy for a tourist island (C1 CAE)

You have watched and listened to a video on Youtube about which form of renewable energy would be best for a tourist island. You have made the notes below: Which form of renewable energy would be best for a tourist island? - Wind turbines - Solar Panels - Nuclear power Some opinions expressed in the discussion: - “Nuclear power is a sustainable energy source that reduces carbon emissions.” - “Wind turbines would destroy the landscape of the island. “ - “We couldn’t be 100% powered by solar panels.” Write an essay discussing two of the renewable energy forms in your notes- You should explain which form of renewable energy would be best for a tourist island, giving reasons in support of your answer. You may, if you wish, make use of the opinions expressed in the discussion, but you should use your own words as far as possible. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What could make it sound more natural ? I recently watched an interesting Youtube video, in which several participants discussed an unusual environmental topic: the best energy source to keep a tourist island running. The debate was focused on two types of sources especially, these were wind and nuclear power. Regarding nuclear power, to my way of thinking there is no point in using this type of energy. First of all, it is not renewable and therefore not sustainable, unlike it was expressed during the discussion; but more importantly, residual generated remained as radioactive for thousands of years, causing a deleterious damage in the ocean, which it is not a good advertisement for tourists. Beyond that fact, a nuclear power station is excessive only for an island, even for one with the size of Australia. Wind is a real renewable energy and a reliable one for an island, since there is often a vast ocean surrounding it, which is an almost endless surface to this purpose. In this sense, there is no need of and it will be impracticable using any square meter of landscape, as it was said in the debate. In short, is a clean, cheap and renewable source of energy, which fit perfectly in a tourist island, where oceanic wind currents will provide plenty of energy for the extra needed, for example, for leisure activities. To conclude, wind turbines seem to be the best candidates to cover an island's energy supply, yet it is only for tourists, whereas a nuclear power plant have only disadvantages in this specific context.

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Apr 18

2 min read

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isaac in English

Report: new shopping centre (C1 CAE)

2. You work as an environmentalist for the local council. A large shopping centre has recently been built in your area. You have been asked to visit the shopping centre and to write a report saying what effect the shopping centre might have on the local environment and the community. Your report should state both the positive and the negative aspects of the shopping centre. Finally, you should make some suggestions as to how the more negative aspects could be improved. Write your report. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What could make it sound more natural ? Report on the effects of the new shopping centre in Utrera. Introduction In the last two years the tourism data in Utrera has experienced a huge decrease as a consequence of the improvement of several facilities and leisure areas in the city of Seville. Therefore, with the aim of recovery our previous position for tourists, it has been recently built a new shopping centre, which far from being suitable for most of citizens, it has been a topic especially controversial. Social and environmental effects According to the environmental impact assessment, which was written before the works started, the area selected is far enough from our streets and homes, as well as any natural park or reserve, as to have any direct negative impact. However, there is a long list of indirect effects both in people's health and nature. Of them all the main problem stressed by neighbours was the noise linked to the unexpected huge success of the new mall. This is a small city and people were used to a quieter way of life. As regards environment, the main problem is the same, since noise affects the behaviour and growth of a lots of different species, especially birds, from the national park located 20 km away from Utrera, in the north of Seville. Between the positive aspects, it can be highlighted the extraordinary success of this project. There have been never so many tourists here before, which has allowed the opening of several new shops and restaurants, which in turn means more jobs. Suggestions There was not a mandatory issue to build noise barriers along the highway that connect with the mall, since noise's law is pretty soft in this city. Nevertheless, this works must be done in order to avoid future European sanctions in environmental issues. Conclusion In conclusion, the new shopping centre will be an overall positive project for citizens in Utrera and nature surrounding the city provided that a noise barrier is built.

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Apr 17

2 min read

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isaac in English

Proposal: the new young professional orientation centre(C1)

The city council that you work for has received funding to start a new careers service for young people. Read the notes below and write a proposal giving your suggestions as to what the service could offer and how it could be run. Notes: - Opening hours: 11:30 am to 8:00 pm or even later when students can visit the office. - Provide information on higher education and part-time / temporary work opportunities. - Maintain a job notice board that companies can advertise on. Write your proposal. You should use your own words as far as possible. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (What could make it sound more natural? ) Proposal about the new young professional orientation centre. Introduction. Currently, there is a serious problem of unemployment in young people ranged between 20 and 30 years, which is worst considering the high number of dropouts in the first years at colleges in our city. With the aim of giving a solution to our young people in this proposal has been done several suggestions about how this new centre of orientation must work. Basic work schedule and suggestions. During the morning, from 11:30 to 14 pm our career coaches must be focused on office work, which means keep abreast of new job offers and prospective changes on university degrees. Although our staff will attend everyone at this time provided it has been made a previous appointment. In the afternoon there will be advise sessions for both students interested in going to the local university and young people looking for a short term job, which is especially suitable for students to save some money. It is true that there are students attending afternoon lectures, but there are so few that could arrange some special sessions during the morning just for them. With regards to jobs, I would suggest creating orientation courses linked to the main positions that can be found in this city, this is catering, private administration, gardening and masonry, most of which also suit students schedules, since they are not usually permanent jobs. Staying at current. A job website will be created for a better communication between employers and employees, where they can sign up and show either details about your company and positions you offer, or your work experience by a curricula. Conclusion All in all, this new centre will be an excellent opportunity for young people, especially for those who deserve a professional or academic change but they do not have the proper information.

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Apr 16

2 min read

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isaac in English

Essay: choosing between charity organisations

You must answer this question. Write your answer in 220-260 words in an appropriate style. You have watched a TV debate about which charity organisations should receive funding from the government. You have made the notes below: Which charities should receive funding from the government? - Sports ans recreation charities - Health Charities - Human Rights Charities Some opinions expressed in the discussion: - "We should not spend money on sport but on health." - "Cancer charities have helped lots of people and need our support." - "Human rights issues should be addressed" --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (What could make it sound more natural? ) In a TV programme were discussing government priorities on funding non-profit organizations linked to charity. I could note two of this organizations: institutions related to sports, as well as recreation, and health. The last ones were focused on researching about incurable diseases, such as different types of cancer and aids. Both topics are intimately connected, as sports and some recreational activities serve to prevent cancer, generally speaking, and researching to find a cure to it. In this sense, politicians often have to deal with making a decision between two charity causes, both of which are extremely useful for society. In my humble opinion, it is not necessary to spend money into promoting sports or recreational activities, in our country at least, since to a greater or lesser extent, we are privileged of public facilities aimed at this purpose. Moreover people do often not hesitate, for example, to pay to play their favourite sport in better conditions. In this regard, I am partially agree with one of the participant's opinions shows in the debate, who stressed the importance of health beyond sports practice. As I see it, more efforts should be done in medical researching, for which there is no choice but to do it through a proper funding to charity organizations. Scientists spend so many years of their lives to achieve the high academic profile mandatory for this position, and they are usually underpaid in exchange for it. What it is rather worst if it is taken into account how important it is this in many people live, as I heard in the TV discussion. In conclusion, more support should be given to help eradicate health problems which will not be solved in another way, unlike what it happens with sports and related non-profit institutions.

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Apr 10

2 min read

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isaac in English

Essay: "Ancient Greek/Latin or Computer sciences at school

You have listened to a radio programme about which courses should be included in secondary schools' curricula. Which course should be included in secondary schools' curricula? - Ancient Greek and Latin - Computer course - Plumbing course Some opinions expressed in the discussion: - "Computer Science is more important than ancient languages" -"All students need to know about Latin and Ancient Greek authors" -"We should include courses that teach something useful and practical to students!" Write an essay discussing two of the courses in your notes. You should explain which course should be included in secondary schools' curricula, giving reasons in support of your answer . You may, if you wish, make use of the opinions expressed in the discussion, but you should use your own words as far as possible. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (What could make it sound more natural?) I recently listened to a radio program in which participants were discussing what would be the best courses to be included in students' curricula at secondary school. They mainly stress in two classes, that is Ancient Greek and Latin and computer sciences. In my humble opinion, courses, especially in the secondary education system should be focused on those (useful) matters that students will not learn about by themselves, unless these classes are part of the academic record. Over and over we can see how non-technical subject, like Ancient Greek, are rejected from the list of subjects. As regards the necessity of a computer science course, I cannot see the point on teaching about a "tool" that children already know at primary school, even earlier (some babies, unfortunately, "have grown up in front of a screen"). This opinion is opposite to one participant in the radio program who said in an ironical way that learning how computer works was likely to be more useful than learning dead languages. Even though in case programming courses, since students must learn about a topic in the correct moments of their lives. If they want to be programmers, they would study it at appropriate colleges or universities from the ground zero. Not everyone will need this knowledge in the future in their professions. As I see it would be more worth spend the limited academic resources into a course in Ancient Greek and Latin, due to ancient Romans and Greeks represent the cradle of our civilization, and by extension their languages, from which came the different currently languages in Europe and America.

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Apr 09

2 min read

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isaac in English

Essay: car park or history museum

You must answer this question. Write your answer in 220-260 words in an appropriate style. You have listened to a radio discussion programme about which facilities are needed most in your area. You have made the notes below: Which facilitis are needed most in your area? - Car park. - Sport centre. - History museum. Write an essay discussing two of the facilities in your notes. You should explain which facility is needed most in your area, giving reasons in support of your answer. You may, if you whish, make use of the opinions expressed in the discussion, but you should use your own words as far as possible. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (What could make it sound more natural? ) I recently listened to a discussion in a local radio program about the the lack of some important facilities in our town, such as a history museum and a parking area for residents' cars. Those are not essential facilities for citizens, what it is good, as this indicate the comfort level in this area. That is likely to be the most reasonable reason why most people in the program were declined to build a new history museum, instead of wasting the public space for a car park, an option which only car owners benefits from it, like I heard from some participants in the discussion. Moreover, this city is an universitary one, so presumably most of the citizens during the course period, that is to say students from different parts of the country, will not need a car park for anything but to wrong-doings, as it is the perfect place to be hidden from the watchful eye of the police. As regards to building a new museum, it is likely not an interesting idea for people of all ages, as I just explained above. However, it is an interesting place to make students from the differenst schools of our city getting into depth in our local history, far beyond what they have learnt in their classes. Therefore, it is at least an interesting tool for teachers to get their student involved in the subject. All in all, without going into details, I consider that museums are the facilities most needed and less care for within the topic of the radio program.

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Apr 08

2 min read

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isaac in English

Report about the excursion of this weekend (C1 CAE)

You have just returned from leading an adventure weekend with your school. In preparation for an assessment meeting, you have been asked to write a report for the head of school. Your report should explain what you feel the weekend achieved for students and teachers alike, describe any problems you may have had and suggest any changes you would make to the adventure weekend that would make it more interesting for everyone. Write your report. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (What could make it sound more natural? ) Report about the excursion of this weekend. Introduction. The aim of this report is to describe the activities that took place in The Jerte Valley during the currently annual adventure weekend with the students of the third course of the secondary school. Goals and achievements. It was a good trip overall, despite some setbacks in our schedule related to students' behaviour, as I will explain below. This has been an extraordinary opportunity to improve communication between the different groups in both class (A and B) for this course, and especially between teachers involved and students. For example, throughout during the hike up to the valley's lake, students of both classes help one to another to go up through the hardest slopes, crossing over the river, etc. It was stimulating for a teacher to see how students that have almost not interacted before at school cooperate and have fun. As regards (it is corrected from Write&Improve website as "As regards to") teachers, we could know our students beyond the daily class context, what led us to a better and more personal communication. Moreover, they put some theory concepts, mostly from the natural sciences subject, into practice. Problems and suggestions for the next trip. There had been some problems with a little group of the class A. They managed to hide a couple of whiskey bottles with the purpose of drinking them once teachers were sleeping. However, I could catch them on time, so I avoided the situation got worse. I have just taken an appointment with their parents in order to have another meeting and inform them about this wrong-doing. Therefore, as a suggestion for the future, I only propose look in their backpacks before the travel start. Conclusion All in all, these adventure days have been a really useful experienced that help us all to get closer to each other and get to know us out of classroom.

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Apr 07

2 min read

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isaac in English

Report about a cooking course

You have just completed a cooking course. As part of the schook's research and efforts to offer superior classes, they have asked you to write an evaluation of your experience as student. Your report should discuss what you learned from the class and what you thought of the teachers and their instruction methods. Mention any ways you think the class could be improved and say whether you would or would not recommend the course to a friend or relative. Write your report. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (What could I do to make it sound more natural? ) Evaluation of the cooking course My progress and experience so far When I first came to the course, my knowledge about cooking was very limited, since my skills don't go further than preparing a salad, boiling eggs or pasta and warm a takeaway in a microwave. Thanks to this course, I have been currently able to cook the most basic recipes, such as vegetable soups, tomate and carbonara sauces or chickpeas and lentils stews. Moreover, I am now able to handle the most useful and elementary cooking techniques, like preparing a dough for pizza, spaghetti or a cake, cooking a tasty sofrito as a base for a lot of different dishes, such as stews; or a delicious bechamel for cooking any kinds of croquettes you like it. As regards the teaching methods, I am generally satisfied with most of my teachers, as every subject had a very practical approach, avoiding wastings of time at memorising recipes or learning methods in a theoretical way. I could only complaint about pastry classes. It is completely understandable the severity of the teacher's method in this subject, due to the fact every ingredient should be weighted accurately. Nevertheless, this cannot justify his bad manners at teaching, it is indispensable to be patient at this work. Suggestions to improve the course It is true that the course has been focused on easy to cook plates, but also we often used unusual ingredients, which make it impossible this dishes to get into our daily diet. I guess that it would be easy to change them for more common ones. Conclusion All in all, is it recommendable this course/do I recommend this course (what option is better?)? It is, whenever you have no idea of cooking, but I suppose it would be boring for those who knows how to cook properly, as most of my friends and relatives.

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Apr 06

2 min read

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isaac in English

Report on my first six months in a job (C1 CAE)

You have just completed six months in a new job. In preparation for a progress meeting, you have been asked to write a report to your manager. Your report should explain what you feel you have achieved in the job so far, describe any problems you have had, and suggest any future training that would be suitable. Write your report. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (What could I do to make it sound more natural?) Report on my first six months as a reseacher in the atmospheric chemistry area in Standford university. My progress and problems found so far My first two weeks were really exhaustant, especially, because I had to get started with the most of the instrumentation involved in my research, though I have already known some of them, such as the sonic anemometer and the aethalometer, from my Master's Thesis. By the way, as for the last one, there have been strange measurements recently, so it could be better to use an automatic filter replacing system, instead of the daily and inaccurate manual replacement. Once I got acquainted with all of them, I could settle down with the idea that my tutor had proposed to me. In fact, I have already filtered and analysed data collected from the reaction chamber and I found them very interesting to go ahead and writing a paper. In regards my colleagues, I have to say that I have felt welcomed and supported since I started, what it made it really easy to get into this department. In general terms, I have made a great progress in the learning curve during this important period. Suggestions for the future Finally, I would like to suggest a further training on how the atmospheric reaction chamber operate. I have already known all the intrumentation involved, however, I am not able to integrate them all for an experiment in the chamber by my own. Conclusion During the starting period in this job position I have been able to do a huge step forward my career as scientist, making me stay current of the techniques and devices used to work in this line of research.

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Apr 05

2 min read

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isaac in English

Essay: local grant for the local school

You must answer this question. Write your answer in 220-260 words in and appropriate style. You have listened to a radio discussion about how your local school should spend a grant from local authorities for education. You have made the notes below: Which facility should receive money from local authorities? - School library - Gym - Computer lab Some opinions expressed in the discussion: - “Children can access reading material from the internet” - “Sport is essential to keep children fit and healthy” - “Technology is a must for children today” Write an essay discussing two of the facilities suggested in your notes. You should explain which facility it is more important for local authorities to give money to, giving the reasons in support of your answer. You may, if you wish, make use of the opinions expressed in the discussion, but you should use your own words as far as possible. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (What could I do to make it sound more natural?) Nowadays, the education system seems to be focused especially on scientific and technical subjects, rather than in the student's education itself. This along with the recent technological developments have often led children's not to play outside. Therefore, it is necessary to turn the situation around in order to improve our kid's health and communication. In regard this topic, I recently heard a radio program where it was discussed how to spend the money that our town hall will give to the local school. From this I could highlight two proposals: improve the gym and buying more computers for the computer lab. To my way of thinking, I do not see any point of spending this grant into a matter that is part of the daily life of most students currently, that is the computer class. The importance of technology is often overestimated, in fact most of opinions in the program were opposite to mine, for example one of the participant said that computer science is essential nowadays. Does anybody think that children need help with the most basic topics of a computer? Is it really needed for children to learn how to programme? I do not think so, in my opinion would be worthier to use this grant at balancing countless hours that students are sit in front of their screens, by means of exercising and playing sports. For that reason, I would rather spend this money to renew the sports equipment and doing work in the school gym. As I heard in the discussion, exercise a group sports are vital, not only for our kid's health but to a better communication face to face. In conclusion, local authorities should be aware of the real needs of children, so they should fund a place to keep in shape rather than extra hours with a computer.

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Apr 04

2 min read

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isaac in English

Essay (C1 CAE):Encouraging young people to be more involved

Your class has attended a panel discussion on how young people can be encouraged to be more involved with their local community. You have made the notes below: What can be offered to young people? - Voluntary work with young children and the elderly - Talks on local environment issues and practical sessions - Youth centre for people to meet and share ideas Some viewpoints expressed during the talk: “Spending time helping the elderly creates understanding between the generations.” “Young people can be educated to take care of the area they live in.” “Events and activities can be arranged at youth centres. This will make young people more sociable.” Write an essay discussing two of the ways in your notes that the younger can become more interested in the community. You should explain which way you think is more effective, giving reasons to support your opinion. You may, is you wish, use some of the arguments used in the talk; however, you should express the arguments in your own words. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (What could I do to make it sound more natural?) There have been a huge change from elderly to younger generations. Nowadays, youths are often much less involved in their neighbourhood than previous generations were. Therefore, it is necessary to promote alternatives in order to turn this situation around. I would highlight two proposals from the meeting: volunteering with kids and older people and reusing our old sports hall as a centre for young people to meet. In regard the first option, I completely agree with some of the opinions that I heard in the discussion about how a better communication between distant generations through different volunteer activities will help to solve the problem. In my way of thinking, this could fix the root of the problem, especially in case of younths and elderly, because they will be able to find out how much they have in common, in spite of having grown in very different times. As for the second alternative, I have not been able to find the point on giving so much public money to reaconditionate a place for a different purpose from which it was built for. Moreover, as I see it young people have their own spaces to spend free time, so creating a new public place for this goal will not be helpful for those who find it more difficult to socialize, unlike some neighbours proposed in the discussion. All in all, in terms of budget and effective results, the best choice to me to encourage younger to get involved in the community is sharing time playing with children and helping older people in their daily life, rather than giving them new ways of having fun.

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Apr 03

2 min read

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isaac in English

Essay (C1 CAE): Which facilities should receive money?

Your class has attended a panel discussion on facilities which should receive money from local authorities. You have made the notes below: Which facilities should receive money from local authorities? - Museums - sports centres - public gardens Some opinions expressed in the discussion: - “Museums aren’t popular with everybody!” - “Sports centres mean healthier people.” - “A town needs green spaces – parks are great for everybody.” Write an essay discussing two of the facilities in your notes. You should explain which facility it is more important for local authorities to give money to, giving reasons in support of your answer. You may, if you wish, make use of the opinions expressed in the discussion, but you should use your own words as far as possible. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (What could I do to make it sound more natural? Would you suggest me synonyms for “facilities”) Yesterday a meeting to discuss public funding of town facilities took place to know citizenship opinion about it. This was focused on those used for people to spare their free time, especially on museums and public gardens. In my opinion, museums are the best candidates to receive economic help from our town hall. As a starting point, without going into further details, public facilities should be the only ones that can access to public funding, because they don't have any other source of incomes. During the meeting I could heard some neighbors complain that two museums in our small town is a completetly waste of money. Regarding this opinion, people often generalise their own wishes as a common fact for everybody. It is true that museums are not usually crowded, but that is why it is really necessary to spend money into them. More people, especially children, will be attracted to visit our museums if there had not been lack of money to organise cultural activities and hire guides. On the other hand, public parks have been always supported for our community. Therefore, as I see it, there is no need on giving public help to them beyond the regular incomes they receive. However, it seems that my opinion was not welcomed in the meeting, as it could be heard from some people in the discussion. For me, fortunately, there is no way the quality of our public gardens could be improved, whenever their designs were not changed. In conclusion, to my way of thinking extra public funding should be given to museums because they are the more careless facilities in the town.

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Apr 02

2 min read

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isaac in English

A proposal: Website improvements (C1 CAE)

A proposal: Website improvements Your company has a website, but it is old and not very user-friendly, so the director has sent you the following email: We have received a number of complaints about our website from customers and the number of visitors to the website has fallen in recent months. Please could you draw up a proposal outlining your suggestions for how we can improve the site and I will share it at the next board meeting. Write your proposal ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (What could I do to make it sound more natural?) How to improve navigation in our website Introduction Our company is extremely dependent on a good website, as most of our sales are done via online. Moreover, we are specialised at selling technological products, so it is needed an urgent change in website's structure. Problems using the website There are two main issues that people are complaining about: the page lacks a clear structure and there are too many ads, which often hide menus and picture of our products. As regards the first problem, potential customers have difficulties to find the kind of product that they want, because of misleading menus, as well as a wrong indexation of the product in the correct category. For example, one of our clients complaints about finding a laptop in the gaming field. As to the second issue, there is no need to having such a number of ads in our site, especially considering both the drop in client that we are actually suffering, and low incomes coming from ads. Suggestions to improve the website In order to avoid clients to get lost in our page, we need to reprogramme it, looking for any wrong indexation or related mistake coming from the html source code. It means hiring a good technical programmer, unlike the last time. The main investment in this company should be focused on making a good impression to the customer by means of our page. Regarding advertising, incomes from this are pretty low, so why should we keep on this way? The best solution would be remove it all, since our main input comes from clients not ads. If these suggestions are taken in place it will be able for us to turn the situation around for the better.

1.04

1

Apr 01

2 min read

i

isaac in English

A letter of application: Weekend bar work (C1 CAE)

A letter of application: Weekend bar work You see this notice on a noticeboard: Staff needed We are looking for new part-time staff to work in our busy bar at weekends. The work involves serving customers and keeping the bar clean and tidy at all times. The timetable is from 8pm to 2am every Friday and Saturday night. If you would like to apply, please write a letter to us and let us know if you have bar work experience, and explain why you are the best person for the job. Write your letter of application ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (What could I do to make it sound more natural?) To whom it may concern, My name is Isaac and I am 30 years old, I recently came to this town to do a master's degree. I have been mixing work in catering and stydies since I was 18 years old, which was really easy to me due to the fact all my closest relatives have always working in the familiar business. For that reason, though I have not often had a job in a bar, it is a work environment where I am familiar with all kinds of issues that involve, from cooking to serving customers as a waiter, though I have been working mainly on the last one. As regards the work schedule, it is perfect for me, because I am actually really busy with my Master Thesis and I need some extra cash for daily life expenses. It does not matter how overcrowded the bar is at these hours because I am used to serve people at weddings, communions and baptism. Besides, I used to have part-time jobs as a bartender while I was stuying my degree, so I really know how to deal with stress and overexcited customers late at night. As for me, I consider myself a rigorous, patient and tidy person, which are general skills that come from my experience in this sort of business. Like everyone I have weakness, such as being very talkative, but these do not interfere in my professional life; in fact that could be an advantage in a bar, whenever it is understood where you are. All in all, it will be difficult to find such an experienced and working person for this job. By the way, I attached my curriculum vitae for further details. I am looking forward to hearing from you soon with a positive reply. Isaac

1.04

2

Apr 01

2 min read