6 Writing Original Themes
All the writing exercises you have done until now were the building blocks to
get to this kind of writing: original themes. In this chapter you will create entire
stories in your own words and using your own English skills. Don’t be afraid to
experiment or to try something unusual or fun. You should enjoy your writing.
With each exercise theme you will find suggestions for using certain gram-
matical structures or certain vocabulary. They are meant to guide you to writ-
ing a good theme. Naturally, you are the author of the themes and can add other
kinds of structures and vocabulary and omit the suggested ones. You can decide
what is most appropriate for your theme.
After you have written a theme, you can look at a sample theme of the same
title in the Answer Key. That might give you some ideas for improving your
theme.
Directions:Set a time limit for yourself of about thirty to fifty minutes. Try to
use the same amount of time for each exercise. That will help you follow your
progress more objectively. Look at the suggested structures and, if you wish, use
them anywhere in your theme. You should write at least three paragraphs on
each theme.
Exercise 6.1The Car I’ve Always Wanted
Include these structures:
two comparatives and three superlatives (such as bigger,biggest)
one irregular verb in the past tense (example: “I saw the accident.”)
Some helpful ideas for the theme:
What are the make, model, and color of the car?
How much does it cost, and how do you get the money?
Why do you need a car?
What happened to your last car?Some helpful vocabulary words: brakes, tires, car dealership, car loan, tune-
up, convertible167