Writing Sample: A Review

Bewitch, also known by its French name "Ma sorciere bien-aimée", is a successful sitcom which was produced in the 1960s in the USA and aired in more than 30 countries. It stars actress Elizabeth Montgomery, who plays Samantha, a very attractive young witch who falls in love and marries a red-blooded very typical and at times dull mortal man.

This absolutely hilarious story begins with the couple´s wedding night when Samantha decides to come out of the broom closet and confess Darrin (Dick York), the mortal husband, that he has married a spell-casting cauldron-stirring one-hundred-percent American witch. This of course leaves Darrin baffled for a while but he ends up accepting Samantha´s "difference" with the condition that she promises to do her best to quit witchcraft and become a totally normal dinner-making, house-cleaning  ( very-1950s)  housewife.

Such promise, however, proves impossible to honour, as Samantha´s eccentric and extravagant relatives appear in her house chapter after chapter to mess up with her peaceful domestic life and force her to use her magic.

It is actually these secondary characters which have made the tv show immortal. Perhaps the most memorable one being Endora (Agnes Moorehead), Samantha´s mother, who is a kind of super witch with extraordinary powers, which she uses to torture and make fun of her son-in-low, Darrin. With a twitch of her nose and a tiny bit of magic Samantha saves her beloved husband´s life night after night to the delight of the show´s audience.

Even though this is an old tv programme, it is still available on the Internet via Youtube, and I thoroughly recommend watching it. I think everyone will enjoy the fantasy of this comedy.

Gustavo Albarracín


Writing sample: A film review, click here.

Idioms Idioms Idioms... Can you guess what these idioms mean?

1. To know someone or something like the back of your hand.

2. To learn something by heart.

3. To go in one ear and out the other.

4. To have something on the tip of your tongue.

5. To pull somebody' s leg.


Answers

1. If you know someone or something like the back of your hand, you know it very well.

2. To learn something by heart means to memorise it.

3. If something goes in one ear and out the other, you listen to it but you really don´t pay any attention to it.

4. If you have something on the tip of your tongue, you can´t really remember it and you are just about to say it but the words just don´t come to mind.

5. To pull somebody´s leg means to joke or to be kidding.

Example sentences

1. "I don´t really need to study for the exam. I know the lesson like the back of my hand."

2. "When I was at school there were several things we had to learn by heart, like the names of the planets and the multiplication table."

3. "He did tell me when he was coming to town but I didn´t really pay attention, sorry. It went in one ear and out the other."

4. "I wanted to say hi but I just couldn´t remember her name. And the worst part of it is that I had it on the tip of my tongue..."

5. "What? You won the lottery? I don´t believe you. You are pulling my leg, aren´t you?."



Would you like to learn more idioms? Click here.

CPE/CAE Writing to impress the examiner

When it comes to the CPE and CAE writing exams, showing off your high level of English by using a wide range of vocabulary and the most complicated grammar structures you learnt at school is not only ok but a have-to-do. No time nor place for being simple and humble, really! You need to demonstrate how good you are and how much you deserve to pass the exam by doing your very best.

Here there are some tips on how to enhance your text and make an excellent impression on the examiner:


1. Avoid using plain common adjectives like "nice" or "interesting" when writing a book/film review.

Instead of writing "It is an interesting book with a nice argument." Try something like "It is a riveting book, with a gripping plot and an unpreddictable ending."


2. Use idioms, especially when writing articles, informal letters or stories.

Instead of:
"She told me the dress had been expensive but I didn´t believe her. I thought maybe she was joking."

Try:
"She told me the dress had been expensive but I didn´t believe her. I thought she was pulling my leg."

*pulling someone´s leg = joking


3 Use inversions when writing stories to make them more sophisticated and dramatic.

For example:

Little did I know of was about to happen that dark and stormy night...

Had I listened to my heart, I would have known that...( he was not a good man...)