Writing reference

Question 0

Cartas formales: saludo y primer párrafo

Answer 0

-Dear Ms/Miss/Mrs (casada) “apellido”, (mujer)
-Dear Mr Williams “apellido”, (hombre)
-Dear Sir/Madam, (si se desconoce el nombre)
Nunca va seguido de dos puntos
Primer párrafo es para propósito
-I am writing because…
-The reason I am writing is because / that…
-I wanted to…
-I would like to…
-I wish to…

Question 1

Antes de empezar a escribir

Answer 1

• tipo de texto
• contexto formal o informal
• propósito
• a quién va dirigido

Question 2

Cartas formales: cuerpo: ordenar las ideas, solicitar algo

ejemplo p. 132

Answer 2

(siempre intentar ordenar las ideas)
Si hay más de una idea:
-First/Firstly, I wanted to let you know that…
I would also like to thank you for…
-On the one hand, I would like to express…
On the other hand, I must admit…

Para solicitar algo:

• Could you please…?
• I would like to…
• Would you mind…?
• I was wondering if you could…

Question 3

Cartas formales: último párrafo o conclusión

Answer 3

-Comentario cortés (I take this oportunity to…)
-Justo antes de la fórmula final de despedida se solicita respuesta a la carta: I look forward to hearing from you (la más habitual)
-Despedida:
Si se conoce el nombre del destinatario, Yours sincerely,
Si no, Yours faithfully,

Question 4

Cartas informales: Saludo, cuerpo, conclusión, despedida

ejemplo p. 133

Answer 4

SALUDO E INTRO
Dear…, / Hi…,
Se suele preguntar por cómo está el destinatario y se menciona el motivo de la carta.
Thank for your letter / Sorry for not writing earlier
CUERPO: Se escribe sobre diferentes temas, norlmante en párrafos distintos
It was great to hear from you and your family.
It was so nice to hear you´ve got a new puppy
CONCLUSION: se suele terminar con un deseo
It would be great to see you soon
I really look forward to hearing from you
DESPEDIDA
Love, / Lots of love, / Best wishes, / Take care / Cheers.

Question 5

Quejas y reclamaciones: primer párrafo

Answer 5

Primer párrafo: motivo
I am writing (ojo es present continuous, no presente de indicativo como en español)…
…to complain about…
…to express my concern about the fact that…
My reason for writing is…
…to express my dissatisfaction about / annoyance at…
…that I am extremely dissapointed at… / dissatisfied about…
I am writing in connection with…
Se puede hacer referenciando a una conversación anterior
In reply to your letter of 12th September…
Following our telephone conversation…
I would like to respond to your letter…

Question 6

Quejas y reclamaciones: segundo párrafo y siguientes

Answer 6

Se describe el problema en detalle
The problem is that...
What worries me mainly is that...
I´m concerned about...
It seems clear to me that...
This is unacceptable

Question 7

Quejas y reclamaciones: último párrafo y terminación

Answer 7

En el último párrafo se pide una respuesta y una solución
I must insist that you...
I must urge you to...
I would suggest that...
In my opinion you should...
I expect you to...
I would be grateful if (you could)...
Please don´t hesitate to call me / write to me

Terminación: como en las cartas formales
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully, / Yours sincerely

Question 8

Opiniones a favor y en contra: estructura

ejemplo p. 134

Answer 8

• Normalmente el argumento principal se deja claro al principio y se apoya en otros secundarios que pueden venir acompañados de ejemplos, datos, experiencias…
• Frecuentemente hay dos párrafos, uno con argumentos a favor y otro en contra
• En la conclusión se hace un balance final

Question 9

Opiniones a favor y en contra: fórmulas

Answer 9

-A favor:
I (entirely / totally / completely) agree with...
I think that is completely true.
I am convinced that...
I think there is some truth in that...
-En contra:
I do not agree with...
I totally disagree with...
I do not agree at all with...
The problem is that...
-No se está seguro:
It depends on...
-Conclusión
In conclusion, ...
To sum up,...
In short,...
On balance,...

Question 10

Conectores de contraste: Introducir el tema

Answer 10

First of all,
To begin with,
In order to decide wheter… or not…,
To outline the main points,

Question 11

Conectores de contraste: Enumerar distintos puntos

Answer 11

Firstly,
First of all,
Secondly,
Thirdly,
Finally,
Eventually,

Question 12

Conectores de contraste: conectar diferentes ideas

Answer 12

Additionally,
Also,
Furthermore,
What´s more,

Question 13

Conectores de contraste: contrastar algo

Answer 13

However,
In contrast,
Nevertheless,
In contrast to / with,
On the contrary,

Question 14

Conectores de contraste: Sopesar argumentos

Answer 14

On the one hand,
On the other hand,
To consider the advantages and disvantages,
To discuss the pros and cons,

Question 15

Conectores de contraste: Generalizar

Answer 15

On the whole,
In general,
In many aspects,
To a large extend,

Question 16

Conectores de contraste: indicar puntos relevantes

Answer 16

More importantly,
What is worse,
What is more,

Question 17

Conectores de contraste: introducir ejemplos

Answer 17

For example,
For instance,
To illustrate this point,

Question 18

Conectores de contraste: Resaltar argumentos importantes

Answer 18

Above all else,
Above all,
Most of all,

Question 19

Conectores de contraste: plantear un argumento final

Answer 19

Finally,

Therefore,

Question 20

Conectores de contraste: Concluir la redacción

Answer 20

In conclusion,

To sum up,

Question 21

Escribir una crítica (lenguaje semiformal)

ejemplo p. 136

Answer 21

-Se pueden usar contracciones
It´s a very interesting film
Don´t waste your time reading the book
The art gallery wasn´t very busy…
-dar tu opinion, dar detalles, estructurar
-se peude hablar de la historia, los persojanes, cosas que te llman la atención, por qué recomendarías

Question 22

Escribir una crítica: título

Answer 22

The never ending story (tal cual)

The never ending what?

Question 23

Escribir una crítica: datos

Answer 23

Autor, género, año, actores, etc.

Question 24

Escribir una crítica: cabecera

Answer 24

La idea es captar la atención ofreciendo una idea del contenido
This work of art is captivating right from the moment you look at it.

Question 25

Escribir una crítica: cuerpo

Answer 25

se trata de comentar el argumento
This book is about…
The plot of this film is about…

Question 26

Escribir una crítica: evaluación final

Answer 26

I personally think that...
In my opinion...
From my point of view...
I strongly / highly recommend this film...
I´d / I wouldn´t recommend it because...
I liked the book because...

Question 27

Escribir sobre hechos y opiniones: expresiones

Answer 27

As far as I´m concerned,...
I´m (not) convinced that...
In my opinion / view,...
My opinion is that...
I firmly belive that...
I feel that...
I´m inclined to belive that...

Question 28

Escribir sobre hechos y opiniones: hablar de sentimientos que provoca una obra

Answer 28

I was truly moved.
I found it...
I really /absolutely loved...
I hated...
I really didn´t like...

Question 29

Escribir sobre hechos y opiniones: hablar de hechos o planteamientos objetivos: lo que dicen otras personas; generalizaciones

Answer 29

-Lo que dicen otras personas:
Experts claim that...
Scientists argue that...
Many people are in favour / against...
-Generalizaciones:
It can be said /claimed that... (FORMAL)
It seems / appears that...
It would seem that...
It is likely / unlikely / possible that...
It is clear / obvious that...
There is no / little doubt that...

Question 30

Conectores: cohesión (relación entre elementos, claridad)

Answer 30

-Centrar la atención del lector
Regarding
Concerning
-Contrastar ideas
...but...
However,
...while...
...whereas...
-Aportar elementos nuevos:
In addition,
Furthermore,
Nevertheless,
-Conclusiones y recomendaciones:
Therefore,
As a result,
Consecuently,
For this reason,

Question 31

Quejas y reclamaciones: estructura

Answer 31

• Primer párrafo: motivo
• Segundo y siguientes: descripción del problema
• Último párrafo: se pide respuesta y solución
• Despedida