Writing an essay

Your assignment for today was to write an essay on the pros and cons of mobile phones. There are two ways to do this: either you contrast an argument for to an argument against in each paragraph OR you write one paragraph summing up the advantages and one paragraph summing up the disadvantages. Of course your essay should state your opinion clearly and it should have an introduction and a conclusion. Perhaps it is a good idea to think of words/phrases that you could use in an essay.

In this week's assignment I will ask you to write a review of your favourite film of the year. What information do you think it should include? We will talk about that in class.

Homework assignment

I forgot to print my homework assignment for this week, can I also hand it in like this?

Mobile phones.

I think there are lots of advantages on having a mobile phone. But are there any concealed disadvantages?

The best and most common advantage is being online all the time. However, this can also be a disadvantage, e.g. you are on a holiday and want some rest. People keep calling you when you need your rest. I can imagine that this is very annoying.

I still think there are more advantages, but I’m still young and this opinion can change when you grow older. I like texting now, but maybe, in a decade or so, I won’t like it as much as I do now.

This story of a girl damaging her hands with a mobile phone is of course a serious case, but I think you shouldn’t even own a cell phone at this age. She also said that if she would quit texting it would ruin her social life, at the age of 8. What goes on in the mind of her mother or father?

Bob van Haren

The advantages and disadvantages of mobile phones

In this essay I'm going to create a list of advantages and disadvantages on mobile phones.

Advantages:
-You're easy to reach everywhere in the world, aswell as you can reach people
-If you're stuck somewhere, or an accident has happened, you can call for help
-Mobile phones aren't very expensive
-You can listen music on it
-It can be used as a navigator
-Most phones have a web browser
-You can play games on it

Disadvantages:
-You can damage your hands
-They're small and thereby easy to loose
-You have to pay extra money for your credit/subscription-Their battery can run out
-Mobile phones aren't water proof
-If you drop it, it will break

My conclusion is that a mobile phone is very important to have with you.

Tip of the Day - websites

Today's tip:
Make studying English more fun by finding some English websites about your hobby/sport. It also helps you when you want to share your hobby with others; then you simply need the vocab related to your hobby.
These are for Milou; they are about show jumping. Here is the first one: www.bsja.co.uk - it is the official website of the British Show Jumping Association. The second one is: www.horseandhound.co.uk - the Horse and Hound is the number one magazine in Britain about horses.
I am curious to know which websites about your hobby took your fancy. Keep the Cambridge team posted!

The holiday of a lifetime

note: I have more homework to do, so here's a short story I made in 10 minutes...

The holiday of a lifetime

It was a holiday I will never forget. I was laying on the back of a boat when my father arrived and told me we had to go somewhere. He wouldn’t tell me where we were going, but I thought we were going to the beach of Zandvoort. He said we were nearly there, and yes, we were heading towards Zandvoort.
He stepped out of the car and said to me that I had to stay in the car, so I did. When he came back, he said he’d arranged a surfing class for me, but I couldn’t quite get why I had to stay in the car.
When we arrived at the school, he picked up a board and a sail and said we were going out doing some windsurfing.
Well, the windsurfing was great and I enjoyed it, so we went home and I dropped dead on the couch. My mom came to me and said I had to eat something but I already fell asleap.

Bob van Haren, 16-9-2009, Elzendaalcollege Boxmeer

Letter of application

Dear Mrs. Sykes,

I am writing to apply for the position of Activity Co-ordinator at your Children’s Club, of which I saw the advertisement in our local youth centre, because I think I satisfy the required abilities for the job.

I possess the ability of dealing with young children. I have also got a lot of experience with taking care of and looking after young children because I have 3 little brothers and 1 little sister and I always look after them. So I think that this part already makes me a very suitable candidate for this job.

I also have lots of energy, because I train for about 6 times a week. I also cycle a lot in my spare time. So also at this aspect I satisfy the required abilities for the job.

With a certificate in lifesaving, I can, if necessary, help the children to get out of the water and take care of them if something is not right. I have also won many awards for swimming, so I am a very competent swimmer. The children are completely safe with me. I can express myself in a way that younger children can understand very well, so the teaching won’t be a problem for me at all.

The other strengths that I possess for success in this position include:
* I am in the possession of a First Aid certificate (in case of accidents) and a driving licence (for taking children out on trips)
* I strive for continued excellence and I never give up.
* I am a very strong person, so the children won’t wear me down very easily.
* I have a very gentle character and children like me very quickly

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you about this employment opportunity.

Yours sincerely,

Cyril Landstra

Tip of the day:

There are moments when you want to use a certain English word, but you are not really certain about how to use it. In such cases an English --> English dictionary can come in very handy. I have used the following:http://dictionary.cambridge.org/
And I think it works very well.

So that is my tip of the day.