1 Cut it down: Write five sentences about your weekend. Then cross out everything unnecessary and rewrite it in two short sentences, keeping only the most important information.
2 Mini postcard: Write a postcard of a holiday in New York in only 30 words mentioning your destination, visit of landmarks, activities etc. This forces you to focus on the essentials. Example:Dear …, greetings from Paris, I am having a great time. Yesterday I visited Eiffel Tower/ Louvre and then we went on a boat trip along River Seine/ we had a delicious meal, See you soon/ love…
3 Topic filter: Choose a picture (e.g. a holiday scene) and write only about the three most important details.
Exercise B
How to be clear
1One idea per sentence: Write 5 sentences, each containing only one piece of information.
2 Explain it to a child: Explain to an 8-year-old child in 3-4 simple sentences: How does a fridge keep food cold?
3 Simplify vocabulary: Rewrite this complicated sentence and replace difficult words with simple ones. The scientist conducted an extensive investigation to determine the origin of the mysterious substance.
Exercise C
Vary your sentences
1 Mix your sentence starters: Write 5 sentences about getting ready for school/work. Each sentence must begin with a different word.
2 Alternate long and short sentences: Write a short text about your morning routine, a hobby or a recent day you enjoyed. Your paragraph should have 5-6 sentences, following this pattern:
Sentence 1 → short (3-6 words) Sentence 2 → long (10-15 words) Sentence 3 → short Sentence 4 → long Sentence 5 → short (optional) Sentence 6 → long
Exercise D
Using active voice
1 Rewrite passive sentences: Rewrite the following passive sentences in active voice:
2 Create active sentences: Write 5 sentences about something you did at home starting with “I” + an active verb. (e.g. cook, solve, help, found, clean, discover, organize…)
3 Transform and expand: You are given 3 passive sentences. Your job is to rewrite them in active voice and expand each sentence by adding details, adverbs or additional clauses to make it more interesting. Hints for expansion:
add when or where something happened
add how something happened
include extra information about people or objects involved.