If you are sitting the EvAU English exam in a few weeks, this video and the resources below may help you prepare for the writing task:

  1. Watch this video for an explanation of some ‘tips’ to write essays:

Open the video in a new tab here.

You can download the presentation I’ve used for the video here.

In the description of the video you can find a timeline of all the points mentioned. If you click on any of the times, it will take you straight to that section, so you can skip parts you may have seen or you may not find interesting.

If you need them, you can watch the video with subtitles in English. Click on the subtitles icon.

2. These are the 7 tips summarised (infographic):

Click/tap on the image to download the pdf file

3. If you want to make sure that have understood the tips, you can have a look at the sentences I’ve collected from year 2 Bachillerato students. Analyse them, and then fill in this Google Form to get feedback to your answers:

  • Click here to download the file with the sentences
  • Click here to open the Google form in a new tab

4. Linking words and signposting– essential to make your text easy to read, clear, cohesive (indicating the relation between ideas) and coherent (making sense):

5. These are the ‘scary mistakes‘ I refer to in the video: a series of grammatical mistakes which you shouldn’t be making at this level. Be very careful, and when you have finished writing your essay/email/…, re-read it to make sure you haven’t made any of them. They will give a negative impression of you.

Click/tap on the screenshot to download the pdf file

6. WAGOLL: Would you like to know what a good writing task looks like? Click here to open the text, and click on the ThingLink below for an explanation of why it is a good piece of writing. That way, you can try to imitate the positive aspects.

Click/tap on the image to open an interactive document with explanations

Download the pdf file with the text here

7. News websites to widen your range of language/improve your vocabulary: The topics you will have to write about tend to involve social issues, current affairs…If you want to read/listen to news reports in English, you can use these websites:

  • El País in English (useful to be able to talk about Spanish issues in English)
  • BBC News (articles and videos)
  • CNN 10– news explained in 10 minutes, transcripts and captions (subtitles) available
Source: https://english.elpais.com/

8. Finally, if you want to practise your writing, you can find some possible writing topics below:

  1. Should remote learning be promoted by governments?
  2. Should students have to wear school uniforms?
  3. Should standardised testing (such as the EvAU) at the end of Bachillerato be abolished?
  4. Education should focus on Maths and Science rather than Music and Art.
  5. Should 16-year-olds be given the right to vote?
  6. Should takeaways/fast food shops near schools be banned?
  7. Should electric scooters and bikes be allowed on the pavement?
  8. Is human activity primarily responsible for global climate change?
  9. What was the effect of the lockdown on the environment and what does it tell us?
  10. Should animals be used for scientific testing and trials?
  11. Are social media positive for society?
  12. What is the effect of technology on people’s relationships?
  13. Young children should not be exposed to technology.
  14. Reality television has a negative effect on society. What’s your take on this?
  15. Discuss some of the ways in which travel and tourism are going to change after the coronavirus pandemic.

9. If you want to reinforce your grammar skills, you may also like this: exercises to revise key grammar points (Bachillerato)- useful to revise for the ‘rephrasing’ exercise.