As the saying goes, the beginning is always the hardest part - ask any writer and they'll show you their fingernails, or whatever's left of them. Well, starting off with your grand Model United Nations endeavor is not unlike writing in that you need to get your facts straight before you can begin to put your ducks in order . I n this case your ducks are your ideas and overall opinion vis-à-vis the issue. The reason why most of you are reading this right now is because you've signed up for the MUN team, or you've been asked to join it, or have heard that you'll travel abroad to attend it, and hey, any opportunity to get away from your regular routine is welcome. Believe me, few people say "No!" to road trips. However, beyond the point of accepting to attend, you have little idea what it is that you'll be doing. If you know of someone who's going at it a second time, ask them. First-hand accounts are always the best. If you're part of ...

To get the most out of these sample essays and letters, please read "What do I do with the sample writing found on this blog?" before reading this blog entry.   The following letter is an example of how examination candidates could tackle the subject of recommending one of their pe e rs . The sample has been modeled on the University of Michigan Examination for the Certificate of Competency in English (ECCE) Task 1 question of the Writing section available on page 182 of the Hellenic American Union's ECCE Practice Examinations book (Book 1). Task 1 of the rubric asks candidates to write a recommendation letter. If you haven't already done so, read this post B2 Writing: The Basics to see what these letters are and how they can be organized. Based on an announcement that appeared in Greenpark High School's newsletter, the Board Members of the school are looking for a student to represent both school and country at the International Student's...

This blog contains a number of sample pieces of writing for a variety of exams because throughout the years, I've seen that the writing section of English language assessment examinations is most likely the area candidates, regardless of age, find the most daunting. Let's be honest -- many students hate writing assignments given as homework, so writing under exam conditions with the image of a scrupulous marker hovering in their mind is not what I'd call their cup of tea. Hence the sample essays, letters, reports, proposals and the like that have been uploaded. Exam candidates need to read something someone else has written to get ideas, and not just get back a marked assignment of their own with a few comments interspersed here and there among the monstrous red ink corrections.

When I first started teaching students in preparation for university studies, I felt the need to explain to them why Literature isn't just a course you could do in the library, like some story-hour session with a kindergarten teacher. Many students had already seen what a Literature course was like in their mother tongue, and unfortunately next to no one saw the value of studying texts. That may have had to do with the way public and private school teachers had been directed to cover the subject matter since they were preparing students for nation-wide college admission examinations, but I'm digressing.  Whatever the case may have been, I was surprised to find that none of the students I'd had, had been asked to ponder the question of why anyone would add Literature to the list of 'scientific' university courses offered and why, in spite of all contradictory opinions regarding its worth, someone would choose to major in this field of knowledge. This last ques...

When you read Paley's "Mother" for the first time, you think, "Okay, so why would anyone give this to students to read when there's so much more that can be squeezed out of other short pieces of writing?" Why not give them Lawrence or Joyce to help analyze 159 facets of human relationships? Slap them with some Chopin or Woolf, both of whom produced slightly longer short stories through which you'd be able to demonstrate how a short story works and get a nice discussion going about relationships to boot. Meanwhile, after reading "Mother" for the first time, the main aspect that stays with readers is an overwhelming sensation of nostalgia and sadness bordering on melancholy. Whyever would any author write something this condensed to simply express despondency over a deceased parent? Can this story be that over-simplified? And then you re-read Paley's piece (because you have to give students some information on it so they don...

The following is a list of terms used in Literature along with definitions. The list is by no means comprehensive.