Vocabulary and grammar: Great writers

VTypes of writing

1Complete the sentences with the words in the box. 

MOVE
• article
• fiction
• non-fiction
• play
• poem
• script
• short story

• 1I always take a really long 

• novel
 with me on holiday because I love reading stories.

• 2I prefer stories to facts so I like reading  .

• 3My favourite poet is Sylvia Plath. She wrote a very famous but sad   called Daddy.

• 4The film director was angry because the actors forgot the words in the  .

• 5I love reading   because I want to learn about real things.

• 6We saw a fantastic   at the theatre last night. It was Shakepeare's Romeo and Juliet.

• 7I read a great   last weekend. It didn't take long to read because it was only five pages long.

• 8There was a really interesting   about life in the 1800s in my history magazine.

2  Write examples for each type of writing. short story ... The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle article ... fiction ... non-fiction novel ... play ... poem ... script ...

1.  Write your task in another program (e.g. Word).
2.  Save the file to your computer.
3.  Upload your file.
4.  If you want to add a note to your teacher, write it in the Comments box.
5.  Select Submit to Dropbox to send your work to your teacher.

 Past simple: negative

3Rewrite the past simple affirmative sentences to make them negative. 

You need to use normal letters and capital letters correctly in this task. You also need to use correct punctuation.

• 1I jogged around the park this morning.

• 2You studied a lot last weekend.

• 3Jennie visited Edinburgh last summer.

• 4You made the beds on Saturday.

• 5The children wrote these poems.

Past simple: questions and short answers

4Put the words in the correct order to make questions. 

You need to use correct punctuation in this task.

• • did
  • what
  • you
  • last summer
  • see
  • in Madrid
  • ?

  1

• • wear
  • grandma
  • in the 1960s
  • did
  • mini-skirts
  • ?

  2

   

• • to school
  • you
  • did
  • cycle
  • yesterday
  • ?

  3

   

• • you
  • who
  • visit
  • in the holidays
  • did
  • ?

  4

   

• • arrive
  • did
  • Kelly
  • when
  • ?

  5

   

• • buy
  • where
  • that coat
  • did
  • you
  • ?

  6

   

Past simple: questions and short answers

5Choose the correct short answers. 

• 1Did Shakespeare write poems?

  Yes, he did.King Lear. He wrote poems and plays.

• 2What famous characters did Agatha Christie create?

  Yes, she did.Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple.

• 3Did you and your friends enjoy the play last night?

  No, we didn't.Yes, we did. It was a great play.

• 4Did you see Franz Kafka's house in Prague?

  No, I didn't.Yes, I did. I didn't have time.

• 5Where did the Brontë sisters live?

  They lived in Yorkshire.No, they didn't.

• 6What novels did you study last term?

  Yes, we did.We read Wuthering Heights.

Past simple: questions and short answers

6Choose the correct words to complete the conversation about Marie Colvin. 

JamesMum, look at this newspaper ¹articlescript about Marie Colvin, the American war journalist. I ²knoweddidn't know anything about her before I ³readlistened this. She was amazing.

MumShe was. I think she was one of the best journalists in the world. She died a few years ago.

JamesThat's right. She died in 2012. ⁴You didDid you know about her when she was alive?

MumYes, ⁵I didshe did. I often read her news reports and she wrote articles in The Sunday Times. Her articles were great. She ⁶not writedidn't write a lot of details about the politics or the fighting. She wrote about the terrible things that happened to ordinary people in war.

JamesThis article says that in 1999 she helped save some people's lives in East Timor.

MumWhat ⁷do shedid she do?

James1,500 women and children were in danger. Soldiers wanted to kill them. There were some journalists there, too. Most of the journalists didn't ⁸wantedwant to stay, so they left. Marie ⁹doesn't leavedidn't leave. She stayed and reported the story. In the end, the soldiers ¹⁰not kill didn't kill anyone, because the world knew about the problem, thanks to Marie.

MumIt was awful when she lost her eye. When ¹¹itdid it happen?

JamesIn 2001. She was in Sri Lanka. A bomb exploded near her and part of it hit her in the face.

MumIt ¹²didn't stopstopped her working! She's someone I really admire.

JamesMe, too.

7  Write a short paragraph about Marie Colvin. Use the information in the dialogue. Research her life on the internet to find out more about her.

1.  Write your task in another program (e.g. Word).
2.  Save the file to your computer.
3.  Upload your file.
4.  If you want to add a note to your teacher, write it in the Comments box.
5.  Select Submit to Dropbox to send your work to your teacher.