A for and against essay (2nd of Batxillerat)

You can choose one of the following topics or propose a different one:

• Bands should write their own songs. Discuss. 

• Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of being your own boss. 

• Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of having a pet. 

• Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of becoming vegetarian and/or vegan.

• What are the advantages and disadvantages of alternative medicine?

• What are the advantages and disadvantages of the public health service in your country?

• Young people are all shopaholics. Discuss. 

• Buying online is the best way to shop. Discuss. 

• Euthanasia is a way of relieving ill people's pain and save them form the tortures of their illness. Do we have the right to take people's life?

• Education is an indivisible part of the prosperity of a nation. The more educated people are, the more flourishing the country is. Comment on this issue, give arguments to support your opinion.

• The mass media, including TV, radio, digital newspapers, as well as blogs and social networks, have a great influence on people and especially on the younger generation. They play an important role in shaping the opinions of the younger generation. Argue for or against this statement.

Happy writing!!

Friendship

An informal email

Hi Víctor!

I'm so sorry for not writing you until now. I've been really busy since I arrived.

I think that I don't have enough words to thank you all you did for me. I remember that I was feeling very stressed and you know that what I needed was a trip. What an amazing trip we did! Now it's time yo admit that I'm in love with New York and I miss it!

I have a lot of memories about thtat trip and lots of photos on my camera. Oh! Sorry I have just remembered that you sent me a lot of messages saying that you wanted the pictures... I'm so sorry again, I promise you'll get all the photos soon!

It's time to land and return to reality and as I told you a couple of times on the trip: I have to do a research project. When I arrived I chose the theme and since that day I have been working too hard on it and I have been looking for a job. I need to save money to buy a car and of couse to do another amazing trip with you. Because we are going to do one the next summer!

Best regards,

Tyffany XOXO

My cousin,my sister.

The person I admire most is my cousin-sister, She’s tall, has Brown skin and soft, straight hair is dark Brown. Blue is her favorite colour that’s why she is most often seen in blue t-shirt or jeans.

Right now, she’s at UAB doing a nursing course but her dream is to become a future doctor, so firstly she’ll finish nursing and then going to study medicine.

By nature, she is charming and helpful person, she helps me whenever I need to. Besides, she is a good listener too. I always share my every problem or everything with her because her advice is worth it! Describing her, she’s also very funny… She sometime tries to be funny just to make me smile, that’s so sweet of her. And she’s hard worker and inspiration for me.

In our free time we like to talk as much as possible like gossip up, usually we finish gossips saying “we don’t care”!  And if we’re together we like to watch horror movies.

However she is very nice but like everyone she’s also negative aspects that are difficult to find.

She gets nervous quickly, specially when she’s driving. Here she doesn’t like to talk to people who are in the car because she needs a concentration and sometimes those are with her get irritated. 

My best friend, my mother

My mother is my best friend, so of course I know her very well. Her name is Karima. She’s 45 and she works as a house cleaning lady. She’s from Algeria and she is Muslim. She has a very big family, her parents and four sisters. However, her father died when he was fifty years old. 

The main thing you notice about her is her personality. She is a charming and an affectionate lady, when you meet her you immediately love her. She is very generous, she always wants your wellness and give you all you need. She is a hard-working woman and of course very independent. Since I was a child she has always had to struggle to get ahead. The most important thing is that she is a very reliable person, she couldn’t be able to betray you. 

In her free time she likes going shopping, I think that she is passionate about fashion. I must say that she has a good fashion sense. Furthermore, she is good at cooking. She works a lot, so she wants to rest. 

Finally, I can also say that she is the best mum of the world. But, like all of us she has some negative things. She sometimes is a bossy person. But a positive bossy, sometimes she encourage me to do things giving me orders. I think she does that for my benefit. 

I can also say that she is a vey important person to me because she is the only person that has always been by my side.

JENNY

The person I admire most is my sister Jenny.  She’s twenty-two years old. She studied in La Pineda a few years ago. At present, she is very happy because she works in a laboratory. She really likes science.

Jenny’s an ambitious woman who has a strong personality. Every time she talks I get surprised because she is so intelligent.  She is an incredibly independent girl; she likes to do things her own way. From my point of view, she’s sociable, responsible and sometimes so sensitive.  

My sister hasn’t got any hobbies but she loves to see films and series. Her favorite series right now I think is Stranger Things.  When she really likes a series, she doesn’t stop telling me the story and I never see it. 

However, the only problem with Jenny is that she’s quite bossy, not all the time, and very demanding with herself. I admire her since I was born, is my friend, my confident, the greatest support with my mother too. 

Anna

The person that I admire is called Anna and she is my older sister. She is 25 years old. Currently she is working in an Orange mobile shop and she is the manager. In addition, she is studying Elementary school online, by the way she has very good grades especially in Maths.

From my point of view she is affectionate and honest so she always helps others. Also, she is ambitious and persevering and because of it she got her work as a manager and she is getting on with studies. Finally she is mature although she is young she thinks and acts like an adult.

Her hobbies are watching films and series, walking her dogs with her boyfriend, traveling and being with her family. She likes animals and music.

However, not all about her is good. Also, she is ipulsive and hysterical and this can make her angry and argue with someone. To tell the truth, I think even with her bad things she is the best person in the world.

Paula's description

Hi Angela!

Paula is one of my best friend, she’s like my older sister, that's why I know her so well. She’s 18 and she’s studying a vocational studies course about social integration. She's looking for a job to save money to go to university. She wants to be nurse and certainly I know she will be a good nurse because she has two sisters and the older sister has got a disease of birth and her vocation is to help her and other people liker her sister. So they are a very close family.

Paula's is charming and very clever. She can seem really outgoing and crazy but she really i a mature girl. The children won't be bored with her and she knows how to treat them. Maybe she can be like a child but always with a responsible mind and that's why the children love her.

In her free time she loves dance and acrobatics and of course going out with her friends and helping them. She's also good at photography and she loves animals especially her  chiguagua Nacho, we also call him "crazy dog". He's very funny and for that I think that Mike and Sally can have fun with her dog.

Of course, all can't be perfect she also has imperfections like her English. She doesn't speak very well this language, but I think that it could be a good way to improve it. You should consider this. However, I think she could be a good au pair but who has got the last word is you.

I hope this helps you and let me know your decision.

Love,

Tyffany XOXO

The drawing of a child

Hi guys!

Since I have seen the video that our classmates Tiffany and Abdul posted I remembered one video that I saw a long time ago. This video makes me cry, because it shows us how sad is life for some people. In especial, children.

Seeing this video, I also can say how important is give love and receive it. We must be sympathetic and help all we can children that haven't had the same luck that many of us have.

So, just see the video and enjoy it!

The mobile phones

Many people think that we are too dependent on mobile phones. However, some people use it to work or simply for a hobby that requires one.

Personally, I think that people only notice the time that someone is in the phone when they are using it, but they don't notice the time they aren't on the phone. Soit looks like they use it way too much.

It is true that some people have an addicition to the mobile phones, they can't be for a long time without them without getting nervous. But they are a small case.

From my point of view, people use their phone because they need to use it for work or to talk with someone, but they can be without it for a long time and nothing would happen to them, so they aren't addicted.

Marc Mero's Emotional Mother's Day Story

Hi guys!

Yesterday our classmate Abdul recommended me to watch this video. We get excited with Marc's history and with the message he gives in the video.


The theme of the video is something we can think because sometimes we don't really know what we are doing and we realize late. Sometimes too much late.

We hope you enjoy this video as us and remember that love is only a word until somebody come and gives a meaning.

Have a nice weekend, see you on monday!

 

Work or Service?

Impress yourself

Answer Key to the modal verbs revision photocopy

A
a)

1. don't have to 
2. must
3. didn't have to
4. Do you have to 
5. had to 
6. Did you have to
7. shouldn't 
8. mustn't

b)

1. shouldn't go
2. they have to
3. don't have to
4. should speak
5. mustn't go 

B

1 -   I
2 -  G
3 -  A
4-   D
5-    J
6 -   C
7 -   F
8 -   E
9 -   B
10 - H

If......, change rooms.

Perspectives

Famous

The celebrity or the fame, are attributes of well known people and they have a great attention by people and the press.
A famous person may not be a celebrity, for example a politician, he only has fame for his job, but he hasn't done anything to call the attention of the public and he isn't probably considered a celebrity .
The question is whether fame is goord or bad.
The disadvantatges of the fame are mainly based on the privacy of life, because every step outside your home is public. Any misinterpreted action can end up with a disastrous result. Morever, because of that popularity, in crowded places harassmat will be unavoidable.
The advantatges are  simpler and easier to see, as you will be loved, praised and admired by fans. Also it is said that it is easier to get rich.
After reading the positive and negative things that bring fame, my personal opinion is that it is bad, since I am a person who would be over whelmed if this were my situation.
What do you think?

Motivation

Home practice

1. Watch the following video which Ana Belen (an ex-student) posted some time ago: What if money was no object -Alan Watts. 
2. Leave your comments below Ana Belen's post. 

Advice from an 80-year-old lady

Karma Yoga

Live and Leave

A stroke of luck

EXPRESSIONS TO WALK AROUND THE WORLD (2)

Hi guys,  I'm back with more amazing British expressions. I hope you like them.


First, I have put some expressions related with the fish.

TO BE A BIG FISH
(Ser un pez gordo)

TO FEEL LIKE A FISH OUT OF WATER
(Sentirse fuera de lugar)

TO SOUND FISHY
(Sonar sospechoso)

TO DRINK LIKE A FISH
(Beber como un cosaco)




Also, I have found interesting these expressions that are related with vegetables.

TO BE LIKE TWO PEAS IN A POD
(Ser como dos gotas de agua)


TO BE AS A COOL AS CUCUMBER
(Permanecer tranquilo en una situación difícil)


A COUCH POTATO
(Una persona sedentaria, poco activa)

By last, I want to give an expression you always have to keep in mind.

EVERY CLOUD HAS A SILVER LINING

(No hay mal que por bien no venga)

Bye!!

Success

Do you agree with the following quotes?

• Success comes to those who are too busy to look for it. 

• Success is relative - the more success the more relatives. 

• Many a man owes his success to his first wife, and his second wife to his success. 

Results of events

The next Olympic games will be held in Badalona. 

What do you think will be done by the authorities to cope with it?

Language focus: future simple passive. 

________________________________________________________________________________

A flu epidemic was detected. 

What do you think was done by the authorities to cope with it?

Language focus: past simple passive. 


________________________________________________________________________________

Write as many sentences as you can to explain what you imagine will be done or was done, and any other consequences that can be expressed as passives. 

Write the results, and the results-of-results as a flow-chart. 

EXPRESSIONS TO WALK AROUND THE WORLD

Hi, guys. Last week I bought a new book that talks about  Britain's expressions which people often use to talk in many different situations in their lives , as situations where you go to a party, or you are angry, so ... I hope you enjoy these expressions and with the new vocabulary.

I'm going to start with some expressions which British people usually use. Those expressions are related with the fruit.

-THE APPLE OF MY EYE (La niña de mis ojos)

-THE APPLE NEVER FALLS FAR FROM THE TREE (De tal palo tal astilla)

-TO GO BANANAS (Volverse loco)

On the other hand, if you want conquer someone you should try with those expressions:

-YOU’RE GORGEOUS! (¡Estás preciosa!)

-YOU’VE GOT A KILLER BODY (Tienes un cuerpo de infarto)

-YOU’RE BEYOND PERFECT (Eres más que perfecta)

-YOU’RE THE CUTEST PERSON I KNOW (Eres la persona más encantadora que conozco)

But, If you didn’t get the conquest, you should be more sophisticated as the British and say:

YOU MUST BE TIRED BECAUSE YOU’VE BEEN RUNNING THROUGH MY MIND ALL DAY (Debes de estar cansado/a porque llevas todo el día dando vueltas en mi cabeza)

or…

YOUR DAD MUST BE A THIEF BECAUSE HE STOLE THE STARS AND PUT THEM IN YOUR EYES (Tu padre tiene que ser ladrón, porque robó las estrellas y las puso en tus ojos)

All in all, I will be grateful if you put some comments about your opinion in relation with the expressions and if you liked .

If you want that I put more amazing expressions, you should say me in the comments .

THANKS FOR EVERYTHING ...

Advantages and disadvantages of being famous: "What does it cost to become famous?"

People probably agree with the review that says that famous people's life is perfect. But, how much truth is there in this affirmation? We don’t live together with them, so we can’t affirm or deny

anything. Surely, they must have the same or more amount of problems and the same happens with the positive aspects. But, we can disagree with that.

On the one hand, famous people can earn much money, so it’s true that money helps to improve our life quality. They can waste that money in expensive modern clothes, jewels and cars. What’s more, they can enjoy the popularity and appear frequently on magazines and newspaper. In addition, they receive gentle treatment by everybody.

On the other hand, famous people can't enjoy privacy anywhere because the reporters and "paparazzis" follow them all time. The most important aspect is that they can be millionaires but they aren ́t really happy because they can't get things that money can't buy, as real friendship and uninterested love.

All in all, I believe that the advantages of being famous are more beneficial compared with the disadvantages. In my opinion, it’s true that money can’t get the most important things in this life

as clear love or honest friendship, but it’s true also that money can help in many aspects like poverty.

Living Zero Waste

Feel free to leave your comments below.

Would you like to try to live zero cost?

Are you going to try to reduce your waste?

Writing Checklist 2

After writing your draft composition, you can use the following checklist to improve the final version of your essay.

I hope it helps!

• Can I include a rethorical question in the introduction to engage the reader?
• Could I use more examples to illustrate my ideas?
• Could I use anecdotes or facts to reinforce my arguments?

• Did I use connectors at the beginning of paragraphs, ....?
• Did I use appropriate and rich vocabulary? 

• If I speculated about the future, did I use the 1st conditional correctly? 
• If I speculated about an improbable situation, did I use the 2nd conditional correctly? 
• If I speculated about the past, did I use the 3rd conditional correctly? 

• Can I use a variety of modal verbs to talk about possibility, advice, obligation, .....
• Can I use the passive voice to sound more formal?

• Did I use the appropriate verbal tense when I talked about experiences, future plans, narrated past events....?

HAPPY  WRITING!! 

INTERNET DOES MORE GOOD THAN HARM

I choose this topic because "internet" it is our daily living. Nowadays we could not live without internet. Everything in excess is bad- it is said there, also internet.
is it true  that the internet ir more googd than bad?
in the first place, internet is a tool more than necessary for us this tool con be in touch whith anyone , without importace of the place or the day.
moreover, ir allows us to find the information we want at the right time, besides internet is a great source of work and information. On the of the hand, there are important inconvenients to consider, we get isolated from the social world surfing the internet can be a waste of time in hich you can do more productive things. The most important disadvantge of internet is that you can be fooled if you are not careful

In conclusion, internet is one of the most important tools todays, you decide if you use fot better or worse.

A holiday abroad or at home (in Spain)

In the holiday periods, people think about travellimg to another country or in own country.

Many people prefer to travel to another country. But there are many people travelling in their own country. If you travel to another country we can learn new cultures and languages. For example you travel to China, you can learn new language and a new culture. Or for example London there is a lot of culture, traditionals and museums with very important old paintings or statues.

And another thing is that if you travel to your own country it is good because you can learn more about your culture and language or history.

So in my conclusion, for me it is better to travel another country because it's very important to know new cultures and languages!

A holiday abroad or at home(in Spain)

If you have enought saved money to make the journey to another country then you can make one trip a year and travel abroad if you do not have enought money you can spend your holiday in Spain.

The benefits of traveling abroad is that you can meet more people, look at the views and relax. Also a good holiday with friends or family to visit other countries, to a new world.

Abroad experience another country is also the outside word have more knowledge and understanding.

Advantages and disadvantages of being famous

Nowadays, being famous has become a desire for each of us. However, most of us think that famous life is full of happiness and excited moments but we forget to mention all the disadvantages that their life carries.

On the one hand, the celebrities have a wonderful life with much more money than ordinary people, so they never need to worry about it.
In addition, some of them use their wealth to help charities. And obviously, they win a lot of hearts and get a lot of fans who they love and respect their hard work.

On the other hand, they always have to keep a guard because they never know when there can be fans attack, in a positive sense, people surround you for autographs. Nevertheless, I think there is no privacy....every little fight goes to the newspaper. And there are higher chances of depression.

All in all, In my opinion there are as many dis advantages as benefits of being popular. What-s more, being famous is not always fun, there are bad aspects that have to be considered and ofcourse, remember once you've famous you can't turn back, your life change forever.

Individual sports are better tan team sports

Doing an individual sport or team sport is a very interesting topic as much variety of opinions and many people believe doing an individual sport is better than the team sport.

Then now we will look at the positive side of individual sport. A large vote in statement that you can play without shame that this evil what you do and you can rectify the times you went . Also you can be more relaxed alone than with more people. In addition,there are people who exceeded every day better, and for that the people think the individual sport is better.

However there are a lot of people who like learning a sport because for them it motivates more to be in group since they find a support both physical and mental. And as well as that ,above all it helps you to be more sympathetic as you collaborate and also you make friends with the people you play.
Mostly, it makes you essential because they need you.

In short, I think it is better to work together than alone, because personally I'm a person who likes to be together and help my classmates and I think it is being in a team although  there aren't enough people who think like me.

Being famous

All the people have dreamed some time about being famous. Being a famous person has a lot of advantages, but there are some disadvantages too.

On the one hand, some of the advantages are: have a lot of money, people give you more presents, have the ''protection'' of your fans and people recognize you around the world.

On the other hand , it also has disadvantages: your life loses privacy, some people will hate you and someone could be with you only for your money or your fame.

In conclusion, being famous could be the best or the worst thing. By the way, I prefer not to be famous. 

Advantatges and disadvantatges of being on only child.

One modern topic is the parents who have only one child ( son or daughter)

From my point of view, i think that people who only have one child live better because they have less responsability, in addition, their life is easier because the parents only need to give food, buy clothes, pay school etc...to only one child.

On the other hand, in my opinion people who have one child it would be better for the parents but the child may be borred in his house because she/he hasn't brothers or sisters to play with him. Nevertheless, i think that it would be worse because all of responsability is for you because if you are an only child your parents may pay more attencion for you.

In conclusion, i think that if you are the only child you have all you want; on the other hand, if you are an only  child you will be lonly in your house because you may feel borred in you house.

Everyone should live in another country at some stage in their life

Some people thing that everyone should spend some stage in their life abroad. However, many people also think that home is the best place where you can be. There are both advantages and disadvantages.

One disadvantage of living in another country at some stage in your life is that you  are far from your family and friends. What's more, maybe you might miss their best moments or the worst ones.

An advantage is the experience of having been in another country learning things that you could had never imagined they could exist. 
In addition, everyone needs changes and doing different things sometimes. Don't you agree?

I strangely agree with living in another country at some stage in our life. I thing that it's a great experience to know and learn about our world.