Matura: Writing

Tourism

report. Ask the students to read the report again

Teacher’s notes
Aim: to prepare students to write a report
and insert the phrases from the box in the
Level: Upper intermediate / B2 correct place.

Language: summarizing; reporting; comparing 8. Put the students in pairs and get them to discuss
and contrasting information and compare their answers.

Time: 60 minutes + 30 minutes for exam task 9. Check the answers as a class.

Materials: one copy of the worksheet and exam Key: 1. The chart shows information.; 2. It includes;
question per student; one copy of Speaking A 3. The information is divided; 4. Looking at the
and B per pair of students information; 5. Some of these differences; 6. For
the younger group; 7. In contrast; 8. In fact;

Note: There are a variety of report types, but one Language focus
common feature of most reports is the use of formal
Note: The second activity in the reading (the
language. In general, this is because reports are not
gap-fill) contains important information with
personal opinions but are simply summarizing data
regard to the language and structure of the
or information – often presented in the form of a
report. By completing the activity it is hoped that
chart or graph. Reports should not try to include all
students will notice some of the key features
the information contained in the chart or graph but
of reports.
should just summarize the main features. From this
information, conclusions and suggestions can be 1. Ask the students to look back at the report and
made, usually in the final paragraph. ask them how many paragraphs it contains.

Reading 2. Next, ask them to look at the ‘functions’ and

match each one to the correct paragraph.
1. Hand out the worksheet.
3. Put the students in pairs and ask them to discuss
2. Ask the students to look at the chart and answer
and compare their answers.
the questions.
4. Check the answers as a class.
3. Put the students in pairs and get them to discuss
and compare their answers. Key: a. Talking about information in general –
paragraph 2; b. Looking at some of the main
4. Check the answers as a class.
trends – paragraph 3; c. Introducing the topic –
Key: 1. What is important when you go on holiday; paragraph 1
2. 16–28 year olds and 29–40 year olds; 3. six;
Note: The next activity tries to give students a
4. accommodation, location, food, excursions,
better understanding of the type of language
nightlife and price; 5. nightlife; 6. Yes, location;
used in reports (formal and, generally, impersonal).
7. less; 8. students’ own answers – ask them to
explain why. 5. Ask the students to read through the phrases
and decide if each one would be used in a report.
5. Next, explain that the students are going to read
a short report based on the information contained 6. Ask the students to simply circle ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.
in the chart.
7. Put the students in pairs and get them to discuss
6. Ask the students to read through the and compare their answers.
report quickly and tell you if it is an accurate
8. Check the answers as a class.
representation of the chart.
Key: 1. Yes; 2. No; 3. Yes; 4. No; 5. Yes; 6. Yes;
7. The students will have noticed that there are
7. No; 8. Yes; 9. No
some phrases that have been removed from the
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 Matura: Writing

Tourism

Note: 2., 4., 7. and 9. are all too informal and / or set of notes, and hide some facts about the

Teacher’s notes
express personal opinion. Generally in reports, we negative points.
simply state the facts illustrated by the data.
• The customer then guesses when the agent
was not telling the truth.
Writing
4. Encourage students to use language for
Note: The activity is designed to be a semi-controlled
making recommendations.
writing activity. The idea is that students should try to
complete the report used in the reading, focusing on
key information and making sure the language used
Useful language
is consistent with the rest of the report.

1. Ask the students to complete the Making recommendations

fourth paragraph. I can fully recommend ...
If you’re looking for …, then this is the right …
2. Monitor and help where necessary.
for you.
3. Put the students in pairs or groups of three and I can’t recommend this highly enough.
get them to share their paragraphs with each
Never before have I been to such an
other and help each other improve their pieces.
amazing place.
4. Ask one or two students to come up and display Anyone would love this …
(write up on the board) their paragraphs and have
I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this …
a brief feedback session.
Speaking from personal experience, …
Possible model: For the 29-40 year-old group, the
most important category is accommodation.
This is twice as important as it was for the 16- 5. Students take turns to do the role-play. Set a
28 age group. In contrast, nightlife is now the time limit of about 15 minutes. Monitor and offer
least important aspect of a holiday with only help if necessary.
five percent saying it was important for them. In
6. When they have finished, ask students how
general, there is a lot less variation between the
many lies they detected.
categories with only a five percent difference
between food, location and price. 7. As a follow-up task, you may ask students to
work in pairs to create their own hotel notes and
Speaking swap partners to role play the conversations.

1. Divide the class into pairs. One student is A

and the other B. Hand out Speaking A to the
Practice exam question
‘A’s and Speaking B tothe ‘B’s. Students read the Note: This can either be done in the class
background information on their handout. (preferable) or set for homework.
2. Check student comprehension of the context. • The students should read the task rubric telling
them what they need to do.
3. Remind students of the activity aim:
• Then, they should look at the chart and try to
• To roleplay a travel agent and customer
pick out the key information.
conversation. The customer asks questions
about a hotel and the travel agent uses his / • They might want to make notes before they
her notes to answer the questions. start writing.
• During the role-play, the travel agent must • Give the students a time limit of 30 minutes for
expand on the positive points in his / her this activity.
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 Matura: Writing

Tourism

Suggested marking scheme:

Teacher’s notes
Total mark out of 20 with each criteria worth up to
5 marks.

Content – answering the question

5 – answers the question and all the
information included
4 – answers the question but one or two
things missing
3 – answers the question but a number of
things missing
2 – tried to answer the question but quite a
lot missing
1 – failed to answer the question

Range of vocabulary and grammar

5 – used a wide range of vocabulary and
grammar appropriate to the task
4 – used a wide range of vocabulary and
grammar but not always appropriate to
the task
3 – used a fairly wide range of vocabulary and
grammar appropriate to the task
2 – used a limited range of vocabulary
and grammar
1 – used a very limited range of vocabulary
and grammar

Accuracy of language (i.e. spelling, tenses etc)

5 – minimal errors, well-developed control
of language
4 – errors occur when attempting more
complex language
3 – a number of errors but they do not
impede communication
2 – a lot of errors, distract the reader,
difficult understanding
1 – frequent errors, difficult understanding

Organization and appropriacy

5 – effectively organized and appropriate
4 – clearly organized, on the whole appropriate
3 – adequately organized, reasonable but not
always appropriate
2 – inadequate organization, attempt to
use appropriate format and register but
unsuccessful, inadequate
1 – lack of organization, little or no awareness of
appropriate format
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 Matura: Writing

Tourism

Reading

Worksheet 1
1
Look at the chart below and answer the questions.

What is important when you go on holiday?

50%
16-28 year olds

29-40 year olds

40%

30%

20%

10%

accommodation location food excursions nightlife price

1. What is the topic of the chart?

2. What are the two groups represented?

3. How many categories are there?

4. What are the categories?

5. Which category is most important for the younger group?

6. Are there any categories that are equally important to both groups?

7. Is price more or less important to the younger group?

8. Are you surprised by any of the information? Why (not)?

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 Matura: Writing

Tourism

Now, read the short report that was based on this information and complete it with the phrases in

Worksheet 2
the box.

For the younger group In contrast The chart shows information

Looking at the information Some of these differences
In fact The information is divided It includes

(1) _________________________________ about what is important for people when they go on holiday.
(2) __________________________________ six categories, which are: accommodation, location, food,
excursions, nightlife and price. (3) _________________________________ into two age groups: 16-28 year
olds and 29-40 year olds.

(4) _________________________________ in the chart, you can see some noticeable differences
between the two groups in terms of what is important for them when they are on holiday.
(5) __________________________________ may well be due to a change in circumstances, for example,
the older group might have children and this will impact on what they feel is important.

(6) ________________________________ , the most important thing is nightlife with 40% of the respondents
choosing this category. (7) ________________________________, only 5% of the older group picked this
category. (8) _________________________________, apart from nightlife and location the 28-40 year olds
thought that all the other aspects were more important than the younger group.

2 Language focus

Look back at the report and match the paragraphs to the correct functions.

Paragraph

a. Talking about the information in general. _____

b. Looking at some of the main trends. _____

c. Introducing the topic. _____

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 Matura: Writing

Tourism

Look at these phrases. Would you find each one in a report?

Worksheet 3
1. The data shows the number of … Yes / No

2. You can see lots of interesting information. Yes / No

3. The report contains a summary of … Yes / No

4. I want to share as much of the information as I can but … Yes / No

5. The information includes … Yes / No

6. In contrast … Yes / No

7. But there’s another side to this … Yes / No

8. To summarize the main points … Yes / No

9. It’s clear to me that … Yes / No

3 Writing
Complete the last paragraph of the report starting with the words:

For the 29-40 year-old group, …

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 Matura: Writing

Tourism

Speaking

Speaking A
4

Student A

You are a travel agent. You recently visited a hotel to write a report about it. Now, you are
recommending the hotel to a customer. When the customer asks questions about the hotel, refer to
your notes. If your comment is good, paraphrase it and add some positive points. If your comment
is bad, try to describe the issue without discouraging the customer.

Can your partner tell when you are hiding some facts?

1. The accommodation:
The room was really small and the bathroom wasn’t very clean. The view was awful, as it was just of
a building site!

2. The food:
The food was very good. There was always local food on the menu and it was cooked really well.

3. The location:
The hotel was miles away from anywhere and it wasn’t very picturesque with just dusty fields all
around. There was a bus to the town but it only came once every two hours!

4. The beach:
It was a great beach, sandy and surrounded by trees. You could hire sunloungers and there was a
small bar / café on the beach too, so you didn’t have to go back to the hotel all the time.

5. The service:
Appalling! The hotel was understaffed, so you had to wait all the time. The waiters often got our
dinner order wrong.

6. The swimming pool:

Too small, very crowded and noisy with young children and adults all crammed in together.
Probably not very safe either.

7. The transport to the hotel from the airport:

Very efficient. It only took half an hour, no waiting time and a smooth drive taking in some great
scenery.

8. The prices:
Expensive! Five pounds for an ice cream and five pounds for a lemonade! Fifteen pounds for a
sunlounger for a day! The hotel also charges way too much for its rooms!
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Student B

Speaking B
You are a customer in a travel agent’s office, and you are looking for a good hotel next to the
beach to stay at.

Ask the travel agent questions about the:

1. accommodation

2. food

3. location

4. beach

5. quality of service

6. swimming pool

7. transport to the hotel from the airport

8. prices

The travel agent has personal experience of the hotel and will answer your questions but he / she
may not tell the whole truth all the time. Can you tell when he / she is hiding some facts?

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 Matura: Writing

Tourism

Teen Holidays is an international tour operator that specializes in holidays for students aged

Practice exam question

between 15 and 23. The company wants to make sure that its holidays offer the types of activities
that young people enjoy. The company has carried out a survey of 200 teenagers and young
adults (100 girls and 100 boys) and collected the following information provided in the chart.

You have been asked to write a report based on the data. The best report will win a free holiday to
one of the Teen Holiday resorts.

What activities would you like to do on holiday?

35%
girls

boys

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

team sports hiking arts & crafts film nights swimming dance classes horse riding

In your report you should:

• present the results of the survey

• use the information to explain which activities are the most / least popular
• suggest how Teen Holidays can improve the holidays it offers to teenagers

Write around 250 words. You can divide your report into sections and give them headings.
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