(MUSIC)
Hello. I'm going to show you some writing samples
and I'll explain why some of them have a B1 level of the language
and why some of them don't.
For that, I'll tell you which are the most common mistakes
that students make when writing a composition.
Okay, to follow this video
you need to download a document called "Writing samples"
with the compositions I'll talk about.
So, if you don't have it, please go back to the course
get the document and have it with you so that you follow me.
Welcome back.
Okay, frequent mistakes.
Normally, frequent mistakes are related to four different aspects
like instructions, register, content and accuracy.
It is very important that you follow the instructions.
Your compositions shouldn't be too long or too short.
Also, you should respect the topic we give you
so you can write about it and develop it fully.
You shouldn't talk about something else.
The register should be formal or informal
depending on the context.
For example, in a cover letter to apply for a job
the register should be formal.
However, for an email or a conversation with a friend
the register should be informal.
Please take this into account.
Content.
This implies that your composition should make sense.
It should be coherent.
All the ideas there shouldn't contradict one another.
And finally, accuracy.
Your composition doesn't have to be perfect.
Grammar doesn't have to be perfect.
Spelling doesn't have to be perfect.
However, your mistakes shouldn't be many.
Only a few.
And they shouldn't be basic.
A very common mistake is translating literally
from the mother tongue.
It doesn't make sense.
The compositions we're going to see were written by Spanish students
and we'll see the influence of Spanish in their writings.
Okay, instructions.
I told you they were crucial. They are essential.
Let's see one example from one exam.
Write a dialogue between two people eating at a restaurant.
One of them is a vegetarian and is complaining
because there aren't enough vegetarian dishes.
The other is trying to cheer him or her up
by commenting on the nice selection of healthy desserts they have.
Between 100 and 150 words.
Okay, first example, text one.
This is not a B1 level. Why?
Here we can read an interesting conversation
about whether it is right or wrong to eat meat.
However, this is not what the student was asked about.
He should have written something else.
It started well. A vegetarian. A restaurant.
A discussion with a non-vegetarian.
But it stopped there.
The student should have developed the topic fully.
There were more instructions.
In relation to accuracy, there are many problems.
Grammar is highly influenced by the first language.
For instance
we find ellipsis of the subject which is common in Spanish.
Not in English.
For instance, "don't like it?" instead of "don't you like it?"
We also see other literal translations
from Spanish of phrases like "no es eso"
which we find as "not is this".
This doesn't make any sense.
It should be something like "that's not the problem"
or "that's not it".
We also find many basic mistakes, not acceptable in this level
an intermediate level.
For instance, "a wolves".
"Wolves" is a plural noun, so "a" shouldn't precede it.
Or "a active life" instead of "an active life".
And we also find problems with the verbs.
"I was not began" instead of "I haven't started".
Okay, now let's go on with text number two.
The instructions here are not followed either.
In terms of content, we also have a problem
because it's very contradictory.
At the beginning, one of the speakers is talking
about her dissatisfaction with the restaurant.
However, everything the speaker says about the food is very positive.
So, her arguments do not support her initial statement
This is a problem.
And in relation to accuracy, literal translations from Spanish
like "I am agree with you", "estoy de acuerdo contigo"
instead of "I agree with you".
Or "let to eat meat", "deja de comer carne"
instead of "stop eating meat" or "quit meat".
The result is very confusing for the reader.
We also find grammatical mistakes which are very basic
like the wrong use of the verb "to have".
"This restaurant hasn't enough vegetarian dishes".
Okay, at this point I'm going to explain a little bit
about different varieties of English.
All of them are acceptable as long as you are consistent.
The problem here
is that no specific variety of English is followed.
For instance, the verb "to have" in British English
it would be "it hasn't got"
"this restaurant hasn't got enough vegetarian dishes".
and in the American variety
it would be something like "it doesn't have vegetarian dishes".
However, "hasn't" without "got" or without "doesn't"
is simply incorrect.
Finally, a B1 level of English, this is what we expect.
Text three is what we expect to read.
The instructions are followed
and maybe it is a bit too long
but we compensate sometimes, it's just a little bit long.
Everything else is great, so we're okay with it.
The register is informal
because it's a conversation between two people.
They know each other.
The content is perfect, we have internal coherence.
It follows the topic and it's very coherent.
Finally, accuracy is not perfect
but is has a few minor mistakes, which is acceptable in this level.
I hope this was useful for you.
Thank you for your attention.
Subtitles: Tomás Costal.