Goal: choose the right source of information, use a dictionary, take notes from a dialogue, write a diary entry, use the present perfect tense (active + passive). Heavily tested — Test 5 (note-making), Test 11/13 (dictionary), Test 14 (letter), Test 16 (article on sources).
📚 Sources & when to use them
- Newspaper — today's news, editorial, classifieds
- Magazine — articles in depth, photos
- Textbook / book — full syllabus coverage
- Encyclopedia — reliable summary of any topic
- Dictionary — spelling, meaning, pronunciation
- Atlas — maps, distances, capitals
- Telephone directory — contact details
- Web page / Wikipedia — quick & wide, ALWAYS check the source list
📔 Reading a dictionary entry
- Headword in bold
- /sounds/ — pronunciation
- n / v / adj — word class
- 1, 2, 3 — separate meanings
- italic — example sentence
- Plural / past forms in brackets
📐 Present perfect — active
- Recipe: has / have + V3.
- Triggers: ever · never · just · already · yet · since · for · recently · so far.
- Subject he/she/it → has. Otherwise → have.
I have read the book.
She has just finished her project.
We have lived here for ten years.
📐 Present perfect — passive
- Recipe: has / have + been + V3.
- The thing that received the action becomes the subject.
Active : Online games have affected the studies.
Passive: The studies have been affected by online games.
Active : The principal has signed the letter.
Passive: The letter has been signed.
✍️ Writing — official word counts
- Notice (Test 6): 40–50 words.
- Diary / short paragraph (Test 8): 50–60 words. Date + weather → one event → feeling.
- Letter / data description (Test 14): ~100 words.
- Article / essay / speech (Test 16): ~200 words. One paragraph per source, "judgement" closing line.
- Diary entry shape: Date — weather. Past-simple body. Close with a feeling. No "Dear Diary".